Lemon Marrow Conserve Jam Jelly

I  was going to make Lemon Velvet Marrow Cream with my homegrown marrows, but when I looked in my storage cupboards, I still had two jars from last year. I changed my mind and decided on Marrow Jam instead. 

Here it is all potted it up.  I have to admit I was not really sure what to call it, so am calling it everything under the Western sun from conserve to jelly to jam.  I would even call it marmalade as that is how it looks to the eyes.

As I have only made this Lemon Marrow Conserve recently, I have not had opportunity to crack open a jar  and taste it fully, but from the leftovers in the pot it reminded me in texture of preserved ginger pieces, a little bite.  

I am going to make some Lemonade Scones and in place of red berry jam, I will use this Lemon Marrow Conserve and will give you more insight into what these corn yellow jars mimics the most.  For now, here is a link to some other Unusual Homemade Preserves, Jams and Chutneys.

I am sharing a jar of this Lemon Marrow Conserve with Eat Your Greens challenge hosted this month by The VegHog - You still have time to share your #EatYourGreens recipe! 

Easy Cinnamon Plum Jam

The plums are literally tumbling from the tree and rolling down our slope of a garden,

I just touch some of them and they fall into my palms.

One of the very first things I made with the plums was an Easy Cinnamon Plum Jam, but I have a number of other variations to share too: vanilla, licorice and even star anise!

Raw Strawberry Chilli Chia Jam

Like most food bloggers, I discovered the magic of chia seeds a couple of years ago.  As well as using it in Puddings, I actually also made a Raspberry Chilli Chia Jam, but never got round to blogging about it.  This time I was determined to get a picture and share it with you - the only difference is this one is made from strawberries from my garden.

The Raw Strawberry Chilli Chia Jam was not only spread on a piece of toast, but also on warm home-made Lemonade Scones.  Lemonade scones contrary to its name, do not taste like lemonade at all. The fizzy lemonade seems to aerate the scones, giving them oomf and a bit of height, but nothing lemony about them at all. 

The Raw Strawberry Chilli Chia Jam is not sweet like traditional strawberry jam made with sugar and pectin, but nonetheless it was pleasant and made for an interesting change, and you know me - dousing a bit of chilli here and there, but its completely optional.  

Communists Love Rhubarb and Custard Doughnuts/Donuts

This is the first time I have ever made doughnuts or donuts if your in the USA, and vegan and gluten free ones to boast further. Although I am very pleased with on how they turned out, I'm not 100% happy sharing the recipe as it may need a little tweaking.  

You see the original recipes used xanthum gum, an ingredient that appears on lots of gluten free pastry and baked goods recipes.  I did not have any, so I made these doughnuts without it.  Its omission did not seem to do any harm to the recipe, but how would I really know having not made these before.  

Anyway, in half of them I dolloped a teaspoon of Duerrs Rhubarb and Custard Jam into the batter of each doughnut just as they were to go into the oven: and in the other half, only once baked I injected the Rhubarb and Custard Jam with an icing syringe set. Well let me tell you, I now know why jams are not put into the doughnuts whilst baking, they burst or burn into the moulds. As this Rhubarb and Custard Jam's consistency was a little thicker, I used one of the larger nozzles to inject the jam into the finished doughnut.  A word of advise, this icing syringe is great for injecting jam into regular size doughnuts, but is not necessarily good for intricate icing of cookies like gingerbread men.   

D really liked these doughnuts and said that they were moist and had the consistency of deep-fried doughnut, even though these were baked in the oven.  The doughnuts got further praise from one of my brothers who actually sent me a text the following evening describing them as 'delicious - please make more', so they must have been A okay. 

As I said, this was my first time making vegan gluten free doughnuts, so I hope to make them again, with similar results, so I err  a little on the side of caution when I share the recipe below which is adapted from Babycakes. If you don't have this Rhubarb and Custard Jam, then substitute with another jam or try something different like banoffee curd or even my own creation of Rhubarb Hibiscus Butter , just remember to omit the custard powder from the recipe below.    I am sharing some of these doughnuts with Bake of the Week hosted by Casa Costello.

Nessie's Crock Pot Apple Butter

I got given a bottle of fresh Pear and Apple juice, along with some cooking and eating apples.  I have to admit, I hardly got to drink either the Pear or Apple Juice as some of my nephews and nieces came over that morning and swigged it all.  Glad they enjoyed it.  

As for the apples, I will be making some crumble, but one recipe that has been requested by my husband is some of Nessie's Crock Pot Apple Butter.  Nessie was our neighbour when we lived in Glasgow.  We still remember her with great fondness.  

The Crock Pot Apple Butter recipe is really, really easy - all you have to do is peel and core the apples, and throw it into a crock pot also known as a slow cooker, along with sugar and spices and then let it cook, very very slowly, stirring it now and again. Its really, really lovely.  Once you have opened a jar, you will find yourself eating it out of the jar like 'peanut butter'.  Yum.  Its gorgeous spread especially on croissants.  I've also made Pear Butter using the same recipe.  I am sharing a photograph of the Apple Butter that has been previously posted on my blog back in 2010, as its one of my favourite food photographs when I lived in sunny Glasgow.

Rhubarb and Rosehip Jam Cake

This cake looks really amateur-ish next to my other recent bakey delights such as the Raspberry and Chocoalte Cake and  Strawberry Cake.  Why amateurish?  If you look closer you can see at the top what I can only call 'pot-holes' caused by the excess juices from  the fresh rhubarb.  I could have easily covered it over with some cream cheese frosting, but I decided to scatter over some purple coloured sugar, icing sugar and some sugared almonds to distract attention from the visible flaws. It sort of, well kind of did the job.

I had a jar of Rosehip Jam that I made a long long while ago, so I thought instead of sandwiching the two sponge cakes together with rhubarb and ginger jam which was my original plan, I would do so instead with the Rosehip Jelly. In spite of how it looked, it was truly a lovely combination and tasted quite good. 

The taste reminded me a little of bakewell tart but in sponge form.  Serve a slice of this cake with a massive dollop of whipped cream.

An i I am sharing this Rhubarb and Rosehip Jam Cake with Kate of What Kate Baked who has chosen layer cakes for this month's Tea Time Treats . Tea Time Treats is co-hosted by Karen of Lavender and Lovage.

Rhubarb and Rosheip Jam Cake