Catching up to Summer.

Belated Happy New Year Lovely Peeples!

I’m late to the party again, a thousand blog posts have been constructed in my head but none put in print since last spring. I’m sorry, my bad! I haven’t made any resolutions this year but I AM hoping to be more consistent with this blog.

It’s been a lovely summer holiday so far.

Early December meant that I was in my foodie zone making hampers filled with home made vanilla extract, cranberry sauce, hazelnut dukkah, chilli cashews and a variety of preserves. 

I think we made at least half a dozen batches of gingerbread and the house smelt of spices for weeks...oh my giddy aunt it was yummy! 

I didn’t do anywhere near as much sewing compared to previous years. It was a deliberate decision to reduce the crazy amount of stress that usually comes with the season. I did a couple of ragdolls for two of the Littles in our circle and experimented with some hoop art. 

It felt nice to pull back a bit and enjoy the lead up to Christmas. 

Christmas was a coastal affair with my family at Anna Bay. 

We woke to perfect beach weather on Christmas Eve. The boys explored rock pools with their cousins, paddled in the dingy, discovered tiny jellies on the sand and my brother took them snorkelling for the first time. 

The afternoon consisted of nothing more strenuous than taking a nap, reading books, drinking wine, chatting over a cheese board and constructing dessert. 

The kids kept watch for santa doing the lolly round on the local fire truck and were rewarded for their patience...just as the heavens opened.

Christmas Morning was all about the kids which is just how I love it!

Tim and Margie created a fabulous summer feast for Christmas Lunch and it was soooooo goooood!

An inevitable food coma ensued! 

The rest of our visit was spent just kicking back and hanging out together. 

We had to say goodbye and head back home just after Boxing Day to take care of our feathered and fur babies. 

I’m so glad that we got to spend time with my family, even if it was only for a few days. Thanks for being such marvellous hosts Tim & Marg, you out did yourselves, again!

Since then we’ve just been hanging out at home, pottering in the garden and occasionally venturing to the pool or the park. Harry spends a lot of time making little films with his new Lego train set using the Stikbot app. Jack is currently obsessed with all things dinosaur and I regularly find myself his captive audience, made to listen to every little bit of Dino trivia that he can recall.

The veggie patch is thriving still...giving us an abundance of corn, cucumber, salad greens, carrots, apples, pears, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, kale and garlic. The tomatoes are finally beginning to fruit so we might also get a decent crop from them too, before the first frost arrives. Wandering about the garden in the cool of the early morning is such a pleasure. 

Feeling very grateful for what we have right here, right now.

Til next time...xx Em.

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