Autumn fruit jam recipes

Go foraging for fruit and get jamming with some autumn preserve and jam recipes. Make the most of all the blackberries, plums and damsons this month. Stew with a bit of sugar and serve cool with cream on late summer days when you want to be outdoors, or pass a rainy afternoon happily in the kitchen making jars of homemade jam or jelly.

Jam recipes

How about trying one of these jam recipes for rosewater plum compote, bramble jelly, damson jam, or plum and Earl Grey jam?

For more ideas on our September 'could-do' list, turn to page 17 of The Simple Things. Not got your copy? Buy or download now.

The Simple Things September issue cover reveal!

Psst! Have a look at the cover of the August issue of The Simple Things.

Let September surprise you. Blousey blooms are back; pouffes return to the lounge, and garlic gets gorgeous. Even the adventures are small and midweek. Culinary wonders come courtesy of plump blackberries and ripe tomatoes. There are new notepads, new trousers, and new ways to pack your lunch.

Signs of summer linger in recipes full of sunshine, holiday souvenirs and a lakeside retreat. The season is turning in The Simple Things.

Out today, The Simple Things September issue is available from all good newsagents and supermarkets, or you can buy online or download an issue now.

Ideas, recipes, and inspiration every fortnight: sign up to The Simple Things newsletter!

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Competition: Win! A £500 new wardrobe from People Tree (closed 13 October 2014)

People Tree, the ethical fashion website, is giving away £1,000-worth of vouchers with four brilliant prizes in this month's competition.

Ethical fashion has come a long way since it started: rustically styled capsule collections have been replaced with clothes and accessories to rival any online fashion store, nowhere more so than at People Tree, the ethical fashion pioneers. We're celebrating the arrival of their Autumn/Winter 2014 collection with four fabulous prizes this month (see box for details).

A wardrobe upgrade

This is your chance to win a wealth of vouchers to spend on their covetable new 'Sustainable Elegance' collection. It's inspired by the grace and style of classic Hollywood, using a rich palette of bordeaux, teal, golden palm and peacoat navy. Then, there are the cuts: cinched waists and elegant shifts in a great range of fabrics from striking prints, to embroidered cottons and hand knits. You'll find everything from tops to trousers, dresses, skirts – even accessories and sleepwear – with a smattering of pieces from well-known designers, too.

Clothes with a conscience

People Tree were the first international clothing company to be awarded the World Fair Trade Organization Fair Trade product label. They launched the first Soil Association certified Global Organic Textile Standard for organic fabrics manufactured in the developing world. Today, the company work with 50 Fair Trade groups of organic cotton farmers and artistans around the world. In a nutshell – for every beautiful garment People Tree makes, there's an equally beautiful change happening somewhere in the world.

www.peopletree.co.uk

What you could win

First prize: £500 in vouchers to spend at People Tree

Second prize: £250-worth of People Tree vouchers

Runners-up: two prizes of £125-worth of People Tree vouchers

How to enter

Visit www.futurecomps.co.uk/peopletree.

Closing date: 13 October 2014.

How to ripen tomatoes indoors

This month, the plot's most versatile fruit makes a blushingly late arrival. Find out how to ripen green tomatoes with our top tips.

At the end of the season there are always a few unripe tomatoes kicking about. You can of course but them in a paper bag in a drawer to ripen (never on a window sill: it toughens the skins) or whip them up into a batch of chutney, but all of this slightly overcompensates. A green tomato is actually rather a lovely thing. Cooked – and they do need to be cooked – they have the same tomatoey taste but with a more savoury, vegetable edge.

For a recipe for fried green tomatoes, turn to page 24 of September's The Simple Things.

How to ripen tomatoes indoors

Make sure you pick your green tomatoes before the risk of any frost.

Wash each tomato in cold water, dry with a clean towel, then allow to dry completely.

Remove any tomatoes that have signs of damage, bruising, or spotting.

Source a container large enough to contain all of your tomatoes with around 5cm between each fruit. They should not be touching. Choose a container that will not leak in case any of your tomatoes rot. Line with an absorbent material such as newspaper or paper towel.

Place your tomatoes spaced out, one layer deep in the container.

