cook | peaches

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Barbecue pancakes with fresh peach compote

2 cup self-raising flour, sifted
¼ cup caster sugar
1¾ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
thick cream, to serve
peach compote
4 peaches, peeled, chopped
¼ cup maple syrup, plus extra to serve
½ cup pistachios, toasted, chopped

1. Combine flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Whisk buttermilk and eggs together and pour into a well in centre of dry ingredients. Whisk, to form a smooth batter.
2. Preheat flat barbecue plate and lightly grease. Drop ¼ cup measurements of batter on barbecue and cook for 2 minutes, until bubbles appear on surface and begin to pop. Turn pancake and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter. Stack pancakes on a plate and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, make compote. Combine peaches, maple syrup and pistachios. Spoon over pancake stack, drizzle over extra maple syrup and serve with thick cream..

Serves 4

try this ….
Vanilla poached peaches
Combine 3 cups water, 1 cup sauterne wine, 1 cup caster sugar and 1 split and scraped vanilla bean in a large saucepan. Stir on low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 6 peeled peaches, reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with thick cream.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | strawberries

By MEREDITH KIRTON

September is the month of strawberries in Australia, ripening first in Queensland and then the season works its way down the coast towards Victoria, each week signaling another flush somewhere of yet another plump, juicy fruit.

Growing to about 0.5m in width and only 20cm or so high, the strawberry is ideal as a groundcover, or as a strawberry patch, but can also be grown in pots, baskets and window boxes.  In fact, this berry is ideal for the backyard, so long as you can protect the ripening fruit from birds and even the pet dog, who all love the taste of the fruits.  Try nets and empty glass jars to prevent them from getting to your crops.

To grow your own, it’s important to protect these fruit not only from hungry mouths, but also from the ground where they can get fungal problems easily.  That’s where the name “straw”berry actually comes from, as originally straw was placed around each bush to protect the fruit from landing on the damp ground.  Commercial growers often use plastic, but growing your fruit in baskets and pots also has the same effect.

Strawberries need full sun to flower, and there are both white and pink flowering types.  There is also a yellow fruited Alpine or non-spreading strawberry, which is said to be harder for birds to see.  It is, however, just as tasty!  Dig in lots of manure prior to planting rhizomes or seedlings, and feed regularly with liquid manure or liquid blood and bone to encourage recropping.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | strawberries

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:

Strawberries are delicate and should be handles with care. As they do not ripen after picking, harvest your strawberries when they are bright red and plump. Store in a bowl in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

What to do with glut

• Freeze

Wash and hull strawberries. Pat dry with kitchen paper, lay on a tray and freeze. Transfer to clip-lock bags and freeze for up to 3 months.

• Preserve

Strawberry jam

750g strawberries, hulled, halved
750g caster sugar
¼ tsp tartaric acid
Jamsetta, see tip

1. Place strawberries in a saucepan and heat on low, stirring occasionally, for 15 mins, until slightly softened. Add sugar and tartaric acid. Stir until sugar dissolves.
2.  Increase heat to medium. Boil for 20mins, the test for setting point. To test, place a teaspoon of jam on a cold saucer. Sit for 2 mins, until cool. Run finger through the centre, if jam is ready it will stay in two halves.
3.  If not, remove from heat and stir through 16g jamsetta. Return to the heat and boil for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Divide jam between hot sterilized jars and seal.

tip ….
Jamsetta is powdered pectin and assists in setting the jam. It is available at supermarkets.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | quince

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Quince trees have had a Renaissance, with old trees hiding in backyards once again being held with the reverence for which they had first been planted. Native to South-west Asia and part of the rose family that includes pears and apples, the quince is unusual in that the flesh is pale yellow until cooked, at which time a miraculous transformation takes place and the ugly duckling really does transform into a beautiful (pinky red) swan.

The tree is ideally proportioned for the backyard too, growing about 4m at maturity and blossoming in spring with large white flowers that are pure charm.  The knobbly fruits, which ripen gold in late autumn, are much sort after for still life drawings, such is their beauty.  When the first fruit drops from the tree is the sign that it is all ready to be picked. Like pears, they need to be handled with care so not to bruise.  Unlike apples and pears, you have to cook them before they are edible.

