Green mango chutney

I was lucky enough to spend most of my childhood in Far North Queensland. To this day, the smell of Mangos and that first mango of the season, simply transports me back to that time - the sweet heady smell of summer - evoking memories of bare feet, the beach, Nan and Pop's house, swimming in the pool with my cousins, stifling humidity and an endless supply of sweet sticky mangos, the juice running down our arms as we sucked the stringy fruit off the seeds.

In early Summer when the Mango trees are full of large, full, green fruit, it's chutney time. My Pop used to make it, my Mum makes it and now I do too. This recipe is an adaptation of my Pop's famous Mango chutney, I have his original recipe written down, the page stained with splotches of yellow - a visual timeline of the many chutneys that have been made with this recipe over the years. 

This is a rich, unctuous, sweet and spicy, sticky chutney, that is delicious with cold meats, dolloped on the side of a bbq plate, it's delicious with cheese, excellent on sandwiches and I have a dear friend who loves it so much she claims it can be eaten with a spoon! It can be blended and mixed with a little olive oil to be used as a glaze for meats or roasted vegetables and is brilliant with curries.

"Pop's" Green Mango Chutney

This is a photo of the enormous and ancient mango tree out the front of our little house - we have an endless supply of mangos (as well as the possums, bats and the odd python that come with them!)

TM Instructions

Ingredients

300gms Green Mango (peeled and seeds removed)
150gms Green apple cored, cut into 4 (approx 1 large green apple)
1/2 red onion
10 gms peeled ginger
4 large cloves garlic
1 birds eye chilli
100gms dates
100gms sultanas
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
300gms malt vinegar
100gms water
300gms brown sugar

Method

1. Pick your mangos! My son and I had fun knocking these low hanging greenies off with a broom!

2. Peel Your green mangos with a potato peeler and keep them in a sink of water with half a cut lemon floating in the water as you peel the rest. 

3. Cut the flesh away from the seed - get as much flesh off as you can without including any of the seed. 

4.) Add Mango flesh, Green apple, red onion and garlic to TM bowl and chop 2 secs | speed 5, set aside. 

5.) Add ginger, red chilli to bowl and chop 5 secs | Speed 6| scrape down side

6.) Add mango and apple/onion/garlic mix to TM bowl, add water, vinegar, spices, salt, dates and sultans and cook 5 mins | varoma |sp 1 | reverse with MC cap on, then remove MC cap and cook for a further 5 mins | varoma |sp 1 | reverse.

7.) Add 300gms brown sugar and cook 50 mins | 100 deg | Sp soft | reverse with the varoma bottom on top - this lets the steam out but catches the spitting.

8.) Cook for a further 10-20 mins | varoma | Sp 2 | reverse with varoma bottom on top You should be able to tell if the chutney is ready, as it will be thick and sticky, and it will 'gel' when tested on a cold plate. 

Bottle in hot sterile jars.

This recipe makes approximately 1 litre of chutney.

Stovetop Method 

I usually always make this on the stove in a nice big pot. This year a friend and I did a preserves swap, so I had the thermomix as well as 2 large pots going on the stove. The stovetop method is very forgiving, you can have a bit more or less of something and it will usually all still work out in the end. 

Ingredients:

8-10 large green mangos

5 green apples (My Pop uses paw paw 1/2 ripe, but it's not as easy to come by here as it is in Nth Qld so I use apples and I prefer the flavour)

1 cup water

1.5 litres brown vinegar

1.5 kgs brown sugar

2 handful dates

2 handful sultanas or raisins

1 large knob of green ginger (peeled)

1 large knob of garlic

6 birds eye chillies (if you don't like spice you can leave these out or reduce down the amount)

1 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 large red onions

1. Prepare Mangos as per TM method (peel, cut away flesh)

2. Either use a food processor top chop mangos/apple/onion/garlic/ginger OR dice up mangos, apples, onion and garlic with a knife and grate ginger. Chop chillies finely. (I used the TM to chop everything in the picture below, it took literally seconds!)

3. Add mango and apple to a large pot with 1 cup of water and bring to the boil stirring regularly

4. Add all ingredients EXCEPT sugar to a large pot, bring to the boil and then gently simmer for 1/2 an hour, stirring regularly

5. Add sugar and simmer on a low heat for 2.5 to 3.5 hours stirring regularly. 

This recipe makes about 3.5 kgs of chutney. I didn't have a pot large enough to put everything in, so I split it between 2 pots. Just halve the recipe if you don't want to make as much, the cooking time is similar though. 

