Pickled Fennel Recipe

Pickled Fennel

Makes about 2 cups

1 to 2 fennel bulbs, stalks removed
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
2 tablespoons orange zest

Candied Jalapenos

Candied Jalapenos

There aren't words that exist to describe how addictive these little savoury, sweet, spicy, crunchy, garlicky pickled jalapeno rounds are. Put them on sandwiches, tacos, rice or bake them into cornbread. You'll need more and more! This recipe yields between 4 and 6 half pints. 

Ingredients

• 3 pounds fresh firm, jalapeno peppers, washed
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 6 cups white granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 3 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Wearing gloves, remove the stems from all of the jalapeno peppers. The easiest way to do this is to slice a small disc off of the stem-end along with the stem. Discard the stems.
2. Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar. Turn heat up under the pot with the syrup and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 6 minutes.
4. Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeno slices. Insert a cooking chopstick to the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air. Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-tip tightness.
5. *If you have leftover syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars, too. It’s wonderful brushed on meat on the grill or added to potato salad or, or, or… In short, don’t toss it out!
6. Place jars in a canner, cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack. Leave them to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth then label.
7. Allow to mellow for at least two weeks, but preferably a month before eating. Or don’t. I won’t tell!

THIS RECIPE YIELDS BETWEEN 4 AND 6 HALF PINTS.

Hot Chilli Chutney

Hot Chilli Chutney

I doubled up on the below ingredients in a big saucepan and upon noticing I had not enough cumin powder, added cumin seeds instead.
Made the above of 3 large and 1 small jar 😅

• 450g chillies (I used mixed chillies)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons turmeric
• 25g root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 thirds of a cup of olive oil
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 and a quarter cups white vinegar
• If you find it is too hot (as in spicy), add some lemon or lime juice to cool it down a bit...

1. Finely chop chillies, including seeds.
2. Mix together the chillies, chopped onion, garlic, cumin, turmeric, ginger, salt and oil.
3. Transfer to a heavy based pan and allow fry relatively slowly for 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.
4. Add sugar and vinegar allowing sugar to dissolve and then bring to the boil. Cover pan and boil for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Turn heat down and allow to cook for a small while longer.
5. Pack into sterilised jars, then seal. If you have button topped lids, make sure the button pops down when the jar has cooled to ensure a proper seal.

This should keep for a long time, but make sure that once opened, that you keep it in the fridge just to be sure. I reduced the amount of oil from the original recipe because it seemed far too runny. 

You should probably give it a quick stir each time before use given the oil content. Very yummy tho!!!

Added note>>> Probably worth adding grated lime zest to this as a taste experiment..

Garlic Plantings 1.11.17

Planted my first garlic of the Autumn..

Planted EPW, Sprint, Printanor and Messidrome

Radar Onions Planted 1.11.17

RADAR ONIONS


Still more sets to plant but have made a start