sausages made easy

Job done for the year with a bit more time on my hands I made some delicious Christmas flavour sausages

I can’t make sausages, you need special expensive equipment and you can’t get the skins in the shops.

Well the reality of it is all you need is a hand mincer, with a sausage stuffing nozzle and a friendly butcher (for the skins). You can buy the skins on the internet fairly cheaply, I find the collagen ones great, not much work come in different sizes and there the same one’s most butchers use. (I know I’m leaving myself open to a few smart comments after them last few lines but I’ll get over itJ) 

This is all you need to get going!

There are hundreds of recipes out there the only limit is your imagination. I have tried veggie, curry, beef, turkey, and many pork ones. And last but not least desert sausages (apple crumble) but I want to just share my top five recipes with you.

1 my all-time favourite

Turkey cheese sizzlers

Ingredients:

500g turkey meat

250g bacon (I buy bacon misshapes/cooking bacon in lidl €1.99 for 1 kg)

200g of cheese use your favourite

1 tablespoon of pepper

3 tablespoon of mixed herbs

2 gloves of garlic

1 chilli (leave seeds in if you want a real kick)

Method:

Mince the turkey and bacon; mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and were nearly done.

I find it best to try some of the meat at this stage, make a small Pattie and fry check for seasoning add extra if needed,  

To make the sausage, remove the blade from the mincer, and add the sausage stuffing nozzle. Tread the skins over the nozzle and start add the mix back into the mincer turn the handle too fill the skins (don’t forget to tie a knot in the skin). Make sure not to over fill the skin as they will burst when cooking. I like to let the sausages sit for at least a few hours to let the flavours develop. Cook as per normal

Christmas day sausage (Christmas dinner in one bite)

 Ingredients:

500g turkey meat

250g bacon (I buy bacon misshapes/cooking bacon in lidl €1.99 for 1 kg)

2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce  

1 Large minced onion

3 tablespoon of mixed herbs

2 gloves of garlic

Method as above  

My Little helper Jack

Apple, Sage & Fennel Breakfast Sausage

1-tbsp vegetable oil

2-tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, and diced 1/4"

1-bunch scallions, thinly sliced with white & green parts divided

1kg minced pork

1/2-cup loosely packed fresh sage, finely chopped

1 1/2-tsp fennel seeds, crushed or lightly chopped

1-tsp salt

1-tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat oil over medium heat, Add the apples and scallion whites, Cook until apples are soft and starting to brown about 5-8 minutes, Let cool for 10 minutes, Combine all ingredients. Follow steps above to fill the sausage skin.

Garlic Rosemary Sausage

1.5kgs minced pork

1 kg minced beef

3-tsp sugar

2-tsp white pepper

1 ½-tbsp salt

3-tbsp minced garlic

1-cup chopped fresh parsley

1-tbsp powdered rosemary

2-tsp chilli flakes

2-tsp cayenne

Method:

Combine all ingredients and stuff into skins as above

Curry sausage with a difference

1 kg minced pork

1-tbsp salt

½ tbsp. ground white pepper

1-tsp ginger

1-tbsp nutmeg

1-tbsp thyme

4- tbsp. Pataks Tikka Masala paste

Method:

As above

last winter jobs plus a scrummy flourless chocolate cake suitable for celiac

With most of the work done preparing the garden for the winter

Putting away the hoses, turning the soil to aid the worms loosening the soil, covering the parsnips so you can’t still get them out of the ground when the frost sets in. it’s time to do one of the last things you can do and that’s create leaf mould.

Leaf mould is an excellent, free soil amendment. It is easy to make, simple to use, and has a huge impact on soil health.

 What is Leaf Mould? Leaf mould is the result of letting leaves sit and decompose over time. It is dark brown to black, has a pleasant earthy aroma and a crumbly texture, much like compost. In fact, leaf mould is just that: composted leaves. Instead of adding a bunch of organic matter to a pile, you just use leaves.

Benefits of Leaf Mould

 You may be wondering why you shouldn't just make compost. Why bother making a separate pile just for leaves? The answer is that while compost is wonderful for improving soil texture and fertility, leaf mould is far superior as a soil amendment. It doesn't provide much in the way of nutrition, so you will still need to add compost or other organic fertilizers to increase fertility. Leaf mould is essentially a soil conditioner. It increases the water retention of soils. Leaf mould also improves soil structure and provides a fantastic habitat for soil life, including earthworms and beneficial bacteria.

