Preserving the summer lusciousness

by Colleen

Sometimes there are gluts of goodies from the vegie patch, and sometimes I just want to keep something to use later. Going way back to my early days of growing my own food, orchards etc. I've made marmalades and other jams. When I was younger I'd simply preserve using the deep freeze but in my single, more simplified lifestyle now, I don't have a deep freeze other than the top of the frig.

Over the past year I've made lots of different preserves, including the yummy zucchini chutney, beetroot relish, lime marmalade, cape gooseberry syrup, green tomato relish, ripe tomato relish. I've done so many preserves I can't remember them all!

Check out the jars above, from left: picked cumquats, mulberry preserve, lime and ginger marmalade and cape gooseberry sauce.

Last week I harvested the rosellas that grew over summer. Rosellas are a variety of hibiscus, best grown in warmer climates, but reasonably successful in my temperate zone garden. They produce large flowers with a crimson enlarged calyx. I used the fleshy red calyx, without the green seed pod to make my jammy syrup. After stripping the calyxes from the seed pods there wasn't a huge quantity of fruit to work with and I've finished up with about 750mls of the syrup. The colour is fantastic, bright red and the taste is a bit cranberry-ish. This is a keeper and I'll make sure I plant out more seeds next year for more fruit. I'm keeping the syrup to use for sauces with meat etc. And there's also the possibility of a rosella cosmopolitan cocktail for a special occasion.The recipe below is an experiment. If you were to use rosellas for jam, it's best to tie the seed pods into a muslin bag and cook along with the fruit to extract the pectin.

Rosella syrup:

200g rosella calyxes

200g white sugar

a little water

Poach the rosellas until tender, which surprisingly, doesn't take long, then gradually add the sugar, stirring until dissolved and cook gently until thickened. Bottle in sterilised jars while still hot.

Another garden experiment this year were the purple heirloom tomatillos. I'm guilty, I'm afraid, of not looking after these bushes as well as I could have and as a result lost a lot of the fruit. I'm sorry now I didn't pay more attention and harvested the fruit to be used ongoing, for instance like tomatoes.

What attracts me to these little darlings are the papery husks they grow in, similar to but larger than the beautiful husks of the cape gooseberry.

Roasted tomatillo and capsicum salsa

A few tomatillos roasted under the griller until brown

Two large capsicums (peppers) - one red and one green, charred under the griller. Place in plastic bag and when cooler, rub off the skins.

Zest of one lime

Finely chopped red onion

About a cup of chopped coriander

Salt and pepper

Blitz the tomatillos, capsicums, lime zest and coriander in a kitchen whiz, then add to a bowl with the chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste.

This salsa is delicious with steak or other grilled meats, and I also used it as a pasta sauce one night.

That's about the end of the summer crops, with autumn really kicking in now with its chilly mornings, crisp sunny days (sadly no rain) and cool evenings. I sowed garlic and shallots yesterday, along with some onion seedlings. Later today I'll plant out some broccoli and spinach seedings and sow broad bean, sugar snap pea and japanese turnip seeds.

Frances' Croquet Fun Day

Frances hosted a great croquet and games party in her country garden. The Foodies all turned up to enjoy the great food and company, and contributed some locally sourced goodies ourselves.

Chere's contribution was a delicious and beautiful savoury platter featuring local produce with local watermelon marinated in a little balsamic with black pepper and basin chiffonade. It seemed a shame to spoil the artwork of the food by eating it, but eat it we did!

Kim's platter looked too good to eat as well:

Figs stuffed with Blue cheese, wrapped in prosciutto with Rocket and Walnuts.


Cut figs almost open, then stuff with blue cheese, wrap in prosciutto and secure with a rosemary stalk. Bake for approx. 10 minutes or until prosciutto is crispy and cheese is oozy. Roast walnuts for 1-2 mins. Arrange rocket, top with figs and drizzle Balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixture, sprinkle walnuts and cracked pepper.

Christine's Depot Farm lunch

by Christine

I’m late, late, late! My lunch was in January and I’ve been procrastinating about writing it up ever since. I’d rather eat than write any day. So here goes….
I was a bit apprehensive about my turn, mainly because of the heat of summer and not used to cooking for more than one or two, not to mention the marvellous food prepared by the others. But I pushed on, wanting to entertain my delightful companions in the beautiful surroundings of Depot Farm Cottage by the Shoalhaven River.

My menu for the day was:

Champagne cocktail and spiced macadamia nuts

Tomato Jelly with crab and chives

Whiting fillets poached in Riesling with grapes and tarragon

Individual pavlovas with rhubarb and mascarpone

Choosing a menu was a challenge due to the limitations of only using local produce. After a lot of running around I opted for whiting from CBD Fish Shop in Nowra. They also provided the crab I needed for my entrée. I neglected to ask the cost and was somewhat horrified when I picked up my order. Good lesson learnt! Other ingredients for the lunch came from Greengold Farm - eggs and rhubarb for dessert, the Terara Veggie Market - dutch cream potatoes (grown on their farm in Kangaroo Valley) and tomatoes from Colleen’s abundant veggie patch. Coolangatta Mountain Ridge Wines provided the poaching wine, the sparkling white and the macadamias.

It was fun testing the dishes beforehand so I ate very well for a few days instead of the usual single person’s fare. However, it was a bit much eating pavlova every night for six nights!


When my lovely guests arrived I treated them to some sparkling white from Mountain Ridge Wines infused with a hibiscus flower and spiced macadamias to nibble on.


The first course was then served.


My main course was on track until I starting making the grape and tarragon sauce. It just would not thicken. So the fish, which was very small to start with, overcooked while keeping warm in the oven. Oh well, these things happen to the best of us.


I think I redeemed myself with dessert as there were loud exclamations of delight when I served the individual pavlovas. The oohs and aahs after the first mouthfuls just made my day! Bliss!


I wondered whether I should have had seconds of dessert available after the plates were nearly licked clean!

To settle our tummies we moved to my little terrace for coffee and to enjoyed the view and cool breeze.


THE RECIPES

Tomato Jelly with Crab and Chives
1 tsp gelatine
250ml tomato juice
300g fresh tomatoes
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
1 tbspn white wine vinegar
1 tblspn extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp caster sugar
Good dash of Tabasco
Sea salt and pepper
50g cucumber finely diced
150g picked crab meat
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 tbspn chives finely snipped

Soak the gelatine in cold water for five minutes. Heat the tomato juice. Add the gelatine to the juice, whisking until the gelatine is dissolved. Cool for 15 minutes.

Cut the tomatoes into half, discard the seeds and juice and chop roughly.
Whiz the tomatoes, shallot, vinegar, oil, sugar, Tabasco, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir the tomato juice, add to blender and mix. Taste for seasoning, pour into individual serving dishes, and refrigerate overnight until set.

Toss the cucumber with the crab, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add a spoonful to each jelly. Decorate with the chives and serve.

Serves 4

Whiting fillets poached in Riesling with Grapes and Tarragon
750g whiting fillets
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
35 ml Riesling or other medium white wine
100g cold butter, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves
100ml pouring cream
400g sultana grapes

Lemon wedges, Dutch cream potatoes and sautéed zucchini, to serve

Place fish in a lightly greased heavy based frypan or casserole, scatter with onion and garlic, add bay leaves and wine and season to taste. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and poach over medium heat for 10-15 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets), or until the fish is just cooked. Remove pan from heat, carefully lift the fish from the cooking liquid and keep warm.

Return pan to heat and boil until cooking juices are reduced to about _ cup. Strain into a small saucepan and place over low heat, then add butter, a little at a time, whisking after each addition, until incorporated and sauce is smooth. Add tarragon and cream, season to taste and mix well. Add grapes and stir until heated through (do not boil).

Serve fish with sauce spooned over and accompanied by lemon wedges, steamed dutch cream potatoes and sautéed zucchini.

Serves 4

Individual Pavlova with Rhubarb and Mascapone
Pavlova
4 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup of caster sugar
1 dessertspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon verjuice (or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Prepare an oven tray with six circles of baking paper, approximately 10cm in diameter. Dust these with cornflour. Preheat the oven to moderate oven (approximately 140deg C).

Beat egg whites with the salt until stiff and glossy. Slowly add the caster sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, ensuring sugar is dissolved. To test take a little of the egg white and rub between two fingers. If you can feel the sugar, keep beating.

When all the sugar has been absorbed, gently fold in the sifted cornflour, verjuice and vanilla essence. Do not over mix as you will take out the air from the mixture.

Carefully spoon mixture into mounds on the prepared baking paper, shaping and flattening slightly with a metal spatula.

