TARRAGON & THYME

I have been in the cupboard under the stairs again. It is all tidied out and I can now find stuff. I have boxes to keep smaller items in like Light Bulbs, Plugs and Fuses and other items that I use on a regular basis. I also have a box of candles, just in case they are needed. So organised chaos. The Ginger Beer has now been transplanted into the cupboard under the stairs. It has been burped for today and I have had to be quick in getting the clamp open and then locked down again before the contents sprang out. So very lively it is. I am hoping that it will settled down a bit in the next few days or so. I might also get a batch of Apple pop on the go as well. I wrangled the sack of potatoes in too. No onions in this cupboard. A few more bits have been added to the shelves and I have also got rid of items that were in the dining room. There is still stuff to go in there, but now at least I stand a chance of finding things and will be able to put like with like. In all hones...

The sun is out, the air is a little chillier (at the moment) and Autumn is slowly starting to slip in, the seasons are changing yet again. I love the colours and warmth of Autumn just as much as I love the Spring.  Time to go out and really have a good forage to see what is out and about. The Blackberries are more or less over where I have been going to collect.  There might be the odd one or two lingering, but will see what I can find.  Time to now move on to Rowans for jelly. Rosehips are a favourite here for making syrup, jelly and wine.  In the past I have also prepared the shells and ground them into a powder as a supplement.  If I can locate enough I might do that again.  Preparation for these though is tedious work, as the hips need to be cut in half and have their innards cleaned out.  Have to be careful with this as basically you are dealing with itching powder. A pair of disposable gloves is therefore a must when doing this.  As a family...

........has held me captive for most of the day and I am still not done. Most of you my not be aware that I actually use the cupboard under the stairs as a Preserves Pantry. It is cooler, and dark and my sack of potatoes is normally stored in there.  I have just purchased a new sack, and so it needs to be hauled in there, once it is all tidy.  I have a net of onions as well, and that will be stored in the main pantry, as onions give off a gas that accelerates potatoes not lasting very long.  Keep them apart if you do not want that to happen. A lot of my empty jars and bottles also live in the cupboard. Today I have had a good old sort out in there and got rid of things that I will not use. I have been very lucky though to find a pack of Kilner wide mouthed preserving jars (the tall ones) which I did not know I had. There are six of them and so will be ideal with a few other Kilner jars I have to store bottled Victoria Plums for puddings and pies during the winter months. ...

Just to let you know that there is nothing wrong with the blog.  I am just messing with the settings trying to update it a bit.  It might take me a while, but "Rome was not built in a Day". Hopefully all will be sorted soon. Catch you later Pattypan

Today has been a busy day. I started off by checking the Blackberry/Bramble wine, as it was fizzing well before I went to bed last night and I had popped both Demijohns into a bowl just to be on the safe side. This morning it was a case of "It's frothy man", and it is truly a very active fermentation going on with this particular wine. I then set too with the Ginger Beer Plant, and made the drink up by initially straining the plant through a fine jelly bag.  You then use the liquid, and add in the juice of 2 Lemons, 8 pints of water and 2 oz of sugar, stirring well to dissolve the sugar.   This is the liquid all mixed together. We will deal with the plant in the jelly bag in a moment. Then the liquid is added to the sterilised bottles (they had been soaking overnight) and then capped.  I then washed the bottles down. Now to deal with the plant.    It is basically just sediment and does not look very appetising.  Looks are not everything though. Add hal...

  Monday I had plans to achieve a lot today, in reality to fit in with other things that cropped up, I have had to re-arrange some items that I planned on making. The good thing is that I got the Orange wine into the Demijohns so that the wine can work out.  Lovely bright colour and smells good.  Now to keep an eye on it, I will top the Demijohn's up at the end of the week once the wine has settled down.  Sometimes you can have quite an effervescent fermentation where the contents try and escape the jar.  When it comes to the Blackberry/Bramble Wine I certainly do not want this because of the colour! I am planning on making another batch of wine, this time Dried Apricot .  That I think will be commenced tomorrow. There is a plus side to this particular recipe I will be making, and that is that out of the pulp from the dried Apricots I can turn this into a chutney.  Waste not want not. I had planned on making the Sourdough Bread today.  However,...