Yellow Ketchup and Vintage Wallpaper

Well, the yellow ketchup turned out brilliantly! I'm actually a little surprised on how much it smells and tastes like ketchup. If I closed my eyes while tasting it I would think it was Heinz! It was a fairly long process to make, although not very hard work. Mostly a lot of being near the kitchen to stir occasionally, a good way to spend an afternoon if you've got other projects on the go. I got the recipe from Jamie Oliver's new book. Jamie doesn't process the ketchup in his recipe but I did for 5 min. in boiling water just to be on the safe side and so it hopefully lasts till next year. I think I might try and grow green tomatoes next year for green ketchup! Yum!

Let me start off by saying I have always a Pantry/Larder( depending on what side on the pond your on), a little room with pretty jars filled with lovely foodie things, organized, neat and tidy shelves, a place for all the food to live. When we bought our house last year, it didn't come with a pantry so I decided to make one of sorts. A Bookcase with glass doors that I got at ikea and it works brilliantly and for the first month it looked lovely. All the cans and jars in a row, things decanted into pretty containers but now a year on, half open bags of pasta, rice and other things litter my pretty pantry. As it turns out I'm not that organized or disciplined of a person to keep on top of the up keep of the pantry( it's just to easy to shove everything in after a long day of work and then doing the shopping) but alas a solution! I found this great vintage wallpaper at value village a few weeks back and bought it with no real purpose in mind, I just liked it. So yesterday I decided to line the inside of the pantry door with it and I think it looks fantastic. Hides the mess and adds a bit of personality to a rather plain cupboard. I love how the pattern lines up at the doors, even thought I wasn't thinking about that when I was putting it in. Got to love it when things just work out. I really love this wallpaper, I wish it said on the label what year it was made in, it just says it was made in Canada. It almost reminds me of India, with its curry yellow colour. Maybe the yellow Ketchup made me do it? They do go rather well together.

Peaches, Peaches and more Peaches

Having just put the kettle on for a fresh cup of tea, I'm admiring last weeks hard graft at having canned about 3 years worth of peaches! There is something very comforting in knowing that when the cold winter months come, we will still have the taste of summer in jar! Peaches over ice cream for an easy pudding or mixed into oatmeal on a dark winters morning. It certainly will add some colour and comfort to the mid winter blahs.

I have been been doing a fair amount of preserving this summer, I have so far made Jam ( apricot, peach, raspberry and blueberry), Brown Sauce(H.P.), salsa and today I think I'm going to make yellow ketchup, with the glut of yellow tomatoes in the garden.

Since my cup of tea is almost done, I better get on with Sunday activities, the weekly shop, cleaning the house and walking my two boisterous chocolate labs. I love Sundays for their lazy morning and a bit of domestic activity around the house, quick trip to the shops, and enjoying the fall colours as I walk the dogs.