End Of The Summer Season

In New Zealand the seasons change on the first of the month, as opposed to the solstices or equinoxes, so we've been ensconced in autumn for a month now.  Aside from the calendar heralding the change of seasons, the weather has also let us know (in no uncertain terms) that summer's over... but further to that, the summer produce is definitely done.

First - the watermelon:

Check out my melon baby... kind of wish I had another one, so I could do a real classy melon shot!  Please excuse the crazy eyes and the teeth I've bared - I think I was a bit tired and disheveled from gardening.

Unfortunately, when I cut it, it was a bit anemic inside - a light pink instead of a beautiful juicy watermelon colour.  That hasn't stopped me from eating it - tastes alright.

Today my dinner was provided to me, courtesy of our garden.  I didn't feel like anything fancy, but everything just seemed to fall into place this evening.  The BEST thing is that this meal was delicious and relatively low in Weight Watchers ProPoints!

First, I whipped up some pesto, using some sad basil from the garden.  It's nearing the end of heat-loving-basil-growing season and my basil got blown over during a storm a while back, so it's a bit worse for wear, so I figured I needed to use it up quick smart.  I used the same recipe as I have before, except I was lazy and didn't toast the pine nuts.  It still tasted fabulous.

I had to fight some yucky snails for the last of my basil leaves.  I've still got a bit out there that I need to harvest.

My plan was to make a pesto cream sauce (I made one last week with some Philadelphia Cream for Cooking.)  It was lovely, but a touch bland... I was planning to give it another go, but to make the odd improvement. 

Then I looked at my veggies I gathered from the garden and hemmed and hawed for a while.

I chopped up the capsicum and when I tasted it, it felt like the bits exploded with flavour in my mouth!  I think I even did a little happy dance.

I decided I wasn't in a pasta mood, so I cooked up some quinoa.  We had it in the cupboard and both Phill and I weren't wild about it when we tried it - we found it far too bland to enjoy.  I have been convinced that I could find something that would work with it though.

So I chopped up the beans (after stringing them) and threw them in a pot with the silverbeet and a little bit of water so they could cook a tiny bit (about 10 min.)  I diced the capsicum and tomato and set them aside for later.  Once the quinoa was cooked I stirred in about 4 tablespoons of pesto, the cooked beans and silverbeet.  I spooned the mixture on a plate and sprinkled the diced capsicum and tomato over top of the warm quinoa and veggies.  The veggies are all 0 points, so all the points come from the quinoa and pesto - for the amount I used, it was around 7 ProPoints all together, but you could easily reduce the number of points by using a bit less pesto. 

I'm going to go right ahead and say it - it was AMAZING.  If I wasn't trying to practise some sort of portion control, I would have eaten another plateful!!  The remaining pesto is going to be frozen in the ice cube tray so I can enjoy the taste of summer in a few months' time.

Phill even liked it (he really didn't like quinoa when we had it) - I do attribute it to my heavy hand with the pesto.  To be honest, it had so much of it because my ice cube tray was full and I didn't want to sterilize a bottle to save a tablespoon's worth of pesto. 

We both agreed that a bit of chicken (cooked with a lot of garlic) would have made this amazing dish extraordinary.  Ooooh - maybe a bit of grated parmesan too?

Next time!

Lazy Summer Sunday Arvo - Ha! (Part 2)

So after I was finished with my plums around mid-day, I then sat and peered intently at the tomatoes on the windowsill, counter and table. 

I carefully measured out 1 kg of tomatoes and gleefully chuckled to myself.  "I've made a significant dent!  Ha, take THAT!"  Just out of curiosity, I wandered outside with my handy basket to relieve the plants of the one or two ripe ones that I knew would be waiting for me.  I stood there, staring with utter disbelief and more than a little despair.  I went back inside with over a kilo of freshly picked tomatoes.  So much for my dent!

I decided to make pasta sauce, as I had cleared a little space in the freezer.  Since I preserved tomatoes yesterday (no post on that.  not quite sure how they turned out yet), I simply couldn't bear the idea of blanching and peeling more tomatoes today, so I cut them in half and tossed them on a tray.  Then inspiration struck...

I quartered 2 onions and nestled some sprigs of thyme and some bay leaves among the veggies.  I drizzled the whole thing with olive oil and sprinkled it with mixed herbs and coarsely ground salt.

