Chilli Pepper Relish

And so, dear reader, as I sit here, glass of whisky and soda very much in hand, I feel like a very bad man indeed. I seem to remember promising more baking in a recent post. I am going to have to break that promise. But look, I'll give it to you straight - you look like the kind of person who can handle the truth - it isn't that I haven't been thinking about it; there just hasn't been time for any.

OK, OK, that is also a little lie. There has been a coffee cake, which is part of a (hopefully) quite lengthy post that I am mid-way through preparing, but I just haven't had a chance to do anything else. Another lie. I actually made something like twenty cakes over the last week, but none of them were eaten by, or for, me, and they all went elsewhere. I have a 'If-I-don't-eat-at-least-a-little-bit-of-it-then-it-doesn't-go-on-the-blog' policy that I try very hard to adhere to.

And yes. It is absolutely devastating knowing that you have made twenty cakes and not eaten even a crumb of any of them.

The whisky has given me the munchies and now I want this!

I did consider baking something small to post before I go off on my next jaunt (which is for pleasure this time, not work), but I got carried away cleaning the kitchen and didn't have time. You know, I pride myself on keeping a fairly clean house, and whenever I suggest a tidy up, Him Indoors always groans and says we have a cleaner place than most people (Whatever, Mr. Other P - get that Hoover out). But you would not believe how filthy my kitchen was. How does dirt hide itself so well?

A brief aside: we had a new kitchen fitted about a year ago, and I really want to tell anyone who is reading and considering a re-fit not to choose high-gloss cabinets. Keeping them streak free will give you gray hairs.

Anyhow, you don't get cake today. You get my chilli pepper jam that was supposed to be posted in December. It is adapted from a recipe in Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2, which as regular readers will know is one of my favourites.

I made loads of this to give as gifts. It was one of my preserving successes. There's no reason to make it only in Winter time though, since it takes any cheese board to another, better, and infinitely more pleasurable realm. And it's not as if cheese is a seasonal indulgence. Is it?

Chilli Pepper Relish

You will need:

750g red peppers
100g red chillies
50g fresh ginger, peeled and grated
350ml cider vinegar
1kg pectin added jam sugar
50ml lime juice
1tsp salt

1. De-seed and finely chop the peppers and chillies.
2. Put the chillies, ginger and vinegar into a large pan and bring to the boil. Add everything else, stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes back to the boil.
3. Boil for 4 minutes exactly, and remove from the heat. Cool for 5 minutes and then pour into sterilised jars and seal.