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Winter Succulents

May 26, 2013 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Six months ago, I had succulent mania – madly collecting and potting up a variety of plants in containers near our back deck. About half of the plants have died off, the remainder have quadrupled in size, and our pots are overflowing.

Several varieties of the assorted Graptoverias and Graptopetalums that I bought on Ebay have thrived, filling our old laundry tub to the brim. I love the subtle purple and green tones of the ones in the photo above.

One of my Echeveria Fanfares is doing very well, although the other has grown tall and ungainly…

This Sedum Golden Mound came as a cutting from Nic’s garden. It grows like a weed and the colour varies from lime to a darker green, depending on the weather. It seems to like quite a lot of water…

This is my new favourite – Echeveria Prolifica – it started life as a small flower head with maybe half a dozen petals. It’s growing in a strawberry pot, but I’m going to have to find a new home for it soon…

Echeveria Topsy Turvy is another favourite, with its clustered growth and grey-green leaves…

Our rare Haworthia Little Circles seems to have barely changed, although it has produced a few pups..

The Crassula Arborescens that I picked up at Bunnings is about ten times larger than when first planted. I adore its wavy leaves…

This large bloom came from Nic’s garden. I think it’s a form of Echeveria, but I’m not sure. It seems to be getting larger and larger…

It will be interesting to see how (if!) the smaller pots survive winter…

Echeveria Glauca (“Hen and Chicks”) does particularly well in our backyard. At the moment they’re madly making offsets, although I suspect that will stop now the cold weather has settled in…

More Graptoverias…

The Gasteraloe seems quite content in her pot, expanding very slowly from the base…

A pot of Sedum Jelly Beans began life as a single cutting from Kevin’s garden. Sedums grow prolifically under the right conditions…

Sempervivums are an old fashioned succulent. They’re also known as Houseleeks, and used to be grown on the roofs of houses to ward off lightning strikes. The name means “always living”, and these plants are reputed to be very difficult to kill…

Echeveria Black Prince – we’ve noticed that the deep maroon coloured succulents in our garden tend to get very badly eaten by bugs – this one is planted in the top of the strawberry pot and has therefore escaped decimation thus far…

It’s just produced the most gorgeous spray of tiny red tulip-like flowers…

And finally, a small, slow growing Adromischus, which was picked up from the sale table at the nursery for just $2. It’s trebled in size and seems quite content in it’s little Ikea pot. Incidentally, all the plants in the metal pots seem to be doing quite well – we were concerned they’d overheat, but it now seems the reflective metal might have done the opposite. We’ll have to get some more next time we’re at Ikea (we drill holes in the bottom of them for drainage).

Do you grow succulents? If so, I’d love to know how yours are going…

Posted in Garden | 55 Comments »

Our Week In Photos

May 24, 2013 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Occasionally, life gets in the way of blogging.

Which is a good thing, because it means I’m out and about rather than sitting on the computer all day. Here’s a catch up on the week’s adventures!

. . . . .

I often play around with chocolate on the weekends – my latest batch included these Drambuie-soaked Persian figs, dipped in dark Belgian chocolate. They’re quite potent…

On Saturday, I baked three giant focaccias to share with friends and neighbours (there was one more in addition to those shown in the photo below). We ran out of racks to cool them on! One slab went to stock Christina’s freezer, another half went to Dredgey, and the rest was divided up and shared around.

It sounds like generosity on my part, but it really isn’t – as all my breadbaking friends know, there is something so joyous and so rewarding about producing bread in large quantities, that we’re always delighted when anyone gives us the slightest excuse to bake…

We cut up a large piece for our Saturday night dinner with Will and Bethany. Their little poppet stood up on her tiptoes and peered longingly at the bread – we laughed ourselves silly and then dubbed our cocktails the Baby Grace in her honour…

With the two egg whites I had leftover from making Greek pasticcio for dinner, I baked a huge tray of meringues…

Waste not, want not – just two egg whites and half a cup of caster sugar produced a mountain of crunchy sweet treats…

. . . . .

On Sunday, a giant tromboncino and our final eggplant of the season went into the wok with a Spanish onion, jalapeño chillis and a tin of tomato pulp..

…and came out as two large boxes of garden ratatouille. We eat it cold as a sandwich filler…

. . . . .