 How to Make Leaf Mould

 There are two popular ways to make leaf mould, and both are ridiculously simple. The one thing you'll need to keep in mind is that leaf mould doesn't happen overnight. The decomposition process for leaves takes at least six to twelve months. The good news is that it's basically six to twelve months with very little work on the gardener's part.

 The first method: of making leaf mould consists of either piling your leaves in a corner of the yard or into a wood or wire bin. The pile or bin should be at least three feet wide and tall. Pile up your leaves, and thoroughly dampen the entire pile. Let it sit, checking the moisture level occasionally during dry periods and adding water if necessary.

 The second method of making leaf mould requires a large plastic bin bag. Fill the bag with leaves and moisten them. Seal the bag and then cut some holes or slits in the bag for air flow. Let it sit. Check the bag every month or two for moisture, and add water if the leaves are dry.

 After six months to a year, you will have finished leaf mould. If you’re Impatient there are a couple of things you can do to speed up the process:

 •Before adding leaves to your pile or bag, run over them a couple of times with your lawn mower. Smaller pieces will decompose more quickly.

•Use a shovel or garden fork to turn your leaf pile every few weeks. If you are using the plastic bag method, just turn it over or give it a firm shake. This will introduce air into the process, which speeds decomposition.

•If you are using the pile or bin method, cover your pile with a plastic tarp. This will keep the leaves more consistently moist and warm

 How to Use Leaf Mould

Leaf mould has several uses in the garden. You can dig or till it into garden beds to improve soil structure and water retention. You can use it as mulch in vegetable gardens. It's also fabulous in containers, due to its water retaining abilities.

 Leaf mould is simple, free, and effective. If you're lucky enough to have a tree or two on your property, you've got everything you need to make great garden soil. So keep checking your slug traps and enjoying the time off out of your garden.

I have given you a fantastic starter, a heart-warming main course so I think it only fitting I give us a scrummy desert ,I  was having a dinner party with a guest coming that was celiac so not to make her feel left out and after some research i came up with this hope ye enjoy

Flourless Chocolate Cake

 Ingredients

 300g of chocolate (1 bar of 80% coco 1 bar of 50% coco and 1 bar of fair trade milk chocolate all from lidl)

 225g caster sugar

 175ml of boiling water

 225g of butter

 6 eggs separated

 1 Tsp. Of instant coffee powder

 2 Tsp. Of vanilla extract

 250g Of Raspberries to top the cake

 1. First preheat oven to 180C

2. Melt chocolate in bowl over water or in microwave if you prefer

3. When melted add the caster sugar, boiling water, butter, eggs (yolks only at this stage), coffee powder, and vanilla extract mix well till all ingredients are incorporated

4. Next beat the left over egg whites and fold them into the mixture

5. Place into a round 9inch springform lined cake tin

6. Cook for 45-50 mins leave to cool

7. Then place in the fridge still in the tin for 2-3 hours

8. Take out of the tin and top with the fresh raspberries and dust with a little icing sugar

 Last but not least enjoy maybe with a spoon of cream!!!

 NOTE: suitable for celiac

Well hope you tried and enjoyed the last two recipes and with this delicious recipe for a scrummy desert, and now you can use them all together for and wonderful evening with friends. Please let me know how you get on and any amendments you made to the recipes, as these can be ever changing. Over the next few weeks I’m going to concentrate on Christmas which I hope can help you create a perfect meal for the day!

war on slug's

So as the nights close in and the last of your roots have been taken out of the ground, you have to start thinking about next year. There are many jobs you can do now to make your lives easier next season such as

1.       Starting to complete next year’s crop planning

2.       Continuing the battle against our friend the slug

3.       Last but not least planting some of you early crops

Crop planning

I find this a hugely exciting time with all the choices that you can make, and with these choices the recipes that flood to mind, make me want to get cooking but that will have to wait awhile. For the last 2 years I have used a garden planning tool I found at www.growveg.com but of course you can just use Graph paper.