Bottle in hot sterile jars.

This is a picture of it all happening at once in my tiny kitchen, with 2 pots and the TM going at the same time! It made about 15 large jars of chutney. 

Truth be told, I don't think you can beat a long, slow cooked 3+ hour chutney, but the TM is a brilliant time saver and particularly good if you only want a few jars and not a very large batch. 

Enjoy!

Sweet Orange Jam

Sweet Orange Jam

I experimented with some Jam today. I was inspired by a recipe I found in an old 'QCWA, Japoonvale Branch - Cookery Book and Household Hints 1953' - I just liked the name of it 'Sweet Orange Jam', it made me want to taste it. The recipe was all 'lbs' and 'pints' and 'drams' and I had very little idea of what they were talking about, so I just had a crack at it using similar ingredients in my Thermomix with estimated quantities. I think the cook book once belonged to my dearest Nan, she was a great cook and used to be the person I rang asking 'Nan, quick! I'm making..... and I need to know how many mls in a pint?!' - she thought it was hilarious,you remember those days before everyone had a smartphone to just google it?! Nan was possibly one of the most amazing and special individuals I've ever met. She taught me all the good things in life - how to make jam, chocolate cake and a good cup of tea. How to sew a button, cross stitch, crochet and tend to a garden, how to pick the juiciest brazilian cherries and play a mean game of canasta.... She was just one of those special ones and we all miss her dearly. <3

So back to my jam - it turned out well and not a shameful sachet of jamsetta in sight! I think it will be delightful on some thick cut toast with home made butter and a nice hot cup of tea. I hope you enjoy it.

PS I'm told one day, when my children get older, I will once again experience the phenomenon that is hot tea... until then, one can dream...

Sweet Orange Jam

650-700gms whole oranges (I used organic valencia oranges)

750gms water

750gms sugar (I used raw sugar)

 1. cut ends off orange, cut in half and slice very thinly. You could use a mandolin if you wanted to, but I prefer to use a very sharp knife. 

2. soak oranges in water overnight 

3. drain oranges in TM basket but reserve liquid

4. weigh out oranges in TM bowl - you should have between 500-600gms (after removing ends) and place into TM bowl

 5. Weigh out 750gms of reserved orange liquid into the TM bowl and cook for: 10 minutes | 100 degrees | Reverse speed soft |

6. Add 750gms sugar, cook for: 5mins | 100 degrees | Reverse| Speed 2

7. Cook for 35-50 mins| Varoma | Reverse | speed 2 | with MC off and varoma on top to prevent spitting. The cooking time is varied, as it will depend on what type of orange and what pectin level it has, as to how quickly it's going to jell. I used valencia oranges and they took approx 40 mins. My advice would be to check every 5-10 mins after 30 mins. If you cook too long, the orange peel with candy and it will be too firm - undercook it and you'll have a sauce not a jam! The best way to test to see if jam is ready, is to put a small plate in the freezer, and once it is cold, drop some hot jam onto the plate with a metal spoon. If you jam 'jells' when put onto the plate, you're good to go. You can see in the picture below, that the jam is starting to set. Thats what you're after. (Thats another Nan trick). 

8. Bottle jam into washed and sterilised jars. I used ball mason jars which are fantastic for preserving, but any recycled jars will be fine. You will have approximately one litre of jam once it's ready. 

For a non Thermomix version, you can follow similar steps in a large pot with a wooden spoon, however you will need to keep a close eye on it with lots of stiring as you won't have a constant temperature. Test it in the same way on a cold plate and bottle as above. 

Decorated jars make lovely little Christmas gifts, I hung some homemade white clay decorations on ours and I think they look quite sweet. Enjoy!

Viva Italia

Many moons ago, when I was a girl of 12, I was lucky enough to visit Italy on a school exchange. We learned Italian at primary school - instead of watching a video on Italian life - we fundraised our tails off and went there for the 'real thing'! I spent 3 weeks living with an Italian family in Tuscany, going to an Italian school, learning about the culture and experiencing the 'real' Italy. IT.WAS.AMAZING. I kept in touch with my dear friend and her family, first by letter and Christmas cards (it was the 90's and good old fashioned post was our social media!) then later by email. We kept each other informed about the happenings in our lives in broken English and broken Italian - of pets and school plans, love and heartbreak, future wishes... and we promised each other one day we would meet again.... 

