A Miscellanea of Projects

Daffodils make me smile

There have been a lot of things going on here recently, mostly to do with the kitchen and the Pantry and my stock up of the Pantry which I deal with twice a year as a rule.  I am still half way through this. I have written posts, but I have chosen not to post them at the present, just in case they are misinterpreted the wrong way.  This is in view of the current problems in the World which is also impacting heavily upon our own economy with price rises, fuel restrictions caused by unnecessary Wars etc  I think a lot of the systems in common usage throughout the World are broken and that a new way needs to be found so that everyone benefits not just the few.  We are at the end of the day all equal and not above one another. With all the tensions surrounding food, prices and fuel, I would hate for what I do to be judged unfairly in the circumstances and taken out of context.  It is just not politically correct at the present.  I have never been what I consider a Prepper, just someone who has kept a full and varied Pantry that covers a lot of different scenarios. I am aware that there are different situations affecting a lot of us the predominant one being financial and at the end of the day you can only do what you can do when there are constraints.  

Over the years, I have been impacted severely through financial restraints, but made a choice to attempt and keep a stocked Pantry where I can as I have found that it helps so much, especially when times are tight.  Although  the methods of how I deal with this change to reflect the current situation (or predicament) that I find myself in at any one particular time. And believe you me, there have been plenty of predicaments, we have overall managed to keep ourselves going and well fed overall.  I do a lot of the time go without other things (by choice) to achieve this.  This is one of my choices.  

I do not aim to make people feel inadequate or to gloat about the situation I find myself in or indeed to have a lack of compassion to those who are currently struggling. It would seem that my timeline is out of kilter with the majority at the moment.  I just share what I do, just in case it will help someone out there, although I appreciate that many of you who follow the Blog, are very well versed in kitchen skills in any event.  The thing is I like what I do and I am very passionate about cooking and preserving, as well as gardening, crafts, needlework,  sewing, reading, listening to music etc. and I like to keep myself busy.

Now this nice weather spell is upon us here in the UK, the Sun is out, although not quite as warm as it is meant to be.  We are still experiencing low temperatures at night and here is still a coldness even though during the day the Sun is out.  It is lovely to be in the fresh air though. I feel a lot better than I have for a long time I think more than anything because of the Sun and the lighter nights as I can carry on doing things into the early evening, especially in the garden.

I have been starting to sort things a bit in what I call the old Herb Garden.  There is a lot of stuff here that should not be here, and it is not necessarily gardening stuff. It needs tackling though and the Old Herb Garden will get sorted out in the process, the grape vine will be sorted out and trained a bit more to what it was last year.  It is just starting to show tentative signs of growth.  My Granddad's Violets have also started to show.  Simple things but they make me happy.  It is growth, it is renewal.

With regard to my recycling efforts, I have also decided to keep my waste food caddy on the slab at the end of the Old Herb Garden which was originally where the Dustbin was stored, until we went over to the Wheelie Bins. Then there were two bins then three and the space could not accommodate that many bins.  They were therefore re-sited  into the front garden now.  Not ideal but it is more practical.    The waste food caddy is best stored near the kitchen back door because of the easy access to the kitchen.  It will not be on the wall that the door is on, as I have a planter there and there is provision for a hanging basket above.  I am waiting for the plants for this to arrive. I am therefore clearing this slabbed area to store the caddy, but also a bucket.  When I have the tumble drier on especially for towels and bedding I end up with the condensed water. I therefore thought that it would be more practical if I stored this condensed water for watering up the greenhouse plants and my houseplants.  Still on the theme of trying to save things and recycle where I can.

There is still a way to go, on a lot of projects.  Most of the plans I do have interconnect with each other.  I am slowly and tentatively moving along trying to tidy things up and get them out of the way with.  I have been dealing with matters on the basis of priority, lots of little things that have needed attending to, which as usual does not look as if you have done very much.

Then I cook at least once, often twice a day.  G gets his cooked breakfast  most days unless he goes fishing, when he is up with the Lark.  G will also often get a cooked evening meal as well. For example on Easter Sunday, we had a Leg of Lamb studded with Garlic and Rosemary.  I served the meal with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, the last of the PSB from a couple of weeks ago, cauliflower, petit-pois, carrots and mashed potatoes with lashings of gravy. It went down very well.  We then had trifle to finish up with.  As the Lamb was a larger joint than usual, it took a bit longer to cook.

Unusually, G did not want a repeat of Sunday dinner on Monday this week, despite it being Roast Lamb. I therefore did not cook the usual amount of extra veg for a second meal although I did cook a little extra peas and carrots. G is wishy woshy with his appetite again and what he wants to eat.  

The remains of the Roast Lamb are therefore going to be used up.  I am aiming to put a couple of dinner's worth of Lamb and gravy up in the freezer, which will make for a couple of quick meals with some fresh veg later on. With the remainder of the gravy and the Lamb, and veggies; (I did extra of this as I knew what I wanted to do with it).  I will then make a Shepherd's Pie with the roasted Lamb.  I cut the Lamb into fine pieces, the veggies are mixed in (carrots and peas and onion on this occasion which are chopped finely and mixed through the meat;  I then add a little mint sauce.  The gravy is then added and stirred through.  Fresh mash then made (needs to be fairly stiff not soft) added to the top of the meat mixture, then grated cheese on top and cook as you would for a normal Cottage/Shepherds pie.  It is very tasty.  We call it Posh Shepherds Pie!  You can freeze it if  you want to and I am not sure whether this one will be frozen or indeed eaten.  Either way it will not be wasted.

Today,(Monday) I could not be bothered to cook tea.  I grabbed myself something easy - not particularly hungry and G wanted some Lamb Samosas.  He bought a big bag the other day and they have now gone.  Well he did have a full cooked breakfast earlier on.  - His choice not mine.  I am trying to lose weight not put it on.

I do have some Squash that needs using up.  I am therefore going to roast this and make myself some soup.  I like my veggies and I particularly like soup and so therefore (on Tuesday) I will do this so that I can grab some when I want some. Home made soup has a lot of soul and goodness in it.  I may even save some of the roasted Squash to make some homemade pasta later in the week.  I also have some Sweet Potatoes to use up.  I like them roasted with Rosemary as a side to a meal.  I have not had them in a soup, but as I love Sweet Potato in any event, I cannot see that it will not go down well.  I also fancy a Minestrone type soup as well.

I also have some Plums that need using up.  I think I am going to aim for a Plum puree/pie filling which can either be used with yogurt for a breakfast or indeed as a pie filling.

I also need to make a fresh batch of Yogurt.  There is more than enough to keep me busy and it no doubt will get me into some kind of trouble down the line.  Such is life eh!

Catch you soon.

Keep safe, take care and try and love one another.

Pattypan

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