Tuesday 1 July 2014

In My Kitchen July 2014

In My Kitchen I have just finished this amazing jar of honey flavoured coconut chunks.  We bought them along with the strawberries at Geelong Fresh Foods when I visited my parents recently.  I expected chewy chunks but these shatter in your mouth and are very addictive.  I thought of adding them to muesli or slices.  There was nae chance.  They went too fast.

In my kitchen I have some of this Sail and Anchor's Cat's Shank kolsch from Fremantle, Western Australia.  I bought it to try the beer soaked sweet potato fries in A Vegan Dinner Party e-book that I reviewed recently.  I soaked them for 1 hour rather than 15 minutes and they tasted very strongly of beer. 

I wasn't sure what to do with the leftover beer and stuck it in the fridge.  I used it for a second batch of fries.  The first half was too soft because we were in a hurry to eat and the second lot were forgotten.  I have been wondering about baking something like beer bread with the last of the beer.

In my kitchen I also had some leftover eggplant skin from a tamarind eggplant and chickpea dish from A Vegan Dinner Party.  It seemed a shame to waste it.  I used a similar marinade to our favourite tofu bacon one - some tamari, maple syrup and smoked paprika - and fried it up.  It made a lovely crisp facon in a salad sandwich.

In my kitchen we have been enjoying Cheeseybites.  Little packet each have a mixture of vegemite and cream cheese and some dipping crackers.  Sylvia loves them.  They are great for school lunchboxes or snacks after swimming lessons.  I quite like them but would not recommend them to anyone who didn't have a fine appreciation of vegemite.

In my kitchen we have another huge batch of Herman the German apple cake (see a photo of the previous batch) in the freezer.  This time I added ground almonds instead of some of the flour.  Then I remembered our school was nut free.  Fortunately around this time someone mentioned that it is not actually a nut free school - though they encourage nut free food.  (Which may be why I got it wrong!)  So I was able to send Sylvia to school with a piece in her lunchbox.  A policy on nuts is being considered so this may change.

In my kitchen we have been eating a lot of peanut butter.  I bought a jar of Tom's fresh peanut butter at the Fitzroy Market this month.  So soft and delicious.  It is far too long since I had fresh peanut butter.  What a joy. 

I have always loved peanut butter (and my mum recently told me that it was my dad's side of the family who loved it) but we do have to exercise some caution with Sylvia's peanut allergy (sob!)  Thank goodness it is not severe enough to cause anaphylaxis.  It would be lovely if we could get a date at the Royal Children's Hospital to get her allergy retested.  We have been waiting 7 or 8 months for an appointment for a test.

In my kitchen are goodies I bought at Coburg Farmers Market when I visited with Veganopoulous.  I have already made nachos with the tortilla chips.  I am still planning to make some barley soup with the vegetables but yet to decide what to do with the spaghetti squash and the choggia striped beetroot.  Eating the mint chocolate will not be a chore.  We always have to go there to taste and purchase chocolate from the nice lady at Cocoa Rhapsody.

The 5 and dime bagels from the farmers market are superb.  I could just live on them.  When we got home from the market I made E and I up some salad rolls with the bagels.  E had one with mixed seeds and onion on it.  I had the dill and onion bagel.  Inside was mayonnaise, spinach, grated carrot, red capsicum, swiss cheese and tofu bacon.  It was so so good.

In my kitchen we have been making birthday cards.  We've been to a few parties lately.  I have been collecting some pictures of Sylvia's - her drawings, colouring in and wrapping paper.  A picture and some washi tape around the border make for a quick and colourful birthday card.

I am sending this post to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for her In My Kitchen event.  Head over to join in and/or check out what is happening in other bloggers' kitchens.  

41 comments:

  1. I love peanut butter too! I had a coconut peanut butter and it was so delicious that I ate the entire jar (well not at once) :P

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - just saw your jar of peanut butter on your blog - am sure it would be very rich with the coconut but hope you devise your own recipe for it as would love to see it

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  2. I think your kitchen is indeed exciting Johanna - I am interested to hear your review of the coconut pieces as I had seen them and was intrigued, but also imagined them to be soft. It sounds like the crunchiness is addictive! I would like some of that huge cake in my freezer (or fridge / pantry) and peanut butter and bagels always hold appeal.

