TARRAGON & THYME

  Saturday I managed to score two medium sized pumpkins for £2 each.  The first of I hope to be a couple of batches of pumpkin to be preserved for the Pantry shelf. I also want to make some Pumpkin Marmalade as well. First things first though, I intend to chunk the pumpkins I have for use in soups, pies etc. I have never been able to do this in the past as did not have the right instructions.  If I had a freezer I would also be blanching and freezing it in wedges to roast up and serve with a roast lunch.  You do not have to defrost them as they can go into hot fat straight from the freezer.  Does spit a bit, but you do need the hot fat for roasts.  I have found keeps its shape better this way round.  If I get a chance I will also be making some soup as well. I also scored 6 x 1lb bags of carrots reduced to 31p a bag.  Would have seemed rude not to have bought them home.  Plans are to water bath these also for the Pantry shelf so that I have a...

Things are a bit hit and miss here at the moment.  Things are slowly and I mean slowly getting done.  However there is a heck of a lot to do and despite my focus and intentions I am slightly overwhelmed at the moment. The colder weather is not helping either blue fingers and blue toes! I am in the interest of my sanity therefore proposing to go radio silent until next Monday evening, to give myself a chance of getting myself together and to get back up to speed.  Various things have been going on but will update on Monday evening.  Such is life.  Speed bumps in the road of life as it were! So compared to the other day progress has been made; I am happier than I was as to the state of play, but still a way to go.  I am still trying to organise myself so that we can do things a little differently during these winter months on several scores.  I want to overall try and make life a little easier, but it is going to take some sorting out to get things there...

 but I did not get there.  A very short post this evening as nothing has really happened today apart from a lot of toing and froing! G had forgotten that he had a Doctor's appointment this morning.  Fortunately he got there just in time, but I had a bit of running around to do on his behalf before he left the house. He did not get back until gone 12 noon when I set too and did a brekkie and some clearing up, washing and then drying.  Before I knew it I had to get ready to leave for the hospital for my physiotherapy class.  It was my last session with the class today.  However every so often I will be attending one on one with the physio. Think it will be another couple of weeks before I see her again.  Have my exercises to do in the meantime which I have been keeping up with at home. In reality my arm is a lot more comfortable than it was.  At the last session two weeks ago after class my arm pinged.  I know I have rotor cuff issues as the ul...

Trust me to be too ambitious. Unfortunately the weather, fatigue and feeling generally unwell got to me more or less straight away as I started to get myself together to try and conquer this kitchen.  I have not felt too good and my extremities have been going blue as a result of the damp and cold weather, and I have been on the pain killers.  The rain on its own never does me much good in any event even though I try and carry on sometimes it is best just to climb under covers and keep warm. Wednesday I ended up in the garden and had more chillies to harvest which I brought into the house.  I also picked the last lot of fresh mint I think for this year for drying off my Dresser.  I managed to get them onto the Dresser to dry utilising clothes pegs and modern day Bull Dog style clips.  Sometimes I just use strings off a central string that I have strung from one side of the Dresser to the other.    I need to put a string up on the other Dresser and brin...

 Things have gone a little wrong.  Am having to rest up because of the weather (all the rain) and a flare up at the same time. I have had to have the Paracetamol which I also normally try and stay away from.  Will therefore start again on Monday coming.  I will be resting up until then. Real life  - always gets in the way. Catch up soon. Pattypan x

Day 3 Thursday 19 October 2023 Today the focus is going to be on the kitchen.  Not got on as well the past few days with the kitchen as I had hoped; have done a bit but things taking a little longer than anticipated. I therefore propose to do no cooking today apart from tea this evening so that I can really get stuck in.  With the lack of sleep and today the rain and an arthritis flare.  I am going to settle and focus on the kitchen as much as I can.  Needs must. That means I will be kitchen bound for most of Day Three i.e. Thursday 19 October 2023. Needless to say we will be having breakfast, midday and teatime meals! If I can add anything further into the mix I will, or if I get closer to finishing the kitchen I may extend this into the evening to finish off, if I can get it sorted that is. Otherwise it will be in to Friday to get this done.  Fingers crossed and toes plaited. If can achieve this can then start on the Pantry on Saturday, Sunday and into Monday....

  Wednesday 18 October 2023 An amendment to yesterday's tea.  We were supposed to be having Italian sausages with Roasted veggies.  G could not fancy as he just wanted something light to eat.  In the end I offered Egg and Chips  - he was quite happy with that.  I wasn't and in the end just opted for a bowl of the Broccoli and Stilton soup.  It was delicious.  I had programmed and scheduled the post for yesterday. He then changed his mind! Breakfast today Bacon sarnies; Make a bread loaf;  we seem to be getting through the bread again at the moment, possibly because we are having it as part of our breakfast of a morning. Not everyday but certainly for the past couple of days. We have now run out of bread, so bread machine to the rescue. Broccoli and Blue Cheese soup.  This was left overnight on Monday to cool down and allow the flavours to develop.  Has now been whizzed up and the cheese melted.  It is now in the fridge ready fo...

