Saturday, January 22, 2011

one day

this is where i wanted to be tonight - lismore twilight markets.


one day i'll make it.
one day this is where i want to be with a stall of my own.
one day i hope to see you there.

oh the dreams!

Friday, January 21, 2011

annie greenabelle

kudos to my bro-in-law for finding annie greenabelle - women's organic and fairtrade clothing.

oh i wish for a husband that buys his wife fabulous clothing gifts. jacqs is one lucky girl.

my new favourite dress:

all dressed up with no where to go... oh its in need of an adventure!

and my wish list. some lovely designs and fabrics. i advise you check it out. now. :)

green tomato pickle

for the friendliest neighbour in the world - ken.

and for my tomoato plants that were damged by storms. and they are super tomatoes - home made compost is amazing stuff.

ingredients
750ml vinegar
3kg green tomatoes
1kg onions
small handful of salt
1/2 tspn pepper
1kg sugar
3tblspn curry powder
3tbspn mustard powder

method
1. chop onions and tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, mix well in a bowl, then leave to stand overnight.
2. next day, drain off the fluid. add 3/4 of vinegar, bring to the boil and boil for 10minutes. add the sugar, bring back to the boil, stirring. then boil for 1hour, stirring often.
3. mix remaining vinegar with the dry ingredients. add to the pot and stil until well combined. boil for 5minutes then bottle and seal.

trying this today. let you know the results. can't say i've ever eaten green tomato pickle before!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

the peppermint world

cheers for the long awaited expanding website of peppermint!

cheers for sewing school patterns for rainy days at home! will have an attempt next week.



finally get to read my peppermint mag tomorrow. its been sitting neglected since its arrival. oh joy.

cucumber pickles

for me. i love pickles.
i couldn't believe how easy creating my own pickles could be.

ingredients
4 large cucumbers
2 cups white vinegar
1.5 tblspns sugar
strips of red pepper (optional)
1 tspn salt
1/2 cup hot water
2 tspns seeded mustard (optional)

method
1. wash cucumbers, slice thinly and arrange in layers sprinkling salt between layers - cover overnight, drain well.
2. combine vinegar, hot water, sugar, mustard seeds and salt and bring to the boil. simmer uncovered for 15minutes. add cucumber, bring to the boil. put in jars.

NOTE: rock salt does not work as effectively as using a salt mill. lesson learnt.

microwave strawberry jam

for mum and kel. my jam sisters.

i still don't think my nanna believes you can make proper jam in the microwave... although she has asked for another jar!

a Sydney Markets recipe.

ingredients
750g strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
2 cups caster sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

method
1. combine strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a large heatproof bowl. stir until strawberries are well coated with sugar mixture.
2. microwave, uncovered, for 7minutes on high power. stir with a wooden spoon. brush sides of bowl with a wet brush to remove sugar crystals. microwave for 30-35 minutes, stirring every 5minutes, until jam reaches setting point*. spoon hot jam into a 500ml sterilized jar. cover with lid. seal tightly when cold.

*to check if jam is at setting point, place 1 teaspoon onto a chilled saucer. freeze for 1-2minutes. run your finger through jam, if the surgace wrinkles and jam stays in 2 portions, it's ready to spoon into jar. if not, cook for another 1-5minutes until jam reaches setting point.

NOTE: my favourite alternative is to use 2/3 strawberries and 1/3 blueberries. a very yum combination. and i use organic raw sugar and have have had great results!

sweet orange marmalade

for dad. my favourite garden-cook buddy.
















recipe from 'back to Maclean High School Cookbok 40th Anniversary 19961-2001'
by Margaret Kirby

ingredients
2 oranges
1 lemon
7.5 cups water
1kg sugar

method
1. cut oranges and lemon into very thin slices, removing seeds.
2. put slices into a bowl, add water and leave overnight.
3. next day put into saucepan and cook gently until rinds are soft and water is reduced by 1/3.
4. put seeds in calico and tie to pot handle - dangle in jam.
5. add the sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved, then boil rapidly until setting point is reached.
6. stir gently and bottle into sterilised jars.

purebaby

for mum - some gorgeous organic cotton kidies clothes. i'm a fan:






my new best friend

my electra cruiser. the start of many new adventures round evans. can't wait.