Category Archives: Recipes – Fruit

Drunken Apricots

2015-01-26 - Dronk Appelkose

We had the good fortune to be invited to pick apricots near Dunback. The day was clear and sunny and this year the trees were laden with sweet, ripe, pink cheeked fruit. The orchard is organic and amazingly free of bugs, wasps, birds and the like and the taste of the fruit was the best we had ever eaten.

Sheep roam the orchard and once we had explained the difference between sheep poo (ok) and dog poo (not ok) to the city kids, everyone got stuck in, munching and chatting as they picked in the shade of the trees. The baby grazed on whatever fruit he found on the ground until he announced “I don’t NEED apricots!” . When I commented on the meagre contents on Mrs BYF’s bucket she claimed to have eaten at least one tree’s worth and that it should be factored in to her harvest.

We had a great day out in the peaceful countryside. We met lovely hospitable people, drank great coffee and beer, and came home happy and pleased with our haul.

Back in the kitchen, we made jam, dried some, froze some, preserved some, and, with the smallest fruit, bottled them in grappa. We will need some warmth when the Dunedin winter bites so hopefully we will be able to keep our hands off these bottles until then.

Preserved Fruit

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With a glut of fresh fruit available during summer I try to preserve as much as possible for the winter months. Space is at a premium so I do not have room for lots of canned or frozen goods. The best way for me to solve the problem is to vacuum seal the fresh cleaned fruit and then to pasteurise the pouches in a hot water bath.  Different products are processed at temperatures and times specific for the product. After pasteurisation the sealed items should stay fresh in the pantry for a few seasons, although we use everything in winter and start again in summer!

Low-Fat Fad Has Done Unfathomable Harm – Eat Healthy

Dreamtime

 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/24/modern-diet.aspx

Celery, Leeks, Fennel and Potato Recipes

I harvested celery, leeks, fennel and potatoes this week. As usual the question is how to put my harvest to good use without using the same recipe twice. I have a picky household that does not tolerate the same dish twice in one week so here are my efforts so far:

Crunchy Celery, Fennel and Apple Salad 

1 bunch of celery chopped in to bite sized pieces. Keep the leaves for stock making.

1 apple cut in small pieces

1 fennel bulb shaved thinly

1 orange – 1/2  juiced and 1/2 cut in bite sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything in together.  You can change the quantities to suit your taste as it is hard to get this one wrong. You will have a pale looking salad so liven it up by sprinkling the dark green fennel fronds, cut decoratively, over. The trick is to prepare and assemble this salad just before serving, any delay causes the apple to discolor a bit. 

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Celery, Leek and Potato 

8 tablespoons of olive oil

500 g peeled potatoes cut in pieces

1 head of celery, stems only, keep the leaves for stock making

1/2 lemon juiced

salt

Use a heavy pot with a lid. Put the olive oil and celery in and add water until the celery is covered. Cover the pot and boil until the celery is softened about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cover the mix with water again. Add salt and lemon juice. Cover the pot and boil until everything is tender and no liquid barring the oil is left (this is important). Serve hot or at room temperature. I used it as a side with the week end barbecue but the dish is robust enough to  eat as a main with some bread.

Limoncello – Home Made

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My home made still in full flight!

How to make Limoncello

1. Collect 1 Liter alcohol from the still (about 97 % Alcohol)

2. Peel the rind (no pith) from 8 organic, unwaxed smooth lemons and cut it in fine strips. Now put the alcohol and lemon peel in a glass container, shake, close and put in a cool dark place. Turn / shake the bottle once a day for about six weeks

3. Filter through a double muslin cloth and discard solids. Then filter the alcohol through a carbon filter as it results in a cleaner end product, if you do not have a carbon filter, just proceed after the muslin filtering

4. Dilute the alcohol with cool distilled water (made with the still) to a alcohol content of about 40 % (Use Pearson square).

5. Mix 1 Kg of sugar in the alcohol mixture and stir to dissolve well. Start with about 700 g sugar and taste the end product and keep adding small amounts of sugar, until you are happy with the sweetness of the end product

6. Bottle, label and store

ENJOY !!