There's nothing more grounding than picking apples straight from the tree to put you back in touch with nature. That simple twist that tells you they're ripe as they happily fall into the palm of your hand.
Each one is a gift.



I spent a lovely afternoon picking apples in my parents' garden last weekend. The mellow Autumn sunshine kept us warm while we chatted away collecting our harvest.
Before long, I had a carrier bag full of apples. Some were riper and sweeter than others, so I decided to make a delicious chutney with the more tangy ones.

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My Apple Harvest Chutney couldn't be easier to make. It's one of my "chuck-it-all-in" kind of recipes. You need an hour or so to make the chutney and a few hours for it to cool thoroughly before devouring.
Its sweet, savoury, spicy flavours make it the perfect accompaniment to cheese and biscuits or cold meats.
I have a lovely toasted open sandwich idea using it, so I'll write a post about that shortly.

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For us lucky WeighWatchers,
my chutney is 0sp.
(The WHOLE jar works out to 1sp)

For calorie counters, this amount is approx.700kcal...but that's a generous jar with at least 50 portions at 14kcal each!

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YOU WILL NEED



4 large eating apples
(if you use cooking apples, you will need to add substantially more sweetener)
4 red onions
2 white onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tangerine
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons low salt soy sauce
200ml water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
large sprig fresh basil
2 tablespoons artificial granular sweetener
black pepper

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Dice all the onions quite chunky and pop into a large, deep pan (I used a wok) with a little Frylight oil.
Add the chopped garlic.



Fry for a few minutes to bring some colour and flavour to the onions before adding the torn basil leaves. Squeeze the juice from the tangerine and add to the pan. Save the tangerine carcass.



Chop the remaining pulp and peel from the squeezed tangerine and add to the pan. This gives a marmalade-like quality to the finished chutney and adds another dimension of fruitiness without smartpoint-laden raisins or sultanas.



Keeping the peel on the apples, core and chop them into medium chunks. Don't chop them too small as they will break down and turn into a pulp, losing their texture. I just love the vibrant colours at this stage.



Cook for a few minutes, then add the Balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, sweetener, water and seasonings. Play around with the flavours using your own herbs and spices.



Stir well then cover the pan with a lid or some tin foil. Allow to simmer gently for around 50 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent any of the mixture sticking to the pan.



The chutney will have thickened naturally as the fruit absorbs the water as it cooks. If you feel it's too thick, add a little more water.



If you are just making a batch to enjoy right now, allow to cool and pop into a jar.
It will keep in the fridge for a week or so.



If you want to make a large batch of chutney to last a few months, it must be stored in sterilised jars. As this was my first attempt, I had to google the most effective way of doing this!
It seems that if you have a dishwasher, this is a perfectly acceptable way to sterilise a jar as long as you fill it while still hot, straight from the hot cycle.
The other more traditional way is to remove the rubber seal and pop it in a bowl. Pour boiling water onto it and leave for a few minutes. Wash the jar and pop into an oven at 150C/300F/Gas 2 for 15 minutes.



Only ever fill a hot sterilised jar with hot mixture, otherwise the jar may crack. Take extreme care at this stage.



Add the rubber seal and carefully close the lid and metal clip using oven gloves.
As the chutney cools in the jar, this will form a vacuum seal ensuring that your chutney should last a few months unopened. This means you could make batches now to sell at Christmas Fairs etc. and they will survive happily.
Once opened, the chutney will keep in the fridge for a few days.

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Dollop onto cheese and biscuits for a lovely tangy flavour, adding no extra propoints!
This snack is 5sp for 6 melba toast and two slices of low fat cheese.

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TIP

Make your own changes to my recipe by adding ingredients such as ginger, chilli, pineapple or mango to your chutneys. Experiment and have fun concocting your own combinations using 0pp fruits and vegetables.

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Small jars make wonderful gifts too!

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PRINT RECIPE HERE

I've recently discovered and started using this product in some of my dishes-it's delicious! Although I love the fresh stuff too, this garlic puree adds a wonderful, tasty garlic flavour to dishes without that very strong flavour you get from raw garlic.

The puree comes boxed. Inside you'll find a tube. Once open keep it in the fridge-it last a while as it's preserved in sunflower oil.

It's 0sp/20kcal per teaspoon, so if you use 2 teaspoons or 1 tablespoon you'll need to charge 1sp.

You can add a teaspoonful to a teaspoon of avocado oil for 1sp/60kcal before frying, or add a teaspoonful to salad dressing-I love it with tahini and yoghurt as a dip or dressing.
Obviously you can add it to all sorts of soups and sauces too.

A lovely and reasonably-priced seasoning to keep in your larder. This particular brand is around 80p a tube-you'll find lots of alternatives wherever you shop.

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Garlicaliscious!

Tip a punnet (200-300g) of fresh cranberries into a pan. Add 2-3 tablespoons artificial sweetener, juice of 2 clementines and 2-3 tablespoons of water.

Cook for 20-30 minutes.

Press the cranberries with the back of a spoon slightly to release the juices but don't puree or you will have to charge for the smartpoints! Pop into a serving dish. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

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A tangy little sauce and a great way to save a few smartpoints/propoints on Christmas day!

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PRINT RECIPE HERE

I'm completely in love with this mash at the moment! Now the weather is changing, those cravings for comfort foods are setting in fast, so it's important to find ways to satisfy them without sabotaging our efforts.

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I find that this celeriac and garlic mash ticks all the boxes for me-it's bland, creamy and has the perfect thick, smooth texture for carrying sauces and gravies-almost turning silky when drenched in a broth-like liquid.

It's very easy to make and even better-it's 0sp/0pp/approx.95kcal per portion!

Very easy to covert to NoCount/Filling&Healthy or SimpleStart too-simply swap the very low fat spread for olive oil from your daily allowance.

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YOU WILL NEED : (Serves 2 generous portions)

Half a medium celeriac

1 large clove garlic

2 teaspoons very low fat spread

(Substitute for 2 teasp. olive oil if doing NoCount/F&H or SS)

1 tablespoon Total 0% yoghurt

Black pepper

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Wash the celeriac then peel using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Dice into large chunks then pop into a pan with boiling water.

Add the peeled garlic clove to the water. This adds a little sweetness and counteracts the slightly sour taste of the celeriac once cooked.

Cook for approx. 15 minutes until you can insert a knife easily into the celeriac. Drain well then pop back into the pan.

Measure the very low fat spread and add to the hot celeriac.

Measure the Total yoghurt and add to the pan.

Season well with lashings of coarsely ground black pepper.

Use a hand blender, masher or food processor to blend to a lovely smooth consistency. Unlike potato, the celeriac responds well to being blended-it won't go 'gluey'.

Heap onto your plate with your chosen main dish-sausages and gravy, stew etc.

My favourite way to serve this mash is with Chickpea and Butterbean stew- a fabulous Winter warmer!

(Click HERE for recipe)

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Mashyliscious.

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PRINT RECIPE HERE

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Have you seen my YouTube channel yet?

Click HERE to go straight to it and see some of my dishes being made in the

Slice of Slim kitchen!