TARRAGON & THYME

And I am in the kitchen not the dining room. I have decided that I can get more sorted if I can get on in the kitchen a bit at a time.  So here we are with bright yellow Marigolds on wo rking my way through a little then resting a bit.  My energy levels are not what they should be at the moment.  That is why I am resting a lot.  It will take as long as it takes but this time hopefully everything will be sorted out. We had ham and salad baguettes for lunch.  We have had pork pie and cheese for supper.  I am to cook the chicken and then will use it for a main meal probably on Monday night.  We have a small piece of beef with all the trimmings for lunch tomorrow. My radio has been relocated to the kitchen.  It would appear that part of the problem with one of the fridges had something to do with a certain cat demolishing the contents of the top of the fridge the radio was on top of the fridge .  Still not sure whether the other fridge i...

I had planned on posting last night but ran into problems on the fridge front.  I have two large fridges and for some unknown reason the fridges decided to blow a fuse yesterday well one of them anyway.  We now have the other one up and running but the other one is going to need careful looking at over the weekend.  I was worried as I had only just done a shop and concerned about losing all the food.  Fortunately the day is saved and everything is okay. My step-daughter also rang up in a panic to check on her dad.  Her cousin had phoned her to let her know that  there was a serious fire in Peterborough last night at the factory where OH and my SS work.  OH answered phone which cheered her up.  From what I understand everyone is safe but according to the Daily Mail there would appear to be quite a lot of damage. However I really do wish they would get their facts right obviously a company who like to inflame situations (excuse the pun) down to...

I have had some issues to deal with at home.  Was intending to post this evening but it will now be tomorrow because of them. Catch everyone soon. Pattypan x

Preserving is the country way of surviving long winters and putting food up to feed your family during that time to keep them fit and healthy a practice that seems to be making a comeback at long last. I have been preserving for the best part of 40 years doing various things and increasing my repertoire with something new every year or a different technique.  Trying different recipes and discarding those I do not like or just don't work for me and hanging on for dear life to the ones that do work.  Preserving and cooking is really down to having a really good recipe and a little time and patience to play.  I thought I would share some of the things I actually make each year to capture the harvest for the cold winter months. Remember plums come in several different varieties.  I am particularly fond of Victoria but that is what I grew up with but I also like the darker plums as well.  my grandfather used to grow Black Diamond a lovely dark plum with swee...

It has been a lovely day today.  I have been with my very good friend L today.  We had hoped to go to Stamford, but real life got in the way and she had to come into Peterborough.  We had a wander around before going back to her home for a while, getting something to eat (we had Sesame seed Bagels with smoked salmon and salad for dinner which was delicious) and then we went for a quick wander round the Antiques Centre before going back and having a good old chin wag and setting the world to rights before coming home. I have really enjoyed it even though the day did not pan out as we had expected. They had more lovely furniture pieces in the Antique Centre - most of them pine and although it was only a quick jaunt there were lots of lovely pieces to see.  We will probably go back another day.  The dresser which I saw the other week was still there and it is still talking to me together with a couple of other pieces. Tonight for tea we have had OH Cod...

I have two large fridges.  One for fresh stuff and the other is for long term items like drinks, butter, cheese etc.  They have white interiors which occasionally get the odd mark on which has proved difficult to get off. Last night I was up to my arms in boiling water, lemon and washing up liquid scrubbing out my fridge and once wiped it was apparent that the beautiful white interior was not so white and indeed grubby.  Marks left from packaging.  My glass shelves are bound by plastic inserts the front and back of the shelf effectively which hold the glass sheets in the fridge.  The whole lot has to come off including the glass and then be sanitised.  It is therefore somewhat a time consuming experience. My answer to getting the inside of the fridge spotless including those marks is to use what is known as a magic eraser.  It lifts the marks with a bit of rubbing and makes it look like new. I obtained a pack of 6 last night for about £1.5...

This post is not an advertisement, just reporting on something I have done and my thoughts. I am still not sure I like Aldi.  Yes it has a great range of items at reasonable prices a lot of which I have not bought yet as the freezers still need scrubbing out.  I am hoping to get that done this weekend.  I think it is perhaps that it is a very good limited variety of stuff - and not the sort or type of shopping I usually go for.  Their meat and fresh stuff is excellent and what I have seen of the freezer stuff looks promising too. We have had a mahoosive thunder and lightning storm here in Peterborough with torrential rain.  It has been horribly hot all day so I am not at all surprised.  It has gone horribly muggy again now. I now have to go and scrub the fridge out and get all the new bits and bobs in situ.  For a change we have tried one of their pre-prepared curries I had Prawn Bhoona and OH had Chicken Tikka Masala.  OH enjoyed his...

I know for the past couple of posts I have been prattling on about stocking up the pantry with tinned goodies, why I choose certain items but I have not really gone into detail about what I actually make with said ingredients. As the weather is too darn hot for my liking at the moment I am trying to get out of cooking wherever I can.  So for myself I am going to make an old favourite which is light, filling and tasty.  Namely Salmon Dip. You will need: 180g/210g tin of salmon red or pink up to you. 7 fl ozs of Crème Fraiche (I have also used what is to hand i.e. Cream Cheese and a little plain yogurt to thin it down a little in the past) Some capers Some cornichons Basically all you do is drain the tin of salmon and sort out any bones (although soft and they will mash in I have always been taught to remove these).  Old habits die hard I suppose. To a food processor add the salmon and the Crème Fraiche (or alternatives).   Whizz it up until ...

We have been to the Cash and Carry this afternoon as OH needed to get some cans of drink for his Department's Tuck Shop.  It is a while since we have been to it but for the best part today I just wanted to have a good look around.  Some prices are a bit out there but if you have a business and a mark up there is quite a bit of profit to be made.  I have used a Cash and Carry off and on over 40 or so years. We have had a lot of flies this year - not quite sure why but we have and as a consequence have used a bit of fly spray.  At £3 a tin from our local Co-Op it is pricey and we are soon going through a tin.  So at £3  a can x 6 tins - £18.  We have just purchased six tins for £8.99 plus £2.49 VAT so for £11.50 I have six cans and I have saved £6.50 in the process.  Better in my purse I think and will go towards something else that we use.  I have traditionally used the Co-Op a lot for shopping but I have noticed of late that there is a d...

What Items did I choose to buy to start replenishing my pantry, why I chose them and what I do with them. Everything has to earn its place on my pantry shelf.  We cannot always eat like King’s and Queen’s every night and you have to have some of what I call “scratch meals” especially during a week night and especially if you are working on the basis that “time is of the essence” and at a premium.  Therefore, having items in the pantry or in the fridges or freezers that let you prepare something to eat quickly and cheaply is a necessity and a bonus where time is concerned as it lets you eat reasonably but also lets you make up on time. Heinz Soups various I will definitely be going for the 6 cans for £2.99 price tag.  Why?  If your office has a microwave to warm up food at lunch, this makes a very quick meal without spending the earth especially in the winter months.  They make a good standby for a quick meal at home if y...