TARRAGON & THYME

Well it was hot last night and I was late to bed. I had had a very busy day and was tired and could not settle. It was far too warm so at midnight last night I was watering up in the garden! There really is no hope for me; but I am glad I did. Needless to say the plants are all watered up tonight - I don't think the neighbours would put up with my nocturnal wanderings for another night! Well hasn't it been a scorcher. I am very grateful to have been working in an air conditioned office today but by did the heat hit us when we came out a lunch time. Had to go over to see my dear mum tonight - we went to see her yesterday afternoon and left dinner cooking whilst paying a short visit. However it turned into two trips as muggins managed to leave the keys at my mum's and didn't realise until we got home.Boy was I popular! The van was too warm despite the windows being down - its cooled down a lot to what it was but its still far too warm trouble is I don't sleep ...

Well I was browsing the cookery book section in Waterstones on Saturday - as you do to see what new delights if any they have gracing their shelves, when this book literally leapt off the shelf into my hand and erhm came home with me. Its cal led The Home Creamery by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley and it is a little gem. I quite regularly make my own yogurt - this uses that principle and takes it a step or two further. The ISBN No is 978-1-60342-031-0. It is split into sections: Part 1 - Cultured Dairy Products Covers: Yogurt, Kefir, Butter, Piima Butter, Buttermilk, Creme Fraiche, Quark and Sour Cream. Part 2 - Soft unripened cheeses Covers: Cream Cheese Cottage Cheese Ricotta Goat Cheese Mozzarella Mascarpone. The third section covers recipes using the above mentioned ingredients. Lets say I am going to be playing a tad in the kitchen and have a go at doing my own. I bought cheesecloth over the weekend in preparation. I thought I would share

This is very refreshing and very simple to make; it is also very cooling. I use this regularly to freshen my skin up. Ingredients 1/4 pint rosewater 1/4 pint witch hazel Combine both ingredients in a bottle and shake together - its that simple. If your skin is really oily adding more witch hazel will make it more astringent and suitable for an oily skin. Equally if you have dry skin add more rosewater. if you have exceptionally dry skin add a few drops of glycerine to the mixture this helps balance the ingredients out and makes a very soothing addition.

Today I have started the process of drying the rose petals of my above shown plant which is relatively easy. This particular rose has no scent which is a pity but it will still if dried properly help bulk out some pot pourri later on in the season and take some of the essential oil that will be added then. I use kitchen roll to lay the rose petals on, which is initially draped across a tray and then the petals are sorted out petal by petal. I cup the rose from underneath and then drawn all the petals together and then tug gently this should loosen the petals from the stalk and the stamen section of the flower. I have found this the simplest way of disconnecting the petals from the stem. I then segregate all the petals out on to the kitchen towel on the tray singly. If you look closely at the rose petals right at the point there is a white "heel" - this is the bit that has been connected to the stem and is often referred to as the white part. If you are frosting or crystal...

The longest day - Summer Solstice greetings to all of you who have celebrated this special day the wheel has turned yet again we are now on new territory; where our hopes and dreams and our reality will change as will our perspective. Let your journey be a learning one done with love and compassion. My day started with browsing my blog and preparing some posts. I had spotted two ripe strawberries last night on one of my plants and I thought that I would give OH them tonight. His worship had been nosing and came in with one each - and it was lovely. Ok small reward - haven't been doing this gardening lark long but I can honestly say that I am getting an awful lot of pleasure out of it and am now starting to harvest a little. My courgettes plants have baby yellow courgettes on them. They are planted up in pots. My mixed salad leaf trough is ready for picking as is my cress. There are a few strawberries yet to come. I am only a novice gardener but am very chuffed with what ha...

