September

Usually one of the busiest months of the year in the preserving calendar for me and lots of other busy people.  However it is one of the most rewarding.  I cook because I love it, and it is also a way of folding up the love I do have and  showering people quietly with that love is also very rewarding for me on a personal basis.

September is also the main foraging month for the hedgerow fruits and wildings.  It is the start of a lot of work going on quietly in the background in order to get ready for Christmas.  I thrive on all the hard work and preparation and get much pleasure from doing it.  It is a way of marking the seasons and the passing of time.  When we are younger time takes forever, but as you get well over the halfway mark you realise that time is very precious and we need to make the best of it. That differs from person to person and the aims and the contents of your own personal bucket list vary an awful lot.

September and October for me are always intrinsically linked with going to my grandparents' home for the weekend and harvesting of apples and pears and a big family meal (usually Roast Pork as this was my Nan's signature dish). It was also important as we renewed and strengthened bonds after being away from them for a time and just being loved for yourself rather than what you could or were able to offer and of enjoying our precious time together.  A time of unconditional love.  Those people are irreplaceable and a hard act to follow and I do not really think that you get over losing them, you just learn little by little to live without them but the memories they bring such joy and still sometimes tears they run, but that is an acknowledgement of everlasting love and is a form of healing in itself. Each of us as individuals has something unique and special to bring to the table and we should rejoice and celebrate that specialness rather than being ultra critical or judgmental.  We really have no right to do that.  Feelings however or your inner sixth sense should never be ignored.  It will never lead you wrong so always listen to your inner voice. 

I am very fortunate and blessed with very good friends and a very tight knit family. Good friends who know you accept you for who you are with all the little wrinkles and foibles without having to explain.  They just know you will be with them soon without having to explain what is or has been going on. Sometimes things have to take their course but in the words of Arnie  - I will be back..

September is also the month when I start putting a few bits up each week whether that be by preserving, freezing etc or buying ingredients so that I have a choice of ingredients for cooking with in readiness for the Christmas pantry.  This includes tinned items, pre-packaged items with long-stop dates  It is also a way of avoiding the Christmas premiums that shops silently seem to put in place in the countdown to Christmas proper where premium items end up costing more.  The peculiarities of supply and demand.  I try so hard not to get caught by this commercial trick and try and have as much as possible in place before the beginning of December.  Even if it means me buying fresh veggies and freezing them myself in preparation beforehand (then the majority of the work is already done) and you can enjoy yourself as well..

Today for tea we were supposed to have roast chicken with roast mixed veggies this evening.  However OH fancied a Kentucky so that is what we had.  I cannot say that I am really enamoured of this but he seems to like it.  So roast chicken with roast veggies is now on the agenda for tomorrow night's tea.  Now I am looking forward to that.

I have some more playing to do in the kitchen this evening. I have some blackcurrant vinegar, blackberry vinegar, mixed herb vinegar, home made Cassis, Lemon thyme honey, Thyme honey as well as some more herbs to dry, including Sage, Thyme, Lemon Thyme, Tarragon and Oregano.  I have also harvested some of the mint from the garden.  I am popping up a couple of jars of the Thyme honey as it will come in very useful for my Goat's cheese fixes which are quite regular! I will pop up the long-standing mint sauce recipe tomorrow but I also have that to do. We are late walking Missy as it has been pouring down with rain; hopefully we will get a break in the clouds soon.

I was rootling around the magazine section looking for a particular gardening magazine which they did not have when I espied the Good Food's Homemade Christmas on the shelf. I have therefore bought a copy home with me and there are quite some different and nice recipes in there. Not a bad buy and lots of achievable goodies to make at home for your own table and also as gifts.  I am quite pleased with the contents of this magazine.  Now to see what other publishers have to offer. There are some lovely ideas for home made sweets, home made hampers, cakes, table decorations and drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I always or at least where I can buy the specials and then go back to them year in and year out.  It is good to have this resource to go back and forwards to.  Christmas is a time for family and extended family but it is also a time to let the inner child out to play as well as do things with the littlies and enjoy time with them.

The tinned sweeties are also out (I say tinned - they used to be tins when I was growing up) in our local Co-Op and have been since beginning of August.  However I am pretty sure the "tins" shrink year by year.  I have been buying a bit of dried fruit here and there and popping this up for the Christmas cakes which will be made soon including the Christmas mincemeat.  There is a lot to do as usual.  I want to make as much as I can so that I have a proper home made Christmas.

I am most definitely taking my sewing machine with me to get some projects started or done and out of the way with.  My lap top is also going with me in order that I can keep in touch and also make projects that I have seen online.  We shall see what happens in any event.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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