Schnapps is excellent – if you use the small stems from champagne rhubarb, even better..

It’s  super easy – fill a Kilner or similar a third full of chopped young pink rhubarb, add a couple of tablespoons of sugar and top up with vodka; leave 3 months or longer, giving it a good shake every so often.[A nice gift to give around crimbo time] I also make pies, yogurts crumbles.. etc.. and freeze some stalks for later in the year. This year I’m trying my hand at some rhubarb wine – more on that later!

When the stalks get older  it’s time for jam and chutney. Rhubarb and ginger is a good one.. For the past few weeks I’ve been pulling and freezing in readiness for some jam making

The time to stop pulling it is when the first gooseberries are ready, around  the end of  June/July, this is when the acid is beginning to concentrate in the plant, leaving it bitter and unpalatable.
I use the leaves too – boil them up in water, strain, and use as a spray against black fly on broad beans and nasturtiums. Of coarse, they’re put on my compost heap too.

If your in need of some inspiration for recipes – Look here The frozen yoghurt’s divine!

See… such a versatile plant!

Without a shadow of doubt, that will have to be the kitchen for us!

Our kitchen is where we start the day with juice and toast, and on Sundays my favorite bowls steaming hot with café con leche on the table, French bread and mermelada de naranja or strawberry preserves.

In our house we love our bread… what would we do without it? No bread means no morning delight. No bread means no French toast. No bread means no breaded anything. Bread is the foundation for blessed goodness like turkey stuffing, eggs Benedict and meatloaf. If it’s true that man can’t live on bread alone, also true is that the house in the roses cannot live without it!

Our kitchen is a Magic place, where yummy food adds joy to life, and it is also the place where we catch up with each other and talk about the occurrences of our day while making dinner…

Sometimes, it is also a playground for my fantasies whenever I’m alone… a place for dress-up plays and royal princess parties with a touch of Victorian elegance…

It’s also the place where everyone gravitates during parties and get-togethers. We head to the kitchen when we’re hungry, not just for food, but for friends and family…..

…and it is the place where we unwind at night with a cup of tea.

…or indulge in something out of the oven yummy, like this Salvadorian Quesadilla we made late last night while watching a movie…

When I’m old and gray, I want to have a house surrounded by a beautiful garden in the outskirt of the woods. And write. With a lot of wonderful friends, good books, music and bird songs around, and a gorgeous cottage kitchen to cook and live in.

What about you? What’s the most popular room in your house?

Ps: Here is my recipe for this rich, cakey cheese bread called Salvadorian Quesadillas; not to be confused with the Mexican appetizer, quesadilla. As my good friend Lorena explains, this recipe comes from the small village of Rosario de La Paz in El Salvador, and it is flavored with parmesan-type cheese, “queso seco”, and sprinkled with crunchy sesame seeds. A delicious blend of sweet and savory! Enjoy it by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a hot cup of coffee

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 oz. parmesan cheese (grated)
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• sesame seeds

Mix butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time. Sift flour and baking powder. Add to sugar mixture little by little. Add sour cream, parmesan cheese . . . mixing well. Grease 9″ spring pan or baking dish with butter. (I use the floured baking spray.) Add mixture evenly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 to 60 minutes.

Note: If using an oblong pan or jelly roll pan, you’ll need to double the ingredients as show in my picture.

I’m linking this post to:

Tablescape Thursday

Vintage Recipe Thursday

Yesterday I ate a sharp, fresh Rhubarb crumble made from Rhubarb picked on my own patch and it was brilliant.

Neglected Rhubarb
I do very little to my rhubarb crowns and leave them to their own devices in a corner of the veg patch.
Every 5 years or so I have dug up the crown/roots and split the plant into several new ones. This re-energises the following crop when I replant with plenty of compost.
This backend I had a surfeit of horse manure so some crowns got a good mulching whilst other were left untouched.
I do not force the Rhubarb to produce thin pink sticks4-6 weeks early so I missed out on that treat.

Newly Available Varieties
Fultons Strawberry Surprise ‘Voted the best flavoured Rhubarb in the RHS Wisley trials. Strong vigorous plants, produce flushes of vivid red stems making delicious pies or crumbles.
Thompson & Morgan have teamed up with the RHS to offer the first AGM cultivars from its 112 plant National Collection of Rhubarbs. This has historically been held at RHS Harlow Carr in Yorkshire, the centre of the rhubarb growing industry.
These cultivars have been increased in number by using a specialist micropropagation laboratory to eliminate virus and provide healthy plantlets, which are potted on to form a small crown ready for planting. Although these plants are young they will quickly mature, resulting in crowns big enough to harvest from 2 years after planting.’

Buy these and other varieties from Thompson Morgan

Rhubarb Crumble
500g garden rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 3cm pieces
50ml water
80g caster sugar
200g plain flour and oats mixed
100g cold butter, cubed
125g demerara sugar
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.
2. Put the rhubarb in a 1.2 litre ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the water and caster sugar.
3. Sift the flour and oats into a bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Alternatively, pulse in a food processor. Stir in the demerara sugar.
4. Spread the crumble mixture over the rhubarb – don’t pat it down too much. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the rhubarb bubbling through at the edges. Serve hot with cream or ice cream.

More tips for growing rhubarb . Pick and go so you eat fresh Rhubarb.
Do not pick all the stems from one crown, let some grow on and put energy back in for next year. Do not pick late in the season for the same reason.
Water copiously in dry summers a couple of days before you pick the crop.
Break off flowering stems as soon as you see them.

Well I must say I am so glad I did, they turned out pretty good. These scones were really, really light. They were not overly sweet either and the sharpness of the freshly burst cranberry juice in the scones were quite delightful on the tongue. Yum yum. If you don’t believe me, try them – you might just like.
I tried to convert the measurements for these scones into American cups, but I don’t know how successful I was. But I am trying hey.
Fresh Cranberry and white chocolate chip Scones
Makes about 12
Ingredients
280g or 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
55g or ¼ cup caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
70g or ¼ cup margarine or butter
100g or 1 cup fresh cranberries, if small keep whole, if big cut in half
50g or ¼ cup white chocolate chips
200ml milk (you may not need it all)
Method
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add in the margarine or butter till mixture and working with your fingers blend so it begins to resemble breadcrumbs, then stir in the cranberries and white chocolate chips. Carefully add some of the milk and mix to make a smooth dough. Then on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to about 2 inch thick and either cut into individual scones using a cookie cutter; or cut into wedges. Bake at gas mark 4 for 20-25 minutes.

Anyway, like many homes, the cranberry only comes into my kitchen during the month of December. Instead of a rich, dark Christmas pudding, I tend to make Nigella’s Cranberry pudding and undoubtedly that is what I will be making for Christmas day, but today whilst I am still working I thought I would have a go at making some cranberry muffins for the rest of my working week.
I was really pleased with them and they look so seasonal. These muffins are quite flavourful, and the sharpness of the cranberry balanced really well with the sweetness of the white chocolate.

Oh just thought I would share a quirky fact with you about cranberries, if they are fresh and ripe they will bounce, whereas those damaged will not. I thought it was interesting…especially when a number of them literally bounced on the ground when I attempted to chop them.

Updated on the 18th December – I have been encouraged to enter the above image into this months NCR competition, so like a good little girl I am obeying instructions and submitting the above image to this months host Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. The challenge is to submit a festive photo, it doesn’t have to involve food, just something that captures the mood of the festive season. Well I guess my snowman holding a seasonal cranberry muffin with specks of snowflake chocolate should be shared, especially if it brings a smile to make fellow bloggers faces.
Regular readers will note that I have used American measurement this time. I often do when I make muffins, it only seems right.

Cranberry and white chocolate muffins
Makes 12
Ingredients
2 cups of plain flour
½ cup or of light brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk at room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and allowed to cool
2 eggs
1/4 cup of white chocolate chips
1 cup of cranberries, roughly chopped
Method
Line a 12 hole muffin tin with casings. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5. In a bowl, gently stir together flour, brown sugar, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, gently beat in eggs, milk, and the melted butter. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture, along with the chocolate chips and cranberries, and stir to combine well. Fill the muffin cases and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on w wire rack before enjoying. Adapted from ‘Tis the Season by Nanette Blanchard who was inspired by a cranberry and chocolate cookie recipe, now that something I want to try too.

I know how much some of you lovelies fret for my poor shelves each time I post about a new preserve so I thought it was time to show my linen in public (not ‘dirty’ linen I hasten to add, there’s no shame in being a habitual chutney maker!) and share what my shelves really look like.  It’s not that bad…  well thanks to the kilner jars playing Hercules to the sag in the middle there!

Hmmm, there are rather a lot aren’t there!  Would you like one?

All you have to do is have a guess how many jars of preserves there are in this picture.   I’ll send a jar to the person who guesses closest to the correct answer.  I can only post within the UK I’m afraid but don’t let that put you off having a guess international readers.

I’ll contact the winner on Tuesday morning so that those of you who log in at work have a chance to catch up with the weekend’s posts and take part.   You’ll be able to choose from any one of these 110g jars:

spiced apple chutney
tomato and apple chutney
runner bean chutney
spiced damson chutney
damson jam
quince and lavender jelly
roasted tomato and haw berry ketchup
marm’ apple jelly
sweet pickled crab apples
curried apple and carrot chutney (made after photo was taken)

You may have spotted a couple of jars there that I’ve not yet told you about.  The Quince and lavender jelly will have to wait for another day but here’s how…

to make spiced apple chutney
225g/8oz onions, chopped
900g/2lb apples, cored and chopped
110g/4 oz sultanas, raisins or chopped dates
15g/½ oz ground coriander
15g/½ oz paprika
15g/½ oz mixed spice
15g/½ oz salt
340g/12oz granulated sugar
750ml/1  pint malt vinegar

• Put all the ingredients into a  pan and slowly bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved.
• Simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring from time to time to stop the chutney sticking to the pan.  When it is very thick and you can draw a wooden spoon across the base of the pan so that it leaves a channel behind it that does not immediately fill with liquid, the chutney is ready
• Turn into sterilised jars, seal and cool.  Store in a cool, dark cupboard for two to three months before eating.

(this recipe was copied onto a scrap of paper at the library years before I bought any of my own preserve making books.  I didn’t note down the title so let me know if you recognise the recipe from any of your books.  Ta.)

Posted in allotment ]]> http://gardenersvoice.com/2009/12/how-many-%e2%80%a6-giveaway/feed/ 0 http://gardenersvoice.com/2009/12/making-beetroot-and-chocolate-muffins/ http://gardenersvoice.com/2009/12/making-beetroot-and-chocolate-muffins/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:17:00 +0000 Nip it in the bud http://nipitinthebud.wordpress.com/?p=2451 ]]>

These beetroot and chocolate muffins went down a storm at a bring-and-share lunch on Saturday.  I found the recipe on the Ooffoo website after posting up my spinach and aubergine lasagne last month.  The funny thing is that the muffin recipe was posted by Mrs Green, a name you may recognise from comments on my blog, whose My Zero Waste blog chronicles her families commitment to recycling and reducing their household waste.  Discovering one of Mrs Green’s recipes was like bumping into an old friend and since the last of my allotment beets were also looking ‘sad‘ in the bottom of the fridge I decided to give the muffins a try.  My beets had been destined for soup but to be honest I was quite relieved to find an alternative -  I can’t can’t quite get my head, or stomach, round the idea of hot purple slurp.  They certainly won’t be left languishing so long next time and this recipe would be ideal for using up those larger, tougher beetroots that often end up on the compost heap.

The original recipe is here but I adjusted the quantities around the amount of beetroot I had and got 12 muffins and a 9” cake out of this much mixture.  I used a melted a bar of dark chocolate instead of cocoa and reduced the quantity of sugar a little.  You’ll not be disappointed with these muffins; they’re beautifully moist and light and a rich chocolatey brown colour which retains the purple hue of the beetroot.  And Mrs Green adds ‘here is a great snack for kids.  Full of the chocolatey sweet taste they want, but with some cunning raisins and beetroot added so that you can help them achieve their 5-a-day quota!’ 

To make beetroot and chocolate muffins
300g self raising flour
100g bar of dark chocolate or cocoa powder
280g caster sugar
110g raisins
3 eggs
300ml oil
375g blended cooked beetroot (about 6-10 beets depending on size)

• Pre heat oven to 190°c
• Cook the beetroot until soft and then blend with a hand mixer
• Sift the flour (and cocoa powder if using) into a bowl and add the sugar and raisins. Mix well.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs into the oil.  Add the cooked beetroot and mix well.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix everything together lightly.
• Spoon the mix into muffin cases or cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until brown and risen.



ps. …about that 9” cake.  I was going to embark on my maiden freezing of baked goods but having given all the muffins away it was the least I could do to let George have the cake! 

Posted in allotment Tagged: baking, beetroot, chocolate, muffins ]]> http://gardenersvoice.com/2009/12/making-beetroot-and-chocolate-muffins/feed/ 0 http://gardenersvoice.com/2009/12/white-chocolate-chip-and-squash-cookies/ http://gardenersvoice.com/2009/12/white-chocolate-chip-and-squash-cookies/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:20:00 +0000 Allotment 2 Kitchen Most bloggers are making Christmas cookies and I will too, but at the moment I am still trying to find ways to use my sweet autumnal ‘golden apple’ squashes, so have ended up making some Misshapen White chocolate chip and squash cookies.

but they tasted good and were rather moreish. I am giving you the recipe below, but the ingredeint quantities are not exact, as I had to add a little extra flour here and a bit of this there. No matter how they turn out, please note that they will be edible.

White chocolate chip and squash cookies
Makes about 36
Ingredients
340g of plain flour
1 teaspoon each of baking soda; baking powder; cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
¾ teaspoon salt
80g butter
170g dark brown sugar
200g of squash puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g white chocolate chips
Optional ½ cup of pecan shells
Method
Preheat oven gas mark 5. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs ad vanilla. Stir in puree. In another bowl combine the flour, all of the spices and salt, stir in the puree and fold in the chocolate and pecans if using. Drop generous spoonfuls onto lightly greased trays about 2 inches apart. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Allow to cool and firm up.

Fred’s Grandmothers ‘Sweet and sour Red Cabbage’
Serves 4
All in one: Ingredients and Method
50g or 1/2 a stick of butter, 1 head of red cabbage (about a kilo or a bit less) cut into quarters. Remove the outer leaves and white core. Slice nice and thin, 6 (75g) tablespoons of sugar, I used brown sugar, and 150 ml of balsamic vinegar.Melt the butter over medium heat & saute the cabbage until it starts wilting, add the sugar, coating the cabbage evenly, add vinegar, reduce to medium-low. Cover and simmer the cabbage until it is tender (about 30-35 minutes). Remove the cabbage, season with a pinch of salt or pepper.

Fred writes ‘It’s a simple recipe that tastes great’. I for one am not going to disagree.