 My first and most important rule when planning my veg plot is that I only grow veg we eat as a family; so many people get carried away with the array of choices but I tend to stick to the classics, as this fits in well with my second rule, which is getting the most out of the space you have. Think about it you spend months growing something that take up half a bed and you get 2 dinners out of it, it’s not very rewarding I like to see a good benefit for my labour. Third rule is grow for your area and the soil, this might take a few years to learn but it’s worth it to get them bumper crops. The next consideration should be a basic rotation plan making sure that no crop is grown on a particular piece of ground more than once in four years, to avoid disease and specific nutrient depletion. I find this four year plan works best, starting with potatoes followed by peas and beans (legumes), followed by cabbage family (brassicas), then roots. In the polytunnel it’s hard to stick to the four year rotation! If you're only just starting out on growing - don't take on too much – perfect one square metre first. It's amazing what you can grow in such a small area. Success will encourage you - a weedy mess will just create loads of extra work and put you off for the future.

The war on slugs        

                      

With that done, it’s time to get yourself ready for the war on slugs. It’s nothing as cool or glamorous as apocalypse now or riding in a helicopter with ride of the Valkyries blaring out of your speakers, you can try it and let me know how you get on. In the mean time I suggest you use slug traps placed all around the garden about every meter using beer or milk, this should be done all year if you do it now it will save you lots of hassle in the spring. There are other options like broken egg shells but the reports on their success does not make good reading, and of course there is the option of slug pellets but I feel this is a last resort option, with a bit of persistence the traps will work just keep at it all year.

Planting early crops

GARLIC

Plant garlic now in well-drained soil in a sunny spot - or in raised beds. November is your last chance if you want really big bulbs with nice big cloves. Garlic is very hardy and most varieties in fact need a cold spell for good root development - but it hates sitting in water and will rot. If the soil is too wet then you can plant the cloves into individual modules or pots - planting out later on in March. Don't plant cloves from supermarket bulbs as they may bring diseases and viruses into your garden – (onion white rot can last 20 years in the soil), and spreads around the garden on your boots.  I plant my garlic finger deep and 1ft/30cm apart each way so that I can inter-crop with spring lettuce - which doesn't affect the growth of the garlic at all.  If you plant the recommended 7-8ins/10cm apart, there isn't really leave room to intercrop, which actually protects the surface of the soil and keeps weeds down so it well worth thinking about .

BROAD BEANS

 I always try to autumn-sow broad beans when I get time, it stops nutrients leaching through otherwise fallow soil, which allows its structure to deteriorate. They are ready a good month earlier than those sown in April, and they don't get black fly. If the beans are in an exposed position and grow too tall (above a foot ) over winter, they can wave around and split just above ground level, so put in canes or sticks and string if necessary. Good autumn varieties are Aquadulce Claudia and Super Aquadulce. Don't forget, broad bean tops are delicious wilted with butter.

Making use of indoor space over the winter in your glass house or polytunnel

LAMBS LETTUCE

This is a good filler: it's undemanding, easy to grow and useful for bulking out the salad bowl. It is useful in that it does not need high light levels and tolerates low temperatures, and so can be sown up until the end of October outside should be ok till end of November inside; it can be picked until December outside or into the New Year with some fleece or inside. If you are short of space, you could intercrop some in between your spring cabbage plants

While out getting some of my chores done today in the garden and with a chill in my bones my mind kept wondering back to the kitchen where I had the food to warm my body and soul bubbling away in the greatest invention know too busy families the electric slow cooker a hearty beef stew with a healthy kick of chilli enough to warm a colds of bones

GIBNEYS GARDEN BEEF STEW

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 5-6 hours (in a slow cooker)

Servings 4 (but depends how much work was done)

Ingredients

• 3-4 tbsp. olive oil

• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• Good thumb-size piece fresh root ginger, peeled and shredded

• 1 bunch spring onions, sliced

• 1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced (leave the seeds in if you want a stronger kick)

• 1½ kg braising/stewing beef, cut into large pieces

• 2 tbsp. plain flour, well-seasoned

• 1 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder

• 2 star anise, optional but recommended

• 2 tsp. Brown sugar 

• 3 tbsp. dry sherry

• 3 tbsp. dark soy sauce

• 500.0ml beef stock

1. Heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a large pan. Fry the garlic, ginger, onions and chilli for 3 mins until soft and fragrant. Tip onto a plate. Toss the beef in the flour, add 1 tbsp. more oil to the pan, then brown the meat in batches, adding the final tbsp. oil if you need to. It should take about 5 mins to brown each batch properly.

