Jam Session

Green Tomato Mincemeat

                                                   'Gratitude makes of each moment
                                           a feast for the eyes and a banquet for the soul.'

   I really liked the way my Lavender Honey and Nasturtium Vinegar turned out so I decided to try my hand at a few other things.
   I thought I would try a few different kinds of honey. The first one I made was Lemon Balm and Ginger honey and I have to say I think this is my favorite. It has such a wonderful flavour, both of the lemon and ginger. It is apparently a good honey to add to tea or to just take by the teaspoon full if you have a cold or sore throat. Either way it is very tasty. I also tried Pineapple Sage Honey, it's good but I don't find the flavour as strong as I would like. I think next time I would use more leaves and wait until it is blooming so I can also use the flowers. And of course there's the Lavender Honey which I made more of.  I love everything about Lavender but it is definitely an acquired taste and I find a lot of people don't like the flowery taste of Lavender.

Lavender, Pineapple Sage and Lemon Balm/Ginger Honey

  You can use these honey's where you would normally use honey such as on scones, muffins, toast, in tea and over fruit. You might also pair it with a strong cheese such as a blue cheese or cheddar.  You could also substitute it in a cookie recipe that asks for honey, especially the Lavender honey which would be wonderful in something like a sugar cookie or in shortbread. Use your imagination.

Herb Jellies

   The next thing I decided to try was Herb Jellies. The first one I tried was a Nasturtium Jelly and I am  very happy with the results but would have preferred a more peppery taste. As with the honey,  I think next time I would use more flowers and leaves and maybe steep it a bit longer. The recipe calls for you to bring the liquid to a boil and then remove it and let it steep for 10-15min. I think what I would do is bring it to a boil and then simmer it on low for half an hour and then adding more liquid if need be to have the required amount. The second one I tried was Nasturtium flowers with Rosemary and it has a nice earthy flavour. With this one I did steep it longer on a low simmer with much better results. They are both a beautiful colour and would look lovely sitting on a cheese platter pairing nicely with an assortment of cheese or with a roast of pork.

Tomato and Peach Jams

   I also tried my hand at some jams.  
  I first tried a Tomato Basil Jam at a restaurant in Burlington called the Alex. They served it on a Phyllo pastry crust along with Arugula and Goats cheese and if I'm not mistaken Caramelized onions. Amazing!!
  So, since I enjoyed it so much I decided to make some, I still had a lot of Tomato's from my garden and decided this was a great way to use them. I am very happy with the way it turned out and it also looks really nice speckled with chopped Basil also from my garden.
  It is best served at room temperature and also pairs nicely with cheese. Is there anything that dosen't??

   Next I tried my hand at Peach Lavender Jam with peaches that I bought in Niagara on the Lake. Now I'm sorry to say that although it looks very pretty it did not set. So not wanting to throw it away (and please don't ever do that unless it tastes vile) I decided to reheat it and add a little more pectin. Word to the wise, never leave it unattended even for a minute. It has a lot of sugar and yes will burn very quickly which is what happened to me. Lesson learned.
   If you don't want to go to the bother of redoing the jam if it dosen't set you can always use it for a topping on ice cream, pound cake etc. I wish I had decided to do that, I used my precious Lavender flowers in the jam and was so disappointed to lose it.

Green Tomato Chutney

  The next thing I tried was Chutney. Now I have not really had many Chutney's but again I had quite a few Green Tomatoes left and can only eat so many fried ones so decided on Green Tomato Chutney. It is really straight forward and dosen't need to set which is nice. After stewing all your ingredients together, pour into sterilized jars, follow the same rules as you do when canning and you're good to go. This pairs well with roast chicken or pork chops, you could use it as a relish on a hot dog or even with quesadilla's.

   I made two kinds of Green Tomato Chutney, actually one is called Green Tomato Mincemeat. The recipes is much the same except that you use brown sugar instead of white and eliminate the onion in the mincemeat. It seems to have a sweeter smell and is a nice dark color.
   I got the mincemeat recipe from a cookbook called Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Cookbook. It comes from Tennessee, home of Jack Daniel's Whiskey. A suggestion for the Green Tomato Mincemeat  is to add what else, Jack Daniels and walnuts, put into tart shells and there you have a great appetizer. Yum!! I will definitely give this a try.

Brandied Applesauce

  I also made Applesauce which I make every year. It is so easy to make and you get to control the amount of sugar you want. I always use brown sugar and very sparingly, along with that I add cinnamon and sometimes vanilla. This year I did make my every day applesauce but I also made one with a twist. Along with the apples, sugar and cinnamon I added dried cranberries and after cooling the sauce I added brandy. This makes a very tasty applesauce. It could be used along side pork or over ice cream or even as an afternoon snack. The options are endless.
 Maybe keep this one away from the little ones.

Anise Hyssop Infused Sugar

One of the last things I did was make flavoured sugars. This is such a simple process, just add Anise Hyssop flowers, Lavender flowers, lemon zest or what ever flavour you want, to the sugar. Place in jars and let sit for several weeks and there you have it flavoured sugar.

Ground Anise Hyssop Sugar

  Now you can use it just as is or you can do what I did and run it through a coffee grinder. Doing this you incorporate the flowers into the sugar and it turns into a fine powder. This makes it easy to use over fruit or to sweeten drinks, it would also
work for making a simple syrup.
You could also use it in cookie or pound cake recipes by replacing part or all of the sugar with the flavoured sugar. So easy while adding a lot of flavour.

  So before you put your garden to bed, look around your garden and see if there is anything you can use and would like to add to your sugar or infuse your honey with. Maybe you would like to use up some of your herbs by making a jelly or jam.
 You can also puree your herbs with a little olive oil and freeze them in ice cube trays and save them for a winter stew.

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy. You've earned it.

Happy Gardening!