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President Plum Brandy

May 19, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

This year’s plum brandy is mighty fine.

It’s really more of a liqueur than a brandy, and we make it whenever we can get our hands on some President plums…

The process is simple – the halved and pitted plums are added to vodka, brandy and sugar, then left to brew in a dark cupboard for two months.

We’re supposed to let the moonshine mature for an extra month after it’s been filtered, but it was so good this year that we’ve been dipping into it early.  It’s a sweet, smooth, quite alcoholic brew that is just a little too easy to drink.  I like it neat or on ice, but our friend Dredgey prefers his with soda.

Pete swears by it as a sore throat cure. A couple of years ago when the whole street was down with the flu, we were distributing it in little bottles, strictly for medicinal purposes, of course.

We ended up with three litres this year, but given that a third of that has already been drunk or given away, we might need to ramp up production next time!

The original recipe comes from the Drink Mixer website – here is our slightly adapted metric version, which can be scaled up accordingly:

  • 1 kilogram President plums, halved, pits removed
  • 440g (2 cups) white sugar
  • 500ml (2 cups) vodka
  • 125ml (½ cup) brandy

1. In a large glass container, combine all the ingredients.  Give them a good stir with a chopstick. Seal and store in a dark place for two months. Stir occasionally if you remember, and admire the colour as it develops. The sugar will dissolve completely into the liquid over time.

2. After two months, strain out the plums and decant the liquid into clean bottles.  Seal them up and let them mature for another month if you can (we only lasted two weeks).  Then share with people you love!

Note: the President plums are quite tart – you might want to reduce the quantity of sugar if you’re using sweeter plums.

Have a great weekend, folks!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , | 66 Comments »

Saved by the Butcher

May 17, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I would love to tell you that we make everything from scratch.

But some days…it’s just too hard.

When that happens, instead of ordering takeaway, we head to our favourite butcher. Sydney’s specialty butchers are now “value-adding” their products, creating items which can be brought home, unwrapped and popped straight into an oven or frying pan.  It’s a wonderful, high quality alternative to processed supermarket meals!

Dave and Mateja run Gojak Meats in Haberfield (photo above is courtesy of the lovely Lorraine). It’s a family run business – Dave’s father often helps out, as does their charming son Luca, who draws in all the young girls in the area during his Saturday shift.

When life gets too hectic and I can no longer think creatively, I walk into the shop and sigh…”Mateja, what are we having for dinner tonight?”

There is ample choice – often we’ll dine on free range chicken schnitzels that were crumbed that morning, or freshly made lamb and beef kebabs.  Other times, we’ll throw Dave’s homemade cevapi onto pasta, or roast his marinated duck in orange sauce in the oven.

Last week, Big Boy (bless him) stopped into the shop on his way back from university, and bought a marinated free range chicken and some deviled wings…

They all went into a 180C oven – the wings for about 40 minutes, and the whole bird for an hour – before being plonked unceremoniously onto a serving plate.  The meal was accompanied by a loaf of defrosted sourdough, and a plate of sliced cucumber and tomato…

Because the mains were so easily sorted, I then had a little time and brain space to make dessert. I defrosted a package of June’s sweet pastry and rolled it out to line my mini pie tins.  These were filled with lightly sweetened apples and berries.  If you keep a stash of pastry and berries in the freezer, you’ll never be short of a quick treat…

Do you have a really great butcher? If not, it’s definitely worth seeking one out. Look for someone who is receptive to suggestions – I asked Dave to consider stocking free range pork, and he did. Now all the pork products in his shop, both raw and cured, are made with Otway Pork.  There aren’t many places in town that make their own free range ham and bacon!

. . . . .

Gojak Meats
177 Ramsay St
Haberfield NSW 2045
(02) 8065 5658

Posted in Food & Friends, Frugal Living | Tagged , | 53 Comments »

Tunisian Breakfast Soup

May 16, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

This lovely recipe by the divine Ms Dupleix appeared in our local newspaper recently.

