Seen and Heard at the Stadium Markets (Every Sunday)

As usual, I was on my spot with my honey, quail and quail eggs. As usual I sold out early, even though I took along a few dozen more than last week. The baby quail got a lot of attention especially from the kids – they become very tame and make great pets when treated gently and with care.  I have had requests for my quail food specially formulated for layers and growers, and Diatomaceous Earth and will take a few bags along next week.

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A stall I have been meaning to write about is Dunback Spuds.  I was impressed to find that the family plants, harvests and sells all their own produce. Katrina is the best promoter of her product and says ”  We grow them at Dunback, next to the Shag River (just been named NZ’s cleanest river), with no sprays and plenty of blimmin weeds.  Boy do we have some fights with the buggers when they get caught up in the digger.  We supply the market in Ranfurly and the wider Maniototo via Foleys Butchery in Ranfurly (Graham has a wee goldmine of things other than lovely fresh meat), and we supply the North Star and Brydone Hotels in Oamaru, as well as attending the Palmerston Farmers Market on Fridays and the Sunday Stadium Market in Dunedin.  Red Rascals have a lovely sweet flavour, and are excellent “new” potatoes early in the season and as winter plods along they make a great potato salad.  Agria make the best darned baked spud I’ve ever tasted, amazing oven chips and brilliant mash. Yum.”  They are at the market regularly and deserve to be supported.

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The food stalls did well today and I think the rest of the stall holders had more customers eyeing their wares than usual.  The market does require more vendors though.

Apricot and (Dunedin) Rosemary Jam

 

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I am a bit of a jam tragic, if there is anything in abundance I need to make jam from it (or preserve it one way or another). I have a lot of apricots and Dunedin has a lot of rosemary. There are no genuine Italian food ingredients to be had over here, apart from all this rosemary. It grows in every garden, cascades down garden walls in the university grounds, grows vigorously several public spaces, parks, everywhere but in my garden. Why the inhabitants plant so much of it, I can not fathom, since I can not believe that they cook with it. But, I seem to be the only person in Dunedin who has not succeeded in growing a single sprig.  To get my hands on rosemary I have to resort to theft from lush bushes of the stuff overhanging various pavements around where I live.

Apricot and Rosemary Jam 

3 Kg Ripe Apricots

2 Kg White Sugar

20 g Finely chopped Rosmary leave

15 g Apricot Stone kernels, finely chopped

Cook everything together in a big pot for half an hour. Let it rest for some 12 hours.  Cook again until the jam consistency reaches the “Freezer Test ” thickness. Stir in a tablespoon of butter and take it off the heat. When it is cool enough to handle. bottle and seal. Sterilise the closed bottles as described before.

This flavorsome jam is ideal for eating with strong cheeses and using as a glaze for pork and poultry.

Peperoni Soffritti con le Uove (Sweet Peppers)

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This is peperoni preserve time and I have been asked what to do with “Peperoni Sott’Olio” other than serve it as anti pasto – here is but one recipe. It could also be used in any recipe that calls for capsicum, or you can make a fresh panini with your preserved capsicum, fresh tomato and strong cheese or salami and a fresh bread roll just out of the oven.

Fry your preserved peperoni in some of the oil used to preserve it in for a few minutes until soft. Ad  some chopped peeled and deseeded fresh tomato. When the tomato and peperoni are both soft pour on two slightly beaten eggs (eight eggs if you use quail eggs), add salt and pepper, and cook very briefly until just set. Sprinkle with a bit of grated Parmigiano Cheese. Serve immediately with that bread that just came out of the oven – Breakfast fit for a King (and Queen).

The only problem is that the peperoni in the photo is not from my garden and I am still trying to grow it successfully in Dunedin – maybe next year!

Raw Milk Ricotta Cheese

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My raw milk ricotta has turned out very well.  I don’t even want to talk about the vile supermarket stuff,  but the raw milk effort is vastly different in taste and texture to the batch I made with supermarket milk. The high cream content, and the absence of added water makes a very rich, creamy, soft cheese. Here is a link to my ricotta cheese recipe, good enough but if you can, do it with raw milk.

I made bruschetta for lunch

Toast bread, rub with a clove of garlic drizzle olive oil over . Sopon ricotta cheese thickly on to the bread, add a few dabs of carrot top pesto, salt, pepper and another drizzle of olive oil. Eat it immediately befor the bread cools. Delicious. Link for carrot top pesto