Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Quantities are really to your own liking. This is one of those salads that can be adjusted according to crowd size. It has a great fresh crunch to it, you'll be coming back for more. 


Homemade egg mayonnaise- or supermarket organic alternative if not keen on making.
Finely sliced green and red cabbage
Red and green capsicum diced into small pieces 
Sliced shallots
Grated carrot


Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Then add egg mayo dressing to your liking and season well with salt and black pepper. Serve up you will not be disappointed.


I love this recipe because it is so flexible, leave out the mayo and add some Asian noodles with coriander and a little lemon oil for a summery red cabbage salad.                                                                                 


                                                                                                                                   Image courtesy of Flikr-caza1949

Red Onion Chutney

Our red onion patch has been very successful the last 2 seasons, however there are only so many ways to store an onion. We love a chutney so I had a look around and practised a bit coming up with this Red onion chutney. A favourite at the BBQ now!

makes 2-3 jars
9 red medium size onions
2 fresh bay leaves (dried are fine if no fresh available)
1 red chilli
25ml olive oil
200g brown sugar
150ml red wine vinegar
150ml balsamic vinegar

Cut up the onions and chilli into strips that you are happy with. Gently sweat over low heat until sticky and soft for around 20 minutes.
Once dark and sticky add the sugar and the vinegars, simmer for 30 minutes or until thick and dark consistency.
Meanwhile sterilise your jars. Once mixture ready pour into jars and seal.
I always then put into our 'fowler preserving unit' for about 10-15 minutes at boiling point to seal jars. But a large pot of water boiling will do the same job. Just ensure jars are submerged half way up the jar and that the lid when pressed pops down. This means that your jars are sealed for better storage.

Love to hear what you think!

Homemade Strawberry Jam

I love berries of any description and love cooking with them. At the moment we have a huge Strawberry crop so Jam it is. Now I have tried to make jam before, it hasn't set, it was too sweet, too runny!!! But this year I have done some research to hunt out the 'fool proof' jam. One thing I have learnt is that strawberries are low in pectin, so using a sugar with added pectin will ensure a lovely set and flavour that isn't too sweet!

1kg Strawberries, hulled, halved, quartered
500g granulated sugar
450g jam sugar - http://www.csrsugar.com.au/Specialty/Jam-Setting-Sugar.aspx
150ml lemon juice

Place 200g of the strawberries into a large pot with 200g of the granulated sugar. Gently heat until sugar dissolved and mixture resembles a mushy consistency. Add another 300g strawberries bring gently to a simmer, stirring with wooden spoon to ensure fruit isn't sticking. Simmer for 5 minutes until strawberries    soften.                                                                                                   Images courtesy Room 1455
Add the remaining granulated sugar and the jam sugar. Stir to prevent the sugar burning and sticking. When sugar completely dissolved add the lemon juice. At this stage increase heat so that mixture is boiling. Boil for 8-9 minutes then test for setting point.
When set share remaining strawberries amongst the jars, and pour over jam mixture. Seal and store.

# Setting point: 
While testing for setting point remove the jam from the heat.
I use the plate test , but there are other options.
Drop a little jam on to a cold plate, allow to cool for a minute then push gently with your fingertip or spoon. If jam 'crinkles' setting point has been reached.