Fruit Smoothie Ice Lollies

Get yourself some lolly moulds, make a smoothie and freeze it.  It's as simple as that.  Making these in small yoghurt pots with plastic of disposable cutlery as handles also works.

1 soft banana (I have loads of brown bananas in the freezer)

100g frozen fruit (mixed berries, mango, strawberries, raspeberries etc)

Apple juice

Work out the volume of your moulds by filling one almost to the top, weighing it into a liquidiser cup, and multiplying it by the number of containers you have. Note this number.

Without zeroing the scales, add in the banana broken into pieces and the fruit, and top up with apple juice to the weight you noted at the start.

Liquidise and pour into the moulds.  Freeze for at least a couple of hours.

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Rhubarb Cordial

My rhubarb at the allotment this year is plentiful.  And as I only made one batch of Elderflower Cordial this year, I thought I'd make Rhubarb Cordial to add to a Midsummer's Day Prosecco. Recipe is from BBC Good Food

Makes approx 600ml

450g rhubarb, rinsed and chopped

300g sugar

300ml water

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

Zest & juice of 1 orange

A slice of root ginger

Bring the water and sugar syrup to the boil.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to the boil.  

Cover and turn down to a simmer.  Cook until the rhubarb has turned to mush.

Strain through a fine sieve, keeping the rhubarb pulp (Congratulations, you have made rhubarb compote too.  Save this for Rhubarb Ice Cream or Rhubarb Fool).

Store in sterilised bottles in the fridge for up to a month.  

Add around 25ml (just under 2 tbsp) to 100ml of sparkling water or Prosecco

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Quince Gin

I was given some rather underripe quince, possibly Japonica, but they were too immature to tell apart.  So the most fitting end to them.

700ml fine
120g granulated
375g quince 

Wash the quince and rub off any furry coating to the skin.  Quarter the quince and add everything into a large preserving jar.  Mix well until the sugar is dissolved and leave in a cool dark place for 2-4 weeks, checking for the first few days that the sugar has dissolved.

Strain into a clean bottle after the 4 weeks is up.

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Berry & Seed Yoghurt

There are so many suggested high fibre, gut friendly, longevity foods that I somehow feel there are not enough days of the week to fit them in.  My current fave Fruit & Seed Yoghurt breakfast has a plant count of 11, plus probiotic yoghurt

80g frozen summer fruits (blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries, blackberries) 

100g greek yoghurt

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 tbsp mixed seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, golden linseeds, hemp seeds)

1 tbsp organic porridge oats

1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Ideally, mix everything together the night before.  Failing that, microwave the berries for 1 minute, then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  The summer fruits are very tart so I like to add a little maple syrup.

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Fruit Pancakes

I made blueberry pancakes for my son's breakfast on his 16th birthday, and have taught him the recipe for a quick high carb breakfast/snack.

Serves 2

1 mug/US cup self raising flour

1 mug milk

1 large free range egg

100g blueberries (I used frozen), raspberries, chopped strawberries, a grated apple or pear, or mashed banana

Whisk the flour milk and egg together into a smooth thick batter.

Stir in the fruit.

Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium high heat for 3 minutes then add a drizzle of oil.  Heat for another minute then add a ladleful of pancake mixture.

Cook for around 3 minutes on one side until the bubbles that start to appear on the surface have all popped and opened, the base of the pancake is a golden brown, and the pancake mixture on the surface is not runny when you tip the pan.  Flip the pancake with a wide fish slice and cook for a further 3 minutes until the bottom is as golden brown as the first side.

Serve with or without maple or golden syrup

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No Churn Mango Sorbet

This homemade No Churn Mango Sorbet is exactly like the 'Italian' mango ice cream my kids eat in France, and just so simple to make (with a food processor).

Makes just over 500g (about 8 scoops)

500g frozen mango chunks
Juice of 1 lime
50-100g sugar (maple syrup can be used instead)

Simply blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, adding more sweetener to taste.  It can be eaten straight out of the mixer bowl as a stiff smoothie, or freeze in an old ice cream container. If freezing, try to remember to stir the sorbet with a strong fork every hour at least a couple of times. This breaks up the ice into smaller crystals making it more scoopable.

