A new Chutney , Foodie items and Citric Acid

Yesterday I had a lovely day which I have for the best part written about.  A trip down memory lane, which in some respects is helping me understand myself a little and realising that I want a simpler lifestyle than I have had thus far (although I am grateful for the full and lively life thus experienced).  It has after all made me who I am.

Yesterdays visit down memory lane to a special time (a very happy time), long gone, but still in my memory, made me realise that I am very much that country kid who is still searching for that which is right for her.  As I said to my friend when I lived at Gunthorpe I had understood that I would start my schooling at the Junior School in Oakham.  We then moved to Uppingham where I started school and then I understood that I would be going to the secondary school in Uppingham.  I was very happy at school in Uppingham.  Because of a job opportunity, my Dad then shifted us and we ended up moving again to Peterborough.  I never settled at school in Peterborough.  It was only when we moved back into Lincolnshire and I went to the Deepings Secondary school that I settled again.  

I think perhaps my focus will have to change in the longer term and that I should concentrate on simplicity and quality of life.  Whereas thus far we have just been concentrating on getting through. Whether I go back to work for other people in the longer term or whether I become self-employed is still up in the air and probably will be for a little longer.  

However the best part of this is that I am starting to realise and find out what is important to me.  I think once circumstances are right everything else will flow.  It will be a case of trial and error until then.  Not that I am ungrateful for what I have - I am not it is just I realise that there are potentially other things that I would like to have a go at.  New experiences do you good.

In any event, as usual I digress and it is about time I got back on track.

Yesterday's lunch Danish open sandwiches with goats cheese, walnut, fig and honey chutney served on brown sourdough bread sprinkled with thyme was divine.  The chutney was lovely.  Fig and honey.  I am going to have to search for a recipe.  It really was that good.  I am a big fan of figs whether they be fresh or dried in any event.  I may try a recipe using fresh and a separate one using dried.  The simple meal was that lovely even writing about it my mouth is watering and I could eat it all again.  The sprinkling of fresh thyme really did bring the flavours out with lots of dry crunchy walnuts.

That aside, once I got home I ended up going to look in a shop I had not been in before.  I thought it was just an Asian Butchers, but it is not it has so much more.  We used to have an Asian shop locally where you could buy all the seeds, flours, spices etc. in larger bags however that unexpectedly closed down.  Today I went into this new shop and they have everything the other shop had plus so much more.  I have also located the mustard seed oil I need for the recipe I have for Mostarda Da Frutta, plus they have Rosewater, different cake flavourings, gram flour, sago seeds, (other half likes these done as a milk pudding).  I am not a fan of frog spawn of any description.  

They also had ground rice, rice flour (which I use for home made Tiger buns), big bags of popping corn which work out quite cheaply.  It is just the pure corn.  So come pay day I shall be paying a visit and topping up.  This shop is extremely handy for me as it is literally round the corner so I will not have so far to carry stuff (something I always have to take into account) There was loads more stuff of interest beside including citric acid for preserving and bags of baking powder very cheaply and which I also need to stock up on.  Citric acid is a good one to use in the dishwasher and the washing machine to clean it. For further details please see the link here Citric Acid.

I am always on the look out for useful foodie items that do not cost an arm and a leg and the Citric Acid I use in cordials and food preserving so to find it is useful for the washing machine and the dishwasher without causing environmental problems and being cheap to boot is something that fits in very nicely.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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