Unfortunately things went to pot.  We had a very disturbed night last night there was some fracas going on in the street where I live, and then I could not get to sleep subsequently I ended up oversleeping quite drastically and I have felt quite out of sorts as a result.  I tend to be like a "bear with a sore head" if deprived of sleep and then crashing as a result. It is not in my nature to give in easily, and so I am just moving Day Two's planned events forward a day which will give me chance to come too and then get back on plan and give me time to recuperate. As I am typing this G is flat out in the company of Missy and Mischief. One of them is catching flies, one of them is sprawled and running the Grand National and the other hugging the bed! Although I am tired still, I will end up with a headache if I have a nap now.  I will therefore just go to bed earlier tonight to play catch up.  Not a disaster, but I had not anticipated things going upsticks at such an e...

Monday 16 October 2023 By its very nature, the kitchen is the main project for this week and I will therefore update on how I manage that project next Sunday evening.  However the daily things to achieve I will post up on a day behind as it were.  They are just as important as the kitchen in that we have to have food available, something for the tins, yogurts, puddings that sort of thing; the things that lift your soul in the cooler months.  I thought I would try doing a few things each day in order that there is always something on hand to nibble or snack on, to have as a pudding or something warming to be had for midday lunch.  Trying to make the most of what I have to hand. Breakfast was had.  Thick slices of Sourdough bread spread with butter and homemade Strawberry and Rhubarb jam again for me and cheese spread for G, with a hot mug of tea each.  Went down very nicely.  Now the weather is colder it is important that we have something for breakfast...

As I focus on the kitchen this week (amidst doing cooking, and making other items such as some preserves, yogurt and a little baking), I thought would give an outline of what I am trying to achieve this week.  I am making a concerted effort in this regard as there is a lot of work to be accomplished in the next few weeks, including finishing off the bathroom.  However first things first and I intend to pull out all the stops to get this achieved this week. First Part of the Kitchen Quite simply to get the kitchen sorted out and cleaned and scrubbed out.  Cupboards organised, kitchen bits in the kitchen rather than anywhere else.  That is the main goal for this week anything else will be a bonus.  This is the main aim for this week, and part of it will be paying things forward piecemeal in readiness for the next stages which are as follows: Then will be able to get the top of the units cleaned and painted. Once this is done, then will be able to paint the ceiling...

Just a few of the things I hope to achieve today on Day One of a new regime for me, trying to identify tasks that need doing in any one day without overloading myself and trying a different way of getting into a new routine.  Trying to match like for like jobs in a block to get them out of the way with i.e. the cooking and baking in the first part of the day apart from sorting the veggies for tea out and a pudding. Sort breakfast - Toasted Sourdough with jam for today Make second batch of yogurt; Make a bread loaf; Make Broccoli and Stilton Soup; Make Chicken Stock; Make some Scones; Make some Flapjacks; Stop for something to eat midday; maybe soup maybe a sarnie or something similar; Get washing done; Get washing dried; Start work on cleaning the kitchen; Cook fresh veggies for tea using the remainder of the Lamb chops cooked yesterday, mashed potato and gravy; Fruit and yogurt for pudding. Hopefully this will not be overloading me.  There will be a second post in relation to...

 After other came back with my keyboard this  morning and new mouse, as a thank you I set too and cooked a full breakfast for him.  I cooked, black pudding, red pepper, fresh halved tomato, bacon, eggs and fried Sourdough bread for him.  I had half a pepper left over from yesterday and so I bunged it in to his breakfast as well.  I also tend to do this with courgette and it seems to freshen the breakfast up quite a bit visually and with flavour; cuts through the fat.  I tend to cook both until they have caramelised a little but not overdone.  No photos he whipped the plate out of the way before I could even take a photo. Meanwhile, yesterday I had picked up a couple of loaves of reduced Sourdough bread for 75p a loaf.  I love Sourdough or proper Artisan bread and I make bread myself although still struggling with Sourdough.  Going to have another bash at making as it is something I really need to get to grips with.  I had that toasted wi...

 Yesterday was a beautiful Sunny day and one where I was confined to the kitchen doing further work, but hey hoe each day that passes I get that bit further along and slowly things are coming together. I was quite industrious yesterday in the kitchen from the perspective that I made dough and left it to rise.  I then turned it into a big tray pizza for our tea.  We had Tomato passata (the Mutti one bought on Friday still plenty of this to use up), Mozzarella, Pepperoni, red onion, Ham, pineapple, spring onion, fresh tomato, fresh pepper, anchovies, more Mozzarella and it turned out very nicely indeed. This time I chose to make a large tray bake one sectioned in half with one end having anchovies on for G and I think this worked out better overall.   We still have plenty of ingredients left and so a further pizza could be had later on in the week. I did have every intention of popping up a post last night however we had a wardrobe malfunction in the form of my ke...