Plum Jam

My husband occasionally come's home with little gifts. Bits and pieces given to him by customers, it might be a loaf of bread from the local bread truck, eggs (handy when the chooks go off the lay) or something totally different and exciting like fresh local produce.

Last week when I was presented with a bag of oranges and plums he had been gifted by a customer, I started pondering over making Jam to use up the plums.

This is something I have never done, so I consulted a trusty google search. What I found was sugar free, slow cooked, strained, chunky, a bit of everything, a jam for every taste really. I read  through and decided to mix it up so to speak…. This recipe was adapted from Quirky Cooking's Strawberry Jam, I liked the idea of using Agar Agar as the setting agent as I had no lemons which were called for in most other recipes.

For this recipe you will need a Thermomix.

Plum Jam - Makes approximately 3 250g Jars

1000g Plums - mine were just ripening
230g White Sugar/Raw Sugar
1.5 teaspoons Agar Agar Powder

Cut the plums in half and remove the seeds.
Place halved plums in the Thermomix, mix at speed 4 for 10 seconds (Less time for a chunkier consistency).
Next add in your sugar and agar agar.
Set your temperature to 100 degrees and cook on Reverse Speed 2 for 15 minutes.
Pour Jam into jars (I sterilised by scalding clean jars with boiling water) wait until jam cools slightly before putting on the lids and turning jars upside down to seal the lids.

Jam can be kept in the fridge for approximately 1 month.

Hidden Vegetable Fritters

I am constantly in search of family friendly foods which are relatively healthy, tasty and appealing to small children. 

Fritters are a go to quick easy food for my hungry children, they make a tasty and nutritious snack and by adding some vegetables to the plate they can be easily turned into a balance meal.

I do enjoy being sneaky and putting things in that the children can't even tell are there like grated zucchini, peeled so any evidence of green is GONE! I don't know why but no one in my house except for me likes Zucchini!

Tonight my hidden vegetable Zucchini were devoured by the whole family! We enjoyed these fritters with home grown corn, steamed broccoli and steamed carrots.

Hidden Vegetable Zucchini Fritters.

2 medium Zucchini

1/2 a medium brown onion

4 eggs

150g diced bacon

1/2 a cup self raising flour

salt and pepper 

Cooking spray

Peel and grate Zucchini into a large mixing bowl.

Finely dice onion and add to bowl.

Add in eggs, bacon, self raising flour and a couple of pinches of salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients into a thick pancake like batter. (If your mixture is to runny add a tablespoon more flour, or for a runnier consistency add a tablespoon of milk)

Spoon into a lightly sprayed hot frying pan and cook until golden brown on each side.

Serve on their own or with a side of steamed vegetables.

my plan…..

I aim to provide nourishing, tasty food to my little family!

Cooking is one of my loves, I enjoy experimenting and editing recipes to suit my ingredients and my families tastes.

I am starting this blog to make myself accountable for my families nutrition and to hopefully inspire others to enjoy cooking for themselves and their families….

Like any busy parent I sometimes find it hard to come up with quick and easy food that can be thrown together for ravenous children. This can quite often result in unhealthy takeaway. Which more often than not doesn't taste that good, has little to no nutritional benefits and can take its toll on the family budget!

I am lucky enough to have conned convinced my husband into the benefits of a Thermomix and have owned my TM31 for about 15months. I am however guilty of not using her to her full potential. I hope in my cooking journey I unlock that potential and integrate my Thermie into my everyday cooking.

At home we have a small vegetable garden in its first season, so far we have harvested lettuce, corn, capsicum and herbs. We have plenty of green tomatoes which will hopefully turn red in the coming weeks if not we will certainly be cooking some relish!

Our yard is home to 7 chickens which are currently providing us with 5 eggs a day, too many to use  ourselves but plenty to be gifted to family and friends and to trade to our friendly neighbours for produce from their gardens.

I am looking forward to sharing my cooking, gardening and family experiences with you.

Please join me on my journey, growing, cooking and learning with my little family….