tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post1629234929947280204..comments2024-03-29T13:11:25.325+01:00Comments on Living the life in Saint-Aignan: Next up...Ken Broadhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-60656345355586069472017-08-14T08:01:51.988+02:002017-08-14T08:01:51.988+02:00Yes, Ken, it was all still frozen when we unwrappe...Yes, Ken, it was all still frozen when we unwrapped the old freezer.... <br />the new freezer wouldn't have had a problem....had it been working.<br />it was the twenty-four hours in the new, non-freezer that did the damage!<br />Hence the puddle.... we've just renewed our freezer here... <br />the first thing I did was see if it froze water!!<br />I'll not get caught again!!Le Pré de la Forgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02396822372095610004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-9114320472099865592017-08-14T05:58:31.309+02:002017-08-14T05:58:31.309+02:00If you keep an eye on your freezer, even if it sto...If you keep an eye on your freezer, even if it stops running you haven't necessarily lost anything. In 2010, we had a power outage that lasted 4½ days, because of a storm. We immediately moved all the frozen food from our kitchen freezer compartment to the chest freezer downstairs, so that it was completely full. Then we didn't open it again until the power came back on. Everything was fine, still frozen, so we lost nothing. Most freezers have an "autonomy" of at least 24 hours if not many more so can survive power cuts or even breakdowns.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-34460025128770326992017-08-13T20:33:57.019+02:002017-08-13T20:33:57.019+02:00Ken, my Dad brought back, from one of his buying t...Ken, my Dad brought back, from one of his buying trips to the States, a wonderful old 30s Sears catalogue... I used to spend hours looking at all the ancient machinery... and ready to assemble barns... and wonderful mid-Thirties clothing.<br />But, above all were the kitchen gadgets... sorry, this was serious stuff for a rural American... equipment. I remeber that nthey sold canning equipment... cans, lids, solder and above all... the amazing solderer... where you clamped the can in the machine, with the pre-soldered lid in place on your container of produce.... and lit a burner that directed a flame at the rim. According to the catalogue these were then waterbathed, full immersion, for "times according to the instructions"... there were about three pages of this real canning equipment... but this was followed by Mason jars and Ball jars... some like the ones we use... the same as Kilner jars... others with clampdown lids... all shapes and sizes... and ordinary jam jars.<br />Home canning, as far as I know, never arrived in the UK... bottling was the norm... preceeding the Kilner jars there were glass jars with corks... jams were, like France, put in open topped jars and a layer of wax poured on... this was followed by waxed paper disc and a cellophane top tied on and wetted, causing it to shrink and further seal the bottles... meats, paste and especially shrimps... were potted... enough for a meal was put in a shallow glazed earthenware jar and a layer of hot dripping... beef or pork... or in the case of shrimps, hot butter... was poured on top.<br />So bottling in Britain meant preserving in a glass or earthenware container... a lot of the recipes for such things are heavy in spices, salt, etc... not to flavour the contents... but to act as a preservative.<br />I have always been fascinated by preserving food... which was reinforced when Pauline and I had a freezer, full of produce, die on us. <br />That was fine... we had a huge reel of bubble wrap for the inside of the greenhouse... and we wrapped the freezer... the contents were still well frozen. The new freezer was delivered... we left it the 24hrs before switching it on... and unwrapped and began transfering contents... the following morning we saw the puddle... the new freezer was DOA!! At shop prices we'd lost around £250 in food... <br />Actually we didn't lose that much... all meat was cooked and eaten... all veg was cooked and bottled or eaten.... but things like home-made icecream were lost. And we couldn't claim on the insurance... not a thing was in any form of retail packaging... not even the meat!!<br />But that Sears catalogue was the biz!!<br />No longer in our possession, though; it was an original, very good condition copy... <br />my Mum sold it at auction for just under £1000... the guide price was £50... someone wanted that!<br />Apologies for what seems to be a post within a post!!Le Pré de la Forgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02396822372095610004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-20274529945441711612017-08-13T16:58:15.069+02:002017-08-13T16:58:15.069+02:00I made some ratatouille this morning to take to a ...I made some ratatouille this morning to take to a church lunch. I would have thrown in some rice to soak up some of the juices if I had known. Next time I'll do that. The smell is nice.Evelynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17824964122794535252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-52587852389442456502017-08-13T14:32:17.793+02:002017-08-13T14:32:17.793+02:00If it were not so hot in Florida right now, I woul...If it were not so hot in Florida right now, I would try the oven method.<br />But today I will make it on the stove in my big Le Creuset and fill the house with the aroma of good things to come.<br />I have never used potatoes, only veggies but what a great idea ! Mine will be served over a bowl of buttered penne tonight..Notes From ABroadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12202279303962539035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-3102508637590712342017-08-13T10:30:07.617+02:002017-08-13T10:30:07.617+02:00It's interesting to me that you say "bott...It's interesting to me that you say "bottled" for what we call "canned" — neither is correct, strictly speaking, because the both mean "packed and sealed in 'jars'". But now I know why, in eastern North Carolina, why we bought "bottles" — not "jars" — of, say, pickles, at the supermarket. "Bottles" in this usage must be English (British), maybe northern English, and that's where my ancestors came from. Other Americans always "can" things in "jars" because bottles contain only liquid, not solids.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-11815937417136286892017-08-13T10:23:10.750+02:002017-08-13T10:23:10.750+02:00Here's another way to make ratatouille — baked...Here's another way to make <a href="http://ckenb.blogspot.fr/2008/08/summer-2004.html" rel="nofollow"><i>ratatouille</i> — baked in the oven</a>. This one dates back to 2004, the first year we had a vegetable garden here in Saint-Aignan.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-15669094062737419892017-08-13T10:01:02.533+02:002017-08-13T10:01:02.533+02:00When I lived in Paris way back in the 1970s, one p...When I lived in Paris way back in the 1970s, one person I knew put in her ratatouille not potatoes but a handful of raw rice, which soaked up some of the liquid as it cooked. That was good too.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-70135276416931650022017-08-13T09:59:44.676+02:002017-08-13T09:59:44.676+02:00It freezes well.It freezes well.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-88307490837593305372017-08-13T09:56:56.808+02:002017-08-13T09:56:56.808+02:00We have a very similar recipe here in Greece. No p...We have a very similar recipe here in Greece. No pre-cooking. Thin sliced potato instead of peppers. Parsley, mint , a little basil, always fresh tomatoes. We grate ours. Lots of olive oil, onion and garlic. Hot or cold as you say.<br />Delicious.<br />local alienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586011850451326646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-30109278969835329882017-08-13T08:30:58.014+02:002017-08-13T08:30:58.014+02:00We found one that called for each veg to be sliced...We found one that called for each veg to be sliced, then roasted separately, then mixed.... the flavours were lovely.<br />The garlic and onions I pan fried and then mixed it all together with a stock made with a Knorr bouquet garni cube.<br />The biggest problem for us is that we can't bottle this version....and most of our "rat" gets bottled for future eating.... we are normally eating fresh when they are all going.Le Pré de la Forgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02396822372095610004noreply@blogger.com