Reduce oven temperature to 110deg C. Bake the pavlovas on the lowest shelf for approximately 1 to 1 and a half hours. Allow to cool in the oven (do not open oven door to do this).

Carefully remove the baking paper from each pavlova and place onto serving plate.
Place a dollop of the mascapone cream on top, smoothing out gently with a knife.
Then add a spoonful or two of the rhubarb and ginger mixture on top.
You may wish to decorate the plate with a dusting of icing sugar and rhubarb glaze.

Rhubard and Mascapone
One large bunch rhubarb
Half cup caster sugar
70g Buderim Ginger Uncrystallised (sweet ginger), chopped finely

400g Mascapone cheese
Half tsp vanilla essence
Half tsp caster sugar

Wash and trim rhubarb and cut into 3cm pieces. Place in pan with the sugar and ginger heat gently until the rhubarb is soft but not mushy. Allow to cool. Drain. The juice can be used to make a rhubarb glaze - optional.

Beat the mascarpone cheese with the vanilla essence and caster sugar until just combined.

A Tale of Six Quinces

Years ago when I was young and lived in western NSW, I had a wonderful orchard – no fruit fly and a great variety of old fashioned fruit trees. One of my favourites was the fabulous quince tree that offered up a huge crop of yellow fruit each year. Having grown up in the city, I'd never encountered quinces before.

It's taken me over 30 years to finally grow another quince tree in my suburban backyard and imagine my excitement when the first year's crop started to develop. Six beautiful little fruit, covered in the softest downy skin.

Over spring and summer I watched the six quinces grow from their small beginnings until I had large yellow fruit on my small tree. I hadn't lost one during the year, but when a couple of the quinces showed signs of bird attack, I decided they must be ripe. So I picked them, excited to have such a great first crop from the tree.

Okay - that's the good part. When I started to cut them up so I could poach a couple, to my horror, the insides were brown with the odd litle maggot wriggling around. Obviously fruit fly - despite all my efforts to lure and bait the pesky critters.

I did manage to save some fruit, a couple weren't very affected, so I poached a tiny quantity, determined to have at least a small bowl of quince, all pink and delicious. The trick is to poach them slowly, letting that wonderful colour develop. When I turned them off late at night, they weren't pink yet, so in the morning I popped them back on to the stove, I thought to poach for a bit longer while I started work.

An hour later, shut away in my office, my nose started to twitch - smoke.

Yes, the worst had happened, I'd forgotten about the quinces and they'd burned to a crisp. I remember saying to myself as I walked away from the kitchen after seeing the beautiful pink pieces nestled among the black, that there's always next year's crop. No point crying over burned quinces, but what a disappointment.

Frances' winter luncheon

Left: The wonderful creme brulee with just a hint of lavender. Right: Frances is a cheeky pose.

(Frances was the first to host one of our Shoalhaven Foodie feasts, back in August 2009)

There's nothing quite as lovely as a dinner party amidst the cold of winter.

The Guests

The Shoalhaven Foodies

The Menu
Beetroot and orange soup,

Herb scallion drop biscuits

Rabbit Stiffido, mashed parsnip

Lavender creme brulee.

With hazelnut macroons

When sourcing my produce, I didn't need to go far , I had grown a bumper crop of lovely heirloom variety beetroot , the oranges were just ripening on the trees. My mother an inspired gardener, had some spectacular parsnips which she had grown. The rabbit supplier was a Berry local who breeds rabbits and chickens for the table – beautifully fresh.

Left: The intensely coloured beetroot and orange soup. Right: And here's the menu.

I have four lovely chickens who roam free-range in my garden and, if not detoured, my house! They supplied the eggs for the brulee, the milk came from South Coast dairy, across the field from my house.

So to the organising of the feast.

The day before I marinated the rabbit, which was gutted and still whole , with red wine vinegar and crushed bay leaves

Then I made the creme brulee where the milk is infused with lavender flowers giving the brulee just a hint of lavender flavour.

Handy Hint: if you don't have a torch for browning the toffee, make a toffee mix in a saucepan and pour a light layer over the individual brulees,it's not as fine but works quite well.

Left: Chere looking fabulous in her Chinese silk jacket. Right: Kim enjoying a drop.

Now for the recipes!

