TARRAGON & THYME

LoveA very good friend of mine posted this on Facebook.  I subscribe to this sentiment absolutely. This is what I wish for everyone in the New Year  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOJzKMZCdCA&feature=share   Pattypan  x

Another year of my life seems to have passed in a flurry a lot of things have happened, many of them not the way that I wanted them to at all, but they have happened all the same.  They have taken me in a slightly different direction and stretched my wings, made me a very much stronger person.  Although inside at times I have been shouting and kicking out all the way.  This year has made me more aware of my own strengths and weaknesses a year for getting to know myself that bit better.  At the end of the day  though each of us has  to deal with things as they arise, one at a time until sorted to the best of our own ability.  People have come and gone, new people have come in to my orbit and life goes on  - no matter what.  A year where a lot of underground spade work has gone in, making firm foundations for what is yet to come.  Not an easy year, for anyone a very steep learning curve in many respects a challenge, something to work at....

I have just watched this programme on TV on an investigation into food poverty in this country. It has been quite revealing as it is far more widespread than we think  even with people who hold full time jobs but who are on a low wage and it is very much a case of there but for the grace of god go I.  In other words that could be me or you - just the wrong turn of the dice and the card tower comes tumbling down.  Food prices are also going up and this is all part and parcel of the waste cycle or the supermarkets insisting on a specific sized shaped apple s, parsnips etc.  Come on get real, different foods are meant to be different in size etc not meant to conform.  Food is meant to be eaten not sat on the dresser and admired! What struck me most is that the supermarkets and the public in general are wasting so much food. Its like Hugh's fish fight -  chucking back food into the sea because they have their quota and wasting a commodity because it doesn't fit...

WASTE NOT WANT NOT

I have two deep freezers a large 13 cft chest freezer and a large upright, which houses the stuff I use on a regular basis and they are well due an overhaul.  Besides after all the hard work up to Christmas and then the ahh period where I flopped afterwards, I am now starting to feel a tad guilty because of my inactivity!  This afternoon I have been browsing some of my numerous cookery books and its no good I have to get busy busy busy there is so much to do so much to try and different methods of preserving food to explore. Over the coming weeks, I have made my mind up that the  the large chest freezer is going to be investigated and some goodies made.  I have lost track of what is quite in there, I know that there are lots of cherries, apples, gooseberries, strawberries etc and I have some smoked salmon in there so that will make some nice Sunday breakfasts with scrambled egg.  A new year is fast approaching and there will be new produce to come and I want to...

I hope you all had a merry Christmas with your loved ones.  We have had a quiet Christmas here at Pattypans pad, but I still have an awful lot to do.  OH and I decided not to buy each other a present; but to spend the money available to us on food - that was our Christmas present to each other.   I am due back to work tomorrow after a very few extremely busy but enjoyable days over Christmas. I have billing to do tomorrow.  I am back for two days and then off on Friday and Monday going back to work on the 3 January.  Today has been the first time available to me to do as I pleased and I have had a very lazy day where sometimes I have found myself dribbling on the setee having "nodded off" and then woken up with a crick in the neck. I have also been planning and plotting, watching River Cottage repeats and nosing through my recipe books as well as my diary making an aide memoire and check list as well as plotting pertinent items to make at specific times such a...

Is it only a few hours ago I actually stuffed the Turkey.  Since then we have gone on to have a delicious lunch and now I am feeling slightly overstuffed myself .  Eyes bigger than belly syndrome. Just to wish you all a merry christmas wherever you may be family, (those no longer with us)  friends, long standing friends  and those friends who we have lost touch with for one reason or another (but who are not forgotten) and to everyone who reads my blog.  I hope your celebration is a good one. Catch you all later Pattypan x

As part of my cooking repertoire I have a very deep based Eclair Pan which makes 8 Eclairs, which I sourced from Lakeland.  I have had it a while and as OH is very partial to these little delicacies I have decided I am going to make him some for part of the Christmas baking.  This is the recipe on the back of the cardboard sleeve which I am going to have a go at.  I Ingredients for the Choux Pastry 125ml of water 50g of butter 60g of plain flour 2 eggs beaten For the icing 50g of dark chocolate or chocolate of your choice 1 tsp of butter 2 tablespoons of water 85g of icing sugar For the filling 300ml double cream 3 drops vanilla extract 2 tso caster sugar Optional fruit like oranges, strawberries, raspberries To make Pour the water into a medium saucepan and add the butter.  Place the pan over a medium heat and once the butter has melted turn up the heat abd bring to the boilt.  Add the flour and take the pan off the heat. Stir briskly...

This recipe is from the Mrs Beeton's Christmas book and I have used it time and time again. Ingredients 400g/14oz of sieved icing sugar 2 egg whites 2 x 5ml/2 teaspoons of good quality peppermint essence (I use the one Lakeland sell) Icing sugar for dusting To make sift the icing sugar into a bowl and work in the egg whites and the peppermint essence.  Mix well to a moderately firm paste.  Knead the "dough" until nice and smooth and then roll out on a board dusted with icing sugar to help stop the "dough" from sticking.  Roll out to about 5mm/1/4 of an inch thick.  Cut into small rounds or fancy shapes and put onto greaseproof paper. I have been known to use a lid which has been washed thoroughly for a small disk shape, but before cutting out have dusted with icing sugar.  Leave to dry for about 12 hours making sure that each sweet is turned during that period.  Pack into an air tight container lined with waxed paper.  You can decorate the swe...

I am very partial to spices and to me that is what Christmas is about on a culinary front the mix of heady aromatic spices all blended together in all sorts of different foods, whether it be the Christmas Cake, the Christmas pudding or home made mincemeat to me there is always room for more, including this recipe and also my home made Rock Buns where I use both nutmeg and Mace. Ingredients: 12 oz flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 2 tablespoon cocoa powder 3 large eggs 4 oz soft brown sugar 6 fl oz clear honey Method Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, spices and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Beat together the eggs and sugar.  Warm the honey and add with the eggs and sugar.  Warm the honey and add with the eggs abd sugar to the flour mixture.  Mix well together until the bastter is smooth.  Pour into a greased 12 inch square b...

I like Tortilla chips but I find the price of them in the shop a little exorbitant, so me being me went searching for a recipe and I have come up with this one, made of ingredients that in most households are to hand. Make some home made Guacamole and cream cheese, and use the chips to tuck in or liberally sprinkle chopped chilli, cheese and grated cheese warm in the oven until the cheese has melted and devour. Ingredients 125g/4oz medium or coarse yellow cornmeal 2/3 cup/90g all purpose plain flower Pinch of salt 1 green chilli pepper finely chopped 1 clove garlic peeled and crushed 1 tablespoon of olive oil 6 tablespoons of milk Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F/Gas Mark 4. Mix the cornmeal with the flour, salt, chilli and garlic.  Then add the oil and then the milk stirring together until you have a fairly soft dough.  Knead the dough on a floured wooden board for a few minutes. Break off into small pieces about the size of a walnut in its shell...

I am sat for a few minutes just sitting in the silence, and resting my weary bones.  I still have lots to do and at the moment am chasing my tail so these few minutes of peace are reward enough.  I have a red candle burning and am sat in the dark, sending good wishes and absent healing to those in need during my quiet time, watching and focusing on the flickering flame of the candle.  Its at times like these that I really could do with an open fire to warm my bones and to enter dreamland via a flickering fire as I was want to do as a child. My Squeak is keeping me company.  Demetri is not far away sprawled in the floor not far from the candle. Both cats are never far from my side as I sit and contemplate and allow my mind  the luxury to wander where it will. I love the peacefulness of candlelight and the softness and gentleness the light throws on everything creating strange dramatic shapes out of otherwise ordinary objects.  A time to let the imagination...

This is made very quickly and easily. 1 standard bottle of vodka I use a cheaper vodka for this) 1 bag of toffees (I used a bag of Werthers) 1 litre or litre plus preserving jar sterilised This is quick to make and very simple to do and very moorish to drink it doesn't last long either. Sterlise your preserving jar and then to the sterilised jar add the toffee then add the Vodka, seal and leave on the kitchen windowsill or in a dark cupboard.  You must shake this twice a day until the toffee has melted and it goes a coffee colour it will have a froth on top this is all quite natural.  Once the toffee has melted decant into a sterlised bottle and then serve in small glasses like a liqueur or add a little lemonade as a mixer.  Whichever way you serve it it will not last long. Happy Christmas You can do this with other sweets as well like bubble gum or aniseed balls or cinder toffee Pattypan x

Part of the fun for Christmas for me is to actually get to play after all the hard cleaning work has been done.  I don't like things being untidy or messy and so I do the big clean to make sure that everything is tickety boo and then I can enjoy everything. My dream is to have the home I really want my forever home.  Somewhere I can get everything sorted and have the kitchen and pantry I dream of or if it doesn't quite fulfil the criteria make it so.  A place where everything is organised  and I can just get on with things rather than the organised chaos of my current home but until that day comes we have to deal with what we have and live in the present and make the best of what we have.  After all what has happened in our past shapes us as a person, we have to live in the present but that helps shape our future as without these experiences we do not become what we need to be. On and off for the past 10 years or so I have always made some kind of home made swe...

The kitchen  really needs a bit of a tidy up especially in view of he fact that we are having family over during the Christmas period.  It really needs painting out again.  Will probably have to happen after  Christmas now as otherwise I could be setting myself up to fail.   I haven't had a lot of money to play with just to tidy up things, but I have bought a pair of curtains from the Charity shop to cover the window and to keep out any draughts.  I have some curtain track that I want OH to put up, for him to lower the  existing blind so that we can keep the kitchen warm. I have also made a sink skirt out of some gingham I had to tidy up the fact that the sink unit  doors do not match the pine units we had put in a few years ago.  At the end of the day  Its about making the best of what I  already have with an odd few affordable second hand or new items just to tidy things up and make it look clean.  I hae already washed all th...

Sorry I haven't been around a lot this week things have been a tad hectic with me being out most evenings this week so far.  I have been out this evening also and am out to the works Departmental Christmas dinner tomorrow evening at a local hostelry with the ladies I work with so I think it will be sometime Saturday before I am able to post.  I am on holiday for the week from tomorrow night in any event but I have serious amounts of things to do. I have had my physio class today and I only have one more session to go to before I am referred back to the Physiotherapist for a review in January.  It has really helped me lots with Pilates based exercises which are strengthening my core muscles.  I am also back to see the Consultant in the Rheumatology Clinic for a review in January. But so far so good - you have to be positive and I am very grateful for the assistance I have been given so far. I also have a couple of invites for next week  on the Tuesday- a Yule...

Ceridwen would you please email me on fluffupyourfairy@hotmail.co.uk re your earlier message to me.  I might be able to assist you. Many thanks Pattypan

 I have been given a surprise award by Anne of Silver Sewer http://silversewer.blogspot.com/ Thank you very much Liebster" is a German word meaning dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. What a gift to be awarded with such kindness! Now on to the details. The Liebster is a way to show a little Blog Love to bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers. The rules: 1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you. 2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. 3. Copy and paste the award on your blog. 4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers. 5. And most of all - have fun! I have now to choose 5 blogs to nominate for this award.  They are after deep consideration Number 1 Rowan at Circle of the Year Blogspot http://circleoftheyear.blogspot.com/ I love the accounts of Rowan's travels in this country a...

The Pantry is finished at long last and re-stocked so I can find what I am looking for and I still have to go Christmas shopping to stock up on a few things yet. I am still locating the occasional item and managing to squeeze them in where I can.  I have two other cupboards that I also use for food storage under the stairs - which was sorted out the other day this is my main bottle store as well and also the fireplace cupboard stores some items too. Well at least its clean and tidy for now. It's bitterly cold here tonight and I am still suffering with my cold.  I am back to work tomorrow for the week and then off for a further week. Take care Pattypan x

It's cold here in Peterborough today  - very cold.  I will put the heating on in a bit but at the moment I am moving about so I have a  thick jumper on and the tumble drier is also doing double duty getting the quilt I have just washed dry and then it will be aired.  I am currently nursing a hot mug of tea.  I did get up earlier but didn't feel too clever and got myself a mug of hot ribena and a couple of paracetamol and went back under the covers for a little while.  I am now up and ready to get on with things everything is slowly going back into the Pantry nearly finished.  Phew.  But when that is finished it's on to a few more things in the kitchen cooking wise.  We are having  later on a roast chicken with all the trimmings i.e. bread sauce, stuffing and probably some Yorkshire Puds as well with Mash, Roasts and veg.  I also want to get my last batch of ginger beer on and also some apple pop.    Must remember to g...

....is that in order to sort it all out you have to unpack it first in order to re-pack everything tidily and so that you can find what you are actually looking for.  My current pantry is nothing more than a walk in cupboard - more a dry goods pantry than a nice cold old fashioned pantry like my Nan had and here's me wanting a much larger pantry than I already have!  I would like a nice older larger style pantry as there are still a few more areas of preserving (including meat preservation) that I want to try out and I am mindful of right temperatures being maintained etc. for the safe preservation of the same.  I am particularly interested in having a go at copa, salamis and ham and bacon preservation.  But you have to work with what you have in the near and now and hopefully in the not too distant future I will be able to start experimenting. Well the Fridge Pantry has been completely emptied; I switched it off and have completey cleaned it and have started to add...

... and it is not a pretty sight. Me on my knees, bum up in the air armed with the steam cleaner setting about cleaning the innards of the pantry fridge making it spotless in readiness for the celebrations to come so that I can store all my fresh stuff safely.  Once that is done - the fridge will be dragged out so that I can set about the pantry shelves and the tin store behind as we seem to have had a bit of a tumble on the stacking but that will not take much sorting out.  Once that is done its into the lounge - so I am very slowly getting there. Will catch up soon - that is if the pantry lets me escape -  talk about the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe  - my alter world starts with the pantry door! Catch up soon Pattypan x

Operation tidy up is on couse - I have nearly recovered the dining room and am looking forward to eating my Christmas lunch in there this year. I have a wooden German Nativity Candle centrepiece that I want as the centrepiece on there.  The jam store has been sorted out and  all the Christmas goodies so far stashed (trhis is where I keep them out of the way).  I have been doing  a lot of sorting out as I have been going along as well getting rid of tat or those bits I no longer need.  My friend has been a beneficiary of some saucepans I no longer had a need for. I also have a couple of jobs for OH to put up a curtain track in the dining room (it has just had a blind) think it will make it warmer and also a curtain track above the back door so that I can hang a very heavy curtain I have,. Yesterday I managed to pickle a load of beetroot and I have quite a bit of stuff to do later on - I have some figs in vanilla syrup to do..  Friday I am giving my friend ...