I have been catching up with a backlog of tasks after being away for 3 weeks.
Processing the last of the olive harvest
The dried olives were only supposed to take 15 days, but mine took about double that time. I was not exactly sure how they were supposed to look, feel, and smell, but they tasted good, so I jarred them up in rock salt and rosemary from the garden.
Dried Olives
This is the easiest method yet, no waste water or salt, a cheap, easy & environmentally friendly method.
Looks great in the jar too
The end result - salt dried olive.
Olives in Brine
These olives are from the Ecovillage orchard, we decided to try the washing (de- bittering) process without using salt water this time. We still washed the olives daily, but only used water. This proved to be very easy as I could fill the bucket with the hose, and strain the water directly onto the garden without concerns about the effect on my plants. The only problem with this method was that it took a lot longer than the brine method. At the end the olives still tasted slightly bitter, but soft.
First I put the iloves into clean jars.
Then I made up the brine at a ratio of 1 part salt to 10 parts rainwater. The instructions on the internet said to heat the water to facillitate dissolving the salt, but I found that it was not neccessary. The salt dissolved well in cold water.
Adding the brine to the jar - I was supposed to let the water cool, but I did not.
I added extra virgin organic olive oil from the farmer's market to keep the air out and prevent spoiling.
In two jars I added crushed organic garlic from the farmer's market,
and Monk's pepper from the food co-op.
I will keep you posted about the results when we open our first jar!
Shopping at the Singing Cricket Food Co-op. The mandarins are from a backyard grower.
Green Tomato Chutney
I found heaps of green tomatoes in the garden when I feturned from Byron and I assumed that they would not ripen. So I found a recipie for green tomato chutney in my trusty Reader's Digest Farmhouse Cookery cookbook! If you ever come accross this book in a book sale/ Charity shop - BUY IT - it's excellent!
"THE TOMATO, a native of tropical America, made its European debut in the middle of the 16th century when, like many novel foods, it was erroneously hailed as an aphrodisiac - hence it's early name of 'love apple' or 'pomme d' amour'.
By the time this notion was abandoned, the tomato was widely grown in Europe and Britain. Our summers are not always sunny enough to permit the fruit to ripen, and this chutney is the best way of utilising green tomatoes. It goes well with cold meats and cheeses, and can be served with or added to curries."
Reader's Digest Farmhouse Cookery 1980
Preparation Time: about 30 mins.
Cooking Time: about 2 hours. (mine took longer)
Ingredients to yield about 2.7-3.2 kg.
1.8kg green tomatoes, washed & chopped.
700g shallots/onions, peeled & chopped.
450g cooking apples, peeled cored, & chopped.
600ml vinegar.
8 red chillies.
25g dried root ginger. (ginger cordial)
225g seedless raisins or dates, chopped. (jujubes)
2 teaspoons salt.
450g sugar. (honey)
Method
Put the chopped tomatoes, shallots or onions and the apples in a large, heavy based saucepan with half the vinegar. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 30 mins. until tender.
Tie the chillies and root ginger in a muslin bag, bruise with a hammer, and add to the pan with the raisins or chopped dates. Cook, stirring from time to time until the mixture thickens, after about an hour.
Add the sugar, salt, and the rest of the vinegar, stirring well until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, pressing the bag of spices occaisionally (or jiggling the tea ball) with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick. Remove the muslin bag before potting and sealing. Leave to mature for 6 weeks.
(Michael has already started eating ours, and says it is delicious).
Chillies from the garden
The last of the cinnamon from the pantry (sob)
The recipie called for chopped dates, so I substituted chopped Jujubes.
The recipie also directed me to add the spices and chillies in a muslin bag.
I improvised with my trusty tea ball
It worked well, I will keep that trick up my sleeve for future recipies.
This cordial is still lingering on from last year (obviously not a favourite). I used a glug of this as a substitute for ginger.
The chutney ready for the pantry.
A welcome home local breakfast
Our own free range eggs, Michael's toast, Farmer's market mushrooms, garden parsley and basil (yes there is some still growing ), Finniss River Romano cheese and Paris Creek BD. butter. Yum. It is so very good to be home!
No comments:
Post a Comment