Having bemoaned summer's tardy arrival, she made herself felt - in more ways than one on Friday. My list was long over ambitious. This is one of those times of the year when the market patronage is likely to be iffy: there's a public holiday coming up this week and it also signals the beginning of the summer shut down holidays. The sourdough bread and rolls had to be done. So did the pickled fish. Because, as I always say about pickles, they have to pickle. I'm in a bit of a pickle - again. Because I thought I'd shared a recipe and the process for pickling fish. I must have because I found the photographs I had uploaded...Like this one...
Anyhow, I've added it to the list. In the meantime, let me explain: pickled fish is something I associate with some of my earliest memories of Christmas in Africa and in the Eastern Cape. In the Western Cape and where I now live, it's traditional over Easter and particularly on Good Friday. Anyhow, I digress, as usual. The point is, I have been making pickled fish for Christmas for the last few years: for ourselves and for the market. That's why it was on Friday's list.
Now, it's happily languishing pickling in the fridge to be portioned for sale and to fulfil the orders that have already come in.
It's a hot process and Friday was a properly hot day and also on the to do list were chilli jam and chicken liver pâté. Because I knew there was a lot to do and it was going to be hot, I got going early.
However, by midday, the fish was done, and so was I. The list was not.
Also on the list, the now customary jar meal or salad.
This week it was the now popular (with customers and us), this Moroccan lentil salad. Although the lentils had cooked themselves while I prepared the fish, I still had to forage in the garden for the mint, parsley and celery and, of course, chop, assemble and... I'm still tweaking this a little and when I'm happy with the final product, I promise I shall share it. This entirely plant-based salad is one of those that is a great prepare ahead meal...
Then I had to speak to mother - to start the bread that goes into the oven at 6.30 am on Saturday mornings.
I shelved the pâté. I had some in stock and figured that would be enough. It wasn't. I could have sold it all, and then some. The market was better than anticipated even if those sales were not off the charts.
It did mark a milestone, though. I sold three jars of my new line: the lemonchilli marmalade. One to a repeat customer who bought her third. Then, later, during my customary Saturday afternoon catch-up, a chef friend mentioned that his mother loves your chilli jam, I must get some more for her.... And while I'm on marmalade, my lovely neighbour took ten jars of my most popular, the three fruit, as gifts for her book club. I now have not enough stock to see me into the New Year. I tallied how many jars of marmalade I have made - this year - to date: nearly 250...It will be more by the time the year is done...
Prior to that happy feedback about more people loving the lemonchilli marmalade, I made Friday's chicken liver pâté. It's not a pretty product, nor is its main ingredient.
I am, as I keep on saying, loving the garden at the moment, reveling in being able to step out out of the kitchen and pick the bouquet of herbs I need for whatever's in the making. So it is with the bouquet that goes into the pâté: all wrapped up in a leek leaf. I am convinced it's the whole, fresh and seasonal herbs that I incorporate puree into the pâté rather than removing them that makes it the winner it is. The Husband disagrees. He says it's the brandy.
We agree to differ.🤣
Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa
Photo: Selma
Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:
- re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
- and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.
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Original artwork:
