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Vanilla Icecream

September 11, 2009 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Here’s a really easy recipe for icecream, providing you have an icecream maker.

Step 1: make microwave custard.  Chill in the fridge, with a piece of clingfilm or parchment pressed against the surface to stop a skin forming.  When cold, add half a cup of heavy cream and stir to combine.

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Step 2: add flavourings (here we’ve added vanilla syrup)

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Step 3: pour into icecream maker and freeze!

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Note: this icecream freezes very solidly (at least in our stand alone freezer), so you might need to allow time for it to thaw a little before using it.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments »

Whimsy

September 10, 2009 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

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We are incredibly blessed with lives that are full of laughter and gentle whimsy.

Perhaps it’s a byproduct of slowing down – when life was frenetic and chaotic, it was hard to see the funny side of things.

Perhaps it’s a result of having truly offbeat, quirky kids with their own distinct personalities and eclectic tastes. Small Man has a passion for old show tunes, magic tricks and Mr Bean; Big Boy has a razor wit, writes  prolifically and plays a mean french horn. One morning, when Small Man was very young, he climbed out of bed, sleepy and scruffy-headed, and greeted me with, “Good morning, Mum.  Can you make me some prosthetic hair?”

Perhaps it’s the way Pete has taught us all to view the world, with appreciative, attentive eyes (I’m not nearly as good at this as the boys are).

Perhaps it’s a gift from my wonderful, crazy parents – particularly my father, who  in his late 70’s rang to say he was buying a chainsaw to prune his “shrubbery”.  Or my beloved, truly bonkers sister, who gave us a fossilized mammoth’s tooth as a gift (she haggled down the archeologist who brought it back from Siberia) and once tried to catch a five foot catfish in a swimming pool. With her hands.

Perhaps it’s the result of watching too many Muppet Show reruns (our favourite is the Harry Belafonte episode).

Whatever the reason, I’m incredibly grateful.  I hope you all have a moment today when something puts a smile on your face.  If you’re struggling to find that something, perhaps one of our favourite Muppet clips can help!

. . . . .

Posted in Musings | 9 Comments »

Birthday Yoghurt Cake

September 9, 2009 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

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I made this for Dot’s birthday,  using Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful yoghurt cake recipe.

Instead of a loaf tin, the cake was baked in an 8″/20cm round cake tin at 160C (with fan) for 40 minutes.  Once cool, it was split in half and sandwiched with a generous serve of Pete’s strawberry jam and some  fresh cream, whipped with a little vanilla syrup.

This is such an easy, versatile recipe to have up your sleeve, particularly when you need a cake in a hurry!

Posted in Food & Friends, Recipes | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

Apulian Flavours

September 8, 2009 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

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As you’ve probably figured out by now, I adore trying new flavours.  It’s my way of keeping my brain active (never could stand Sudoku), and I’m always excited when I come across something unusual to taste.

These jars of Italian pastes are definitely different to anything I’ve tried before!  The Purè di Fave is a fava bean paste, made from 95% beans, mixed with onion, olive oil, celery, salt and laurel.  The label tells me that it’s an Apulian tradition to serve this warm with boiled chicory.  We didn’t have any, so we tried it on toast (as you do).  It’s quite delicious – with a definite bean flavour and a consistency somewhere between loose mash potatoes and hommus.

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The second jar, Paté di Lampascioni, took me completely by surprise.  The label describes it as a wild onion paté, with the ingredients list boasting 66.5% wild onions, combined with olive oil, garlic, capers, chilli, vinegar, parsley and salt.  But instead of the smooth, sweet onion flavour that I expected, the spread was bitter, in a manner reminiscent of rocket.  If, like me, you’re a fan of those flavours (rocket, bittergourd, witlof, I adore them all), then you’ll love this.  Pete, of course, won’t touch it with a barge pole.

When I goggled lampascioni, I discovered that the “wild onion” is actually a wild hyacinth bulb, native to Puglia, Italy, and renowned for its bitter flavour. There’s more information about them here.

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As I said, I love trying new flavours! I can almost feel the synapses forming in my brain…

Posted in Food & Friends | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Fig Jam

September 7, 2009 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

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I need to clear something up here.

I didn’t call this blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial because I’m an arrogant git who has dibs on herself.  I didn’t even know what the (Australian?) colloquialism “fig jam” meant until a couple of weeks after I’d started the blog.  We really were making fig jam and lime cordial the weekend the blog was born, hence the name.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had a lot of explaining to do.  The first phone call was from Kevin.

“Hey, did you call your blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
because of what ‘fig jam’ means?”

“Kev, I have no idea what you’re talking about..”
(panic was starting to set in at that point)

“You know, F*** I’m Good, Just Ask Me!”
(sotto voce, since he works in an open plan office)

My immediate thought was that it could have been so much worse.  Especially since I’d paid for the domain name a few hours before he rang.

I cornered  Big Boy and accused him of letting me make a goose of myself.

“Hey, why didn’t you tell me what ‘fig jam’ was slang for?”

“Mum, I have no idea what you’re talking about..”

When I explained, his response was accompanied by a  condescending eye roll…

“Ok, who told you that?  Uncle Kevin.  Right.  And how old is he?
Don’t worry about it, nobody uses that expression any more.”

Oh, if only he’d been right. Unfortunately it seems pretty current with anyone of my generation, and they’ve been ribbing me about it ever since.  But I promise, hand on heart, that I honestly had no idea what it meant (I can be remarkably naïve at times….)

There.  I feel much better now.  Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.  And here is a photo of the figs, just to prove I’m telling the truth.

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Posted in Food & Friends, Musings | 19 Comments »

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