Quince, 2 from 1 recipe

I love making preserves, I've been doing it for years. Friends used to think making jams and such like was weird and say to me "why don't you just buy it from the shop?" I don't care for shop bought preserves, they are far too sugary and often I find it hard to taste the fruit they are supposed to contain. The jams I make are mainly from organic fruit that I grow myself. I love being able to open a jar of peach, raspberry or strawberry jam in the depths of Winter and have a taste of the Summer. My quince tree has fruited this year for the first time, but my new Damson tree hasn't, I'm hoping it will next year.

My favorite Autumn fruit has to be quince, I can eat them in any form and always make jars of jelly, pots of quince paste and a big slab of Membrillo every Autumn. The jelly is good with cheese, poultry, cold meats and a tablespoon full whisked into gravy gives a delicious taste. The membrillo is traditionally eaten with Manchego cheese, but I like to eat it with crackers and cheese, with nibbles and a glass of wine or cut into small bits and added to home made quiche and pizzas.

A bowl of quince sat on your kitchen workbench will perfume the whole house and when they are cooking ~ there's no other way to describe the smell except to say it's heavenly. The mix of floral, honeyed scent will waft through the house.

The recipe I use ~ I can't even remember where it came from as I have had it that long is in imperial measurements. I make a 2 from 1 recipe, you make the jelly first and then make the paste/pate/membrillo with the left over cooked fruit.

The recipe is based on volumes so it doesn't really matter if you have 2 or 20 quince, but don't make too much at once as that can affect the setting of the jelly (and I can't fathom why that happens). I make a maximum batch of 2 kg uncooked weight of quince and I always get a good set. The process is done over 2 days.

You will need:
For the Jelly
Quince, wipe all the fluff off but don't peel
granulated (regular) sugar
Juice of 2 fresh lemons, sieved

For the paste/Membrillo
Cooked fruit left over from the jelly
Granulated (regular) sugar
Juice of 1fresh lemon, sieved
1 vanilla pod

Chop up the quince into rough chunks, they are very hard to cut so be careful. Keep the chunks fairly large to make skinning them later on quicker and easier. As you are chopping pop the chunks into a large pan containing a little water and the juice of a lemon. Quince start turning brown very quickly after cutting but this will not affect the recipe in any way.

When they are all chopped add some water, you want it to just cover the fruit. Place a lid on the pan and simmer for 1-2 hours, depending on the ripeness of the fruit and the size of the chunks. You want the fruit to be nice and soft when you pierce it with a knife.

Set up a large colander (or sieve), lined with a double layer of muslin or cheesecloth over a large bowl or a clean bucket. Carefully pour the cooked quince mixture into the colander. Don't press, mash or poke the fruit, just cover it with a clean tea towel and leave it to drain overnight.

Day 2
Jam jars, to sterilize them in the oven ~ wash in hot soapy water, rinse well, stand them upside down on a clean baking tray then put in the oven at 130 deg for 20 minutes. Take them out and leave them to cool, don't handle them. Don't put the lids in the oven, sterilize these in a saucepan of simmering water for 20 minutes and hook them out with clean tongs.

Put 2 saucers into the fridge for testing set.

You need to measure the volume of liquid that has drained out then put it into a pan and weigh out the sugar, you will need 1 lb of sugar for every 1 pint of liquid. Add the sugar to the pan and the juice of 1 lemon.

Cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved into the liquid. Bring it to a rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and test for a set on one of the cold saucers ~ Place a teaspoonful of the jelly onto a cold saucer and pop in the fridge for a few minutes, push your finger through the jelly, if it crinkles up it means setting point has been reached. If it's not setting then boil again for a further few minutes, keep check for a set at least every 5 minutes. Sometimes it can be 5 minutes and sometimes it can take 25 minutes to reach setting point.

When you get setting point take the pan off the heat. Remove any scum that may have formed on the surface with a slotted spoon. Take the time to remove all traces of this as it will affect the clarity of your jelly if left in.

