Tuesday 2 February 2016

In My Kitchen, February 2016

So it is February.  I hope your are settling into 2016 and ready to guess what is in this little jar above.  (The answer is at the bottom of the post.)  It is busy here with school starting last week and being back to work and trying to sort out the year and a to do list. 

Over the school holidays we cleaned out some cupboards including the glass display cabinet with some of my good glasses.  The Waterford crystal champagne glasses (not in this picture) were shamefully dusty.

We also cleaned up all the egg cups and put a few out to the op shop.  Sylvia went through a phase of eating lots of boiled eggs but hasn't had one for ages.  Upon seeing her fun egg cups she asked for a boiled egg.  They say boiling an egg is a simple thing to do but given that I have never eaten a boiled egg, making them does not come naturally.

Sylvia did not think I boiled the egg long enough (8 minutes from the start of bringing cold water to the boil with eggs the fridge seemed to be what I remembered doing) so no more eggs have been boiled.  Which suits me.  These days I do not have eggs in the fridge all the time.

My mum bought this gorgeous cut out fairy tale set for Sylvia for Christmas.  We had fun with it during the holidays.  I am not sure why the prince has blutak over his face.  You are welcome to share your guesses.

My mum gave me some apricots off her tree.  They were lovely fresh but there were a lot and they were quite ripe.

So I made them into stewed apricots.  Just a dessertspoon of sugar, a splash of water, brought them to the boil and simmered a couple of minutes until they looked soft.  I am not good at keeping them whole when I stew them.  They tasted amazing.

I was so pleased with my stewed apricots that I decided to stew up some soft peaches.  Which was not a good idea while supervising Sylvia and my niece in the bath.  They were forgotten and very very burnt.  I could have cried.

We visited a kindergarten friend of Sylvia's who is living in a small unit.  Her mum has an amazing garden in a tiny piece of land and had so much silverbeet that she gifted some to me.  It went into a soup like this one.

One of the significant moments of January was when David Bowie died.  I decided to make shepherd's pie which apparently was one of his favourite dishes.  I used up some frozen black beans, fried cabbage and old sweet potato.

It was a great stew but I never got the potato on top.  It was either too hot or too late or probably both.  We loved the stew with rice and in wraps.

Lots of meals in our kitchen have been made with wraps.  These ones I made for Sylvia's lunch have vegemite.  I have stuffed them with salad vegies, leftover stew, vegan omelettes, dips and the truffle mayo that I got for Christmas.  And now they are going into Sylvia's lunch box.

It has been a strange summer.  Lots of hot weather but only a day at a time.  Which is not so bad if there is rain or a cool change at the end of the day.  We have been eating lots of salads.  This soba noodle salad is a favourite. 

We are also very partial to some home made lemonade or limeade in the hot weather.  I have been buying bags of limes from the Odd Bunch table at Woolworths.  It is a campaign to sell fruit and vegetables that are not quite right and charge a bit less.  This lemon-limeade was very refreshing.  Sylvia took a bottle to a friend's place when she went for a sleepover.

How's this for a meal to use up odd bits and pieces before heading away for the weekend!  This bowl food was our meal before we went to Torquay.  Brown rice, wild rice, chickpeas, red capsicum, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, corn and carrot almond sauce.

Did you guess what was in the picture at the top of the post?  It is gold salt rocks in a grinder.  It is actually a photo from our long weekend in Torquay.  It amused me as a topsy turvy pictures because life often feels different on holiday.  And here the salt was gold, the lamington was pink and the noodles were blue (with spirulina).  The lamingtons are long gone, we had some noodles tonight with the above soba noodle salad dressing and I am looking for a way to feature the salt.

I am sending this post to Maureen of The Orgasmic Chef for In My Kitchen.  It is an event where bloggers around the world share what is happening in their kitchens.  Please head over to Maureen's blog and visit some other bloggers or even join in (by 10th of each month).

20 comments:

  1. Shepherd's pie in your part of the world and ours seems to be any stew no matter what's in it. However, in England evidently they really adhere to the definition that it's made from lamb -- while their cottage pie is made from beef. I was recently researching it because of reading about food in English mystery stories. Nice looking things in your kitchen!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Mae - when making veg shepherd's pie we don't have the option between lamb and beef - but I can't remember what my mum used when I was young. I tend to agree if we put mashed potato on top of a stew it is shepherd's pie. Sounds like you have been doing some interesting reading.

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  2. I did guess right, but WOW who'd have funk it - gold salt rocks - was it pricey? I had spirulina pasta when I was in Marseille last year, have you had the noodles yet - would like to know what you thought of them. I need to tidy out my kitchen cupboards, as a food blogger I have so many nic nac plates and things that I no longer want and should donate to the charity shops, maybe I will do it when I have my next day off from work. And homemade lemonade, ooh give me some.

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    1. Thanks Shaheen - the gold salt was pricey and then I got home and found it much cheaper just down the road but it is fun to find on holidays! I still have much to tidy out from my cupboards but was pleased to make a start. We have had the spirulina noodles in one dish - enjoyed them but didn't taste that much difference though maybe I should have used less dressing

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  3. I guessed the salt rocks but can't guess blutack-face, ha! I better get on to IMK though I think I don't have enough this month to show.

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    1. Thanks Faye - am sure you have some interesting stuff lurking in your kitchen

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  4. I didn't guess right but gold salt? How cool is that?? No clue on the blutack face but maybe his appearance wasn't quite right? LOL

    I cleaned out my glass cabinet this week too. I decided having the glassware next to the stove was stupid. So I shifted everything. Now something I don't use very often can get covered in greasy film because someone who shall remain nameless can't remember to shut the door. :)

    I've decided that 2016 is a year of decluttering but I swear if I saw your eggs cups at the op shop, I'd probably buy them.

    Thanks so much for being part of In My Kitchen - you rock!

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    1. Thanks Maureen - the bluetak amused me - I know what you mean about greasy film from the stove - above mine needs a clean. Good luck with decluttering

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  5. What a shame about the peaches! The apricots look divine though and ditto your various summer meals. As for the prince with blue tack, maybe the princess was not enamored with him? ;)

    It was nice to see your pink lamingtons too. It's been years since I've seen them and confess I'm not sure how you make a pink coating.

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    1. Thanks Kari - the apricots were lovely and it has been nice to have some simple summer meals. I assume you just make pink icing for the pink lamingtons - but when I see them pink I just think of jelly cakes which seem a bit of a challenge for me

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  6. It seems decluttering is going on all over the world this time of year, Johanna:) I've started and stopped so many times during the past weeks, it seems I'll never get done. I must admit though if I saw those egg cups in a thrift store I'd be mighty tempted!

    Never had a boiled egg? Really? That's pretty amazing! The only reason I don't boil eggs is because I would want to make them into egg salad, not a good idea when watching cholesterol, lol...

    Your kitchen looks well stocked considering you took a mini vaca:) It's too bad about the peaches but at least you have fresh apricots at your disposal, very cool, indeed!

    Thanks for sharing, Johanna...

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    1. Thanks Louise - I confess I would love to browse your collections before any decluttering takes place - you always seem to have such marvellous little publications and bits and pieces. Obviously I would never be a decluttering guide :-) And I never liked eggs so boiling them is always bit challenging (my sister says she does 14 minutes not 8 - maybe I should try that). And yes my kitchen is always well stocked though I often wish for more fresh fruit and veg

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  7. I did think they were salt but the gold threw me a little. It was very sad news about David Bowie indeed, may he RIP.

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - I was amazed when I saw the gold salt - and yes v sad about David Bowie

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  8. You put me to shame..... I can't remember the last time I cleaned out my cupboards!
    You are so lucky to have fresh grown apricots.... I was envious last year..... and I am envious this year too. Shame about the peaches though...... I live by my kitchen timer...... Without it I think I would burn everything!

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    1. Thanks Kate - I didn't do the full lot of cupboards - just a few at a time - but those felt good. The fresh apricots taste so different from those in the supermarket. I usually use my kitchen timer but thought I needed a few minutes for the peaches and didn't count on the distractions as the kids seemed peaceful for a moment

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  9. Oh the fresh apricots look so delicious. I would definitely make apricot jam and stewed apricots. The egg cups are adorable. My middle son would go crazy as he loves eggs. Luckily he will take a hard boiled egg and I don't even bother with a special cup, though now you have me rethinking that! The gold salt is neat, travels and different foods are so wonderful.

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    1. Thanks Gretchen - Sylvia went through a boiled egg phase but I haven't been buying eggs so much lately and we moved on to porridge. I have a few jars of apricot jam but wish I had more apricots to stew - makes me realise why people started preserving fruit!

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  10. well i did think it was some kind of salt but i didn't guess gold. i have picked up my hubby's way of eating boiled eggs over the years - i.e. peeling them then eating them rather than into an egg cup so my egg cups sit there gathering dust. lentils and beans of course are great for shepherd's pie. oh and mushrooms.

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  11. I think I may head down to Torquay & get some of that gold salt - it looks amazing - where did you buy it from Johanna? That silverbeet would be great with ricotta wrapped in pastry - yumm! Nothing like fresh spinach :) http://missfoodfairy.com/2014/07/22/spinach-and-ricotta-triangles/ Great goodies in your #IMK this month x

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