Feijoa and ginger crumble

We had a storm. Well, a cyclone. It brought with it a bucket load of rain for the garden, dripping window pains that were intermittently flooded with gusts of wind and extra spatterings of water droplets. The windows fogged up in the end and all I could see was a grey misty expanse, shadowed by the palm tree out front. It got colder. I got soaked walking home one day but was comforted by a warm shower and wooly socks I packed for this summer trip because with New Zealand weather, you never can tell. I got worried that the last of my beautiful sunshine had gone and my last few days in this beautiful country were going to be rain filled. Doubt crept in. I really dislike the word "should" and everything it implies but in this case, I really should have just trusted nature. I had forgotten that yummy feijoas, those crazy bitter sweet fruits of bounty had to ripen and summer wasn't over until the feijoa glut was finished doing its thing.

Lo and behold, the sun came out again. Soothing rays of warmth reached my shoulders and face. My sunnies were back out, my hair dried in the balmy morning air. The surf came back and I was back to barefooted bliss once more. With all this sun filled goodness came the feijoas. To me, they're like a kid's version of figs. Similar in size with a tough, smoky polished skin protecting a strange, soft , perfumed, seed-filled interior. They are usually cut in half, making two scoop fulls of sweet and sour perfumed yumminess.

I remember arriving here nearly four years ago and after the avocado glut where I consumed more avocados than I had in a lifetime, everyone starting talking about feijoas. "What the hell is a feijoa?" I kept asking. Then I tasted one and then another and another. I couldn't stop. Now that I'm back for a visit, I couldn't help get excited about eating them again. Calling over to my mate Anna's house yesterday, she told me she had an awesome suprise for me. One big beautiful bowl of feijoa goodness. It would seem rude not to stay for dinner, eat her amazing food and then cook up a feijoa crumble so here is the recipe in all its awesomeness. There were four of us. We politely took our first portion and then sneakilly stole spoons of the last portion in mid conversation until it was all gone. That's when you know it's a goodie!

Serves 4 hungry people and 6 polite tasters

Ingredients
3 or 4 large cooking apples
10-15 feijoas depending on size
8 pieces of stem crystallised ginger
4 tablespoons of raw brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

6 oz flour (wholemeal or spelt are yummy)
1 handful of oats
3 oz butter, cubed and slightly soft
2 oz raw brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 half teaspoon of ground ginger

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Get an oven proof, preferably clay or glass dish for your crumble. Peel and core apples, then slice into thin chunks and put into dish. Half the feijoas and using a teaspoon, scoop out the flesh, chop finely and mix with apples. Finely chop ginger and stir through, then add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla essence. Spread the mixture so it fills the bottom of the dish.

In a seperate bowl, add flour, nearll all the oats (you want to leave a few to sprinkle on top) and butter and mix with your finger tips until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add sugar, cinnamon and ginger and mix through. (I find this relaxing but you can easily put all the crumble mix into a food processor and blitz). Press mixture down onto apples and feijoa mix and then sprinkle with last of oats. Bake for 30 to 35 minutee until bubbing hot and browned on top. Serve with custard, ice cream or yoghurt.

Enjoy and remember that it doesn't rain, it pours. When life seems to have hit a stagnant point, rest, refresh, take time and wait for the next glut so you can make the most of it. That's what I'm learning and trying my best to practice. Some days it works, others it's tough but feijoas and blogging bring a lot of ease and joy into my day. Hope reading this and making the crumble brings lots of joy into your day too!

Sticky vanilla fig jam

I can't believe it's been an entire month since the Luisa plum cake, made in the afternoon to escape the dense heat of the day. I can't fully come to terms with the concept that an entire month has gone by. Time really has flown and with those days of intense heat and tanned toes and red stripes of sunburn on my nose, came a lot of weeding, digging, planting, cleaning and generally doing. I came to Raglan with ideas of doing, packing in as much activity as I possibly could. From the get go, oblivious to the concept of jetlag needing time to wane, I set to work, volunteering my heart out. I had such a limited amount of time here, I thought. I had so many things I wanted to do and people to see and places to go. You see, for the last three and a half years, I've had unfinished business with this little town on the west coast. Tried as I might, a very large part of my heart was stuck here and refused to belong in Ireland. No amount of moving house or changing job or days in the garden were able to distract me and outwit my heart. There was unfinished business to be had, beneath the foothills of the Karioi mountain. She, that wonderous pregnant lady carved into the mountain, had business with me.