I love beautiful looking food - it looked so pretty.  I popped it in the oven at 150 Celsius for about an hour.

After I did a few rounds of my knitting, I went outside and picked a bunch of basil and oregano.  I chopped it up and left it in a bowl, ready to use.

After an hour in the oven - it smelled incredible!

Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes and onions (throw out the herbs) and put them in a food processor and whizz up until it's a consistency you like for pasta sauce.

In another pan, with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, saute some crushed garlic until it's fragrant.

Mix in whizzed sauce and chopped herbs.  Add 2 tbsp of tomato paste and the secret ingredients - a couple of glugs of red wine and of Worcester sauce (the sauce gives it that little something that it needed to take away the tartness of the tomatoes.)  Season to taste with salt + pepper.

Simmer for about 20 minutes to thicken it.  I could have let it simmer longer, but I wanted it to be a little bit liquidy, as I planned to freeze it.  It is also imperative that you test it with fresh bread.  Do not burn your tongue (as I may have.)

Put in container and let cool.  All ready to freeze for up to 4 months.

It.  Tastes.  Amazing.  I figure that's about 2 really generous servings, so it works out to about 4 Weight Watchers ProPoints.

When I use it for pasta, I'll probably throw in some spinach, mushrooms and mince meat to bulk it up a bit (the meat will add to the points value though.)

As I have said many times, I've got an abundance of tomatoes, so I've already planned for the next time I make it - I will roast it with a head of garlic (wrapping the cloves in tin foil so they don't stew in the juices that come out of the veges) and a red capsicum (I was a bit disappointed to find that I did have one in the fridge that I could have used today.)  Yum!

I've already had dinner tonight, but the thought of my pasta sauce is making my tummy rumble again!

Lazy Summer Sunday Afternoon - Ha! (Part 1)

Lazy is the last adjective I would use to describe my day today.  I've been buzzing around, like a fly on crack, creating, stirring, bottling and testing (the best part.)  It was hot today.  The kind of hot where you just want to lay where you may and let the breeze wash over you.

She lay motionless for at least an hour.  I would have worried if she didn't jump up when I shook her cat biscuits.

Not to brag, but my kitchen smelled awesome today.

I started the morning by attacking my 2 kg of plums that my lovely friend J brought me from her tree on Thursday.  After a brief moment of panic (if I was meant to peel the plums or not) and a quick phone call to Phill's nana, I took a break and trundled off to the grocery store to get some jam sugar.  Nana had used some the other day (with the recipe on the back) and it was apparently amazing.

2 kg of perfect plummy goodness.

Peeled, stoned and cut in halves.  I just couldn't resist popping a couple of bits in my mouth (I had to test it you know.  Quality control.)  Seriously?  Could you resist that sight?

I never realised how much sugar goes into jam.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the plums, boil until mushy.

Use trusty potato masher to crush the plums.

Add copious amounts of jam sugar (7 cups) and stir until dissolved.  Do not let boil yet.

Stir in 2 knobs of butter (20g) and bring to a rolling boil.  Let boil for 10-15 min.

Test frequently for setting point (spoon a bit on a cold plate, let cool slightly and run your finger through it.  If it forms a channel, you can take start bottling it, as it will set when it cools.) 

Moisten wax paper discs and affix on jars with a rubber band immediately after putting in jam (use a sterilized funnel to get it in the bottles.  Watch your fingers, the jam's very hot!)  

For my first attempt, it was okay - I've been examining my jars all day and it still looks a bit runny to me.  I'd let it boil a bit longer if I were to do it again.

So in a nutshell - the recipe is as follows (a combination of one from the Edmond's Cookbook and the recipe on the back of the jam sugar packet.)

Plum Jam
Weight Watchers ProPoints:  1 point per tablespoon

• 2 kg plums - pitted, peeled and halved (chop them up if you want to skip the potato masher step.)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 7 cups sugar (white sugar will work, but the jam sugar is quite nice and has extra bits in it to help it set apparently.)
• 2 knobs butter (20g - I think the butter gives the jam that lovely glossiness)

1. Peel, pit and chop the plums - halves or smaller, your choice.
2. Place in pot with water and boil until mushy.
3. Mush up more with masher.
4. Add sugar - stir until dissolved.  Do not let boil yet.
5. Once sugar is dissolved, add butter and boil briskly for 10 - 15 min.
6. Test frequently for setting point (then bottle when ready!)
7. If you're using wax discs, don't forget to moisten them before putting them on the jars (like I forgot.)
8. Store in a cool, dark place.

