its fruit season!

hello jammers!
its fruit season again and im excited about the possibilities!
im thinking of making a cherry jam (YUM) and maybe nectarine too :)
also, am definitely going to investigate this mustard fruits further, i might use maggie beers recipe
look forward to my tales of jam production coming soon!

what next?

the question is, what to preserve next?
im thinking of making apricot jam using dried apricots
tis the season after all for using dried fruit
i am also interested in making mustard fruits...
but i cant find a recipe anywhere! if anyone knows of one let me know :)
happy jamming

Tasty Sage Jelly

i did the taste test and its good!
im so glad :) we had some roast pork and the sage jelly went with it really well.
it didn't quite set firm, but it is still quite a good texture. the sage flavour wasnt too strong, it complimented the sweet and sharp jelly better than i expected
yay!

Mint, Sage and Rosemary - Herb Jelly

i finally made my jelly! it turned out so pretty! i havent tasted it yet properly, but i will soon. i am thinking of using it mainly with roast meat, like duck would go really well with sage, and am also thinking of using it like a glaze, especially the rosemary, on a roast lamb. oh, and some of the mint jelly is destined as gift to my boyfriends family :)

it was really fun. and a bit intimidating - but thats how first times usually are

i adapted a recipe from Sue Ruchels book - Windfalls

for this recipe you can pretty much substitute any herbs you like!

Basic Herb Jelly Recipe

2kg apples, halved

water to cover

1-1 and 1/2 cups of white vinegar

3/4 cup of sugar per cup of fruit extract
2 cups of herbs (of your choice

1. place apples in a large pot and cover with water.
2. boil until the apples are soft, but try not to let them get mushy
3. add between 1 and 1 and a half cups of vinegar depending on the sweetness of your apples
4. strain the cooked apples through a jelly bag (you can use muslin strung up between the legs of an upturned stool - this step may take hours - up to overnight depending on your patience) into a very large bowl
5. measure the resulting liquid and add the appropriate
amount of sugar and stir on low heat until dissolved
6. bring to a hard boil until it reaches set - it will go a golden colour and bubble up quite high, so be prepeared with a large pot
7. add the herbs about 5 minutes before bottling so the heat helps to extract the flavour

i was a bit worried during the cooking that my apple extract was cloudy, but it cooked really clear. i was so excited when it became clearer and clearer and more golden as i cooked

herb jelly!

tomorrow is the big day!
im making sage jelly and mint jelly (maybe thyme, maybe rosemary)
how exciting!
i found some really cute jars today at the shops (the reject shop actually lol)
i am also procrastinating and not doing uni work... but at least i will be being productive :)
hope it goes well!

more cupcakes

i also made some really good orange cupcakes for my boyfriend's nephew's 2nd birthday party!

i thought i'd put a photo up because they were so pretty and yum...

jammy cupcake adventures!

last weekend i was having a baking kind of day, so me and my sister decided to make some experimental jam drop cupcakes!
we used a normal butter cake recipe and nice rasberry jam (sadly, i didnt make it, but im sure when rasberry season comes around i will!). we also made some chocolate jammy cupcakes in the same way but with a tablespoon or so of cocoa in the batter...
they turned out very tasty

Jam Drop Cupcakes

250g Butter
250g castor sugar
4 eggs
250g self raising flour
vanilla
rasberry jam (or whatever jam takes your fancy!)

cream the butter, sugar and vanilla
add the eggs and beat in one at a time
add flour and mix until combined
drop a tablespoon full into cupcake cases
make an indent and spoon about one teaspoon of jam into the top of the cakes

cook in a moderate oven for 15 minutes
mmmmmm tasty