Relishing the Summer

It has been a glorious couple of weeks. I have made the promised relish, only to realise when the windows were dripping with condensation that there is a reason that chutney, relish and jam making is usually confined to the autumn. Not only does it suspend the produce of summer in a jewelled loveliness, but it is also a way to keep warm and save you from putting on the heating as long as possible. In the middle of summer, however, it was stifling, but I bore with it as the benefits were worth it - and at least it was acclimatising me for my visit to Greece the next week.

Below is my version of Tomato and Pepper Relish  

Ingredients:

1.75kg ripe tomatoes (big juicy ones and small plum tomatoes about to turn)

1.25 kg red onions and shallots (this was just what I had available to use up)

4 medium sized peppers, red or yellow are best

25 g salt

250 g granulated sugar

450 ml white wine vinegar

1. Peel and chop the onions. De-seed and chop the peppers. Chop the tomatoes.

2. Mix the peppers, tomatoes and onions in a saucepan and add the vinegar, salt and sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer until mixture thickens in consistency (approximately 40 minutes).

3. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.

There are several ways to sterlise jars. The easiest is to half fill the jars with water and place in th microwave for about a minute, until boiling (don't put in the jar lids!) You could also pull them fresh from the dishwasher. That day, I washed them in hot soapy water, rinsed them in hot water and then put them in a pre-heated moderate oven for ten minutes - until completely dry. Be careful as they will be very hot whichever method you use, and should be filled as soon as you can with the hot mixture, which will continue the process.

The result of all of that simmering was divine, even without letting it mature for a month in a jar (which is recommended to let the flavours develop). I stored the jars and took the small white ramekin with me on a blackberry picking picnic with my friend the next day. We sat in the car in the pouring rain, slathering the relish onto hunks of the courgette slice I had made for the occassion - it was a favourite from my childhood and I had bought a stash or courgettes specifically to make this favourite tea-time treat. I include the recipe below:

Courgette/Zuchinni Slice (I grew up calling them zuchinni's and the name still sticks)

Ingredients:

5 eggs

150g (1 cup) self-raising flour (this time I used Dove's Gluten free for my friend, who is Coeliac, and it gave the same effect without changing the taste)
375g (about 3-4) courgettes, grated

1 large onion, finey chopped or grated

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used a light version)

60ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a deep pan - about 30 x 20cm.

2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the flour and beat until smooth, then add the courgette, onion, cheese and oil and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through (check with a bambo skewer - it should come out clean in the same way as when you bake a cake).

3. Cut into squares.

You can add bacon, ham, or even a tin of salmon in step 2 for a meatier version as well.

We followed this tasty picnic with cupcakes - I prefer to use a Nigella recipe for the little cupcakes and top it with the Hummingbird Bakery's vanilla frosting and sparkly sprinkles. They are pictured below, but my icing isn't as cute as it usually is as it is as it was my first attempt at using a piping bag.

When we were satisfied and the rain had let up to just a drizzle, we got under way with our true purpose that day, and so braved the puddles, me in fit flops and my friend in golden pumps, to pick the plump and juicy blackberries that grew in abundance in the common. Our fingers searched for the large moist goodies, avoiding the brambles as best we could, trying to grab as delicately as we could, occassionaly losing the ripest ones amongst the thick foliage with the slightest bump. I ate nearly as many blackberries as went in my containers, ignoring the drizzling rain which suddenly pummeled down again, saturating us under our umbrellas, but we were oblivious until our containers where jammed full and our fingers were stained purple.

The gorgeous day was topped off with a gift from my friend of a large bag of apples, picked from her own tree, and an amazing recipe for Moist Apple Cake. As soon as I got home, I froze one container of blackberries to deal with later, and made an individual portion of blackberry and apple crumble in a small ramekin. I devoured it before even taking a photo as it was so utterly delicious. My blissful summer day had come to an end.



Tomatolicious!

It has been awhile since I have been to the local market - the main reason being that I had moved and am still to discover one that is in my new local area. So it was with unrestrained joy that I saw the local fruit and vegetable market was still open today when I was visiting my old neighbourhood.

I gazed at the mounds of produce, glistening under the recent gentle shower, beckoning with their bargain bountiness. I could barely restrain my greed, wanting to clasp up the short stubby cucumbers I remembered growing in my grandfathers garden in my childhood, or the plump, juicy white cherries, or the large watermelons ... for just £3! I managed to restrain myself to a shinning aubergine, a bowl full of variously coloured peppers (or capsicum, as I can't help but sometimes think of them), a bowl of tomatoes and some juicy plump peaches.

Supper tonight was my home made version of Aubergine Parmigiana, which I made one night in a desperate attempt to copy the meal so perfectly served in many Italian restaurants. It is not necessarily anything near as good as the many recipes you could find in cookbooks, but it is quick, simple, and showcases this vegetable in a delicious and healthy way:

Aubergine Parmigiana
One unblemished aubergine, perfectly purple, sliced lenghtways
A splash of olive oil in a pan, in this case a grill pan which gives a nice appearance
An opened can of crushed tomatoes into which a minced garlic bulb is stirred (pre-heated if you like)
In a baking dish layer the cooked aubergine with the crushed tomatoes, seasoning as you go
Liberally sprinkle with grated mozarella (or chedder as it was tonight as that was all I had handy)
Bake in an oven at around 200 degrees until the cheese is brown and the sauce is bubbling
Serve with salad

For desert, I had one of the sweet peaches, which my friend had promised was better than any that she had had in sun warmed Spain the previous week - and she was right. Delicious!

And before you ask why I didn't make the tomoto sauce for my dinner from those I bought at the market, you're right - it would have been delicious, but I am currently searching for a relish or chutney recipe for those beauties, and for some other tomatoes and a bowl of onions which are in situ on the kitchen bench and are begging to be used. I hope to present them in my next post.