I have not posted a lot this quarter, it’s been quite hectic with a month spent in India, starting a new job and recent news that we must be looking for a new house. I’m still cooking as much, nothing can stop me but not finding the time to write everything up, so my resolution for the Autumn is to try harder to keep up-to-date. I also have a new template I am working on for the site to brighten things up a little – so please keep coming back it will be worth it. Don’t forget to keep in touch as when I have time I will be arranging a give away, to be in with a chance of winning simply keep updated by leaving a comment or: or follow the blog updates on .

Top Hits for Cyder with Eloise – Summer 2010
1: La Sella - Your still up there
2: Quiche without cream
3: Wild Plum Jam
4: Stuffed marrows
5: Spanish Omelette with Chorizo

Best Meal Out: The Kerala Backwaters
Best Meal In: Pasta with Chorizo & Prawns

Olive Recommends
June: The Artichoke Blog
July: The Graphic Foodie
August: Gourmet-chick

Off-piste
In July I was introduce to the pin-it-forward blogger mashup from a post by Victoria at sfgirlbybay.

To see the results of the first subject “Home” check out my board here. There are also loads of other very inspirational collections to browse through.

Flickr favourites
1. St Kilda, Melbourne, 2. At the Gorey fishing, 3. ., 4. Male Migrant Hawker Dragonfly in flight, 5. “Somewhere Under The Rainbow”, 6. dhow, 7. Shell pick ‘n’ mix, 8. strawberries, 9. First Barby of Summer, 10. Hot Peppers and Cherry Tomatoes, 11. Kundasang – Fruit market, 12. Look straight through the Wings of the Butterfly, 13. Concentration, 14. Flying high at Pacific Beach, 15. camp cuppa, 16. Emily 05c.7.ois.bl.3.1, 17. The closed window, 18. House nestled in Vineyard – Fall Nature, Germany

If you liked this post come back in November for our second ever Autumn Almanac.

Previous Almanac’s
Autumn 2009, Winter 2009/2010, Spring 2010.

Makes 12 x 4oz jars

Ingredients
1600g Strawberries
750g Sugar
8g (1 Sachet) Pectin

Method
Before you start on the jam put a small side plate in the fridge and prepare the sterilised jars.
Hull the strawberries, putting them into a Maslin/Preserving Pan or if you do not have one then the largest pan you have as the boiling process can make the jam double in volume. A preserving pan has sloping side which help with the evaporation, you may find you need to boil the jam for longer in a standard pan.
Mash the strawberries with a potato masher to the consistency you require, depending on if you like large fruity bites or a smooth jam.
Add the sugar and pectin and set on the stove, slowly heat the fruit and stir with a long wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved, then turn the heat up and bring to a rolling boil. Keep stirring to prevent the jam sticking to the bottom of the pan, boil for at least 5 minutes. Timing now depends on how firm you want your jam and what kind of pan you are using. In a large stock pot I boiled for 15 minutes. To test the jam to see if it sets, remove the pan from the heat and spoon about 1/2 a teaspoon of the jam on to the pre chilled plate, put back in the fridge for 5 minutes. If you can run your finger though it and leave a crease then the setting point is about right, but this is to your own taste. If the jam needs longer then return to the heat and keep boiling until the required consistency is reached.
Spoon the jam into the sterilised jars while still hot, using a Jam Funnel will prevent jammy jars, and seal.

While in stock you can buy some Brampton Deli Strawberry (Fridge) Jam here.

Ingredients
250ml milk
5 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 large undyed smoked haddock fillet
25g butter
1 large onion
400g potato, peeled and chopped into approx 1cm cubes (I suggest maris piper or another variety that mashes well)
150ml fish stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Method
Bring the 150ml of milk with peppercorns and bay leaf to the boil and then turn down to a simmer, add the haddock and poach 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool. Discard the milk. Once cool you will be able to remove the skin from the haddock and any large bones. Flake the haddock onto a plate and set aside to add to the soup later.
Melt the butter and soften the onions until very soft but careful not to brown, then add the potatoes, remaining milk and fish stock and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes have started to break up then add the haddock, for about 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper and then serve with some parsley sprinkled on top.

