Foodie things

Today the Stilton arrived.  A 1kg round of Colston Bassett Stilton, which I think is one of the nicer ones available.  Cannot always source it though.  I had thought that G had ordered this in for Christmas, however it would appear not as he has already opened it.  It is very nice though.  I cannot see that lasting until Christmas itself at the rate he goes through it though.  He is a sod when it comes to Stilton.

G often relays stories of going to Peterborough Market when he was a nipper with his Dad Charlie when Peterborough had a market and a proper livestock market back in the 1950s.  His dad used to pick up a whole Stilton for 10 shillings. It would appear therefore that this was a staple for quite a lot of his childhood.

This year we intend to have a few choice items in-house however this is chiefly being governed by the base fact of everything in moderation.  Overall I want to make sure that there is a decent supply of good eating in-house, moving forward into the New Year, much of which I intend to cook and prepare myself rather than buying in pre-prepared stuff.  There will be a few items pre-prepared in the longer term though it will be low key compared to years past.  

I also need to build up again on the preserves front moving forward and getting back into routines which I followed for years pre-Covid and the steep rise in the cost of living for all of us.  Those routines work for the best part always have.  This includes me making preserves in readiness for next Christmas as some drinks and food items need time to make sure they are absolutely just right for eating or drinking.

There are also new preserves that I want to have a go at and certain key crops that cost a lot of money to buy fresh such as Cherries which I would like to make some preserves with.  Seasonal hits as it were.  I want to ensure that there is money in the pot to take advantage of these types of crops working through the year.  If they are too expensive fresh, I will look for a bargain on frozen cherries.  Sometimes buying frozen works out that much cheaper.  Equally if I find reductions on fresh fruit I will stock-pile them in the freezer until I have enough to make jam in particular.

The underlying reason for much of my thinking is I grew up in a family who celebrated Christmas and who prepared food at home for celebrating with.  Much of that food was grown at home, and livestock was raised by my Grandparents.  At least a fortnight before Christmas itself in my Grandparents' home was a hive of activity.  There was the Goose to harvest and prepare for Christmas itself, all a lot of work in its own way.  Nan would always prepare a Ham and a Tongue and lots of other items along the way.  Special attention would be paid to the weather forecast and winter greens would be bought into the back place early to make sure that they were not frozen solid.  All sorts of little tweaks and things to do as part of the routine, and which so many of us do not know about because we do not necessarily have experience of what is actually involved.  Most of the population today relies on pre-prepared stuff from the supermarket for many different reasons.  However that is where a lot of money changes hands which could have been put towards base ingredients for several meals rather than just one meal.  I think though that with prices going up and concerns about different foods having things in them that they should not have, perhaps it is time for starting to do things for ourselves again or reinstating elements that are manageable into our life-styles such as bread making.  If you have youngsters and you involve them in what you are doing they learn at your heels and in turn as they grow can take over the responsibility of doing that chore which frees up more time for having a go at something else such as making homemade yogurt.  

Over many years of cooking, there are lots of little bits and bobs that I do/prepare for this household which are now part of the furniture as it were and on auto pilot.  Come Christmas once the main Christmas dinner has been cooked and eaten it is then cold cuts with meat, pickles, pickled onions, shallots, beetroot, piccalilli etc. etc. in order that the Chef gets a few meals off cooking duties and gets to enjoy the festive season.

Today I have bought in two packs of Feta.  Another day I shall buy another two.  I then marinate this in herbs, spices and oils and let it macerate in the fridge.  This can then be used as an add on to any cold cuts or scooped onto crackers.  G loves this so I always try and ensure that there are a couple of jars in the fridge for this purpose over the Christmas period.  Feta usually has a long shelf life.  The two packets I bought today have a use by date of March 2026.  Once the other two packets have been bought, I will then make the preserve up and get it into the fridge and that will be another item off the check list.

I will also make sure that I have plenty of natural live yogurt available to use over Christmas as well.  I will make some of my own dips rather than buy in any pre-maid.  Will save space in the fridge dealing with it like this as well. I shall keep the yogurt plain and just mix it up about six hours ahead of when I need it for and only make up the amount I actually need.

I will also ensure that I have plenty of ready made puff pastry available to make up some savoury items as well as some sweet items which can be baked up fresh on the day of eating them.  Will also save a bit of space and you can make up some savoury or sweet items quite quickly on the day you are going to eat them.  Saves a little time, but also declutters some of what actually needs to be dealt with in advance to things that can be made as you go along which should take off some of the pressure.

Over the next few weeks there will be quite a lot going on here in respect of the Pantry and food storage.  However come the New Year, I will be pressing forward with getting more items made and squirrelled away onto the Pantry shelves for long-term use.  I also want to develop new routines and take more control of what we are actually eating long-term. We shall therefore see how things move along.

Have a lovely evening everyone.

Catch up soon.

Pattypan

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