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Crusty Apple Pudding

Posted in Life, Love, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged #apples, #comfort food, #Crusty Apple Pudding, apple jelly, dessert, winter warmer on October 6, 2014| 12 Comments »

Crusty Apple Pudding

“A green apple, a yellow apple, and a red apple, it’s like a fruity traffic light you can eat—while speeding through a four-way intersection. Did you know that my love has the consistency of applesauce? It’s true—and juicy.”
― Jarod Kintz, Love quotes for the ages. And the ageless sages.

Crusty Apple Pudding

This is a beautiful and simple pudding you can throw together and enjoy with cream, ice cream or custard. It was part of an old family recipe collection and has been popular from the first with the kids, and the adults!

Once cooked you have a wonderful hot apple jelly syrup underneath, pieces of apple topped with a light crumble topping. Delicious in the winter or any time you feel like some comfort food.

INGREDIENTS

4 apples – Granny Smith or something with a little bite.

Cinnamon and sugar (optional)

1 Tablespoon Butter

2 Tablespoons Self Raising (self-rising) Flour

¾ Cup Sugar (or substitute)

Pinch of salt

1 Cup Cold Water

METHOD

Grease a deep pie dish or dish of your choice with butter, large enough to hold apples and liquid.

Crunchy Granny Smith apples

Peel, core and halve the apples. I prefer to cut them smaller, into six or eight pieces.

Place apples in dish, cut side down. If you cut smaller pieces this doesn’t matter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar….. it makes a beautiful flavour.

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine crumbs.

Add the sugar and salt.

Pour the cup of water into the dry ingredients and mix lightly.

Pour over the apples.

Place in oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

Cook for 35 minutes until Golden Brown.

Warm apple jelly hiding under the crunchy topping

Depending on your oven it may take a little longer or shorter, so keep an eye on it. Once the top is golden the apples are slightly “al dente” and there is a hot caramelised apple jelly underneath.

Allow to cool slightly and serve with accompaniment of your choice.

We were too eager to taste the masterpiece (it’s been a while since I made it) so you have a picture of the left overs….. easily reheated or eaten cold.

Hot or cold, a beautiful dessert

Enjoy!

Blessings, Susan ♥

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Susan’s Special Rich Boiled Fruit Cake

Posted in Creativity, Life, Love, Magic, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged #cooking with love, #Susan's Special Boiled Fruit Cake, birthday treats, boiled fruit cake, celebrations, Family, Food, happiness, Love, recipes, special treat on September 8, 2014| 12 Comments »

Cake coming up for the special celebration

I started a family tradition when I met my ex-husband, and later it was more for the children, as they loved the fruit cakes I made and so it was always a birthday special to have a ‘special’ boiled fruit cake then.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, its easy to make and delicious to eat.

Special Rich Boiled Fruit Cake

There is something so deliciously special about this super moist cake and it has remained a favourite with guests and family for more years than I care to remember. So when my husband was having his birthday at the beginning of this month, for the first time in ages I felt well enough to do some serious baking. Serious only in so far as I simply haven’t felt well enough to do anything too extra ordinary as I thought I’d end up in the oven with the cake.

Needless to say I had to rush out and buy all the ingredients. One doesn’t have much in the pantry if you’ve stopped baking. So here it is, the cake to make your mouth water and want for more. It was all the more special this time as he had never tasted my boiled fruit cake. Apparently I’ve given his Mum a run for her money with this one. Oops

Boiled Fruit Cake – Susan’s Style

Ingredients

I Cup of sugar (or substitute)

¾ cup water

110 grams (¼ lb) butter

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 teaspoon Bicarb-Soda

I packet mixed fruit (good quality please)

I packet of glace cherries – for the mix and

1 packet to decorate (I just love them!)

I packet of slivered almonds for the mix,

Reserve some for the top if you like to make a nicely finished off cake.

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Place all of the above in a saucepan and boil for approximately 5 minutes. Allow to cool

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All the ingredients in the pan, stir well

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Bring all the ingredients to a boil

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The Bicarb-Soda makes the foam rise to the top of the pan

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Remaining ingredients

2 large eggs, beaten (700 gm eggs free range are best)

I cup of Plain flour

I cup of Self Raising flour (or Self-Rising flour)

½ cup Sherry (optional)

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Alternately add the beaten eggs, plain flour and self-raising (or rising) flour and sherry. Mix well.

2 eggs beaten, S/R and Plain flour and the Sherry!

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Add eggs, flour/s and sherry alternately

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Mixture is ready for the last stage

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Oh – I nearly forgot the Sherry 🙂

Nothing much left here after all those cakes

Place the mixture in a lined cake time in a moderate oven (320 degrees Fahrenheit or 160 degrees Celsius) for approximately 1 hour.

