Summerdays

Summer Days or Lithe Days is a group of three or four days of feasting and celebration that fall between the months of Lithe and Mede (June and July) of the Hobbit calendar. It’s the time of the ‘Free Fair’ in the Shire with hundreds of Hobbits hobnobbing to celebrate summer and to buy and sell goods. The word ‘lithe’ means ‘mild or balmy’ in terms of weather. So I guess the celebrations were accompanied by temperate midsummer days.

But we’re not so blessed with a temperate summer in our world. Everybody agrees the heat is simply oppressive this year. But with a little inspiration and some new ideas, my kitchen is doing a fine job of not capitulating to the heat. Instead, we’re busy capturing, even preserving, the energy and the excitement of summer through a host of jams, preserves, tarts and sauces… all hinging on the abundance of exotic fruit this season.

From luscious litchis, grapes and mangoes to oranges, watermelons, pineapples, berries and plums... they’re all in bloom and they can all be put to good use. Whether you have a favorite fruit or you're just looking to make jams and preserves, go ahead and try some of these recipes without further ado. Summer will not last all year. But your preserves most certainly will. And what better way to capture a season than to freeze its color and taste in a jar and to dip into it at leisure afterwards?  

Strawberry Jam

Makes 2 x 200ml jars

Ingredients:

• 600 gms ripe strawberries
• 300 gms sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

 Method:

•  Wash the strawberries and discard any rotten ones. Put into a wide, thick-bottomed pan, and mix with the sugar and the lemon juice until well coated. With your hands, mash it all up into a rough pulp. Boil the jam for about 20-25 minutes , stirring regularly. Keep skimming off froth from the top.
• In the last 5 minutes of boiling, check the setting point every minute or so. To do this, place a cold saucer in the freezer early on, take it out when checking the setting point, put a little jam on it, and put it back in to cool for a minute. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, then it's done. Strawberry jam is unlikely to set very solid though, so don't expect the same results as you would with a marmalade.
• Take off the heat, cool and pour into sterilised jars. Seal and store.

 *Note
To sterilise the preserving jars wash them in hot soapy water and put the glass jars in a large pan with boiling water for 15 minutes or until the jars are required. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.



Orange Marmalade

Makes 3 x 200ml jars

Ingredients:

• 2 kgs oranges
• 800 gms sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Peel of 1 orange, julienned (optional; skip if you don't like the slight bitterness in marmalade)

 Method:

• Peel oranges, cut the flesh into small pieces and  remove seeds
• Add sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Set aside for an hour
• Cook along with orange peel for 45 mins on medium heat, stirring from time to time
• Blend lightly with a hand blender
• Take off the heat, pour into sterilised jars, seal and flip the jars so that all the fruit bits don’t settle in the bottom. Let cool. Store.

*Note

To sterilise the preserving jars, wash them in hot soapy water and put the glass jars in a large pan with boiling water for 15 minutes or until the jars are required. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.

Grape Jam

 
Makes 1 x 200ml jar

Ingredients:

• 600 gms grapes 
• 1/2 cup sugar(grapes were sweet, so I used less sugar)
• Juice of 1 lemon

 Method:

•  Wash the grapes and discard any rotten ones. Put into a wide, thick-bottomed pan, and mix with the sugar and the lemon juice until well coated.  Boil the jam for about 20-25 minutes , stirring regularly and mashing into a rough pulp as they cook. Keep skimming off froth from the top.
• In the last 5 minutes of boiling, check the setting point every minute or so. To do this, place a cold saucer in the freezer early on, take it out when checking the setting point, put a little jam on it, and put it back in to cool for a minute. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, then it's done. 
• Take off the heat, cool and pour into sterilised jars. Seal and store.

*Note
To sterilise the preserving jars, wash them in hot soapy water and put the glass jars in a large pan with boiling water for 15 minutes or until the jars are required. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.

Fruit Tart

Recipe for sweet shortcrust pastry

Ingredients: 

• 100g plain flour
• 30g icing sugar
• pinch of salt
• 50g butter, cubed
• 1-2 tbsp cold water

Method:

Although the measures are different and the recipe is without sugar, you can follow this link to learn how to make short crust pastry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siW_wm9TnA.

• Sift the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter.
• Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining. Try to work quickly so that it does not become greasy.
• Stir in just enough cold water to bind the dough.
• Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

Recipe for filling and tart

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh fruit, cut (I used figs, grapes and apples)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• generous pinch of salt
• sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe above)
• 1 egg

 Method:

•  Stir fruits, sugar, lemon, zest, salt together and let sit
• Cut your dough into 6 even sections, and roll each one out, on a floured surface, into a square shape of even thickness
• Place a good sized dollop of filling in the center of your rolled out dough
• Fold and press the edges of your dough to seal in the filling
• Egg Wash - Gently beat the egg in a bowl and coat the dough with a pastry brush dipped in the beaten egg
• Bake tarts at 200 degrees C for 20-30 minutes