TARRAGON & THYME

Items acquired so far for the Christmas food stash Pantry Items 8 bags of sultanas 8 bags of raisins 8 bags of currants 6 pots of cherries 6 pots of mixed peel 2 jars redcurrant jelly (Waitrose own) 2 Jars cranberry jelly (Waitrose own) 2 jars mint jelly Two bags of whole almonds (needed for Dundee Cake and Christmas cake) I should add that the majority of the above items should take me through to the New Year as the bulk of them are for baking.  I would rather make my own cakes than purchase them. Drinks 1 bottle of Delaneys Irish cream liqueur 1 bottle of port special reserve 1 bottle of green ginger wine. All of the above on offer at the CoOp at present. Freezer Items made so far for the Christmas food stash (in no particular order) Seville Orange Marmalade Strawberry Jam Apricot jam Pickled Onions Piccallili Apple Chutney Apricot Chutney Plum Chutney Plum Jam Plum and Apple Jam Peach jam Plum Jelly Greengage jam Greengage jelly F...

Its not just about gathering things together with crafting, which I have been heavy on in the last couple of posts and which may not be to everyone's taste.  In the bigger scheme of things its about planning forward. One of the things I tend to do is to add a few items extra to the basket each week in the run up to Christmas.  I have already started (a little earlier than usual).  Dried fruit has been on offer at my local CoOp two bags of fruit for £3 - which when it comes to dried fruit is not bad. So it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.  I have four bags of each which should take us through.  This however only relates to raisins, currants and sultanas which are the basics but I also added in mixed peel and cherries.  The dried fruit I have in stock is going into the home made mincemeat which I will start shortly. I will post separately about this. Home made mincemeat is far superior to the bought stuff although that plays its part if you ...