Rhubarb, Rhubarb

It rained so we had a quiet weekend indoors.

Pickled rhubarb, we'll report back when we break the seal.

Rhuby G&T

Rhubarb ketchup. We followed the recipe from our well-used "Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2 Hardcover" by Pam Corbin. (here is a similar recipe).

In all honesty the sieving of the roasted pulp necessitated breaking out a box set - bathed in the the flickering light of the telly box, a rhubarb-infused gin on the go you could be forgiven for thinking that you were shimmying at your very own house party. All efforts told the recipe yields a substantial quantity of ketchup. We filled a 0.25l jar and then froze the rest in ice cube trays our preferred strategy for portioning sauces, stocks, purées &c.

We tested it out as a sweet/sour relish on a favourite beetroot and black bean burger dinner. DELICIOUS. We will be repeating this before the season is out; we don't foresee our frozen batch lasting out for long.

♥ Sparrow Grass ♥

We can't get enough of the seasonal asparagus. Whilst there is still plenty (though we suspect, the last of it), we decided to try this pickle recipe* to extend the season. Not sure we can hold out for four weeks! We'll report back when we break the seal.

       

* we chose this recipe as it uses up a good selection of the spices we purchased for pickling last year.

                                           

Rootin' for Roots

With the season slipping into shadow it seemed imperative to hoard these summer shards and shivers.

From right to left: do chua (without the daikon) in sweet(ish) rice vinegar pickle, taqueria-style with cumin, garlic, oregano and jalapeños and spiced pickle with caraway, fennel, all spice, pepper, juniper, clove, star anise, ginger, mustard, chilli and bay leaf.

Jars of Joy

We are trying our hand at refrigerator pickles. We mixed up a white wine vinegar pickling brine in which we've steeped lemon zest, garlic, peppercorns, coriander seed and a fresh bay leaf (this may prove to be too savoury; time will tell). We left the beans raw.

* 26/07/14: We taste tested these today: the beans are crunchy, the fresh bay leaf melds with the green taste of the beans; the garlic, coriander and peppercorns temper the fragrance of the bay and the zesty lemon the sourness of the vinegar. This recipe is a keeper.

We made a batch of gooseberry curd to Pam Corbin's recipe and a pot of goosberry & elderflower jam from some fruit we purchased in Ware.

The Generous Gardener