Thursday 1 January 2015

In My Kitchen ... in January 2015

Happy New Year, Celia and fellow In My Kitchen devotees! I do hope the coming year for each of you - and IMK readers - is full of love and wonderful things cooking in your kitchens!

In My Kitchen in January we are enjoying fresh produce picked from my first attempt at straw bale gardening. I'm very pleased with the garden so far - we'll see how it fares with 40 degree plus days! Fingers crossed!





With lots of tiny tomatoes to use I decided to try lightly oven roasting a few and tossing them into a jar with sea salt, thyme and garlic and topping the lot with EVOO. Served as part of a meze plate they are delicious!


 


Summer time equals fruit time in our garden! With a bumper crop of Anzac peaches this year, together with buckets of beautiful apricots and plums given to me by my brother-in-law, Con, I've been busy!


I have filled a cupboard with, and gifted, jars and jars of peach, apricot and plum jam. I find jam making a relaxing and rewarding pastime. It also brings back beautiful memories of my late mum - I have posted her recipe for amazing apricot jam here!




My grandsons were thilled that I had so many peaches to use! It meant that after a 12 month absence (there were no peaches last year) their favourite Peach Ice has reappeared in the freezer - and so on the dessert menu - at Granny's house! Take it from me - Peach Ice is incredibly easy to make - you don't even need to peel the peaches!




Fruit leathers have also been on the list of things to do. I do not have a dehydrator so have used the magical power of the sun to make these! I do love our Mediterranean climate here in South Australia!




Inspired by my success with the fruit leathers I tried sun dried Apple Cinnamon Chips! Oh my! How tasty and healthy are they! I'll post how I made these little beauties very soon!




Finally, I have to share - well, brag a little - if I'm honest! The Christmas Pudding was an absolute triumph!!! I've been looking for the perfect Christmas Pudding recipe for a long time - and I've found it! I extend a huge thank you to the wonderful Stephanie Alexander, for sharing with us all, her Grandmother's recipe. You will find the recipe in her fabulous book The Cook's Companion. If you don't have a copy - take it from me - you need one!




I love the In My Kitchen series, hosted by wonderful and generous Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Click through to check out her amazing blog, and to visit kitchens of participating bloggers from around the world. They are such an interesting lot!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my kitchen adventures this month, as much as I have enjoyed writing about them! Thanks for dropping in!

Cheers!

Marian

44 comments:

  1. Ooooooh, what a wonderful assortment of good things you have in your kitchen, Marian! Love those fruit leathers... and the apple chips. Wow, nice one. And well done you on the pudding!

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    1. The abundance of the harvest stretched me, Liz! I hate wasting precious produce so was rather more adventurous this year! And that turned out to be a good thing!

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  2. I love apricot jam! But don't love apricots so much. You've got so many wonderful ways to preserve fruits!

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    1. Hi Clare! Because there was so much fruit I really found myself exploring different ways to use it! There are only so many jars of jam you can eat or give away in a year!!! I must confess that Apricot Jam was my jam of choice for Christmas morning breakfast! Thanks so much for dropping by!

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  3. HI Marian. wow how amazing. I wish i had a huge garden.Ii love jam and it is fantastic making it. I have the cooks companion and will have to have a look at that recipe, your beautiful pudding looks perfect. nice to meet you !

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    1. Hi Tania! I wish I had a big garden too! I've been looking for ways to maximise the use of the space we have available in our small garden - hence the straw bale experiment. The pudding recipe is called 'Emily Bell's Christmas Pudding'. Do check it out - it's a beauty! Thank you so much for visiting my kitchen this month!

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  4. Καλή Χρονια! Kali Xronia Marian. I love all of the wonderful, colourful homegrown produce in your kitchen this month - just delightful. You have very lucky grandsons xx

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    1. Kali Xronia to you too, Ella! I do love picking fresh veggies, herbs and fruit from my little garden and have an incredible role model in my wonderful mother-in-law Maria! I am so lucky to have three beautiful grandsons. It is a Granny's great pleasure to cook things and watch them enjoy!

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  5. Love everything and I am always envious of those who can get a good apricot harvest. Think it's too green and lush here and no-one local gets a good crop. Supermarket ones aren't even worth mentioning. Pudding, pudding, pudding! Yes please.

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    1. Hi Maree! I'm nurturing a dwarf variety of apricot tree in our small garden. We picked our first three apricots this year so hoping for more next year! I agree that garden grown apricots seem to be tastier than store bought - perhaps it's to do with the varieties. I enjoyed that pudding so much that I'm considering making another this month and allowing it to really mature until Christmas this year!

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  6. What a fabulous stash of treat you have in your kitchen. So much lovely homegrown produce. We've just finished making jam, compotes, pies, relishes with our apricots and now the plums are just about to ripen. It never ends when you have fruit trees.

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  7. Hi Jennifer! I know what you mean about those fruit trees! Ours all seemed to be ready pick over Christmas and New Year! The veggies are really starting to produce right now - I hope the hot weather doesn't set them back too much! Thanks for visiting!

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  8. I love all your produce and lovely jams and fruit leathers... I'd like to do that but unfortunately we hate having very humid weather on the Gold Coast at the moment... Your puddings looks sensational! Well done! Thanks for sharing! Liz xx

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    1. Hi Liz! It must be frustrating to have that humid weather constantly! I guess the oven would be a useful option for fruit leathers. The pudding was as good as it looks, believe me! Thanks so much for visiting!

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  9. It all looks lovely Marian, especially your Christmas pudding.

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    1. Thanks, Glenda! It is a bountiful time of the year!

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  10. Marian, your pudding looks like a masterpiece! Good job! Of course, it's winter here in the US, so it will be 6 months before I can make any apricot jam. How I envy you -- I'm ALL OUT! Posted my first In My Kitchen yesterday and am having such fun with it!

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    1. Hi Jean! I know how it feels to be all out of Apricot Jam! I scour farmers markets and produce stalls for jars to purchase when that happens! Welcome to IMK - it is such fun! I'll look forward to your future posts! Thanks so much for dropping by!

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  11. Oh what wonderful produce. I am so jealous of all the fruits. I can't say I find jam making relaxing, but I do it anyway since I so enjoy the final product. Happy New Year!

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    1. Hi Gretchen! We are very lucky here to enjoy such a variety of wonderful fruits - that you can easily grow in your garden. Despite the effort required I find jam making relaxing because I switch my busy brain off and indulge in focussing only on the jam! Disaster usually ensues if I multi-task! Happy New Year from Australia!

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  12. Oh Marian, such a colourful and healthy IMK! Those cinnamon apple chips looks great. Love that you made fruit leather without a dehydrator.
    Your jam making must pluck at your heart strings. I love that you use your mum's recipe. Lovely.
    Kirsty xx

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    1. Hi Kirsty! I'm becoming much more health conscious in my old age! I have also embraced the challenge of finding health options for my grandsons, one of whom has sensitivities to a number of food preservatives and colourings. Using my Mum's recipes is a heart warming experience - and makes me feel really close to her. Her kitchen was always busy, welcoming and fun to be in!

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  13. Yes, that Christmas Pudding is impressive but not as impressive as those fruit leathers. I'm very jealous of that lovely dry climate and what you can achieve when it comes to growing and baking (nothing worse than humdity to make a cake wilt.) Then again, I don't envy the temperatures! Thanks also for sharing the peach ice recipe. Worth a go I think. Thanks for your festive tour. Cheers Fiona

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    1. Hi Fiona! We are very fortunate indeed to have such a great climate here - even if the hottest days are a bit trying! At least it's dry heat - and does a wonderful job of drying fruit! The Peach Ice is a fabulous treat - and can be served to anyone on a dairy free food program as a bonus. Thanks for visiting!

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  14. Happy New Year Marian, your produce from your garden looks amazing! I'm loving the idea for excess tomatoes in sea salt, thyme and garlic and topping the lot with EVOO - yumm! Will be keeping that close to my heart for when my sisters Roma tomatoes start popping out - so many plants they have! Looking forward to your peach ice recipe - sounds a bit delicious, lucky grandsons. See you next month at IMK

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    1. Hi Nicole! The tomatoes really are delicious, and the remaining oil adds flavour to tomato based dishes as a bonus! I'll be keen to see how you go with those gorgeous Roma tomatoes grown by your sister. The Peach Ice takes leterally minutes to whiz up - it's what I call a maximum effect/minimum effort recipe! Thanks so much for visiting my kitchen this month!

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  15. I'll look forward to your upcoming Fruit Leather recipe soon. I'm returning to Adelaide in several weeks and look forward to the bounty of fresh fruits and veggies available. Are you going to the Adelaide Food Bloggers (I almost typed 'Fruit Bloggers') picnic on 25/115?

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    1. Hi Fran! I'll get onto that fruit leather post in the next week or so - so look out for it! We truly are spoiled with the abundance of beautiful produce grown locally here in South Australia. I'm not sure yet if I will be attending the Adelaide Food Bloggers Picnic - I am currently dealing with a very nasty lower back problem. Hopefully I will be on the mend by then because I would love to go. What about yourself?

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  16. What beautiful produce, I'm inspired to make apricot jam once they come into season here. My jam making has been limited to the ones with berries so far.

    Your Christmas pudding looks fabulous! Would you really make it now for later this year? I'm going to have to take a look at the recipe. Happy New Year.

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    1. Hi Liz! Homemade apricot jam is just THE best ever! I do hope you have success with it! Using under-ripe rather than over-ripe fruit is one of the keys to success!

      Yes, I really will make the Christmas Pudding in the next few weeks! I will 'feed the pudding' brandy every once in awhile and allow the pudding to mature enhancing the development of more complex and delicious flavours. Happy New Year from kitchen to yours!

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  17. My goodness your kitchen is absolutely bursting with so much fresh produce and fruit goodness! Everything looks so very very good. The only jam I've ever made is Rosella, other than that all I've made it chutneys and relishes. Hopefully when our little fruit trees grow I'll have enough fruit to make jam too.

    Happy New Year!
    Sarah x

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    1. Hi Chantille! Thank you so much for dropping past! I've not ever used Rosella - but you have me intrigued! I must look out for them! Do look after your little fruit trees - it will be so worth it! Today I has a first taste of a plum/nectarine cross - a dwarf fruit tree grown by my daughter - and now I want one of those too!

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  18. You do have a great climate in SA. I love the look of your plum pudding and I'm going to make one for 'Christmas in July' so I'll take your advice and use Stephanie's recipe. You have so many beautiful fruits in abundance in this post and I love what you've done with them xx

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  19. Hi Charlie Louie! I'm sure you won't be disappointed with the pudding. It is made with suet so you may need to order the suet through your butcher. This year our butcher had plenty! Already grated, a 500 gram pack cost me just $2.00 - bargain! The fruit has certainly kept me busy - especially since it must all be used before it spoils! Have a wonderful New Year!

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  20. I'm loving jam making too! We just made an apricot jam and I was so pleased at how it turned out I'm going straight into making another! Such a delicious array of goodies you have Marian!!

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    1. Hi Lorraine! So glad that you are a fellow jam maker - the opportunities for making little pots of yumminess are endless! Thank you so much for visiting my kitchen this month! Happy New Year!

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  21. All that summer goodness - how wonderful. The peach ice-cream sounds divine. I have to make fruit leathers in the oven as the sun never gets hot enough here; they're very moreish.

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    1. Hi Anne! There is something special about our luscious summer fruits - I do love them all! I've usually made fruit leathers in the oven, too - but decided this time to try the sun as the air temperature was around 32 degrees C, and it worked a treat! Thank you so much for dropping in!

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  22. Marian, I love that you can make fruit leather in your deliciously hot Coffin Bay climate! And what a wonderful job you've done with your first attempt at straw bale gardening! I'm going to have to make a pudding next year, so that you for the recommendation of Stephanie's recipe! I have her book, so I'll check it out now! :)

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    1. Hi Celia! Using the sun to dry the fruit leather was really an experiment - but it worked - exceptionally well! The straw bale garden has worked brilliantly - I'll be doing it again as it's incredibly easy and productive. I hope you enjoy the pudding as much as I did - I loved that you didn't have to undertake the tedious task of chopping kilos and kilos of dried fruit! Happy New Year!

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  23. That peach ice looks to die for ... it's a cold wintry day in my corner of the UK and I could do with a taste of summer :)

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  24. Hi Annie! The peach ice is just beautiful - everyone loves it, and it is the easiest ice I've ever made! Add it to your 'to do' list for when summer comes! What a contrast our weather is! We've recently had extreme heat with 40-44 degree Centigrade days - that's HOT believe me! Currently however it's cooler and we apparently are expecting a 'once in 30 year rainfall event' in the next few days! Australia is truly 'a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains,Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains' as so beautifully described by poet Dorothea Mackellar in my favourite poem 'My Country'. It's found here http://www.dorotheamackellar.com.au/archive/mycountry.htm and was written when she was living in your beautiful country - but homesick for Australia. I hope you enjoy it too! Thank you so much for dropping in!

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  25. such glorious produce marian. how wonderful. and it is lovely making your own jams, relishes etc. i have a jaboticaba tree in my backyard and i love making jam with the fruit but it is a bit difficult cos they have so much pectin in them. i usually end up with rock hard jam! we have had hot and humid weather for months. can't wait till winter. x

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    1. Thanks for dropping by Sherry! I was so intrigued by your jaboticaba tree (I must confess to not having heard of it before) that I googled it! And what an interesting tree it is!

      I wonder if it would make a difference to the outcome of the jam if you combined the fruit with a low pectin fruit like ripe peaches or pears, pineapple or blueberries and 'undercooked' it.

      I know what you mean about humidity - I do appreciate our drier climate!

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