They say strong women who don't know their own selves fully, who aren't aware of their own capabilities or strength,  are drawn to Raglan, to wake up and be close to the mountain and her steady, knowing strength.  They say the mountain teaches women to be strong and discard what no longer serves them and give birth to their true selves. The mountain shaped like a pregnant woman, sleeps gracefully, resting with her feet in the sea water, her hair blowing into the hills. She is relaxed and yet her strong jaw line tells of a self awareness and inner strength. She is lying gracefully in the valley because she chooses to, not because she is stuck.

What does all this have to do with vanilla fig jam then? There are many times in my life, especially as I near thirty, that I feel stuck. Arriving in Raglan again and achieving that goal of a return journey, has felt like a release but as my time here nears its end, I can't help but wonder what the next step is and wondering if there will be movement in my future and the inner strength to do that and enjoy the journey. Oddly, for me, making jam, particularly out of fruit that was over ripe, not perfect looking, a bit dishevelled,  gives me great joy and a big kick up the arse in realising again that transformation is beautiful and beautiful creativity never came out of a perfect, ideal situation. Beautiful, creative change comes about through having a loving, honest yet creative perspective on the current situation and making something stunning out of it.

If you had looked at the bag of figs I had to start with, you might have picked out twenty of the best to cut up and look pretty in a cake or on some muesli in the morning and put the rest in the compost. I looked at them and thought, these figs need love and time and the patience to let them transform into something different and useful again. And so the sticky vanilla fig jam was born. Jam making teaches us to be patient, to care for something,  to dedicate ourselves to our craft, be mindful and to savour the results.  I'm going to spend the rest of my time here being patient, savouring the love and care of friends new and old and learn to have patience with myself so that I don't feel stuck but that I am where I am supposed to be right now and always have the choice to change, to transform to the next phase of me.

Make the most of fig season and watch those fruits transform from soft, blushed droplets to sticky, sweet, seeded, caramel goodness.

RECIPE
I ended up with 10 cups of fruit once it was all chopped. To this I added 7 cups of sugar. Most jams are equal parts fruit and sugar but I prefer boiling for longer on less sugar, it makes a better jam and just takes a little longer and a little bit more love. Make the time and reap the rewards.

Makes 6-8 300 gram jars

Ingredients
10 cups finely chopped figs
7 cups raw brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 lemon, juice and zest,
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 half cup water


Process
Wash fruit, cut off tops of figs and chop roughly into small chunks. Place in a heavy based large pot with water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Place a lid on the pot and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes or until figs have started to soften considerably, especially the skin, but the pieces are still holding their shape. Meanwhile, put a small plate in your freezer (to be used to test your jam set later) Add in sugar, a cup at a time and stir through fruit until dissolved. Then add vanilla and cinnamon. Leave lid off and simmer, stirring every 10 minutes so it doesn't stick or burn.
While your jam is doing its thing, turn on your oven to 100°C. Wash your jars and lids in hot, suddsy water, rinse and place in the oven. These will dry and remove any bacteria that might spoil your jam. Not as tricky to prep jars afterall!

After about 40 minutes of low bubbling, your jam should be ready but this depends on the ripeness of the fruit. Take out your frozen plate and put a spoon of your jam onto it. Let rest for 1 minute then draw a line through it with your finger. If the two sides don't run into each other and the mixture wobbles, it's ready. If not, don't panic, just boil again for another 10 minutes and check the set again.

