In My Kitchen - January 2016

The fireworks crackle in the night air and yet another year begins.  Almost all the Christmas decorations are away.  I've started cleaning out the kitchen but not got very far.  I've carted a load to the op shop today.  The school holidays are whizzing by and we still haven't finished the holiday giant crosswords from The Age newspaper. 

Early summer means apricots.  On New Year's Eve we passed a fruit and veg shop with cheap apricots.  I bought a bagful and stewed them up for breakfasts and snacking. My mum tells me she has some off her tree waiting for me!  Fresh apricots make me very happy.

We are just about through all of our Christmas gift chocolates and biscuits.  This cup of chocolates was given to me by a gorgeous little boy.  Kids are so cute with presents.

Sylvia received quite a few activity presents that have amused her over the holidays.  This drawing set required tracing pictures onto plastic and shrinking them in the oven.  I might just have been more excited than Sylvia because it reminded me of my childhood when we would shrink chip (crisp) packets in the oven for fun.  That was before chips came in that crinkly foil paper that doesn't shrink.  Sylvia also had lots of fun with it.  (Thanks Anne.)

We have had a few mornings of making "squeezy bottle pancakes".  I had fun with Christmas themed pancakes.  Sylvia is keen to make more.  Not quite sure what pictures will appear in the frypan next! 

I made these spicy noodles from Eats Well With Others.  They were good but had a bit too much soy sauce.  I think I probably used a lot less noodles than Joanne.  I suspect I didn't do a good job of converting from emperial into metric measurements! 

A peek into my groceries!  I haven't been baking much lately.  So ready snacks have been quite welcome.  Roasted chickpeas and broad beans (fava beans) are always great to have in a bag when we are out.  We really liked the salt and vinegar flavoured ones.  The Nairns stem ginger oat biscuits were surprisingly spicy.  E loved them with butter and jam.  Sylvia and I have been quite into the energy bars made with dried fruit and nuts - she likes apple rumble and I love the chocolate mud bars.  And I had a moment of needed ready meals just before Christmas because I had no time to cook so I bought lots of instant meals like the Dhal Tadka.

We have had a few pizzas lately.  I am quite adept at making fast track pizza with sourdough (see the notes section of the recipe).  This pizza has to be a favourite.  It is tomato sauce, vegan omelette, tofu bacon and cheese.  It was so delicious in a comfort food sort of way.

My sister brought these crisps to E from Ireland.  They tasted quite like sour cream and chive crisps.  But it was fun to think that they had real shamrocks.  I guess I should have checked the ingredients because it does seem a bit weird to think they put shamrocks in crisps.  Now the packet is in the bin and I will never know!

Another presents for Sylvia that provided lots of entertainment was this magic garden.  You put the water in the base, the cardboard soaks it up and grows crystals.  This is not the fully grown garden.  However it is the best photo.  By the time it was fully grown, little fingers had fiddled with trees and knocked them over and few times and it was moved to the verandah and as soon as little fingers in question had gone for a sleepover the garden found its way to the bin!

Tonight's dinner was inspired by Recipe Yum's Potato Quesadillas.  With lots of changes!  I mashed the potato with some guacamole spices (kindly given to me by my friend's mum who is selling them), fried the onion and added garlic, spinach, plum vinegar and smoked salt, and added some pizza cheese that I had bought a while back and needed using.  Delicious.

We have had dinner outside quite a bit while the weather has been nice.  One evening we were enjoying sitting outside when E sunk very low very suddenly.  His seat had given way.  I have had these chairs for 25 years so I feel I have got good value out of them.  But I am very sad they are giving up the ghost.

And I will finish with a close up of ripening cherry tomatoes in our garden.  Unfortunately I can't show you a handful.  As soon as any have ripened, Sylvia pops them in her mouth.  Though perhaps tomorrow I will have a few because she is at my parents' house on a sleepover.

I am sending this post to Maureen of The Orgasmic Chef who is hosting the wonderful In My Kitchen event while Celia takes a break.  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).