a little bit of jam & cordial - Rosella Jam & Cordial

 Recently we harvested the flowers (fruits) off the Rosella bushes we had growing

 there followed a day of making jam and cordial with the picked flowers

 Start by washing the picked flowers (fruits), once washed pop into a stainless steel pot.

 Cover the washed Rosella fruit (seeds and all) with water, just enough to cover the fruit. Bring to the boil.

Simmer gently until soft. The red color should have faded from the calyx (flower petals). Remove from heat and strain contents through a sieve, discard the pulp and measure the liquid. Once you have measured the liquid go ahead and make jam and / or cordial:

Rosella Cordial: Add the measured liquid back into the saucepan and add a cup of sugar to every cup of liquid. Heat gently until all the sugar has dissolved, stirring often. Once the sugar is dissolved bring to the boil for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat and add the juice of 4-5 limes and stir in citric acid (1tablespoon per 1.5 litres of cordial). Return saucepan to heat and briefly bring back to the boil. Bottle the cordial into dry, sterile bottles and seal while hot.

Rosella Jam: Add the measured liquid back into a saucepan and add a cup of sugar to every cup of liquid. Heat gently until all the sugar is dissolved, stirring often. Once the sugar is dissolved bring to a gentle boil and continue cooking until desired consistency when jam tested is reached. The green seed of the Rosella fruit contains the pectin. So, thus far I haven't needed to add any additional pectin. Bottle the jam into sterile jars and seal while hot.

Playing with flavor: To the cordial I added a piece of fresh finely grated ginger. For the second batch of jam I combined 500grams Strawberries, about 250grams of pealed and diced pear, 3 cups of Rosella Liquid, the juice of 3 limes and 750grams of sugar.

banana blossom coleslaw

We've had the bananas for a few years and have enjoyed several bunches of fruit. The inside of the trunks are beautifully patterned and fantastic for printing, and we've used the leaves to line the steamer instead of using baking paper, but I hadn't used the flower. A friend had mentioned that the blossom was edible, but I wasn't really sure how to prepare it.

Recently the banana blossom was featured on a cooking show which re-ignited my interest to have a go at cooking with it as there was one forming in the front yard.

So I made a little starter of banana blossom coleslaw topped with a handful of prawns and a wedge of lime - yum.

I made the coleslaw by firstly removing the outer parts of the blossom to reveal the lighter softer section. The lighter sections were sliced finely and popped into the bowl filled with cold water and lime juice until I was ready to assemble the salad. Into another bowl, I placed a handful of finely sliced cabbage, one grated carrot, one grated radish and a handful of bean sprouts. 

I made the dressing by firstly mixing together a combination of sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, homemade raspberry vinegar, palm sugar and a dash of soy sauce. Amounts were adjusted according to preferred taste. At this point, I could have mixed this dressing through the salad ingredients but our pallets like the creamy textures. So I added small amounts of this mixture to mayonnaise until I had the taste and consistency that makes our taste buds dance. 

The dressing and a couple handfuls of the banana blossom were added to the bowl with the other ingredients and everything mixed together. Served in small bowls topped with a couple of prawns and a wedge of lime. Pleasantly surprised by how nice it was, we're looking forward to the next blossom.

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a tea that soothes the throat

When under the weather with flu, it is so lovely to be able to wander into the backyard to gather the ingredients needed to make a tea that soothes a sore throat. 

In a saucepan place chopped lemon grass, a piece of ginger and enough water to make a couple cups of tea. Bring to the boil, turn the heat off and allow to steep for three to five minutes.

Place a wedge of lime and the leaf of perennial coriander into your favourite cup. Pour (strain if you like) the steeped liquid into the cup. Add a teaspoon of honey, give a little stir, and now it's time to sip, enjoy & soothe.

We also picked fruit from our citrus trees and juiced them along with some carrot & apple. So while this week we may feel under the weather with flu, it is also kinda nice to be enjoying the rewards from our efforts over the last couple of years of incorporating more self-sufficiency and simple living into our humble home.