NB: Cullen Skink is just one version of the tradition and there are many other traditional Burns night supper traditions and it’s not the time of year to go into details, but if your interested then check out this website.

Here is a little ditty Rabbie Burns wrote you may have heard it but now you can brush up on the words to sing this hogmanay.

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus.-For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint stowp!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
Sin’ auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin’ auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.

If you can get it cooking chorizo would work well here as it would impart more flavour into the sauce.

Serves 2

Ingredients
150g Mezzi Ziti Pasta
2 tbsp Olive Oil
75g Spanish (ring) Chorizo, finely sliced
1 Tomato, finely chopped
2 tsp Chilli flakes, less if you don’t like it spicy
200g Raw King Prawns

Method
Boil the pasta for 8 minutes (al dente), or check the packet for instructions.
On a high heat add the oil to a large frying pan and then add the chorizo, cook quickly stirring all the time. Turn the heat down to medium and add the tomato and chilli flakes, cook until the tomato has been completely broken down and has produced a lovely thick sauce, then throw in the prawns, they should take no more then 2 minutes to cook through.
Serve the pasta with the sauce spooned on top.

And don’t forget to lick the plate afterwards, none of the sauce should get away.

Ingredients
1kg Plums, washed and stalks removed
1kg Granulated sugar
1/4 pint Water

Method
Heat to a simmer the plums and water in a large heavy based pan, until all the plums have started to split and the flesh has become soft. Next add the sugar and continue to simmer while the sugar melts down. While the sugar is melting stir with a slotted spoon and remove all the plum stones, they will have floated to the surface. Once all the stones have been removed and the sugar has been dissolved turn the heat up to max and bring to a rolling boil.
If you pan is a little on the small side be careful as the jam can spit at you and it is very very hot. Boil the liquid for approximately 15 minutes stirring frequently. Test to see if it has set by spooning a small amount of jam onto a plate and then popping it into the fridge for 2 minutes. You will know it is setting when you can run your finger though it and it leaves a crease. If the jam is still too runny then keep boiling for a further 5 minutes before testing again.
Once you are happy with the consistency pour the jam into sterilised jars and seal immediately.

For the Savoy colslaw recipie in the image below see this post from Helen at Food Stories.

Making your own cheese can be very satisfying but if you don’t have the time buy a log of goats cheese as it is easier to slice.

Goats Cheese – This must be made at least 4 days in advance.
200ml Goats Milk Yoghurt
Pinch of Salt

Mix the salt into the yoghurt.
Pour the yoghurt into a sheet of muslin and string the muslin up for a minimum of 48 hours over a bowl to catch the whey.
Remove the yoghurt from the muslin and roll into a log then wrap in a fresh sheet of muslin. Tie up at either end like a cracker. Leave in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours.
When you come to use the cheese the outside should have started to harden and the centre should be slightly soft and sticky.

Short Crust Pasty – Makes 6-8 tartlets.
225g Plain Flour – Sifted
Pinch of Salt
50g Lard – Cubed
50g Butter – Cubed
1 cup Cold Water

To make the pastry, rub the lard & butter into the flour and salt to until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle enough water over the crumbs to bring the pastry together, but not too wet.
Knead lightly on a floured surface until smooth.
Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate until required.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 (190c/375f). Roll out the pastry to fit your pie dishes. Cover with greaseproof paper and fill with ceramic baking balls then blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes, remove the baking balls and paper and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Tartlets
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 Large red onions, sliced
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
pinch of Sage
pinch of Thyme

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and soften the onions, add the vinegar and herbs and cook until the vinegar has been reduced and the onions have started to caramelise.

Spoon the mixture evenly between the tartlet cases and then top with a slice of goats cheese.
Bake in the oven (should still be on gas mark 5) for about 12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and browned on top.
Remove from oven and serve hot or cold.

Or it could just be that I raided the freezer and this is what I found. An Indian Tapas meal – for the recipes follow the links.

Burmese Chicken Curry – One Lenny had made while I was away.

Masoor dal with Pumpkin

Indonesian style Lamb Curry with Mushrooms

Cauliflower and Mushroom Curry

Lime Pickle

Mango Chutney – Ok I admit it I bought this one.

Mint Raita
200ml Yogurt
1 tbsp Dried mint (or fresh but ensure it is very finely chopped)
1/2 tsp Tamarind paste
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Blend all ingredients well and then leave to chill preferably for about 3 hours before serving. The chilling is not essential but i does encourage the flavours.

Poppadoms – Also purchased

The kettuvallams (House Boats) are based on the traditional rice barges converted (most are now purpose built) into tourist boats with sleeping quarters and bathrooms, making for a very comfortable journey. The boats seem to come in almost any size you would require from a small private two berth to boats catering for whole wedding parties. All the boats are crewed and your meals are cooked on board. We stopped off to buy some tiger prawns from one of the many shacks along the banks which were then cooked up for our lunch.

Karimeen cooked in tandoori spices.
The Karimeen (Pearl Spot, Pollichathy) has recently been named as the Keralan state fish, it’s natural habitat is the backwaters of the Kuttanad region in Alappuzha district. Fried Karimeen is a delicacy that tops menus at many restaurants, fetching anywhere between Rs 120 and Rs 180 per kg. Unfortunately this makes the fish often too expensive for the people who live on the shores of the backwaters.

I spent a month trying to get a picture of a cow and this was the best I could do! Nice view of the paddy fields.

Sunset looking out over the Arabian Sea.

Karunaikizhangu Masiyal is a traditional Indian side dish. I have had to adapt the original for ingredients available in the UK. The recipe originally called for Colocasia, which is just one of the Indian terms for Taro root, this can be sourced in Europe but otherwise try Yams (Common in Tamil Nadu province), Potatoes or Jerusalem artichokes.

Asafoetida – do not be tempted to buy the product mixed with rice flour make sure you go for the pure (really stinky) stuff.

Ingredients
250g (of selected vegetable – see above)
75g toor dal
1 tbsp tamerind paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tbsp Urid Dal
1/2 tsp asafoetida
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 inch grated ginger
2 tbsp grated coconut
15 curry leaves
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 lime

Method
In two separate pans bring some salted water to the boil and cook the (enter vegetable name here) and toor dal until it has just lost it’s bite.
In a heavy bottomed pan place the vegetables and toor dal, turmeric powder, tamarind and season with some salt.
Mash everything together and cook for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a serving bowl.
Heat the oil in a skillet or frying pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal and asafoetida. When it turns golden brown add the green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and coconut, stir for about 3 minutes and then add to the vegetable mash and garnish with coriander and a dash of lime.

Ingredients
400g bread flour
10g dried yeast
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
200g chorizo, thinly sliced
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp tomato purée
75g pine nuts
200g jarlsberg or gruyere cheese, grated

Method
Sift the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl. Slowly add 4 tbsp of oil and 250ml warm water. Mix to form a soft dough and then turn out and knead for 10 minutes. Lightly grease the bowl with oil and then put the dough in the bowl and cover with cling-film and leave to rise in a draft free place for 1 hour until doubled in size.
In a dry frying pan lightly toast the pine nuts and then set them aside. Add the remaining oil to a frying pan and lightly cook the onion, chorizo and chilli flakes until the onion is soft and the chorizo has imparted some of it’s flavour to the oil in the pan, turn off the heat and stir in the pine nuts.
Once the dough has risen lightly knead and roll out to approximately 30cm square. Spread the tomato purée all over the dough and then layer over the chorizo mix and sprinkle evenly over the cheese.
Roll the dough up so that the filling is completely encased like a swiss roll. Squeeze the dough gently to lengthen it in to a sausage approximately 50cm long and compress the filling. Then slice the sausage into 8 equal lengths approx 6cm.
Grease a round cake tin preferably with a loose bottom.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 (200c). Arrange the dough in the tin so the cut ends are facing up. Cover with cling-film and leave to rise for 45 minutes. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the bread has turned golden brown. Remove the bread from the tin and cool on a wire rack. To serve just tear and share.