I don’t make jam. If I did, I’d just have to eat it and I really don’t need that much sugar. Besides, I am very very lucky in that I live in a place where there is some fruit in season pretty well any time of the year, and making not-jam is so much easier. Mulberry not jam, followed by strawberry, then peach and nectarine and plum, then mango, then…
This year’s Hot Mango and Tomato Chutney is in the jars. I make some version of this every year around this time, when mangoes, tomatoes and chilies are all available in glut proportions.
It’s a too early yet for onions and garlic, but I’ve planted the first round of parsnips for the season. I had left a couple in the garden to go to seed (that’s the picture), and they reckon it’s the right time to plant seed. Parsnips are from the umbelliferae family, and like the rest of that family their flowers are good for attracting predatory insects like tachinid flies, assassin…
Bunya nuts are in season, and it is easy to see why aboriginal people arranged festivals around bunya season. I took these to a party last night. I actually took a couple of dipping sauces. The mayo and harissa one was very good, and lemon butter with parsley is nice, but this was the one that won the day.
Since I’ve discovered roasting the chilis and garlic first, harissa has become one of my very favourite things to do with the summer chili glut. It’s fast and easy to make, and though it’s spicy hot it’s not raw – it’s also complex and interesting with lots of depth.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and when life gives you a heat wave, make sundried tomatoes. Last year I sun dried the principe borghese and made the yellow cherries into passata. The flavour of the passata was good but the yellow colour was just a bit too odd for many dishes. This year I thought I might try sun drying the yellow ones and making passata from the…
I’ve been making this a bit lately and it makes a great dip and sandwich spread too, but last night I found it’s true vocation – on a pizza. Recipe: