In My Kitchen: October 2022

October sees us heading towards the end of the year with the scent of jasmine on a balmy spring night, the sight of  trees in blossom lining the streets, the warmth of the the sun on my back, and the joy of laundry drying by the end of the day on the washing line.  Yes spring can be full of hope (once we get past losing an hour when daylight savings starts).  September has been busy with finishing up at my job of 5 years, getting out and out on leave, and enjoying Geelong winning the AFL grand final.

Above is a savoury platter I put together with Sylvia for the Grand Final.  This is why I love the grand final.  It is a great excuse for fun snacking, though if my team wins it is all the sweeter.  (Carn the Cats!)  I especially love it as an excuse to bake vegetarian sausage rolls.  Add some chips, crackers, cheese, vegie sticks and hummus and we have a feast!

We were given some leftover cake pops from my niece's birthday party.  My sister always organises such classy parties.

 

 

Last month I bought some fresh kelp pasta.  I stuck it in the freezer for a few weeks and then I took it out and made a fine meal in my cast iron frypan.  I first fried some diced pumpkin in olive oil, then some cauliflower (with a bit of water to help it along) and then diced capsicum and crushed garlic.  Then I took the vegies out and gently fried the pasta adding water a few times and letting it cook off.  I seasoned it, then added lemon juice and parmesan to the leftovers.  It was really good.

 

 

 

As I mentioned above, I recently left my job of 5 years.  It was sad to say farewell to some of the lovely folk I worked with.  I hope I might stay in touch.  We had a farewell lunch at the pub and there were gifts.  The green tea and lemongrass candle smells wonderful.  The Readings vouchers were raelly appreciated (see below).  And I really loved the phoenix coasters.  It is the perfect symbol for a new job - rising from the ashes into a something new and wonderful!

 

We tried to get out and about while I had my leave.  One great foodie expedition was the Queen Victoria Market (I wrote about this market many years ago).  I bought the Hickory Barbeque Boulder crisps and then the temptations rose when I saw the Vegan Rob's Cauli Crisps.  They are a vegan version of Pringles and very very good.  (Sylvia not a fan!)

I bought some Pac Man bamboo socks - a fine combo of retro video gaming and modern sustainability.  Sylvia's choice was to try soy whip to see if it was as good as the dairy whipped cream in a can.  She did not like it because it was so sweet.  I have never liked cream of any sort so cannot recommend this at all.

I can never resist the American doughnut kitchen hot jam doughnuts.  They are still as good as when I was a child, which is amazing consistency for many decades.  I still don't think I have found any other doughnut that  is quite as amazing.  Yes I love nutella doughnuts but even they pale beside these golden crispy sugary doughnuts with soft warm yeasty insides oozing berry jam.

 

I bought these Veggie Bratwurst.  I am always hoping to find a bratwurst that lives up to my memory of the meat ones - which is now so many decades ago that I expect my memories are not so strong any more.  I am yet to try these but they look pretty good.

I got excited by the baked goods in the deli hall at the Queen Vic Market.  Irewarra sourdough is the best.  The baguette was chewy and dense as it should be.  The pretzel was amazingly chewy and all the more prized for being the last one in the stall.  I used to have the spinach and feta boreks from time to time.  They aren't quite as cheap as they used to be but they are huge and very filling compared to the ones I have being having near work lately.  And you might even spy another pair of bamboo socks.

Lastly I bought this spinach gnocchi in the deli hall.  It was such a beautiful green colour.

I was searching for something for dinner and came across Smitten Kitchen's Skillet Ravioli with Spinach.  There was no ravioli in the house but I had that packet of spinach gnocchi in the freezer.  It worked pretty well but was slightly mushy from defrosting in the pan.  Topped with garlicky spinach and lots of parmesan and just a little mozzarella.  Then crisped up under the grill.  Sylvia Delicious, even if a little rich.  And I was pleased Sylvia had some too.

It had been a while since we had browsed the centre aisles of an Aldi supermarket.  But when you leave your purse at a clinic and have to return for it the next day, a touch of Aldi does the trick!  We even ventured outside the middle aisle to try some Aldi brand Tim Tams, salted pretzel chocolate (really good) and reed infusers to make the house smell a bit nicer!

This is our dessert platter we put together for the Grand Final.  Lamingtons cut into triangles like my nan used to do, lots of chocolates, pear, banana, strawberries, caramel popcorn and some garnishes from the garden!  It was pretty amazing.  And there was no need for making dinner with all the leftovers of two platters.  In fact they lasted longer than that!

We had a day trip to Daylesford while I was on leave so we could visit the Sunday market.  It is so long since I have been there.  We bought a jar of black garlic salt.  It smells amazing but I am yet to use it.  I am still not sure how to use it.  Pasta?  Risotto?  Dips?  Any suggestions?

Also at the market were these lovely wooden carved roses.  They even sprayed them with scent so they smell amazing.  And we had twister potatoes from one of the food vans.  There was a queue and we were lucky to get the last ones.  Then we went to the juice van where Sylvia got oj and I had an apple and blackberry juice icy pole.  Great for a nice sunny day out of town.

Let's finish with my purchase with my Readings gift cards that my colleagues gave me as a farewell gift.  Readings is a favourite bookstore that I have been visiting for decades.  Firstly I made a beeline for Jarvis Cocker's Good Pop Bad Pop that sounds like a delightful ramble through his detritus.  And then I found Van Demonians by Janet McCalman.  She writes such insightful and interesting Melbourne history.  I also bought a very nice block of fingerlime chocolate and a New Yorker card that took my fancy.

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 and her wonderful hand drawn header.