Kitchen Potterings - and starting to put things together for Christmas

Today has been a slow day as I was not firing on all pistons, but it has been a good one in any event. It has been a gentle day in that nothing has been hurried, the kind of day that I like, and I have been able to get things done under my own speed without being under any kind of pressure.  I am always in my element when I am dealing with food, preserving it or organising and re-stocking.  Ultimately it is the preserving that drives me, however all the different forms of food storage are really encompassed under one umbrella i.e. "The Pantry", even though in the UK it is traditionally where all the food is stored.  

G nipped out earlier on to go to the Bakery to get some crusty buns and then he nipped to Morrisons.  Came back with a few essentials some Tickler Cheddar cheese, some fresh Strawberries, a tub of cream, some milk and some bread; all bits that help pad out what we already have in the fridge.

Later on we nipped to see my s daughter ostensibly as she had grown some leeks and wondered whether I would like some.  I said yes please.  She has given me a good 2lb bag full and they are going to be frozen later on ostensibly for Christmas Dinner. There is nothing better than the aroma from home grown veg and these Leeks are lush. There is a lovely aroma of Leek emanating from them and I think they will have a lot of flavour. This will not take me long to prep up and get into the freezer.  I already have Brussel sprouts in there for this purpose.  That will therefore be two items stashed away specifically for Christmas use. There will be a load more items to come, a little bit at a time though.

Before going to my s daughter's home, we had called in at another Butcher that we use from time to time and which has always got us through when pennies are tight.  I needed some more lighter meals for the freezer and so went to see what they had available.  I ended up buying a tray of plain Belly pork steaks for G as he quite likes these fried up with some baked beans for a scratch meal here and there.  He eats far more than me in any event.  There are two hefty steaks in each bag for him and have four meals out of this, plus one in a bag on its own, but that will be put to good use in any event.  Also bought two trays of boneless, minted lamb steaks; one tray had 7 steaks in and the other had 6.  I therefore repacked into three bags of 3 steaks and the fourth bag had 4 steaks in.  So some more lovely eating there as well. There were then two trays of Ribs in a Barbecue sauce.  That is two further meals as have left them intact - we both like Barbecue ribs. There is then one bag of Pigs liver; (they only had the one available).  We both like this - I prefer mine as a liver, bacon and onion casserole.  G eats it blue! Then I got another item for the Christmas list. They had an offer on a large Horseshoe Gammon for £15 (unsmoked). I have therefore bought one of those home and that has been popped into the freezer as well.   G had to have his Banana milk lollies  - 2 boxes to be exact, even though I have the equipment and the ability to make some of these up for him with the aid of my Nesquick mixes and my various lolly moulds.

After we came home, I nipped to the shop to get a few bits and bobs that were still needed.  I had run out of Marmite (a Pantry essential around here as I use it in cooking but G normally uses it), and some gravy making stuff.  They did not have everything I was after but a couple of bits were on offer and so I took advantage of that.  It all helps bolster supplies though.  I also came back with four tubs of Mushrooms which had been reduced to 40p a punnet.  They will get preserved tomorrow under fat and be stored in the fridge.  I will use some of my new jars I bought the other day for this as they are wide mouthed jars (about half a pint size) and a better size to extricate mushrooms from. I also bought in a couple of bags of mixed frozen berries as an option to either make smoothies, use in pies or puddings. There is a lot to do on the food front as well as in the house.  Will just take one item at a time and see where it takes us.

We have had more stew tonight and it has warmed me up from the inside out thankfully.  There is still a load left in the pot so I may well freeze some of that so as not to waste it.  What a difference a freezer makes. I felt bereft without mine as it was a big part of the way I cooked and did not waste stuff. We have an individual trifle to eat for pudding as well.  A nice filling tea all round with a bit of naughty to finish with i.e. the trifles.

I still need to do a big Pantry fill up; that is coming in due course.  At least the freezer is filling up (mostly with meat) but a little bit of veg and ice cream as well. I have also started stashing puff pastry in there as well.  It is a good thing to have in the freezer as you can make either savoury treats (i.e. vol-au-vents, sausage rolls, bacon and cheese wraps, cheese straws or sweet treats such as Millefeuille (pastry slices filled with cream, jam or fruit and dusted with icing sugar), Tarte Tatin or individual Tarte Tatin and a multitude of other goodies. I have a couple of Chocolate and Chestnut Terrines to make as well for Christmas.  I tend to keep lard in the fridge in any event to make up shortcrust pastry as and when needed.

Hope everyone has a lovely evening.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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