We have made it through Christmas, we made it through New Year's Eve and hopefully we are all ready to face 2013 with great expectation and excitement.
After all the festive cooking, planning and preparation it is hardly the time to start all over again - but truth is that now is the season for the serious cook to look forward to the abundance of the season!
Summer is hardly the time to mention soups, stews and good old bredies, but this is the time that the produce is available, becoming reasonably priced and as fresh as you can get.
This is the time to buy those veggies by the bag, take them home, prepare, preserve and freeze them for the winter to come. Do a little homework on pricing and you will be amazed at how much you can save by buying the freshest produce when they are at the height of their season. Come winter and you want the odd butternut or green bean it will cost you much more, and chances are the quality will not be nearly as good as your home preserved veggies.
Certain fruits and vegetables for certain recipes are just not suited for the freezer, but with clever seasonal planning you can certainly stretch the culinary budget - and have great food all year round. With a little effort and good planning we can make use of the most wonderful ingredients that are available throughout the seasons - add a little imagination and gourmet magic and cooking will celebrate all that nature has to offer!
After all the festive cooking, planning and preparation it is hardly the time to start all over again - but truth is that now is the season for the serious cook to look forward to the abundance of the season!
Summer is hardly the time to mention soups, stews and good old bredies, but this is the time that the produce is available, becoming reasonably priced and as fresh as you can get.
This is the time to buy those veggies by the bag, take them home, prepare, preserve and freeze them for the winter to come. Do a little homework on pricing and you will be amazed at how much you can save by buying the freshest produce when they are at the height of their season. Come winter and you want the odd butternut or green bean it will cost you much more, and chances are the quality will not be nearly as good as your home preserved veggies.
Certain fruits and vegetables for certain recipes are just not suited for the freezer, but with clever seasonal planning you can certainly stretch the culinary budget - and have great food all year round. With a little effort and good planning we can make use of the most wonderful ingredients that are available throughout the seasons - add a little imagination and gourmet magic and cooking will celebrate all that nature has to offer!
PICKLES & RELISHES
Gone are the days of the dill cucumber and pearl onions in brown vinegar - pickles and relishes have certainly come a long way to delight us with wonderful flavours and textures. The beauty of making your own is that you can adjust the recipes to suit your personal taste.
My wife likes almost anything sour, I can't stand anything acidic. Making our own pickles, relishes and chutneys gives us the opportunity to get them just right - and keep everyone happy.
Preserving whatever you have in this way can become quite addictive, so please don't go ahead and pickle everything you can lay hands on. Select ingredients that you actually like, then experiment with a basic recipe to suit your acid test -not too sweet, not to sour. Get it right and you will be amazed at how much you will enjoy preserving the bounty of the season.
Gone are the days of the dill cucumber and pearl onions in brown vinegar - pickles and relishes have certainly come a long way to delight us with wonderful flavours and textures. The beauty of making your own is that you can adjust the recipes to suit your personal taste.
My wife likes almost anything sour, I can't stand anything acidic. Making our own pickles, relishes and chutneys gives us the opportunity to get them just right - and keep everyone happy.
Preserving whatever you have in this way can become quite addictive, so please don't go ahead and pickle everything you can lay hands on. Select ingredients that you actually like, then experiment with a basic recipe to suit your acid test -not too sweet, not to sour. Get it right and you will be amazed at how much you will enjoy preserving the bounty of the season.
To make the perfect pickle you need to follow a few basic but vital steps. The success of your pickle will depend on these basic requirements.
Ingredients: For the perfect pickle you must use absolutely fresh ingredients - soggy vegetables that has gone limp is enough to never eat a pickle again.
Pickling liquid: Here you will have to experiment with different ratios of vinegar and sugar. Vinegar must also be either grape or wine vinegar - spirit vinegar is just to rough around the edges. Whether white or red depends on your personal preference, the vegetables you are using and the look you want. A good basic ratio to start you first pickling project is one I used when confronted with a sudden supply of veggies from my veggie patch. The recipe I used turned out pretty good.
Ingredients:
6 kg of vegetables consisting of:
1 kg green beans (cut to lengths you like)
1 kg baby marrows (mine were large outgrown marrows cut into cubes)
1 kg small onions, quartered
1 kg carrots, cut into 2 cm batons
1 kg peppers, red green and parpika
1 kg aubergines, cubed
Pickling Liquid:
4 cups white wine vinegar (or grape vinegar)
1 cup water
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons of pickling spice
3 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary (15 cm)
2 sprigs of origanum (10 cm)
4 tsp salt
Sterilized Jars:
6 large jars suitable for preserving (I use large mayonnaise jars, or new jars)
Wash your jars well and make sure the lids are very clean. Place the jars in an oven at 150°C and leave for about ten minutes. The lids can be sterilized by pouring boiling water over them and kept at boiling point on the hob.
