Hi Susie. :-) Ohh. I wish I had tomatoes growing. building our new home meant piles of topsoil everywhere, and vege gardening somewhat on hold for a few more weeks, though I have got a few patches of veges growing. Hope you beat the birds!
tinyted,
Feb 19, 11:42pm
Bumping. to keep 'em coming!
juliewn,
Feb 22, 4:32am
Bumpety bump. have a great week Everyone. :-)
juliewn,
Feb 22, 6:56am
How are everyone's gardens growing - hope you're all harvesting delicious fresh home-grownfruits and veges to make into goodies to stock your pantry's with.
juli55,
Feb 22, 10:19pm
Help! My orange and peach marmalade won't set the more I cook it the more it tastes burnt.What can I turn it into!Muffins!Chutney!
bjkiwi,
Feb 23, 1:00pm
re red cabbage pickle. can you please tell me if the red cabbage is rinsed after salting and do you then cook it! or just add to the jars raw! I have sooo many red cabbages and have been looking for some way to pickle them! All the recipes Ive found have just salted them then put them in jars - yuck! Thanks so much for the recipe
juliewn,
Feb 24, 5:38am
Hi Bjkiwi. this is the recipe I prefer. I have added it to the thread - am not sure though if it's the one you're referring to. Here 'tis. Here 'tis. " Pickled Red Cabbage. Cut a firm red cabbage into fine slices - or thick slices if you prefer. Sprinkle with plain (not iodised) salt and leave 24 hours. Drain well through a colander or similar (don't rinse at all). Heat spiced vinegar (use the DYC spiced vinegar or make your own). Place the well drained cabbage slices (no need to cook them) into hot sterilised jars (pop top jars are good as they'll reseal - cover the lids with water in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes to sterilise them. ) Fill the jars to the top with the hot spiced vinegar and place the lids on firmly. Leave till cold - the lids will pop down to seal the jars. Once cold, wash the outside of the jars to remove any vinegar, and keep for at least a week before using. Tastes best chilled. yum!
juliewn,
Feb 24, 5:44am
Re the salting - when the sliced cabbage is left for the 24 hours, the salt will work to soften the fibres of the cabbage, so it won't be tough once pickled. The salt will create quite a bit of liquid over that time, which then gets drained off through a colander or sieve. The result is that the cabbage is left with just the amount of salt it needs for seasoning the pickle, and improving the flavour. Rinsing would reduce the flavour and colour of the cabbage, so the cabbage is placed into the sterilised jars, topped with the vinegar and sealed. I hope this is of help. please ask if I can help further. Cheers. Julie
juliewn,
Feb 24, 5:48am
ps. re leaving the cabbage slices without cooking them before placing in jars - this gives a nice crisp pickle - if the cabbage was cooked before placing it in the jars, prior to adding the hot vinegar, the result would be softish cabbage, rather than the crispier result that happens. I hope this helps.
juliewn,
Feb 24, 11:04pm
Hi Juli. hopefully you've found something to make with your mixture. you could use the marmalade added to chutney if it's not tasting too burnt. if the burnt taste is strong, it might be better to discard the mix. or maybe try it as a marinade for bbq meat's.For chutney,I would make something like the apple chutney recipe I've posted in this thread. I'll add it next for you here. I'd leave out all the sugar and the raisins, as your oranges and peach will replace the sweetness. Otherwise, make the recipe as below, and once it is almost as thick as you want it to be (it will thicken a little more as it cools), add the marmalade a cup at a time, stirring in well while the mix keeps simmering, and tasting regularly so the chutney doesn't get too sweet. I hope this helps. Recipe next.
juliewn,
Feb 24, 11:08pm
ps. if you wanted to make the marmalade again it may need extra pectin at this time of year for the oranges as they'll be fully ripe, and they'll set best when the oranges are only just ripe - and even with a little green tinge to the skins still. I make orange marmalade around July - however peaches aren't ripe then, so pectin is probably best added at this time of year. You can either buy this at supermarkets or Bin Inn type stores, or use some lemon juice. if you'd like to add the recipe here, I may be able to help further. I hope this helps.
bjkiwi,
Feb 25, 2:44am
thanks so very much for your help.going to give it a go over next couple of days.cant wait to try it
juliewn,
Feb 25, 2:55am
You're most welcome. :-) let us know how you like your goodies.
susieq9,
Feb 25, 3:04am
Homemade Spagetti. Every year I make this, about 2 thirds of my jars blow their tops off. Any ideas of what I'm doing wrong. Using my own tomatoes for this. The only other thing to do is to make the sauce for the spagetti only, and bottle that. TIA Sue.
juliewn,
Feb 25, 4:31am
Hi Susie :-) I've had that happen too - I think the spaghetti noodles probably affect the acidity of the tomatoes, and that causes the pulp to begin to ferment, which I think is what happens when the jar lids blow. I find it easiest to preserve just the tomato part, and cook the spaghetti to add to it when needed. A bonus with doing it this way is that the tomato pulp/sauce can be used for anything from pizza's to pasta sauces, etc.
juliewn,
Feb 25, 4:37am
The New Zealand Gardener magazine has a 2008 Get Growing campaign for New Zealanders - anyone can register to be sent free weekly emails about growing and preserving the goodies you grow. This is the link to sign up if anyone would like to: http://www.nzgardener.co.nz/
juliewn,
Feb 25, 4:37am
Last Friday's emailed newsletter included this recipe from Lynda Hallinan, the Editor of the magazine: "My tomatoes are having a bumper season so I'm already freezing lots of pottles of tomato-based sauces for pastas, casseroles and lasagne in winter. I just boil roughly chopped tomatoes, courgettes (my plants are going bonkers!), onions and garlic with lots of salt and pepper, a splash of white wine and a generous dollop of olive oil. Depending on the flavour I'm after, I'll also add cumin seed, big handfuls of fresh basil or a little smoked paprika (don't add too much smoked paprika though as it has a tendency to dominate the vegetables.) If I was growing eggplants, I'd also add these to this mix, and I throw in green beans too if I've got too many to eat."
susieq9,
Feb 25, 2:03pm
Thanks Julie. Thought I might end up doing just that. Will finish making the relish today and then get onto the sauce for the spagetti and then some tomato soup, which I freeze.
juliewn,
Feb 26, 5:20am
Sounds delicious at your home! :-) I bet you're feeling proud of yourself. isn't it a lovely feeling to have all the goodies squirreled away in bottles, jars and freezer.
juliewn,
Feb 26, 5:27am
Bumping for Ciannz :-)
snuff4,
Feb 26, 2:23pm
Kamo Kamo Morning all I have a few Kamo Kamo amd would like to make a pickle/relish or chutney ! I have looked through all the threads and now time to ask.Does anyone have asimple recipe for this!
juliewn,
Feb 26, 6:40pm
Hi Snuff. I've found that Kamokamo, courgettes, etc.can be used to replace cucumber in recipes for chutney and relish. as the cucumber or Kamokamo, etc., tend to take on the flavour of other ingredients. For firmer Kamokamo, etc., they can also replace cucumber in recipes like bread and butter pickles too, where the veges mostly stay in slices once cooked. For pickles, you could use them for chowchow or picalilli, or as bread and butter pickles. For relish, you could use them to replace about 1/2 of the tomato's in tomato relish recipes - check seasonings before bottling as the taste will probably be milder. The Edmonds book has a nice apple or plum chutney recipe - you could use half apples and half Kamokamo in that recipe. Is there a particular flavour you like, or type of pickle or relish - so we could make other suggestions for you.
juliewn,
Feb 26, 6:55pm
ps. this is from the NZ Gardener weekly email sent out to give info about growing and preserving, pickling, etc. our own veges and fruits -you can replace the courgette's for KamoKamo in this recipe: Courgette Chutney:500g onions; 1.5 kgs courgettes; 500g ripe tomatoes; 100g pitted dates; 50g sultanas; 500ml malt vinegar; 2 tsp allspice; 2 tsp ground ginger; 2 tbsp salt; 2 tsp ground black pepper; 1.5kg soft brown sugar. Chop the onions, cut courgettes into small chunks, peel and slice the tomatoes and chop the dates. Put in a large pot with the sultanas and half the vinegar. Simmer until the ingredients soften, then add spices, salt and pepper and simmer for another 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar and remaining vinegar then simmer slowly until thick. Pour into hot, clean jars and seal with airtight, vinegar-proof covers." Hope this helps. :-)
susieq9,
Feb 26, 8:38pm
Have been preserving. for years, and get a lot of satisfaction out of it. Especially giving a lot away to friends. Made a tomato puree for the spagetti. In it was tomatoes (naturaly), onions, peppers, dried basil, marjoram, celery seeds, cayanne pepper, sugar, salt & pepper. Absolutely delicious. I think the cayanne bought it altogether. Will be great on our pizza base as well.
juliewn,
Feb 27, 4:29am
Yum that sounds good. you're inspiring me to get some made too - my tomatoes are ripening slowly - my Supertom money maker has very few tomatoes even, despite regular watering and feeding. wish me luck that it suprises me with a crop that's later than usual!
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