at hand

as our beautiful South Island city of Christchurch struggles with the terror of a devastating earthquake, there are so many willing hands reaching out to help, rescue, care for, comfort and provide. Our thoughts and prayers for all those who are affected. Take care.

tomato chutney

the two tomato plants (beefsteak variety) in the vege garden have been yielding loads of tomatoes. So many that the only way to deal with the tomato overload was to make some deliciously grunty tomato chutney. Here's the recipe:

TOMATO CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
1.5kg tomatoes (chopped with skins on)
500g apples (chopped with skins on)
700g red onions (peeled and chopped)
500ml cider vinegar
6 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
1 tbsp fresh ginger (generous tbsp grated ginger)
400g raisins
450g brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cinnamon quills
1 tbsp salt

Method:

Put the tomatoes, apples and onions into a large, heavy based pot.
Pour the vinegar into the pot and then add the remaining ingredients.
Then stir, bring to a simmer and cook on a low heat for several hours.
Stir occassionally and then more frequently as the chutney thickens.
When it starts sticking to the bottom of the pot (similar to jam) remove the pot from the heat.
While hot pour into clean, hot jars. Leave the jars to cool down completely before sealing.

This recipe makes up around 3 x 500ml jars of deliciously yummy chutney.

Enjoy!

swans

in the days before Valentines, my true love gave to me... 300 swans. 

Yes you read it right, 300 swans from a collection where the owner had passed on 4 years ago and her husband was sadly moving into a retirement home and couldn't take them with him. So dear hubby bought the entire collection as a Valentines/Wedding Anniversary gift. As we unwrapped the swans, I thought of the the regal beauty of the swan and the dedication and passion of the collector. I'm sure she'll be glad to know that her collection has found a loving home.