In My Kitchen - August 2021

August finds me in Lockdown 6 in Melbourne.  It came a week after we emerged from  Lockdown 5 in July which followed hot on the heels of Lockdown 4 that ended in June.  I am so tired of going in and out of lockdowns.  I am so tired of cancelling plans.  On the other hand, I really appreciate any fun and socialising between lockdowns: lunch at the pub, swimming, Tuesday morning coffees, and even seeing Sylvia come home from school.  (You can read more recent lockdown reflections.)

The above photo is from my one social night in lockdown 5.  My family had a birthday zoom get together for my brother's birthday.  My mum made cupcakes and dropped them off to family nearby but those of us not close enough had to find our own cupcakes.  So we bought some from the supermarket as I just did not have the energy to bake.  My nieces did a trivia quiz all about my brother which was very entertaining.  About 10 minutes after it ended, I went into a workplace lockdown trivia quiz.  We were put into teams at random to discuss questions in breakout zooms.  I ended up with some pretty clever people.  Sylvia also helped with some questions, and I gave an answer or two.  It was good fun and my team won.  All participants were very generously given an UberEats voucher so we had Heaven takeaway pizza for dinner before our cupcakes.  It was a really fun night that gave some relief from the monotony of lockdown.

Our lockdown 6 started the day after we had a 'doughnut day', as we like to call days with no cases of covid.  It was cause for great celebration.  The joy didn't last long.  In the afternoon we heard of a new case and by 8pm the next day we were in lockdown.  It was a an incredible change of fortune.  So at the supermarket we bought doughnuts both for comfort and as a sign of hope that there will be more doughnut days soon.
 

A friend of mine whom I meet for lockdown walks, had asked for a loan of screwdrivers during lockdown 5.  She was very grateful for the loan and returned them with chocolates.  I forgot to ask what sort they were but I enjoyed the crispy chocolate mounds with a little nut inside.

I tried making a ravioli lasagne that I found in a supermarket magazine.  I did as the magazine suggested and layered ravioli with a home made tomato pasta sauce and topped it with a mozzarella grated cheese mixture.  It was rather delicious but calling it lasagne seemed a bit of a gimmick.  I think that it would have tasted as good if I had just mixed the ravioli and sauce.  I guess layering means you can layer some cheese in between.

We were excited to see some new Aussie shaped pasta at the supermarket.  Sylvia prefers her dinosaur shaped pasta.  I wanted to know if they are able to do Sydney Opera House shapes, are they able to do Flinders Street Station shapes.

Sylvia begged for this Green Tea Mochi Ice.  She went for the green tea as she thought (quite rightly) that I would prefer it to the mango version.  Sadly neither of us were enthused by the green tea flavour.  I am not sure if I have had mochi before but I don't think it is my sort of thing.  The Mochi Ice was like ice cream with a chewy dough around it.

We were more enthused about this Caramel Slice version of Chobani flip with choc chips, fudge chips and biscuit crumbs to mix with the caramel yoghurt.  Actually I am a bit confused by the packaging.  It says pie crust rather than biscuit crumbs but is this meant to be a classic Aussie Chocolate Caramel Slice which has biscuit base rather than pie crust.  Given chobani is American and the picture looks like pie not slice, maybe they means some dessert called caramel slice that I have never heard of.  It still reminds me of the Aussie slice.

For a long time Sylvia has not liked butter on bread or toast but she is suddenly switched to loving butter on any sort of bread or toast.  So after years of eating nuttalex margarine, she has asked to buy butter.  It is like we have turned full circle to my childhood!

 As I mentioned, my team won the work trivia quiz.  We won another UberEats voucher so when lockdown 6 started, Sylvia and I consoled ourselves with Coburg Pizza takeaway pizza.  It was a nice treat.

However I have been making some meals.  The one above is a disappointing version of the buckwheat salad I made a few months back.  That salad was so good I thought I had gotten over my problems with buckwheat.  The above meal of buckwheat, vegetables and beans showed me I still have some way to go.  Next to the buckwheat meal is chopped mozzarella that Sylvia discarded from her Coburg Pizza.  It actually improved the buckwheat when I mixed it through.  We have also been eating brussel sprouts and peaches in juice.  It is that time of year when there is not a lot of good fresh fruit and vegies around so I am longing for Spring.

Lastly I am stepping out of my kitchen to share a vegan chocolate caramel cake I had at Gloria cafe in Sydney Road, Brunswick in the week between lockdowns 5 and 6.  It was a nice moment to catch up with Faye and eat a big slice of cake.  I really loved the chocolate cake but the frosting was a little much.

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event.  If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens.