Well, the seasons have officially changed! The sun is coming up later each day, and although it isn’t cold yet, there is a chill in the air in the morning and evening. In the garden, the vegetables are ripening quickly and although not all our crops were a success, we have more than enough fruit…
Jams & Preserves
Blood Orange Vinegar
Do you know what I’m looking forward to at this time of year?? Salads. Lots of delicious salads. Ask me in autumn, and I will tell you that I am over tomatoes, and never want to see another cucumber again. But at this time of year, I’m craving some crunchy lettuce, and sweet tomatoes. Salads…
Spiced Beetroot Relish
Well the cold weather has arrived with a vengeance around these parts. Inside, the fire is toasty warm so we keep it going all day and all night. Outside though, it is definitely heading into Winter. We’ve had such a long, mild Autumn that I had quite forgotten just how cold it can be. In…
Passionfruit Curd Tartlets
Growing up my parents always had a couple of passionfruit vines growing on the fence. Every summer we would be able to pick some, cut them in half, and spoon out their delicious pulp. If they were too sour, we’d add a sprinkle of sugar, and keep right on going. Passionfruit went our Christmas pavlovas, and sometime…
Peach Chutney
All the fruit trees along side the roads around here are laden with fruit at the moment. After living here for several years, we know where the good trees are and when they are ripe. On Saturday we jumped in the car and drove about ten kilometers to an excellent peach tree that was full…
Spicy Plum Sauce
The orchard is really starting to bear fruit. Every other day it seems Country Boy comes in with a report of what fruit is ready, or a basket of already picked fruit for us to eat. Some, such as apples, are easy because we can eat them raw, but others such as these Italian plums…
How To Dry Chillies
Last summer, Country Boy’s chilli plants were prolific. We had chillies everywhere, and while I quite like a little bit of spice in my food, there was no way we could possibly eat them all. To use up the left over chillies I had a go at drying them. It worked beautifully, and was really…
Home Made Fruit Leather
Last Saturday morning, Country Boy woke me to tell me that one of the freezers had accidentally been turned off on (probably on Tuesday) and we had a whole freezer of cold, but defrosted food. I had been dreaming that I had just given birth to quins (5 babies). It was one of those super…