Beetroot and orange soup
2 tab olive oil
1 onion
1 celery stick
1 garlic clove
3 large beetroots
100ml orange juice
750ml chicken stock
salt, pepper, yoghurt

Saute onions, garlic, and celery in oil, add diced beetroots and cook 5 mins then add juice, stock and bring to the boil, lower heat and simmer 20mins. Puree the mix, add salt and lots of fresh black pepper, then a spoonful of yoghurt to serve.


Rabbit Stifado,
1 large rabbit ( cleaned)
2 tabs tomato puree
2 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves chopped
4 tab red wine vinegar (balsamic works well)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 small cinnamon stick
4 whole allspice
1 sprig rosemary
2/3 cup red wine
1 1/4 cups hot water
8 small while onions
salt
lots of fresh black peper,

Rinse rabbit and cut into sections, place into a bowl with bay leaves and vinegar, leave over night, then pat dry.

Heat half the oil in large ovenproof dish add rabbit and brown, add the tomato paste, red wine,sugar,garlic and spices, then the hot water, place into oven, cook at 170c for around an hour. Saute onions till coloured then add to rabbit, cook for further 15-20 mins, season and serve.

Lavender creme brulee
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup white sugar
4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tab dried lavender flowers

Butter individual bowls.

In a heavy-based saucepan place cream and lavender, bring to simmer, remove and let infuse for 5 mins. Whisk egg yolks, add sugar whisk until light and creamy, slowly add strained cream, blend well and pour into moulds put into a tray filled with water that at least comes half way up the moulds, bake for around 1 hour at 170c.

Make a toffee by dissolving sugar and water, then bring to the boil, remove from heat when it has started to colour, pour a small amount over cooled creme brulees, smooth out with heated spoon.

Chere's Mad Hatter's vegetarian lunch

Well, my lunch has been and gone and it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. I eventually decided to make a vegetarian menu – not that I'm a vegetarian, but I truly enjoy that food. I'd come across some lovely fresh zucchini flowers at my local food market (Saturday mornings at Shoalhaven Heads Hotel) and decided that they would be a fabulous to include in the menu.



The Shoalhaven grows wonderful produce, but there are certain things that don't grow here, either because it's not hot enough, or because they aren't in season. So it's strange when you are cooking from all local ingredients. You think you've come up with an idea to include in the menu and then realise that this particular ingredient isn't available right now. For example, I was going to make iced pear and raspberry soup, but soon remembered that pears weren't growing in the Shoalhaven at this particular moment!

The menu I decided on was:

Fruit punch with frozen seedless green grapes and watermelon stars.

Chilled cucumber and yoghurt soup.

Exotic summer salad with zucchini flowers in tempura batter (with avocado sauce)

Home made raspberry and strawbery ice cream pudding, chocolate souffle and caramelised oranges.

Strangely, Christine and I had bought the same dessert wine, Sticky Fig, from Two Figs winery nearby (I kept one for her lunch) and Kim bought a light orange liquor from Mountain View Winery (also nearby!) It was all looking a bit sweet, but fortunately Colleen brought a lovely Verdelho from Cupitt's Winery in Milton, so it all worked out.


Recipe for
Exotic summer salad with zucchini flowers in tempura batter (served with an avocado sauce).

Salad: Fresh rocket and watercress, fresh nasturtium leaves and flowers, (rinsed gently) local creamy fetta, baby beetroot, Kiffler potatoes, pomegranate seeds, fresh herbs.

Steam kiffler potatoes and baby beetroot in their skin until they are just tender. Allow to cool and then peel carefully – you can just rub the beetroot skin off. Make up a vinaigrette of extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic and your favourite vinegar. Add some finely chopped fresh herbs (such as Italian parsley, basil, very small amount of tarragon) salt and black pepper. Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces and toss them in half the vinaigrette. Marinate the beetroot in the other half and set aside ( I also added a little freshly squeezed orange juice to the beetroot. Don't refrigerate the potatoes or the beetroot - they should be at room temperature.

Avocado Sauce: (to be honest, I'm not sure if the avocados were local, but I decided to use them anyway!).
2 small, ripe avocados, seeds removed, peeled and chopped, a cup of crème fraiche (I made overnight with a cup of light South Coast milk and a tablespoon of buttermilk, fresh lime juice, cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon salt.
Puree the ingredients in a blender until velvety smooth. Adjust seasoning to your taste and cover well (keep in the refrigerator until you almost ready to use it).

