Not a lot

 has gone on today, apart from me being in the kitchen trying to sort it out a bit, washing, dish washer on, sorting more preserves into the understairs cupboard in order that they are safe and do not get damaged especially after going to the trouble of making it).  Having cats in the house makes this even more of a possibility as if they are not meant to go near anything then you just know they will do.  

Oohps I tell a porkie.  I have washed all the fallen crab apples to get the leaves off of them.  Next part is to destalk them and then start preserving with them.

Have also been doing some research on some of the things I want to have a go at on the preserving front.  There are lots of new recipes for me to try and hopefully will be loads more stuff to put away as a result. Especially items where I can use the slow cookers or indeed the Ninja Foodi or my Dehydrators and get on with other stuff whilst they are cooking.  I still have my electric jam pan which I have had for a few years but am not sure whether it is still working. There were a few issues with it after a while from what I understand.  The nearest to it these days is the Ball Jam Preserver, however that did not have as many functions as the model I have.  May have to pop it on and see what happens. If it works, then that can be left alone to make jam or jelly or indeed Dulche de Leche.

Foraging I intend will take place again later in the week weather permitting. I have made my mind up and will see what I can find then.  I might take the trolley this time as I had trouble carrying the bags the other day and I am after more crab apples.

I did nip to the veg shop this afternoon and bought 3 x £1 bargain bowls: one of Lemons, and two of cherry tomatoes.  The Lemons will join some of the leftover Lemons to make some more preserves I have on my list.  Can never have too many Lemon things on the Pantry shelf and some like the Sugars.  I am particularly looking at Baking, items or things that can be made in advance and then used at Christmas for incorporating in cakes or actually decorating them.  Not sure what I am doing with the cherry tomatoes yet. 

Lime Sugar and Orange Sugar have also been made for the Pantry shelf, but I will do a roundup of what I have got up to later in the week in any event. The Lemon version was an absolute success the other day and has a delicate Lemon flavour but each time you open the jar you get a lovely waft of Lemon.  I have not opened the Lime or the Orange ones yet.

I have also started off the Nettle wine. There is also root ginger in this particular wine.   I have made a couple of gallons and it is now in its fermentation bin where it will remain for a few days before being added to the Demijohns.  Nettle wine is a sweet wine, with a delicate hint of ginger and it is one of my favourite country wines.  I will be fetching further nettle tops though as I also want to make a Green Powder for adding to stews.  Other green items will be going into the mixture to add goodness and flavour to stews etc.

Tea was made.  I made a Beef stew; I was not really in the mood for it.  One of the problems I seem to have when cooking is that I get the smell of the food and the taste and then when it comes to actually eating the meal, I hardly have any of it because I am not hungry.  OH, has a healthy appetite, I just tend to have days like this, and I think that sometimes you can have too much food.

I also want to make homemade pasta and dry it for the Pantry shelf.  I have made homemade pasta before but never actually tried drying it.  It may be time for a play day and make a batch of it for future use.

Tomorrow is therefore going to be a very busy day.  I suppose technically it will keep me out of mischief or get me into it.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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