2. Add the five-spice and star anise (if using) to the pan, tip in the gingery mix, and then fry for 1 min until the spices are fragrant. Add the sugar, then the beef and stir until combined. Keep the heat high, then splash in the sherry, scraping up any meaty bits. Put everything into the slow cooker

3. Pour in the soy and stock (it won't cover the meat completely), cook for 4-5 hours on high stirring the meat halfway through. The meat should be very soft, and any sinewy bits should have melted away. If you don’t have a slow cooker I suggest getting one asap, but you could put everything in a casserole dish for 2 hours approx. 180c   Season with more soy. This can now be chilled and frozen for up to 1 month keeps very well. Sever with rice or roast baby potatoes

TOP TIP

Braising/stewing beef

When stewing, look for meat marbled with good streaks of fat and sinew throughout - these will break down during slow cooking and give you the, most tender meat, you have ever had.

So I hope you enjoy this recipe it’s a family favourite and has been enjoyed by many of our friends who have come to break bread with us and pretend to be grown up for a few hours, till next time ENJOY!!!!

November time for getting the last of your roots out of the ground and enjoying some tasty treats

Well now it’s time to get the best out of the last garden treats of the year. You should be thinking about storage for your roots (carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips). Whilst some of these can be left in the ground in well-draining soil, I would recommend taking them up now before the pests have time to do more damage, so you have a few choices for this but I feel there are two ways suited to smaller amounts from a garden veg plot first is the old school . Placing in layers in boxes, crates etc. The second and for me most simple way is freezing

For the first way-I have done my potatoes and carrots this way has worked fantastic this year

Remove foliage close to the crown.brush off dirt inspect for damage any thing that damaged should not be store and should be eaten as soon as possible Place in layers in boxes, crates etc. separated with a damp, but not wet, packing material. You can use sand, leaf mould but probably the best is peat. The best type of box i have found is the banana box. Most supermarkets throw them away and will give you some if you ask. These are good strong heavy boxes importantly with a lid as you want to keep out the light  

The ideal temperature for your root crops is between 0 and 4 degrees C, lower than potatoes. Since you probably don’t have a refrigerated storage area, like me you will just have to settle for the coolest place you have. Don't store in the loft of your house or shed as the temperatures are too variable and will lead to rotting and don't forgwet to check for rot every month or so    

The second way I have used this for my carrots, parsnips and turnips for a number of years and I find it very successful

 Remove foliage close to the crown. Wash, peel, and chop into desired size for best results, arrange the prepared vegetables on a large tray and freeze for a few hours until solid. Transfer to a freezer bag - extract as much air as you can using a straw, tie securely and label. Freezing doesn't preserve food indefinitely, but frozen vegetables will keep for up to six months. Take out and cooked as normal

Maybe you’ve noticed I haven’t mentioned beets in there anywhere well of course you could use the first method I mentioned or my preferred option is to make something fantastic to eat out of them straight away. Have a look at my favourite beetroot recipe below   

Feta and beetroot salad

Prep time•10 Minutes

Cook Time•1 Hour ish (for the beetroot)

Servings  Serves 4 as a starter or lunch

Ingredients•

·         500g whole beetroot

·         2 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped

·         Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         2 tbsp olive oil

·         200g feta, crumbled into small chunks

·         A sprig of rosemary

·         And mixed salad leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.

Scrub the beetroot well and place them on a large piece of foil. Scatter with the garlic, salt and pepper, Rosemary and trickle over the olive oil. Scrunch up the foil to make a loose parcel and place on a baking tray. Roast until tender – about an hour, although they make take longer.

Test with a knife: the beetroot are ready when the blade slips in easily. Leave the beetroot to cool, then top and tail them and remove their skins. Cut into chunks and place in a large bowl.

Add the cheese and mixed leaves and toss the lot together with your hands. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a simple vinaigrette over the salad and toss lightly.

Serve straight away, with some brown bread on the side. And most importantly enjoy

Well I hope you enjoyed my first post and found it helpful and will stick with me through the rest of year, and into the new season where we can grow and enjoy our spoils together