Saturday Round Up

I have been scrubbing the kitchen out again today still got a way to go but I have also been veggie shopping and stocked up on essential veggies to keep the stomach full and keep the gremlins at bay. I like to use fresh veg where I can  and if necessary freeze the veg myself.  I tend to use proper greengrocers or a market for the bulk of the items although some items I do get from the supermarkets like Kale, herbs, Chantenay carrots, oyster mushrooms/other exotic mushrooms like Shitake mushrooms etc.

Today I have bought:

Red Onions for pickling in vinegar - you don't just have to do pickled onions or shallots although I have some more of them to do to.

Pickling Onions some for freezing some for pickling

Shallots some for freezing some for pickling

Swede for adding to carrots for crush

Sweet Potatoes for roasting and for freezing.  These are a firm favourite.

Parsnips for roasting and to be frozen

Carrots with the swede for crush to be frozen

Squash - for pickle and for cooking

Cabbage - Savoy and a Sweetheart - for freezing and steaming

Red Peppers for use in a chicken dish

A very large Lincolnshire fen Leek for serving as a veggie side or incorporated within soup, stir fry or quiche.

Apples Newton Wonder - for bottling and for chutney. These are a really nice alternative to the Bramley but I like Bramleys just as well.

Eaters  - Coxs will be nice with a chunk of cheese, some ham and some pickle.

Red Plums for Apple and Plum Chutney and also Chinese Plum Sauce

Brussel Sprouts -  - for freezing

Couple of bags of mixed veg - reduced - for soup

Three Mangoes (Mango chutney)

Oranges for slicing and spicing, making some wine and drying.

A Melon - to eat fresh with either a sprinkling of sugar or ground ginger.

Lemons - home made lemonade or lemon barley water and used in a myriad of other dishes as well as making lemon curd.

Spinach as a side veggie or in soup

A cucumber

Spring Onions

Cherry tomatoes

2 Cauliflowers for Cauliflower cheese  - for freezing

I always keep a sack of spuds in (a large sack) and  net of onions as in the winter months potatoes are a good staple to keep in as you can always add so much else to make a nice warming meal as are onions especially French Onion Soup.

I have also bought two trays of eggs, milk, natural yogurt,  butter, some soft cheese so we have the options of blinis, pancakes both sweet and savoury.  We retrieved the last of the Salmon I prepared just before last Christmas so I think this will be very nice with some soft cheese blinis my Russian friend Veronika taught me to make.

I am therefore very lucky and I am stocked up a little for the coming weeks we will not starve between the tinned store, pantry store, freezers and fridge as well as the bottled store.

Apart from the preparation of the veggies as above for the freezer I also have some apple chutney, pickled cabbage, some more Picallili, mincemeat and bottling to do.  So as usual it looks as though I am going to be busy.

This evening we have had the last of the crispy duck that we bought three packs for £10 from Farm Foods a while back.  Very worth the money and I shall stock up on these again if they are on offer.  The duck, pancakes and the sauce come in the pack.  All I did was prepare the cucumber and spring onion and then cooked the duck, shredded it and we had it between us.  More than enough for two and very tasty especially when neither of us wanted anything really heavy to eat.

Tomorrow we have home rolled  stuffed belly pork which is to be roasted and served with all the usual culprits.  Last piece, will have to get some more done before Christmas as this is a firm family favourite.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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