In My Kitchen: February 2026

February was busy with back-to-school, birthday celebrations, Shrove Tuesday, a mouse murder (by our cat), bike rides, and quite a few new recipes. We ate lots of Asian and Mexican recipes as befits a month of hot weather.  I am glad summer is now over and we will have cooler weather but I will miss all the salads and summer fruit.  It was also a month of big religious events such as Lent, Ramadam and Lunar New Year. 

Above is one of our thrown together salads.  This one had fried caramelised tofu, which we first had in rice paper rolls but found it is every bit as good in a bowl with sticky rice (from a microwave packet), edamame, cucumber, red cabbage, carrot, spring onions and furikake.
 

 

We are still trying new vegan foods since Sylvia went vegan at the start of the year.  We have had Milk tea boba mochi and Pickle crisps both of which have been new favourites for Sylvia.  I liked the crisps but am not a mochi fan.  Sylvia tells me not all mochi is created equal and she loved the above milk tea boba one much more than the below matcha mochi with the bean paste.

More vegan goodies: agar agar (for feta cheese below), Beefy Brats (still unopened but destined for greatness, we hope), the not good mochi, Wildy Good Cheese Cauli Poppers (excellent) and Pana vegan Rocky road Chocolate.  The chocolate was amazing.  Sylvia was excited she could eat it because it was peanut-free and had vegan marshmallow.  It is lucky to get one or the other and rare to get both of them in a any sort of rocky road.  This one also had vegan raspberry lollies and finely chopped almonds.  

Many months ago, I was given the olive oil bottle on the left by a friend who had two.  In February I finally finished the commercial oil spray can.  Since then I have had my olive oil in this bottle with a pouring spout and a spray mechanism.  This spray doesn't froth up like the commercial one so I like it better.  Next to my new olive oil is a pretty bottle of LaEspanole olive oil with an olive flower pattern and my favoured local olive oil from Cobram.

Sylvia has had some chia pudding breakfasts in the last few weeks.  She makes chia pudding with soy milk and serves it with coconut yoghurt, thawed strawberries, sliced bananas and my toasted muesli.  This seems too much milkiness for me but Sylvia really enjoyed it.

 

I was intrigued by this vegan cashew feta recipe which had agar agar and olive brine.  It was blended and then cooked.  As I have not used agar agar much, I was unsure if I cooked it long enough.  It tasted delicious as a spreadable feta but not quite as easy to crumble as the recipe suggested.  I definitely want to try it again.

Sylvia made a really nice Pasta salad with jalapeno and chorizo from TikTok.  It was quite spicy for me with the jalapenos but I really loved the vegan chorizo chopped up small and fried into crispy crumbles.  It was great for one of the last warm days of summer.

 

We have enjoyed the spiced rice from the meal prep burritos in a few meals - it is an easy way to add more flavour to meals.   In the above photo I had quesadillas with the spiced rice, lettuce, cabbage, red capsicum, yoghurt, salsa and feta.

This is another very satisfying meal with spiced rice topped with lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes, corn, seasoned black beans, feta and crispy fried Field roast chorizo crumbles (leftover from the pasta salad).  

We have been enjoying La Costena whole black beans in Mexican style bowls.  Then we accidentally bought the La Costena refried pinto beans.  The labels are pretty similar.  We used it because it was there and enjoyed it.  When we went to buy it again, we checked the ingredients in the supermarket and found it had pork lard in it.  Urgh!  So sadly this is off the menu now.  But the whole black beans are vegan so we are still buying those.

My worst cooking experience of the month was making a stuffed onions recipe that Sylvia had chosen.  It was a recipe I didn't understand, it took forever, the ingredients didn't work as I expected and I thought the end result was not worth the stress.  My idea of stuffed onions was a British one where the onions are hollowed out and stuffed.  Sylvia's stuffed onion recipe was more Greek and Middle Eastern where each layer of onion is boiled and stuffed.  I learnt the hard way that you don't separate the layers until you boil the onions.  I didn't like having the different size layers and also having to cut down the side of the layers being stuffed, Even worse was adding faux mince meat for Sylvia.  Of course it knocked all the ingredients off balance and I had to tweak and tweak and tweak!  Next time I will make these baked onions with hazelnut, sultana and feta stuffing.