And although I couldn’t eat it for breakfast, it made a wonderful lunch for Maude and I last week.  I used cavolo nero (kale) from Maude’s garden, as well as basil, leeks, kale and nasturtium leaves from our backyard.  The cooked chick peas and pork stock came out of the freezer, and the spelt and walnut sourdough added a delicious nuttiness to the dish.  Topped with salty capers and homemade harissa,  it was delicious and very, very filling!

The soup could easily be made totally vegetarian by substituting the meat stock with a vegetable one. It’s a versatile dish, easily adaptable to whatever greens we can forage from our gardens, and quick to assemble, particularly if tinned chick peas or packaged stock are used. The recipe is here, and it’s definitely worth trying!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , | 62 Comments »

Five Minutes in the Garden

May 13, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I try to spend a little time in the garden every morning.

It isn’t always possible, but if I can find five minutes to wander about outside before things get hectic, the rest of the day seems just that little bit easier. Let me share this morning’s stroll with you.

The asparagus (asparagii?) have grown into a ferny mass.  New spears are still coming up, although not as many as there were to start with…

The world’s slowest ripening lemon continues to develop. I think I’ve posted a photo of it every month this year!

This paisley shaped bed has been the bane of our garden.  It was overgrown with weeds, the soil was poor, and we could never seem to get on top of it.  About a month ago, we let the chickens loose on it.  They weeded it, fertilised it, and suddenly we had a useful piece of ground to work with.

It’s been planted out with cos lettuce at the front, perennial leeks behind them, and the back of the bed has been sown with comfrey, parsley, sorrel and dill seed.

One of the hardest things we’ve found with growing our own vegetables is keeping on schedule with seedlings.  They always seem to take much longer to grow than we anticipate.  We were caught out this time, so our most recent bed has been planted with purchased seedlings – broccoli, sweetheart cabbage and celery.  We also have kale growing which will hopefully go in soon…

The bed behind has three varieties of mildew-resistant peas – Somerset, Super Gem and Willow – planted alphabetically from left to right…

The peas have germinated very quickly…

The rest of the bed has carrot and onion seed, a few perennial leeks, and a couple of celeriac plants which were moved from the patch that the chooks are on now…

The bed at the back of the garden struggles – it’s close to the fence line and the established moraya, camellia and jacaranda trees suck the water and nutrients from the immediate vicinity.  We have yet to find anything that will thrive there.  We might sow the bed with manure crops for a couple of seasons to see if it improves the soil…

The next bed along is growing well, although under siege from pests at the moment. Our unusually warm Sydney weather is confusing the winter plants. We have broccoli, kohlrabi, kale, carrots, onions and lettuce growing there…

A little of the kale is still thriving…

…and we have some broccoli and cos lettuce to harvest…

The final bed along is nearly finished.  We try to let as many plants go to seed as we can, as the bees love it when we do.  The limelight basil is flowering…

…as is Pete’s pigeon pea.  We planted this for the chooks, but they seem to ignore it…

Our mini orchard has been a spectacular failure.  Dwarf apple trees are not going to flourish in our warm Sydney garden, particularly if we refuse to spray them.  As soon as Pete’s brother can come over to help, we’re going to pull them all out and replace them with citrus – finger, Tahitian and kaffir lime.  Wish us luck!

Our little herb garden near the back door continues to thrive on neglect – the rosemary is very healthy…

…as is the oregano and thyme, although the sage has had it…

It’s amazing how much joy this garden brings us.

Somewhat surprisingly, the weeds, pests and failures don’t cause us any angst at all. It’s like a fascinating science experiment – there are no right or wrong answers – just a growing understanding of our micro-climate, observing the interplay of pests and predators, and enjoying the peace and tranquility that the garden affords us.

Thank you for joining me on  my morning meander!

Posted in Frugal Living | 80 Comments »

Morris Dancers

May 11, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

They really are ninjas. Or maybe Morris dancers, as my friend Cosmo suggested. And oh, how they love sorrel!

We took this clip with the iPhone…

And here they are in action – look out for the synchronised leaping…

PS. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds of suburban Sydney, including the currawong call near the end of the second clip!

Posted in Frugal Living | 50 Comments »

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