Plums and Raspberries

February 3, 2023May 13, 2023 / sbaskitchen / 3 Comments

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.

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Taking a break…

January 21, 2023February 3, 2023 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

We had friends visiting a beautiful spot just over an hours drive from here, so planned to meet up with them while they were there. I contacted them to arrange a day and time, and then contacted a cousin who lived in the area to see if they were available to catch up on the same day.

With times arranged, we planned the rest of our days outing…

We left home mid morning, we were heading to Lakes Entrance, a beautiful coastal fishing town, and very popular spot for tourists, particularly in the warmer months, although we love it all year round. We were hoping that the lady who sells fresh fish from the back of the boat would be there, but sadly, when we arrived, she wasn’t there. I took a walk across the footbridge to the beach, before returning to wait with Gary for our friends to arrive.

The sand and sea at Lakes Entrance

The beach at Lakes Entrance

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In the Garden – December 2022

January 14, 2023January 15, 2023 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

Well, I’ve skipped a couple of months, let’s just say that sometimes life gets a little busy!

But here’s a peak into what happened in the Garden in December 2022…

The Iris Garden

The roses in the Iris Garden are looking lovely and recovering from being smothered in kikuyu!

The re-claimed Iris Garden

Rose ‘Tranquility’ (David Austin)

The re-claimed Iris Garden

Rose – Cote d’Azure (Delbards)

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Sorry, but this is not a pudding!

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 / sbaskitchen / 8 Comments

For many years now, I have been cooking and packaging special Christmas hampers for our family in Queensland. These hampers are our Christmas gift to them, something from our kitchen to theirs on Christmas day. The hampers are generally made up of various sauces, pickles, jams etc that have been prepared during the year, and then there’s a cooking frenzy just before they are sent off, where Christmas cakes and puddings are made, batches of biscuits are baked, and if there’s time a big batch of crunchy granola. This year I also popped in a little recipe for them to try, using my Mango and Kiwi Fruit Chutney. Continue reading →

Mango & Kiwi Fruit Chutney

December 27, 2022 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

I’ve been making this chutney for many, many years, and it’s always really popular with family and friends.

A month or two ago I was preparing for a class, Preserving the Produce of Spring, and was lucky enough to pick up a tray of beautiful mangoes for a really good price. This provided me the perfect opportunity to introduce those attending the class, to this delicious chutney recipe. Fortunately there were plenty of mangos and I was also able to cook up a batch or two to stock our larder for the next twelve months. This chutney is a key ingredient for a quick easy meal that I find myself making on a regular basis, so am really happy to have a good supply on hand again.

You will be surprised at how easy this chutney is to make!