Family Favourites

There will be Rhubarb & Rose Petal Jam this year!

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A day in the garden is fabulous for the soul, it’s peaceful and calming, allowing time for observation, contemplation and planning.

The weather at the moment is perfect spring weather, warm days and cool nights, although we really could do with a good rain, it has been a dry winter, and the soil is showing it.   We have finished clearing and it’s now time to work on the soil, mulch and prepare for, what they are predicting will be, a hot, dry summer.  The laundry bed is done,

Dutch Iris “Angel Wing”s in The Laundry Garden
Dutch Iris “Angel Wings”
A single golden freesia
The Laundry Garden

and the citrus bed, needs just a little more work, water and mulch so that it will be easy to maintain. Continue reading →

Evil Pigs, Rocky Road and Crazy Critters!

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It is school holidays and we’ve had a visitor – our gorgeous grandson, Cooper, which meant it was time to cook with Granny, play chess with Papa, and this time, there was also a little piano lesson too!

We only had 48 hours, but we managed to pack a lot in.  Cooper had a list of what we needed to cook:

A major search to find the Rocky Road recipe, but more about that later, then he wrote up the shopping list.  A trip to the supermarket and home via my favourite book shop – The Book Shoppe, where I was delighted to hear him asking Janene about his favourite authors.  Yes, there was also time for reading in between everything else!

Back at home, and decked out in Chef’s Whites, Cooper was ready to get to work!  When it come to the meringues – last time we made Evil Pig meringues, I thought that they looked rather sinister, so didn’t even mention them.  Instead I asked Cooper what colour the meringue shoud be.  His answer – purple!  With blue and rose pink colouring at hand, I took a portion of the meringue and began mixing in the colour.  It was then that Cooper suggested that we should make evil pigs again, so we ditched the idea of making the meringue purple, and the Evil Pigs made a return!  After a little more chit chat (and there was plenty of that), this time, we also made crazy critters, aka porcupines.  They were put in the oven and the waiting began – how frustrating that even though they were cooked, they still couldn’t come out of the oven until they were totally cooled! Continue reading →

Plums and Raspberries

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Following on from my last post where I was gifted a bucket of blood plums, I thought that I would share the recipe for one of my favourite jams – Plum and Raspberry Jam.

My Gran used to make plum and raspberry jam when I was a child.  Back then we didn’t have access to fresh raspberries, but there were plums each season.  To make her jam, Gran would purchase a can of raspberry jam and then combine it with the plums while making the jam.  I just love plum and raspberry jam!

My beautiful Gran, the late Grace Catherine Flood (nee Marshall), in her garden.

Continue reading →

Plum and Raspberry Jam

 

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Plum and Raspberry Jam
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
 

One of my favourite jams, perfect for use in cakes, desserts and slices, and delicious on toast, or brioche.

Category: Jam, Preserves
Style: Australian
Keyword: Plum and Raspberries, Plum and Raspberry Jam, Plum Jam, Plums, Raspberry Jam
Quantity: 5 cups
Author: sbaskitchen
Ingredients
  • 800 g blood plums
  • 400 g raspberries
  • 100 ml lemon juice
  • 900 g sugar
Instructions

  1. Wash and halve and stone the plums.

  2. Cut the plum halves into four pieces.

  3. Combine plums, raspberries and lemon juice in a preserving pan or large heavy based saucepan.

  4. Cover with a lid and place over very low heat until the juices begin to run.

  5. Gradually increase the heat until simmering, and cook gently, covered for 15-20 minutes, until the fruit is tender.

  6. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

  7. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly, uncovered, and stirring at regular intervals to prevent the jam from catching on the bottom of the pan, until setting point is reached, approximately 15 minutes.

  8. Carefully pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal.

  9. When cool, label and date.
Notes
  • The simplest method for checking for a good set is to place a saucer in the freezer so that it is very cold. Then when you think the jam is ready, place a little on the saucer and leave it until it cools down before running your finger through the middle of the jam, the surface should wrinkle and the jam should not run back and fill the track your finger has made.
  • While checking for set, remove the pan from the heat.
  • Caution should be used when stirring the jam, particularly in the latter stages of cooking, as it is liable to splatter, and can cause burns on the skin.
  • Store in a cool dark place for up to 12 months.

 

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Yum

 

 

 

 

 

Yo Yo’s

 

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Nana Grace's Yo Yo's
My mum was an amazing cook, anything she turned her hand to was always delicious. Her Yo Yo biscuits/cookies never lasted long, so it was always such a treat when she baked them.
Category: Afternoon Tea, Baking, Lunch Box, Snacks
Style: Australian
Keyword: Biscuits, Christmas Cookies, Mum's Recipes, Nana Grace's Yo Yos, Yo-Yo, Yo-Yos
Author: sbaskitchen
Ingredients
  • 225 g / 8 oz butter
  • 115 g / 4 oz custard powder
  • 115 g / 4 oz icing sugar
  • 2 - 2 1/2 cups plain flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160˚C/320˚F (fan-forced).
  2. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

  3. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

  4. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix to a dough like consistency.
  5. Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into small balls and place on the prepared baking trays, leaving room for a little spreading.

  6. Use a fork to gently flatten (dip the fork into some plain flour every now and then to prevent it from sticking to the biscuit).

  7. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes.
  8. Join together with a little icing (see note below).
Notes

While many choose to join their Yo Yo's together with a butter icing, we always made a simple icing using icing sugar, a small piece of butter, probably about half to one teaspoonful, a little vanilla, and just enough boiling water to mix to a nice consistency.

 

The instructions for the recipe in mum’s recipe book were limited…

Cream butter and sugar add sifted dry ingredients roll into small balls & place on slide press with fork.  Join with butter icing and roll in castor sugar.

 I have expanded the instructions a little and you will see from my note in the recipe that we didn’t use a soft butter icing, and we don’t roll the biscuits in caster sugar, as guided by my mum’s original recipe – she never followed these instructions either!