A day trip out to Castle Hill to visit our friends at the Youeni Foodstore is always a treat. This time we were meeting up with Rick, who had not only made the epic trek on public transport from the other side of Sydney, but had also grown a beard for the occasion (as one does).

The food was fabulous and interesting, as always. I had a vegetarian pearl barley risotto…

…and Pete had chorizos and white beans on Damien’s delicious new sourdough bread…

Lovely Chris who owns the store brought us his latest Brussels sprouts creation to taste. I liked it so much that I asked to take the leftovers home. Neither Rick nor Pete are fans of the dreaded green vegetable, but both tried it, with Rick declaring it to be “the best Brussels sprout he didn’t like”…

And…ta-dah…the beard-off! Chris (on the left) is a seasoned beardsman, but Rick grew his just for the occasion. He shaved it off that night!

. . . . .

On the way home, Pete and I stopped at the Sydney Fish Markets. The produce at De Costi Seafoods is always amazingly fresh…

I came home with a kilo of green Hawkesbury River school prawns, which had been “jumping” that morning. Green prawns are usually frozen and then defrosted for sale, which makes me reluctant to stock my freezer with them. That certainly wasn’t the case with these, and I added half my “catch” to Hokkien noodles for dinner that night (and yes, Chicago John, that is tromboncino you can see at the bottom of the plate!)…

What have you been up to this week?

Posted in Food & Friends, My Photos | 76 Comments »

Tromboncino Soup

May 22, 2013 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

When you grow tromboncinos, you have to accept one indisputable fact.

If the plants like your garden, then you are going to be overrun with trombies. Our four little seedlings have colonised the adjacent bed, climbed over two camellia trees and are now hanging over the neighbour’s fence. And don’t think they’ll finish up peacefully once the weather gets cold – these plants are incredibly hardy. Linda told me that hers kept producing all through winter, although ours are now struggling a bit with the recent cold change.

I’m not complaining – we’ve had a wonderful bounty, and it’s been a treat to always have a vegetable in the crisper drawer! I’ve become quite creative at using them – in everything from bhajis to warm salads to savoury slices. We’ve made grilled vegetable lasagne, stir fries (flavoured with either oyster or yellow bean sauce), added them to our pasta soups, and created a ripper satay chicken and tromboncino main dish. My neighbour Liz even brought over chocolate trombie cupcakes last weekend!

It’s probably fair to say though that the boys are getting just a teensy bit sick of them…

The most recent harvest of our rampant zucchinis (as they’re known in Italian) have been turned into a thick soup.  I’ve made several large batches and stashed them in the freezer, to be eaten over winter as simple, warming lunches (note that the soup will need whisking back to smoothness once it’s been defrosted).

The soup consisted of:

  • chopped tromboncinos (and zucchini, if available)
  • one large, peeled and chopped potato
  • Spanish onions, peeled and chopped
  • homemade chicken stock (leftover from poaching chicken)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • Piment D’Espelette (only about half a teaspoon or so to a large pot – it’s potent stuff)

All the vegetables were fried in a little olive oil until just starting to brown before adding the chicken stock. The pot was brought to a boil, and then simmered, covered, until the vegetables were soft. Then it was simply a case of blitzing the entire mixture until smooth (I used a handheld stick blender), and seasoning to taste.

It really couldn’t be easier, and I thought the end result was delicious, so I asked Big Boy to taste it for me.

“Hmm. It’s very nice, Mum. The only problem is that it tastes a bit like tromboncinos..”

Sigh. I guess I’ll be the only one eating it out of the freezer!

Posted in Frugal Living, Garden | 59 Comments »

Cocktails

May 19, 2013 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I am not, as my husband likes to tell people, a single event learner.

It took me three separate attempts at drinking Gin before I realised that it made me weep. I would happily drink a G&T one night, then another one the following evening, only to find myself bawling at breakfast the next day.

And I’d completely forgotten that Tequila is not my friend. It makes me quite paranoid – after a couple of Margaritas, I find myself ringing family members to check everyone’s still alive. I seem to forget this phenomenon every five years or so, and buy myself a bottle, despite Pete’s very vocal protests.

