Caramelised Courgette, Lemon and Lime Marmalade

Courgettes are in season and my friend Tony had a good glut, so he loaded my car with 2 crates full, I'm a little bored of roasted courgette already so now I have the task of preserving them!
The great thing about courgette is they don't really have a distinct flavour compared to peppers or beetroot which makes them much more versatile.

I was really impressed with how this batch turned out but I will alter the recipe next time, What's more impressive my friends daughter (age 8) had two slices of toast smothered in the marmalade and loved it!

Ingredients

• 1kg Courgettes
• 800g Caster Sugar
• 4tbsp Lemon Juice
• 4tbsp Lime Juice

Recipe 

• Before you start place a side plate in the freezer 
• Grate Courgette into a large heavy based jam pan 
• Add Sugar, Lemon Juice and Lime juice
• Stir the mixture really well, The courgette will release its water and become really runny in under a minute
• Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes, keep stiring to ensure all the sugar has dissolved and everything is mixed
• Bring to the boil and the let the mixture bubble away for a minimum of 20mins (you will see from the top photograph that the mixture has turned a dark brown colour, this is because I had the heat up too high I was making cake and making Blackberry Jam at the same time. Most people would have thrown the mixture away but over cooking the mixture resulted in the sugar caramelising)
• Skim off any scum that bubbles to the top
• Test the marmalade by spooning a little on to your side plate from the freezer, run your finger nail through the marmalade and it should part leaving a line on the plate, If not simmer for a further 5 minutes and repeat the test
• Once the jam has reached its setting point. Ladle into hot sterilised jars, fasten the lids and leave to cool
• Store in a cool dark place until you are ready to enjoy 

Email- tzsfb@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter- @zombiefoodbible

Banana, Chocolate Chip, Blackberry Cake Recipe

 

This recipe has nothing to do with zombies or survival but it is a great way of using up any over ripe bananas you have in the house. Its something a little bit different to do with your blackberries, I cant believe how well the flavours work together! if your like me and have baking items at home already its so cheap to make and healthy compared to some cakes. 

I insist that if you make this you HAVE to make my blackberry and chilli jam  recipe to smoother on the top!!
Now my mission is to alter the recipe so it can be cooked on an open fire or in some nice cast iron! Or possibly make it thicker so it can be toasted on green sticks, any tips from you guys are more than welcome!

Ingredients   

• 115g Butter
• 165g Brown Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 Spotty Bananas
• 1tsp vanilla
• 260g Self Raising Flour
• 1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 Small Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips
• 20 Blackberries 
• Optional Tsp of spice Cinnamon/nutmeg/all spice/ginger

Recipe

• Preheat oven to gas mark 4 or a moderate heat (My oven does hot, Really Hot and HOT- you know your own oven so gage accordingly)
• Measure out Butter and Sugar and mash the two together with a fork in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth
• Whisk your eggs together to break up the yokes and mix with the butter and sugar.
• Mash your bananas with a fork into the mixture
• Add your vanilla to this wet mixture
• In a separate bowl mix your flour, baking soda, salt and any spices you may wish to add
• Add the flour mixture to your wet mixture and start to combine the ingredients making sure you get all the flour from the outside. 
• Add chocolate chips and mix a little more
• Now add your blackberries (you may want to leave a few back to decorate the top) very gently mix the blackberries in.
• line a cake tin or bread tin with grease proof paper and poor in the mixture
• cook for 35-45 mins in the centre of a moderate oven or until your tester comes out clean

 Now make the jam from this recipe - http://zombiesurvivalfoodbible.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/blackberry-chilli-jam.html Once you try the two together you will be wanting to make a second cake in no time!

Email- tzsfb@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter- @zombiefoodbible

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BLACKBERRY CHILLI JAM

Blackberries are in abundance at the moment so make the most of them while you can! I find it infuriating that people will pay £2.49p for around 25 Blackberries at the local super market (but then I think more for me) when you can step outside your front door and collect half a bucket full in an hour. My friend David and I pick together a few times a week what ever we can get our hands on, Not only do we have a nice hour or two out every couple of days but we also have a little bartering system too. David supplies me with tasty fruit wine and bread and I supply him with jams and game animals.

Back to the point, make the most of what on your door step, home made jam is by far the best jam you will ever have and the recipes are so flexible you can make them work for you! Learning how to preserve foods now will put you in good stead for any survival situation meaning you can feed yourself in winter when natural resources have died with the seasons.

This jam goes amazing on my home made blackberry, banana, chocolate chip cake that i will share the recipe for later.

Igredients

• 1kg Blackberries 
• 800g Jam Sugar
• Dash of lemon Juice
• 300ml Water
• 1tsp chilli flakes
• 3tsp of any hot sauce

 Recipe

•  Before you start place a side plate in the freezer
•  In a jam pan or large heavy based sauce pan add the blackberries and the water and simmer on a low heat on the hob for 5mins to soften the fruit.
• Add Chilli, Hot Sauce, Lemon Juice and Sugar, Stir well.
• Bring to the boil and the let the mixture bubble away for a minimum of 20mins
• Test the jam by spooning a little on to your side plate from the freezer, run your finger nail through the jam and it should part leaving a line on the plate, If not simmer for a further 5 mins and repeat the test
• Once the jam has reached its setting point. Ladle into hot sterilised jars, fasten the lids and leave to cool.
• Store in a cool dark place until you are ready to enjoy

 Although I added a lot of chilli to this batch its not hot enough for me, I will make a second batch tonight super hot!!

Email- tzsfb@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter- @zombiefoodbible

Apple, Cider and Cinnamon Sauce

Apple Sauce is by far one of the easiest things to make, It can be tailored to your taste and can be made as chunky or as smooth as you like and will taste so much better than any you have bought from the shops! And because you work with what you have you don't need to measure any ingredients!!
Peeling the apples can be tedious but I promise it is so worth the effort! I personally think the best apple sauce is made by using a mix of apples from different trees in your area, its good to mix cooking apples with eating apples too.
I have made this batch with large bruised cooking apples and tiny eating apples from my mums garden, The mixture of sweet and sour is perfect!

Ingredients

• A mixture of apples 
• Cider, Brandy or Booze of your choice (You can use a little water)
• Cinnamon (try nutmeg, all spice, ginger or cloves)
• Lemon Juice
• Sugar if needed

Recipe

• Peel, core and chop as many apples as you have into a large heave based pan
• Add a few dashes of lemon juice
• Add enough cider, booze or water to simmer your apples slowly, (about 5mm deep) Its important not to make your sauce to runny, you can add more juice as the apples break down
• For a subtle spice add half a teaspoon of cinnamon, If you like more add more but taste as you cook
• For the first 5 mins cook on a medium heat on the hob and lower the temperature as soon as the apples start to break down. 
• Stir the mixture as you cook for a further 20mins, taste your mixture to see if you need to add any sugar, lemon, spice or more liquid
• For a smooth sauce crush the mixture with a potato masher or blend with a stick blender
• Funnel your mixture into hot steralised jars and store for up 3months in a cool, dark place.

Email- tzsfb@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter- @zombiefoodbible

Septembers Seasonal Foods

September is one of the best seasons for foraging, here is a list of the most common foods you will find in the UK.  September is a great month for preserving, you really need to make the most of what you have now to see you through the winter!

Wild

Beech Nuts, Bittercress, Borage, Broad- leaved WH, Chick Weed, Crimson Glory Vine,  Fat Hen/ Lambs Q, Fuchsia, Garlic Mustard, Hazel Nuts, Hedge Mustard, Herb Bennet, Himalayan Balsam, Horse Radish, Lemon Balm, Marsh Samphire, Mint, Nettles, Orache, Oregano, Poppy Seeds,  Rampion, Red Clover, Rose Hips,  Shepard's Purse, Sorrel, Sowthistle, Sweet Cicely, Violets, Water Cress, Wild Rocket

Fruit

Blackberry, Damson, Darwin Barberries, Fig, Gooseberry, Pear, Plum, Raspberry, Redcurrant, Rowan Berries, Sea Buckthorn, Strawberry  

Vegetable

Aubergine, Beetroot, Broccoli, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Carrot, Celeriac, Celery, Courgette, Cucumber, Fennel, Garlic, Leek, Lettuce, Mangetout, Marrow, Onion, Parsnip, Peas, Peppers, Potato, Radish, Runner beans, Shallot, Spinach, Swede, Tomato

 

Game

Duck, Fallow deer, Golden Plover, Goose, Grey Squirrel, Grouse, Hare, Mice, Muntjac deer, Partridge, Rabbit, Rat, Red deer, Roe deer, Sika deer, Snipe, Wood Pigeon

If you would like any recipes for any of the above, Have a glut of a specific item or would like to challenge me to cook something from the list please get in touch :)

Email- tzsfb@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter- @zombiefoodbible

Wast Not Want Not- BOIL THAT CARCASS!

We live in a throw-away society, most of us buy our meat from a super market which comes nicely cut up and made to look as pretty as possible with the fur/feather, organs and often bones removed. In a survival situation you won’t have that luxury!

I’m sure that the producers of these pre packed foods sell on the by-products to pet food companies, leather tanners and so on. I think this is a real waste. For those of you who simply throw away the carcass of their chicken after a Sunday roast or give the dog the bone from their joint of lamb, you’re robbing yourself of a free meal! I'm going to teach you how you can feed yourself tomorrow with the waste from today.

Every part of an animal can be used if you were so inclined, The fur for clothing, the feathers for tinder, decorations or even bedding, The bones and scraps of meat can be boiled down for stock, soup and stew, The fat can be collected in many ways and used for many things, The edible organs will make a tasty meal, blood can be added to soups, the intestines can be used in animal traps and snares even the bladders could be used to carry water or used as a casing for sausages if you were so inclined.

Imagine you have caught a couple of rabbits, a nice plump duck or if you’re really lucky found yourself a sheep you have lovingly killed and cleaned the animal putting the edible organs to one side, and saving the fur to make blankets or maybe saving the feathers for arrow quills or pillow padding, you have cooked the critter and enjoyed every mouthful! Are you really just going to throw away the bones, fats and scraps??? Or are you going to make a nice stock, soup or stew to feed yourself tomorrow?

So today we will start simple, something we can all at home after a roast dinner- Boil That Carcass!

Stock

Place all the bones, and waste from your animal in the biggest cooking pot you.
Cover the bones with atleast a litre or water or enough to cover them completely.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 90 minutes.
Remove any scum that rises to the top.
Using a colander, sift or slotted spoon remove and discard all the bones from the stock
Your stock is now ready to jar or freeze if possible, this can be added to your meals as you would add a shop bought stock cube.

Soup

Make stock as advised above however do not discard the bones and waste, pick through the bones and strip of any remaining meat which will be tender and easy to separate. Put this back into the mixture and add a selection of chopped vegetables, herbs, spices and seasoning and simmer for a further 45 minutes.

Stew

Follow the recipe as above for stock and soup but thicken the mixture by simmering down for a longer amount of time, If you add pasta, rice, potato, flour or gravy browning this will help thicken your stew.

Thanks for reading :) Tomorrow i will add photos and a recipe for boil that chicken carcass soup

Email- tzsfb@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter- @zombiefoodbible

Posh Hare Stew Recipe

I recieved an email asking for a Hare recipe so Tony this is for you :)
So in a world when zombies exist it may not be practical to make posh hare stew But there is no reason why you cant cook it at home or outside now, practice makes perfect afterall!

This is a beautifully rich hare stew that will warm and satisfy, and is so tasty those not fond of game will ask for seconds. Many people serve hare with ale but I think that hare can be rather metallic/bitter in taste and prefer a sweet sauce to really bring out the flavours. You can of course substitute the hare for other game you have caught such as rabbit or pheasant.

1 hare serves 2-4 people

Ingredients-

•      Flour- 1tbs     
•     Salt and pepper- to taste
•     Butter/fat/oil -1tbs
•     Stock (your choice)- 1pint
•     All spice-1-3 pinches depending on your taste
•     Red currant jelly- 1tbs
•     Sherry/ Port/Sweet Red Wine- 125ml
•     Bouquet Garni- 1
•     Hare- 1
•     Onion-1
•     Celery- 2 sticks
•     Carrots- 2

Recipe-

• Skin, gut and joint your hare

• Dice onion, celery and carrot

• Sprinkle your jointed hare with flour and fry off  in butterfor a few minutes on each side in a large cooking pot.

•  Remove hare joints and fry off diced onion, celery, and carrot in same pan untill softened, add water if it begins to stick

• Add the hare back into the pot with 1 pint of stock, a pinch of salt and pepper, 3 pinches of all spice (cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon are suitable substitute) and your bouquet garni (a selection of your favourite herbs will substitute) Simmer the mixture for 2 hours. Remove the portions of hare, pick the meat from the bones, place the meat back into the pan and place the bones to one side for a stock or soup tomorrow.

• Add a table spoon of red current jelly or any sweet jam/jelly you have made from berries and a glass of sweet sherry, port or red wine.Simmer for a futher 30 mins add flour if you would like a thicker sauce. 
• Serve this dish with mash potato and veg or camp fire bread
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
   If you would like any recipe ideas please do not hesitate to ask! if you would like me to publish photos and a how to guide on skinning, gutting and jointing hares and rabbits please let me know :)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Email- tzsfb@hotmail.co.uk
  Twitter- @zombiefoodbible