Sylvia made Sesame noodles from TikTok (rhi.scran): ramen noodles with a sauce of tahini, soy sauce, rice vinegar and maple syrup.  We served it with lettuce, red cabbage, carrot, cucumber and furikake.  After the photo, I remembered to eat the edamame we had heated.  I enjoyed the noodles much more than Sylvia, which is not surprising given that I love tahini and she is not much of a fan. 

Sylvia made some very impressive Tempah and black bean tacos for dinner.  Another TikTok find from rhi.scran.  I had mine  -  The filling were made in the frypan with tempeh and blackbeans, onions, garlic, seasonings, lime juice and water, staffed into tortillas and baked in the oven.  I served mine with guacamole, yoghurt, pickled red onion, lettuce and cabbage. 

I made the Sticky miso tofu that Sylvia found on Plant Based RD (I found out that RD at means registered dietician not Road).  The miso made it a lot creamier than the fried caramelised tofu you can see at the top photo.  I prefer the caramelised tofu but both are great.  What was a great revelation was tossing the chunks of tofu into cornflour and seasoning and then air frying it.  It was so crispy and delicious.  We served it with sticky rice, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, carrot and edamame.  You might have noticed how much we have loved pairing lettuce and raw cabbage this summer!

I found this Sweet Plus Dubai chocolate in Terra Madre.  It was pretty delicious and cheaper (and smaller) than some other bars I had seen.  I can't find it on their website so will need to check it out in store when I am next there.

Sylvia's favourite chocolate of the month was also pistachio.  She was very happy to find the Loco Love's Pistachio Mylk Praline.  It was pricey at $11 for 70g.  It had not been easy for Sylvia to find so she was delighted both to be able to eat it and with the bar.  She thought it a bit like a vegan Dubai chocolate but I did not, though we both agreed it was delicious.

Shrove Tuesday always a great reason to make pancakes.  I have fond memories of eating pancakes at this time of year as a kid before giving up dessert (which we called "sweets") for Lent.  My childhood pancakes were never as decadent as these vegan chocolate pancakes I made this year.  I wanted them extra chocolate so I added an extra 1/2 cup cocoa instead of 1/3 cup of the flour.  I did not have choc chips but added 2 extra tbsp of sugar and used wholemeal flour.  I cooked them with olive oil spray over medium to medium hot heat on my cast iron frypan for 3 minutes on each side.  (The timer was more reliable than checking for bubbles.)  They were delicious and not too sweet.  

I served the chocolate pancakes with a strawberry chia jam (1 cup frozen strawberries, 1-3 tbsp water, 2-3 shakes of mixed spice, the juice of half a lemon, 2-4 tbsp maple syrup cooked on the stovetop  about 5 minutes till thickened slightly), Sanitariums's vegan chocolate soy ice cream, Billy Van Creamy's vegan caramel cashew ice cream and maple syrup.  Totally amazing!  The recipe made a lot for the two of us.  (This is not in the spirit of Shrove Tuesday to have pancakes leftover for Ash Wednesday when Lent starts but we are not practicing Catholics!)  Next time I think that half the pancake mixture would be find and we would both love more of that chia strawberry jam.  

We held a Birthday tea for Sylvia's birthday.  She had cucumber and cashew cheese spread sandwiches, sushi stacks, crisps, fairy bread, vegan marshmallow teacups, pink iced cupcakes and fruit.  It was a small and relaxing get together.  My mum brought the cupcakes and my dad helped saw through the old padlock on our back shed that refused to open up after I locked it (and I remembered the code).

Here are some of Sylvia's birthday presents: an Angelina ballerina book, stickers, snacks, chocolates, jewellery, a butterfly hair piece, a photo frame, a Tori Amos CD, a tapestry purse, a tiny tea set and jewellery holders.  So much good stuff.

I also took Sylvia for a little drive in the west of Melbourne which included a visit to the Damona vegan cheese factory where we got all these offcuts cheaply.  There are packets of American cheese, feta, Pecorino, Brie which cost $35 in total.  We weighed the huge bag of feta a week or two after buying (and using) it.  It weighed almost 700 grams and it was excellent.  The American cheese was great on pizza and quesadillas.  The Pecorino was really good on a Minestrone but had to be crumbled because it did not grate well.  We still have quite a bit of it left.

