In my Kitchen: May 2012

It is a wet cold day.  Not enough time to write up some recent recipes.  Instead, let's have a look at some of the food and fun that has graced my kitchen recently.  Above are some retro soup bowls that I found at a local op shop.  They look just right with Split Pea Soup and a slice of Babka Vegetable Bread.

I have recently jumped on the chia seed bandwagon.  So I was excited to see that Vita Wheat have these crackers with sunflower seeds, oats and chia seeds.  They are delicious but they are big.  I sometimes wish they came in smaller portions.

Another favourite snack is ChicNuts Roasted Chickpeas (sold in Woolworths but not Coles supermarkets).  They are crunchy and terribly moreish.  I love the boxes of eight small bags of chickpeas.  Not great for the environment but so handy to throw in my bag when we are out and about.  Particularly as Sylvia loves them.

Sylvia has suddenly taken an interest in numbers and letters.  She knows that 3 is her number (because it is her age) and now recognises it.  I did this sticker sheet of numbers for her for fun.  My aim is to get her to learn the numbers on the clock so I can speak to her about the time (eg we are leaving the house when the big hand is on the 3 so you need to get ready!).

I have recently fallen in love with Whittaker's chocolates.  Usually we buy the dark one but occasionally we get this coconut block that reminds me of the circles of coconut rough that I loved as a child.  Strangely enough it is only recently that I have recognised and embraced my love of coconut.

The stags head is a new fridge magnet.  E and his father love to joke about stags heads, "he must have been going at some pace when he came through that wall".  This is as close as E will get to having a stags head in the house.  (I think the note is Sylvia's shopping list.)

Sylvia chose this Go Natural Apple Apricot and Banana Popcorn and Fruit Bar.  (Is that title long enough?)  She had half a bar this morning.  As you will see from the apple in the background, she often fails to finish what she starts.  They are better than I expected.  The popcorn is sweet and soft but the dried fruit is really chewy.  I quite like the textural contrast.

One of my favourite places for a decadent purchase is Gewurzhaus in Lygon Street, Carlton.  It is a beautiful shop to browse.  I love smelling all the amazing spice mixes.  My favourite is French Lavender Salt.  They have a set of weathered wooden drawers where I found ground wattleseed.  I have this Viennese Christmas Sugar that seems too precious to use and yet it is too gorgeous not to be used.

And lastly here is tonight's dinner.  An eggplant and pepper paste stew that my mum brought me (along with some lovely fig and walnut bread).  I added a tin of beans and a little tahini.  We ate it with rice and green beans.  Delicious!

I am sending to this Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for her In the Kitchen event.  I am also sending the split pea soup at the top of the post to Jacqueline for her National Vegetarian Week recipes.  That is the British National Vegetarian Week which runs from 21-27 May 2012.