I'm planning to have toast and jam for breakfast tomorrow!

Tomatoes Galore

Holy hell.  I'm overwhelmed with tomatoes.  I've got to do some preserving this weekend, but in the meantime, I thought I'd try my hand at tomato sauce.  Phill's parents were here on Sunday, and apparently Dad really likes it freshly made.  He said it had burned a tiny bit, so it had caramelized (which is true, I remember the burning and mild panic) but otherwise it was a success.

From beginning to end...

It was dead easy, and tastes pretty good.  Sorry for the old school measurements - it's an old family recipe... thank goodness for Google!  I know a lot of these chutney/sauce recipes do have a lot of sugar in them, but if you're not having heaps at once and very often, I think it's okay.

Phill's Nana's Tomato Sauce (via Phill's Mum)
Makes: approx 1 litre
Weight Watchers Points: 1 point per tbsp (based on approx 66 tbsp in 1 litre)

4.5 lbs tomatoes
1 lb onions
1/8 cup table salt
1 lb brown sugar
1/4 oz all spice
1/4 oz peppercorns
1/4 oz cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 level dessert spoon cinnamon (I guessed about 2 tsp)
375 ml malt vinegar

Cut it all up and boil for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
Strain and bottle (I don't have a proper strainer, so I blanched and peeled the tomatoes first and then mashed it up while cooking.  Next time, I may give it a whiz in the food processor before bottling.)

Pasta, Pesto et Poisson

As promised, here's my pesto post.  I suppose I can see why pesto is so expensive in the shops, because parmesan and pine nuts are luxury items.  That being said, holy cow!  I'm not sure I can go back to store bough pesto.  The flavour seemed to explode!  It tasted so vivid and fresh... like there was a party in my mouth!  I thought it was a bit too oily yesterday, but when I used it today with pasta, it was perfect.  If making it for a dip with crackers or to eat immediately, I'd suggest a little less oil and salt.  I'm also a bit of a garlic fiend... I think you couldn't go too far wrong with another clove of fresh garlic.

So... here we are:

Basil Pesto - Makes approx 1 1/4 cups - Weight Watchers ProPoints - 3 points per tbsp

• 3 1/2 - 4 cups loosely packed basil leaves (gently washed and dried)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Wash and dry - remove leaves from stalks.

 

Toast pine nuts in a pan with no oil over medium heat until a nice golden brown - then put in food processor.

Not sure if you're meant to use grated parmesan or whole bits, but this is what I had.  I threw it in the food processor before I did all the other parts.

Peeled and tossed in the processor.

Basically, I put all the bits in the processor and whirred it until it made a thick paste.  Delicious!

Most importantly - put it in a cute bottle with an equally as cute label when finished.

A couple of tablespoons of pesto, pasta and the fish from yesterday.  Ridiculously yummy.

A Change Of Plan(t)s

Yesterday's plan was to pick some of the beautiful basil I've got growing in the vege patch and make some pesto - I'm running out of the store bought stuff in the fridge and it's one of my cooking staples.  I decided to use my own, fresh ingredients to make a batch instead of paying a small fortune to buy the premade stuff. 

But... after a bit of reading about the funny markings on my tomato plants, I found out that they are sick.  With a heavy heart and a pair of secateurs, I mercilessly snipped away at the vines, leaves and stalks.  Where there were six big, bushy, delightful plants, there are now only four tragically thinned out plants.  I'm supposed to remove ALL vines with the awful white fungus stuff on them, but that would have decimated my biggest, most productive plant.  So I took off most of it and I've got my fingers crossed that I can control the rest with one of these home remedies.  I'm a bit worried my tomatoes are going to get a sunburn now.  Sheesh.  Does it never end?

Anywho, enter the next recipe.  Green tomato chutney.  I'm NOT letting all my tomatoes go to waste and I don't think they'll ripen if they're this green, so here goes.  I got this recipe off the internet, like many others.  Sounds pretty standard (check me out, Mrs Tomato Chutney Expert.)  I've halved the original recipe, as I'm short on jars and Mum thinks some of these green babies will ripen up.