While out in the West I bought some Pistachio Kunafa Sptead from ipantry in Sunshine.  I bought a jar of this from a local Middle Eastern shop last year and loved it so much I went back for more a few months later.  They had stopped selling it as the Dubai chocolate craze is on the wane, apparently.  Sunshine was the closest place I could buy it, though I had to order online at the door so they could give me the jars.  I bought two because if it is not being sold widely I probably wont go out of my way to buy it again for a long time.  It is so delicious and creamy and crunchy but is so sweet and decadent too!

My final meal for the month was a quick Burger bowl (inspired by the one I made in my July 2025 IMK post).  I really loved the vegan cauliflower and cheese burger from the Coles plant based range called Nature's Kitchen.  We are not going to Coles very often lately due to the some of their underhand practices but these burgers call my name.  I at it with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrot, cornichon pickles, pickled red onions, yoghurt and tomato sauce.  (The tomato sauce is one from my sister at Christmas that has a personalised label! So cool!).  

I also used up the last of the packet of parmesan cheese.  Sylvia had loved it before going vegan but I don't eat it nearly as much.  With her now being vegan, my eating habits are also changing.  I am not sure I will continue to buy parmesan regularly, I haven't bought eggs fall year and I only have bought the vintage tasty cheese but none of our regular mozzarella grated blend.  I am eating less sweet foods as being vegan has limited the amount of sweet baking Sylvia and I are eating from fancy bakeries.  Overall the change is positive and as you can see, we are finding lots of new vegan meals to enjoy!

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 gorgeous hand drawn header.  Thanks to Sherry for continuing to host this even that brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.

Christmas day, food and presents 2025

 

Christmas is fast fading from view.  On Christmas eve I was at the supermarket at 3pm complimenting a staff member on their festive t-shirt and in response was told, somewhat sadly, that they had been told it was time to take down the tinsel.  Our tree is still up, we are still eating Christmas day leftovers and presents are yet to be incorporated into our lives.  So in the blessed peace and quiet of Twixmas, I just have time for one more Christmas post to reflect on Christmas day, food and presents.

We started organising presents early this year because my mum went to visit my sister in Dublin in October, so she took our Dublin presents there and sent Edinburgh presents from Ireland.  I don't have a photo of the presents but I have a photo of one of the lovely Christmas cards made by Sylvia.  I love the Australian theme with May Gibbs' gum nut babies.

A Lindt advent calendar with an assortment of a small Lindt ball every day delighted Sylvia.

I loved these Walkers gingerbread fruit mince pies.  The gingerbread pastry was light and short with the spices adding to the delight of the generously filled mince pies.

Sylvia has been quite into charcuterie boards and created this lovely arrangement in a Christmas tree plate: mini tomatoes; grapes; vegan mushroom deli slices; salad of rocket, tomatoes and olives; brie cheese; and vegan salami slices.

More photos of the charcuterie board and the below pine cone cheese ball at a Christmas Carols picnic can be seen in Christmas sights and lights in Melbourne 2025.

Sylvia did a lovely job of layering goats cheese and boursin cheese and adding tamari roasted almonds to make a pine cone.  It was presented on a bed of rosemary and cherries.

We always have a real Christmas tree but this year it was a bit more complicated than usual.  The Scouts stall, where we usually buy it, was sold out because they had focused on orders this year - we usually rock up and buy one easily.  So we went to a Christmas Tree seller nearby but they were cash only so we picked one and then went off to find an ATM before we could take it home.

When we finished adding all our decorations to the tree I stood back to admire it and found the tinsel was missing.  Sylvia had put it around the house until the tree was ready but I forgot about it because it was not in the decorations bag.  So instead we threaded popcorn onto a string - with lots of mess and a bit of nibbling it - and wrapped it around the tree.
 

Tylers Milkbar in Preston always have seasonal cupcakes.  Sylvia bought home this georgeou gingerbread cupcake which tasted as amazing as it looked.