Store in a cool, dry place, such as a garage, porch or outhouse.

Check on the tomatoes every other day, removing any that are 50% or more red (let these finish ripening in the kitchen) and removing/disposing of any with signs of rot.

It could take three weeks to three months for your tomatoes to fully ripen, depending on the conditions you create for them. You could be eating delicious, ripe, homegrown tomatoes for Christmas.

Food from afar: Pasteis de nata recipe

It's got sweet, flaky pastry, it's got custard - what's not to love about Portugal's Pasteis de nata?

There’s something divine about the transformation of eggs, cream and sugar into gently set custard. So it is fitting that the most revered of custard tarts has monastic origins.

Portugal’s pastéis de nata were created in a monastery in Belém. When the cloisters closed in 1820, its clergy sold their trusty tart recipe. The buyer founded a bakery dedicated to the pastel de Belém: a flaky pastry tart filled with egg-yolk custard and baked until its crust is patchily blackened. It soon became a national treasure, travelling wherever the Portuguese went, too. In Hong Kong, via the colony of Macau, they became a staple of the dim sum house.

The Portuguese originals are still made by hand in Belém, where people queue to eat them warm, dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Like the keepers of secret recipes everywhere, the guardians of the monks’ prized formula hint at a ‘mystery’ ingredient. Various cookbook versions suggest vanilla, cornflour, even lemon. But then they also recommend – oh, the sacrilege – shop-bought puff pastry...

London’s Lisboa Patisserie is the place to sample their melt-in-the-mouth authenticity, with shots of bracing Portuguese coffee. A word of warning to the frugal, however: one is never enough.

Want to make your own? Try this Pasteis de nata recipe from Leite's Culinaria.

For more, turn to page 32 of August's The Simple Things. Not got your copy? Buy or download now.

Potato print competition: Winner announced

Back in April, The Simple Things teamed up with Kettle Chips and Red Hen Originals to invite you to create a potato print. Were you the winner of our competition?

Congratulations to Diane Rose, who is the winner of the potato print competition. Julia Burns of Red Hen Originals said of Diane's entry:

'This is a really up-lifting painting. The composition is beautifully balanced. The complimentary use of oranges and blues, set against a shimmering yellow background gives the work a vibrant sense of warmth and joy. But perhaps most important of all given the nature of the competition, the repeat pattern- making, the over-lapping shapes and the unique textural qualities achieved are all so obviously indicative of potato printing. A lovely piece of work.'

For all the entries, view our gallery.

Diane wins an overnight hotel stay with Handpicked Hotels, a Red Hen Original (worth £250), and a year's supply of Kettle Chips.

Sponsored post: August's cut flower patch planting diary

Louise Curley, author of The Cut Flower Patch, shares this month’s planting diary.

'There are bountiful harvests of blooms at the moment and my home is chocked full of vases but it’s hard to ignore the sense that autumn is not far away. As this year’s cut flower patch slowly fades it’s time to start thinking of next year. There’s a short window of opportunity to have bigger, stronger plants which will be more floriferous next year. By sowing certain hardy annuals now they will germinate and form small plants which are able to withstand the winter weather. Then, when the ground warms up next spring, they will romp away. Don’t sow too early as they may be encouraged into flowering prematurely if we get a mild autumn but likewise don’t sow too late as they won’t form large enough plants to cope with winter. The optimum time is mid-August to mid September.

'You could sow direct into a dedicated patch of ground, moving plants in spring to their final planting place or you could sow into pots and overwinter in a greenhouse or cold frame. The best plants for autumn sowing include cornflowers, larkspur, calendula, nigella, ammi and euphorbia oblongata. Autumn sown cornflowers and larkspur on my own flower patch can be a third taller than spring sown plants and produce flowers 3 to 4 weeks earlier.