    I hope you get an appointment for Sylvia's allergy test soon - how nice it would be if it had eased!

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    1. Thanks Kari - those coconut pieces were delicious - someone else gave me some of their coconut chips to taste that were really crunchy and these were crunchy but more like honeycomb crunchie. It would be great if sylvia's peanut allergy goes but at least it is not severe like some kids.

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  3. Sweet potato fries soaked in beer? Oh my, Johanna, I must try that!!! Well, your kitchen sounds good and stocked! I'm really liking those cards of Sylvia's too:)

    No nut policies seem to be springing up all over the place. Good luck with that:) Thanks for that link too, I'll be visiting it as soon as I catch up on all these Picnic Game dishes. WOW!

    Thanks for sharing, Johanna and thank you again for "playing..."

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    1. Thanks Louise - the sweet potato fries can be found here http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/crispy-beer-soaked-sweet-potato-fries/ - highly recommend you try them. No nut policies are quite common here but I am hearing some chat at schools about kids having to learn how to manage it and that nut policies do not guarantee there wont be nuts so I think there might be change in the air. I still want to catch up with a few picnic dishes too.

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  4. Mmmm those coconut chunks look pretty amazing! My Sylvia would love those cheesy mite things- she loves cheese and vegemite sandwiches. And fresh peanut butter- heaven!

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    1. Thanks Kate - the cheese and vegemite snacks have been very useful when we are out and about - and yes fresh peanut butter is definitely a little pot of heave

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  5. What a lot of lovely things. I love peanut butter too and panic if we run out. I've just bought a nutri-bullet and apparently it makes very good peanut butter. I love the look of that bagel 'sandwich'. Good luck with the allergy results xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie - yes as soon as the peanut butter gets low I buy another - and I wish I had more of those bagel sandwiches in our lives :-)

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  6. I'm loving your kitchen right now.
    I want to try those Coconut Chunks SO BADLY!!!!! mmmm
    And the fresh finds from the Farmer's Market look awesome too.
    Love the homemade cards - they are adorable =)

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    1. Thanks Kimmy - the coconut chunks are not technically vegan as they have honey in them but there were also spicy ones that I avoided as I worry about them being too hot for me

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  7. Hi Johanna, what a lovely idea with the card.

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    1. Thanks Glenda - it certainly makes card making stress free

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  8. Those Coconut Chunks look fantastic, I can't wait to get some! Your kitchen looks so yummy and full of amazing food this month!
    Thanks for sharing
    Liz x

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    1. Thanks Liz - you may have to wait to get the coconut chunks but they will go fast, I promise - great little snacks!

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    1. Thanks Jac - you should join in with an In My Kitchen post!

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  10. I also love that peanut butter. Delicious.

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  11. I'd love to find a foolproof vegan version of Herman the German, I love the idea of it!

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    1. Thanks Veganopoulous - you could do it easily yourself because there is a starter recipe online that looks pretty easy and all you need to do is substitute vegan milk for regular milk - http://www.hermanthegermanfriendshipcake.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-for-a-herman-the-german-friendship-cake/

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  12. Omg, I was given a batch of Herman yesterday, and am desperately reading up on how to keep him going, and what the heck to do with him. First things first I'm going to find a really nice bowl for him to live in, then I'm going to....don't know yet. I'm a Herman virgin. Interesting. Loved the peek into your kitchen, Johanna :)

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    1. Thanks Food marshall - hope your Herman is living in a nice bowl and being a well behaved little starter - I think I left this starter a day or two after when my recipe said - just kept stirring and made the cake when I could.

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  13. Ah yes, washi tape. The fix anything, make it pretty and funky tape that is sure to please. I love it! Reading your post reminded me I had a dream about spaghetti gruit the other night! I have never eaten it but in my dream it was shredded with mint and made into zucchini style fritters. Perhaps you should give ita go ; ) Thanks for the tasty tour GGG.

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    1. Thanks Fiona - I love the sound of your dream - hadn't thought of making my spaghetti squash into fritters but you've got me dreaming of them now.

