Rosehip jam

Cleaning my freezer this week, I found a bag of last summer’s rosehip harvest – so I made a wonderful batch of

Rosehip jam with vanilla and lemon

2 pounds rinsed rosehips in half (without seeds and hairy bits)
1 organic lemon
1 cup water
1 vanilla pod
2 pounds sugar

Prepare 6-7 half-pint canning jars and lids. Place a small plate in your freezer.

Place the rose hips in a large pot. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and water. Slit the vanilla pod open lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Put the seeds and the pod into the pot.

Bring the mixture to a hard boil and let it boil for about 20 minutes - stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add the sugar to the rosehip mixture. Heat to high, stirring with the wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil and reduce heat to medium high. Let it boil for about 20 minutes.

Test the jam by placing a small amount on the chilled plate. Allow 30 seconds to pass and then run your finger through it to check the consistency.

Ladle the jam into hot, sterilized canning jars. Wipe the rims of the jars clean with a dampened paper towel and seal them with the sterilized lids. Store a cool and dark place.

Enjoy on bread, scones or in cakes or on your morning yoghurtJ

This years Christmas present

Chocolate Panforte

A rich sweet Christmas cake filled with lots of almonds, hazelnuts and dried fruit.

(2 cakes)
150 g hazelnuts (1 heaped cup)
150 g almonds (1 heaped cup)
225 g dried figs (1/2 pound)
225 g dried apricots (1/2 pound)
150 g dried dates (1/3 pound)
90 g semolina flour (3/4 cup)
1 dl cocoa (1/2 cup)
1 orange
1 lemon
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsk ground coriander
1/4 tsk ground black pepper
200 g cane sugar (1 cup)
225 g honey (1 cup)
100 g melted dark chocolate (3 ounces)
Confectioners' sugar

Roast the hazelnuts on a pan or in the oven 10 minutes and place them in a clean cloth. Rub the skin off of with the cloth.

Soak the almonds in boiling water for 3 minutes and nip the skins of.

Cut all the dried fruit into small pieces and mix them with the nuts, the flour, the cocoa, the grated orange and lemon rind and all the spices.

Put the sugar and the honey in a pot and stir it over the heat until the sugar has melted. Cook it without stirring about 5 minutes – until it reaches 120 degree C (248 degree Fahrenheit).

Pour it into the fruit and nuts and mix it well. Ad the melted chocolate and pres the “dough” in to 2 cake pans buttered and lined with baking paper.

Put the pans in the oven at 150 degree C (300 degree Fahrenheit) for 1 hour.

Turn the cakes out of the pans and remove the paper. Dust the cakes on both sides with confectioners' (powdered/icing) sugar.

Cool the cakes and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or paper and store in a cool, dry place.
Well wrapped the cakes will keep at least 1 month.

My newest Cookbook

is on the shelves! Filled with delicious casseroles and sidedishes.
I will soon show you a "taste".
You can also see it on my website: http://www.sandra.dk/aktuelt.html

It's my party and I cook if I want to!

We had Balsamic Fresh Figs with Prosciutto,

Baked Garlic and Cauliflower Hummus with Walnut Gremoulata,

Slow baked Tomato Pizza on Puff Pastry with Smoked Mozzarella

and Grilled Mussels with Garlic and Parsley butter.

After that we had Fresh Pasta with

creamed Chanterelles and Norwegian Lobster

And ended with a lovely Tiramisu with Hips, Lemon and Lime

(no coffee, please).

So that was a nice birthday party!

Are you wondering where they serve such wonderful food?

At my place of course - how else would I spend my birthday but in my own kitchen:)

The plums are peaking right now - they have to be used, so how about a nice and easy cake:)

Spicy plum cake
(Serves 8 to 10)

1 1/2 pound fresh plums
3 TBSP sugar (for sprinkling)

1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cloves

2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 9-inch springform pan.
Pit the plums and quarter them.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
In another bowl whisk the eggs, oil and milk together.
Pour the wet ingredients in the flour mixture and blend thoroughly.
Pour the batter in the pan and place the plums closely on top. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar over the plums and bake the cake for about 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Arriving at our summerhouse the first weekend of September our two fig trees were loaded with ripe and almost overripe fruits.
I gathered the fruit and sorted the less ripe for enjoying raw as a snack and for breakfast. The very soft and ripe ones I used for jam and filled 10 cup-sized jars.

Fresh fig jam

2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 lemons, thinly sliced (do not peel, but cut off and discard the ends)
1 cinnamon stick
4 cups fresh figs, stemmed and quartered or coarsely chopped
2 cups cane sugar
Pectin (optional)

Cook the water and sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Add lemons and cinnamon and let it boil for 20 minutes.
Pour figs into the hot bubbling syrup. Boil over medium heat, stirring gently, for 20-30 minutes. Ad cane sugar and boil rapidly 5 minutes. Ad pectin if using.
Spoon into sterilized canning jars, wipe the rims and seal immediately with hot, sterilized lids.

Rhubarb-maniac

I am a Rhubarb maniac

This weekend I have made rhubarb compote and rhubarb jam with elderflowers.

Compote
1 pound fresh rhubarb in 1 inch pieces
3 TBSP water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh elderflowers

Put the rhubarb, water and sugar in a pan and cook it while stirring about 5 minutes. Add the elder flowers and cook 1 minute. Pour the compote into a bowl and let it cool.
Serve with cream, yoghurt or ice cream.

Jam
1 pound fresh rhubarb in 1 inch pieces
3 TBSP water
21/2 cup sugar
1 cup fresh elderflowers

Put the rhubarb, water and sugar in a pan and cook it while stirring about 8 minutes. Add the elder flowers and cook 1 minute. Ladle the jam into clean jam jars and seal them.

I also made Elderflower syrup

20-30 heads of elderflower
2 organic lemons in thin slices
1 cinnamon stick
11/4 cup sugar
11/4 cup cane sugar
1 quart water
2 tsp citric acid

Layer the cleaned flowers with lemon slices in a big jar or bowl and stick the cinnamon in.
Boil sugar, cane sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved.
Take it off the heat and add citric acid.
Pour it over the flowers and lemon.
Cover the jar/bowl and put it in the fridge for 4 days.
Pour it through a sieve and into clean bottles.
Keep in the fridge and serve in cold water or wine.

Use the mush in the sieve for a tasty jam.
Chop it in a food processor and pour it into a pan. Add same amount sugar and boil it rapidly for 5 minutes. Ladle the jam into clean jam jars and seal them.