Once your jam is set, take it off the heat and give it one stir, then let it rest for 5 minutes.  This lets the fruit disperse evenly. Take your jars out of the oven and while they are still hot, fill to the ledge with jam. Seal with the lids. After 30 minutes,  give each lid one more squeeze tight. Leave it for a week if you can, longer still if you have the will power.  I generally don't.  This jam is perfect for brekkie on sourdough but equally is awesome stirred through yoghurt,  topped on ice cream or with creamy blue cheese on toast. Enjoy! Savour that transformation and the glowing jars of goodness you took the time to make.

Dear Luisa, plum and cardamon cake

'Are they Luisa plums?', a woman at Raglan's creative market enthusiastically asked me as the yummy, sticky sweet juice of a summer ripe plum ran down my arm, a kilo bag already in my bag. I'd already eaten about a kilo of them in the last week so may as well get stuck in as I meant to continue.  I gave her one for free and insisted she try it. This is the feeling this town brings out in me.  I was introduced to an amazing fruit picker and local extraordinaire of a woman, Sylvia about 10 minutes earlier by my lovely friend and wwoof host Anna. This woman had, literally, boxes of Luisa plums and since a box was going to waste she just gave them to us. It's this brilliant idea of gifting rather than hoarding something simply because it belongs to you that I love about how this town works. Unless you're an architect or high earning professional, most people don't have a whole lot of money here but they do have helpful, knowledgeable,  friendly people they know to exchange with, share and borrow from.

It's great to be back in this country and this town. Talking to an Irish friend Gill, an amazing teacher and all round special person, she pointed out something that I'd never been able to formulate into words about how I feel when I'm here. Ireland is beautiful but people there are predisposed to being negative. It starts with the weather and continues on to housing, taxes, politicians, the state of the roads and work. If you stop and take time to be positive or thankful or appreciative of a great day or a beautiful sunset, things that make me happy and energize me day to day, you're looked at strangely at home. Kiwis have their priorities right, we agreed. They appreciate down time, sunsets,  good surf, spending time with friends, sharing great food. Status is not financed based and in this town especially, success isn't measured by targets or bank accounts. It's measured by how good a friend you are, how much fun you had in the surf and what yummy food you can cook up for a potluck. I don't have to prove or battle out my priorities here because they are in line with everyone else's.  And it feels awesome.

Which brings me back to the Luisa plums. Like I said, I'm wwoofing at my friends Niall and Anna's for a while and today's task was using all that bounty of plums. I made two batches of cinnamon and star anise jam, that are now glowing and ready as gifts, winter warmness in a few months (it's not winter for another few months down here) and on toast in the morning, cause, you know, you have to test these things. The second use was to  bake a plum topped cake for a potluck tomorrow. Scented with cardamon and almond essence  it's a gluten, egg, butter filled cake that's for those who can handle all those and is inspired by the gluten free genius that is Emma Galloway  over at mydarlinglemonthyme. Emma is truly a genius but with so much fruit, I was looking for a slightly unhealthier yet equally tastier version of her recipe, substituting the rice flour and almond meal for self raising flour. I would have loved almond meal but didn't have it but the self raising flour allowed for the mix to absorb the cardamon, almond essence, cinnamon and lime zest. Yummo!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
165 grams butter, very soft
145 grams sugar, I used soft brown but coconut or caster sugar would work too
1 tsp almond essence
350 grams self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cardamon pods, ground in pestle and mortar
4/5 Luisa plums, halved, stoned then sliced lengthways
Zest of 1 lime, orange or lemon are also good, lime makes it fresh

Method:
Preheat oven to 180° C. Beat butter and sugar together and add one egg at a time until you have a lovely gooey mix. (Don't worry if there are a few lumps of butter, they'll beat out later). Add almond essence and kime zest. Sieve flour and add cardamon, cinnamon and  baking powder through it. Add to butter and sugar mix and mix well. Dollop out into greased tin, or even  better a silicon loaf tin, spread the mixture evenly. Add the plum lengths on top. Bake for 30-40 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool with a tea towel over. Serve luke warm with fresh yogurt or cream. Yum! 