This gingerbread Christmas tree (by Mela Patisserie) was bought by Sylvia at the Coburg Night Market.  We were saving it until Christmas Eve but somehow one or two of the top layers didn't make it that far.  It was excellent soft gingerbread.  Also in the photo are Sylvia's fave Bundaberg spiced ginger beer and a new Isabella Christmas classic soda of pomegranate, cranberry, grenadine, tayberry, raspberry, apple, lemon and lime.

I really loved the Whittakers Honey Nougat and Almond milk chocolate.  It tasted so good with the chewiness of nougat and slight crunch of finely chopped almonds.  It had a seasonal packaging that would have made it perfect for a gift.  But we just had it to nibble around Christmas.  

I also bought Polly Waffle Bites for a present for my dad.  It is a nostalgic choice because my sister and I would take turns buying my dad either a Polly Waffle or a Violet Crumble for Christmas each year when we were young.  Such great names for chocolate bars!

On Christmas Eve Sylvia and I were busy cooking for the big day: Cheese and Walnut Nutloaf, Overnight sourdough cranberry nut rolls and Chocolate panforte are recipes I love to have for Christmas day.  Sylvia had planned a menu for her and her dad including mac and cheese (with this sauce plus cashews blended in and this crumb topping), mushroom gravy, and some of my nut roast.  For dinner we had a simple ravioli with cheese and vegies.

I felt really organised when I sat down to eat my dinner in front of Carols by Candlelight on the telly at 8pm.  Unusually for me I had finished wrapping presents, all the cooking and dishes by them.  After dinner we had a little platter of Vegan chocolate mince pies, chocolate shortbread stars, gingerbread christmas tree, nougat, candy canes, cherries and grapes.

On Christmas morning, we were up early for presents and E came over for Christmas breakfast.  Sylvia made a vegan charcuterie board with salami, mushroom deli slices, rocket, pickled red onions, olives, pesto, Damona brie, dolmadas, home made cashew and tofu cheese spread, bread stick and grapes.  It was an unusual breakfast but very good.  I didn't get out the swiss cheese we usually have but loved having my cranberry nut rolls and cranberry sauce with the spread.

Then I left Sylvia and E to have a nap before a late lunch while I drove to Geelong to see my family.  The trestle table and been brought in to extend the kitchen table and they were set for 14 people with festive tablecloths, candles, baubles and crackers with the Christmas tree at the end.  Also in the photo is a cute squirrel for my dad to put in the garden which amused me.  A couple of my brothers and their families were away this year so it was smaller than usual.

My sister Fran brought a lovely platter of cheese, dips, crackers, lives dried fruit, chocolate, cherries, berries and grapes.  It was good to nibble on while the presents were opened.

My family has a lot of meat on their Christmas lunch plate,  Every year since I have been vegetarian I have been taking down the same cottage cheese and walnut nut roast to have instead of the turkey, pork, stuffing and ham.

There are always plenty of vegetables to have with my nut roast - roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, cauliflower cheese and peas.  My aunt brought down vegetarian gravy which went well with cranberry sauce on the nut roast.

For dessert my mum made pavlova, black forest cheesecake and, of course, Christmas pudding with custard.  The pudding was quite soft when my mum had boiled it but once it cooled, it firmed up and was delicious (not in the photo).

When I got home, Sylvia and her dad had just finished the dishes after Christmas dinner but had not had time (or space in their tummies) for pudding.  That is still in the fridge waiting for another day.  Sylvia did a lovely lunch of mac and cheese, nut roast, roast potatoes, roast carrots, pigs in blankets (vegan bacon around vegan sausages with a cranberry maple marinade), brussels sprouts and pea.  I had bits of pieces of the leftovers for tea and we have been enjoying the leftovers in the days since then.

These are most of Sylvia's presents.  (I always forget something when taking these photos.  The top photo includes a couple of gorgeous ceramic houses that are not in this photo.)  She is very lucky to have such lovely gifts, which are too many to list.

Here are a few of her gifts up close.  They include The Sticker Treasury of Ghosts and Dark Curiosities, Planet Cocoa Gingerbread Crunch oat milk chocolate, a grinch gingerbread, a mushroom snackbar sticker, a gingerbread soap, tiny ladybirds, a Sylvanian Families blind bag, Glossier rose balm dotcom universal salve, a sushi squishy, a box of tiny patisserie stickers, and a Stay Home duck lapel pin.