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One decorated cake ready for the oven

Test with a wooden skewer – if it comes out clean it is done.

Depending on your oven, test the cake after 45 – 50 minutes.

Allow to cool in the paper. (It also keeps the sherry in.)

The Special Touch of Decadence

With a pastry brush, and whilst the cake is still hot, paint the top of the cake with additional sherry. The heat makes the cake absorb the sherry immediately.

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Depending on whether your mixture was a little dry you can repeat this process after you have tasted the first slice – I have to admit that I usually paint it again and wrap it in alfoil and then a plain tea towel to keep the moisture in.

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Sherry to add that extra decadence

(Treating it like a Christmas cake really allows the flavour to seep into the fruit deliciously.)

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Cooking up a storm

Adding that extra dollop of flavour

Cake remains beautifully moist for a couple of weeks – if you can get it to last that long!

Almost ready to eat…. who needs it to cool down?

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OK – I should have let the sherry soak in a little more but YUM!

Yes! He’s a happy chap! Happy Birthday!

I usually have to make two cakes, (at least), to get a chance of savouring it after the first couple of days – even with the two of us! The little uns still love it!

Enjoy!

Blessings, Susan ♥♥♥

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Suray Fig Jam

Posted in Blessings, Love, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged #cream, #Figs, #scones, #Surayfigjam #jam #recipe #afternoon tea on March 10, 2014| 15 Comments »

Delicious scones with fig jam and cream. Yummy!

This is a beautiful fig jam. It is so delicious it was difficult to put the spoon down and get the jam in the jars. What makes it even more delicious is the fact that it it is so simple to make. It is really a no fuss jam.

INGREDIENTS

3kg figs, skinned and chopped – we just sliced ours since the skins were so soft and edible

3 kg Sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 apple, peeled and sliced thinly

Ginger (optional – add to taste)

METHOD

Put sugar, water and vinegar into saucepan and bring to boil Boil for 10 minutesSugar and liquids

I used apple cider vinegar (since I had run out of white vinegar)

Whilst the syrup is boiling top and tail the figs and chop or slice.

Figs sliced

When the syrup has become clear (10 minutes at rolling boil) add the fruit mix – carefully.

Sugar syrup at Boil

Add figs, apple & ginger (if using) and boil until tender for approx 30-40 minutes, I left out the ginger and it tasted beautiful. If you love ginger add here.

Add fruit to sugar mix

until setting point is reached – it took the full 40 minutes to reach. I made a half batch of this recipe and it made 11 half pint jars.

Suray Fig Jam

Pour into sterilised jars & seal. It makes a dark, rich and smooth jam. Perfect for scones, toast or biscuits.

Suray Fig Jam

Refrigerate

Keeps for approximately 12 months (unless eaten sooner).

Scone, Suray fig jam and cream Afternoon tea

Afternoon tea delight

We have only had lovely comments about the jam so try some and let me know.

Enjoy.

Blessings, Susan ♥

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Fig Jam

Posted in Abundance, Creativity, Love, Recipes, tagged #apples, #condiment, #cooking with love, #Fig Jam, #Figs, #hot jars, #jam and toast, #lemons, #tea and toast, Food, Susan Jamieson on January 13, 2014| 15 Comments »

Fig Tree full of fruit

“In fact, people who posses no magic at all can instill their home-cooked meals with love and security and health, transforming ingredients and bringing disparate people together as family and friends. There’s a reason that when opening one’s home to guests, the first thing you do is offer food and drink. Cooking is a kind of everyday magic.”
― Juliet Blackwell

We have a very ignored fig tree in the back garden. It’s been ignored because last year, the summer we moved here, the birds and fruit bats must have swallowed them whole since we didn’t catch sight of anything larger than a green marble. This year the tree is loaded and we made Fig and Apple Jam. The recipe is called simply Fig Jam, but the apples have been added to add more bulk and flavour. We also found some lovely lemons on our tree. The apples we bought and are organic.

One large bowl of ripe figs

Here is the delicious and easy recipe. (Recipe and instructions in blue)

1 1/2 pounds of figs

1 1/2 pounds apples

2 lemons (juice and rind)

2 pounds sugar

1.5 pounds of figs

1 1/2 pounds of apples

1.5 pounds apples

Method

Slice the figs, peel, core and finely slice apples.

1.5 pounds sliced figs

1.5 pounds finely sliced apples

Slice the lemon and juice them. Reserve the liquid and finely slice the rind and any remaining flesh.

2 lemons

Finely sliced lemon (after juicing)

I used my trusty fine slicer to get the apples and lemon rind finely sliced. Since the figs cook quickly this helps the mixture to cook more quickly without losing any flavour.

