Today's Potterings
Woke up to the Sun this morning which was lovely to see. It has since slipped away a bit. At least it has been dry.
Back to some work today. G has popped on the first coat of paint on the Porch ceiling in the backdoor entryway. It will definitely need another coat and probably a third as well.
Since then, I on the other hand have been in the dining room trying to sort out those food boxes a bit more. I am doing an inventory so slow going so that I have some idea of the items to hand and what I have as my start basis. I also intend to make up a Pantry Inventory List in order that I can keep tabs on everything as well.
I have found a small box with some different herbs and spices in which unfortunately I do not have jars for at present. It will happen gradually as I do recycle jars and bottles and I also keep my eyes open for any vintage glass storage ware as well. I have found one box and I believe there are others but in this box there are dried Ramson leaves, Rosehip powder, Aniseed seed, ground Aniseed, Star Anise, Thyme, Rosemary, Pink Peppercorns, ground Bay Leaves, Mixed spiced seasoning salt, Pizza herb topping and Oregano.
I also have some plans over the next couple of days to start off some Fire Cider as well as start off a Sourdough starter and make some bread. Hopefully going to be able to get some more kitchen stuff done in the coming weeks.
Yesterday I managed to buy in some reduced new potatoes at 43p per bag x four bags. These are going to be heat processed for the Pantry shelf for use as boiled potatoes or indeed roasted. I hope to be doing more of this sort of thing as time goes along. I also have some carrots and some swede to do the same with which were also reduced.
The washing machine has also been purring along trying to get some of the everyday stuff out of the way. Once that is done shall start on some of the vintage linen. Now I can get the ironing board up I can get this pressed and aired more or less straight after getting them dried whether that be outside or in the tumbler. Thus restoring a modicum of organisation to the Linen cupboard as well.
Tonight I am going to put my feet up and look at a couple of books. If I am up to it I might actually do some patchwork as well. It is about time that I was getting back into that. If not tonight maybe will happen next week. Fingers crossed and toes plaited.
Feeling very tired again tonight.
Have a lovely evening everyone. Keep safe and keep warm.
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
x
I made ciabatta yesterday and some hambone stock. You certainly keep a well-stocked larder! It's Saturday morning in Minnesota, 11 degrees Fahrenheit. We had 6 - 7 inches of snow on the 14th, so we finally look like winter. Preserving potatoes is new to me, I would have never thought of it. I hope you had a relaxing evening.
ReplyDeleteOoh that sounds lovely. I have never made Ciabatta before. I suppose my habits in stocking the Pantry stem from the fact that my Nan and my family used to live in some very small villages with hardly any shops so on a lot of dry everyday ingredients there was always a healthy stock held just in case. In those days because of the severe British winters we used to have then villages often got cut off. I think also after the War and the shortages (even though they were not so bad for them as they were in the countryside and had the orchards wild fruits etc. and the pigs that Nan always erred on the side of caution. Nan taught my Mum to cook a lot of stuff (her own mum did as well but Nan expanded it). My Mum for the best part taught me. Always kept a tin of Salmon or Tuna in just in case of unexpected guests the same as there was always some cake in the tins. There seem to be a lot of Yorkshire influences and also Irish on my Nan's side of the family too. Thus far here in Peterborough UK we have hardly had any snow this year although it has been cold. The potatoes from what I understand are soaked to remove the starch for up to a couple of hours before prepping them. Then you add salt or lemon juice and either Pressure can or Water Bathe. I have never done them before but will be water bathing them. I belong to a Closed Preserving group (Membership only) on Facebook called Preserving and Canning UK. Here in the UK as in Europe Water Bathing as long as the proper procedures are followed to ensure safety as at a certain temperature and heat any toxins are denatured. The difference between water bath canning is that it takes longer to process for low acid items however in a lot of cases it is gentler on the food than it does in a Pressure canner. Food that is pressure canned can be used straight off the shelf, whereas low acid water bathed items need to be heat treated. I could never weigh up how they were successfully water bathing everything in Europe with no problems and yet we were being told that it was not safe. It is and as with most things it comes down to common sense and cleanliness. Le Parfait website link here https://www.leparfait.com/blogs/recipe is mostly water bathed and has some interesting recipes. They test their recipes and are more up to date than USDA on this. I am going to give the potatoes a try in any event. Keep warm and safe Tricia x
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