TARRAGON & THYME

Bit of a catastrophe that is I ran out of bottling jars yesterday end ended up going out to buy some more.  Ball jars again wide mouthed ones which hold a decent portion in.  Looks as though am with this canning lark going to be buying jars in on a regular basis from hereon in! I also needed some smaller jars for my chilli jam and also my mustards so I ended up buying 2 x 12 = 24 smaller jars for this purpose from Lakeland.  I have not bought any of this size jam jars for at least a couple of years as I always recycle them where I can. So it looks as though it is jar and bottle fetish time again - the time when I restock on my main stash.  Terribly sad am I not?  Everything has a purpose and a place though.  I also have some more of the Kilner wide mouthed jars on their way as well 24 in total of x 2 different sizes.  I think I will be buying a few more each month from now on in as I intend to do a lot  more canning from now on in. ...

……………..had not been there for some time. I am talking of course of Hobbycraft. I could really seriously hang out here even more if required.  It would never be a chore. I will never go to heaven. Got a tad expensive.  Was quite taken with the fact that they have organised things better in the store and made more of a feature of the items they are selling. Umpteen pounds later!  Rather a lot of pounds later I have come back with several bits and bobs including a new mini glue gun and sticks, a pyrograph machine for £10, (I have been after one of these for a little while so I jumped at the chance of getting this.  I just need some wooden boxes to practice on.  I also bought some dies for my Big Shot, some Ball preserving jars as they were on offer at least half price £7 for 6 standard mouthed jars advertised at £14.99.  Might go back and get some more tomorrow as they really were a good price and I am starting to get into the swing of canning stuff....

been chugging away in the kitchen with the cleaning the preserving can wait until tomorrow.  I have just sat down for the moment as my back is hurting.  I have been washing the dining room floor and it always pulls on my back.  I am resting for a few moments and then it will be downstairs again to sort the other fridge out and give it a good clean.  We have a trip planned to the tip for tomorrow to get rid of some more junk so I want to get it cleared safely out of the way.  I have some more fruit to put in there in any event.  The veg shop is closed this week so I should be able to pay catch up a little. The washing machine is also whirring away whilst I have been pottering.  I always tend to multi-task when I am doing something else so that I can get as much work done as possible in the time allotted. Its a full moon tonight but we will not see it as we have thick cloud here in Peterborough.  That happened last month as well.  Its ...

Has been for most of the night and the temperature has dropped quite considerably.  Mother Earth is crying much needed tears, we need that water still. My body is tight as a result of the chill and the damp but that is par for the course. Even OH is complaining how chilly it is and has put his sweatshirt on! I have gone cooler, but funnily enough since all the hot weather began I have hardly been covering up as much as I was doing. No doubt once the chillier days get into full swing I will be wrapping up like an Egyptian Mummy again. It will be a work day today.  More cleaning = still an ongoing and never ending battle, but each bit I do leaves less and less. So for the bulk of the afternoon that is what I will be doing.  We then have roast pork for tea with all the trimmings.  Looking forward to that. There will be more preserving later on but I will update you about that in a separate post. I do however have a lot of canning/bottling jars to sterilise plu...

Not about preserving per se this evening. I am still a little tired but we are getting there.  However this post is about food.  Seasonal food. Time goes so quickly.  It does not seem five minutes since last year when I purchased my seasonal fix of filbert nuts.  These are in effect the green hazelnuts before they are dried and when the kernels are at their sweetest. For me the sign of the first Filberts is a sign that we are slowly slipping into autumn.  One of those seasonal markers like picking the first strawberries, or the first of the eating apples (non-keepers). Its the same with the blackberries and the wild mushrooms like puffballs etc.  All mark time in their own way and yet I personally think are an essential part of life  - well my life anyway. My dad bought some of these home one year when I was a child and they have been a firm favourite seasonal treat for me since then.  I also like Green Walnuts which my late inlaws introduce...

The Victoria Plums arrived on top of everything else.  So I have lots of goodies to get processed here as well.  I have also ordered another tray of plums as there is not going to be enough for what I have planned - that is due to arrive today.  So this evening I am going to be preparing plums. On the agenda is: Plum jam. Plum jelly. Plum Chutney Bottled Plums for Sugar Plums Bottled Plums for puddings Plum and Apple jam. Chinese style plum sauce Do not think that it will all be accomplished in a day but at least some of it will get done. I also managed to source a few greengages so they are being bottled/canned too just for a change. I have had to stock up this week with loads of goodies as the Greengrocers is on holiday next week. There will be pears etc. then.  Going to look for runner beans today on the way back from meeting with friends. Have quite a few busy days ahead. Catch you soon. Pattypan x

I am off shortly to the hairdressers which is literally straight over the road out of my front door. to have my hair coloured.  I have found that I need to go every five to six weeks to keep my clump of grey in check. My hair is my weakness.  It does not always look as tidy as it should but the one thing I cannot bear is my grey hairs.  I have the same streaking as my mother.  I am fair my mother was brunette.  She had what we referred to as the "Mallen streak" on the left side of her face just a big clump and the rest of her hair remained dark brown.  Just this one clump.  Mine is more or less the same except it has spread over a little further into the middle.  However it makes me feel old if it is on permanent display.  It is funny how we have our own little peccadillos and this appears to be my Achilles heel which I quite freely own up to! I don't really do a lot of self-care - I am not a make-up wearer.  If I go out I may occas...

I have been a bit tired today and so have done nothing at all apart from sleep and then read. Needs must and all that jazz. Have more to do tomorrow but that is all part and parcel of this time of year when I am ever trying to put up goodies for the pantry shelf.  One of you ladies asked to see photos of my pantry - will do so but it is in the throes of being sorted out so would prefer to post up the photos of the pantry (and additional storage) once it is finished up if you don't mind.  It is normally something I sort out every three months or so but this time round it is being painted out as well.  A new floor is also being put in the pantry to keep things nice and clean.  So please bear with me and I will be able to oblige.  A few more goodies should be on the shelves by then in any event.  It is a never ending challenge putting new bits and bobs in there.  Not that my pantry or storage is large but I do try and make the very best of what I have. ...

Yesterday when I went foraging I nearly fell down the dyke where one of the blackberry bushes was growing.  I also ended up also having to empty the small tray I was using for collection pretty regularly just in case I fell (I had already managed to spill them over the floor once which was far too much).  Never mind.   Its all very well going foraging but then you have a load of work to do to save and preserve that produce.  All good fun really especially if you manage to end up with something really tasty on the pantry shelf.  I am not too keen on the prickles though, they have caught me everywhere but if I will dive into a prickly blackberry bush to relieve it of its black jewels it really is to be expected. In the end I processed 8 1/2 pounds of blackberries and have turned them into these preserves with the aid of some additional ingredients. Apple, plum and blackberry pie mix (Hot water bathed/Canned). Blackberry and apple jam.  blackberry and...

Missy first thing at the start of our walk. I have been out today since before 9:00am walking Missy and foraging and I have literally just got in (3:00pm) i.e. 6 hours. My hands are bright purple from the blackberry and elderberries I have picked, I have had a lovely peaceful day just out watching the wildlife, collecting treasures and picking fruit i.e. blackberries, some rowan berries, elderberries and there were a couple of other things I was on the look out for as well which I may have to go back for.  It has been peaceful just me and Missy for the best part - she is completely cream crackered.   I am covered in bramble thorns have been pricked several times but that is all par for the course when you go blackberry picking. I went armed with one of my wicker baskets, with provisions a bottle of water for Missy ( I provided a little tray for her) and a soft drink for me.  I bought her some little tiny sausages but she turned her nose up at them....

I do apologise for the length of this post, I sort of got the bit between my teeth again with what I am and I am not going to do in practical terms with regard to my food storage systems and making sure that there is food for the winter months. I was speaking to my veg shop people yesterday and as a direct impact of the hot weather we have had it is very likely that basic food items may be more expensive this year than before.  Normally when we have problems in this country the rest of the world is pretty unaffected.  This time no.  They have also been having very hot periods and drout.  I am not meaning to scaremonger here, it is just the practical side of me that mentions this.  I am erring on the side of caution more than anything else. I am in the pros of sorting the freezers out in any event so I shall freeze an awful lot of basic veggies like carrots, swede, parsnip, carrot crush, broccoli, buy a few bags of frozen peas in and also prepare roast p...

I bought some tea cloths recently from a local shop  which are nicely patterned and plain with the idea of turning them into a new tablecloth for the dining room table.  They cost £6 for a set of three.  I  bought six sets and have just ordered some additional linen material to add to them. I have a very large eight seater table six down the side and two carvers. Hopefully the linen will arrive this week.  This is all in beige and cream.  I also plan to make some knapkins.  The cloths are all uneven sizes so I will need to standardise them but that is no big shakes and easily achieved with the aid of a pair of very sharp scissors. Here are the tea towels Here is the fabric I have ordered The plain cream The Rose patterned linen both of these two go well together. The plain linen for use on the tablecloth.  I have bought two metres of each of the linens. OH is planning on going fishing on the Bank Holiday we...

Set myself up to do too much as usual.  Ended up staying up late last night to get certain jobs out of the way and did  not get to bed until the early hours.  OH let me sleep until 11:00am when I was supposed to be in full swing.  We then had to go to the tip and have another visit scheduled for tomorrow.  However I did get the pickled onions done and the cherries. So not total failure.  Plus I picked cheap strawberries up again and have made more Strawberry jam.  So hopefully will get back to the other stuff early tomorrow.   These things are sent to try us.  I tend to forget and do not take into account that real life gets in the way.  Anyway I hope you have all had a good day.  Back to the grind for me.  Catch you hopefully later on.   Pattypan  X

Its been a very busy and active day and I met up with my friend and had a lovely lunch with her.   On the way down into town to meet her (I nearly always walk into town) I passed through Waitrose and nabbed some lettuce and also some rhubarb as in the past if I have not got it when I have seen it when I have gone back there has been none left so I bought what I needed en-route.  I had intended going back into town to Waitrose but never got back.  Will either nip in over the weekend or sometime next week. I ended up going into M & S and bought some bits in there and then came back home.   After I had put things away I went over to the veg shop and came back with six fresh sweetcorn ( three for £1) a spring type cabbage, and a stone of Bramley apples.  It looks like I have quite a bit of work to do over the next few days!  The sweetcorn is a treat when it is fresh as both of us love it.  I cook from fresh and then serve it with lashings ...

I am hoping other half will take me blackberrying this evening if not tonight sometime over the weekend.  I also need elderberries for jelly and wine as well as Pontack sauce.   Preserving is planned for this evening.  I have some more shallots to process and I have a batch more expected next week.  My friend lives in the Fens and there are a couple of gardeners near to her that sell their garden produce at very good rates.  Cannot get much fresher than that.  I have about a stone to come for the first batch and will probably reorder more as well. I also have some Lemon Marmalade to make this may not get made today but it is on the list and I want to get it sorted reasonably early on and then it is out of the way and I can forget about it and it is there for morning toast.   I must say though that in the winter months I very much enjoy proper honey on toast - not the clear the solid especially if from a local apiary.  It is very good ...