Pour the jelly into a large jug and carefully fill the jars. Wipe the rims with a sheet of clean, damp kitchen paper. Screw on the lids, make sure they are nice and tight. Leave to cool.

Quince jelly ~ this has set perfectly and is nice and clear.








For the Paste/Membrillo
Go through the cooked fruit and remove the skins and the cores, I find that using your fingers is quickest and easiest. Now the hard bit ~ you need to push the fruit through a fine mesh sieve or a moule to puree it and remove any fibrous bits. This may take a while, if you find it difficult to sieve add a little bit of cold water to the fruit.

Now measure the volume of puree. You will need 1 lb of sugar for every 1 pint of puree.

Put the sugar and puree in a large pan, cook gently until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon juice and the vanilla pod. Simmer this gently for 2 - 3 hours on the lowest heat. Stir it occasionally. It will change colour from a pale salmon pink to a deep ruby red and will smell beautiful, it will be nice and thick. It will also spit all over the place so use a splatter guard if you have one but don't put a lid on the pan.

Towards the end of cooking I fish out the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and add them to the pan.

Get a baking tray ready, I use a 12" x 6" x 1" deep ~ line it with non stick baking paper and grease this with butter. If you want paste and like to turn it out of it's mould for a cheese board etc then you will need to line some little containers with buttered paper. If you are happy to scoop it from the pot then you can skip that part.

Pour some of the puree into the containers for the paste and put into the fridge. Pour the rest onto the lined baking tray. Smooth it out and pop it into a preheated oven at 120 degrees for about 1 hour, until the top feels dryish and when you press it it should feel fairly firm. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. Store this in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 1 year, but it never lasts that long in my house.

Membrillo. Cut into small squares and serve with a strong/salty cheese. I like sea salt crackers with mature cheddar or feta cheese.

My Weekend In Pictures......

A few pics from my weekend ~

Finished my alpaca, it's plied and ready to knit

I picked the last of the roses from the garden

I picked the first of our quince to make jelly (and membrillo but that's cooking as I type, 2 from 1 recipe to follow)

I planted hanging baskets, pansies and violas are so pretty for the Autumn

I baked cranberry & white chocolate biscotti

I went shopping and saw these fat quarters which I couldn't resist

No knitting this weekend, but I made a simple brooch from felted wool

I have 15 kg of cooking apples to use, any ideas? I've filled the freezer with apple pies, cakes and muffins. The pantry is stocked with apple sauce. I'm thinking apple maybe apple leather. I've never made it before so any tips would be appreciated!

Spinning + Eye Candy Friday ~

I've been spinning a lot this week, I even got my drum carder out and made batts.

I have a project I'm working on at the moment, involving dyeing and spinning a gradient yarn. I dyed 4 x 30g strips of BFL combed top in various shades of silver grey and blue.

Here they are after dyeing and being passed through the drum carder once.

I then split all the colours in half and carded each lot into 2 batts working from the lightest to the darkest shade.







I started spinning the first batt into singles, but as is often the case I got side tracked by this ~

A blend of 70% black alpaca from an alpaca that belongs to a friend, 15% polwarth dyed red and 15% silk. It's beautiful stuff. I just finished spinning it into superfine singles and have Navajo plied it for a 3 ply yarn. I've been aiming for a sport weight yarn as I'm wanting to knit this cowl. I got 18 WPI and 250 yds of yarn. It's so soft and silky and will keep my neck cosy warm this Winter.






A little eye candy while I get on with finishing my spinning ~

Apple Shortcake

This apple shortcake is wonderful ~ light, soft shortcake pastry filled with soft apples. It's best if you use slightly tart apples such as Granny Smiths or another apple suitable for cooking, you don't want apples that ooze out lots of juice when cooked or your shortcake will be soggy.

The secret to success with this is all in the construction.
First make the shortcake pastry and chill it for at least half an hour, then roll out the lid between sheets of floured baking paper because it is hard to handle and will stick to anything. I roll out the pastry into a rough circle to line the tin and then press it in using my hands then work it up the sides of the tin using my fingers (although only about halfway up the sides or it will be too tall and the pastry too thin).

