Jams, Jellies and Sauces!

I'm one of those cooks/bakers/not a candlestick maker, that just chucks things together and hopes for the best.

This is the same with my jams, jellies and sauces. I learnt early on, that when I cook I can't follow a recipe because it always turns out wrong, so I just kept throwing things in/out, tasting, throwing more things in/out, and let it turn into goodie goodness of Arika creation!

Along with jams, jellies and sauces I also make a flu remedy (as seen here in this picture)

 

A concoction of turmeric, lemons, ginger, honey and a secret ingredient that you mix in 1 part water with 2 parts milk. Now I'm not going to give you this magnificent recipe because like I said, i just kinda throw things in until they work and it's all up here in my pretty head (you can't see right now, put I'm pointing at my head).

Also, if I give you the recipe you won't buy it off me, or swap it at the kitchen co-op 'coz you'll just make your own, and where's the fun in that?!

The labels are the easy part, check out The Jam Labelizer by Andy Biggs he also does a neat selection for home brew too, but that's another story.

Most of my ingredients come from my garden which looks like this...

 

 

The others from friends gardens, or markets because as you can see, my garden isn't very big. So I limit what I have, and do a turn around every season, but if you stopped by this very moment you'll be able to spot some eggplants, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, pineapple sage, curry plant, mint, chives, oregano, rosemary, blueberries, strawberries, pumpkin, sage, corn, chillies and capsicum. I also have a lime tree in hiding around the back and a passion fruit vine that takes up my entire back pergola.

If you ever want mint jelly, mint sauce, pineapple sage tea, sage chicken stuffing, berry jams, passion fruit/lemon butters, lime cordial, mint cordial, curry powder, tomato sauce/chutney/pasta sauce, or anything that I make to buy or swap, I'm always open.

I do make things by order, for example, my boss LOVES fig jam, but doesn't do sugar, so I made her a sugar free fig jam. Anything is possible if you can think it up, it might just differ in the time it takes to make it.

So until next time, toodles.
Arika.