And finally my presents.  I was well and truly spoilt this year.  So many gorgeous gifts: Vegemite socks, a christmas cat scourer sponge, a tiny giraffe fridge magnet, Lewis Chessmen stationery items from Edinburgh, a giraffe picture frame, Scottish Juniper Mood Water, vanilla cashews, personalised bottle of Corporal Johanna tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce, a tiny birthday cake, Lindt balls, a strawberry casserole dish, a very pretty bunny oven glove and more.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and/or are enjoying some peace and rest during the festive season.

More Christmas food posts on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

Christmas food, presents and links 2024

Christmas day 2023: food and presents

Christmas eating (2020)  

Christmas eating 2019 (including Coburg Night Market) 

Christmas - cheesmas tree, food, presents and random thoughts (2018)   

Christmas day food, presents and random links (2017)  

Christmas day food, reflections and quicklinks (2016) 

Christmas day food and reflections (2015)  

Christmas day food, presents and quicklinks (2013)  

Christmas day presents and pudding (2011)  

In My Kitchen: May 2025

May brings a desire for more warming comforting food as the weather cools and nights darken.  The local hardware store reflects this change of season with lots of heaters, rugs, and brasiers out on prominent display.  We have had a quieter month but some interesting moments with a federal election, Mother day and staff changes at work.  I've been to the optometrist, the osteopath and had my flu jab.  The month has ended with one of the two dogs next door being put down and his poor little friend sending out anguished cries of mourning every now and again.  We've also been planning to get the house painted inside.  June will be very unsettled when the painters are in but I look forward to freshly painted walls!

The top photo is of pizza we were making with a green pasta (below) and a favourite nut roast.  The photo is taken while we were topping the pizza.  I put the green pasta on first and then added the chopped nut roast and cheese but Sylvia started with nut roast and added the pasta and cheese on top.

 

This Creamy Green Pasta by Meera Sodha with such a glorious green vegan sauce.  It was packed with spinach, basil, parsley, silken tofu, nutritional yeast flakes, miso and lemon juice.  I misread the recipe and added lots of lemon zest to the sauce.  It was actually intended to be part of a marinated olive garnish that I did not do.  We had ours with coleslaw and a tomato cucumber salad.  It was lovely but a bit too zesty.  I want to try it again without all that lemon zest and then work out if I need to tweak the flavours a little to our tastes. We had quite a bit of leftover sauce.  As you can see below, it is very versatile for using in different meals.

We had lots of the above green past leftover so we had a carb on carb comfort of pasta on pizza.  You can see a work in progress photo at the top of the post.  I used my favourite pizza base and had cream cheese, green pasta, nut roast, green olives and cheese.  So so good!  Lots of carbs but it felt a little healthier for all that green!  

Due to the over zesting of the above green pasta sauce, I was not sure how to use the leftovers.  So I froze it for later.  Soon after we decided to add it to Nagi's Cheesy Broccoli Soup.  Green is such a delicate green colour that it often fades.  So I was pretty happy that this soup kept its colour even the next morning.  It was a really quick photo before work while I was packing my lunch.

Never mind the great Aussie democracy sausage, I love an election day cake stall.  After voting in the federal election on 3 May, I perused the many options at the Coburg Primary School cake stall.  Sylvia loved the gingerbread biscuits with faces. I was a fan of the chocolate caramel slice which fused onto the choc chip cookie in the paper bag.  We also had a dulce de leche honey joy and an Anzac biscuit.  I have added some of the How to Vote flyers that we are inundated with as we walk in the gate.  Though it was so busy with when got there that I had to queue up outside the gate.  And I did leave with a democrazy sausage!  

I was excited to see the five grain tempeh from Wilder Foods at the Coburg Farmers Market:.  It was excellent.  I fried and chopped it to serve with Gnocchi with broccoli pesto.  I also bought an upcycled lemon miso seasoning that I am yet to use but am looking forward to it after the test tasting at the stall. 

As an aside, the rest of the broccoli pesto went into another version of Nagi's Cheesy Broccoli Soup (compare to the green sauce version above).

