Getting things done Fridge and Dehydrating

I was able to watch the last of the lady moon last night through the bedroom window as I was supposedly meant to do!   I find it so soothing, watching her in all her magnificence.  However it turned out to be a rough night last night between the two animals.  Mischief is in season (she is a housecat only) and she decided to yell.  Missy equally decided that last night was the night for moving about everywhere except where she should be.  We have a fan on for her as well as a lovely ice blanket from Aunty Kelly to try and keep her chilled for which I am very grateful.  Aunty Kelly writes her own blog at Domesticated Pagan UK.  Missy however has always been a bit of a diva!  Not many hours sleep therefore.

It was beautiful at 6:00am this morning, lovely and cool, and then the Sun started to put in an appearance and it has gradually heated up to be a very hot day.  I have therefore kept to the house as the humidity is a bit high.

I will be the first to admit that I do pressure myself to get things done which is not always conducive to my well being which in itself causes stress.  Often it is just me doing things, trying to move things forward, which also has its own impact.  But strive I must as it is all part of my nature.  Upwards and onwards.  It is good though to stand still occasionally, but well life is for living and I have so much to do.  Just because others do not want to do anything, does not mean that I am the same.  

The realisation for me of my current position is that I must improve it in order to move forward onto the next step whatever that may be; i.e. downsize a few bits, pass them on to the Charity shop that does not charge an arm and a leg for items and lets others have the benefit of items they possibly would not otherwise be able to afford.   The other side of dealing with all this encompasses though is giving me an appreciation of who I actually am, and what I am capable of. I kind of lost my identity a bit after I stopped working, but I am very aware and always have been that I am so much more than a job.  I suppose one of my weaknesses is that I do not handle ordinary criticism well, but I do handle constructive criticism.  There is a subtle difference.  I am not perfect and it often takes me several incidences of banging my head against a brick wall before I actually get stuff.  Have to do things my own way. However I do find the simpler moments when I can play with my preserving, or making something for the tea table much more soothing and calming.  The trick is I think, to try not to overload myself and do a lot of things in segments.  

As detailed in yesterday's post my plan for today was Operation Clean Fridge and I guess what, I went completely off plan and it did not get done today.  Going to have to reconvene this for another day. Makes me feel not too good about myself when I have managed not to do something. When I do not get there I self-criticise and tell myself off.  Must Do Better!  Realistically though some of my time lines may be a little off as I am a lot slower at doing things these days.  I cannot rush things and anything I do, do has to be done properly.

The humidity has been high again for me today.  It makes my body feel very heavy, and it is better for me to slow down and just do something when the heat is like this.  I know that I am not the only one who has to deal with this.  Fortunately as I have said before this is a cold house terribly so in Winter, however in Summer it is a blessing as the house still remains cool compared to being outside.  That for me is a blessing.  Always a Silver Cloud.

In other matters, I have carried on with the Dehydrating.  The Chestnut Mushrooms are now finished and the Chives have been chopped up using a pair of herb scissors which have 3 to 4 blades on top of one another.  The beauty of this is you can chop any longer pieces in the bowl with them.

I have also decanted the Herbs into their long term storage, although I am keeping an eye on them for the week to make sure that they are stable and "conditioned"; i.e. watching for deterioration and/or mould which will mean that the product will have to be chucked.  It sometimes happens when dehydrating at home.  The product can look dry, but on the inside may not be so.

To the left of the picture as you look at it there are the ordinary mushrooms, Parsley, Rosemary and Chestnut mushrooms.  In front is the small bowl of chopped chives, Strawberry tops and mint leaves, with the two jars of Long Keeping Mint Sauce in the two jars to the side.

I dry the Chives in stem form and then chop it down when dry.  The reason for this is that the dehydrator can blow tiny bits of chopped dried chive all over the shop.  Put it this way when I chopped into small pieces and popped in the Ninja it did.

I also have some Sweet Bell Peppers to process as well.  Essentially these will be raw and to use them you are supposed to soak them the night before in cold water and leave them in the fridge to rehydrate a bit which apparently from what I understand lets them absorb whatever else they are being cooked with.  You do have to allow a little extra time in gentle cooking for them to completely be cooked through.  I am primarily looking to use these as an extra supply when pennies are tight.  I use Sweet Bell Peppers a lot especially in my Hawaain Chicken recipe link here:

Hawaain Chicken Recipe   This was a slow cooker recipe, and is ideal for a slow cooker.  However I do also cook in a pan on top of the hob as well.  I usually keep Chicken breasts in the freezer and also at least a tin or two of peaches in the Pantry, as well as Rice.  An easy meal to prepare from what I often have in-house.

The Sweet Bell Peppers are now in the Dehydrator together with some Spinach leaves. The dried peppers will be used as above and the Spinach leaves will go into a green powder to add a bit more goodness to gravies etc.  The Dehydrator is fully loaded!  Sounds like a Cheese Burger!

I have fruit to have a go at next, notably. Raspberries, Strawberries, Kiwi Fruit, and Blackberries. There are also Lemon Slices, Orange Slices and Apple Slices to process in due course. I will probably add Blueberries in at a later date as well. This is all new territory for me and a strong learning curve. It is good to learn though even if you do make mistakes it is the only way to learn properly as you find your way around everything and then know what to do if something goes awry!

I am trying to add useful items to the Pantry so that I can make cakes using Carrot or Courgette without having to go to the trouble of preparing the Carrot or the Courgette which I am hoping should speed things up a bit.  I also plan on dehydrating grated carrot primarily for use in Carrot cakes during the winter months. It is something that appealed to me as being a bit of a time saver and I do love Carrot Cake. Also good for adding into other items as well. So a lot of bits and bob's for processing this week. I think this would be a good way of using up Carrots when you are getting to the end of the bag or before the Carrots get past their best. There always has to be room for a bit of a cake mix somewhere down the line. I think roughly you need about roughly 8oz grated carrot for carrot cake. I have bought four bags of carrots to process today, which means that I should potentially have enough dried carrot to make 8 cakes depending what the recipe requests. I also might do the same with Courgette for Courgette cake.

At the moment my Dehydrator seems to be on 24/7.  I am keen to increase my alternative ingredients base with useful things that I will use long-term.

Therefore in a round about way, it has been a busy one just not in the way I had envisaged.

I have also tackled a lot of washing and got a lot of drying done.  Also watered up again and got that out of the way with.  Fed the stray cats and the Hedgehog!  Big softy me!  One of the cats, the black and white one has taken to coming to call for me at the back door if I am late with the grub!  Cheeky b.....

G is fishing tomorrow in another match.  I have managed to get in touch with my older cousin J via Whats App, which I started using today as well. Still finding my way around. We are going to speak tomorrow for the first time in ages.  Have missed him, but we all have our own lives.

Oh and I have received an appointment out of the blue to attend the hospital for a health check screening for ladies.  So I am tootling off to that on Wednesday afternoon as well.  The medics are certainly keeping their eye on me at the moment.  I am very lucky and grateful, but it was an unexpected appointment.

Right have a lovely evening, wherever you are and whatever you are up to.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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