Strawberry Jam

 I love it when strawberries are so cheap, I get to make strawberry jam!

I've never really been a jam maker but I am starting to .  A few years back I had a go at making marmalade. We were given some tangerines and it was the only thing that I could think to do with them. I love marmalade, and from that day on I never bought another jar. Home made was so much better.Now every year we get given oranges, so every year I get to make marmalade.

Last year when the strawberries were so cheap, I had a go at making strawberry jam. It was delicious! so this year when the prices of strawberries dropped, I thought I'd have another go. 

Home made strawberry jam is just delicious! I've hidden it away so the other family members cannot find it.

Potato Bake

Potato bakes are nothing new, but ways they can be put together can vary.

I was looking for a different way to serve potatoes and found this, a vertical potato bake. There was just one problem, the slices of potatoes just would not stay vertical!

Slices of peeled potato, sprinkled with salt, pepper and rosemary, then stood upright and covered with cream. Maybe if I had cut the potatoes in half to give a flat edge I may have had more luck. I think I would have had to have the casserole dish jammed packed to make them stand too.

It tasted fine and I guess that's all that matters.

Orange And White Chocolate Cake

There was a birthday in the house on Monday, so I decided to make a cake. I thought of caramel mud cake, white chocolate mud cake, orange cake, and the list went on. I settled on something with white chocolate, then Googled flavour pairings with it. The list was endless, but it did contain orange, and I still had a pile of oranges that I could use. So then I Googled white chocolate and orange cake recipes and found heaps.

I found one where the orange was cut, skin and all ( I did remove the seeds) and placed in a food processor. This was different. then there was the one with cardamon in it, mmm........ interesting. I have made plenty of orange cakes with cinnamon in them, but never cardamon. So I combined the two. I quite often pick bits and pieces of recipes now and blend to make my own.

The cake was the basic cream butter and sugar, add eggs,  orange pulp,  flour, spice, orange juice and white chocolate type.

It's the first time I've made an orange cake using pulp made in a food processor. I usually grate the orange rind, and I'll keep doing it that way now I've tried it in the food processor. Using a grater gives a much finer rind through the cake, the food processor left some of the pieces a bit big for my liking. I could have processed it more, but it took a long time anyway. Much quicker and better to grate I think.

Then it was time to add the cardamon. The recipe called for teaspoon of the spice, but I wasn't game to add that much, so I only added a very small half teaspoon of it. It can be tasted in the cake, next time I might be tempted to add a bit more, or even combine it with cinnamon.

Once cooked and cooled, the cake then needed icing. I thought of a white chocolate ganache, and orange frosting, and wondered how orange juice  and white chocolate would would react together. So I Googled again and found a recipe for orange and white chocolate truffles.Using this as a guide, I melted some white chocolate with butter, added some icing sugar and orange juice, and stirred until smooth. It tasted good! So this is what I put on my cake, topped off with chopped roasted pistachio nuts.

The cake was excellent except for the larger pieces of orange rind. Great as cake on its own but even better with fresh strawberries. I'll be making one of these again, just not in a food processor.

Little Orange and Chocolate Tarts

Last week we were given a whole bag of oranges. We get them every year from one of my husband's squash partners. When we do get them, there is usually a lot of different orange flavoured things on the menu. This was the second batch for the year, and as I had already made a batch of marmalade, I needed to do something different.

I searched on-line for orange desserts, and found a recipe for a chocolate and orange tart. I must add here that it was delicious, especially with fresh strawberries and blue berries. For this recipe I needed orange curd, and that meant I had to make it. No worries, it was easy enough, I just had a jar of it left over after making the tart. What to do with it?

Back when I was a child my Mother would make a batch of little sweet pastry tart cases, then fill them with lemon curd when needed for afternoon tea. So I had an idea that I could make little sweet pastry cases and fill them with orange curd. Then I had another idea that I could top them with a chocolate ganache. Mmmm......... an interesting idea that needs some work.

The little sweet tart cases were fine, but the orange curd was soft. It was a nice spreading consistency for toast, and went into the little tart cases OK, it just wasn't good when I went to spread the chocolate ganache on the top. With the first one, I tried to spread the ganache, but dumped that idea very quickly as the orange curd and ganache mixed together. From then on I just dolloped the ganache on the top. The prettiness may not be there, but gee the taste is. One little mouthful of yummyness.

Would I make them again? Yes, but differently. Maybe the ganache could go on the bottom of the tart, be left to set, then the orange curd added to the top. Something to think about.

I must show you my little tart tins too that I used to make them. This one was my mothers, and has been well used. I have others that I have bought that have that same shell shape on the bottom too, so can make many at the same time. It's a shape that I have not seen in a very long time. I'll treasure this one for as long as I can.

A Beef Pie

Time has moved on from my earlier post. My pie mix has been slow cooked, thickened and put into a casserole pot. I then topped it with puff pastry, decorated it, glazed it, sprinkled it with sesame seeds, and popped it into the oven to cook.

I like my pie pastry crisp, so I always use something to lift it off my filling. My Mum always did this, so I do it too. I'm sure my Mum had a pie funnel, but I don't so I make do with what  have. I wonder what happened to hers?

I Googled pie funnels, and yes, they do still exist. I must look for one in a kitchen shop when I'm next in one. I am constantly looking in them and must say I have never spotted one. Maybe an op shop might be a better place to look.

This pot is a little bigger than the one I normally use as the mix was more, so my normal glass egg cup that  I use to lift it up was too small. So instead I used a small, clean, upturned glass jar. Possibly a little too big, but it worked.

My decorations of flowers and leaves were just cut from left over pastry. I've made roses from rolled ribbon many times, so I just made this one from rolled pastry. The leaves were just cut freehand with a knife.

So my pie went into the oven and came out looking like this.

It was hot and delicious, with a hint of spice, and ready in time for dinner.

A Beef Pie - The Makings Of

Going into the pot today we have the makings of a beef pie. We have chuck steak, onions, garlic, tomato puree, fresh chopped parsley from the garden, salt, pepper and enough water to cover.

I have made this pie many times before and it is always delicious. Today I am vamping it up a bit with the addition of some smoked paprika. I discovered smoked paprika only recently and it is a delicious addition to many things, so I am trying it out in this mix.

The mix will take some time to cook, then there is some  procedures to go through before it becomes a pie. Hopefully in time for dinner.

Welcome

Welcome to my kitchen. I like to create, with food as well as with a needle, fiber, my camera, plants and sometimes a pen, pencil, texta or paint brush. I have stitching blogs, a photography blog, and one for my garden and travel, so I thought I would make one for my kitchen creations.

It is here I hope to share with you all the tantalising creations that come from my kitchen. I may share recipes, and food sources, and who knows what else. It's all a journey, so share with me as I create.