This quantity makes a smallish cake in a 20 cm tin, I always double the pastry recipe and have enough to make one in a 24 cm tin and a second one on a 8" foil pie plate (that one goes to my son's house) but increase the apples to about 8 if you are doing the same as I do. Enjoy!

For the shortcake:
11/4 cups standard (plain) flour
1/4 cup cornflour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
4 oz unsalted butter, softened
1 egg ~ well beaten
a few drops vanilla extract

For the filling:
4-5 large apples, preferably Granny Smiths, peeled, cored and sliced fairly thinly
2 tablespoons sugar

You will need a 20 cm spring form tin, line the base with a circle of non stick baking paper and lightly grease the sides. If making double the quantity of pastry see my notes above.

Oven pre heated to 175c

First cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the beaten egg and vanilla extract and beat until well mixed.

Sift the flour, cornflour and baking powder together and add to the mixture. Stir until it starts to come together. Knead lightly on a well floured board until you have a smooth soft dough like so ~

Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and chill for 30 minutes.
Cut 1/3 off the dough for the lid and roll out between 2 sheets of floured baking paper ~ using the tin as a guide cut around it so you have a lid that will fit perfectly, put the sheet of baking paper back on top and pop it in the fridge. Roll out the remaining dough into a rough circle while making sure it's not sticking to the board and place it in the tin. Use your hands to press it in well and work it up the sides of the tin to a height of about 2". Now put this in the fridge while you get on with the apple filling.

Put the sliced apples and the sugar in a saucepan and heat on a medium setting until the apples are starting to cook and the sugar has dissolved. Then put a lid on the pan and turn the heat up high, keep shaking the pan to make sure the fruit isn't burning or sticking. You want the fruit filling to be nice and hot but you aren't aiming to cook it at this stage. When it's nice and hot turn off the heat and quickly retrieve the tin and pastry lid from the fridge. Tip the hot apple mixture into it, quickly place the lid on top pressing it down lightly around the edges to form a good seal. Sprinkle the top with a teaspoon of caster sugar and put it into the oven.

Bake at 175 c for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 150 and bake for a further 20 - 30 minutes.  It's cooked when it feels firm to the touch and is a nice golden brown colour. Allow to cool before running a knife around the edge of the tin before releasing the clasp. The shortcake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 - 3 days.

Now onto a totally different subject ~ I've started collecting these decorating samples. We're going to be doing renovations to the house. I'm dreading it in a way but also looking forward to seeing the place looking like it should look. There will be a brand new shiny kitchen, a new bathroom, 2 rooms are going to be knocked into one, a proper studio/craft room will be created for myself and a total redecoration throughout. I like the green paint swatch and love the name ~ Tea Ceremony, how quaint. I'm thinking it may be used in my bedroom :-)

Thursday's Feast...

I'm lucky that I don't have to go to my day job every weekday. It's nice to have 1 or maybe 2 days (if time permits) in the week for cooking up something delicious. I'm talking about the home-made-from-scratch kind of food here that takes a couple of hours or sometimes half a day to cook. Yet for most of that time you are doing nothing much at all, just enjoying the smells that are wafting through from the kitchen and thinking of the silence there will be at the dinner table that night as everyone is far too busy enjoying their meal to chatter much at all.

The Autumn weather is upon us now (and has been all through Summer lol), the log fire is lit almost every night and I'm thinking of the darker evenings starting to draw in, of knitting warm woollen sweaters for everyone, and of meals for my family that offer warmth and comfort with no stodge in sight. Vegetable soups, casseroles thickened with pearl barley and lentils, Beef Daube, pot roast chicken and all the tasty things the cooler weather brings.

My family adore curry. No matter what variety or form they take anything curry is good (maybe because 3/4 of the household are male?). I have experimented over many years with perfecting various curry recipes to our personal tastes.

The most requested curry is a Lamb Pasanda ~ chunks of juicy and tender meat cooked for 3 hours in a beautiful sauce that gains it's depth and heat from the warm spices - ginger, chilli and cinnamon. It's a North Indian dish that was derived from a meal originally served to the Moghul Emperors. It's a variation on the Urdu word 'pasande' meaning 'the favorite one' ~ referring to the prime cut of meat that was traditionally used.

Yes, it's on the menu here tonight:

I shall happily share my recipe with you. I have a very good butcher and use either lamb forequarter that has been boned and skinned, or a butterflied leg of lamb depending on the price/my budget, both give good results although the leg meat is obviously the primer cut. You can ramp up the spices to suit your personal taste ( I often add extra chili and ginger, maybe an extra teaspoon of each)
I love using fresh chilies but they vary so much in heat and it's impossible to get a standard base from which to work with ~ so for these kind of dishes I use the ready prepared, minced fresh red chili that comes in little jars that you keep in the fridge as I find I can get a more consistent result with it. This dish is even better if you can make it the day before eating and keep it in the fridge overnight (well covered). The flavours meld and mingle better if you can do this  wait this long? It serves 6-8 generously ~ but there are usually only 4 of us so we often eat this for dinner the next day too.

Lamb Pasanda
Serves 6-8 people
For the Pasanda paste:
2 fat juicy cloves of garlic, crushed
3 heaped teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 level teaspoons fresh prepared red chili (see above)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Turmeric
3 green cardamom pods
2 heaped tablespoons tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil (preferably sunflower/vegetable, don't use olive oil)

Mix everything above together in a bowl and set aside.

For the Pasanda:
1 tablespoon oil (not olive oil)
900g lamb cut into large cubes
2 large onions, diced
3 fat cloves garlic, crushed
6-8 tablespoons natural yoghurt, plus 2 tablespoons extra for serving (low fat is good)
300ml chicken stock
4 tablespoons ground almonds mixed with 100ml cold water

Heat the oil in  a large pan and gently cook the onions with the garlic for about 10 minutes until they are very soft and starting to caramelise.

Turn up the heat, scrape the onion mix to one side of the pan and add the cubed meat. Let it brown before turning, don't stir it, you want it to brown nice and quick and get a good colour on the meat, remember colour = flavour. When it's nicely browned turn down the heat and add all of the paste to the pan, stirring gently to coat the meat. Let it cook for 5 minutes, giving it an occasional stir. Add the yoghurt a spoonful at a time and stir it in, then the add the almond/water mixture and stir well. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring again until everything is nicely mixed.

Bring to a gentle simmer and put a lid on the pan but leave it slightly off for the steam to escape. Leave to simmer gently (a few bubbles should be just breaking on the surface occasionally) for 3 hours, stirring it every now and then ~ enjoy the aroma that will fill the house.

After 3 hours give it a good stir, then gently mix in the extra 2 tablespoons of yoghurt and garnish it with freshly chopped coriander.

The only thing to serve with this (as far as I'm concerned) is a Fragrant Pilau rice~

The secret of a perfect Pilau is to wash the rice first and then soak it briefly. This moistens and softens the grains, enabling the rice to absorb moisture during cooking which results in a fluffier rice. I only use basmati rice, it gives a much superior result and flavour than any other variety. This is true, believe me, coming from someone who struggled to cook 'perfect' rice for many, many years. I usually put saffron in this rice but I had run out today, the saffron adds a lovely golden colour but it's good without.


Fragrant Pilau:
Serves 4 - 6 people
600 ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
generous pinch of saffron (optional)
50g butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
2.5 cm piece of cinnamon stick
6 green cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
250g basmati rice, washed and soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
50g sultanas (golden raisins)

Stir the pinch of saffron into the stock and set aside.
Melt the butter in a pan that has a well fitting lid. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a good 5 minutes until softened but not starting to colour.
Add the cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamom and cook for 2 minutes.
Drain the rice and add to the pan, stirring well and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the stock and the sultanas and bring to the boil. Stir well and reduce the heat to low. Put the lid on and time it for exactly 9 minutes. When the time is up remove it from the heat immediately and let it stand for at least 5 minutes with the lid still on tightly.
Fluff the rice with a fork.
You can also add some dry roasted nuts to the rice after cooking. Just cook either cashews or peanuts in a dry frying pan until they start to colour then sprinkle over the rice before serving.

All together in all it's glory:

I serve the curry and rice with my home made spicy apricot chutney (similar to mango chutney but using apricots) and a simple tomato and onion salad.










Our apple tree is totally laden with fruit this year. I'm not sure what type of apple it is (which is the problem when you buy a new home, you are never sure what everything is that's growing in the garden) it's a very old tree and I think it's possibly a Gravenstein. They are definitely cookers although the boys have eaten a few and said they aren't really that sour. I made a batch of spiced apple sauce with them a few days ago and it turned out great (apart from getting third degree burns on my hand when I stirred it and it erupted like volcanic lava!). I'm going to have to think what else I can make with them as I estimate there's about 25 kg of apples ripe and ready to be picked. At the weekend there will be the bestest Apple Shortcake in the world to share with you! Here's a sneak peek~

February already!

Again I have lots to say & show you. How the time flies by, I've been busy with other things and fail to find the time to blog as often as I would like. Christmas & New Year were here and gone in the blink of an eye and now it's February already.

Firstly I would like to introduce you to the two new additions to our family:

This is Caesar, he's 10 months old and is the cutest little boy. I love the colours on his body and his neck has the most lovely shades of grey. There is definitely a sock yarn colourway in him. I adore his fringe ~ it has perfect stripes of charcoal grey, chocolate and white and I dream of combing it. He's my little baby.

Here's Jupiter, he's 2 years old and is quite the bossy boots ~ but he looks after Caesar very well. I got them last month through a friend of a very thoughtful friend who was emigrating back to the U.K. They have both settled in nicely and are now eating out of our hands. Both are already halter trained and love to go for walks (if you can catch them first that is!) We can't believe how lucky we were to get them, they are lovely animals and have very fine fleece ~ I shall be looking forward to spinning their fibre into something special. I'm going on a course this weekend to learn all about alpaca husbandry.

On the crafting side of things ~ I'm so lucky to have such a thoughtful and clever  husband, he found this old battered skein holder at a flea market. I was a little horrified when I saw it, it was filthy and covered in dirt, cobwebs and dust and had seen much better days. The woman he bought it from was very surprised that he even knew what it was for lol.

Once he spent time on it and worked his magic it looked like new. All the wooden parts were sanded clean, the ties and copper wires holding it together were all replaced. It now looks like new and I'm so happy with it. It works brilliantly and has been used many times already. He knows what makes me happy!






I've been knitting quite a bit recently and have been trying to get my Ravelry projects up to date. I'm not quite there yet but hope to be soon. My Christmas present to myself this year was the Kate Davis Sheep Heid kit, I won't go into detail on how long it took to actually receive it after ordering it at the beginning of December ~ I shall just say it was a very very long time! I really enjoyed knitting the hat and I love the colours, and of course I love Shetland yarn. Kate is such a clever lady. The Rams and Yowes blanket is the next project on my list.

Last week I dyed up a sweaters worth of Bambaroo sock yarn in a silver grey & blue mix to knit Current. I like the little details on this cardigan, the pretty cable edging is lovely and is worked in with the cardigan body so no picking up stitches afterwards. 

I also have something on the spinning wheel ~ I dyed up a bulk lot of combed top for a stall I had at the Spinners & Weavers Guild agm a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't bear to part with this particular braid so I kept it, it's Shetland fibre dyed in a pale gold colourway, here it is all prepped into luscious clouds of fluff ~

and on the bobbin~

I love to spin Shetland fibre, I think it's my most favorite of all. I find it so easy to draft and to spin very fine singles with. BFL comes a close second in my book.

TTFN~

Look at the size of this...................

One of my hens laid the biggest egg I have ever seen yesterday. I'm not sure which one actually laid it and I found myself watching them to see if any were walking funny....... after laying something this size.......but no clues were found. Surely the hen would be so proud after laying this little beauty and would want to let us know.

119g

Can you spot it trying to hide amongst the others?  The other eggs in this pic are all large sized and weigh about 65g.