mint jelly

you've probably heard that you should not plant mint with other herbs, as mint tends to get a little wild. i had heard that too, but did not believe it, i had to see...well, now we have quite a lot of mint jelly...







managed to do the picking with cast...







the autumn has been so warm that ladybugs are still flying about.







got all this, and left some in the bed.







certain someone picked the leaves off the stems...







...but then he got sidetracked...







...we had limes but no ice...nice without ice, too!







despite the drink i was able to handle a motorized gadget, mushing the leaves with immersion blender before simmering them for 10 mins.







strained out the mush...







...and got this poison green liquid. i searched the net for mint jelly recipes, found this and this, both not quite what i was looking for. there is a recipe for "any" jelly in the melatin sachet, by combining all three i got "my" recipe for the jelly.







3 cups water
350 gr / 12oz granulated sugar
30 gr mint leaves (picked off stems, weighed dry, rinsed if dirty)
1 sachet blue melatin (i couldn't find any pectin anywhere)
2 drops kelly green food coloring (optional)

like mentioned, simmer the mint leaves (i think it might not be necessary to mush them...) for 10 mins, take off heat and let cool for a few minutes, strain the liquid into a jug, pour liquid into a clean kettle, add the sugar (and food color if using) and bring the mix to a boil, then add melatin (i had saved some leaves, minced them and added them into liquid among the melatin and 2 tbsp sugar) and boil for 2 mins (start the time when the mixture comes to a boil), meanwhile...







...i had a big pot filled with water, empty jars and their lids, heated the water to a boil, added some atamon (preservative that contains E211 and E210) into water to make sure the jars were sterilised before filling them with the jelly.







i managed to get the jelly into jars with just one hand but needed certain someone to close the lids. there was so much mint that i made a double batch, it seems we'll be eating a lot of lamb this winter (if winter ever comes this way...) or i'll have to find creative ways to use the jelly, or i know already what i'll give as xmas presents...

there was enough mint to take some with me to the cottage where i'll make (with mom) some more jelly. i think i might try adding some fresh ginger to that batch...will let you know how that turns out.

juice de cassis

not as fancy as the title sounds...plain old black currant juice made with a steamer. my late grandmother bought me this juicer/steamer, i bet most homes in finland will have one, if not in use, at least gathering dust in the basement.

when i was making juice last year i noticed that the hob couldn't manage boiling the tall kettle contraption for hours, that's why i bought a separate hotplate for the task







washed bottles, sugar, atamon (preservative) and black currants (25 kgs)







the berries were a bit dusty, they needed a quick wash first







the base kettle where the boiling water makes steam that...







...that is consentrated in this funnel type part with an opening for...







...plastic hose that takes the steamed juice to another kettle







this part is then filled with berries and placed on top the funnel-type part







oop, i only washed the berries here...







it is very important to clean and disinfect the bottle well before pouring in the juice







i add atamon (sodium benzoate and benzoic acid) into the water where i dip the bottles. i keep this water boiling while...







i bring the steamed juice (with added sugar) to a boil...







these thongs have a good grip on the hot bottles







a funnel make this part a lot neater (this juice is particularly hard to remove from carpet...)







filling the bottles almost to the top







this year i got 16 litres of juice from the 25 kg of berries







i almost went and bought another 10 kg of currants but we will run out of storage. the juice needs to be refridgereted, or at least in a very cool place, and this fridge needs to hold my apple sauce as well

grilled burgers and veggies & quick pickled cukes

cucumbers get the honor of starting this entry. i got the cukes out of a whim (hmm, but isn't that what i usually do?) thinking mom's quick pickled cucumbers. actually, i'm not sure these are pickled as per se, i call them pickled because there is vinegar...







i left some of the peel intact, the cukes make prettier slices that way. somehow, now that i haven't been to work for months, there seems to be less need for zen (=chopping) therefore i used the mandoline to slice







traditionally, at least in finland, dill is used in the brine for this kind of cukes, but i used flat leaf parsley, minced fine. could be that i'm gastronomically challeged when it comes to dill. i'll nibble it if it lands on my plate on something, but i'm very hesitant to use it myself. could be that i'm put off because a slimy, off-white meat dish we were served at school that had dill in it...







i did measure what i put in the brine, but that was on saturday and for the life of me i can't remember how much of each...fortunately this is more of a taste thing. i like my cukes quite vinegary, not too sweet. anyways, you could start with 1½ cup of cold water, 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper mixed together until sugar and salt are dissolved. have a taste, if your tongue curls up, add some water (and sugar), if it's too tame, add some vinegar. salt isn't my thing in these, so feel free to add some more if your palate needs it.

i divided the batch between two jars, then added the parsley, poured in the brine, closed the lids and gave them a good shake. put them in the fridge for a couple of hours and served chilled with the burgers. not sure how long they keep, would imagine a week, they never last too long in my fridge







i had bought some ground beef for the burgers and these were the only things that went into the mince. i went quite light on the salt but heavy on the black pepper, thought that people could salt according to their taste when eating. for the 1 kg of mince i used one heaping tsp of dry mustard







i tried not to handle the mince too much besides mixing in the spices. i find that the denser the mince gets, the drier the burgers, could be just me, though. did measure out the mince to get equal size burgers







as i was going to be grilling these, i placed them on an oiled parchment on a baking tray, poured some oil on them as well. that way i didn't need to take the oil out the yard for grilling. see the indentions in the middle of each burger? that is to avoid the bulge when they cook on the grill







oh boy, was it hot at the grill. though it's kinda nice that in the summer you don't have to wear woollen socks to be warm, this recent hot weather isn't for cooking at hot stoves, or grills.