As a long time fan of the classic Zucchini slice, I am always on the lookout for similar savoury baked slices.  This Creamed corn rice slice from taste.com.au sounds interesting.  Creamed corn from a tin is so sweet but some comforting.  I tweaked the recipe with more (brown) rice, cooked corn off the cob, fresh herbs and a layer of melted cheese on top.  It was nice on the night but even better the next day when it had firmed up.  This was great for work lunches.

I am still regularly making my toasted muesli (granola).  When I have fruit mince I use that but outside the festive season I use a variety of dried fruits.  I tried some crystalised ginger recently but was not so keen.  The one above has freeze fried strawberries on it which I enjoyed more than dried strawberries.  Their bright colour really makes the muesli look beautiful.  I am missing the stone fruits and berries of summer.  They have given way to grapes, apples and pears but are not as good with my museli.

While I miss the fruit of summer, I love a good warming winter stew.  I loved returning to Cadry's gnocchi soup with sauce and kale.  It is so creamy and comforting.  I added some miso and mustard for extra flavour which worked really well.  I hope to make this again before the end of winter!

Another great winter warmer were these Spanikopita loaded baked potatoes.  They were such a good variation on our regular baked potatoes with coleslaw, cheese, yoghurt and guacamole.  We ran out of the cream cheese and used some Laughing Cow cheese.  We also added sun dried tomatoes.  It was a recipe where I could be quite flexible with quantities.  They were lovely and green with some crispy feta crumbs on top/  I enjoyed mine with a grated beetroot, carrot and apple salad.  Again!  Please!

I have been in search of an easy ramen.  When I saw Lazy Cat Kitchen's Quick Ramen I was keen to try it.  My version bypassed the roasting of vegies and used fried tofu puffs and udon noodles.  I really liked the white miso in the milky broth and added more flavouring.  After the photo I figured that it was easier to eat the tofu puffs sliced.  I need to have another go to slightly tweak what I did but am hoping this will be a good version to make quickly.

On a cold Friday night in May, we planned to make pizza.  Before I managed this, we spoke to my mum who was having fish  and chips for tea.  The idea took hold and before we knew it, we headed out in the car to Flakes for what I nostalgically call "fish and chips" but is actually chips, potato cakes and corn jacks.  I also added a fried vegetarian dim sim.  It wasn't quite the same as the meat dim sims I got at fish ad chip shops in my youth but pretty good.  

I bought drinks at Terre Madre nearby.  I had the hibiscus Mateo with my meal and the Gurbuchi for later.  I hadn't tried the Mateo before.  It is made with yerba mate a tea like leaf from South America.  This is a bit sweeter than the kombuchas I love but very nice and has no added sugar.

I jumped at the chance to try Cheesy miso stuffed mushrooms from i am a food blog.  The stuffing was a fairly simple mixture of cream cheese, white miso, kewpie mayo and fried chopped mushroom stems.  When baked on with some parmesan cheese on top, it tasted really good.  I had mine with coleslaw and mock tuna (chickpea) salad .  The smaller mushrooms looked cuter but I really liked the flatter ones with more stuffing on top.  I think it would make a great pizza topping.

One of my favourite cakes I have made recently (and there aren't many) is the Chocolate tahini banana bread I posted in May.  This is a photo of our cat Shadow overseeing the baking.  You can also see the lining of the loaf tin, which was one of my better efforts.  In the background is a bunch of sunflowers that Sylvia bought me for Mothers Day.  They were a bit past their peak in this photo but they really brightened up the kitchen table.

I made an old favourite, Isa's smoky potato, bean and corn salad (gf,v) for dinner to eat with sausages and greens.  It was excellent mixed with avo and tomato for lunches.

My last winter warmer of May was this wonderful Mushroom Pot Pie on From My Bowl.  I made it all in the cast iron frypan: frying, simmering and baking.  We didn't have red wine so I added a bit of whiskey and water instead.  Perhaps this was why it was so rich.  The mixture of mushrooms, carrots, potato and peas in a creamy cashew sauce under a blanket of crispy puff pastry was so good.  The leftovers were excellent for work lunches.

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 gorgeous hand drawn header.  Thanks to Sherry for continuing to host this even that brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.