Stupidly easy rhubarb spread

I heart rhubarb...I grew up with heaps of the stuff.  Unforunatley our rhubarb is about 5cm tall at the moment.  No problem, that's what fruit and veg shops are for, right?  Next time you're at the market pick up 5-6 stalks of the red stuff and try this out...it's FANTASTIC on toast or english muffins (well, I think so anyways)

You'll need:
5-6 stalks rhubarb
100g sugar (or so...sweeten to your taste)


1.  Cut rhubarb into chunks
2.  Put in a heavy bottom sauce pan (to be honest, mine is cheap a$$, and it still worked) along with sugar and 100 ml  of water
3.  Simmer until the consistency of a puree (about 30 min or so)

See...easy, eh?  Next put small batches into tupperware containers and allow to cool.  Slam one in the fridge for tomorrow morning and put the rest in the freezer where they will sit happily until your next craving.

Enjoy!
Kat

My first beet pickle!

The first thing I thought of while gazing lustfully at my shiny new jars were the beets that were very ready for harvesting from the garden.

So I decided to give er a go and can the little guys (well, not so little).  If you'd like to do the same, here's what you need:

500g beets (of same size, roughly)
500 ml red wine vinegar
112 g granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise seed
2 peppercorns
1 small bay leaf
a pinch of salt

Cut the stems off the beets being careful not to injure the beets so they don't bleed.  In a heavy bottom saucepan, mix all the ingredients except the beets.  Heat gently until sugar dissolves, and then bring to a boil. Add the beets and boil for 1-2 hours until beets are VERY tender when poked with a skewer. Let cool in broth.

This is when you get your canning pot full of hot water (so it will cover the jars by at least 5 cm).  Bring to a simmer (not rolling boil at this point) and place your jars into the hot water as well as your lids.  This is to prevent jar breakage.  Leave in the simmering water for 10 minutes or until ready for use.

When your beets are cool enough to handle, remove with a slotted spoon, peel and dice.  Take your hot jars from the water immediately before use and fill until 0.5cm headspace remains. Remove cinnamon stick, bay leaf and anise seed and bring liquid to a boil again.  Once boiling, remove from heat and fill jars until 0.5 cm headspace remains.  Wipe the jar tops with a clean cloth as well as the lids - you want NOTHING coming between the jar and the seal or else it won't form properly and you won't get a seal - leading to fool spoilage (bad!).  Place the lids on and tighten the bands finger tight.

Immediately put your sealed jars into the canner and crank up the heat.  Wait till it comes to a rolling boil and set your timer for 30 minutes.  After processing for 30 minutes, remove the jars and place on a towel  10 cm apart and let cool naturally for 24 hours.  You should hear a 'ping' when the seal forms.  After 24 hours, label and place in a cool dry place.

You should wait for 1 month for the flavours to mature but the pickle will stay for 1 year if you can wait that long!  Come back in a month for the outcome of my first canning adventure!  Can't wait to do it again!

Enjoy,
Kat

Make your own granola bars

Let's face it - granola (muesli) bars are a great afternoon snack when your mind is repeating the word "chocolate" every 1.5 minutes.  However, if you look at the ingredient list of 80% of the brands on the supermarket shelf, they contain a lot of extra sugar - most sinister is "high fructose corn syrup" - no thanks.

Making your own snackies are SO EASY and you can put whatever you want in them - blueberries, apricots, cherries, yes, even dark chocolate chips!  The best thing is - you know exactly what went into them and can adjust things like sweetness to your preference.  I used Alton Brown's recipe and it's baking right now!

Dry ingredients toasted nicely

Oatmeal, nuts, fruit and honey in sweet sweet harmony

All pressed into the pan and ready for the oven! Ps - wet your fingers, it makes it soo much easier

I made a few changes, though.  I have a 9X13 pan, so I multiplied everything by 1.5 to fit my bigger pan.  I also nixed the brown sugar, figuring that honey was enough - and it was.  When I tasted the mix, I still thought it was too sweet, so I'll use less honey next time.   Nevertheless - DELICIOUSNESS!  It's really important to let the bars stand after baking (overnight is good) to set properly...otherwise you'll have granola blobs.

I chose dried blueberries, almonds, hazelnuts and cashews for my granola bars - what will you choose?

Enjoy!
Kat