Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Of all the jams and preserves we make, quince jelly would have to be the most useful.

We use it to glaze ham, stir it into sauces, and serve it up with cheeses. It’s somewhat ironic then that we make it so rarely, as we don’t often get our hands on the fruit. I know they’re readily available, but for some reason, never at the places where we shop.

Thankfully, a neighbour tipped us off recently to a supply at a local fruit market. We came home with several kilos of enormous hard quinces…

After scrubbing off the furry coating, these were chopped up (core in and peel on) and brought to boil in a large pot of filtered water…

It’s been years since we last made this jelly, and in that time Pete has refined his jam making process. He now tries to use as little sugar as possible, arguing that too much of it masks the true fruit flavour. So despite having a tried and tested recipe (posted here), he decided to alter the quantities in this batch.

After boiling and straining, we were left with 3½ litres of pink quince “stock”. To that, we added just 2½ kilos of sugar (a kilo less than we would have used a few years ago), the juice of three large lemons and three jars of homemade pectin.

Of course, the jelly didn’t set easily, because the  balance wasn’t quite right. We added an extra jar of pectin and the juice of another lemon, and boiled the pot vigorously for ages. It’s in situations like this that experience really comes into play – most people would have given up at this point, but Pete was certain the jelly would finally come together.

And he was right. As the liquid cooked down, the jelly darkened to this gorgeous rosy hue. The colour change always astonishes me…

We now have thirteen jars of not overly sweet, fruit-driven jelly, which we’ve stashed in the pantry to keep us going for the next couple of years. The jars were hot water processed, and even though the recommended keeping time for preserves such as these is only a year, we’ve found that our jellies last much longer than that (if unopened) before they start to lose their set.

Hmmm. I think I need to go out and buy some ham now!

“Dredgey, I have two rainbow trout in the freezer. Will you smoke them for me, please?”

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to ring a neighbour and ask him this on a Saturday morning.  Farmed rainbow trout are a good buy at the moment, with these two fish costing me $11 in total. I took them out of the freezer first thing in the morning, and they were defrosted by early afternoon…

The smoker is a small metal box with holes in it. For some reason, I always think of smoking as a difficult process, but it’s actually incredibly easy.

Dredgey began by pouring a small mound of hickory sawdust onto the base of the smoker. The fish was laid out on a foil-lined metal plate (old pizza tray) on a wire rack, and placed over the wood. The lid of the box was positioned on securely to keep the smoke in.

An old tuna tin was half filled with methylated spirits and lit, then the smoker was placed on top of it.  We sat and chatted for twenty minutes while the fish cooked to perfection – tender flaky flesh, with just the lightest smoke flavour…

Pete’s not a fan of smoked meats, but Big Boy and I adore them…

We gave one fish to Dredgey, who then swapped half of it for squid with Louise across the road. Have I mentioned how much I love our neighbourhood?

Do you own a smoker? If so, what do you use it for? Dredgey has smoked everything from fish to sausages to almonds in his little box!

International Scone Week is, as we like to say over here, a bit of a lark.

Which means it’s not terribly serious, but rather just an excuse to have some fun. Three years ago, a group of us found ourselves serendipitously baking scones at the same time. One thing led to another, and the next thing we knew, a tradition was born to bake and share our scones during the second week of August.

Of course, it’s a very loose tradition, definitely a “play if you feel so inclined” kind of thing. But if you’d like to join in, please leave me your links or photos in a comment below (you don’t need to be a blogger) and at the end of the week, I’ll put together a roundup post. There are no rules, bake any scones you like – sweet, savoury, round, triangular – whatever takes your fancy. And if you need some inspiration, here are last year’s photos!

Here is my latest experiment, using the farm cheese that I mentioned in my August In My Kitchen post. The crumbly curds gave the scones a rich flavour and crisp exterior, without making them taste savoury or cheesy. They turned out a little denser than my regular scones, but with a very tender crumb, and they went down a treat – Small Man ate three of them for lunch!

• 300g (2 cups) plain (AP) flour
• 2 generous teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of fine sea salt
• 50g  unsalted butter
• 75g Brancourts Farm Style Cottage Cheese
• 50g caster (superfine) sugar
• 125g (½ cup) milk
• 1 large free range egg
• a little milk for brushing the tops before baking

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F) or 180C (360F) with fan. Line a small baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Sieve the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

3. Cut the butter into small cubes and crumble the farm cheese, then rub both into the flour with your fingertips. Don’t worry about getting it all mixed in too neatly. Stir in the sugar.

4. Whisk together the milk and egg, then pour it onto the dry ingredients. Mix together gently with a butter knife, then turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together gently. Because of the added cheese, the mixture will be slightly stickier than usual.

5. Lightly pat the dough to a thickness of about 2½ cm (1″). Using a well-floured round cutter, cut out circles, taking care not to twist as you push down. Lay the scones on the parchment-lined tray and brush the tops with a little milk. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until (hopefully) well-risen and golden brown. Makes six large scones.

Happy baking everyone!

PS. If you find regular scones intimidating, you might want to try
making the lemonade version – they’re very easy!

PPS. The baking has started! Check out these fabulous posts:

Heidi @ Steps on the Journey

Anne @ Life in Mud Spattered Boots

Glenda @ Passion Fruit Garden

Tandy @ Lavender and Lime

Tracy @ Sunny Corner Farm