in my kitchen: July 2012

I am participating in Celia's In My Kitchen event again.   She has dedicated this month's event to Barbara of Winos and Foodies, who passed away on Friday.  I'd like to add my condolences to her family and friends.  I was aware of Barbara's lovely blog due to her fantastic event A Touch of Yellow that she held to raising awareness of cancer. 

So I start this peek into my kitchen with a touch of yellow in these Corn Crunch snacks.  Very crunchy, very moreish, and very very salty.  They come into individual packs.  Not good for the environment but great for throwing in your bag when you are out and about.

Another moreish snack that has graced our kitchen of late are tubs of these Chocolate berri-buds.  Balls of soft milk chocolate with dried berries inside.  It is hard to eat just one.

A healthier way to get a sweet fix is this Black Adder Liquorice tea.  I used to drink this a lot and haven't drunk a lot of tea for ages.  With the onset of winter I suddenly had a yen for a steaming mug of this tea.  I couldn't find it in the supermarket but fortunately our health food store stocks it.

While on the topic of teas, I can't resist sharing this cute teabag.  I bought E these RoyalTea teabags for Christmas.  He wasn't that impressed with the actual taste of the tea but the bags are fun.  Sylvia thought the man in the cup was hilarious.  (Apologies, your majesty!)

French walnut oil.  I bought this for a salad that I shall share soon.  It made a huge difference to the dressing.  I was surprised to find it wasn't the first time I had bought walnut oil.  Though not in such a fancy tin before.  I quite like the aesthetic of it.  Maybe I need to make these brownies again.

My parents had a recent trip to Sydney and brought back some goodies.  Above is the Hazelnut and Raisin Sourdough Bread from the Bourke Street Bakery.  I loved the dense bread with the golden chewy crust.  Great with soup.  She also brought me a peach tea pot from Adrian Zumbo.   It was delicious but I am less enamoured of creamy desserts.

Winter is the time when I struggle to find appealing fruit.  My favourite packham pears seem to be passing their peak but I am enjoying eating oranges and mandarins.  We only have one lime left on the tree but a few lemons still hang off the boughs of the lemon tree.

I discovered these Wallaby Bites in the health food section of the supermarket recently.  Dried fruit, nuts and rice bubbles covered in chocolate.  They hail from Byron Bay and are Gluten Free.  Work has been very busy lately so it helps to have these snacks in a drawer in case of a chocolate emergency.

I will finish with a word of caution.  Beware letting a 3 year old hold a baguette in the backseat of the car on the way home.  We bought this sourdough baguette after lunch at Sugardough yesterday.  It is hard to find a free table in the cute little bakery cafe.  It is even harder to resist all the wonderful baked goods upon leaving.  Seems that young children can't resist their bread either!