the finnish word for this kind of weather is helle. just to be sure, i looked in the dictionary for the translation, it is simply hot weather. for us to have a specific word for this kind of weather proves it is special. in finland, helle is defined as when the daytime high is over 25,1C (a mere 77,2F, which, i know, is barely nothing in some places...). yesterday they measured the highest temperature in 76 years, 33,9C.

it's been hot for over a week and seems to go on for another. let me remind you, we do cold, we do ice, we do darkness, this immense heat and bright sunshine are strangers in this part of the world. therefore, almost no one has AC in their houses. i'm fighting the nighttime heat by sleeping under a wet kitchen towel, not too high-tech but allows me to fall asleep.

oops, back to grilling







i did grill some eggplants as well, but by this time it was getting close to people arriving, me getting sticky hot, and well, i kinda forgot that i should have taken some more pics...







i had whole wheat buns for the burgers, not quite round but they packed what needed to be packed on the burgers, namely the classics ketchup and mustard, dressing, my cukes, cheese. that's my slaw on the side (cabbage, carrots, spring onions, sour cream, mayo, salt&pepper and a hint of vinegar). as i was actually paying attention to cooking time to make sure they were almost cooked thru on the grill (as they would continue cooking some more on the platter) the burgers were juicy and tasty in between the buns. and everyone tooks seconds...which always makes a cook happy!

black currants and nectarines

citamin C is good for you and black currants have plenty of vitamin C. i've used a steam juicer for quite many years now, mom and grandmothers used theirs ways back when. there was a time that i only drank black currant juice (made with hot water) when sick with flu, i guess you could call it finnish cure-all, like chicken soup is for americans.


my juicer is similar to one in the link, the principle on how it works is quite simple: fill the bottom part with water, put fruit in the top basket, bring to boil on the stove top. the resulting steam extracts the juice, which drips into the center pan and then travels down the rubber hose into another kettle from which you can pour it to bottles.


to start juicing you'll need: steam juicer, bottles, sugar and berries (traditionally all currants are good as well as raspberries) and preservative, i used atamon, although if you use plenty od sugar you won't be needing preservative







while the berries were steaming away i washed my clean bottles, just to make sure that no yacky mold had any chances of growing in them







some put sugar in the juicer with berries, i like to put it in the kettle into which the juice drips. i use a fair amount of sugar, which helps to keep the juice good







i use atamon with water in the kettle in which i dip the bottles right before i pour the juice in them







as you can see, i have quite many jars to fill, still...







it looks like the apple trees at the shack won't be bearing too many apples, i counted approx 20 in one big tree! as there won't be apple sauce, i bought some nice nectarines (which probably are the best tasting fruit ever) to make jam out of. i didn't bother peeling them, you can never get too much fiber...







boiling away with jam sugar







nectarine jam, the smoother version has some plums in it, both versions got little vanilla extract in them







this got made today, i so wished it would have rained, the kitchen got way too hot...
oh, you blend the juice with water (hot or cold) as it's very concentrated







i use my juicer when making apple sauce as well. if there will enough apples this year you'll get to see how that works.

ps. if you make juice with bright colored berries, it's advisable to cover carpet, area rugs or floor. trust me on this, you don't want the extra work washing the carpet...

bounty

i bet you thought of the chocolate bar! i'm talking about berries and other goodies that the earth gives us. the strawberry season is almost over, so i figured i better get some to freeze (now that there is some empty space in freezers). although some would say i'm borderline neurotic about certain things, organizing comes to mind first, i never seem to remember how much i froze berries, how i made jams and how much, etc. this year i did/will remember to write down the amounts in my calendar (now, will i remember where the notes are, is a totally another matter!)

since i mentioned the neurosis i've had, well, i have, i must tell that i'm totally aware of them and that i'm working on them, honestly. i'm not going into details (see!?) but the old me would freak out of amount of dust all over at the shack, not to mention all the dog hair, how the books aren't alphabeticized, or even organized by color, how there are clothes all over (in piles, i might add) and that i never find anything because, well things aren't always where they were the last time i found them. ok, i'm going to stop now, back to berries...

i got these from anttilan marjatila, the variety is "bounty"







how clever am i! i used the pastry blender to mash the berries, got the right amount of juice but there is still some shape in berries







just a touch of sugar and these are ready to be frozen







i had my doubts when planting peas in a round tin planter, but look how juicy they look! the planter is only approx 0.25 m2 so there weren't too many pea pods to pick







these carrots are in a same kind of planter. there won't be many but they taste great, already pulled one out to taste







sage







last year i made vanilla flavoured plum preserve that i decided try to duplicate this year. i started by pitting the plums, that goes easy by quartering them and then just picking out the pits







i boiled the plums with jam sugar the box comes with instructions. after removing the pot from the stove i added 4 tps of nomu vanilla paste but i'm sure any natural vanilla will work (do not recommend any artificial vanilla flavourings)







my bamix came handy when mashing the boiled concoction, i wanted this to be quite smooth







i have quite a collection of glass jars, these had mayo in them. these are perfect size for jams and i love the fact that the product info just peels off the jar and there is no sticky, yacky stuff left behind, even the lids are nicely just one color







tucked under for cooling before storing them in the fridge







blueberries and raspberries, need i say more..







right out of oven, such a shame we didn't have any vanilla ice cream at the shack