TARRAGON & THYME

I am really partial to Potted Beef - well that is what we have always called it and I have fond memories of going to my Nan's and for Sunday tea we would have her big home made baps made in the Rayburn and then spread liberally with Potted Beef. Anyway I was browsing in a very well known Butchers to me, a Butchers from my childhood today in Stamford and went in to have a look around and I espied a tray of what was called meat paste so I asked what it was made of and I was told Beef - so I said Potted Beef and he said yes but I cannot call it that!   So it made me wonder what in fact our Euro Members/MPs whatever you call them, are actually doing  when there are many more crucial problems to deal with and fund especially when you hear of a long held British product not being allowed to be called by its proper name but now has to be called "Meat Paste".  I am of course talking about Potted Beef.  The latest ruling is that because it has an additional ingr...

Sorry have been away for a little while real life has got in the way and quite a lot has happened since I posted last. We like a chicken Korma every so often you know the sort, buy the sauce in the jar, cook the chicken (usually thighs) with onions and then add the sauce.  A simple chuck it together meal but one which is going to come under scrutiny as the sauces are too sweet nice but sweet so I am going to look into making my own sauces and freezing them down.  Its not really home cooking in its truest format, but it could be given a little tweaking and if I batch prepare then freeze I am going to end up with a nice little stock of essentials to rely on from the freezer.   OH has been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes so it is even more important now than it was before.  However I also like Naan Bread and I tend to buy the Clay Oven Companies Naan Breads which are bigger than a dinner plate and come in a pack of three for the price of £1.39.  For one ...

Patchwork is something I have been wanting to get to grips with for quite some considerable time.  My problem is not with the stitching but with the cutting.  I have the rotary cutter the pressing board and the cutting board but each time I have tried to use the rotary cutter things have gone a tad wrong.  I have lots of scraps that need using up and I want to make my own quilts so I recently sent off for a Dresden plate template and I am going to have a play.  The reason behind going for the Dresden plate design is because it can be worked a little at a time and be something to do that is not going to take up a large amount of space -  I can cut out the pieces and then work up the wheels a little at a time either by hand or on the machine and then when all the plates are worked they can be mounted and stitched, padded then backed and quilted.  A little bit at a time for when I have not got much time and when time permits working as quickly as I can. I...

It was my birthday last Saturday and I spent the day with friends and it was a lovely day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  We went to one of the open days (part of a week of events) at The Arthur Findlay College in Stansted the Psychic College for the UK and there were talks, and Masterclasses, mixing with people of like minds exploring the shop (always worth a reccie) and walking through the grounds, having a reading. We were fortunate in that the sun was out most of the day.  We had a picnic in the grounds wherein I was presented with a surprise birthday cake from my friends. It really was a smashing day. Here are some photos of the cake it was very appropriately an Angel Cake and it was delicious. Thank you everyone I really had  smashing day . As I did not spend my birthday with OH or see my mum (I usually see my mum on my birthday) I spent Sunday with them both going over to see my mum on Sunday afternoon and then being taken out  by OH for ...

This should have been posted up on Sunday but real life has got in the way again and as a result I have been delayed in popping up this update. For over a year I was knitting squares in white, lilac and purples and I have started knitting the border strip as well in white.  I am not what you call a natural knitter and I get bored ever so easily with knitting; I am trying to get to grips with that but I do try to be neat. Since completing the squares however it has all sat in a bag waiting for it to be stitched up.  I hate sewing up knitting as well.  However I have made a start; once it is all stitched up I can finish off knitting the border.  I decided to tackle this one first as I can work at it piecemeal a bit at a time until all the stitching is done.  I am aiming to have it sorted by the weekend. Still a little way to go but nearly another project to bite the dust.  It is my birthday on Saturday another year older; it is als...

Friday was a mixed emotion day  for me as two of my kittens (two little boys) went to their new owner.   I was a little upset and concerned as with the best will in the world you never know who they are going to.  However it would appear that they have gone to someone as soft as myself for which I am pleased and both boys are together  as she has decided to keep them both - originally one of her friends was going to have one of them.  So I am grateful from that perspective.    Although I have indicated that if for any reason they cannot keep them (one never knows these days) then I would take them back as I would not want them to be without a home.  Cats, kittens dogs are for life  - well they are in this household. Molly has been calling for them and looking for them but she will settle and. at least she still has the other three at home which I am keeping (one more than originally anticipated). .The kittens keep looking for their sibli...

Ham, Gammon, Cured meats I very rarely buy sliced meat unless it is on offer. The exceptions to this being salamis or cured meats however I aim to tackle that one in due course.  That is on the list to have a go at.   As I have said before for the best part I buy ingredients preferring to buy a chunk of ham or gammon or a ham hock and cook it from scratch.   I have more choice of what I can do with the meat this way on, quite frequently getting a full main meal out of this for a weekday tea with the addition of vegetables as well as for pack ups or salad and any bits and bobs left over can go into a soup (Pea soup sprinkled with ham hock is particularly nice or Risotto and of course I also get the ham stock in which to make home made soup and for adding to gravy.  It is a buy product of the cooking so why waste it. It adds a lot of flavour.  But ah you say gammon or a boiling hock are extremely salty.  Well they can be it depends upon the cu...