Rhubarb conserve

Variation 1 on the great rhubarb jam sessions. This is from an old book called 500 recipes: jams, pickles and chutneys, by Marguerite Patten. Mine is priced 2/6 so it is quite old. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1kg rhubarb, chopped
  • 1kg jam sugar
  • 250g raisins or sultanas
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 orange

METHOD:

  • Put the chopped rhubarb in the jam pan and cover with sugar, and leave to stand until the next day
  • Add the raisins, and bring to a slow boil for 20 minutes
  • Add the juice and grated rind of one lemon and one orange, and boil until the jam is thick.
  • Pour into warmed jars, and leave to set. 

Rhubarb and raisin jam

I tried this unusual recipe from a very very old recipe book, and I’m glad that I did. It is from Marguerite Patten’s ‘500 recipes for jams, pickles, chutneys (2/6 – which is 2 shillings and 6 pence, total 12 1/2p)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 kg rhubarb, cut into slices
  • 1 kg sugar
  • 200g raisins
  • 1 lemon
  • 100ml cointreau or orange juice

METHOD:

  • Put the sliced rhubarb into a jam pan, and cover with the sugar. Leave overnight
  • Put the raisins or sultanas in a bowl with the orange juice or cointreau
  • In the morning, bring the rhubarb and sugar to a simmer, and add the raisins. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, then add the rind and juice of a large lemon
  • Boil until the syrup is thick, and pour into jars to set.

Raisin and Oat Cookies

This is a classic American recipe. I was taking advice from my daughters about what sort of biscuits to bake for some visitors, and I was asked to make something like flapjack, but softer. This fitted the bill. It is an easy and delicious recipe. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 125g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or allspice
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp table salt
  • 115g butter
  • 100g muscovado sugar (or other soft brown sugar)
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 150g rolled porridge oats
  • 150g raisins or sultanas

METHOD:

  • Mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt
  • Cream the butter and both types of sugar together, until well combined and soft. 
  • Beat in the vanilla extract, and then slowly beat in the egg. 
  • Add the flour mixture and then add the oats and raisins, and mix until the cookie dough is even and all the ingredients well dispersed. 
  • Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 170C. Line two baking trays with grease-proof paper. 
  • Once the dough is chilled, take a teaspoon and scoop out lumps of cookie dough. Each lump should be rolled into a ball about the size of a ping-pong ball. Put each ball on the prepared baking trays and gently squish a little to make the ball a little flat. The cookies should be well-spaced to make sure they don’t coalesce whilst baking. You should be able to get 11 to 12 cookies on each tray. 
  • Bake in separate batches for 12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are beginning to go golden brown, and the top is set. 
  • Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the baking tray for around 5 minutes, before transferring them onto a wire rack. 

If you skip the bit about chilling them for 30 minutes, the biscuits will end up flatter; a personal choice. They are nice slightly thicker because they are soft in the middle.