It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!

Fruity Mincemeat

Lovely fruity version of a classic recipe
Lovely fruity version of a classic recipe

It doesn’t feel like Christmas until I get the mixed spice or the cinnamon out to start baking. I thought I would get the ball rolling with a lovely suet-free recipe I found in the November edition of Sainsburys magazine, perfect for vegetarians and those who are trying to reduce the saturated fat in their diet. Apparently, around 7000 calories are consumed on Christmas day with each mince pie containing 500 or more calories, depending on how big they are, of course. It is Christmas so it’s nice to indulge but at the same time I was pleased to find a recipe that is still tasty but slightly healthier.

I have adapted the original recipe slightly as I like to try to use what I have in the cupboard instead of making a special trip to the shops. The original recipe contained dried figs; I used dried apricots which are high in iron but any dried fruit could be substituted. Dried mango, papaya or pineapple would give it a Caribbean flavour, for example. If you wanted to use up some fresh cranberries instead of buying frozen, this would also work. Muscovado sugar gives food products a nice caramel flavour but any sugar you have in the cupboard would be fine. Amaretto was used in the original recipe but I used a ginger liqueur. Again any of your favourite tipples would work. This was great for using up some of the apples from my garden too; we have had a very good harvest again this year so any tips on how to use up my mountain of apples would be gratefully received.

Ingredients

  • 1 cooking apple, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 150g frozen cranberries
  • 75g light muscovado sugar (or maple syrup for vegans)
  • 2 tsp ground mixed spice
  • 100g chopped dried apricots
  • 150g sultanas
  • 50g chopped almonds
  • finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
  • 2 tbsp liqueur

Method

Combine all the ingredients except the liqueur in a saucepan and bring to the boil
Combine all the ingredients except the liqueur in a saucepan and bring to the boil
Reduce the heat to a low setting and simmer for around 5 minutes or until the cranberries have softened and have started to burst open
Reduce the heat to a low setting and simmer for around 5 minutes or until the cranberries have softened and have started to burst open

Then all that is needed is for you to stir in the liqueur and pour into sterilised jars. It can be stored for up to a month or can be frozen for up to 6 months. I found the resulting mincemeat, in spite of all the fruit, much less sweet than shop bought mincemeat. It would make a lovely Christmas present or if you wanted to use it now to make mince pies these could be frozen uncooked. Then you are ready for any unexpected guests; just cook from frozen in a medium oven.

Fewer kcal and less saturated fat and sugar than your average shop bought mincemeat
Fewer calories and less saturated fat and sugar than your average shop bought mincemeat

Our First Post: Introducing Tasty Waste

Founder - Julie Holden
Founder – Julie Holden

One of my abiding memories is being in the kitchen with my grandparents and helping them prepare meals. Maybe they didn’t see it as helping, more interfering, but I used to love crumbling the stock cube into the gravy so that I could lick my fingers afterwards (I know now that this isn’t a good thing to do both from a personal hygiene point of view and because of the salt content of stock cubes!). I can still see the huge Yorkshire puddings and smell the roast beef which I remember having a flavour far superior to anything I have had since.

grandad
An early inspiration in the kitchen – Grandad Sam looking very smart,  aged 19, 1924

Food is a very powerful tool for connecting people and inducing a feeling of happiness and wellbeing. Through my blog I want to explore how food can be used more effectively and sustainably. Currently around 70 million tonnes of food are thrown away in the UK alone whilst many do not have enough food to live healthy lives. How can this we right?

This blog is for you if, like me, you hate wasting food and money and you are interested in leaving the planet in a usable state for future generations.

So over the coming weeks and months I will be providing ideas for using leftovers, passing on tips for storing food more effectively and making money go a little further, and sharing interesting stories about living more sustainably. In the run up to Christmas I will be sharing my thoughts on how you can get ahead by preparing and freezing meals and snacks made from leftover ingredients so that even the cook can enjoy Christmas day!

I would love it if you could interact, leave comments, ask questions but would be grateful if you could keep it kind, considerate and constructively critical.