Plans for today
OH is going fishing and I am going to do a little bit of playing.
I have some Victoria plums and I am going to make some plum vodka (I have a bottle of vodka on the shelf as you do) just waiting.
I also need to check the Strawberry wine to see how that is doing and the plan is to start some Strawberry Champagne.
The vinegars also need checking, i.e. the Blackcurrant, Raspberry and Blackberry vinegars as well as the Tarragon vinegar. Nearly at the point where they can be finished off and bottled and put up on the shelf.
I also have plans to get some beetroot to pickle as well as some more Blackberries as I have found a Blackberry Pickle recipe that sounds really good to serve with a home made Ploughman's salad or indeed a Goat's Cheese salad.
I want to see what apples they have at the veg shop as I would like to get some apple sauce bottled. I will see what apples they have available. I usually use a mixture of a cooker and an eater as the cooking apple softens and the eating apple remains more solid so it gives a lovely texture to the preserve. You can of course use in pastries, home made gateau, as a sauce, with Rice pudding and as a pudding in its own right with the apple sauce being warmed through and then served with home made cinnamon or vanilla ice cream as well as apple pie and also as sauce with Roast Pork. They often have apples reduced at silly prices i.e. £1 a bowl with approximately 1kg of fruit or veg in each so well worth the buying. It is at this time of the year that I miss the apple picking at my Nan's and bringing the apples home and preserving them. So going to the veg shop is at the moment my next best option.
I will have to see what they have before making a final decision about what I buy and what I actually make, as is so often the case with "the best laid plans of mice and men" things do tend to go awry! However, I am also looking for some cucumbers for cucumber pickle. It is too early yet for pickled cabbage. I tend to do that in November so that the pickled cabbage remains nice and crisp for Christmas. It really brightens a plate up if you sprinkle over the top of mixed lettuce leaves with the bright purple-red colour being very seasonal. Alternatively, I buy when I can yellow Oyster mushrooms and then cook them in a little butter. The mushrooms and the butter they are cooked in (until golden brown) are then used as a hot dressing over the top of lettuce. That is an absolute favourite here.
I also have plans to go to B & M to see what they have for a further little top up on the tinned can front. I need baked beans and tomatoes as I do not have any left of each. The faithful trolley will be following me there as I can no longer comfortably carry any shopping and at least this way I get to do my shopping.
I shall also check out Waitrose as well to see if they have anything I can squirrel away as well.
Tonight I am doing some more work in the pantry and that will take me a little while to sort out. I am having another attempt at it before I paint it out and finish it off with all the pretty bits. I have been working away on it in the background. Sometimes things take the time they take for a reason. There will be more bits to go in yet. I shall squeeze them in tight.
Hope you have a very good day wherever you may be and whatever you are up to.
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
x
I'm going to steal your oyster mushroom idea, if I may. It sounds absolutely delicious, and I'm a great fan of all-lettuce salads. In fact, crazy though it sounds, one of my favourite meals is lettuce and spinach (undressed) and chips. The idea of a warm, buttery dressing on some fresh leaves with little nuggets of savoury mushroom sounds wonderful! As ever, your plans make me feel very lazy. Have you ever come across string beans pickled in a sort of thick mustard, a bit like piccalilli but made with just beans? I'm told it's very good - I have made plenty of pickles but do not care for them myself so I tended to make them without tasting. Several of my regular customers used to buy multiple jars, the only pickle I can remember attracting that sort of fanbase. I don't know if I mentioned but I used to do a lot of pickling and jam making for charity fairs so I tried to use whatever I could get for free. People in our old village would often leave whatever they had spare, or had foraged, on the doorstep and I raided my garden and orchard as there was far too much for us to eat, hence my going looking for green bean pickle recipes despite never having heard of such a thing. Green beans were one of the few things I was able to grow well so when Autumn came round there was often a glut. As you so often say, it's about making the best use of what you have. The gallons of green tomato chutney I've bottled... never any shortage of green toms in a village full of keen gardeners and a decade full of British summers!
ReplyDeleteHi Fifitr, very happy for you to use the Oyster mushroom dressing. It is very tasty if you let it go golden brown/caramelised in the pan. I use lots of butter and a little oil as you do not want it to burn. I normally just use a little Sunflower oil. Every so often I mix it up and also fry some onion first and then add the Oyster mushrooms. I have come across the recipe you mention although I have not tried it. If you want a recipe I can look one out for you? Let me know. I think the recipe is the precursor of Picallili. My Nan used to do what you used to do, anything to do with food and she was in there. I miss not living in a village. What I remember most was that once you were a "local" and people had become accustomed to you everyone helped everyone else whether that was sharing skills or passing on food resources. I am a country bumpkin really having to live in town and if I could get out to the countryside I would. I was predominantly bought up in tiny villages or market towns. I know that villages may not be as they used to be, but I think overall still kinder than in town. Another thing I do which you may like is to accompany a Sunday roast, I will roast a load of chopped leeks in the oven with butter and oil until caramelised. (I make a big roasting tin on its own of the leeks). I then serve some up with the roast and any left over I let go cold and then add it to sandwiches as a short term relish during the week, keeping it in the fridge in between times. Makes sarnies a bit more interesting with a mild but deeper depth of flavour. The garden here is not very big either but try and do a little. Take care Tricia
ReplyDelete