Friday 3 July 2015

In My Kitchen: July 2015

It is the end of the first week of the school holidays.  Sylvia has had swimming lessons at 9am each day.  I am glad the swimming intensive has ended.  Our chlorinated hair feels like straw after hours of swimming and I am looking forward to a sleep in.  On the upside we have had great fun, met great new people, caught up with a few old friends, and done some local shopping afterwards. 

One local purchase is this new saucepan that is between my largest saucepan and my stockpot.  I am often looking for a saucepan of this size.  It is the same style as my other Baccarat saucepans that I have had for 13 years and are in pretty good nick, albeit less shiny than my new saucepan.  I can't wait to use it.

A more impulsive purchase was this Iron Broo Tablet that we bought E when we were at the National Celtic Festival.  It was the usual tooth aching sweetness of tablet but I liked the slight flavour of Scotland's national soft drink, Iron Bru.  E said he couldn't taste it but I could.

A curious item in my kitchen this month is carrot jam.  My mum was gifted it by a friend and passed it on to me along with some quince jelly and apricot jam.  I am wondering if the carrot jam would make some interesting baking as I am not sure I will convince E and Sylvia to eat jam with grated carrot swimming in it. 

I have been shopping at CERES farmers market recently and find myself buying the cute vegies.  Purple potatoes (not pictured here), coloured carrots and Romanescu cauliflower.  I resist the bread because I often have my own loaves as in the picture above.  On a recently visit I was offered loose garlic cloves for a song so I took a handful.  And Sylvia picked me the flowers.

Here is the close up of the Romanescu cauliflower.  So pretty and strange.  I regret to say it went into a stew.  It surprised me at how well it kept its shape.  I do wonder how it would be to roast it whole like this roasted cauliflower.

Sylvia had a friend over for a sleepover recently and we made pizza for dinner and apple rose tarts for dessert.  I thinly sliced some roasted purple potatoes and baked them on one of the pizzas with some tomato sauce, and cheese.  The potatoes were really crispy like chips and were amazing on the pizza.

I have visited the new Smith and Deli twice because I happened to be in Fitzroy.  So expect a fuller write up in the not too distant future. On my first visit I purchased this chickpea, apricot and cumin.  Actually I am not sure I got the name quite right as there is no name or ingredients on it.  I guess this is what you expect when you purchase on the second day of business.  It was nice with lots of Moroccan flavours but I had hoped for chunks of dried apricot and there were none.  I also bought a block of Loving Earth's raw caramel chocolate and really loved it's creamy buttery flavours but it went before I could get my camera out.

Another new chocolate I sampled recently was this Toasted Coconut Chocolate from Madecasse.  It was nice but not quite what I was after.  I really love the Whittakers coconut block chocolate and hoped this would be a dark chocolate version with the coconut mixed into the chocolate.  The Madecasse block, however, was chocolate with a generous sprinkling of toasted coconut on the underside.

Possibly one of my favourite purchases in the last month was the Pure Harvest Coco2 Hazelnut Spread.  It is made of rice malt syrup, hazelnuts, coconut oil, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt.  I love a product with an ingredient list so simple that I don't mind typing it.  It is vegan, free of refined sugar, gluten free and tastes amazing.  If you want to compare it to Nutella, then Nutella is like a cream cheese spread and this is like a ganache.  Dark and rich and gooey.

I was inspired by a post on BuzzFeed about making pancakes with nutella inside.  Sylvia remembered it as kids will.  We tried it a couple of weeks back with our favourite banana oat pancakes and Coco2 Hazelnut Spread (above).  I thought the mixture might be too thick but it seemed fine.  I tried it again this week with vegan pancakes when Sylvia had her cousin over for a sleepover.  The batter was much thinner and harder to flip.  I think they were the messiest pancakes I have ever made but so yummy.

I have never heard of Annas [sic] Ginger Thins until I found them at an IGA supermarket recently.  According to the packet they are very famous in Sweden.  I can see why they would be.  They are crisp and melt in the mouth.  They were very popular in our house.

I love trying vegan cheeses and was excited to find Sheese in the IGA supermarket.  It was from Scotland and I wanted to like it.  But it ended up being thrown out because it didn't melt or taste nice and it had a weird after taste.  Sheesh!  Disappointing after trying Daiya and Biocheese and knowing how good vegan cheese can be.

Finally here is a sandwich I made for Sylvia for our one leisurely lunch this week.  Sylvia had a picnic in the front garden and ordered a vegemite sandwich with some fancy vegies.  When I gave it to her she told me that it looked amazing.  What a sweetie!

I am sending this post to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for her In My Kitchen event.  Head over to join in (by 10th of each month) and/or check out what is happening in other bloggers' kitchens. 

26 comments:

  1. Ikea sells Annas ginger thins and I think other cookies too, here in the US. I've seen them at supermarkets as well. Madecasse products are also available here at high-end chocolate stores.

    I find the overlap and non-overlap of products quite fascinating.

    My task this afternoon is to practice making a Pavlova because I've promised to bring one to a dinner next week where everyone is supposed to bring something from south of the Equator.

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    1. Thanks Mae - good luck with the pav - my mum makes them all the time but I know from pav conversations that they can be challenging - I confess I have never made one but I have never been so keen about them but now I have a daughter who adores them I should try one. I will have to look out for the ginger biscuits in Ikea when we are there next.

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  2. Always love having a nosy in your kitchen. Lots of interesting things as always, I wish I could get motivated to make my own bread, as those made with Celia's Sourdough starter have all looked awesome. I wasn't keen on Sheese either when I had it in Scotland and it actually put me off trying other vegan cheeses for a long time. I made carrot jam once. I recommend it on croissants, lovely. http://allotment2kitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/mulled-carrot-jam.html I am also hoping to make those Apple Rose tarts some day.

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    1. Thanks Shaheen - you should get baking sourdough bread - Celia's overnight sourdough is great recipe that is as easy as regular yeast bread - and is so cheap to make! I hope you are over the Sheese - it was disappointing. And your carrot jam sounds interesting - the one I have is really really sweet.

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  3. I remember trying Irn Bru in Glasgow. I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest! A fudge version would be crazy sweet I'd imagine. Have you tried Nutella French toast? It's less messy but really good :)

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - I think the closest we have to irn bru is creamy soda - tablet is crazy sweet anyway but I thought the irn bru one has a bit more flavour than just sugar. Nutella french toast sounds so good but I am not so good at making french toast!

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  4. Lots of great eats here and that cauli looks amazing, almost like a little Christmas tree!

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    1. Thanks Faye - ha ha - so maybe I just need a romanescu cauli for Christmas centrepiece!

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  5. Anna's ginger thins! We always had these in the cupboard growing up! What a nice memory :)
    I'm definitely going to have to try your choc-hazelnut spread filled pancakes idea.

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  6. I like the look of the ginger thins. The carrot jam definitely has potential - you maybe could even add it to flavour savoury dishes, like chilli jam does.

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  7. You have a lot of lovely things this month. I do love those ginger thins - very addictive. How lovely to have a new saucepan - handy! And that chocolate spread sounds wonderful - I do love ganache xx

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  8. lots of interesting things in your kitchen Johanna, that carrot jam got me listening - I bet it's great, as did the hazelnut spread - I can't have that in my house as I can't be trusted with a spoon anywhere near it!!!
    Jan x

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  9. I enjoy a good sleep-in in the holidays, early swimming lessons always seem such a slog to get to!
    That cauliflower is fascinating - and yet so pretty! It's kinda like a Christmas tree!
    We make banana oat pancakes by simply blending banana and oats. I'm sure my daughter would be delighted if I filled them with chocolate - we'll have to give it a try! Thanks for the inspiration! :-)

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  10. What a gorgeous post - as always, there is a lot to admire in your kitchen. The new saucepan sounds very useful and the carrot jam and Iron Bruu tablet very intriguing! I love the sound of the chocolate spread too, and like you have been disappointed by Madecasse chocolate having 'add ins' just on the top of the block.

    Annas ginger thins biscuits were a favourite of ours when in Australia - a bonus that they are vegan. The chocolate-orange type are nice too!

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  11. Thank you for sharing your kitchen, it's looking amazing!

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  12. You had me at the Iron Broo Tablet and the carrot jam!
    What a great assortment of goodies in your kitchen this month too!

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  13. Love the look of those pancakes!

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  14. Ooh I love those anna's biscuits! I first found all different flavours of them at an international food importer warehouse in NSW, good to hear they can be found a little closer to home. I haven't tried the madecasse coconut, but I do like some of their other chocs - it seems a pattern that they just put stuff on one side though, I had a salted almond which was thickly crusted with nuts and salt just on the bottom. I wish whittakers did more dark chocs - like that berry biscuit one which sounds delicious! I'm with you on the sheese as well - bleugh!!

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  15. I am so curious about the carrot jam! Thanks for the peek into your kitchen this month :)

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  16. So much going on in your kitchen. What a busy month! I love the pop of the bright bouquet of flowers with your vegetables and yummy looking loaves. The carrot jam has me intrigued and I have been eyeing off that Coco2 spread and I think you've just tipped the balance for me. Ganache like? Yes please! I share your disappointment about the Madecasse chocolate although I haven't tried it - I'm always sad when things don't meet our expectations when we were so looking forward to them!

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  17. Love all the beautiful and delicious looking produce. Purple potatoes on a pizza sounds great. I have not heard of carrot jam, sounds interesting. My boys would probably love,it since,they enjoy all,jams and carrots too!

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  18. the ginger thins look delish-I've been eating almond thins. Vegan cheeses are so hit and miss, I've been thinking about starting a pop up stall but not sure there's enough demand to outweightstart up costs

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  19. And of course, she can swim! (or nearly) and that's always a good thing : ) Carrot & Rose Petal jams are so popular in the Middle East. Try making some quick Danish Pastries with some puff and a dollop of the jam – I'm sure they will be gobbled up! Love a ginger thin…

    Thanks for the tour

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  20. Ooh, I haven't seen Annas biscuits for years, so good to see they still make them. I can't even remember where I used to get them, but it must be at least 20 years ago. The chocolate spread sounds fantastic. Wouldn't it be great if Nutella was swapped for it? The carrot jam looks Middle Eastern, so will probably be very sweet, but it sounds interesting. And your bread looks fantastic Johanna.

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  21. Your kitchen is so fun. I especially love the sound of the potato pizza and apple rose tarts. Mmmm. My mom never made anything like that for my sleepovers.
    Anything hazelnut is completely delicious. My pancake making abilities are severely lacking, but I'm quite curious to try to make vegan, gluten-free pancakes with chocolate & hazelnut filling. Sounds amazing!
    That's too bad about the vegan cheese - that would be so disappointing.

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  22. ooh yes that hazelnut cocoa spread sounds delicious. ginger thins sound nice too. and always great to have a new saucepan. just makes you want to jump into the kitchen and make something.!

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