Fast forward 14 years, my husband and I met my dear friend, her fiance and her mother at the tiny Pisa airport... We spent 2 weeks staying in the very same room I'd stayed in as a 12 year old, eating breakfast in the very same kitchen and welcomed with open arms and the same love and excitement that I had been welcomed with 14 years earlier. again, IT.WAS.AMAZING.

Our first lunch there, we sat down to pasta and focaccia - I took one bite and it was the same dish, that I'd been served up the last time I was there. Just as delicious and just that one bite brought back so many memories.  

It was one of those magical opportunities that impact your life so strongly you are forever changed because of it - I simply cannot help but smile when I think about the beautiful Martini family. 

Below is the recipe for the dish*, that reminds me so much of my beautiful friends and their generosity. *slightly changed from the original - although this is called Tonna pasta in Italian, we refer to it as 'Rosanna pasta'. 

Rosanna Pasta (Tonna Pasta)

Ingredients

-3 large cloves garlic

-a good splash of good quality olive oil

-1 large tin of tuna (I use Sirena tuna in oil - Italian style 425g)

-600gms pure cream

-500gms Barilla Farfalle (bow ties)

-a good pinch of sea salt

-cracked black pepper

-chilli flakes

Pasta Sauce

Stovetop Method

Cook farfalle according to packet instructions - ensure it is al dente 

Heat olive oil in a saucepan

Crush garlic directly into olive oil - fry until golden

drain tuna and add to olive oil and garlic - break up with a wooden spoon and stir until it has warmed through

turn down heat and add cream, warm cream until small bubbles start to form on the top of the saucepan - take care not to boil as the cream can split. 

drain cooked pasta, return to pot, add pasta sauce and stir though, season to taste with cracked black pepper, salt and chilli flakes. 

Put lid back on pot and let it sit for 5 mins before serving, this allows the pasta to absorb the excess liquid. 

Thermomix Method

Cook farfalle according to packet instructions - ensure it is al dente 

Chop garlic in TM |3 secs|sp 7| scrap down sides

Add 50g olive oil to bowl and cook Varoma|3mins|speed 1| with MC cap off

Add drained tuna, and mix reverse|3 secs|sp 4|

Add cream, cracked pepper, salt and chilli (if desired)and cook |90 degrees|6 mins|sp 1|reverse

drain cooked pasta, return to pot, add pasta sauce and stir though

Put lid back on pot and let it sit for 5 mins before serving, this allows the pasta to absorb the excess liquid. 

Its starting to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas Craft - part 1

So today was the first chance I've had to start to work on that to do list in my head - you know - the one that you think about as you lay in bed at 2am wondering, when and in what universe you're ever going to get time to get it all done. Thats me!!! ... anyhoo - todays things to cross off the to do list - 1. Christmas craft - I promised N last night we would do Christmas craft today - and if you promise an almost 3 year old something, it absolutely, no questions asked, has to happen - the consequences of it not happening are dire and could include (but not be limited to) melt downs of apocalyptic standards and constant harassment until the said thing is rescheduled. It's just not worth the heartache! So Christmas craft it was today! I decided we would make some 'white clay' Christmas ornaments that a friend had posted on my Mixed up Minxes page - of course I converted the recipe into the Thermomix (see below for recipe) - once the dough was done, we rolled and cut and played - I'm not sure who had more fun - N or myself! After a good 'play dough' session, we rolled the dough out one last time and cut out with christmas cutters, using a straw to make a hole at the top so we could thread with string and hang. As an afterthought I printed S's footprint into a larger bit of dough and N's thumbprints into the centre of a couple of the stars - it was so much fun. After baking and cooling, we threaded with pretty ribbon and we hung proudly on our Christmas tree. It was such a lovely activity. N was kept entertained with a few mini Christmas craft activities while the ornaments were baking and then cooling - including some gluing with glitter and stamping with christmas stamps. We finished off the day with some nice fresh cold red and green watermelon - completing our Christmas theme. 

White clay for the Thermomix: 

Ingredients:
-390gms bicarb soda
-80gms corn flour
-170gms warm water
-3 tablespoons fine glitter (we used silver)
Method:
Add dry ingredients to TM bowl, add water, cook:
80 degrees | Sp 4 | 4 mins. 

Roll out with a rolling pin and cut into shapes or press into hand/footprints. Use a straw to make a hole to thread with ribbon if desired.

Bake 100 degrees for about an hour. Cool and enjoy <3

For a non Thermomix version - visit http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/12/white-clay-ornaments-tutorial.html