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Banana Bread, Gluten Free or Not

I'm late to the Banana Bread lockdown party. Unheated bananas are a rare thing in our house. And if any get overripe they are frozen, to reappear in smoothies or pancakes.

But yesterday, Rachel at West Lea Farm Shop gave me some ripe bananas and asked if I could make some.

I've followed Mary Berry's Banana Bread recipe from The Happy Foodie website, and made 2 with gluten free self raising flour (on the right), and 2 with ordinary self raising flour (the one on the bottom left is ours to try!).  They've both risen equally well.

Halloween 2024 - I made banana bread 'muffins' for the trick or treaters.  I replaced the butter with 100g rapeseed oil, and forgot the sugar in one batch, but no-one noticed!  I have now begun making these as a grab & go breakfast for my teens at sixth form college, adding cocoa nibs or chocolate chips

Makes one 2lb or two 1lb cakes

100g soft butter, rapeseed, or light olive oil

175g sugar (I now reduce to 100g, and may try 75g or 50g

2 ripe bananas

225g self raising flour 

1 tsp baking powder

2 large free range eggs

2 tbsp milk  (I don't add this anymore)

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and mix for 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth. Divide into lined loaf tins, or use an ice cream scoop per muffin liner, and bake at 180C for 40 minutes (20 minutes) until golden brown, and a skewer comes out clean when pushed into the centre.

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Blackberry Ice Cream

A friend on Instagram gave me her recipe for Blackcurrant Ice Cream a few years ago, and included a version with blackberries.  Last night I made my first Blackberry Ice Cream with the big fat cultivated blackberries from my allotment, but it would be just as good if not better with wild blackberries.

400g blackberries
100-200g sugar
300ml double cream

Mix the sugar and fruit together in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring from time to time, until the sugary fruit juices begin to bubble.  I used 200g sugar last night, which is very much to my kids sweet tooth but less so to mine.  I would probably use less next time.  Turn off the heat and leave to cool.

Pass the cooled stewed fruit though a sieve and stir in the double cream.  Leave to chill in the fridge.  Once cold put in an ice cream maker.  If you haven't got an ice cream maker, put in an old ice cream tub and freeze for 4-6 hours, stirring every hour. to stop it freezing as a solid block!

Works well with all soft fruit; strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries...

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Simple Plum Chutney

Plum Chutney is probably one of my best selling chutney's at Alresford Country Market.  Problem is I can never remember which recipe I based it on.  Finally, after a lot of googling I found it on Tesco's website (Spiced Plum & Ginger Chutney) and am posting my variation of it on my blog for posterity.

Makes 4x 450g jars

750g plums
2 tsp ground ginger (optional)
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
125g sultanas
400g sugar
450ml pickling vinegar

Remove the stones from the plums and chop into 1 cm cubes, particularly if firm.  Put everything in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir frequently and the mixture will become thick and glossy.

Transfer to sterilised jars and seal with new or sterilised lids immediately

Sterilising jars and lids - Use clean, dry jars.  Either wash in the dishwasher or place clean jam jars in cold oven and heat to 150C, then leave in the hot oven for 10 minutes.  If re-using lids, put through the dishwasher and place in a bowl of boiling water as you start to bottle the chutney.

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All in One Apple Cake - Dairy Free Version

I stumbled across this recipe earlier in the year, when looking for a rhubarb cake recipe.  I thought I'd try it with apple, and using the all in one approach just to save time.  It seems to work.

2 small eating apples
225 sugar
240ml sunflower oil
240g self raising flour (gluten free self raising can be used instead)
3 eggs
2 tbsp apple juice
1 heaped tsp baking powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Peel the apples, cut into quarters and core.  Place in the food processor with all the other ingredients.  Whizz until you can just see pea sized lumps of apple.

Pour the cake into a greased and lined cake tin.  I use two sandwich tins and make 2 small cakes.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small dry bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cake. If using 2 sandwich tins mix 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1/2tsp cinnamon, sprinkle over one cake and then do the same with the other.

Bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

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Quince Jelly

My elderly aunt got carried away when I visited her last Friday, and picked me loads of quinces from their garden.  I've never seen, left alone cooked a quince before and I'm not sure they were quite ripe, as most quince recipes talk about the flesh turning pink when cooked.  And mine didn't.  Instead I have a beautiful honey/amber jelly with a very citrusy tang.  I now need to work out what to use it with.

1kg quince
1l water
1kg sugar approx
Juice of 1 lemon (if using ripe quince)

When making a jelly, I work on the principle of simmering 500g of fruit with the same amount of water ie 500ml.  So, with the quince, I quartered them and added the fruits, seeds, core, peel and everything to the pan and simmered with a lid on for half an hour until the fruit was soft and pulpy.

Strain the fruit pulp through a jelly bag overnight.  Weigh the drained fruit pulp the next day and add the same volume of water to the pan and simmer again for 20 minutes before straining again for a couple of hours.

When all the fruit juice has drained through, measure the liquid into a pan with a measuring jug and add 500g of sugar for every 500ml of liquid and the lemon juice if using ripe fruit.  Bring to the boil and then leave on a rolling boil for 10 minutes taking care it doesn't boil over.

After 10 minutes check for a set on a chilled plate.  When a spoonful of cold jelly wrinkles when you push your finger through it, it is done.  Take the jelly of the heat.  Jelly does seem to create a scum very easily so pour gently through a sieve  into sterilised jars and seal.

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Toffee Apple Cake

Oops. I posted this last year but when I came to look up the recipe for this year's apple harvest I realised I hadn't posted any text at all.  Thankfully I remembered where I got the recipe from, The Daily Mail's Upside Down Apple Cake.

Serves 8

For the caramel

175g (6oz) caster sugar

125ml (4fl oz) water

3 small red-skinned apples (such as Cox’s)

A squeeze of lemon juice

For the cake

175g (6oz) butter

175g (6oz) caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

150g (5½oz) self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

2tbsp ground almonds

Cream, to serve (optional)

Butter a 24cm (9½in) round springform cake tin and line the base with parchment paper. For the caramel, melt the sugar and water in a small pan over a low heat. Bring to the boil and bubble over a low heat for a few minutes until a deep golden colour – be careful not to burn it. Quickly remove from the heat and pour it immediately into the base of the cake tin. Core and slice the apples and place in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and toss, then arrange in concentric circles in the base of the tin (see finished cake, above).

Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. In a bowl cream together the butter and sugar until pale and light. Gradually add the eggs, then sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix together then fold in the ground almonds. Pour the cake mixture over the apples in the tin and spread evenly. Bake for 40-45 minutes until deep golden and springy to the touch and the edges are just coming away from the tin. Allow to cool for just a few minutes on a wire rack, then turn upside down onto a serving plate. (If you leave it any longer the apples will stick to the lining paper.) Serve with cream, if liked.

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Greengage Jam

Sadly the shop bought greengages I bought here in the UK aren't a patch on the super sweet Reine Claude greengages bought in France.  So maybe making them into jam will make them sweeter?

Makes 3x 340g jars + 1x 180g jar

1kg greengages
850g granulated sugar, approximately
Juice of 1 lemon

Stone the greengages, weighing the greengage flesh as you want the same amount of sugar as the weight of the stoned fruit.

Chop the fruit fairly small (the skins don't break up during the cooking so bear this in mind with the size of fruit chunks you settle on).  Simmer the diced fruit with an expresso cup (50ml) of water with the lid on for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time until the fruit pulp has broken down.

Add the sugar and lemon juice and bring to a rapid boil.  Boil for 5 minutes whilst you sterilise the jars in the oven.  Test for a set on a cold saucer.  If not set continue boiling for another 5 minutes then test again.  Having made two batches of this jam in as many weeks I find it tends to reach setting point after about 5-10 minutes of boiling.  If you leave it too long you risk the jam becoming positively rubbery!

Pour into sterilised jars and seal with sterilised lids.

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Sloe Gin Jelly

Searching for damsons in my mother's garden I came across a large crop of ripe sloes, so many in fact that I had enough for Sloe Gin (500g of sloes are currently waiting in the freezer for me to buy some cheap gin), and for me to experiment making Sloe Gin Jelly.

My recipe below has 1 shot of gin in.  I'm not sure I can taste it.  But it is a wonderfully tart jelly that would go well in a gravy, with red meat, game, strong cheddar, as much as on toast.  Apparently I have a long wait until my new damson tree fruits, but sloes turn out to be a good alternative.

500g sloes
500ml water
1kg bramley apples
500g sugar
1 shot gin (optional)

Simmer the sloes in the water, covered for about 20 minutes until the fruit is all pulpy.  Roughly chop the apples and add to the sloes, skin, cores and all.  Simmer for another 20 minutes until the apple has disintegrated.

Strain the fruit pulp through a jelly bag overnight.

Measure the collected fruit juice (mine came to 500g/500ml) and add the same weight in sugar to a clean pan.  Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes before checking to see if the jam is set.  Seal in sterilised jars.

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Sweet & Sticky Rhubarb Chutney

The start of rhubarb chutney

I cut the last of this year's rhubarb this morning to ensure I have enough chutney for the Christmas Country Markets.

I found this recipe on the internet many years ago, and will put it back there for posterity.  It says it is good for end of season rhubarb

Makes 2.3 kg (5 lb)

Rhubarb - 900g (2 lb)
Garlic - 15g (½ oz) 4 cloves
Root ginger - 25g (1 oz)
Lemons - 2, zest only
Salt - 1tsp
Cayenne pepper - 15g (½ oz) 2 tsp
Sultanas - 450g (1 lb)
Demerara sugar - 900g (2 lb) 1.5lb
Vinegar - 600 ml (1 pint)
 
Finely dice the rhubarb.  Put the roughly chopped garlic and root ginger into a blender cup and liquidise with a little of the vinegar.  Add all the ingredients into a large pan and simmer gently, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens.  Pot the chutney while hot into sterilised jars.  Keep it for 3 months before using.

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Food Processor Seville Marmalade

Making marmalade is a time consuming business; squeezing, shredding, soaking overnight, and simmering till soft.

My small contribution to shortening this process is to slice or blitz the juiced peel in a food processor.  Lots of people seemed to be shredding theirs in old fashioned mincers, so I thought why not a food processor.  Oh and not bothering to soak the chopped peel overnight.  Works for me.

1kg seville oranges
2 litres water
2kg sugar

Halve the oranges and squeeze out the juice into your largest pan with a lid.  Cut the halves into quarters, scrape out the squashed remainder of the segments and reserve, and place the scraped quarters into a food processor.  Blitz until small and add to the saucepan.  Collect together all the scrapings from the peel, and the pips and flesh from the juicer and tie these in a piece of muslin (I used a jelly bag tied tightly with string) and add to the pan together with the water.  Bring to the boil then simmer on the lowest heat for about 2 hours.  The peel is ready when it squashes easily between your fingers.

Once the peel is soft, add the sugar and bring to a rapid boil uncovered.  Check for a set after about 20 minutes (Place a teaspoon of marmalade on a saucer that has been chilling in the freezer.  The marmalade should wrinkle and be like a thin jelly when you push your finger through it.)  If not setting, leave for another 10 minutes then test again.

When the marmalade is setting, turn off the heat and leave the marmalade for 30 minutes to cool a little.  This is to prevent the peel all floating to the top which is does when the marmalade is very hot.  Whilst waiting for it to cool place your washed jars in a cold oven and turn the temperature up to 150C.  When the oven reaches temperature your jars are sterilised.  Turn the oven off until the marmalade has had it's cooling time.

Bottle the jars just short of the brim and seal tightly with lids that have been washed and sterilised in a bowl of boiling water.  The marmalade is ready to eat straight away, after only a morning's work!

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Bircher Muesli

Bircher Muesli seems all the rage right now, and after a few days of illness I thought I'd try out this supposedly healthy option.

I googled a few recipes and then, as ever, came up with a few short cuts

Serves 1
30g no added sugar fruit & nut muesli (internet recipes generally said use oats then add dried fruit & nuts, but the supermarket's own muesli has it all!)
6tbsp apple juice (this ended up far too sweet in my opinion and I would use milk, or even water in future)
1 eating apple, grated
1 dessertspoon greek yoghurt with honey (most recipes say plain yoghurt + honey, and I just happened to have this in the fridge for the kids)

I believe the original recipe soaked the muesli in the apple juice (or liquid of your choice) overnight.  I forgot so soaked it for about 45 minutes on the kitchen counter whilst I got my disabled daughter dressed, out of bed, and ready for her school bus. Other more modern food writers say as little as 10 minutes soaking is all that is required.

When ready to eat, grate the apple and stir in the yoghurt and tuck in.