My most recent purchase was a Margarita pre-mix from Costco, and it was divine. It took just two glasses for me to remember exactly why I don’t drink Tequila, and then I was left wondering what on earth to do with the rest of the 1.75 litre bottle I’d bought (17½ standard drinks, the label boasted).

Thankfully, my friend Words came to the rescue (Tequila apparently only makes her indignant, rather than neurotic), although I did receive an sms from her this morning complaining of a sore head and beseeching me not to buy any more Margarita mix.  Clearly, she is a single event learner.

The problem is this: I adore cocktails. When I was a young adult in the 80s, they were hip, fun and exciting. They’re also highly potent, with each glass hiding up to two standard drinks (it used to be more, but liquor laws in Australia now limit the allowed alcohol per glass).

Cocktails can be very calorific, not to mention expensive, and I’m loathe to stock my pantry with liqueurs just so that I can make a very occasional mixed drink.

Thank goodness for my blogging mates! Last Friday night, gorgeous Sally from My Custard Pie tweeted about champagne cocktails, just as we’d opened my birthday bottle of Bollinger (which had been languishing in the fridge for months). I didn’t have the ingredients for her recipe, but on her assurance that using Bollie for a mixed drink was perfectly acceptable (after all, she’d had solid gold in her last champagne cocktail), I added a half nip of our homemade blood plum brandy to my glass.

May I present…the Baby Grace…

The Baby Grace is sweet, elegant and completely charming. She is also delicious, although it’s hard to justify opening a bottle of French champagne every time I want a cocktail.

My sweet, elegant and completely charming friend Anne from Life in Mud Spattered Boots, who is also just a little bit wicked, suggested using cider instead. The Dirty Granny blood plum brandy blend proved to be an absolute winner!

And in Anne’s honour, we’ve named it…The Muddy Boot…

Tell me, do you have a favourite cocktail?

And do you find certain sorts of alcohol affect you in strange ways?

Posted in Food & Friends | 60 Comments »

Leftover Bread and Butter Pudding

May 17, 2013 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Overnight, the weather turned cold.

We switched on the gas heater, pulled out jumpers and slippers, and started hunting around for ingredients to make a warm dessert.

On the bench was half a loaf of stale sourdough, destined for the worm farm. It was the perfect base for an impromptu bread and butter pudding! I also had a little fresh ricotta leftover from lunch, treacle, and a few eggs from our diminishing supply…

  • Half a sourdough fruit loaf
  • Treacle
  • Unsalted butter
  • Golden raisins (optional)
  • 4 large free range eggs
  • 450ml milk (we used UHT)
  • 120g fresh ricotta
  • 110g (½ cup) vanilla sugar (or use plain sugar and some vanilla extract)
  • a generous splash of Calvados brandy
  • Vanilla sugar for topping

1.  Cut the bread up into slices – I left the crust on, but you could cut it off if you wished. Butter one side of each slice.

2. Grease a baking dish (I used two small ones) and drizzle a tablespoon or more of treacle over the base.  Arrange a layer of bread over the bottom of the dishes, butter side up.  Scatter with a few raisins, then place another layer of butter-side-up bread over the top. Chop the bread up as needed to try and fit it into the dish – mine ended up with a few small bits sticking out at odd angles.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, ricotta, Calvados and the ½ cup of vanilla sugar.  Ladle the mixture over the top of the bread until the dishes are quite full and the bread is soaked.  Don’t worry if the bits of ricotta float, it will all cook down in the end. Leave for at least 30 minutes, pushing the bread down every 10 minutes or so to help it soak up the liquid. Preheat oven to 175C (160C with fan).

4. Place the dishes on a baking tray (to catch any drips), sprinkle vanilla sugar over the bread, then bake in the oven for 40 – 50 minutes, or until golden brown (as I’d baked mine in smaller dishes, they only needed 40 minutes).  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

It’s certainly not the most attractive bread and butter pudding I’ve ever made, but it might be the most delicious. The stale sourdough didn’t go mushy during baking, and the top layer was deliciously crispy. It wasn’t overly sweet, with the Calvados and treacle adding a grown-up, dark caramel flavour, and the ricotta contributing a lovely richness to the dish.

Isn’t it fabulous when a whole lot of leftovers destined for the worms and chooks ends up as something so tasty?

Posted in Recipes | 66 Comments »

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