2011.05.29 My Day

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 with the steamer once I have all my cooking projects out of the way for this evening.  I was planning on taking photos today but the camera battery is as dead as a dodo, so I am afraid you will on this occasion just have to use your imagination .  But I am pleased to report that my tea was absolutely delicious  - well I thought so.    I like to use seasonal ingredients wherever I can.

We have had cooked fresh herb, garlic and butter roast chicken with English new potatoes cooked with fresh mint and finished with mint butter.  We have then had carrots, broccoli, spring cabbage, peas, french beans and yorkshire puddings finished with gravy.  The chicken was lovely and tender and full of flavour.  

For pudding we have had roasted peaches, meringue,and vanilla ice cream.  I added a few fresh raspberries to mine as well but OH not so fussed with Raspberries, me I love them.  Yet again full of flavour and a very simple way of cooking fresh peaches.  Basically you just skin the peaches by cutting a cross in the base of each peach and then pouring boiling water on them leaving them for two minutes which should be enough to lift the skins easily - if not pour more boiling water on.  Then take out the stone cut the peaches in half and pop into an oven proof dish layer the peaches in the bottom, sprinkle with some vanilla sugar and a knob of butter on each peach half  and a splosh of hot water and cook at gas mark 4.  They were also delicious and full of flavour.  And I am now officially stuffed  but I really enjoyed my tea!

I sometimes think I made the wrong career choice because I really do love cooking and never really get the time to really play like I want to, but I have a busy day cooking tomorrow I have jam to make and fruit to bottle - fruit is in the fridges at the moment but it won't be there for long.

Hope you have had a good day wherever you are.

Catch you all soon

Pattypan

xx