Carrot and ginger soup with pumpkin and sage scones

The time to make soup has arrived!

To kick off the soup season, I chose a tasty carrot and ginger combo and decided to make some savoury scones to go with it for a cosy supper menu.

First, I chopped three fairly small onions and added them to the pre-heated slow cooker (set on 'high') with some ground cumin and coriander to almost sauté while I prepared the other ingredients. I also added a generous amount of minced ginger and some fresh garlic at this stage too, stirring every now and then.

Next, I peeled and chopped about seven carrots and a small piece of pumpkin and added them to the slow cooker with some fresh coriander from my herb pot. I also added about two cups of chicken stock and a little water from the freshly boiled kettle. I seasoned the soup with a little salt and then turned the slow cooker down to 'low' and forgot about it while I went about my business for the rest of the day.

Finally, when I was getting ready to serve supper, I blended the soup to a smooth consistency with a stick blender, adding a few dried chilli flakes at the last minute for a little extra zing.

To make the scones, I roasted about a cup's worth of pumpkin which I mashed with a fork in a mixing bowl. I added some ground ginger and nutmeg and about three sprigs of fresh sage collected from the herb pot again. I then added about a cup of self raising flour and some salt and enough pouring cream to create a sticky, but not wet, dough. On a lined and floured baking tray, I patted out the dough into a rectangular log, cutting it down the centre and then across to form six small scones. These went into a hot oven (about 220 degrees) for 15-18 minutes. The scones are done once you can tap the bottoms and hear a hollow sound.

The hot, flavoursome (and gorgeously orange!) soup was delicious alongside the buttered scones - a perfect autumn supper.

Brunch beans

A fabulous friend of mine has a hot tip for home-cooked baked beans - curry powder! So, always being one for following good culinary advice from faithful friends (and all other manner of sound counsel!), I added this secret ingredient to my recent attempt at slow cooked beans.

Overnight, I soaked white and borlotti beans and then, added them to the slow cooker with tomato paste, bay leaves, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper and, of course, the curry powder!!! At the end of the cooking - about six hours - I stirred through a nice swig of good olive oil to give the beans a lovely consistency. I served the beans on toasted Turkish bread, with homemade hummus. Yum!!

The following day, I also had the beans for a late supper. In an ovenproof dish, I put in a few tablespoons of the beans and cracked over an egg in the centre, and then baked the whole thing in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Once baked, a few sprigs of fresh coriander, some salt and pepper and toast on the side finished it off.

Grand Strawberry Jam

If you have ever been nervous about making jam you should try it in the slow cooker. It is really easy as you just put all the ingredients in and let it simmer in the slow cooker. Although it is important to be home to keep an eye on it. Strawberry jam on scones or toast is just so delicious. A trick to know when the jam has set is place small plate in the fridge. Then put a small spoon of the jam mixture onto the cold plate and run your finger through it. If the jam does not run together you know it's ready!

8 cups of fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 cups white sugar
1 package (50 grams) powdered fruit pectin

Crush strawberries completely with a potato masher; pour into the slow cooker.
Pour lemon juice over strawberries.
Sprinkle pectin over strawberries.
Let mixture stand 10 minutes.
Stir sugar through the strawberries.
Cook on Low for 2 hours, stirring twice while it cooks.
Increase heat to High and continue cooking until jam thickens to desired consistency, 2 to 3 hours.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-jam-in-a-slow-cooker/

Wham Bam Chilli Jam!

Chilli jam is that little something extra that can make a dish just right!

I had never made this before, but thought I would give it a go to serve with corn and zucchini fritters, tangy guacamole and sour cream for brunch.

I used about six roughly chopped ripe tomatoes, dried chilli flakes, cayenne pepper, a dash of fish sauce and about a cup of brown sugar. Once I'd stirred all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, I left it on low for about for hours and at the end took the lid off and turned it on high to help it reduce. Ideally, I would have let it reduce for longer to get a thicker, jammier consistency, but what I ended up with was perfect for drizzling on the fritters and was a good balance of salty-sweetness and chilli warmth. Definitely something I will make again!

Fresh Vegetable & Three Cheese Frittata

This frittata worked a treat in the slow cooker. I was really impressed as it went nice and golden brown on the bottom. You can use a range of veggies in the frittata but ideally it's quicker if you can sauté them.

1 c. snow peas, sliced
1 c. mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 c. red pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 large eggs, beaten
1/2 c. fontina or gouda cheese, grated
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 c. fresh basil, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium skillet, sauté vegetables and garlic until tender.

2. Transfer the vegetables to the crock pot, and add the remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly to combine.

3. Cover. Cook on Low 4-6 hours or on High for 2-3 hours.

Note: Virtually any vegetable can be used in a frittata.

http://getcrocked.com/2011/09/15/crock-pot-fresh-vegetable-three-cheese-frittata/

Peachy keen peachy jam

I have said it before and I will say it again: making jam in the slow cooker is easy. Ridiculously easy.

So, for our recent brunch I decided to give peach jam a whirl to serve on blueberry scones. If I don't say so myself, it was an inspired combination.

I cut my peaches up into halves, then quarters and popped them into the pre-heated slow cooker. Next went the white sugar, covering the peaches. I stirred the mixture of sugar and chopped peaches so that the sugar started to dissolve. I also added the chopped peel of one lemon and its juice. The peel adds a nice texture and slight scattering of tartness to the very sweet jam, and the pectin of the lemon juice helps the jam to set.

I had the slow cooker on low for about four hours. The result, smothered on hot blueberry scones with cream, was peachy keen!