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  14. ps: saw you pinning some fun food on Pinterest. Tried to send you a couple of pins but can only do that to followers. Hop on over to my 'How Clever' board if you want to see some more fun foods that look fab but will suck up all of your time!

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    1. Fiona - I am feeling way behind everything right now but I had noticed your board How clever and it just got lost in general busy times - but have followed it now

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  15. Johanna, food allergies seem to be more prevalent everywhere. (Very mindful of the school to reconsider nuts -- but glad you got to send some cake with Sylvia for lunch for now!) Those Honey Coconut Crunch treats sound wonderful, and I love the homemade greeting cards!

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    1. Thanks Kim - I was very pleased to be able to send the cake to school with sylvia - I have asked about other kids with food allergies and there are very few with anaphalaxis at our school and it seems none in Sylvia's grade but will be interested to see how the school decides on the policy - meanwhile they continue to encourage no nuts.

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  16. I always love peeking into your Kitchen, Its been a while since I've had peanut butter fresh, its so different. May need to make my own soon, the coconut crunch has me curious, I like coconut, but don't like it bitty and when it sticks between your teeth, these shattering in your mouth excites me.

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    1. Thanks Shaheen - fresh peanut butter is amazing - I used to buy it regularly from our uni food coop as a student and the machine they used was always breaking down. I love dried coconut - but I have found chunks can be really crunchy or more shattering and these are the latter.

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  17. That is a seriously long time to wait for an appointment. Hope you make delicious beer bread :)

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    1. Thanks Tandy - it is a long wait but I checked with my dr who did the referral and they said it is to be expected - I think Sylvia would be down the list because her allergy is not severe. I used the beer in a stew but must make beer bread soon.

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  18. I'm sorry to hear about Sophie's peanut allergy - our youngest son has anaphalaxis to cashews and pistachios, and yes, annoyingly, appointments always need to be booked a year in advance! I tend to use up leftover beer in chocolate cake! :)

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    1. Thanks Celia - I asked for an appt back in about november because I expected it to take a while to retest given how long it took to do the testing when we were first working out what she had reacted to. This was more frustrating as it seemed worrying not to know if there were allergies. I think sylvia is happy to wait as she is not keen on eating peanut butter (which is fair enough when you have been told not to eat it)

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  19. I'm a peanut butter fiend. I've been know to come home from the gym and eat half a bag of pretzels dips in the stuff straight from the jar. I can only imagine what I'd do with a jar of coconut chunks!! :) Lovely IMK post.

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    1. Thanks Milk and Honey - mmmm pretzels and peanut butter - sounds like a good reason to go to the gym. I can tell you the coconut chunks would disappear quickly too.

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  20. The label on the Sail & Anchor Cat looks pretty interesting, I’m curious to know what beers look like in Australia since I’m heading to Melbourne this year. Would you recommend some awesome vegan eats in Melbourne? Shoot me an email if you have time :) I love beer-based anything, did it taste hoppy, wheat, or sweet? What an unique snack, “Cheeseybites” and it had Vegemite in it?! It’s not something I would eat, but I’d be interested to try it if they have a vegan version. Speaking of school being nut-free, yes, we have that in our schools in the U.S. and my sis in law was complaining about it since there are other allergens to worry about. Peanut butter is my favorite, I love it in anything and let me know how Sylvia’s peanut allergy results, I hope she is not allergic to this wonderful ingredient! These birthday cards are just cute, Sylvia is one extraordinary artist… I would love a postcard from you and Sylvia one day! ;)

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    1. Thanks Rika - I confess I don't drink beers a lot but there are lots of interesting beers - not sure how many are vegan - how exciting that you are coming to Melbourne I do recommend Code Black and East Elevation in Melbourne (you can search them on my blog) for some interesting vegan eats. It would make life easier if Sylvia is not allergic to peanuts but it is not too difficult with her allergy not being severe.

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  21. G'day Your cat skank make me laugh today and wish I could come through the computer and try a slice of your apple cake!
    Thanks for this month's kitchen view too!
    Cheers! Joanne

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    1. Thanks Joanne - we still have quite a bit of cake in the freezer - it is really lovely and ready when you get through that computer :-)

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