In My Kitchen - November 2021

November finds us finally finally out of lockdown.  Change has come disturbingly fast, compared to coming out of last year's long lockdown.  Two weeks after lockdown ended, I have had my parents visit me, had a few swims at the pool (no bookings required any more), had my first day back in the office, and have plans to go out of Melbourne soon.  

October brought some ups and downs.  Sylvia had her second covid vaccination and within days was advised she was a close primary contact to a covid case at school for the second time.  I had a flat tyre on my bike that got worse and worse as I unsuccessfully tried to pump it up but discovered a bike shop I could walk to.  I hurt my back leaning over to put something in the bin.  At work everyone is excited to look out for cafes open nearby.  I was sad to hear about people dying recently just towards the end of lockdown when opportunities to see loved ones have been limited and funerals were strictly limited in numbers.  This included the high profile death of high profile death of Aussie TV legend Bert Newton.  

And then we have had Australia's embarrassing appearance at climate change COP meeting in Glasgow, lying politicians, a little girl Cleo lost and found, all forcing Covid off the front page of the newspapers.,

Despite feeling uncomfortable at the thought of crowds and large social gatherings, there is also a zing of optimism.  I have been visiting the farmers market more as well as organic food stores, reading some great books and enjoying sunshine while on my bike or in the pool.  Sylvia is excited by Christmas and December will bring us the end of year before we know it.  Above is shopping from a trip to the farmers market.

The colour of the purple cauliflower from the farmers market is so vibrant and cheering.

 

 

I was intrigued by these being named "posh crumpets".  I asked what made them posh and was surprised to hear it was because they used buttermilk instead of sourdough.  Now I am very partial to sourdough crumpets but I really enjoyed these crumpets.

 

 

Here is a posh crumpet being given the fancy sort of treatment it deserves.  I served it with stewed rhubarb - also from the farmers market - plain yoghurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.  Amazing!

 

 

Last month I shared a photo of an uncooked Cauli Roast with Herb and Dukkah Stuffing.  I roasted it with potatoes and pumpkin and also served it with some asparagus.  It was really good but I think it needed a gravy or a good relish.

 

 

There was quite a bit of roasted cauliflower and potatoes leftover.  I chopped them up; cooked up some rice; lightly steamed spinach, capsicum, green peas, purple cabbage, and carrot; added in chickpeas, dried cranberries, and garlic salt.  The dukkah seasoning in the cauli stuffing made it into a very tasty pilaf, that fed me for many nights.

 

I was quite intrigued by this cereal called Cini Mini Churros.  They were very sweet and made a good snack.  I think Sylvia might have eaten them with milk but I preferred mine dry and crunchy.  Of course they aren't a patch on freshly fried churros dipped in chocolate.

 

I've been to La Manna Organics in Brunswick a couple of times.  It is easy to get to on my bike and has some interesting food.  You can't really see them but I was very taken with the chocolate covered licorice.

 

I was quite taken with the label on the ROK (raw organic kombucha).  I really like the "bubbles with benefits".  The flavour was Berry Beats: cold pressed strawberry, hibiscus and elderflower.  It was very refreshing.

 

Those chocolate covered licorice were so good I went back for more when I purchased a copy of Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch (which I recommend).  As well as the seaweed, I went next door to La Manna Fresh and bought some ciabatta bread and strawberries.  But I was most excited to see the first stone fruit of the season.  It was so nice to eat some fresh peaches and nectarines.

I also got back to the farmers market for more sweet cherry tomatoes on the vine, asparagus, potatoes, kale, purple cauliflower, bagels, cheese sticks, green hummus, kombucha and a chocolate biscuit.  It was great to see Cocoa Rhapsody again.  So much good food.  I didn't buy more pasta as I still have beetroot gnocchi in the freezer from the last visit.

I always love seeing Shaheen's pasta salads she makes for lunch.  Every time I see one, I think I should make this sort of lunch instead of sandwiches.  When I had some leftover pasta, I added some black beans, tomato, avocado and spinach.  I thought I had a small tin of corn kernels but it was creamed corn.  I added it anyway with some lemon juice and seasoning. It was very satisfying.  I wish I could tell you that I had a nice pasta salad for lunch tomorrow but sadly I am not usually that organised.

This pasta salad was a leftover from the night before that I served with celery and a beetroot sauerkraut.  I had it for lunch while working from home and read Future Girl by Asphyxia.  This book was so amazing that after a few days feeling frustrated at only time to read a little each day, I read most of the book til 2am one Saturday night.  It is set in Melbourne in the near future where lab grown meat has changed people's attitude to food, where gardens are wonder and survival.

This photo is of a detergent flood.  I've never had a bottle of detergent leak like this.  I didn't realise it until I propped my phone up there while I was at the sink and when I picked it up, there was lots of green goo stuck to it.  Then the flood grew and grew until I finally had a big clean up.

Lockdown has brought all sorts of dysfunction to my world that usually can be fixed by letting the outside world in.  It is quite alarming to sit on the bed and have it sink lower than you could ever expect.  I don't have many tools but I have lots of books.  They were very useful for holding up the bed until I could get a friend to help fix it.  (My bed is not in my kitchen but Sberry who organises the In My Kitchen event encourages a curveball!)

And finally, here are some of Sylvia's creations.  She has been quite fond of avocado lately.  This is her avo on toast with tomato, lemon juice and garlic salt.

And she was inspired by Pinterrest to make her Lord of the Fries burger into a Monster burger for Halloween. 

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event.  A special shout out to Sherry for keeping the event going despite an injury from slipping on a wet bathroom floor.  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.