Charming Chores

Laundry and gathering go hand in hand these Spring days. I recorded this moment for prosperity yesterday. A posie of dandelions, a sprinkling of jacarandas and handfuls of mulberries speak of our unruly lawn, the purple giant that looms over our neighbours fence, raining blooms upon the aforementioned grass, and the wealth of berries this season. 

My little helpers join me in the garden as I add or subtract pegs from the clothes line and tote baskets in and out of the laundry. They chase a pink inflated ball, giggle from the trampoline, follow the cats with curiosity, present me with tiny offerings, demand I push their toy cars, add or remove their shoes, ask their inexhaustible questions. 

What is making that noise? Where is that butterfly going? What is the cat thinking? Do caterpillars turn in to birds? Can I turn in to a butterfly and back in the a girl again? Can I hand you the pegs?

Sometimes, when it looks like rain, I will duck outside without them, tossing pegs one way and clothes another as I rush. But mostly, laundry is an excuse to spend time out doors with them. To play, potter, bird watch, pull weeds, pick flowers, admire clouds and try to satisfy their inquiring minds. Making the chores that much more charming with their presence.

Mulberry Crumble Recipe

660 grams of Mulberries

Much more delicious than they look!

Hooray! It's Mulberry season! And the tree we planted in our back yard a few years ago is bowing under the weight of it's delicious fruity covering. I  have been picking the berries daily, eating them for breakfast, leaving a bowl out in the kitchen (so that as a result my children are often sporting berry stained faces and fingers), sharing them with friends, and stashing some in the freezer. Yesterday I had an especially fruitful forage (see what I did there?) and had an excess of Mulberries. Oh, how rich I feel to have not only an excess of Strawberries, but Mulberries too. I've been craving thinking about Crumble since the first Mulberry turned from green to deep purple. Yesterday my friend celebrated her birthday, so what better excuse to make Crumble? One for her and one for me us.

You can make this simple deliciousness with almost any fruit that you are rich in. I'm thinking of making another with Mulberries AND Strawberries. I know, yum...

Mulberry Crumble Recipe 

(makes one thick crumble, or two thinner ones as pictured.)

500 grams of Mulberries (more or less)

2/3 cup of sugar

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

100 grams of butter (I use Nuttelex for a dairy free version)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Rinse berries and pinch off the green stems, pop in a large saucepan with the white sugar. Stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved (which smells awesome), then cover and simmer for ten minutes, or until berries are soft but chunky. 

Spoon in to an oven proof dish.

Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, rub in butter with your finger tips. Sprinkle over berries and liquid. 

Bake for 25 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

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Enjoy with custard, yoghurt or ice cream. Or just straight from the oven....

Tip - if you have excess Mulberries that you want to freeze, but you don't want them all to stick together, wash them and pinch off the green stems, lay them on a baking dish with baking paper (or aluminium foil if you have run out) and pop them in the freezer. When they are frozen you can bag them up like berry ice cubes in resealable bags. 

Mulberry Jam - A simple recipe

The mulberries soaking in the sugar, and the mulberries cooking.

Almost three years ago I planted a mulberry tree next to our shed. At that stage it was little more than a twig with two leaves on it. It was difficult to imagine that in three short years it's branches would be so heavy with fruit that I would happily allow the birds to take their fill and still be filling a colander with fruit each day. I feel rich with fruit! And to celebrate I have been sharing it with my neighbours, freezing it for when the tree is exhausted and turning my hand to jam making. 

I've attempted Mulberry jam in the past with limited success. My first batch wouldn't set and jars and jars of runny jam went to waste. My second batch I overcooked in an effort to right the wrongs of my first batch. This time the contents of my jars was something like a fruit toffee, though less edible. This week though I found satisfaction! I cooked a batch of jam that made me proud and which has been covering muffins and crumpets ever since.

Where I had been going wrong was trying to cook Mulberry jam the same way I cook Strawberry jam. But Mulberries are thicker, denser and need more cooking time. Cooking in smaller batches also seems like the best way to go. I've written down my steps for future reference, and for anyone else interested in making their own jam. I learnt to make jam after a whole lot of googling, and tips from Rhonda at Down to Earth blog.

You will need -

800 grams Mulberries

800 grams white sugar

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

Scales

Stock pot

Wooden Spoon

Teaspoon

Tongs 

Jam jars

Funnel

Measuring cup

Wash the fruit and twist the stems from the top - you can pinch them off too, but this hurts your fingers after awhile.

Weigh your Mulberries and sugar, you want about the same amount of fruit as sugar, though you can try using a little less sugar.

Place fruit in your biggest saucepan - I use a stock pot - and cover with sugar. Mix and leave for an hour.

Meanwhile, wash up your jam jars and heat your oven up on to a low heat (80 degrees) and place jars inside to sterilise them. Place a saucepan in the freezer.

Add lemon juice to fruit and sugar, bring to the boil while mixing.

Allow mixture to bubble up and skim the foam off the top.

Turn down to a rolling boil and keep stirring so the jam doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook for approx. 20 minutes, or until mixture seems less runny.

Take a teaspoon of the liquid mixture and drip it across the plate from the freezer. This cools the boiling liquid so you can see if the jam has 'set' or not. This step confused me at first. I wasn't sure how to tell if it has set or not. What you are looking for is for your drips to behave like store brought jam. So when you push your fingernail through the drip, the mixture should part and not run back together again. If it does, keep cooking and try again in another ten minutes. If the mixture bunches up and stays separated, it has set and you need to turn the heat off.

Using your tongs to remove the jars from the oven and place the funnel in the mouth of one of the jars. I use a measuring cup with a lip to scoop up the jam mixture and pour it in to the jar. Be careful, it's hot! And hot jam burns! Leave a couple of centimeters room at the top of the jar.

Pop on your lids, turn the jars upside and leave them to cool and they are ready to eat.

If you aren't going to eat them straight away, and you want to store the jam for up to twelve months, you will need to use a water bath method to kill any bacteria in the jar.

Wash out your stock pot and fill it up half way with hot water. Bring it to the boil with a tea towel in the bottom. Place the jars in on top of the tea towel - this helps to avoid them from breaking or cracking on the bottom of the pan - making sure they are covered with water and bring the water back up to the boil and leave it to boil for about an hour.

Remove jars with tongs and let cool overnight.
Store in a dark, cool cupboard for up to a year.

Happy jam making!

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The accumulation of laundry after two nights away never fails to amaze me. Surely it doubles in size while in the suitcase? Still, while the washing machine bubbled and whirred yesterday I set to washing, hulling and boiling batches of mulberries and strawberries. Thanks to Clare for the home grown mulberries and to the discovery of more 79 cent a punnet strawberries.

Ah, the satisfaction of empty laundry baskets and full jars of fresh jam.

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At my house...

I tried my hand at making mulberry jam. The results of my first batch resembling a mulberry coulis and the heartbreaking second offering, burnt mulberry toffee. Who knew jam making was fraught with such difficulties? At least the coulis can be saved by the addition of vanilla ice cream.

I think perhaps I should have been boiling without stirring? And a saucer test means that a drop of jam will cool on the saucer and you should be able to push it with your finger and it will wrinkle. I also think I should not be tempted to walk away while the jam is boiling... Important things to have known pre-jam-making.

Fortunately I still have enough mulberries for one last attempt. Have you ever made jam? Do you have a fool proof recipe?