As we slip gradually into autumn

I love all the seasons they all have something wonderful to bring to us especially autumn usually with her glorious displays of colourful leaves and beautiful sunsets and we start to harvest for the winter months and pop stuff up on the pantry shelves.  A hive of industry but  a different season none the less.  Mornings when the mist re-appears and you end up getting some beautiful sights of mist swirling inbetween trees making it look ethereal an creepy.  As the poem profoundly says seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness.  And a time to find  mushrooms in the wild if it has been moist and damp enough.

I was therefore slightly shocked to walk into the Co-op this evening to find that on 31 August they have put the Christmas sweets out or at least the sweet tubs of the well known brands out.  Oh well commercialism rules again.  And no  - I have not bought any yet give it another week or two at least.  The long stop dates were February next year. As I indicated within my Christmas box post earlier in the week.  I buy those things we like and I plot and plan to get them when things are tight and I take advantage of the offers where I can - its not always possible and you have to be realistic.  I do however go more of a bundle on ingredients from which to make things and I do not intend to be a slave to commercialism but to cherry pick and do my own thing.  After all the main thing about Christmas is the celebration of family and the getting together and sharing things - the celebration of a birth and the sharing of food being two of those items.

I have fresh food to work upon at the moment to get it all stuffed into the pantry in different formats.  plum and peach chutney are on the cards and some more plum jam and jelly.  Fortunately I have the jam pan to help out.

Right I had better get a wriggle on  - we have a grumpy so and so who wants his tea.

Catch you later.

Pattypan

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