'There are a few things to bear in mind if you fancy a spot of autumn sowing. If you grow them under protection you’ll need to keep an eye out for fungal problems such as botrytis, a grey fluffy mould that thrives in moist conditions and low light levels. Keep plants slightly on the dry side and ventilate your greenhouse or cold frames on milder autumn and winter days, but remember not to leave them open at night. If you’re growing them directly in the ground and winter turns out to be very cold your little plants will benefit from the protection of fleece or cloches. And, just because it’s winter it doesn’t mean you can forget about those pesky slugs. Check over your plants regularly and use organic slug pellets if necessary. It might seem like a bit of effort but when you’re picking your flowers next may it will all be worth it.'

Louise Curley is the author of The Cut Flower Patch, published by Frances Lincoln.

Recipe: Chocolate fridge cake

No need to bake in August with our indulgent chocolate fridge cake.

This cocoa-laden treat embodies indulgence, not least because you only need a fridge to make it. And it's the perfect way to celebrate National Afternoon Tea Week (11-17 August 2014).

Chocolate Fridge Cake

150g unsalted butter 100g golden syrup 200g dark chocolate, chopped 1 medium egg, lightly beaten 330g digestive biscuits (or similar) 60g walnuts 60g sultanas 100g glacé cherries 75g brazil nuts

1. Line a 23cm square tin or similar flat dish with baking parchment.

2. Melt the butter and golden syrup in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the chocolate, reduce heat to low and whisk until the chocolate has melted.

3. Gradually add the beaten egg and continue to stir with the whisk until the mixture has thickened a little and formed a shiny emulsion. The egg will cook in the heat of the mixture but don’t let it boil (it shouldn’t reach above 85C). Remove from the heat.

4. Break the biscuits into chunks (quarters are fine), put them in a bowl with the walnuts, sultanas and half the cherries. Pour the hot chocolate mix over the dry ingredients and mix gently. Decant into the prepared tin, leaving the runny chocolate on the side of the bowl for now. Press the mixture flat in the tin.

5. Put brazil nuts in the chocolatey bowl and, using a spatula, coat them in the leftover chocolate. Sprinkle in a loose pattern over the biscuit cake, then add the remaining cherries. Chill for 3 hours or until set.

Recipe taken from Konditor & Cook: Deservedly Legendary Baking by Gerhard Jenne (Ebury Press, £20)

Cake in the House - page 51 of August's The Simple Things. Buy or download now

Wordless Wednesday

  Flying boat on the water in Mortsund, Norway.

Photograph: Inntravel, the Slow holiday people

Recipe: Three ways with cherries

Go cherry crazy! This year’s crop of British cherries looks like it is the longest and largest ever, mostly due to our mild winter. They’re around until September so find a ‘pick your own’ and use with gay abandon to add colour and sweetness to meals.

Here, we've picked three delicious recipes for a sweet treat this summer.

Cherry Compote

The original, simple way with cherries. We love what Rachel writes about her favourite fruit. Cherry Compote recipe by Rachel Eats.

Image above: Rachel Eats

Sour Cherry Milkshakes

These sound incredible. Although it may be a job to hunt down Montmorency or Morello cherries at a 'pick your own', we think it looks worth the effort. 

Sour Cherry Milkshakes recipe by Orangette.

Image above and at top of page: Orangette

Pluot Summer Salad

Not a fan of sweet desserts? Cherries make a surprising addition to a summer salad.

Pluot Summer Salad recipe by 101 Cookbooks.

Image above: 101 Cookbooks.

Find more seasonal recipe delights in August's The Simple Things (buy or download now).

Get creative with herbs

Copious crops? These culinary ideas will help you cope with a herb glut

Get creative with herbs

Make a vinegar Take a clean jar, fill loosely with your herb, add vinegar to the top, close tightly and leave to steep for 4–6 weeks. strain, then use in marinades or salads.
 As a rule, stronger herbs go well in red wine vinegar; if the herb will colour the liquid, opt for white.

Add to drinks Add mint with cucumber and lemon to water and infuse for 10 mins in the fridge for a great hot-weather quencher. Add handfuls of parsley, dill or basil to juices for a health and flavour boost.

Freeze them in ice cubes to add to meals when fresh supplies are low Fill ice trays about 1/4 full of filtered water, fill with your freshest leaves, then cover with water.

Want to know what to grow? Jekka McVicar’s knowhow is second to none. Here are her top tips.

