2020 - May 10 - harvesting mini oranges - kumquat chutney

Sunday 10 May 2020


Another glorious Joburg day!!!  Absolutely blue skies - although a little bit chilly, the sun makes it bearable!

It was Mothers' Day - not that we celebrate.  Hein made us a fabulous cheese and mushroom omelet!!!  This is another of his dishes that he loves to make - I don't even try to make an omelet.


With a wood fire in the Weber braai, we sat and enjoyed the lazy day.  Look at my hair ... it has grown quite a bit ...although thanks to Roxy, my stylist, the style is still fantastic!  Even though my last haircut was 20 March 2020!

In our garden we have a miniature orange tree ... it's similar to kumquats.  Years ago, this little tree was cut down to a stump ... it refused to die ... grew back with a vengeance.

Today I thought ... I will have to pick all the fruit.

I weighed all the fruit - 3 kilograms!!!!

Problem was ... what do I do with it????  I didn't feel like making jam or marmalade ... it's a time-consuming process.

Searching the recipes, I found this easy and quick chutney recipe:

Spiced kumquat / miniature oranges chutney

Makes just over 1 liter

About 700 g  kumquats/miniature oranges, quartered lengthwise, seeded

1 ½ cup sugar

1 ½ cup water

½ cup lime cordial syrup

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons crushed chilies

Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Bring mixture to boil. Boil until kumquat /miniature oranges’ skins are tender and mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer chutney to blender, blitzed and pour into sterilized bottles - store in refrigerator. (Chutney can be prepared 2 weeks ahead.)

Recipe:  Alma Pretorius

Feeling like a pizza, I thought ... let me try to make a focaccia.

It was a roaring success!!!!  I've rolled out the dough onto the baking sheet - then I've just pressed my fingers all over the dough.

Brushed it with veg oil, sprinkle crushed garlic and chilies on with dried oregano, sprinkled grated Mozzarella cheese over and baked it at 200 oC for 15 minutes.  Delicious!!