Method:
Combine all the pickling liquid ingredients and bring to the boil. Simmer for ten minutes to infuse all the flavour. Remove the bay leaves, rosemary an origanum.
Cut and cube the vegetables to your liking. Add the carrots first and cook for a few minutes (3-5) then add the beans and onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes, add the marrow, aubergine and peppers and cook till the marrows are just translucent.
Get your sterilized jars out of the oven and pack them tightly with the vegetables. Make sure to fill them to the top with the pickling liquid and that all the air bubbles have escaped. Place caps on lightly and leave for a few seconds before tightening the lids. Leave to cool at room temperature. Wash jars thoroughly and dry before labeling them. Store in a cool dry place or in the refrigerator if you have the space. Once opened they should be kept in the fridge and eaten within a week to ten days. Enjoy as a side dish to any braai, light lunch or use them as part of a mixed salad.
Ingredients: For the perfect pickle you must use absolutely fresh ingredients - soggy vegetables that has gone limp is enough to never eat a pickle again.
Pickling liquid: Here you will have to experiment with different ratios of vinegar and sugar. Vinegar must also be either grape or wine vinegar - spirit vinegar is just to rough around the edges. Whether white or red depends on your personal preference, the vegetables you are using and the look you want. A good basic ratio to start you first pickling project is one I used when confronted with a sudden supply of veggies from my veggie patch. The recipe I used turned out pretty good.
Ingredients:
6 kg of vegetables consisting of:
1 kg green beans (cut to lengths you like)
1 kg baby marrows (mine were large outgrown marrows cut into cubes)
1 kg small onions, quartered
1 kg carrots, cut into 2 cm batons
1 kg peppers, red green and parpika
1 kg aubergines, cubed
Pickling Liquid:
4 cups white wine vinegar (or grape vinegar)
1 cup water
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons of pickling spice
3 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary (15 cm)
2 sprigs of origanum (10 cm)
4 tsp salt
Sterilized Jars:
6 large jars suitable for preserving (I use large mayonnaise jars, or new jars)
Wash your jars well and make sure the lids are very clean. Place the jars in an oven at 150°C and leave for about ten minutes. The lids can be sterilized by pouring boiling water over them and kept at boiling point on the hob.
Method:
Combine all the pickling liquid ingredients and bring to the boil. Simmer for ten minutes to infuse all the flavour. Remove the bay leaves, rosemary an origanum.
Cut and cube the vegetables to your liking. Add the carrots first and cook for a few minutes (3-5) then add the beans and onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes, add the marrow, aubergine and peppers and cook till the marrows are just translucent.
Get your sterilized jars out of the oven and pack them tightly with the vegetables. Make sure to fill them to the top with the pickling liquid and that all the air bubbles have escaped. Place caps on lightly and leave for a few seconds before tightening the lids. Leave to cool at room temperature. Wash jars thoroughly and dry before labeling them. Store in a cool dry place or in the refrigerator if you have the space. Once opened they should be kept in the fridge and eaten within a week to ten days. Enjoy as a side dish to any braai, light lunch or use them as part of a mixed salad.
Green beans, onions and a sweet and sour curry sauce is one of the old time favourites that is still popular today. It is ever so easy and economical and if you like green beans you can stock up a year's supply in no time at all. This recipe has a good sweet sour balance and should please everyone.
Ingredients:
2 kg green beans, washed and cut into lengths of your choice
1 kg onions, cut into quarters
3 cups brown vinegar
3 cups sugar
10 ml salt
30 ml curry powder
7,5 ml mustard powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
45 ml maizena
Method:
Cook beans and onions in water until just done - not too soft, and drain.
MIix vinegar and sugar and bring to the boil.
Mix maizena, salt, curry powder, mustard and tumeric with a litlle water to a smooth paste. Add to the vinegar/sugar mixture.
Add the green beans and onions and bring to the boil. Cook through briefly and transfer to sterilized jars.
Ingredients:
2 kg green beans, washed and cut into lengths of your choice
1 kg onions, cut into quarters
3 cups brown vinegar
3 cups sugar
10 ml salt
30 ml curry powder
7,5 ml mustard powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
45 ml maizena
Method:
Cook beans and onions in water until just done - not too soft, and drain.
MIix vinegar and sugar and bring to the boil.
Mix maizena, salt, curry powder, mustard and tumeric with a litlle water to a smooth paste. Add to the vinegar/sugar mixture.
Add the green beans and onions and bring to the boil. Cook through briefly and transfer to sterilized jars.