A Quick Crumble

Hubby and I had a weekend away recently - no kids for the first time in 2 and a bit years! It was heavenly. We did nothing! except I did drag him to a Country Thrift store and found the old school desk you can see in the photo. I fell in complete love with it....Now I have to find a couple of old school chairs to go with it!

The desk is so low and tiny and yet, as you can see in the photo, someone has carved, Skool sux, into it.....how cute!

ingredients for 2 people

1 ripe beurre bosc pear, peeled and diced
1/2 punnet ripe strawberries, washed, stalk taken off and chopped in half
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon water
cream or icecream for serving

crumble

4 Shredded wheatmeal biscuits, crumble them in your fingers (which is what I did or if you are after a more uniform look, whizz them in a processor (I'm sure you could use savordi biscuits or anzac biscuits too - I used what I had in the cupboard)
1/4 cup shredded coconut (I only had desiccated in the cupboard - doesn't alter the flavour, just the look)
1/4 cup oats

how to make A Quick Crumble

Under your griller, lay some baking paper or foil and lay out the crumble mixture. Pop on a medium heat and toast lightly. When you smell the coconut and the biscuits, mix it around again. Keep doing this, while not letting it burn, until everything is a light brown.

Mean while, throw the fruit, water and sugar in a medium saucepan and warm over a medium heat. Keep it moving and add a touch more water if the fruit is catching on the bottom. When the fruit is soft enough add it to your serving bowls, top with crumble mix and your choice of cream or icecream.....you could even add a dash of dessert wine to the cream if you like!

perfect for easing yourself back into parenthood!

Heaven on a piece of toast - Pink Lady Apple and Strawberry Jam

My good friend Caroline from Fox Drink Water popped over on the weekend with her family for a morning of jam making! I was attempting to show them my skills and in the process nearly burnt the goods! but all was not lost.... it was rescued just in the nick of time. One more second and it would have made very fancy worm fodder.....

Over the next couple of posts I'll be sharing a few of my recipes that I tried out on Caroline and the fam. Two I am still perfecting and one I am very pleased with. My idea was to have a High Tea without boring old sandwiches, meat or eggs. I wanted it to be relatively easy too as we were meant to be concentrating on the jam! Caroline brought her absolutely delicious pumpkin scones that went down a treat!!!

The combination of Pink Lady Apple and Strawberry was something Caroline wanted to try (I think it is heaven on a piece of toast) and really you could use any apple that was in season. You could also use raspberries in place of strawberries if you like. I hope you give it a go!

Oh, and the absolutely gorgeous Jam and Toast holder will be for sale in our Etsy shop some time in the future.....watch that space!

ingredients

3kg pink lady apples, Peeled,cored, quarted and sliced (You should have approx 1.8 to 2kg once they have been peeled and cored)
500g strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
just under 1/4 cup lemon juice
some lemon zest if you like ( I popped in about a teaspoon)
2 cups or so of water
800g white sugar

how to make your pink lady apple and strawberry jam

Grab a large pot with a lid and as you cut your apple slices, throw them in. Throw in the strawberries and add your lemon juice, zest if using and water. Pop the lid on and and place over a high heat. Once it's boiling, turn it down to a very gentle simmer, stir occasionally, pop the lid back on and let the fruit very slowly soften. When the fruit looks very, very soft (the apple pieces should mostly look like mush with some pieces kind of holding their shape)Keep the lid off, add the sugar and turn up the heat. It shouldn't be long now till your jam is ready. Pop a few saucers in the fridge and every now and then grab one out and pop a teaspoon of jam. It shouldn't weep and when tilted the jam should stay and not be too runny. You can also push your finger through it (be careful it will be hot) if it wrinkles it's ready! Careful not to burn your jam as it can turn on you. Turn the heat down a little if you're unsure.

The sterilisation process

Wash your jars and keep them in hot soapy water in the sink until ready to use then rinse in hot water (don't dry them) and then place in the microwave, one at a time, for 1 minute. Have the lids in a saucepan of water on the stove on a rolling boil.

When ready, ladle into your jars right up to the top, pop your lids on tightly and then you can do one of two things: You can place them into a saucepan of cold water, ensuring the jars are well covered then bring to the boil and boil for 20mins to create a vacuum. After 20 mins, turn off heat and allow to cool in the water. Check jars that a vacuum was created.
OR
Once you've filled the jars turn them upside down until they have completely cooled. The old women of Tuscany use this trick which does work really well too however if using this method I would keep the jam in the fridge once it had cooled down.

Keep boiled jars in a dark, cool cupboard. They should keep for up to 1 year.