Rhubarb & Ginger Jam

Hello :) On Wednesday it was sadly my last day working at the Ethiopian food stall at EQ markets. I'm going to miss Hali's food; my weekly fix of Ethiopian curries with his amazing chili and yoghurt sauce. If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend visiting the stall, just watch out for the big queue that begins at 12! 

I'd been there for over 2 years, but now it's time for travel and a bit of change. Something else I'll miss is the fresh, organic produce from Burrawang (the stall is just near Toby's estate coffee), which I enjoyed buying every week. I always stocked up on bunches of super green kale, picked yesterday broccoli, and creamy potatoes. Oh, and rhubarb. For jam making.

Their veggies, because they're so fresh, last ages in the fridge. Rhubarb is still good after a few weeks, although I had neglected it for almost a month and wasn't sure what to do. Then I thought of jam...and ginger...and did some googling. So here's my recipe I've made several times.

Recipe: Rhubarb & Ginger Jam (makes 1 jar)

Ingredients-

1 bunch rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 lemon, juiced

Grated ginger

Method-

1. Chop rhubarb into small pieces and add to a large bowl.

2. Mix in the sugar, juiced lemon and ginger to taste. I probably add a thumb sized piece. I find the ginger taste becomes more prominent after the jam has cooled, so be careful not to add too much.

3. Leave to sit for 30 minutes.

4. Add to a big pot, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or so. You want the rhubarb pieces to break down and the mixture to reduce, but leave it a little chunky. 

5. Spoon into a sterilised jar and pop in the fridge.

To serve- 

My favourite way to eat it is topped on porridge (soaked overnight in full cream milk). It's so scrumptious! Sweet, zingy, and syrupy. 

2 jars of rhubarb & ginger jam I made for the farmers that grew the rhubarb as a thankyou for all the wonderful produce from them. I just hope they like it!

Do you like making jam? (I've made strawberry jam here previously)

  I'm leaving on Monday morning for Copenhagen and my European adventure will begin!! I'm doing last minute packing and researching for the trip, so again if you have any advice on anything we should do (including museums, cafes, markets, gardens etc!) I would love hear it! We'll mostly be in France (Paris, Lyon, Nice, Avignon) and Spain (Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Madrid), but also Amsterdam and Brussels.

Have a wonderful month! I will be back and ready for blogging fun times about my travels in August. In the meantime, you can see photos of my trip on instagram.

Hannah x

Leura

Hello :) For the past few days I've been on a little holiday in Leura. The perfect escape after a stressful few weeks with exams. It rained most the time, but we still enjoyed going out for a few walks; all rugged up with coats, colourful beanies and gloves. Plus, The Blue Mountains always looks so serene and peaceful when it's misty and cold...

Some photos of the trip!

 Whenever we go away, I always take homemade granola for breakfast. Then all we need to buy is little tubs of yoghurt for each day. 

The Leura lolly shop was a definite highlight for Adrian! He stocked up on Sharapova's Sugarpova lollies for late night Wimbledon watching.

We decided to go for a walk to Gordon Falls Lookout & it was so nice!!

The beautiful, misty view...

The walk was only supposed to take around 30 minutes, but we ended up getting lost and it probably took about 1.5 hours! Thank goodness for google maps...

Some other highlights included slow cooked lamb shanks for dinner, sleeping in (something I hadn't done for a very long time!), watching a few movies including Milk (excellent) and Like Crazy (definitely my choice!) and just hanging out.

Hannah x

Fettuccini with tomatoes, olives & feta

Hello :) As part of my Saturday job at Molives, I have also started to post on their facebook page (here). Just simple recipe ideas using olives. I tend to ask people at the markets for some inspiration, and received a great, simple recipe the other week I'm going to share now. I'm not very particular with the amount of ingredients, as it's just my interpretation from a quick conversation. Enjoy!

Recipe: Fettuccini with tomatoes, olives & feta
Ingredients-
About 300-400g fettuccini
2 punnets ripe cherry tomatoes
About 20 Sicilian olives (other olives such as kalamata would work)
Half a packet of creamy feta
2 handfuls of basil
1-2 chopped garlic cloves
1 chopped  chili, seeds removed (optional)

Method-
1. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large frying pan and add some olive or macadamia oil.
3. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and chili, and stir for about 10 minutes. The tomatoes will break down and should look more like a sauce. Add the olives and continue to cook.
4. The pasta should be cooked to al dente, drain it well and add it to the pan, with the basil.
5. Toss everything together, and crumble in the feta.
6. Turn off the heat and give yourself a clap!

Hannah x

p.s. things are a bit quiet here as it's the week before my exams, so I've been spending my days amongst study notes & cups of tea.

Travel Tips

Hello :) In less than a month I'll be on a plane with my friend Renee to Europe! And on this rainy Sunday morning, I was wondering, if perhaps some of you could help me. You see, I haven't really travelled much overseas, & I'd love some suggestions of things to do! I have no idea of where to eat, museums/galleries to go to, food markets etc etc! The places I'll be going to...Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Lyon, Nice, Avignon, Arles, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bilbao & Madrid. Quite a few.

A few things I'm already looking forward to include bike riding in Copenhagen, staying in a little boathouse in Amsterdam (!!), food in France & spending days at the beach in Spain. We won't plan our entire trip, but it would be nice to write suggestions down in my travel diary.

Saltwater sandals I bought yesterday for the trip. 

Thanks :) Planning my trip sure beats physiology study!

Hannah x