Jack's Apple and Blackberry Crumble

Jack is my 14 year old son, he learnt this recipe at school, but makes it all the time at home, and it always turns out very tasty (apart from when he forgot to put the sugar in), so it is a good recipe for both adults and children to try. It's great in the autumn when we go out picking fresh blackberries, and our neighbour gives us cooking apples from their tree.

YOU WILL NEED
For the stew; 4 large cooking apples - 50g sugar - 1 tbsp water - blackberries to taste - 1 tsp jACKrABBIT pudding spice.
For the crumble topping; 150g flour (sieved) - 100g sugar - 50g butter - 50g oats.
METHOD
1) Pre-set the oven to gas 4, 180C, 350F.
2) Place all the stew ingredients into a large saucepan and heat rapidly
3) Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the apple goes soft
4) Place the stew in an oven dish - Place the flour and butter in a mixing bowl and rub together till crumbly
5) Add the sugar and oats and repeat
6) Place in the oven for 15 minutes - Serve with custard or ice cream.

Cucumber Pickles

I'm starting to get some cucumber crops in now, the euphya cucumbers that I have grown indoors have done particularly well, and with lots more cucumbers to come, I've decided to pickle some of the large ones (including the strange one with the trim middle).
1) Wipe the cucumbers, and then cut them into manageable and similar sized pieces. You can pickle very small cucumbers whole.

I like firm pickled cucumbers so used a dry brine. To find out how to pickle with a wet brine for softer pickles click here.
2) Put the pieces onto a flat tray (a baking tray is good) and cover with a generous layer of salt. Leave overnight.

In the morning.
3) It is best to make the spiced vinegar before you rinse the cucumbers to allow it time to cool. 500ml of malt vinegar was enough for my three large cucumbers, which fitted into three 0.25l jars.
4) Rinse the chopped cucumbers well to remove the brine.

5) Pack the cucumbers into cold steralised jars and pour the cooled vinegar over the top to cover. You could add a bay leaf to each jar. Seal the jars.

The pickles are best left for at least two weeks (I would suggest longer) before being used, to give time for the vinegar to really infuse into the cucumbers.

Using Brine in Pickling

Before pickling any vegetables you will need to use either a wet or dry brine to draw out the moisture of vegetables for a better result at the vinegar stage. Sea salt (usually fine ground) is the best salt for pickling (you are able to purchase fine and coarse sea salt from jACKrABBIT at any of our markets or with a home delivery (sorry, we don't post salt)). Using a brine is incedibly easy; here's how...
Dry Brine
Dry brine is used when you want your vegetables to maintain a firmness or crispness. Sprinkle dry salt over the vegetables on a flat tray and leave overnight (unless stated otherwise in a recipe). Once soaked, use plenty of cold water to rince away any remaining salt and salt solution.
Wet Brine
Wet brine will mean that your vegetables are softer, which is better for pickling recipes where you want a more sauce-like consistency. Usually you will need to use (unless otherwise stated) 50g/2oz salt to every 600ml/1 pint water mixed well. Again, unless otherwise stated, leave the vegetables in the brine overnight, then rinse with lots of cold water and leave to drain really well.
Your vegetables are then ready to be pickled.

Pickling with Vinegar

Alot of pickled foods use vinegar as the main preserving ingredient. There are a number of vinegars that can be used, malt vinegar is most common, but cider vinegar and red and white wine vinegars can also be used. These latter vinegars are usually more expensive, and their flavour is often more subtle and can be lost with the process of pickling.

MAKING SPICED VINEGAR
You can either buy a ready made pickling spice which will contain a selection of different spices, or you can buy individual spices to make your own pickling blend. Depending on the spices used you will need between 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon of spices for every 600 ml of vinegar. To make the spiced vinegar, it should be boiled with the spices for 5 to 15 minutes (from 5 minutes for a milder flavour or use with pickling fruits, 15 minutes for a stronger flavour). The intensity of the flavour is down to personal preference, so you can taste the vinegar at 5 minute intervals until the correct flavour is achieved. The spices themselves can either be wrapped in muslin or used loose and removed later. If you wish to add spices to the jar to make it look attractive, use only a very small amount of the spices used for boiling, as the flavours will keep infusing into the pickles as they are stored. NOTE: Don't use zinc, copper, iron or brass pans with vinegar; stainless steel, aluminium and good quality enamel pans are good.

MAKING PICKLES
Spiced vinegar can be used for pickling most kinds of vegetables and fruit. You need to sterilise (boiling is good) the jars that you will be using, and avoid using metal lids as they can rust. You can get round this by putting a layer of clean cling film inside the lid.

ONCE THE PICKLES ARE USED...USE THE VINEGAR
The vinegar left over once the pickles have been used can be added in salad dressings and in other forms of cooking. 'Waste Not Want Not' as my nan used to say!