Thursday 21 February 2008

The Moon, Dragon and Chilli Jelly

This was before the lunar eclipse but the moon had this lovely hue surrounding it and I wanted to get a piccy of it. Sadly, my camera is not the one for the job but you can sort of see it.



Went to a lovely Chinese New Year party and had a great time. We threw our wishes (tied to an orange) at a conveniently situated tree in the garden, had some lovely food, kids played games and gave the Dragon a runabout in the garden to the sound of Chinese drumming. Sadly, the dragon lost it's head, due to over-exuberance (the kids at the front ran too fast for the kids at the back) :O)) I think Mr Dragon is now fixed, though:O))


Here we go



Oooops.


Chinese Spread!!


Couple of nights ago I taught Junior a few card games and she is now beating me!! Can't remember what these games are called, me being the card shark...lol.

Am going to have a go at this recipe this weekend.

CHILLI JELLY (from Prima Magazine)
This is seriously addictive stuff – you’ll be spooning it onto everything!



Makes: 2 large kiln jars
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 1¼ - 1½ hrs
Cost per jar: £2
Fat per jar: 1.5g
Carbs per jar: 1594g


INGREDIENTS

1.4kg/3lb cooking apples, skin on and roughly chopped
few sprigs of rosemary
around 1.4kg/3lb caster sugar
good pinch of chilli flakes, about 2-3tsp (or to your preferred heat)

You will need: sterilised kiln jars


1. In a large pan, add chopped apples, core and all. Now pour in 1.7 litres/3 pints of cold water and throw in rosemary. Cook for about 30 mins, till apples are soft and stewed, then remove rosemary and mash gently with a potato masher. Drain and retain all the juice. Measure how much juice you have, then measure out 1lb sugar for every pint of juice. Discard the apple.


2. Add juice to a clean pan and bring to the boil, then add sugar and stir till dissolved. Tip in chilli flakes and stir. Cook on a fairly high heat for about 40-45 mins, stirring occasionally till the liquid reduces. To test if jelly is set, add 1tsp to a plate and push with your finger. If jelly is beginning to set, it is ready; if not, cook for a little longer.


3. Carefully pour into jars and seal when cool. Put in fridge and leave to set overnight.

2 comments:

Claire said...

Chilli Jelly sounds good. Last year we had trouble using our apples towards the end of the summer. Chilli Jelly would be a welcome change to chutney and a freezer full of apple crumbles. I'm going to make a note of it. Thank you for sharing.

Minnie said...

'tis ok. I think it sounds lovely. We're "doing" it tomorrow. I'm using a chilli that I grew last year and that has been drying out in the kitchen since. it's a tiny thing, so should be hot!! Never done this before. Am all excited!!!