• Oregano is the easiest herb to grow in poor, dry conditions. It is happy to be planted in the type of soil that other herb varieties wouldn’t put up with.

• Supermarket herbs are best on window sills. Amazing as it sounds, they’re actually raised to cope with indoor conditions. Pick leaves regularly and don’t let them dry out or, indeed, overwater them.

• Contrary to what you might think, coriander is a bit of a tricky customer. It needs shade as well as a rich, fertile soil that doesn’t dry out.

• The easiest herbs to grow from seed are rocket, purslane or dill. They will put on a good show whether sown in trays or directly into the ground.

• Mint is easy to propagate. It’s the best herb to try if you’re new to taking cuttings.

• Plant parsley this month. Sow directly into the soil by the end of August for fresh pickings through winter.

Turn to page 90 of August’s The Simple Things for more herbs. Buy or download your copy now.

Want to work for The Simple Things?

The Simple Things are recruiting!

We are now an indie mag owned by Iceberg Press (read more at www.icebergpress.co.uk) and are looking for people to join The Simple Things team. We think it makes a lot of sense to hire our readers, the people who get what Taking Time to Live Well is all about.

Our team are all freelance and part-time, giving us the flexibility to work on other projects or spend more time with family. We share a love of good food, learning new skills, enjoying the outdoors, spending wisely and the satisfaction of a job well done.

If this appeals or sounds like you and you are an experienced art editor, designer, picture editor or commissioning editor, then email lisa@icebergpress.co.uk. Tell us why you’d be a good person to come on board and send your cv too.

If you know any of the above who could be or should be a reader of The Simple Things, it might be worth telling them to get in touch too.

We know it is August but don’t delay as we want people to join us fresh from their summer holidays in September. Our office is in central London.

Looking forward to meeting you!

Simple style: Flip-flops

Read our potted history of flip-flops in August's issue of The Simple Things? Have a little look at our top flip-flop outfits.

The ancients knew all about the comfort and ease of a totally flat sole and a Y-shaped strap. The first recorded flip-flops (made from papyrus) date from 4,000BC and were worn in Egypt. The Masai of Africa created theirs from rawhide, India chose wood and China rice straw.

They gained popularity in the States at the end of the Second World War when GIs brought back the Japanese version, zori, and went on to become the footwear of choice for Californian beach bunnies in the 1960s.

Superbly suited to sunny, laidback climates, it’s little wonder that Brazilian company Havaianas took the flip-flop and ran with it, turning its manufacture into an international business that produces over 2 million pairs per year. (It is said that every Brazilian has at least three pairs.)

In August's The Simple Things we pick three flip-flops perfect for the summer, and here are some outfit picks to match.

Flip-flops style - from left to right:

1. Seafolly Goddess Swimsuit, John Lewis (£85)

2. Irregular stripe flip-flops, Accessorize (£6)

3. Bandeau Red Maxi Dress, Not on the high street (£42)

4. Luna flip-flops, Havianas (£22)

5. Bistro crop trousers, Boden (£59)

6. Maddie leather sandals, Fat Face (£28)

7. Scallop vest top, Oasis (£22)

Turn to page 22 of The Simple Things August issue for more flip-flops style. Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Berry coconut ice lollies

Berry coconut ice lollies are perfect for hot days. The good news? You’re only two steps away from this wholesome treat on a stick...

Berry coconut ice lollies

Makes 6

300g fresh blueberries 400ml coconut milk 150g live probiotic yoghurt 1 tbsp runny honey Juice of 1/4 lime

You will need:

Ice lolly moulds Ice lolly sticks

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz to a smooth purée. 2. Pour into ice lolly moulds, add the lolly sticks and freeze overnight.

Recipe featured in August's The Simple Things. Buy or download your copy now.

(Recipe from The Medicinal Chef: Healthy Every Day by Dale Pinnock, Quadrille, £18.99)

Competition: win a memento box with Inntravel (archived)

In our new competition, Inntravel is offering one lucky ready the chance to win this elegant memento box! It’s specially designed to keep your holiday postcards, photos, souvenirs and letters safe. And to make it totally personal, you can choose an original map to cover it.

Measuring 22.5cm x 11.5 cm x 5.5cm, this delightful keepsake by Bombus is handmade to order in birch wood ply.

Not only can you use it for your own holiday mementoes but you could also use it to hold the postcards, letters and notes you receive from loved ones abroad.

‘Like’ the Inntravel Facebook page and enter your details for a chance to win this exquisite prize. Remember the Moment with Inntravel, the Slow Holiday People.

The Minack open-air theatre and its inspirational female builder, Rowena Cade

This month, The Simple Things recommends a visit to the Minack open-air theatre, Cornwall. As well as a programmed of acclaimed performances, the clifftop creation has an intriguing history, too. 

If you’re holidaying in Cornwall this month, take a trip to the Minack open-air theatre at Porthcurno. Performances for August include Oh What A Lovely War, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Monty Python and more. Or, just gasp and admire this astonishing creation, built on the cliffs at Porthcurno by Rowena Cade (1893-1983). What started as a one-off performance in the rocky gully at the end of her garden eventually spiralled into a lifelong labour of love, and left us with one of the most breathtakingly beautiful theatres in England.

In 1932, Rowena Cade and two builders carved out a stage and some basic seats in the cliffside for a production of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. Lit only by battery powered car headlights and the moon over the sea, the magic of Minack touched its first audience. Performances continued each summer until the outbreak of WW2.

Once the war was over, the theatre was in ruins, but Rowena and her builder spent 4 years restoring it before opening again in 1949. As the years went by, returning audiences grew and so did the theatre, with the addition of seats, steps, walls, arches, pillars and dressing rooms. Since she could not afford granite, the ever resourceful Rowena would carry bags of sand up from Porthcurno beach to mix into cement, drawing celtic patterns into every flat surface before it hardened. Even well into her 80s, Rowena 'The Master Builder' was still doing much of the manual labour herself, all year round, come rain or shine.

Today, the Minack Theatre seats over 700 people and plays host to a mixture of amateur and professional theatre companies, with the main season running from May to September. The tireless work and vision of one woman (and a handful of faithful assistants) has left a legacy which attracts thousands of tourists every year to settle down with a picnic and some blankets, and watch a play set against the backdrop of some of the most stunning Cornish coastline.

www.minack.com

Turn to page 18 of August's The Simple Things for more summer ideas. Not got the August issue yet? Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Chilled prawns with garlic mayonnaise

The finest of finger foods, especially dipped in aioli, this recipe for chilled prawns with garlic mayonnaise makes the perfect summer lunch.

Recipe: Chilled prawns with garlic mayonnaise

Makes 20

20 large whole prawns

1 fresh egg yolk at room temperature

1 tsp Dijon mustard

100ml vegetable oil

1 tsp vinegar

1 large garlic clove, peeled and mashed

1 Rinse prawns and place half of them into a steamer over a pan of boiling water. Steam, covered, for 3–4 mins or until prawns turn pink and opaque and curl.

2 Prepare a large bowl filled with icy water. Remove prawns from heat and pour them into the icy water to stop cooking. Steam the second batch of prawns in the same way.

3 To make the garlic mayo: in a bowl mix together egg yolk and mustard. Measure oil into a jug. With an electric hand mixer, whisk egg yolk and, very slowly, pour a trickle of oil into the egg as you whisk. Whisk until all the oil is used and the mayonnaise firm.

4 Mix in vinegar and season with salt. Add garlic and stir. Serve with the iced prawns and a bowl for discarded prawn shells and heads.

For more summery seafood recipes, turn to page 24 of August's The Simple Things.

Not got August's The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

WIN £50 worth of Dragonfly tea (archived)

WIN £50 worth of Dragonfly tea We love a cuppa here at The Simple Things and so are pleased to tell you about a competition to win £50 worth of organic Dragonfly tea. Five winners will receive a mahogany tea chest filled with all 15 speciality teas (96 sachets in total). For your chance to win, click here 

August issue cover reveal!

Psst! Have a look at the cover of the August issue of The Simple Things.

Out on 30 July 2014, The Simple Things August issue is available from all good newsagents and supermarkets, or you can buy online or download an issue now.