Strawberry sauce and leopard print.

I never thought of myself as being the kind of girl who wore leopard print. I thought it was reserved purely for Rockabilly chicks and old ladies who are hanging onto their youth. But then I started seeing leopard print things in the shops. All the shops. Everything you could think of came in leopard print: shoes, scarves, cardies, tops, bags, everything. Everything! 

And then one day I decided that I loved leopard print. I really loved it and I couldn't wait to get my hands on something leopard print. Every shop I went into, I gravitated straight towards the leopard print things. I touched them all, and tried them all on.

 

You know what doesn't look good? A whole leopard-print outfit: jeans, cardigan, shoes, hat, scarf... You just can't wear them all together. It's a fashion disaster, trust me. So in the end, I bought a head scarf and a beret and I was finally happy! Now I wear them with everything, all the time. Mixing prints? That's the best part! I love a good leopard/cherry/stripe combo. And I love it even better when I'm stirring something in the kitchen. Something a bit like strawberry sauce.

We had some amazing strawberries over the summer. Normally I like to just eat them raw, straight out of the plastic container. Just greedily shove them all into my mouth. But at the end of the strawberry season I decided that I would turn them into something a bit more long-lasting, so I made strawberry sauce.

 

 

I'm not sure if you know this (you probably do, you're pretty clever), but strawberries aren't very high in pectin, which means that they don't set into jam very well. If I'm being honest with you, which I should be, I was actually trying to make jam, but the strawberries didn't set as well as they should have, so I called it sauce and was happy. 

This sauce is pretty sweet, but it's got a bit of bite from the lemon. You could get really outrageous and throw in some vanilla bean if you're feeling decadent (but I think that would make it extra sweet). Next time I make this, I would up the lemon and cut the sugar. But make sure you have some vanilla ice cream on hand to spoon this sauce over. It also makes a killer milkshake syrup. Oh, the possibilities!

Strawberry Sauce

Adapted from Word of Mouth

Makes 4 medium jars

2kg ripe strawberries
1.7kg sugar
Juice and zest of 2 lemons

Before you start, put a saucer in the freezer (to test the sauce on later).
Top the strawberries and cut any big ones in half. Put in a wide, heavy-bottom pan. 
Add the lemon juice, zest and a tablespoon of water. Bring to the boil.
Boil for 15-20 mins until thickened. Stir occasionally and test the sauce for checking point in the last 5 mins by putting a teaspoon of sauce onto the cold saucer and push your finger through it. If the sauce wrinkles and doesn't slide straight back together, then it is done. But remember that it is sauce, not jam, so won't be very thick.
Skim off any foamy, pink scum before pouring the sauce into hot, sterilised jars. 
Clean the outside of the jars, put the lids on, and turn upside-down until cool (this creates a vacuum which helps seal and preserve the sauce).

Onion marmalade

Everyday around 5.30, Brent and I start the what-are-we-going-to-have-for-dinner routine.

"How about stir-fry?"

"Nah. What about pasta?"

"Nah... But we do have to eat that chicken in the fridge..."

"Yeah... How about take-away pizza?"

But some days I get inspired, and I make something special for us (Although, it's happening less and less these days as the semester draws to an end).

Yesterday we had pan-fried Moroccan chicken with onion marmalade. It was spicy and sweet and easy for a Tuesday night meal. Particularly because I made this marmalade earlier in the day.

Here's to dinner inspiration!



Onion Marmalade:
Adapted from Shutterbean

I didn't make very much of this, because I made it just for dinner. Although, I did get carried away sterilising the jar that the onions were going to live in for a few hours. I'm going to give you my very small recipe which made less than a cup. Refer to Shutterbean's original recipe if you're planning on making lots of this (which is probably a good idea, because it's delicious and goes with everything).

1 red onion
1/2 brown onion
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp chicken stock

Slice the onions.
Place the onions in a non-stick pan with a splash of olive oil.
Cook on medium heat, covered, for about 15 minutes, until onions are translucent. Stir occasionally.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are dark and caramelized, about 30 minutes.
Place the onions into a container, and let cool before covering. Keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.



[I've been listening to The Radio Dept.'s album on repeat while studying in the library. I know that soon I won't be able to listen to this album at all, but at the moment, it's everything I need.]

A bitter afternoon.

I spent the afternoon at my parents house making bitter orange marmalade, because it's that time of year again.



Dad cut up lots of seville and ruby navel oranges, and I took lots of photos and drank coffee.











I love this photo. They're all standing, waiting patiently to have their photo taken, but Dad decided that everyone should hold an orange, to emphasis the whole point of the afternoon. Caitlin and Arki look so skeptical, the way teenagers do.