Jam recipe follows in the next few days. If you have any fruit lying about, share it around, don't let it go to waste. You could get some jam or chutney or a cake in return. Better than that, you could make someone really happy. That's a noble priority to have. Fingers crossed the potluckers like the cake tomorrow! 

(Great hint from Anna, make a few little cakes in a muffin tin as a tester before you bring the cake over to a potluck.  This also got me thinking that as mini cakes, these are ideal for presents and as a snack for work, friends or picnics, same heat in the oven for 15 mins) 

Enjoy your week folks and try and gift something this week, your time, advice, a coffee, a dinner or a smile. It really makes your world a happier place.

Big hug from Raglan x

Simple squash and the surf countdown

 

Squash is a strange sort of veggie. For a LONG time, I was baffled by their tough waxy skin and its seemingly bland taste. I always thought it was one vegetable of various forms, all tasting of nothing much. This whole outlook changed over the last few years. Now I can think of practically no other vegetable that is as tasty, versatile or magic to look at in a bowl of food or growing in a back garden. Now, it's simply a wonder food. Filling but not starchy. Bursting with a multitude of colours, textures and flavours depending on how you choose to cook it. A pantry staple. Have I gone on about it long enough?

 

Why bother to peel, chop and cook this simplest of squashes and what motivated this busylittlefoodie to do such a thing on a January day? Well, for those who know me best, I am in complete denial of the weather around me. All my clothes are summer clothes, more appropriate to beaches and barbeques than rainy, overcast January days in Ireland. It's fitting then that I'm a mere 5 (!!!!!) days away from leaving for New Zealand, I'm having cravings for smoothies, colourful salads and sunshine colours all around me. These are things that are decidedly missing at the moment. Instead of getting down in the dumps about it, I decided to embrace the Irish weather, winter salad style take 2.

 

This recipe keeps the warmth of hazelnuts that was in my last recipe but also has the added yumminess and warmth of toasted coriander seeds, honey roasted squash, plenty of garlic to keep colds and flus away, rocket for a fiery kick and chickpeas for energy and warmth.

 

This salad is great as it's made in 3 parts. Part 1: Roasted squash-can be done the night before or in a batch every few days. Step 2: Roasting the other veg, chickpeas and nuts-can also be done the night before and stored in fridge to add to greens for your lunch. Step 3: Add roughly chopped greens-takes 2 minutes. It's a great salad that can be chopped and changed and is perfect for people who want a hearty, fresh meal but say there's never time to make a fancy salad.

 

Hope you like it. I'll be posting once more, I hope, before I leave for New Zealand and then expect plenty of photos from Raglan. The surf countdown begins! Thank you for reading as always!

Bliss X

 



 

Ingredients: (Feeds 2)

PART 1: SQUASH

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into cubes

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbs honey

1 tbs olive oil/coconut oil

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Prepare squash. Stir through the garlic, honey and oil. Place squash on baking tray, covered in tin foil for 20 minutes until squash is almost completely soft.

 

 

PART 2: REST OF SALAD

While the squash is roasting, get cracking on the rest of the salad.

 

1 courgette, cut in half lengthways, then half again and then into chunks

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp ground cumin/1tsp cumin seeds

50 grams of hazelnuts (almonds or others work just as well)

200 grams of cooked chickpeas/1 can, washed and drained

200 grams of fresh spinach, washed and chopped roughly

100 grams of fresh rocket, washed and chopped roughly

 

Method:

In a bowl, mix the courgette, coriander, cumin, hazelnuts and chickpeas together, toss well. Once squash has had its 20 minutes in the oven, remove the tin foil and add your chickpea mix. Toss around in the tray and put in oven for 15 minutes to toast everything else. Once the time is up, tip all the tray ingredients, including all that lovely melted coconut oil and honey into a bowl with the spinach and rocket and toss gently. Add a squeeze of half lemon, serve and enjoy all those lovely colours and flavours!

 

 

 

All images and text copyright of Grace Brady @ busylittlefoodie