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A little bit of jam & cordial - Rosella Jam & Cordial


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oh my it was delicious

A recipe for Strawberry Meringue Cake caught my eye in the latest edition of Feast magazine. Perfect timing as I had made husband chocolate mousse, so four egg whites were awaiting inspiration. 

The base is the meringue with a crushed sweet biscuit (I used ginger-nut cookies) and chopped nut (I used macadamia) mixed through. The top is a similar consistency to that of cheesecake, a combination of cream cheese, sour cream (I used sweetened Greek yoghurt), icing sugar and vanilla. Decorated with fresh berries - simply delicious. 

Over the weekend we also visited a couple demolition yards looking for old screen doors to put on the chicken coupe. While out, we also popped into a couple of op shops where I purchased serving plates and three bowls.


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back to work we go

 Over the past eighteen months husband and I have had / made a couple of changes with our day jobs and one of the biggest positives of these changes is that we now get Christmas and New Year together - it's such a treat. We've just enjoyed two weeks off and in between the movie watching, day tripping, book reading, sketching there has been lots of baking. Mostly it's been the usual Christmas fare but there were also baking moments of pure pleasure when the kitchen became creative studio. These little tarts were one of those creative moments. Little pastry baskets filled with custard, topped with seasonal fruit and coated with a glaze of homemade peach and nectarine jam - they were delicious.

coffee & cake

creative time is extending to the kitchen

whipping up coffee & pecan cupcakes

with butter icing and soft toffee on top

a moment of culinary indulgence.
Here's the link to the Coffee and Walnut Cupcake recipe I used.

it's a long weekend and we're enjoying a staycation

 slowing down with some hand stitching, sketch our girls & collect the eggs

 drawing onto fabric and laying out the pieces for a quilt challenge inspired by seasons

 pancakes for breakfast, sketch a couple of our garden art pieces

 even a little bit of baking

 mmmm home baked bread spread with real butter and a little more hand stitching

 a snack for us and now a snack for the girls, even a little bit of washing up

BBQ lunch and why not, some more sketching

And we still have one more day to go

got to love a long weekend:)))

pancakes a weekend feast

We both enjoy a cooked breakfast; so on weekends I often make up something special 

 At the moment our citrus (the mandarin & the lime) trees are full of fruit

so yesterdays' treat was raspberry, pear & white chocolate pancakes served with French vanilla ice-cream, lime coulis and a dusting of icing sugar.

delicious and locally made hot cross buns

When a couple of the retail chains released the first Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs on Boxing Day. I was determined not to purchase any of these yummy delights until at least the same month that Easter falls in.

Our local bakerys' speciality is fruit and cinnamon hot cross buns and the bakery a few kilometres down the road makes chocolate with chocolate chip and strawberry with chocolate chip buns.

Rather than just choosing one, we decided to indulged in a selection from both bakerys

all delicious and sooooo worth the wait

Safe and Happy Easter

everywhere everyday

I'm revisiting a project I enjoyed a couple of years ago. For a twelve month period I engaged in a weekly project of using the camera to capture everyday moments around my immediate surrounds, our humble home. At the end of the twelve month project I compiled a few of these images together into a book called "A Gathering of Moments" I gained so much from doing the project and it truly does show you that creativity surrounds us everywhere everyday even amongst one's daily tasks. We commence this years project with a collection of kitchen moments including one of the yummy breakfasts I've made recently - home baked banana bread, drizzled with chocolate, a dusting of icing sugar and a couple of scoops of ice cream - a beautifully decadent way to start the day.

a perfect day for a barbeque

A few workmates and partners from husbands work come over for a barbeque on the weekend. 

I decided to take a few kitchen shots as I prepared the salads, desserts etc

and of course you can't have a BBQ with out devil eggs or dessert.

a slice of velvet

 Enjoying a little bit of baking. Made a red velvet cake 

the cream cheese and white chocolate icing is delicious

and a little bit of lace today to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary