Green Bean and Courgette Chutney

I have a huge excess of green beans and courgettes right now – and obviously so did the people at Riverford Organic veg box scheme – as this is where I have stolen the basis for this recipe.  I’ve made green bean chutney before (a family favourite from my Great Auntie June – I must…

Seville Sunshine.

Originally posted on The Noble Aubergine:
Marmalade.  Bitter, orange, tangy, sweet, citrus, sticky sunshine on toast. I love making preserves.  There’s a huge sense of satisfaction in taking a troublesome glut of fruit or veg, and making something wonderful out of it.  Preserves make up a huge percentage of my gifts to people, and I…

Vegan Thai Curry Paste

Most supermarket Thai curry pastes are not vegan, they’re not even vegetarian, they contain shrimp paste and fish sauce.  The two vegan organic brands I have tried have been very very hot and slightly over vinegary, which was disappointing (especially considering the price tag) so I resorted to making my own. At first I was…

Fig and Lemon Marmalade

First things first: I know that figs are not considered entirely vegan.  During pollination the female fig wasp gets trapped inside the flower and is consumed by the plant as the tree creates a fig around the body of the wasp.  The wasp’s sacrifice results in the plant being pollinated, and the fig being formed,…

Sweet Chilli Jam

This stuff is gorgeous!.  Sweet, sticky with a chilli kick, it’s a superb addition to any hamper or plate of nibbles.  It’s also a brilliant way to use up those chillis and peppers you’ve spent all summer cultivating and are now daunted by.  You’ll be able to taste the sweet red piquant sunshine for a…

Bramley Jelly

The trees are heaving with apples right now, driving down any country road you’ll almost certainly see them being offered for free or for a small donation outside people’s houses.  I have a reliable apple supplier, a good friend of mine with a large tree in her garden, who will keep me in pectin rich…

Chilli Weather

The weather’s taken a turn.  It’s very lucky we decided to take our camping trip last week and not this week.  Due to a bit of miscommunication and some very odd technological failings my poor greenhouse went a little bit neglected while we were away. One of the crops which has blossomed was my cherry tomatoes,…

Courgette Glutney

  Courgettes are in abundance in the garden right now. I pick them one day, and a whole new crop is there 2 days later. It’s much the same with runner beans at the moment, my two fail safe crops. But the trouble is I’m running out of interesting things to do with courgettes and…

Seville Sunshine.

Marmalade.  Bitter, orange, tangy, sweet, citrus, sticky sunshine on toast. I love making preserves.  There’s a huge sense of satisfaction in taking a troublesome glut of fruit or veg, and making something wonderful out of it.  Preserves make up a huge percentage of my gifts to people, and I don’t think we’ve bought a jam,…