A Little Shopping
This morning we had a bit of a lay in, not by design just overslept. We then had some fish and chips for dinner together with mushy peas. Not too bad at all. I had already sourced Chicken Kiev's for tea tonight. They are a firm favourite.
I needed to top up on food shopping and so walked into town with my trolley. I cannot carry things properly these days so despite the loss of street cred I opted for a small bright purple butterfly decorated trolley which is enough for me to manage. The bonus is that if it is empty it will sit quite happily on a shopping trolley on the central hook under the handle. I walked in as I needed the exercise and the day had been a lovely bright warm sunny day. I only got as far as Waitrose and despite me planning on shopping there later in the day I decided to shop whilst I was there and get OH to come and collect the shopping trolley so that I could then go into town. They were operating a 2 metre allowance and there was a queue but not a massive queue. I had been hoping that they would have some herb plants in their herb section which I tend to stick into the garden; I was predominantly looking for chives, sage and rosemary. However they did not have any of these. Basil yes but it is too early to stick it in the garden at the moment. So I will keep my eye out another week. I am hoping to build up a large stock of herbs during the summer months.
I was lucky to find two bags of wholemeal flour (there were only a few bags of these when I was in there) and two small white bread mixes. I therefore snaffled these up. This is the first flour I have seen in weeks. I managed to get yeast the other day. I also was able to buy large bags of sugar for £1.25 a bag rather than 79p for 1kg; I bought a couple of these home as I have wine making in progress and plans for more as well and despite having some sugar in stock it is always healthy to keep a stock pile in as I frequently use this in jams and jellies also.
I also was able to get my fresh root ginger which I am quite pleased about.
I have today been lucky in that I was able to take advantage of a lot of green vegetables as well. I bought Little Gem Lettuce, a lacy edged lettuce rather than mixed leaves. I also bought Cavalo Nero, Spinach, Kale, Fennel, and some Chantenay carrots. Some of the leaves will be dried some will go into meals and some will be made into green powders. I also bought large Portobello mushrooms which are intended for a British Fry up tomorrow morning for breakfast as well as some reduced mushrooms which are also going into the dehydrator for adding to soups, stews etc. during the winter months. So I am starting to put stuff by for use in the winter months even now. There is a lot to do and a lot to achieve before then though. However, I am determined to bring my Pantry, Freezers and food stores back up to scratch and back to being more than serviceable.
I bought pears (some for savoury meals) others for eating. I also have some blue cheese Stilton for OH and Gorgonzola for myself. I also have walnuts, goats cheese, and honey to accompany these. We often snack on these mid-day for a bite to eat. I also bought Strawberries and some cream as we both like simple puddings.
For dinner tomorrow, I also bought a small beef Topside joint which should do very nicely for the pair of us.
On the vegetable front I managed to get a whole range of different veggies from Waitrose. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest. I still intend to visit the veg shop during the week though. They are not open every day at present, but I have in mind to make this year's batch of Souper Mix as per Pam Corbin's recipe in the River Cottage Preserves book. I make this every year, and use it a lot. They usually have a better selection on the root veg for this recipe. I also need some eggs for baking and some oranges for making orange wine and the Christmas wine.
After OH fetched my bags and the shopping trolley (yes I had bags too) I went on to Wilkos. I use a stain removal powder which costs £2 a tub. I think it is called Astonish, but I use it to top the washing powder up and also as a general all round stain remover. I have found this to be the most effective stain remover on the market. It can also be used for other cleaning projects throughout the house. That is what I primarily went to Wilkos for, however unfortunately they did not have any in. Will have to pay another visit during the week. I have half a tub left but that will not last me long.
I needed some soap powder as well so I ended up bringing some Persil back with me which is not the size I usually buy will get me through a week or two until I can get my usual larger sized box which lasts me usually around four months.
I did however manage to get some King Edward potato sets, which I intend to sow in tubs and sacks, four Rhubarb plants - I already have two so this will make six plants, (you never can have enough rhubarb it is so useful for puddings, preserving, freezing, making jam and chutney); a little white grape vine for further down the garden, two potted blue flowers (the name escapes me at the moment). I am very pleased to have been able to bring these home.
There were some kitchen bits and bobs that I needed (a new rolling pin and a couple of knife racks), two measuring jugs and four small bowls. Oh and I also got some gherkin seeds two packets. They did have some Charlotte potato sets and some red and white onion sets. If they still have any later in the week, I may well get some of these too. I was primarily after some fruit bushes, some Loganberry and Tayberry bushes. I have plenty of Blackberry bushes at the moment. Unfortunately today I was not able to find the Loganberry or the Tayberry. I am hopeful that I will be able to source these as I go along. Today on the plant front they did not have as much choice as they normally do.
I also bought a couple of Lever Arch files to use to store my recipes and experiments in. Very much a Work in Progress with lots of my handwritten scrawls which if I am happy with them will be typed up properly. The recipes are in plastic sleeves, to keep them clean when I am working. I really did need to do something like this though as I am forever losing everything.
Whist I was in town, I had intended also to pop into M & S however time ran out on me so this will also have to wait until later in the week when I go to town again.
When I got home I nipped to the Co-Op and bought some stewing beef, some mince and was lucky enough to find two packs of chicken breasts (quite large and thick ones) for the princely sum of £1.63 per pack. As they were in the reduction counter we have cooked both of these trays of chicken up and will use them in sandwiches or with salad. That was the bargain find of the day. I also managed to get a tub of Coffee Mate and also some dried milk powder which I use in my bread machine. So very chuffed with these finds.
Also, whilst in Waitrose I ended up buying some sage, tarragon, lemon thyme and thyme. Some of the herbs are to end up in a batch of Four Thieves Vinegar for bathing and cleaning the house. The recipe can also be turned into a vinaigrette for dressing salads. I take this to be the more modern recipe rather than the traditional recipe which includes Woodruff and Camphor. I don't think that they would be very good in a vinaigrette.
Four Thieves Vinegar
The first link I understand is a more recent recipe. The second includes the original recipe plus options to make your own tailor made Four Thieves Vinegar
and
and the Third gives a recipe for making Four Thieves Vinegar but does not access any blog or link etc. but is a good way of having a receipt at your finger tips.
So all in all not a bad day and I was lucky enough to find a few things I have been after for a while which is also a bonus. It was a lovely day to get out into town and to stretch my legs and get some exercise. Town was deserted and most people kept their distance which I was grateful for.
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
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