Tempura battered zucchini flowers.
I served two flowers for each person. To make the batter, mix 50 gm of corn flour, 150 gm plain flour,
2 free range eggs, a little salt and approx. 400 ml. iced water. Sift the corn flour and plain flour together. Beat the eggs with the salt and iced water, add the flour and stir quickly – don't overmix. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Roll the flowers lightly in cornflour, then into the mix. Shake off excess batter and put into the pan. Cook for about 4 minutes, spooning the oil over the flowers to make sure they are evenly browned.

To assemble:
Mix rocket, watercress (you could use mixed salad leaves) and nasturtium leaves together and place around the edges of large plates. Add potato, beetroot and pieces of fetta around the plate on top of the salad leaves. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette and sprinkle with some pomegranate seeds. Garnish with a few nasturtium flowers decoratively around the plate.

Spoon some of the avocado sauce in the centre of the plate and place the two cooked zucchini flowers on top.

I love hats, so when the girls came for lunch, I opened up the hatbox and we had some fun.

Me wearing my favourite twenties hat - better than a chef's hat, I say! And (right) my daughter, Kimella who was my guest at the lunch, chose this little red number.

Colleen with a bit of attitude and Frances the coquette.

Christine (left) can really wear a hat and Kim (right) went for the wig in the hat box - a totally different look.

Recipe for Rose Ice Granita from Kim Dove's Dinner

Rose Ice Granita

Ingredients

400ml/14fl oz water
2 Tbsp coconut cream
4 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp rosewater
a few drops pink food colouring (optional)
organic pink rose petals to decorate

1. Place the water in a small pan and add the cocount cream. Heat the mixture gently stirring without boiling.

2. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, rosewater and food colouring.

3. Pour into freezerproof container and freeze for 1-1 1/2 hours until slushy.

4. Remove from the freezer, and break up the ice crystals with a fork. Return to the freezer and freeze until firm.

5. Spoon the ice roughly into a pile on a serving dish and scatter with rose petals to serve.

Colleen's Moroccan Lunch

MENU

Mezze tastings: Broad Bean Dip - Spiced Pumpkin Dip -Labna Cheese - Dukkah - Persian Figs - Turkish Bread

Main Course: Tagine of Lamb with Prunes and Preserved Lemon - Spiced Cous Cous - Orange,

Beetroot and Cinnamon Salad - Fatoush Salad

Dessert: Mandarin Almond Cake - Saffron Raisin Cardamom Ice Cream - Cape Gooseberry Syrup

Moroccan Mint Tea - Turkish Delight

When it was my turn to host the Foodies lunch, to be honest I was nervous because Frances had set such a high standard as the first hostess. Because some of my favourite flavours are Middle-Eastern, I decided to do a Moroccan inspired shared table.

With our policy of sourcing our ingredients from local produce as much as possible, I was at a loss to find lamb for the tagine. I spent what seemed like hours on the phone, calling Sydney providores until one told me that the Milton meatworks (in the southern Shoalhaven) often produced lamb from Goulburn (inland from here). Then coincidentally, the meatworks told me a butcher at East Nowra (10 minutes drive) had just bought in some of the Goulburn lamb. I felt quite triumphant that I had been able to source the lamb after being told by another butcher that 'everything comes from Cowra'.

For my mezze tastings I was able to use produce from my own garden - seasonal broad beans and the last of my butternut pumpkins from last season.I made the labna from home-made yoghurt using South Coast milk and the dukkah and persian figs, although not being grown in the area, are produced by a local business.

Luckily I had made preseved lemon from my garden just a few months ago and the orange and beetroot for the salad also came from my own backyard.

Other ingredients were sourced from a greengrocer in Nowra who is really making a great effort to supply locally grown fresh produce. The mandarins for the cake and the eggs for the ice-cream came from this supplier. South Coast milk also went into the icecream and the cape gooseberry syrup was made from berries from my garden. This ice-cream is seriously decadent and delicious. Cardamom has to be one of my favourite spices.

I sent my dog Boomer to a kennel for an overnight stay because I just knew he would pester the Foodies with his constant need for love and attention. The cats all hung around and Angie joined us for the experience. The food looked great on the colourful table, covered with a Rajasthan sari I bought on an Indian trip. We accompanied the food with Petit Rouge - a wine from Cambewarra Winery.

Thanks to Kim and Christine for taking photos - I was so busy with the food, I forgot to photograph it.