Chutney and thankyou Mr Bosch.

Well I thought it was a long time between posts!!! However I certainly didn't realise just how long. I have made a resolution to be a better blogger on my textiles blog so I had better follow up here also.

My cooking adventures this year have been spasmodic - a good part of the year on a fat free diet has rather dampened my enthusiasm for the kitchen. Hopefully now that the problem is fixed I will be more interested. Today I have put on a batch of Tomato Chutney - a hybrid recipe - I looked up whatever references I could find from Miss Schauer to Maggie Beer, but I can definitely hold noone else responsible for the finished product.

Why tomato? Well we have a great fruit and vegetable shop nearby that has a 'seconds' table which I peruse every time I venture into the shop. Since I am vegetarian and love my fruit and vegetables this is often and the remainder shelf often holds tremendous bargains - bananas at half price, as good as on the full price shelf, just separate and packaged. I think they put there things that were packaged and did not sell the day before. The turnover in this shop must be amazing - their produce is wonderful and the patronage commensurate.

On Monday I bought some very ripe tomatoes with the intention of making this chutney - the recipe -

1 kg tomatoes, chopped fairly finely (I do this instead of skinning them - lazy, aren't I)
250g apples (some slightly dated delicious from the fruit dish), peeled and chopped
250 g onions, finely chopped
1 cup sultanas
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice (should have been allspice but I was out!)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped root ginger
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar

This has come to the boil and will simmer until it is thick and the apples and onions soft. I think next time I will make the effort and take the food processor out of the cupboard and will get a better mix with it. The simmering is still in process - at least an hour and a half so far - so no photographs as yet and I can't tell how many bottles I will get from this quantity. This is the first chutney I have made since we left the Mountain and probably a few years before that. Mike does not like the vinegar permeating the house so I wait for a good opportunity to put some on.

Last night I roasted a freerange chicken - didn't have Tricia's recipe which I am chasing and will blog when I get it. My favourite oven has Program 9 where I put my chook in a covered dish - seasoned inside with tarragon (from thevcherb garden!), some garlic and lime slices and thoroughly rubbed with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (at a guess). Set it up for P9 and the right weight and Mr Bosch does the rest. It was beautifully done- we both enjoyed it and as well as another dinner - probably a pasta dish - and maybe a risotto as well - I will get some lunchtime meat. Over the last few years I have tended to rely on chicken breasts but decided it was time to branch out a little. Also it is good to try a different program on the oven - German recipes a slightly different from mine so the oven book frightens me off a little. I really must be more adventurous.