My verdict: This is not a quick breakfast.  You have to remember to soak the muesli for as long as takes your fancy/schedule.  Grating an apple also adds a little more time. And after all that I found it rather too sickly sweet.

I would soak my muesli again - it plumped the fruit up nicely - but I am more likely to soak it in milk as I get my kids ready for school and eat it later when the chaos subsides. And then pick up an apple from the fruit bowl and eat that as I head out.

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St Clements Marmalade with Elderflower

I'm not sure as I peer through the rain covered window whether any elderflowers are left out there, but if there are and you are making Elderflower Cordial I highly recommend making marmalade with the orange and lemon soaked with the elderflowers overnight.

Makes about 3x 450g jars
2 oranges
2 lemons
Sugar
Water

Remove the sliced oranges and lemons from the discarded elderflowers.  Don't worry if any odd elderflowers are attached to the slices, that is part of this marmalade's charm.  Finely shred the slices including the rind, ensuring you remove all the pips as this can make the marmalade unpleasantly bitter.

Once shredded, weigh the chopped mass.  Write this weight down then and add the same weight of water to a heavy bottomed pan and bring to the boil.  Simmer very gently with the lid off until the rind is soft enough to squash between your fingers.  My marmalade recipe says 2 hours but it is for Seville marmalade the rinds of which are apparently tougher than most citrus fruit.  I think it took about 30-60 minutes to be soft enough.

When you think the rind is soft enough add double the weight of the shredded fruit in sugar.  Stir to dissolve and bring to a rolling boil and keep it boiling for 10 minutes.  Test for set on a saucer that has been placed in the freezer.  The marmalade is set when about a teaspoon of marmalade wrinkles when cooled as you push the edge of it towards the middle.  Turn off the heat once the marmalade has reached setting point and leave for about 10 minutes before pouring into sterlised jars (see below).  The reason for leaving it to cool a little is to stop start the jam setting and stop all the rind floating to top.

How to sterilise jars:-  Soak the labels off in warm soapy water and clean thoroughly inside and out.  Drain then place into cold oven.  Heat the oven and jars to 150C.  The jars are sterilised once the oven reaches temperature.  I sterilise lids (both old and new) by simmering them in boiling water whilst the jars are sterilising in the oven.

Richly Spiced Plum Chutney

I opted for a chutney with the second half of my donated plums, having made a Spiced Plum Jam the BBC Good Food's recipe took my fancy.  And for once, I pretty much followed it to the letter apart from not having any mustard seeds.

Richly spiced plum chutney

Ingredients
1kg plums, halved, stoned and finely chopped

3 onions, finely chopped
100g dried cranberries or raisins, roughly chopped with an oiled knife
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tbsp black mustard seed
1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes

400ml red wine vinegar
500g light muscovado sugar

Method
 1. Put all the ingredients, except the sugar, into a large pan and stir well. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 mins, until the plums are tender.

2. Stir in the sugar plus 2 tsp salt and keep stirring until it has dissolved. Boil the chutney for 20-30 mins, uncovered, stirring occasionally to prevent it catching on the bottom, until it is thick and pulpy.

3. Pot into sterilised jars (see Know-how, below), seal, label and store for at least 2 weeks before eating. Will keep for up to 6 months in a cool dark place.

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Tomato Chutney

A chance discovery of some 600g punnets of tomatoes reduced to 50p a punnet in my local Co-op and I am now the proud owner of some tomato chutney for the first time ever.

My base recipe came from the BBC Good Food website.  It says use ripe tomatoes but I don't see why you couldn't use green ones if you have loads.

1kg ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

750g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

375g light muscovado sugar (I just used white granulated)

250g onions, chopped

250g raisins

1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped (I didn't use any as I don't like it in chutney)

2 tsp salt 

½ tsp ground ginger

350ml cider vinegar (I used pickling vinegar)

Place all the ingredients into a large heavy based saucepan.  Bring to the boil and boil gently for 45-50 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the chutney has thickened.  Seal into sterilised jars.  This doesn't say how long to leave it to mature before using but most chutneys are 2-3 months to let the harshness of the vinegar mellow.

I dutifully followed the recipe and peeled and chopped the tomatoes and apples.  Next time, however, I think I'll just core the apple and place the tomatoes, apples, and onions in the food processor.

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