TARRAGON & THYME

After having suffered a couple of epileptic attacks in the past month after three years clear again I am a little down in the dumps.  Will try and get back to regular blogging again soon but at the moment I am resting and trying to recover which at the minute means less time on the computer.  Will post again as soon as I can. Hope everyone else is okay. Take care. Pattypan x

I have had a lovely day it has been super.  I also managed to find the photos OH took for me of the socks and have updated the post accordingly. I managed to find a few more terracotta herb and spice pots.  I had originally found some at a car boot and had had them for quite a while and today I found some more to add to them and contrary to my initial belief I don't have a duplicate of any of them.  So am quite pleased with that little find for £3.  I found a herb and spice book and that was it.  A relatively good day with little spent. I saw loads of lovely stuff and there were a couple of items that I would have liked but I am holding off at the moment.  We will see what we will see. The river in Stamford and indeed in Peterborough is near the top of the banks we have had that much rain. I am on earlies again this week so it is going to be a particularly long week at work and I need to go shopping tomorrow. Tea was lovely roast belly pork...

It has been a dirty day here in Peterborough today.  It has not stopped raining and the temperature has dipped quite markedly.  A desperately orrible day.  Proper autumn weather. Plus tonight we put the clocks back an hour! I have been at work today and am now quite tired out - hence me not tackling the knitting tonight.  However it has been a productive day at work and I have been with a good bunch of fellow workers.  Six weeks ago I did not think that I would ever be where I am now with the work as there has been so much to take in.  However six weeks later on and I am further along the line although there is still a heck of learning to do and things constantly change on a day by day basis. There seems to be all sorts of learning on all kind of fronts and some of it is a bit in your face for the normally cautious me, and in some cases I am learning to leap right in and have a go - contrary alien to my normal way of dealing with things. ...

My mother was a beautiful needlewoman; a perfectionist who always produced beautiful work especially with hand knitted garments and she produced some beautiful Aram garments for nearly every member of the family.  She always had something on the needles. However she lost patience with me and knitting.  I am a slow learner, I have to get it in my noodle and re-arrange the furniture upstairs so I understand what I am doing and my parameters before I am able to do anything successfully.  Sometimes things are painfully slow.  However life itself is a learning curve so why not a little bit more for my plate than buying a knitting kit. Most of you long term readers will know by now that knitting is one of my nemesis; it is not that I cannot knit, its I become bored with things and much prefer crochet which grows a lot more quickly.  However that aside, I have always wanted to knit myself a pair of socks not just any pair of socks though a pair of socks with cable...

Will commence this weekend.  I intend to get some of the Christmas puddings out of the way and done with and also some of the Christmas cakes.  I have five cakes and five puddings to make. I had intended making them before. I love making things like this so it is never a chore.  I also intend to get some mincemeat on the go as well.  I am very behind on doing things due to one thing or another so now I really must get to grips and play catch up.  Mustard is also on the cards. Some much needed therapy time in the kitchen is required cooking, preserving and dreaming.  Dreaming with a wooden spoon in my hand, gently stirring the contents of a simmering pan, being somewhat of an alchemist and turning fruit, vinegar and sugar or fruit and sugar into something tempting for the pantry shelf. I was supposed to have been going out with a friend tomorrow night but it has been rearranged to another time.  Tomorrow I am at home as I have to work Saturday....

I am looking forward to buying a couple of pumpkins at the end of the week.  One for making pumpkin marmalade.  This believe it or not is lush.  The other for freezing pumpkin for roasting with our Sunday dinners.  I usually prepare the pumpkin by stripping out the flesh and the seeds and removing the peel.  I then cut into pieces and blanch it quickly before draining well.  To cook it I bung it in with onions (usually shallots) but pickling onions will do just as well or even ordinary onion cut into wedges.  Putting onion in helps caramelise the juices and then makes the potatoes, or pumpkin or even sweet potato pieces go nice and brown and toasty.   I am also considering canning some pumpkin as well as we do love pumpkin. I have never done this before so am a tad nervous.   They make very good eating.  I have also recently been coming across some cake recipes where the pumpkin flesh is used so it would be useful if I could "kill t...

In Stamford with my friend today. We went to the Antiques Centre at St Martins and we had lunch at No 14 St Mary's Hill.  See the link below.  We sat in the window and we had a very light lunch of salmon pate on toast served with sun dried tomatoes that were delicious.  Followed by a piece of cake each.  I love a pot of tea and this was a proper reasonably strong cuppa served in a little teapot with a tea diffuser in the top. No 14 St Mary's Hill Could not fault lunch it was light but enough to satisfy you without feeling stuffed.  Just enough and oh so tasty. It was cold when we went out and I had wrapped up in lots of layers.  We had gone to a small Vintage Fair at Stamford Arts Centre.  Not big but lots of lovely little stalls.  My friend bought me a little brooch of a cat looking through a window with a mouse sat outside of the window on the ledge.  A piece by Kenneth J Lane. Whilst there I also stumbled upon some unusu...