This afternoon Mike mowed the orchard area, and beforehand he picked up all the June drop applelets. (he's too meticulous, I've have just mowed over them) - anyway, it seems a shame to waste them, they are cooking apples, but do you think they would be ok to use as the base for some mint jelly or something - anyone tried using them before?
Hi Janet,
You could use them to make your own pectin & save it for jam making later.
I like using them to make apple & rosemary jelly as I love it on toast as well as alongside roast lamb. Crab apples are good for this too.
My apple trees are weighed down with fruit this year (I have both eating & cooking apples). I intend to make my own cider vinegar this year; I haven't tried doing it before but the good stuff costs so much once I have paid the delivery charge.
I am a bit worried as to how I am going to extract all the juice without buying a press (too expensive). Any ideas would be welcome...............
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
Bad apple year here in our region, I think the frost must have got them
I usually put some sprigs of rosemary in with the apples when I cook them down, then add a small fresh sprig at the point when I pot up the jelly at the end, just to make it look more attractive.
I love rosemary, I have two huge bushes of it. Have you tried it with fish? When I cook whole trout I put a long sprig inside it & brush the skin with olive oil. cook in the oven or on the BBQ. The rosemary gives it a special flavour. I learnt to cook it this way in Italy many years ago & it is still my favourite. Just add fresh lemon juice as you eat it.
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
Oh I do love Rosemary as well Hattie, and always cook lamb with it, and usually burn some on the barbi before cooking things, not tried it with fish though, I'm not very adventurous with fish, I wish I was, as I know how healthy it is for you, but they are a bit faffy unless filleted when I buy them.
Hi Janet,
I have prepared boneless pieces of salmon with branches of rosemary & slices of lemon. Cook them in the oven or on the BBQ, wrapping them in foil first. I keep a few sprigs in a jar of olive oil to use for recipes like this; the oil becomes scented with the herb so is very useful in marinades or for painting over meat, fish & vegetables.
So tasty......
Have a great weekend
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
Cheers Hattie
We do eat quite a bti of salmon, and other fish where you can buy it already filleted, but for example I bought 2 fresh mackerel the other day as they were on offer, I got the fishmonger to gut them and take the heads off, but any ideas for what to do now?
I always have a few cloves of garlic on my jars of olive oil, and in summer, always make a massive batch of basil and garlic oil which keeps me going all year.
Mackerel is good cooked on the BBQ & eaten with a gooseberry sauce or pieces of cooked rhubarb. Both cut through the taste of the oily-tasting fish. Personally I would prefer to eat mackerel raw (as in sushi) but you can only do this if you can guarantee it is sparklingly fresh.....hard to do unless you live by the sea.
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
Hi Janet,
I just remembered this recipe by Nigel Slater. I think this would be very tasty but I haven't tried it myself with mackerel but ii is very similar to one I use with salmon.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/aromatic_mackerel_80497
I also found the rhubarb & mackerel recipe.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/freshmackerelwithroa_92281
Hope these will help.
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
Really fresh mackeral, 1/2 hour out of the sea or less, is wonderful done in boiling water with 1T(ablespoon) of vinegar, cooked for a very few minutes. This recipe was suggested by a fisherman who supplied fresh mackeral when we were on holiday--he caught them, kept them in water till just before they were sold, so they were very fresh.
blog: Devon Garden
I like the idea of garlic and basil oil. Do you just infuse it and then strain it?
blog: Devon Garden
devongarden said:
Really fresh mackeral, 1/2 hour out of the sea or less, is wonderful done in boiling water with 1T(ablespoon) of vinegar, cooked for a very few minutes. This recipe was suggested by a fisherman who supplied fresh mackeral when we were on holiday--he caught them, kept them in water till just before they were sold, so they were very fresh.
That is how we used to cook them when we came in from fishing. We used to say that the fish served with a slice of bread and butter was a meal fit for a King. We would fry any left the next day in oatmeal.
Old teachers never die, they just lose their class
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