Patience is a Virtue and this Chilli and Tomato Chutney is a Redhot Babe !

At last, here I am with the recipe for the Chilli and Tomato Chutney.

Ingredients (yield approx 2 liters)

• 10 large chillies (the plants I bought at the time said, Spanish Chillies, they are not extreem hot)
• 10 medium tomatoes
• 2 medium onions
• 2 red peppers (capsicum)
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 2 apples that are not overly ripe (they contain more pectine)
• 500 ml cider vinegar
• 300 grs sugar
• 2 tbsp - heaped - garam massala
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds
• Drizzle of sunflower oil

Preparation

Have sufficient jars with screw tops at hand, washed and sterilized.

• Chop the onions and sautee in the sunflower oil together with the grated or finely chopped garlic.
• The other veg and apples also chopped into the size that you like. The chillies I did smaller than the rest.  No need to deseed, except maybe the apples.
• Add it all to the pan and pour in the vinegar and sugar.
• Bring to boiling point and add the garam massala with the mustard seeds.
• Lower the heat and leave to simmer, without lid, until the liquid has reduced significantly.  Stir regularly.
• It can take up to an hour and a half.
• When still hot, transfer into jars, seal and leave to cool (upside down)

Chutney improves with age and can be kept in a cool, dark place for a few years. Once opened,  store in the fridge.



I See Red !

What's more, I can see a chilli chutney coming on.

If you have patience, I will get back to you with a recipe.

I didn't polish up the peppers and chillies, don't they look lovely. I could hug my greenhouse, so happy am I with it's produce.

Patricia xxx...x

Griddled Marinated Courgettes

When they start growing, they won't stop.  I have a problem with picking them before they get too big and then finding interesting ways to prepare them so we don't get bored with eating courgettes every single day during summer ;-)

It is no hardship as we like courgettes. 

An easy to make and delish stand-by, these griddled beauties,  for salads,  on bruschetta, on pizza, in quiche or omelette, on your cheese sarnie, in a pasta dish and they make a nice change in a moussaka. Do I need to say more ? Very versatile.

Ingredients    quantities are approximates

• medium sized green and yellow courgettes, 1 of each
• 1 medium patty pan squash or 2 smaller ones (I used the white variety)
• coarse seasalt
• freshly ground black pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• handful of freshly chopped mint
• olive oil
• sunflower oil

Preparation

• Slice the courgettes lengthways, 1/2 cm thick
• Put the patty pan flat on the work surface and slice vertically, into 1/2 cm discs
• Bring all the slices into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, toss them around, so the courgettes are all slightly coated.
• Use a griddle pan (is not a necessity, but makes it look nicer) and let it get rather hot.
• Griddle the courgettes a few at a time on both sides

• When cooked through, bring them into a bowl.

• Squeeze a little lemon juice over the courgettes, a sprinkle of salt, black pepper and a drop of olive oil.
• Finish all the sliced courgettes like this, but beware of too much salt.
• Add the mint and toss.
• Adjust the seasoning and lemon juice to taste
• It can be kept in the fridge for a good couple of days, but you then need to cover with sunflower oil (don't use olive oil for this as it will be too bitter)

Will be seeing you at the next courgette meeting, I hope.
Patricia xxx...x

Quick Lunch

Toast from homemade bread, gouda and a chuck-everything-in-kinda-chutney.

Patricia xxx...x

Courgette Fritters

The courgettes are growing,  plenty and fast. So, here is the first of my courgette recipes.

Fritters are easily adaptable depending on your mood or style of cuisine, by adding different spice mixtures. 
Courgettes do not give you an explosion of flavour on their own, so they do need a kick up the backside from time to time.

Ingredients

• 2 green courgettes and 1 yellow, grated
• salt
• 1 small onion, grated
• parsley, chopped
• tiny green or red chilli, finely chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• plain flour, 2 to 3 heaped tbsp
• corn flour, 1 heaped tbsp
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• sunflower or olive oil

Preparation

• Put the grated courgettes in a colander, sprinkle with some salt, put a plate over it with something heavy on top. Leave for 30 minutes standing in your (clean) sink.  This is to draw excess water out of the courgettes. If you omit this step, your fritters will turn soggy quickly.
• After about 1/2 hr squeeze some more of the water out of the courgettes and toss them into a bowl with all the other ingredients, except the oil.
• Give it a stir with a wooden spoon.
• Heat some oil in a frying pan (a non stick works best for this)
• With a large spoon bring about four dollops of the mixture into the pan (depending on the size of your pan, more or less dollops)
• Press them down slightly, frying them over medium heat. 
• Turn them over and fry on the other side till golden.
• When they are ready, drain on kitchen paper and repeat the process with the rest of the mixture and keep the others warm in the meantime.



Variations

Mexican style  Add sweetcorn, chopped red pepper, ground cumin, chopped coriander, chilli powder .....

Indian style  Replace flour with chickpea flour, add  grated ginger, ground coriander, fresh coriander, turmeric, cinnamon,  garam massala.....


