Olives are ripe in the village orchard, and there is a harvest scheduled for tomorrow. It would be fun to pick together, but Kensington Yoga class wins out. I want to try a couple of alternative olive processing methods, one off the internet, using a salt drying technique (refer last Blog entry), Colin Endean's method, and a batch using sea water. This is all a bit untimely, as I am about to leave for a Thai Massage course in Byron Bay for 3 weeks. The most labour intensive methods should be complete before I go, hopefully, otherwise Michael and Aarod will be left with the finishing tasks for all four batches....oops! ( Men not happy).
The Colin Endean method:
Place olives in clean plastic milk bottles with brine 10/1, each day let gas out of the bottle by loosening the lid. (bottle swells out so you can see when it needs releasing). Keep doing this daily until the bottle no longer swells. Then decant olives into preserving jar adding desired mix of brine or brine/vinegar mix and garlic/chillies/herbs. Done. (I like this method, no wasted salt, no salt water washings in garden, less water loss, less work it seems) I have tried this with 2 batches
first wash olives
These Village olives are soooo big and fleshy, some of them are hard to fit into the bottle!
after the olives pour in the brine
I am keeping them on the kitchen bench so that I don't forget to release the gas daily.
Salt Drying Method:
Put the equivalent mix of 10kg olives with 1kg salt in a cotton bag, hang outside out of the rain. Tip bag and hang from the other end daily for 15 days. That's it, (I very much like the sound of this one). I put the olives into an old pillow case and knotted both ends so it will hang securely both ways.
Looking very attractive on the pergola, with large bowl underneath to catch the drips.
Sea Watert method:
I will try the Colin Endean method using sea water and see how it goes, I just think that sea water must be the original method used in ancient times, and it is less wasteful of both water and salt, and could be returned to the sea after? Not sure about that bit. It was actually a bit tricky filling two 2 litre flagons at the Port Willunga beach. I walked to Gulls Rock end of the beach as I thought it would be easier to perch on the reef and fill the bottles without battling waves/getting drenched or getting too much sand. It was pretty slippery on the reef, carrying 2, 2 litre flagons and trying not to have a nasty accident. Then there was the carrying back to the carpark part. I imagined myself being one of those women walking with hand weights, except mine were 2kg each., and unweildy. I made it with no mishaps, but I wouldn't want to be doing it too frequently. I used the extra sea water to put into trays on the deck, to allow it to evaporate, and I am hoping that there will be some lovely sea salt left for me in a few days.
In the mean-time, we ran out of our Lake Frome salt, and I needed salt to do all of this olive preserving, so I went to Goodies and Grains in the Central Market. They had bulk salt both ground and rock salt, and I asked the staff where it was from. Apparently it comes from the Great Australian Bight, which is out of our radius, but at this point in time, it is the best I can do.
Granola:
This has been a big hit with the men in my household, especially since we have been without breakfast cereals for a few months. It makes a great snack for any time of the day, can be used as extra oomph in apple crumble, and is great ontop of porridge. I follow a recipie but replace the sugar with honey, the seeds with almonds, the rolled oats with rolled barley, and add dried jujubes, apples and pears. I do add vanilla essence while we still have some, lastly I add salt.
Willunga roasted Almonds in processor
McLarenVale sultanas painstakingly plucked from the stalks
Home dried McLarenVale jujubes, apples, and pears
the lot is mixed together and spread on oven trays to bake for 10-15 mins till golden. Don't be fooled like I was, it comes out of the oven still mushy, you will be tempted to cook it longer, resist the temptation. It is easy to over cook, and it becomes crispy as it dries. It tastes much better under cooked.
From my favourite recipie book The TAO of cooking Sally Pasley 1982
Granola
Makes 12 cups
11/2 cups sesame seeds (crushed Roasted Almonds)
11/2 cups sunflower seeds
1/2 cup oil (olive oil)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar (honey)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
8 cups rolled oats (Rolled Barley)
1-2 cups of Dried fruit
bake sesame and sunflower seedsin oven for 10-15 mins, until light brown
Heat oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla together, stirring until honey is thin, add salt.
Mix oats and toasted seeds together and combine with honey mixture until well coated. Spread on oven trays and bake until golden brown 10-15 mins in moderate oven. Stir once or twice during baking to brown evenly
Let cereal cool on trays and store in airtight container.
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