TARRAGON & THYME

This is a regular make in this household and something that I make when I am having a touch of the blues. Funny how sweet stuff puts a different perspective on things. Its also a good prepared in advance to bring out a Christmas. You can of course add what ever takes your fancy like dried mango crystallised pineapple coconut, cranberries the choice is yours. Ingredients: 350g/12 oz good quality Cooking Chocolate dark or plain the choice is yours - not cake covering which is of an inferior quality for this cake 4 tablespoons strong black coffee 4 tablespoon brandy 8 oz digestive biscuits, graham crackers or a good plain biscuit can be used broken 90g/3 oz/ 3/4 cup toasted slivered flaked almonds 90g/3 oz/1/3 cup glace (candied) cherries 300ml/1/2 pint cups of double (heavy) cream There is no cooking as such with this recipe which is why in one sense I like it can easily be rustled up even on a week night Grease an 18 cm/7 inch round loose bottomed cake tin/pan it can be sq...

I am extremely lucky,as a few years ago I received a rather expensive Christmas present from the OH a freestanding ice cream machine - where you don't have to put the bowl in the freezer. Most women would go schitz at being bought something like this, but I am not that kind of girl. I would much rather that whoever I am buying for has a present that they will use, love and get much pleasure out of or which is extremely useful to them. I love home made ice creams and this machine it makes the most fantastic ice cream. However, you don't need an ice cream machine to make custard you can use a large lidded container and an electric whisk and the freezer to make home made ice cream, freezing then beating, to break the crystals down inbetween to break down the ice crystals. One of my favourites is Cinnamon Ice Cream - absolutely delicious especially with some home bottled pears in syrup or even mulled pears in wine - I am drooling at the thought of it. I absolutely adore cinnamon,...

Preparation time 15 minutes plus time for cooling and chilling Cooking time 50 minutes 1.25 kg/2 1/2lb pears peeled and quartered and cored 150g/5 oz brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 1 vanilla pod 125ml/4 fl oz water Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan and bring the contents to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for about 50 minutes. If necessary add a little more water from time to time to prevent the mxture from sticking to the base of the pan Leave the compote to cool and then chill in a refrigerator if using that day or later. Serve with cream fraiche or cream. To store this as a long term preserve reduce the cooking time of the fruit by about 35 minutes. Prepare your jars as for jam. Ladle in the compote to the jars add a splash of lemon juice per jar and sterilise for 20 minutes in a large pan of boiling water. I always pad the bottom of the pan out with new dishcloths or a tea towel. Leave in pan to cool and then st...

I have been rootling through my recipes and came across this recipe which I used to make when I was a teenager. The recipe was originally given to me by Janet whose children I used to babysit on a regular basis and she originally came from Somerset. Apple Pop 3lbs cooking apples 12 pts water 2lbs sugar 2-3 lemons 1. Chop apples and remove any bruised parts. 2. Place in a white plastic container with the water and cover with lid. 3. Leave for 7 days stirring twice daily and squeezing the apples occasionally. 4. Sieve the apples and add the sugar and grated rind, juices and chopped remains of the lemons. 5. Leave for one day then sieve this time preferably through muslin. 6. Bottle in Lemonade Bottles/cider bottles - this should be ready to drink within 2 weeks. Very refreshing

I have quickened up the process of making the crab apple jelly with the aid of my Tefal jam machine. I have tried using the machine itself, but it only makes in small quantities, where more often or not I have large quantities to process; so the second time I had a go I actually processed the apples with water in the preserving pan until soft and pulpy and then put it through the jelly net to drip overnight. The reason for this is that I can get a couple of batches of different things from the pulp left over, either a crab apple butter/membrillo or crab apple cheese. The juice is much quicker to process in the machine and comes out a lot clearer because it has been through the jelly bag. I put 2 pints of juice together with 1lb sugar per pint for the jelly and then process as per the machine's instructions; the beauty of this machine is that if you need a little longer to get the jam to set you can set the machine in small increments The machine is ideal if you only have small quan...

I have another project in hand at the moment; I have started off a new crotchet bedspread for a single bed. Yes I am a bit of a butterfly tend to have a couple of projects on the go at once fluctuating one to the other, but I have this pretty yellow rose bedding set with matching curtains already and I just chanced upon the coloured wool at the right price (for the centre part of the squares in yellow and green). I plan to finish it off with cream edging so have really been taking advantage of and making use of what has come my way, it will also help nearly complete the soft furnishing side for the single bedroom. I just have to sort out furniture pieces now. Although I am mulling over the idea of collecting pretty yellow lemon, cream and green prints to have a go at making a crazy patchwork bedspread too. Have never done one but quite like the idea of doing this. To think this colour scheme all stemmed from the first needlepoint kit I managed to complete.