Quinces like a cold winter, but are very tolerant to drought if summers are tough.  They can in fact grow from mild sub-tropical areas right down to cool highland areas. They would prefer, however, a deep, well drained soil with regular water, and shelter from late frosts which can damage flowers and away from very highly humid zones, as this can cause disease.

Plant in winter when dormant, and feed them at the end of winter with a good top dressing of manure.  Pruning is crucial too, and plants should be kept open to the sun and pruned as you would apples.  Expect your first crop in 5 years.  Well worth the wait!

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

harvest | quince

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
As quince age the fuzz on the skin decreases. Store at room temperature for up to 10 days or refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

What to do with glut

• Preserve

Heat 1 litre of water, 1 cup caster sugar and the juice of 2 lemons in a large saucepan on low, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Cut 3 quince in quarters and remove core. Add to syrup. Cover and simmer for 4 hours, until fruit is deep red and tender. Remove from heat and set aside to cool in syrup. Remove quince from syrup and use in Quince cake recipe below.

Quince Paste

Once quince have been removed from syrup, add ½ cup caster sugar and heat on high until boiling. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 mins. Place a saucer in the freezer until cold. Drop 1 tsp of syrup onto saucer and wait for 1 min. If quince paste is ready, the syrup should be firm with a wrinkled surface. If not, simmer for another 5 mins and check again. Spoon into sterilized jars and seal. Refrigerate for up to 1 month. Serve with cheese or in marinades for meat

Quince Jam

Scrub 1kg of quince and place whole and unpeeled, in a large saucepan with 6 cups of water and ¾ cup caster sugar. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours, until quince are tender and pink. Remove quince, chop and discard core. Return quince flesh to syrup and boil for 30 minutes, until jam sets when tested.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

cook | quince

By MANDY SINCLAIR

Quince cake

1 quantity of poached quince (see recipe in preserving)
1¾ cup plain flour, sifted
¾ cup caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
thick cream, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 190°C or 170°C. Grease and line a 23cm, spring form cake pan.
2. Place flour, sugar, baking powder and lemon rind in a bowl. Add combined milk, oil, egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Arrange drained quince quarters in cake batter. Bake for another 30-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
3. Brush cake with quince syrup and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Serve in wedges with thick cream and drizzled with extra syrup if you like.

Serves 8–10

tip ….
Prepare quince up to 3 days ahead of using. Refrigerate in syrup until ready to use.

try this ….

Spiced quince with mascarpone
Add 1 cinnamon quill, 3 star anise and lemon peel to the poaching liquid. Cook according to recipe in preserve. Serve quince in syrup with a dollop of mascarpone and almond biscotti.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | passionfruit

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Sometimes known as granadilla, passion fruit (Passiflora edulia) was named by Christian missionaries to South America, where it is native, after Jesus as the flower itself looks like a crown of thorns and the red stain of the fruit is symbolic of Christ’s blood spilt in his Crusification.

But you don’t have to be a believer to grow passionfruit, you just have to have a fence and a sunny, frost free position.  North-east or north-west is ideal in the southern hemisphere, as these generally get the most sun.  Passion fruit also use tendrils to climb, so they need a trellis or wires on the fence or wall in which to start making their way up.

Passionfruit also need a well drained site, with added organic matter for both nutrient supply and water hold capacity, as they are both thirst and hungry plants.  For your trouble, the will reward you very quickly with crops of fruit, normally within their first year, but certainly a bumper crop by the second. It’s normally recommended that you buy a grafted plant, not just so you can have a known type, but also because passionfruit can get a number of virus and bacterial problems and grafted plants are generally more resistant. “Nelly Kelly” is a popular black passionfruit, whilst Panama Red’ and ‘Panama Gold’ are the larger fruited types that are also great to eat.

Regularly feed your passionfruit with either well rotted manure or citrus food, and thin out any excess growth to allow sun to penetrate to all the vine, as this will stimulate spring flowers and summer and autumn fruit.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS