An adventure

I am off tomorrow on a little adventure to Italy with a group of friends and will be away for a couple of weeks.  We are going to Rome, Sicily and Postiano.  There will be a lot of eating involved.  Which will be dangerous.  All in the name of research, of course.

photo - aegee.org

In the interests of thrift, I made this beautiful quince and apple jelly with star anise yesterday.  I am worried the birds will eat all the quinces while I'm away so some are going to a friend with a Thermomix so she can make quince paste.  If anyone wants the recipe just email me and I'll send it to you when I get back.

I roasted some pears and quinces that were hanging around in the fruit bowl and made a beautiful crab apple sauce to pour over them.

Just put the peeled and cored pears in a roasting tin and sprinkle lightly with castor sugar.  Add a couple of strips of lemon peel and squeeze over the juice of one lemon.  I also added a split vanilla bean and a cinnamon stick.  It wouldn't be against the rules to throw in a bay leaf if you fancied either.  Cover with foil and bake at about 150c for an hour or so.  Have a look and check it they are soft, give them more time if they need it.  The quinces, which I did in the same dish, took about 2 hours.

Gently remove the fruit to a plate while you make the sauce.  Put the pan (don't be tempted to wash it) on a gentle heat and add about a cup of boiling water.  Let it simmer while you scrape all the bits off the bottom as you would when making gravy.  When it has reduced slightly add a tablespoon of either quince or crab apple jelly.  Stir in and cook gently for another couple of minutes, tasting for sweetness.  (Add more jelly if it needs it.   It will depend on the sweetness of the fruit and how much sugar you added at the start.  Add more lemon juice if it is too sweet).  Serve with cream or ice cream.

Can someone do a rain dance while we are away?

dry creek bed