The trusty fine slicer n dicer

Apples, figs, lemon juice and rind

Put the figs, apples, lemon juice and rind into the pan and cook slowly until tender.

Then add the sugar and boil rapidly.

Jam brought to boil

Getting rid of the chunks

We prefer a smooth jam so we mashed a few large pieces of apple we missed. If you prefer a chunkier jam you can leave the apple pieces larger, just make sure they are very tender.

The sugar will dissolve immediately when added to the pan as the lemon juice and other fruit juices have already made a juice hot enough to dissolve the sugar.

Test for set after it has been boiling for about 15 minutes. (If you like it thicker you may want to cook it for a few minutes longer.

Ensure your jars are ready, sterilised and hot. The hot jam will crack a cool jar.

Fill jars carefully

A small pan was easier to handle

It is not considered advisable to allow figs to stand overnight with sugar, as fermentation sets in rapidly if figs are wet or ripe.

Fig Jam anyone?

Make sure the jars are sealed as soon as they are filled so that a firm airtight seal is created. Jam will last as long as it takes people to eat it.

The finished batch, from start to finish, (our first time with this recipe) was one hour.

~ ~We had to try some on toast. It is delicious!~

Breakfast delight

I managed to make this yesterday, after my bath rejuvenated me. I need to report that one jar of jam is almost finished. In our defense it was a small jar!

I hope you enjoy it.

Blessings, Susan x

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Yummy Chicken Crockpot

Posted in Recipes, tagged Chicken, Crockpot, healthy, recipe, soul food, soups and stews, winter warmer on March 1, 2013| 1 Comment »

1 kg of chicken drumsticks, trimmed

This is a really easy recipe, good for the winter blues, rainy day chills, or to pick you up if you’re feeling under the weather. It has all the hearty ingredients Mum would recommend for her famous Chicken soup – just a little more of it.

1. First of all get your chicken pieces, I like the drumsticks, (the man of the house likes the bones!), trim off all the excess fat or skin.

Score drumsticks down to the bone

2. I like to score the drumsticks down to the bone. It lets the juices mingle and makes that chicken really tender.

Lay drumsticks along base of crock pot

3. Once you’ve scored all the chicken start to lay it across the base of the crock pot or slow cooker. I prefer to put my meat on the bottom so the vegetables stay a little more al dente.

Base of crock pot should be completely covered

4. Depending on how many you are cooking for, or how long you want your crock pot to last, cover the base of the crock pot.

Gather all the vegetables to add to crock pot.

5. Gather all your fresh ingredients to add to the pot. Here I have a couple of potatoes, a sweet potato (yam), butternut pumpkin, celery, bok choy, carrot, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Anything goes with this part, as long as it comfortably fits into the pot.

Chop all the vegetables to approx. the same size

6. Make sure all the vegetables are chopped approximately the same size for even cooking. We’ve measured that one of our mixing bowls is the perfect amount to add and cook easily.

Add the chopped vegetables to the pot

7. Once the vegetables are in there are only a few things to add.

Add the remaining ingredients.

8. Instead of the traditional gravies we add a can of creamed corn and a can of tomatoes, diced, plus a packet of french onion soup mix and a chicken chasseur mix. It adds a nice rich flavour to the finished crock pot. Plus a tablespoon of stock powder as I don’t usually have any stock ready-made and too much liquid will cause the crock pot to boil over.

Stir in to mix

9. Once you have it all in, stir together as much as possible without disturbing the chicken.

Cover and leave to cook

10.Put lid on crock pot, turn onto auto and leave to simmer away for approximately 8 – 10 hours. If you use the High setting it will take approximately 6 – 8 hours. You can stir occasionally and test after the minimum time to see if the meat is cooked through.

Simmering away nicely after 4 hours. The smell by now if wafting through the house.

I like to keep an eye of things if I’m home but it will cook away on its own if you’re out at work. They beauty of a slow cooker!

Finally add the mushrooms ten minutes or so before serving.

We love mushrooms, if they’re not liked in your home you can easily leave them out.

Ready to serve

The final ‘product’ ready to be served.

One dinner for the man of the house!

This beautiful and easy meal is nutritious and can be adapted to suit any dietary needs. You don’t have to use chicken any meat will do. Use fresh vegetables in season and garnish with some chopped parsley or chives.

We can’t eat onions but a nice leek is great for flavour and adds a little something to the dish. For the rainy days/weeks we’ve been having they’re fabulous. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that if you lose power, but have a gas stove of barbecue you can cook it is a large stew pot, just pay more attention to it. You may need more liquid in it if you use that method.

Enjoy and know you are looking after your inner body as much as your outer. (Can also be prepared just as easily by the man of the house if need be. 🙂

Bless ❤ Susan x