Updated: Tomato Relish.

I love relish. It makes everything taste good. Before I'd even thought about what I was going to buy everyone for Christmas, I already knew that I wanted to make relish to give as gifts (along with some other things).
I wanted to make a really simple relish, because I wasn't sure if the people I was planning on giving it to would appreciate something a little different. But I like plain relish, so everything is ok!
The relish wasn't actually meant to be sweet and spicy. It was an accident. A happy accident. I was really worried when I made it because I thought it was too sweet. I almost considered not giving it away, but I couldn't stand the thought of having 13 jars of relish sitting in my cupboard (All those tomatoes cost a lot of money!!).
So I took a chance. A rare chance. And decided to give out something I wasn't completely happy with (I haven't given them out yet, but you get the idea). I had a brilliant idea: If I called the relish 'sweet & spicy', then people would think that I meant to make the relish taste like that. As if I made it like that on purpose. No one needs to know that I accidentally put too much sugar and chilli in it! What a brilliant idea!
The relish was much easier to make than I had imagined it to be. Even though it's easy, don't go thinking that it's a quick thing to make. Oh no. This is the kind of thing you want to make on a day when you've got nothing else planned and would be happy to constantly watch a pot of relish for 3 hours (lucky I've got no life!).

p.s. the cute labels come from How About Orange and Creature Comforts.

Update: I just opened my last jar of this relish (6 months later) and the flavours of the relish have had a chance to mature and get to know each other a little better. After all this time, the flavours aren't so sweet and vinegar-y. They've mellowed out and taste really good. So if you can, I'd advise leaving a few jars in your pantry for a couple of months before opening them.

Sweet & Spicy Tomato Relish.

Adapted from Stephanie Alexander's "The Cooks Companion."

Makes about 3 litres.

*If you don't like your relish to be so sweet, you could decrease the sugar amount by 100g. If we're being honest, I'd definitely decrease the sugar next time. But If you like your relish sweet, then leave it as it is! It's perfect.

2 tbsp black peppercorns

3.5kg tomatoes, roughly chopped, skins removed

1kg brown onions, diced

6 garlic cloves

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

30g rock salt

500ml red wine vinegar

600-700g white sugar*

Put all ingredients except sugar into a large (very large) pot.

Bring to the boil and boil for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

Add the sugar and boil for another 2 hours, stirring every 20 mins or so.

Use a potato masher to break up the big chunks of tomato and onion (If you have a food mill, you could use that instead).

Transfer the relish into hot, dry, sterilised jars. Cap the jars and then turn them upside-down, this creates a vacuum in the jars (I've read this in a couple of places, and it really works!).

Leave until cool before storing (and turning up the right way).

Lady (Blood Orange) Marmalade.

Ah, winter. Orange season. Look at those blood oranges! They are lovely.

I only recently got into marmalade. Now I eat it pretty much everyday. Dad and I were talking about making marmalade a little while ago, and one day he called me up.
"What are you doing this weekend?" he says.
"I don't know, Dad. Why's that?"
"It's seville orange season!"

So we made marmalade.

The great thing about blood oranges is that you get an amazing red colour scheme, along with the tangy orange flavour. Not that plain old orange isn't a nice colour. I didn't say that.

The thing I enjoyed most about making the marmalade (apart from spending some quality time with old Dad, of course) was slicing the oranges up as thinly as I could. It was like a competition with myself to see how thin I could get them. I won.

Dad says you need to use a big, wide pot for this, rather than a big, high pot, as the heat distributes better. Dad also says that the sugar makes the fruit break down faster. So if you like your marmalade a bit less peely, put the sugar in earlier. 

Blood Orange Marmalade:

The same weight of oranges as sugar.

We used 1kg oranges : 1kg sugar

We also used a few seville oranges, along with the blood oranges.

Make sure you wash your jars and lids thoroughly in soapy water, and, when dry, steralise them (just pop them in the microwave for 5 mins).

Cut the oranges in half lengthways.

Cut the pithy bit out of the middle and slice the ends off. Put these, and any pips, in a muslin bag for later.
Slice the oranges as thinly as you can and put in a big, wide pot.
Tie up the muslin bag with all the orange bits and add this to the pot.
Pour in enough cold water to just cover the oranges.
Cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until the oranges are starting to break down.
Take out the muslin bag.
Add the sugar and stir.
Cook until the marmalade is at setting stage.
Pour into your steralised jars.
Leave the lids off the jars until a dry skin starts to form on the top, then put the lids on. If you put the lids on too soon, the tops will go mouldy. Gross.

Serve on toast with heaps of butter and lots of tea.


Also, check out this girls outfit! I hope you wear something like that when you make your marmalade.