Green Tomato Chutney - slightly modified from recipe
Weight Watchers ProPoints = 1 point per serve (based on 50 servings.)

1.3(ish - whatever 2.5 lbs comes out to) kg green tomatoes
500g onions or 1 lg. onion
1/2 tsp. peppercorns
1/2 tsp. salt
just under 500g brown sugar (whatever comes out to 1lb or thereabouts)
3/4 c. malt vinegar
1/4 c. sultanas
2 cloves

1/8ish tsp of cayenne chilli powder

I had to take a photo of the cut tomato - I thought it was so pretty!  (I may have popped a bit in my mouth accidentally... it tasted nice, like tomato obviously, but with a gentler flavour.)

Roughly chop the tomatoes and onions.  Mix them together in a basin/bowl/container (whatever) with the peppercorns and salt. Allow this to stand overnight. 

All mixed up so then I covered it with Glad wrap for the night.

It's a bit late.  I shouldn't have faffed around so much... regardless, it's standing overnight now.

The following day (today), boil the sugar, cloves and cayenne with the vinegar then add the sultanas.

Sometimes Blogger uploads my pictures sideways.  I don't understand why, but I can't fix it - even if I reupload the photo.  Anyhow, keep an eye on it at this stage because it will boil really suddenly and if you don't pay attention will burn and boil over.

Simmer for 5ish minutes, then add the tomatoes and onions and simmer until thick.

Again, sideways.  Irritating!

I simmered mine for about an hour and a half.  I think it's because I added the tomatoes and onions AND the water that was in the bowl after it sat all night.  I think if you drained the water and THEN added it, it may take only 40 minutes, as the original recipe says.

I forgot to take a photo when it was done just right.  I used the potato masher to mash it up and make it smaller and more chutnified. 

Pour into hot jars and seal.

I made cute labels yesterday.  I love them!

This chutney is a lot sweeter than the other one, and doesn't have as much of a kick.  I do like it though.  I'm not sure how it tastes with stuff yet, but I imagine it'll be nice with cheese and crackers, sausages and steaks.  If properly sealed and stored, it's meant to keep for up to a year (refrigerate after opening.)

**update - it tastes AWESOME with all of the above suggestions, and I think I like it better than my other tomato chutney... it's also a better consistency than the first batch of chutney (Phill prefers the taste of the first chutney though, so they must both be pretty good.)

original recipe source

Tomato Chutney

I kindly liberated a page from my hairdresser's latest Women's Day magazine (with her permission of course!) because I thought this recipe looked the easiest of all chutney recipes I had found.  I halved the recipe given, because I didn't want to use 1 1/2 kg of my tomatoes up.  I'm hoping that I can get really good at this one, because it'd be a cute little gift to give!


Classic Tomato Chutney - from Women's Day
Makes: 2 1/2 cups
Preparation: 35 minutes
Cooking: 2 hours
Weight Watchers ProPoints: 1 point per serving (my logic is as follows: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons, so you'd get about 40 tbsp from this recipe.  1 tbsp = 0 points, but about 1/10th of a bottle is 1 point.  Clear as mud?)

750g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 1/4 cups white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sultanas
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (makes it quite spicy!)
2/3 cups caster sugar

(Preparation - Peel the tomatoes by first scoring the base of them with a cross and then blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, then transfer to a bowl of chilled water.  The skin will peel off easy as pie.)

1. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except sugar.  Stir on med-high heat until the mixture comes to the boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften (long enough to do quite a bit of knitting!) 
2. Stir in sugar until dissolved.  Bring to the boil.  Cook for a further 20-30 minutes, stirring often (but not constantly) until mixture thickens.
3. Pour into sterilized jars and seal (I sterilized mine in the microwave as a helpful website suggested.  Bad idea, they all cracked.  Waste of very cute jars.)  Store in a cool, dry cupboard for up to three months.  Keep in the fridge after opening. 

It's ridiculously tasty on homemade hamburgers (all gourmet-like!) and really good on a hunk of a milder tasting cheese (we've already finished 1 little bottle.)

**update - after making a batch of green tomato chutney, I've realised that this one is still too liquidy.  Next time I make it, I'll let it thicken more - Phill reckons it's more of a sauce.  Nonetheless, I'm still pretty pleased with my first efforts at chutney making.