Roasted capsicum pasta sauce

Something different and veggie healthy to put on your pasta, is this simple sauce. Easy to make, when you get over peeling the skins, with all the flavour and goodness intact. 

Roasted capsicum pasta sauce
6 red capsicums
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper

Roast the whole capsicums in a 200C oven for 20 minutes, until the skins start to brown and blister.

Let them cool a bit, remove skins, stalk and seeds.

Puree the capsicums, then place in a pan with the cream and cook for about  four minutes. Season with salt and pepper and toss through cooked pasta.

Feel free to add some parmesan to the sauce.

Try browning some cubed chicken in the pan before adding the puree and cream.

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Passionfruit self saucing pudding

Don't think I am complaining, I secretly love it when someone comes round and plonks a bag full of fresh homegrown food on my kitchen bench. It means I get to cook something new.

A week ago my sister brought over a heap of passionfruit. My first thought was what the heck am I going to do with all those. The look on my face must have read the same, she said "You don't have to have them." I had my poker face on when my sister in law sat a bag of quinces on the bench yesterday!

It's happening more and more frequently. An uncle I have hardly anything to do with left a bag of spuds, a box of apples and a bag of peaches at my brothers place for me. Do I scream give me all your unwanted food stuffs?!

Turns out Summer is a real fan of passionfruit, could eat them all day. I'd probably let her but the resulting mess in her nappies isn't pretty! I am slowly convincing myself to start toilet training her, maybe after the school holidays. I may have psyched myself up by then. It has to happen sometime soon. Oh, the joy.....

I did drop off some passionfruit iced vanilla slice and some passionfruit pudding off at my sisters to say thanks for the fruit. I also made some passionfruit custards, baked in teacups, so good! Me and hubby ate those. They weren't going anywhere!

This is the recipe I made up for the pudding :) It's delicious :D

Passionfruit self saucing pudding

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Self Raising flour
pinch salt
1 cup low fat milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 cup passionfruit pulp(with seeds)
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Separate eggs.
Beat egg yolks with the half cup of sugar.
Beat in milk, flour, lemon juice, salt and passionfruit.
Beat egg white until frothy, add the tablespoon of sugar and beat until soft peaks form.
Fold the egg white mixture into passionfruit mix.
Pour into a greased dish. Stand dish in a pan of cold water, so water goes half way up the sides of the dish.
Bake for 40-50 minutes.

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Plum Applesauce

My plum tree had not one plum on it this year. I forgot to take to it with a piece of four by two around the base, stress it into fruiting. I will have to remember this year. 

Me, Mum and the girls went out to a friends farm to pick some though. It was a plum tree out in the middle of a paddick, with it's upper roots exposed out of dusty soil. It had obviously taken a beating from the sheep over the years too. The tree was stressed and it was loaded!

The girls laughed as they yelled "Hello Mrs. Sheep", and me saying, "Watch out for the sheep poo". Mum broke a small branch off each for the girls and they helped fill up the two buckets of plums. 

I hesitantly took home one of the buckets. I wasn't overjoyed with having to do something with them but at the same time, love a challenge.

I made 9 jars of plum jam, and three bottles of plum applesauce. The following is the recipe to make the plum applesauce, it's easy.


1kg peeled, seeded and quartered apples
1kg seeded plums
1/4 cup water 
1/4 cup sugar

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. 
Bring to the boil, then simmer on low for 1 -1 and a 1/4 hours.

Blend with a stick mixer or in a blender. 

Place into hot sterilised jars.

I am sure there are many different fruit combinations that you could use instead of apples or plums.

With a basic sauce like this you could add in other flavours like ginger, chilli, onion and garlic to make a dipping sauce or add a bit of BBQ sauce for a marinade for pork or chicken.

I had it just like it is on yogurt for breakfast yesterday. You could use it with whipped cream or over ice cream too(like I did after dinner).

Peach BBQ sauce

Me and Izzy picked the last of the peaches. I had heaps, and there was no way we could eat all of these before they went bad. The freezer had enough frozen peaches in it, so I made sauce!

Peach BBQ sauce

2.5 kg peaches(no stones or skin)

1 1/2 onions, chopped( I used Spanish red onions)

1 3/4 cups soft brown sugar

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tblsp tomato paste

2 Tblsp chilli powder(use 1 if you don't want the spicy kick)

1 Tblsp ginger powder

Add all to a large saucepan. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes to soften everything.

Mash with a potato masher to break up peaches.

Continue simmering uncovered for 40 minutes, the liquid would have reduced to nearly half.

Puree with a stick blender until smooth. 

Pour into sterilised jars and label.

I split the recipe between two saucepans.

I've used this a couple of times to marinade chicken wings and it was good! I can't wait to try it with other meats, like pork and lamb. If you are up for it, you could add some whiskey or a drop of liquid smoke for a different flavour. I am kicking myself I didn't add liquid smoke to one of the saucepans. Oh well next time.

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