sown & uprooted

Autumn is coming! Here in Portugal, you can feel it in the crisp morning breeze and the cooler air of the late summer afternoons, the wind already telling a tale of fall’s imminent arrival. Autumn has always been my favorite season. The frantic energy of summer subsides, leaves changing color, the air smelling of rejuvenation. For me, it means long walks in nature, cozy, cheerful brunches or afternoons with inspiration, books, friends, family and loved ones in general.

Today, I invite you to create two autumn inspired recipes at once. Both variations are made from the same base recipe and can be perfectly combined with different types of cheese, but can also be served as a cracker topping or on meat platters with grilled chorizo or presunto. They are very easy to make and it doesn’t take long to create these two similar yet very different flavors.

This recipe came to mind when I had some grapes that desperately needed to be used. In the past I’ve had a phase where jams were too sweet for me, so a friend suggested I try chili. Well, after the recipe for An Easy Apple Beetroot Jam & Anti-Aging Face Mask , here it all comes together again in two fruity, sweet and spicy recipes!

Ingredients

• 1 Granny Smith Apple
• 2 medium sized precooked Beetroots
• around 2 handful of Red Grapes
• 1/2 a Lemon (we use the juice)
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks
• 2 small dried Piri-Piri Chilies
• a pinch of Salt

Directions 

1. Peel the apple
2. Remove the core of your peeled apple and cut it into small cubes
3. Cut around two medium sized precooked beetroots into cubes
4. Cut the red grapes into halves
5. Cut the chilies into fine pieces
6. Place the grapes, apple and beetroot cubes in a large pot or pan. Add the lemon juice of half a lemon, a pinch of salt, the chilies and the cinnamon sticks and stir it well
7. Bring the mix to boil on a low flame while stirring it frequently
8. Check every now and then that there is a bit of liquid on the bottom, so that the mix won’t burn. Add a little bit of water whenever it gets too dry. You’ll see it rather clearly when it is running out of liquid and about to burn. However, make sure not to add too much liquid!
9. Boil for around 15 minutes while you continue stirring, until the grapes, apple and beetroot pieces are soft
10. Turn off the heat.
11. Put a lid on the pot or pan and leave the mix to rest for 30 – 60 min. Alternatively, you could skip this step. It is solely to enrich the flavors and give the cinnamon some more time to spread into the mix.
12. Now is the ideal time for a tea or coffee break!

Ingredients

• 50g (1/4 cup) to 75g (1/2 cup) of Brown or Granulated Sugar (x 2, we need it for each of the variations! I used brown sugar.)
• for the Jam: 1/2 a Lemon (we use the juice)
• for the Relish: 1 – 2 small dried Piri-Piri Chilies
• for the Jam: a bit of Orange juice (optional)
• for the Relish: 3 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
• a pinch of Black Pepper (optional)

Directions 

1. Remove the cinnamon sticks and stir the mixture. Take around half of the base and add it to a second pot. I’d use the original pot for the jam and the second for the relish but that’s totally up to you
2. For the Jam: Add the second half of the lemon juice
3. For the Relish: Add 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to the mix and one more finely chopped chili
4. Both: Add the brown or granulated sugar. Heat the mix on a low flame
5. From now on, make sure you stir even more frequently while cooking them on a low flame for another 10 to 15 minutes.
6. For the Jam: Add a bit of orange juice or water in case the mix runs completely out of liquid just like you did it in the first part of the recipe
7. After 10 to 15 mins you will notice that the textures have clearly changed to being more jam like/sticky
8. Take your relish and jam off the heat
9. Add a pinch of black pepper
10. Purée the relish and the jam with a hand blender. They will also both look a lot prettier ones blended
11. Pour the warm jam and the relish into prepared screw-top jars or other sealable containers and leave to cool

Voilà! You have successfully made two delicious homemade autumn and winter toppings for your cheese platter. The textures of the relish and jam are as interestingly different as the flavors. You can also enjoy them with crackers or meat variations such as grilled chorizo or whatever you like really.

Spicy Tales of Red Grapes & Chilies

What the doctors of antiquity knew, from Hippocrates, St. Hildegard of Bingen and Paracelsus, is equally true today: Good wine and grapes are a vital food. In most ancient oriental cultures, wine used to be a sacred drink, a drink of the gods. In magic, the juice of Dionysus has inspiring and ecstatic powers. On St. Martin’s Day, 11.11., people toast the wine of the new year and thus influence the next year’s wine harvest. A detox cure with grapes used to be standard for many in the fall. The flesh of red grapes contains valuable vitamins such as vitamin B1, B6 and niacin. It also contains the minerals potassium, calcium and the trace element iron. Therefore, red grapes are said to improve blood pressure, aid digestion, support our metabolism, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and even slow down skin aging.

Chili has been used in Indian medicine since time immemorial. The fruits belong to the sexually stimulating plants, the aphrodisiacs. Aphrodisiacs are used by all cultures of the world. It is no longer possible to reconstruct when an aphrodisiac was first discovered and used in the history of mankind. The first written references to the use of aphrodisiacs can be found in Sumerian cuneiforms, ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls and ancient Chinese oracle bone inscriptions. We find chili in various applications, among those the still popular hot chocolate of the Aztec and Mayan, known as “Xocolatl”, a spicy and bitter beverage with warming and aphrodisiac quality, made from roasted cacao beans, flavored with various indigenous ingredients such as chili peppers, spices (cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) and vanilla.

Soon I’ll share a magical Xocolatl-Nut-Cake with you, so stay tuned for more recipes and ideas on this tender subject :).

-with love-

Lina

sown & uprooted

https://for-a-better-living.com

Please note: As with all things in life, some things will have ripple effects and the amounts make the difference. So please don’t overdose herbal teas either. Especially if you are on medication, suffer a medical condition, are prone to allergic reactions and during pregnancy it’s recommended to seek medical advisory before starting any self medication.

Resources

Christian Rätsch, Pflanzen der Liebe: Aphrodisiaka in Mythos und Geschichte. Mit Rezepten und praktischen Anleitungen

Siegried Hirsch, Die Kräuter in meinem Garten: 500 Heilpflanzen, 2000 Anwendungen, 1000 Rezepte, Botanik, Anbau, Magisches, Homöopathie, Hildegardmedizin, TCM, Volksheilkunde