TARRAGON & THYME

It has been a glorious Spring day here in Peterborough, nice and mild and the best part the sun has been out and it makes me feel very blessed and very glad to be alive and breathing!  Slowly mother earth is coming alive again and I want to get out in the garden, and sow seeds to my heart's content.  I love growing stuff from scratch. However I have stuff to do in the garden before that happens, hopefully we will get some more of this wonderful weather so that we can proceed with this. I also received my Kitchen Garden Magazine and Grow Your Own Magazine with loads and loads of seeds yesterday.  Still only managed a flick through, some serious reading will go on tonight.  There were between the two magazines 22 packets of seeds.  Shall do an update on what maybe tomorrow. I was a bit poorly again last night but am okay now.  So things on the to do list are not as far along as they should be.   Beetroot is cooking in the pan on the stove ready for ...

 For the kitchen tomorrow.  No stoppages allowed. Seville Oranges retrieved from the shop - marmalade needs preparing. Eggs need boiling, cooling then pickling. Beetroot needs boiling, slicing and then pickling.. Chutney needs making.  Plum chutney here.  I usually store my chutney from 6 to 8 weeks after making to allow it to mature. Plum jam needs making. Will do an update report in the next few days of what I have actually made and hopefully some photos too.   Will stop there but probably will add in further items as I go along. We had our mussels for tea as planned served with French bread stick and butter was lovely.  Followed this off with Creme caramel..  Very filling but a lovely tea.  Now I am completely stuffed. Will not be long before I am in bed, tired and fatigued again.   I have also bought my gardening magazines with loads of free seeds.  Not had a chance to look at yet hopefully will get to this tomorrow. Right ...

This morning here in Peterborough started very cold it was only 1 degree when we got up at 8:00am and there had been a very sharp frost. I had to throw a jumper on as I was so chilly. Fortunately since then things have warmed up a bit and the Sun (yes the Sun) has been out in all its glory so I am hopeful of warm days ahead even though we will still probably have cold nights. As indicated earlier in the week I am trialling out a new to us Butcher's; Stilton Butchers.  We arranged to collect this morning, and so were up with the lark for us at least to go and collect.  Must say very impressed with the set up.   From the Butchers we then went to the Fish Man and ended up buying a complete fillet of smoked haddock, some cockles, some crayfish, Mussels for tea tonight, and some crevettes.  Not gone too barmy this week as we have the meat order as well.  We do pretty well on the food front and it is nice to have a variety of items, but there is no need to go com...

Today has been a busy day.  The weather has been gorgeous lovely and mild.  It was an early start for me and I am now starting to feel a little fatigued and tired.  Lots of washing done, and a pair of Marigolds also worn at one stage.  Further tidying done, not completed yet but slowly starting to make a serious dint. I nipped to the veg shop earlier on and came back with four bowls (4kg) of purple plums, two bowls of Lemons, and I was given an offer of a crate of Seville Oranges for the princely sum of £3 as they wanted shot of them.  They indicated that a lot of people just have not made any preserves this year. I hasten to add there is nothing at all wrong with the Seville Oranges. I have also agreed to supply them with a couple of jars of marmalade as part of the price, which I am quite happy to supply.  I was as pleased as punch.  I have also a large tray of eggs as well.  Pickled Eggs here we come.  They will probably get done tomorrow ...

Just a resume of some of the things I hope to get made between the end of February and the end of March.  More an aide memoire really for this dizzy duck.  Some of this has already been done but will update later on. I have some bottoming out in the bathroom and the kitchen to do before I make anything else. OH is diabetic and as a result he eats pickles like sweeties.  That is why we have been going through so many this year - not that I made big batches this past year. I just wish I had a really big farmhouse pantry - that would nicely accommodate quite a lot of what I intend on preserving.  I am losing one storage cupboard to kitchen equipment.  Kitchen cabinetry is being replaced - but I have an awful lot of expensive equipment.  So what is now the Jam Pantry (the cupboard under the stairs) is going to be turned into a kitchen equipment storage area.  I am then hopeful to turn the fireside cupboards into a giant store for my bottled goods.  My...

Today we have placed another order for the family for Cornish Pasties.  This time five regular traditional pasties and five cheese and onion pasties.  Yet again the order has been placed with    https://www.cornwallpasties.co.uk/ . We are also trying out a new Butcher.  No shop everything online. Stilton Butchers. Their website is  Stilton Butchers .  They are also on Facebook at  Stilton Butchers Facebook  Photos look good as do the prices.  The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. The Reviews are very good. Apparently the Butcher's has an impeccable record locally due to supplying many restaurants and caterers.  If the food supplied is as good as it looks I may be using them again.  They seem to have quite a lot of good value packs and offers and a lot of the animals seem to be grass fed.  So will see.  They had a very good offer on when we ordered today in that if you spend over £60 you can receive a 2kg Sir...

