kitchen craft

Crystallised fruit

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A by product which turned out brilliantly!

After using the fruit as you wish (in my case grapefruit vodka), the peel of a grapefruit is sliced and boiled in water for 3 minutes.

The water is dumped and replaced with clean cold water, the peels are boiled for another 3 minutes, water replaced and boiled for another 3 minutes before once again dumping the water.

The peels are then covered with just enough fresh water and a similar volume of sugar is added. This mixture is simmered until the water evaporates, about 40 minutes for me.

The sticky peels are then tossed in sugar and left to dry before storing in a tin.

Tart and sweet, surprisingly tender. Will be interesting to see if they harden further in the days to come, if they last that long!

Hob cooked granola

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An experiment in DIY healthy which turned out very well indeed!

I ‘fried’ old fashioned oats in just enough coconut oil (I used a mug of oats and a tablespoon of oil) until they started to toast – a good 5 minutes of stirring – then added in a spoon of honey.

Once it was well mixed, I turned off the heat and stirred through some shredded coconut, chopped walnuts and almonds, some seeds and some chopped dates.

Various recipes suggested a little salt, olive oil rather than coconut and all sorts of variation on the fruit, seed, nuts but this seems like a free and easy way to make your own version of granola.

Once cooled, store in a jar or tin well out of sight or you will snack and graze through it too quickly.

Frugal foodie

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Maintaining this year’s resolution of luxury on a budget means, in practice, a ‘no waste’ kitchen.

Today a lone orange presented a challenge (I have jars full of dehydrated citrus slices). I found a recipe on frugal Jo’s YouTube channel for such an orphan fruit.

Chopped finely (yes including the peel) and mixed with half a cup of sugar then simmered for 20 minutes, this creates a pot of surprisingly good marmalade. A splash of whiskey takes it up a level.

Don’t be sceptical about something so easy. Absolutely worth trying.

2023 resolution: Luxury on a budget

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Marinated goats cheese, today’s indulgence

This year’s resolution is to enjoy the good things, to seize opportunities and avoid unconscious waste. I’m calling it ‘luxury on a budget’ though your idea of luxury and mine might be quite different, I hope you get the idea.

Today I stumbled on super post-Christmas bargains which seem to fit the bill so a pack of French goats cheese has been preserved by freezing half and marinating half for future indulgence.

To marinate: flavour olive oil with dried herbs and spices. I used rosemary, bay leaves, peppercorns, cumin seeds and chili flakes. Cut the cheese into cubes or roll into little balls and drop gently into the oil. Top up the oil so the cheese is completely covered.

This will last in the fridge for a month. The frozen cheese is good for 6 months.

Pineapple preserved…

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One bargain pineapple becomes …

The peel is dehydrated to become pot pourri and car freshener

The core is simmered with spices and caster sugar to become a syrup for boosting soft drinks (and adding to rum of course)

Half the flesh is cubed and fried in brown sugar. Half of that is eaten hot with yoghurt. The other half is added to cubed left over turkey in a tangy burrito.

The remaining flesh is cubed and simmered in vinegar, spices and sugar to become relish.

Finally the leaves are boiled and the water strained and sweeten to make a (reputedly) healthy tea

Many mushroom makes

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A giant catering tin of mushrooms was a bargain buy but once opened presented a ‘waste not want not’ challenge. I have paired them so far in:

chestnut stuffing – with breadcrumbs and herbs

Pasta sauce, boosting the usual tomato and onion base and topped with truffle oil

Savoury pancakes with cream and garlic

Chicken and mushroom pie – pastry bottom and lid, broth based gravy

Potato mushroom curry

And the rest is now in the freezer awaiting inspiration. Ideas welcome!

Rosemary harvest ideas

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What to do with all this rosemary? Ideas to date:

Rosemary and tomato salt, includes dehydrated tomato skins to give pretty red flecks in the final mix

Rosemary oil from cold marinaded olive oil to be gifted in pretty bottles for foodie friends to enjoy

Still marinading three weeks on, the hopefully flavoured oil is nearly ready for straining and bottling

Rosemary facial toner from simmering sprigs in water and then diluting the strained result in apple cider vinegar

Left over to luscious…pineapple

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After the pineapple upside down cake…
  • Half a fresh pineapple chopped into 1cm pieces
  • Half an onion finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons raisins
  • 2 crushed cloves
  • 3 allspice berries crushed
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Throw all the above in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for about half an hour before storing in the fridge. Goes well with ice cream, roast gammon or jacket potatoes. Sweet and tangy, I love it!

Apple leather

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A first attempt that worked out really well. 6 apples peeled, cored and chopped then simmered in as little water as I could get away with. I added a squirt of lemon juice and a spoon of sugar then puréed it all before simmering off as much liquid as possible. The paste then went into the dehydrator in a thin layer for 10 hours before being snipped into snack bites. Lasts well in a tin.