Jaci’s garden is being cleaned out, fed and mulched for the winter.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Jaci Hicken, our seasoned journalist and trained chef, shares her wealth of knowledge on growing, cooking and preserving homegrown produce.
The days are getting shorter, the mornings frostier and the skies damper, which means the summer harvest has finished and hence the summer preserving season.
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My garden beds are slowly being cleaned out, fed and mulched, with planning for summer 27 plantings already under way.
So, it is time to answer some Jaci can cook emails and plan what to cook over the winter.
I have a stash of glass jars if you could use them? They have been put through the dishwasher, but many of them still have their labels.
If you aren’t interested, I will check with our local op shops.
Colleen
Thanks for your kind offer, Colleen, but unfortunately, I don’t use recycled jars to make preserves.
This is due to having a council-registered kitchen and a permit to sell preserves (along with catering and hosting guests for lunch), and it is a requirement not to reuse jars, especially the lids.
I do reuse Vacola jars and lids, replacing the rings most of the time, but these are not for sale.
Please check whether the op shop wants them; then someone else can get some use out of the jars.
I was just reading your sausage roll recipe in Tuesday’s paper and thought I should share a time-saving tip I use for my own sausage rolls. With the grated vegies, instead of leaving overnight in a sieve in the fridge, I just put them in a clean tea towel and wring out all the moisture.
Hope that little tip might be of some help to you also.
Sharon
Thanks for the tip.
I’m sharing it here in case it helps someone else, and I will use it when time is short and the other half needs sausage rolls for lunch.
What to cook over winter?
It has already started in my kitchen, cooking rich, hearty meals that will keep us warm over winter.
The first pot of pea and ham soup will go into the stock pot this week.
Pea and ham soup recipe
For this recipe, you want to use a saucepan only big enough to fit all the ingredients to produce a really intense flavour ham stock.
Jaci’s pea and ham soup.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Ingredients
A ham hock
1 each of leek, onion, shallot and carrot, peeled and finely sliced.
1 garlic bulb minced — you don’t have to use this much, but as I grow my own garlic, there is heaps to use in the kitchen.
2 tablespoons of butter
1 kg of frozen peas
Salt and white pepper to season.
Jaci’s pea and ham soup ingredients.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
One each of leek, onion, shallot and carrot, peeled and finely sliced.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Method
Step 1: In a saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, then add chopped vegetables. Cook over medium heat until soft and cooked through. Do not allow the vegetables to colour.
Step 2: Add ham hock and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer, then cook until the meat falls off the bone. This will take a good few hours, maybe all day.
Add ham hock and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer, then cook until the meat falls off the bone. This will take a good few hours, maybe all day.
Photo by
Jaci Hicken
Step 3: Strain the liquid into another bowl. Take the ham hock and shred the meat. Set the meat aside until serving.
Step 4: Return the liquid to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Add 900 grams of frozen peas and quickly return to the boil. Once boiled, remove from the heat straight away.
If you don’t, you can overcook the peas quite quickly and won’t have a bright green soup.
Step 5: With a stick blender, puree the peas in the stock. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm.
Step 6: In a small frying pan, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the shredded ham and the remaining 100 grams of peas.
Heat through.
Step 7: Place the soup in serving bowls and garnish with the warmed peas and shredded ham.
Enjoy.
– Jaci
Do you have a favourite recipe or a hint for Jaci? Let her know by dropping her a line at jaci.hicken@mmg.com.au.