I have been looking for Gooseberries for the past couple of weeks but have been unable to find any. Yesterday at my local veg shop they had some and I just had to go back and get some. They were a bit pricy at £3.30 a kilo, but I bought two kilos. I don't have the time to process them into jam at the moment, but if I top and tail them and then freeze them whole then at least I have the option of using them in a crumble or a sponge or as a sauce or even in wine-making or making into jam. I am hoping to be able to come across more so that I have maximum choice of options. But I think Gooseberries are going onto the Plant wish list! UPDATE all the goosegogs have been topped and tailed. Kept some back for pudding tonight have about three pounds residing in the freezer as we speak.

I have that many favourite recipes for this very lifting herb I couldn't resist sharing a few more of my favourite recipes. After all it would be sacrilege not to take advantage of the new seasons bounty, and especially to put some ingredients up for use in the Winter months and at Christmas i.e into your own very special Putdown whether that be by storage in the pantry, in the freezer in a chutney; after all they say variety is the spice of life and it also helps tickle the tastebuds. It is also lovely to breathe in the aroma from a freshly picked bunch of mint it seems to restore the soul somehow.I can never resist taking a deep breath and breathing the full aroma of the mint in. Very relaxing. New Potatoes and fresh mint I boil new seasons potatoes and then about ten minutes before the end of cooking I add a couple of sprigs of mint to get the maximum amount of flavour. I then drain, add a knob of butter and serve. One of my favourite ways of serving new potatoes. Mint Raita C...

Before you can make this natural room fragrance you have to collect together all manner of plant materials to bulk out the pot pourri and to scent it. Some of the items that are useful are: Basil leaves Carnation/ Clove pinks petals (also known as the Gillyflower) Rose petals Scented Geranium petals Lavender Leaves and flowers Rosemary leaves Strawberry leaves Marjoram leaves Tansy leaves Chammomile flowers Angelica leaves Lemon balm leaves Bay leaves Mint leaves - there are various varieties available such as apple, orange, chocolate, eau de cologne, spearmint Woodruff leaves Jasmine flowers Sweet pea flowers Pansy flowers Rosebuds Marigold petals Heather Forsythia Delphinium Teasels Rosehips Larkspur flowers Cornflowers Hibiscus flowers Lemon Verbena Bergamot leaves and flowers Whole dried flower heads such as dahlia peony rose pinks or rosebuds To name but a few Also orange lemon and lime peels dried So now we have things growing in the garden, once the flowers blossom or we have a...

I like mushrooms in moderation and I have to be in the mood to eat them. However, one day having got more salad to use up and not really knowing how to dress it up a bit I did a bit of experimentation with what was in the fridge at the time. All I had in there were some oyster mushrooms, butter some salad leaves and tomato, cucumber and onion. I thought that this would be a bit bland and to fill the plate up a bit I gently cooked the oyster mushrooms in butter and oil and they went golden brown on the edges and they were very tasty. The ideal hot dressing for pouring over a bag of mixed lettuce leaves. Go on try it - it really works and if you want to pep it up a bit you can always add some garlic or some chilli. The butter from the cooked mushrooms makes a lovely drizzly sauce for the lettuce/mixed salad leaves. Give it a try.

"She sells sea shells on the sea shore She sells sea shells of that I am sure And if she sells sea shells on the sea shore Then I'm sure she sells seashore shells" A tongue twister that we are taught as youngsters (well at least I was) unfortunately I don't know who wrote the tongue twister but it is a clever piece of word art and one that makes you think. But it also reminds me of when I was a child. Our first holiday down in Cornwall as a family was when I was eleven years of age; I was smitten it was beautiful and we had freedom to roam with no fear. My father told us stories of Arthur and Tintagel and also of smugglers and made them come to life. He fed our souls with his stories, as my granfather had done before him. My fascination with shells started then, as mum and dad bought my brother and I a little keepsake each of our holiday that year. Mine was a shell crinoline lady; my brother had a shell boat. I still have mine - she is safely wrapped up in storage....

One of my earliest memories from school is being in the Infants class and singing lessons. Not that I can sing, but all children join in raucously for a good sing song, and even now if there is a piano being played and people are having a sing song its very hard not to join in. Anyway the folk song I remember first is as follows. No one knows who wrote the song it is just listed as unknown. Here are the words - it seemed appropriate to revisit bearing in mind that tis Strawberry Season and lots of villages are having their local Strawberry Fairs, a quintessential british custom where every one flocks to the tea tent for the first seasons strawberries and lashings of cream - yummy. As I was going to Strawberry Fair, Singing, singing, buttercups and daisies, I met a maiden taking her wares, fol-de-dee. Her eyes were blue and golden her hair, As she went on to Strawberry Fair. Ri-fol, Ri-fol, Tol-de-riddle-li-do, Ri-fol, Ri-fol, Tol-de-riddle-dee. "Kind sir, pray pick of my baske...

I am very partial to egg mayonnaise and mustard and cress sandwiches something simple but oh so tasty. I have been getting very frustrated recently because each time I have had a fancy for these sandwiches and have gone round to my local shop they either haven't got the mustard and cress or they charge an arm and a leg for a small punnet. Desperate times have led to desperate measures. I am therefore going to attempt growing my own on the windowsill in the kitchen (pictures to follow), but I thought that you might like to join me in having a go. It might take you back to your inner child and it may help you with your little ones getting them growing things, eating them and learning about them all at the same time. This can be grown on the windowsill all year long. The instructions I have which are old refer to buying a 25g/1 oz packet of seed which it says will give you several crops - much cheaper than buying cress itself. 1. Buy your seed. 2. Make a growing medium from ei...

Mum the other weekend gave me a cruet and mustard set which we think is silver plated. It had originally come from my Nan's house although I never knew her to use it. With a little cleaning it has come up beautifully, although we were concerned as the salt could not be taken apart. OH has had a look at and it had corroded slightly on the edge, but with cleaning this has come off and is now easy to take apart. It is a lovely little cruet set very tactile to hold and in the shape of Acorns which makes me wonder whether it dates from the Arts and Crafts period. The mustard pot even has its blue glass liner intact. I am very chuffed with this little piece and I think it is very appealing and will look lovely on the table.

This is the first rose out of my garden this year - I don't even know what variety it is. All I know is that it is a rambler, but I just love the flower heads. I absolutely adore roses. I bought it a few weeks ago from a local cheapie store for £2.99; it was a bit battered looking and infested with green fly when I got it, but I have nurtured it - it didn't have any buds when I got it. It doesn't have much scent but it is pretty.

What makes your pantry shelf or pantry different to anyone else's - what do you like to keep in there. What works for you and your family? The following are just some of the things I do, some of them are slightly out of the ordinary but I make a collection of items that are useful and not always readily available from the supermarket shelf, but more down to the squirreling instincts of the homewife. I also keep in dried flowers and leaves because they can also be used as a basis for a tea or used in pot pourri and home made soaps and cosmetics and in some instances for wine, stuffings,and sauces to name but a few things to do. Its important you dry ingredients as they become available and as you go along and store them safely to use in those recipes later on in the year like ingredients for Pot Pourri. Chammomile is good for a tea - very soothing and calming but it is also good as a hair rinse for fair haired people. With a little trial and error you can end up making some rea...

Many Happy Returns of the Day to my Dear Mum - hope you have a lovely day and we will be over to see you tonight. Here is a bouquet of flowers just for you Love you mum xxx

I love beads and beadwork of any sort. I have been fascinated since I was a small child. My mother was left a handmade keepsake by her maternal great aunt, aunt Sue who eventually retired to extended family at a farm at Bicker near Spalding, just up the road from where my mum now lives. Great Aunt Sue was a Tailoress according to the Census and she was forever making things and made my mother a dolly bag covered in thousands of seed beads that had all been handsewn in an intricate pattern. I used to get very frustrated as a child not being allowed to play with it, but this is a true heirloom something that is passed from one generation to the other and is greatly treasured. My interest in beads stems from there. I have been attending beadworking classes which have been held every so often locally and I have had a go at making several necklaces, although I am slow and I am still a novice each piece seems to get that bit easier. I intend to really have a session and really play onc...