Not a lot really.  A lot of plans and a lot of bits and bobs bought in to do stuff with.  Let us start at the beginning. I have the dehydrator on again.  I have bought three bags of Kale to make more dried Kale either in leaf form or powder form. This is to add to the leaves I have already dried. I have also bought two bags of Spinach to do the same with.  I have no Spinach stock so this is a new addition. So the dehydrator is on and running and will be overnight.  If I can get some reduced mixed salad leaves will also do these the same way as well. Later in the week I intend to go to Waitrose and find some fancy mushrooms to dry for the pantry.  OH is rather partial to mushrooms and I am considering buying a grow your own mushroom kit for Oyster mushrooms.  Details here: On instagram:  Marvellous Mushrooms Instagram On website/shop:  Marvellous Mushrooms website/shop I will have to sweet talk him first though. We are a family that uses mushr...

  It has been blowing a hooley for the best part of the night and it has not really let up since.  Confusingly here in Peterborough the sun is out and it feels warmer in the sun than it has done really for many a day but the wind has not calmed down. I did not sleep well again hearing the birds starting to sing around 5am and having to deal with a grumpy Jack Russell who was intent on pushing me off the bed and growling at my every move.  We soon sorted her out and I made her move.  She tends to lay on the bottom of the bed its just whether she is horizontal or vertical that changes. I had a look at the lap quilt I showed a few weeks ago last night to see what was involved with it.  I have decided that I am going to sort out the threads and the codes and get them all sorted out, then find a hoop ring and start working the pre-printed design.  It will take some time but will be a good project to get out the way as soon as I can and then I can concentrate on ...

I have some lemons that need using up that are in the fridge and I initially thought that I would make some Lemon Curd but then I thought Cordial as well.   I do not like wasting stuff, and if the Lemons are too dry I always have the option of turning them into Lemon vinegar for cleaning with.  I love Lemon curd and I love Lemon cordial and I need both. However, before I do anything else I will wash the lemons in warm water to get rid of any wax.  Before juicing the lemons I will roll each one for a few minutes as this helps release more juice from the lemon.  I tend to do them one at a time and then juice, then roll then juice.  Some zest is sometimes put into some recipes, if however it is not used in your particular recipe, zest the lemons before use, and mix them with some sugar.  You can then either dry in the dehydrator or on a baking sheet in the oven.  Once dried you can then decant to an airtight jar and use for decorating cakes or for ma...

 Due to a little Jack Russell not settling last night I had a very disrupted sleep.  On Friday she had to go to the Vets for a general check up bearing in mind she is on antihistamines to stop her itching and a pain killer for the arthritis that she has.  As it was a three month check up and they are keeping an eye on her they shaved her neck to take blood.  Trouble is they did it too close to her skin and she has ended up with razor burn.  When she first came back she was okay however yesterday her neck was inflamed and she was very much off colour.  So I bathed it with sterlilised water with a little salt in and then popped some nappy cream on her.  It seems to have worked a treat.  From flame red skin this has now gone pink again.  However she could not get comfy yesterday and was attempting to itch which was the last thing we wanted her to do.  She was off colour yesterday as well not interested in anything.  Trying to stop her ...

  Never one to take the easy way me.  Today has been a laid back one; neither of us have done much. However, I have been continuing with my scheduling of seeds, when to grow, when to plant, when to harvest and in the process come up with month by month lists.  This year, I hope to build on last year a little.  I got a lot right last year but it fell apart towards the end because of our caravan jaunts.  This year I hope to have my step-daughter on hand to come and give the plants a watering if and when we go away.  So all this needs to be figured into the equation as well.  Plus our garden is not overly big. This scheduling is taking longer than anticipated but will be a list to check back on, over future years and also give me month by month lists of what I should be sowing, what I should be planting out and what I should be harvesting when.  To start with I am creating what I call muddled up lists.  These are based on a month by month basis ...

 ...at the moment.  I am hoping not to tempt providence by voicing my thoughts here. I have had a mild reaction to the Covid injection in that where they injected me went red and slightly swollen and my arm does hurt. I am so glad I chose my left arm to have the injection into rather than my predominant right hand. No big shakes just a mild reaction and within limits.  This is about par for the course with me.  I have a history of reactions to medications, anaesthetics etc.  Guess it is just the way I am built.  I am not complaining here, just stating as it is a fact for me.  We are all treated the same and yet in reality every single one of us is unique and has different reactions to different things.  Does not mean that things do not work, just perhaps that your system does not tolerate it as well as the next person. I have done a lot of sleeping and I am getting more and more like a door mouse.  I am hoping that the lighter nights and long...