Patricia xxx...x

Beetroot and Feta Salad

I just couldn't wait any longer to have a taste of the beetroot we are growing.  They were therefore on the small side, but it didn't take away from the flavour.

I love that sweet, earthiness of the beets and the colour and it works well with the saltiness of the feta.



Ingredients  (which I used)

• 10 small beets (smaller than a ping pong ball)
• 150 grs feta (from sheep milk)
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• 2 tsp honey
• Juice of 1 lemon (the zest I used in the courgette fritters)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Preparation

• Wash the beets thoroughly and cut off the leaves,  leaving stalks of about 3 cm (btw, you can also eat the leaves in a salad or sauteed like spinach, but this time I gave them to the chicks and they were very appreciative)
• Put in a cooking pot covered with water on the hob. Cook until tender (al dente)
• In the meantime make your dressing with all the other ingredients and crumble in your feta.
• When the beets are cooked, you can drain  off the liquid, cut the beets in half and add them to the dressing whilst still hot.
• Toss and leave to cool, put in fridge or a cool place till serving (I know ! You can use this as a warm salad too)

I served this salad with courgette fritters, panfried pollock and salmon.

Hatched !

Oh, how proud I am !
Arthur II and Gwen have babies ! 
This morning I noticed 2 black cotton balls peeping out from under Gwen. 

Sitting there for half an hour, I managed to take 2 pics. Not a lot, but they need theit peace and I had to get back to the ironing board.
It certainly made my day !

Patricia xxx...x ;-)

Green Olive Tapenade

So simple to make, I'm almost ashamed to admit it.  Full of natural umami, it is a great ingredient to use in a variety of dishes. 
I like to spread some over my homemade pizza base, before I add the passata di pomodoro.  Also lovely on bruschetta, a spoonful in your pasta, as a seasoning for soups, salad dressings ....

ingredients
300 grs pitted green olives
1 tin anchovy fillets
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 small chillies
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

preparation
Put everything, but the olive oil, in a measuring jug.
With your hand blender, blend until you get a smooth-ish paste. 
Lastly stir in the olive oil.

You can store in a glass jar with screw top lid in the fridge for about a week. Pour some olive oil over to seal off.

Eh ?
Of course you can use your food processor! What a question ! ;o)  Pestle and mortar should also do the trick.  Heck, you could even use a chopping board and sharp knife.

Patricia xxx...x

Rhododendrons

Ever since the time we lived in Ireland, I have a love - hate relationship with rhodos.

I hated them, because they invaded Killarney National Park  and beyond, showing no mercy for indigenous plants and trees.

I love them, because come May, they will bloom in al their glory and delight me with an abundant display of colour.

Now, in our own garden, well established rhododendrons show off their lovely flowers and atract all the bees from the neighbourhood.

 You can't but love them !

Buzz, buzz, buzzing !

 One of my all time favourites (I have many) is the Foxglove.
The picture below shows some that grew wild last year in the woodland just 'behind' the fence.
When they appear in our garden, I nourish them (psychologically - they don't need to be wrapped in cotton wool) and I abide my time until they grace me with their beauty.

Where ever you may be, I hope you enjoy the late spring flowers as much as I do.

Patricia xxx...x

Garden Impressions

It looks like everything in the garden needs seeing to, all at once.  And I have been trying to keep up.
Turning the attention to the vegetable garden.  it certainly looks like a blank canvas now, but I have been sowing lettuces, chard, peas (mainly for pea shoots), carrots, parsnip, radishes, beetroot, runner beans ......

 In a couple of months time the soil won't look so bare and our raised beds will hopefully be choc-a-block full of greens.

The  greenhouse is doing it's job nicely, even if it is standing halfway down the woods.

 I harvested the rather slender leeks, but left a few to go to seed.  The flowers are beautiful and the seeds will be collected for the year after.

When we first moved here, just over 2 years ago, this garden had plenty  of high beech hedges, some azalea and a few rhododendrons.  That is not a lot to provide colour or to attract beneficial insects.

This has already changed, as one of the first things we did was cut back the monotonous drone that were the hedges.  Not all, just the ones that were most oppressive.

Now there are lots of other plants growing in between, like honeysuckle, broom, rowan and I even discovered some hawthorn. 

They can all stay as it will be more pleasing to the eye, says I.

We also stocked up a border with herbaceous plants.  It might look a little bleak still, but come summer it will be ablaze with colour.

Gardens full of colour are not fashionable at the moment, here in Belgium. The trend is to grow only white flowers and everything green needs to be trimmed into a regimented shape......

.....Not in this girl's garden. I love a good variety of structural plants and colourful flowers.  An abudance, a jungle like feel .....

My favourite vistas in the garden. 

Above : a collection of different shapes  and colours of leaves and flowers.  The rowan blooms will turn into bright orange berries later in the season.

Below : an azalea that I uncovered last year, a young American oak (which I should be cutting down, but I don't want to), willows (salix) and rhododendron together, looking very dramatic.

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed being led up the garden path.

Patricia xxx...x

Have a Sunny and Happy Easter Weekend