In my garden, In my kitchen.

Spring has been so kind to us lately.

Just the right dose of warm sunshine and light drizzling rain have triggered a huge burst of growth. Its a bittersweet feeling. We experience such joy within this lush garden during September and October. But that joy is tinged with the knowledge that summer's fierce dry heat will sweep in and burn away the green in the months to come and we'll have to wait until the cool of April before the garden looks this beautiful again.

  

  

I spent all of Monday cooking up a storm. A large bowl of freshly picked cumquats and a bag of blood oranges transformed into jars of cumquat chutney and spiced orange pickle.

Both of these preserves are perfect Christmas foodie fare so get your jam jars out and get cracking!

Let's start with the cumquat chutney. 

I put the call out for some new recipes on the weekend and this little gem came back from my foodie genius of a friend, Julie. Its ridiculously simple to make and the flavour hit is something quite extraordinary.

Spiced Cumquat Chutney.

Ingredients

2 cups cumquats, halved

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange or mandarin juice

1/4 cup chopped shallots

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 star anise

3 cloves

4 cardamom pods

1/4 cinnamon stick

1 tbsp dried currants 

Method

Cut cumquats in half, remove whatever seeds you can.

Place all chutney ingredients in a saucepan, bring to boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove any pieces of spice that are visible.

Spoon into sterilized jars and store in a cool, dark place. Refrigerated after opening.

The perfect accompaniment with cheese and crackers. 

The next recipe is one I pull out every year in the months leading up to Christmas. They look so pretty in the jars and are perfect to pop in a hamper of homemade goodies.

Spiced Orange Pickle.

Ingredients

1.4kg blood oranges

1 teaspoon salt

400g caster sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons golden syrup 

185ml (3/4 cup) white wine vinegar 

125ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice 

6 slices fresh ginger

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 teaspoon whole cloves

Method

Place the oranges and salt in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Place a plate over the oranges to keep them submerged. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook for 40 minutes or until the oranges are tender. Drain. Set aside to cool.

Thinly slice crossways.

  

Stir the sugar, golden syrup, vinegar, orange juice, ginger, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and cloves in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. 

Transfer to sterilised jars and seal. Store in a cool, dark place for at least 3 weeks before opening to develop the flavours. Refrigerate after opening.

Enjoy! 

xx Em

Trufflicious

 

 

Winter is by no means a dull affair for foodies in Canberra. There are several festivals through July and August paying homage to Canberra's produce. The Truffle Festival is an impressive one. Last year's festival had over 350 individual events spanning 200kms across our region.

 

 

My lovely sister-in-law Margie and her friend Ali came to stay for a long weekend recently. One of the highlights of their visit was a truffle hunt at Tarago Truffles, a property just half an hour from our place.

 

 

 

Ali had quite a soft spot for the dogs who were the star of the hunt. The girls learnt about the Perigord Black Truffle from their hosts Denzil and Anne Sturgiss and loved the harvesting experience, including a fabulous truffle infused alfresco lunch at the end.

 

 

And the prize for wandering through rows of hazelnut and oak trees in the icy cold elements...

 

 

...these beauties!

 

Margie and Ali came home bearing gifts for us...a gorgeous Tarago truffle fresh from the ground, some moorish King Island Dairy Double Brie and a divine bottle of red.

 

Ermagawd!!! HEAVEN!!!

 

These tasty treats came with some fabulous recipes to boot.

 

For Truffle Brie take a good quality double Brie, slice in half. Layer finely shaved slices of black truffle on one half. Place the other half back on top. Wrap in foil and leave to infuse in the fridge for 2-3 days. Serve on crackers accompanied by a beautiful robust red wine.

The earthy flavour of the truffle really compliments the creaminess of cheese.

 

 

 

Truffle goes really well with butter, eggs, cream and cheese.

 

I whipped up some truffle scrambled eggs on sourdough toast for dinner one night. A simple but sumptuous dish using freshly laid eggs from our hens that were stored with the truffle for 24hrs.

 

 

 

 

Add a dash of cream and a little salt and pepper to the eggs, scramble them over low heat, serve on thick slices of Italian sourdough toast and finely grate truffle over the top.

 

 

 

 

Bellissimo!

 

Thanks Margie & Ali...it was Trufflicious!

 

The Truffle Festival Canberra Region is definitely worth indulging in.

It's a taste of Mid-Winter magic!

 

xx Em

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Coffee Kisses

Last day of school hols and we're housebound. This poor Mumma has finally succumbed to the boys virus and my lungs are on fire. We had hoped to go for a wintery picnic at the Botanic Gardens today but...cest la vie!

 

So, I thought I'd do another foodie post from the weekend.

 

 

 

This time...Coffee Kisses.

I altered this recipe from Taste. I used only brown sugar because I'd run out of icing sugar and I omitted the chocolate filling because I wasn't in the mood for anything overly sweet. Turned out a treat.

 

 

Ingredients

 

100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

250g butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon coffee essence

265g (1 & 3/4 cups) plain flour, sifted

50g (1/3 cup) cornflour, sifted

Directions

Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Beat brown sugar, coffee essence and butter in a bowl until pale and creamy. Fold in combined flour and cornflour. Mix to form a soft dough. Use floured hands to roll a teaspoon of mixture into balls. Place on prepared tray. Flatten slightly with a lightly floured fork. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake for 15 minutes or until pale golden. Cool biscuits on trays.

 

 

 

 

Perfectly easy and quick to make.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy xx Em

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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