GREEN GODDESS

PLUM

position P lum season is upon us, so make the most of cheap plums at the supermarket – or if you’re lucky a tree laden with fresh fruit – to make this jam. I found it in Tui Flower’s New Zealand Woman’s Weekly Favourite Recipes. It’s a favourite of mine and never fails to impress. 1 kg plums 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups white vinegar 1 head garlic 2 tbsp ground ginger 2 tbsp salt GODDESS Make your own sour cream, smarten up your saucepans with a cleaning paste, and throw together a really good compost. Go well! Wendyl Nissen OUR GREEN GODDESS

IT WOULDN T BE SUMMER WITHOUT JAM SIMMERING ON THE STOVE IT WO U L D N ’T B E

1 tbsp ground pepper 500 g sultanas or raisins De-stone the plums and put them into your preserving pan with the sugar and vinegar. Simmer until the plums are soft, about 45 minutes. Peel and chop the garlic. Add the garlic, ginger, salt, pepper and sultanas or raisins to the pan. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the mixture is jam-thick. This will take about 2½ hours. Bottle as for jam in hot, dry jars. Seal when cold. Makes four 400g jars.

BAKING SODA FUNGUS SPRAY DISSOLVE A TEASPOON OF BAKING SODA IN ONE LITRE OF WARM WATER. ADD A TEASPOON OF DISHWASHING LIQUID. SPRAY INFECTED PLANTS THOROUGHLY, MAKING SURE YOU COVER THE UNDERSIDE OF THE LEAVES.

Nana’s RETRO RECIPES

DID YOU KNOW? All you need to get rid of stains is a bit of lemon juice, salt and sunshine. Squeeze lemon juice onto the stain and rub in some salt. Place your item on grass in direct sunlight for as long as you can, then wash as normal. Your stain should have gone. If not, repeat until it does.

I haven’t given this recipe out for a while, but I recently made up a batch to shine up some old saucepans I had bought off Trade Me. They are cast iron with a white enamel finish and this paste works so well to scrub off baked-on food. I recommend it also for baths and basins. 1 cup baking soda 1 tsp cream of tartar CLEANING PASTE

10 ml liquid castile soap (or dishwashing liquid if you don’t mind a less green option) 30 ml water In a bowl, mix the baking soda and cream of tartar. In a jug, mix the liquid castile soap and water. Slowly pour into the powders and mix to a paste with a fork. Add more water if you need to. Store in an airtight container.

This year I’m really concentrating on getting my compost heap working well. Usually I just throw everything in and, in the spring, when I need beautiful, loamy, rich, dark compost, I wonder why it just doesn’t cut it. To make a proper compost you need to layer it, so I’ve started with green and brown vegetation and kitchen scraps as the first layer. Then I’ve thrown in a layer of cow pats and seaweed from the beach and, to top it off, a layer of topsoil from the garden. I’m going to turn it every month to ensure it gets plenty of air, and continue layering through winter. Come spring I’m determined to give my seedlings a great start with the world’s richest compost! IN THE GARDEN TRY THIS If you have an aloe vera plant, you have a handy ingredient for insect repellent. Fill a jar with chopped aloe vera leaves, pour in vodka and allow to steep for a few days. Add lavender essential oil, pour through a sieve and use in a spray bottle.

READER LETTER OF THE WEEK

Dear Wendyl, While I was on holiday recently I needed some sour cream but couldn’t find any in the very small shop down the road from our holiday caravan. We did without, but one of my daughters said she thought you had once run a recipe for making sour cream and I wondered if you could print it so that I can keep it at the caravan. Valerie Hi Valerie, To make sour cream you need buttermilk, but fortunately it’s really easy to make, so here goes. First make your buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of good-quality milk (blue top). Let it sit for 10 minutes. Then add 3 tbsp of the buttermilk to 1 cup of cream and let it sit for a day or two. There you have it!

This summer I found I had plenty of sour cream but no cream to add to my bacon and egg pie so I used sour cream instead. Magic! Do you have a question or a tip for Wendyl? Email her at nzww@bauermedia.co.nz with the subject line “Wendyl”.