TARRAGON & THYME

 My friend Anne from Silver Sewer blogspot recently requested some rhubarb recipes as she has quite a bit to use up.  So as I promised her I would look out a couple of recipes - not quite sure whether this is quite what she wanted but no doubt she will let me know in due course.  Thought I would share as well.  There are a couple of other recipes to follow. 2lb 3oz cooking apples or thereabouts. (Make sure that they are peeled cored and roughly chopped reserving the peel and cores for the pectin to help set the Jam) Grated zest of 2 lemons and the juice 1lb 14 oz young tender rhubarb trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch lengths 1oz fresh root ginger chopped 2 tsp whole cloves 3lb 5 oz preserving or granulated sugar Place the chopped apples into a preserving pan or pan of your choice adding the lemon zest and juice and 1 pint of water.  Tie the reserved apple peel cores and lemon pips into a piece of muslin and add to the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduc...

Today would have been my father's birthday. Aware that my mum would be on her own we popped over unexpectedly this evening - we just arrived to make sure that she was okay. Doesn't hurt to make unexpected visits.   We ended up going to my father's grave and squaring it up and putting flowers on and remembering him in our own way.  My father was not one for not living his life he lived his life to the full and matured disgracefully.  He was always full of fun and you never quite knew what he was going to get up to next.   We then popped back to mum's and ended up having a birthday tea "fish n chips", and all too quickly we had to come away again.  But it served a purpose we remembered Dad's day and the impromptu visit cheered my mum up which was the main thing for me.  He is still in our hearts. But news of a new generation reached us today - my goddaughter (no I don't fly a turbo driven vacuum cleaner contrary to popular belief)Rachel gave birth to he...

We started off this  morning by walking the dog down to the river that's a good hours walk.  The local council have planted young trees on one of the fields we walk through which is good for the future and for the wildlife.   The Elderflowers are just coming into blossom so I think maybe tomorrow I will go and collect some to make some Elderflower Champagne.The wind has been very rough today and it has kept clouding over as though it is going to tip it down with rain.  We so sorely need the rain - it really tipped it down on Friday but we need a good couple of days like that for it to really do any good.  Been a busy day, trying to catch up with some of the housework washing and ironing and also starting to scrub the kitchen out again - |I like to do a real good scrub out every couple of months or so thats beside the general cleaning that way round it keeps everything nice and clean.  The oven has had a major scrub up, but I am still  going over it wit...

I had meant to post last weekend, as I aired a previous recipe for Sunday night's tea Hawaiin Chicken http://tarragonnthyme.blogspot.com/2009/01/hawaain-chicken.html   But then real life got in the way and this week has been upsetting; with the loss of my much loved cat Tyson  primarily.  After 21 years plus of having him being around the house and him calling when he wanted my attention, the house suddenly seems very empty without him and is going to take some getting used to.  They come into our lives and leave a huge imprint on our hearts.  As I type away at this post, my one remaining cat Squeak is cuddled up next to me on the settee.  Every so often she squeezes herself betwen me and the keyboard and it does make typing very difficult.  Both Missy and Squeak keep looking for him, and Squeak seems to be hogging me much more than usual she is never very far from my side when I am at home.  OH doesn't see her when I am at work, she camps out on ...

Its not been a good day - whilst at work this morning I received a phone call from my friend who had been trying to get hold of the other half to let him know that my beautiful old fella had been knocked down in his stride going about his daily business.  Needless to say I am very upset, as he was such a beautiful character and I had hoped to have the pleasure of his company for a little bit longer even though we believe he was over 21 years of age.  He beat his way into my home and then my heart - precisely in that order (a stray on the street that had lost his original owner when he moved)   Such a character, very much a gentleman - even suffered the indignity of having his ears washed on a daily basis by an over zealous Jack Russell (Missy). He had many friends up and around the area where we live, all are upset especially at the Veg shop where he used to camp out during the day.  I mourn his passing, particularly as he has gone by accident and he really did not...

Sorry haven't been around very much this week - I feel a little out of sorts - can't quite put my finger on it, but do not have much energy my get up and go seems to have got up and left.  Very frustrating as there is lots I want to tackle lots I want to do and I am getting fed up to boot.  But then I am a kinda glass half full girl rather than glass  being empty and I have just changed what I was going to do into smaller achievable projects so on a practical basis I have achieved something. The weather hasn't been particularly warm today been very chilly.  Had to have the heating on again last night, even the cats haven't  tarried very much and have been glad to be in and snuggled down in their favourite spots.  I suspect if I had a fire I would have a heap of cats and a dog to fight to get anywhere near. But they are happy enough and that is the main thing. I am trying to type this one-handed at the moment as Squeak has decided it was about time that sh...

Well the herb roasted chicken was super yesterday very tasty and in the spirit of waste not want not I have a load of cooked chicken to use up off the carcass, and a carcass to make some fabby dabby chicken stock from.  I was therefore very pleased to find a simple recipe to cook up using both these items, and this is what we have as part of tomorrow night's tea.  I wanted something quick to serve as part of tea tomorrow as I am going out in the evening.  I like light dishes and of late I am becoming slightly addicted to noodles they are quite filling without being too fattening and I could do with losing some weight. The recipe for Chicken noodle soup has come from the Good Food Eat Well magazine, although I have adapted it for my needs and to suit what I have available in the house at present and what needs using up.  I intend to serve with some bread rolls of some description.  If I get time I may even make some toffee apple pieces with ice cream for afters...

I've not done much today its been a bad one have had a lot of pain and have felt like I am falling off my scaffolding everytime I move somewhere - but hey s..... happens, today's today tomorrow's tomorrow.  So for the best part of the day I have read, and played games and really not done too much.  I did however pull my finger out though and made a nice tea.  I cooked home roasted spring herb chicken - a mixture of fresh herbs (i.e. thyme, chives, rosemary sage, bay leaf and some lemon verbena  that were growing in my herb garden chopped up finely and some crushed garlic also added with butter.  I stuffed half an onion in the cavity to keep it moist, whilst cooking and some fresh bay leaves too and cooked under foil for about 2 hours. I also cooked proper oven baked potatoes to go with the chicken.  It was served with salad leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion coleslaw and beetroot and was very tasty.  We then had more english strawber...

This recipe is primarily for Onion Focaccia but you can add other things too like I did i.e.by adding sage and rosemary as well as red pepper.  Its up to you what you add, but remember if the ingredients are too wet the bread will not last many days,  not that it will anyway when you start eating this. Ingredients: Main ingredients for the bread 210ml/7 1/2 fl oz scant 1 cup water 15ml/1 tablespoon olive oil 350g/12oz/3 cups unbleached white bread flour 2.5ml/1/2 teaspon salt 5ml/1 teaspoon of granulated sugar 5ml/1tsp easy blend dried yeast 15ml/1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage 15ml/1 tablespoon fresh rosemary 15ml/1 tablespoon chopped red onion Ingredients for the topping 30ml/2 tablespoon of Olive oil 1/2 red onion thinly sliced 5 fresh sage leaves 10ml/2 tsp coarse sea salt coarsley ground black pepper Method Pour the water and oil into the bread machine pan or into a glass bowl if making by hand.  Reverse the order in which you add the w...

I have had a very tiring week this week so rather than deal with the housework I have been playing hooky - Its been a s.. the housework type of the day so I decided to indulge myself and play.  Part of the reason that I was tired was last night I paid my Frida night visit to my friend Eve.  Eve had decided that she wanted to do some cooking again last night; she wanted to have a go solo at making Soda bread, which is a particular comfort food that reminds her of her childhood, and her Nan and her father.  This time she made it alone and it was a success.  She also wanted to have a go at making Focaccia, which although I had read about I had never actually made so it was a bit of a learning curve for me too, but then that's the only way we learn how to do new things.  Needless to say the only recipe I could locate was for my bread machine but that is what I ended up using in any event, and it worked brilliantly with a tweak here and there and it was made by hand....

Its been a busy day although I met up with my mate and lunch and had a good old natter.  Since being home this evening I have watered the garden up which took quite a while. I am very pleased a lot of seeds are through including my cabbage and broccoli seeds and letttuce seeds and loads of different herbs.  They are all wrapped up in fleece in the green houses this evening as although the days have been fairly pleasant well at least the past two days have, the nights have been very cold and earlier on the week we had a horrible wind that was perishing.There was also the threat of frost.  So the plantelets and seed pots got covered up.  So I am well chuffed with progress so far. Hopefully this weekend I will get a lot more seeds planted. Since then I have cooked tea, steak pie, mashed potatoes, spring cabbage, asparagus and carrots with gravy.  It was lovely  and I am now stuffed to the gunnels.  I was going to do strawberries and cream for afters b...

We eat a lot of Seville Orange marmalade during they year and sometimes I don't make enough to carry us through.  It;s then that I cheat a little and use the Mamade tinned seville orange or lemon pulp to make further marmalade to carry me to the conclusion of the year.  There are a lot of things you can do with a jar of marmalade rather than eat it on toast so it soon gets used. It can be used to make a lovely cake, used as a sauce with meat and various other combinations including as part of a mix for a homemade barbecue sauce.  Occasionally I end up with a tin of the Mamade  just slightly out of date.  Rather than waste it I have found this recipe that I hsve on the go at the moment  - to me it makes sense to use something that will otherwise be wasted.[In all fairness I tend to grab a tin of this to hold in store whenever I see it, which is not very often].  I like homemade wine having been brought up to it, probably more than I like bought wine...

Cheese is a big thing in this household, the stinkier the better and Camembert served molten in the oven and served with bread, celery, chutney or relish is a regular event.  But ever looking to increase my repertoire I came across this recipe.  I have had something similar to this before at a restaurant in the Lake District but hadn't located a recipe, that is until now. Serves 4 4 sheets filo pastry melted butter 1 x 220g/7oz whol Camembert cheese 1 teaspoon finely chopped basil 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 egg beaten Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F. Brush each pastry sheet with melted butter and fold in half lengthwise.  Cut the cheese into 4 wedges.  Place one wedge on the end of each strip of pastry.  Sprinkle the basil and paprika over each cheese wedge, then fold a corner of pastry over to enclose the cheeses into a triangle shape, continue folding until the strip is used up, sealing the final edge with beaten egg. Brush the tops of the par...

Well its been a busy day was back to work - what a thing to do on one's birthday - go to work! Never mind I have made up for it this evening and been to see my step-daughter and grandson and was bought a lovely little something by them and then on to my mum's.  Have had a fish and chip supper, was given a lovely present by my mum, but best of all she had made me a cake.  We all love my mum's cake even my nephews who cannot get enough of them. This was the lovely cake that mum made me, made with lots of love. And the lovely lady who is my Mum Thank you mum you made my day. Lots of love Tricia

Ever on the look out for a different way of doing things, a different recipe a different approach  to things, I came upon this recipe from a wonderful book called "The Complete Book of Herbs" by Nerys Purchon ISBN No 1-85605-308-3.  This book really is worth the investment and is one of my nicer herb books.  For those of you wanting a copy Abebooks have them at the moment at relatively cheap prices. I for the past few years have been able to bottle my own tomato sauce ready for use in the kitchen during the year and especially through the winter months.  I learnt to bottle with the support of some wonderful ladies at the Creative Living forum who were incredibly helpful and supportive to me, especially Kate, Sarah, Leanne and Jenny. Go on check them out here. http://creativeliving.10.forumer.com/index.php?sid=f87aa06eb4c85efd57bba92185813958 I had done all sorts of other preserving but not the bottling, but they made it simple for me and I haven't looked back....

I like Pitta Breads and either buy (if I am in a hurry) or bake if I have time to play, but somewhere down the line there is always one or two that manage to avoid getting used up which annoys me no end.  This little recipe will put paid to that and make you feel almost virtuous as you end up managing to use everything . The recipe comes from The Complete book of herbs by Nerys Purchon. They are quick and simple to make and are ideal to serve with home made dips (goes well with my cheddar cheese and onion dip). See here for further details http://tarragonnthyme.blogspot.com/2009/05/tasty-dip.html Ingredients: Pitta breads Olive oil Powdered mixed herbs, paprika onion salt or garlic salt sesame seeds cracked black pepper or anything else that takes your fancy Split the breads in half.  Brush the inside of each half lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with your chosen topping. Press the topping firmly onto the bread with a spatula and cut each piece into 8 or...

Now that my herb border is springing into life again, I am eager to get a taste of the new seasons herbs.  And this recipe for me is a simple one that allows their flavours to come through and awaken the palate.  This can be served as a dip or as an accompaniment to a salad or in sandwiches etc.. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons warm water 4 cups/1 litre/1 3/4 pints skimmed or whole milk 1-2 tablespoons very finely chopped herbs Salt and black pepper Combine the lemon juice and water Heat the milk to boiling point, remove from the heat and slowly drizzle in the lemon mixture, stirring very gently.  Stop stirring and adding when the curds separate and the whey is yellowish and clear.  Leave for one hour.   Then with a slotted spoon gently lift the curds into a bowl. Fold the herbs gently into the cheese (if making plain omit), add salt and black pepper to taste and spoon into a cheesecloth lined sieve or colander.  Lea...

Despite the fact that May is my birth month I have always loved this spring month best of all.  Lily of the Valley is traditionally the flower associated with the month of May and is also one of my favourite flowers.  I learnt just recently from my mother that on the day that I was born at a country cottage hospital my father brought her a big bunch of lilac to the hospital and a couple of days after I was born walking in the grounds to the hospital there was a big patch of lily of the valley growing there.  Mum picked a bunch.  It is such a lovely flower. Tis the month when everything starts to spring into life, the blossom on the bushes giving the gift of beauty and of perfume, the month that traditionally says goodbye to winter - thank goodness.  But it is also Beltaine - another click in the wheel and she has moved yet again - ever forward taking us on a journey to our destiny our fate.  It is the journey that we learn most from.  The Celebratio...

I think perhaps in the grander scheme of things I am way behind those "gardeners" who have set their seeds early; but I tend to wait until the finer weather in view of the fact that when I have planted things out early I have ended up losing the lot, so I tend to err on the side of caution, especially with the set up that I have at the moment.   To me the best thing is planting seeds from scratch, to me that is what gardening is all about, coaxing and nurturing life from to what in effect looks like dried hard seeds of different descriptions, with no apparent signs of life into something that is breathing and living.   Some of my first batch of seeds that I set a couple of weeks ago are now through; my plum tomatoes and my yellow courgettes.      I am well chuffed "some of my babies are through".  I now have the job of pricking these out into individual pots, to let them grow on that little bit more before planting them out in their fina...