And perhaps a sweet treat??

Fancy a sweet treat with your coffee?? We've got all you could wish for..and more!
Caramel Fudge, Berry Mudcake, Friands, Cheesecake, Brownie, Gingerbread, Peppermint Slice, Sticky Lemon Slice...
just to name a few ;)

mmm...come for coffee and a bite to eat after church next week...you'll be so glad you did!
And so will we :)
It's our pleasure to serve YOU!
ciao bellas
jessie xxx

A few pics from our Church Cafe this week...

QUINCE!!!!!!

Words not necessary!

Fun in the kitchen.. :)

So000... my blog is becoming a food/cooking blog!! lol...ah well...part of who I am I guess ;) I endeavoured to make Grape Jelly from my delicious purple grapes in the back yard...and even tho I'd read it doesn't make good jelly...doesn't set really...I thought I'd have a go anyway..who knows....maybe MINE would set?? ahaha...ah..no! Well it set to a gloopy blobiness that I wasn't looking for. And unfortunately I had to cook it so long that it all but lost it's delicate delicious grape-y-ness...SO..not wanting to waste it...tho by now it just tasted sweet rich and nothing much like grape!! I thought it might make a delicious vinaigrette tho...just enough sweet and rich to tone a delicious balsamic vinegar and fruity fresh-ish olive oil....and...
VOILA!!...
It has made a very acceptable and delicious even, Grape Jus Vinaigrette! (technically not grape jus at all is it? but 'grape jelly vinaigrette' just didn't have the same ring to it!! haha..and TECHNICALLY...it is made with grape juice (aka jus)!!!)
so here's my purpleish, brownish, delish concoction!

I
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at what I've been up to...off to collage my next batch of pics...food from this weeks ANNESBROOK CHURCH CAFE! ;)
BUON APPETITO BELLAS!! (30 days till we leave for Italia!! woohoo!!)
ciao
jessie xxx

Fruits of my labour :)

O..K..the 'fruits' of my labour..literally! :) One luscious jar of passionfruit curd (or butter as it's also called), several jars of quince jelly, two jars of grape jelly/nectar...kind of not quite set enough to be jelly...tho thinking it could be nice mixed with balsamic vinegar to make a delicious dressing for a salad...like a grape jus !..mmm....anyway...here are some pics of my days work... Oh the first batch of quince paste I made in the microwave...excellent as you don't have to worry about it spitting all over the stove and your hands arms and face! (thank goodness I wear glasses!!)...this paste was a little low on sugar and I think that's why the colour is not so rich, but it is delicious with crackers and a nice sharp vintage cheese as shown here. Beth and I had a lovely supper of this two nights ago...she just had the crackers and cheese as she does not love mama's quince preserves...sniff! sniff!!...(rejected! ;))....but I, on the other hand, LOVED it!!...

Oh how luscious do these look??? Just oozing jelly and dying to have the cores scooped out and be simply added to some creamy french vanilla icecream...bellissima!!...

And then the passionfruit curd....here is the final result...I had some spread on delicious toasted ciabatta for my lunch...no need for butter as it's very rich (and full of butter itself!)...really good.

Here it was still bubbling away after removing from the microwave...it really is a great invention for preserving...takes so much time and precision out of the equation. This passionfruit curd made in 6 minutes!

And here my gleaming wee jar of quince jelly...just the most beautiful jewel like colours...with the grape jelly to the right...

A wobbling teaspoonful of jelly ready to eat...

Lined up like little jelly jar soldiers on my kitchen window sill...next to my bottled nectarines that Steve and I picked at Renwick on the way home from a short holiday up north....

And here they all are cooling, ready to have their lids popped on...

Oh I truly love preserving, jam making, jelly making, curd making...cheese making, butter too! think I was born in the wrong era! haha..mind you, back in the day, it probably wasn't as much fun ...doing it out of necessity is different to doing it as a wonderful pastime! Mind you...I think I would have loved it still...

thats it for now mi amici...

buonanotte...and good night :)

jessie xx

Autumn Bounty = pastes,jellies, nectars and relishes! oh yeah!

So here's what I've been doing since Friday...with a wee break over the weekend to go cook for the church cafe ;)...and will continue tomorrow. Oh how I love the old ways...preserving fruit and veg - we have quinces (an absolute favourite...just the fragrant perfume makes me swoon!)...feijoas, grapes, passionfruit and cherry tomatoes... making nectars and pastes and jellies and curds...it makes me feel deeply connected to my past, to the ways of old that are so dying out...feels very virtuous! lol...not very economical if you had to buy your fruit and veg to make them..but in this case...all from mine or my friends gardens..thankyou Lord! Oh yeah!!...(oh no the passionfruit were from the super!)...

Never made grape nectar before but got tons of grapes just going to waste so thought I'd give it a go...Tell me your preserving/bottling/canning stories girls... I'd truly love to hear!

Blessings to you...

From the kitchen queen! ;)

ciao bellas

jessie xx

Inspiring pics..departing daughters...interrupted life ;)

Hello fellow bloggerettes :) Long time no hear...and not even a real post today, sadly! I went blog hopping this morning for the first time in a couple of months...and don't you just LOVE this pic posted on Sande's blog from A Gift Wrapped Life who was sharing from the amazing photographer Rodney Smith's blog..here.. this AMAZING pic...I love love love the hat! and this shot with the avenue of trees and hedges...simply genius! Wish I could take pics like this!

And couldn't resist this one either...

Could do with one of those cups of tea right now... ;)

I've been real busy with home life, church cafe, plans for Italy (which are now slightly on hold due to my hubbys work being interrupted in the gulf)...we've had a stressful few days this week with not knowing if there's any income this month (!) which of course greatly impacts on our travel plans. But praise God it looks like we can still go, just have to push it back a couple of weeks in order to make sure there's money in the bank when we return!..which means earning it now, of course!! lol .......ah, what a stretch!

Also, my beautiful daughter Emma left yesterday to fly to Majorca and go work on superyachts!! She was super excited/terrified! lol....what an opportunity! Wow..when I was 24 that wouldn't have even been a dream, let alone a reality. (did they even HAVE superyachts back in the day??!! haha)..

Isn't she gorgeous?! LOVE U EMM!!! She's an incredible young woman full of zest for life, determination, resource and ability! We have so many laughs together...gonna miss those laughs. She's been home for 9 months and feels weird without her now..even tho prior to that she hadn't lived at home for several years!...ah this mothers heart...hard to let them go even tho they were only kinda visiting. I DO NOT LIKE THE NEST EMPTYING!!!! That's all for now...gotta go shop for cafe supplies and get cooking. ciao bellas! blessings to you... jessie xxx