Celia, over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, hosts a monthly get together. It means that we can take a seek peak into kitchens around the world. It is good fun, and everyone is welcome to drop by. Celia’s own post this month is about teas she has recently bought, and they sound exquisite.
In my kitchen this month is some fresh produce from the Victoria Market.
As we walked into the market I found this persimmon on the road. It was like a shining jewel and I could not resist it. I think I will paint it.
We also bought some shanks, because it is Winter now, and time for stews and shanks and soups. So there is also chicken stock on the go, made with a couple of frozen chicken carcasses, celery that was lurking in the fridge, a carrot, garlic of course, chilli and ginger, pepper and quite a bit of salt. It cooks in the pressure cooker for a good while. I keep any flesh still on the bones and give the vegetables to the compost. Then I am going to use some of the stock to make cauliflower and bacon soup.
Because it is Winter there are lemons from a friend’s tree. (Thank you Billy!)
Also this week I am going to cook a cabbage galette from Joanna Harris’ cookbook. You will know her as the author of Chocolat, and her cookbook is a delight for any Francophiles. I have found her recipes to be very reliable (but can’t comment on their authenticity).
The story behind the book…..My Fella and I had stayed a few days at Mildura, a regional town in the northwest of Victoria. On Sunday we went to a small town nearby to find a market. While there were people wandering around the other stalls, it was the bookstall that had the most interest, seemingly caravaners like us. As I am a sucker for second hand books it soon drew me in too. What did I see……Joanna’s cookbook and for only $3. I quickly tucked it under my arm, protecting it from anyone else that might want to snatch it away! How could they ignore such a bargain? 😉
I have decided to introduce you to some of the fixtures in my kitchen. Today I would like you to meet the teapot. We drink a lot of tea, so the pot needs to be big. A common question through the day is “Would you like a cup of tea?” and you can guess the answer. My first cup comes to me in bed, delivered by my Lovely Fella and I drink it while I read and wake up. ❤
Anne Lawson Art 
49 replies on “In my kitchen, at the beginning of June”
that teapot is divine. and i am definitely going to give cabbage galette a try-yum!
LikeLike
The tea pot is lovely, but also very well used! I haven’t made the galette yet. I intended to make it over the weekend, but our eating plans changed. Also we ate the eggs for breakfast! 🙂
LikeLike
You’re an artist too! I will peak around here, I hope you have photos of your art work! That’s a great find, a wonderful cookbook for a mere $3! I, too, love tea and drink it often, but as we have summer here now it will be iced tea! xx
LikeLike
I hope you were able to find my gallery page. Perhaps you were looking as you were drinking your iced tea! We drink hot tea regardless of the weather. 🙂 thanks for dropping by.
LikeLike
Oh, we are very much on the same page 🙂 Lots of veges and slow cooked meats, homemade chicken stock, and lots of lemons. The persimmon is a little ripe for my eating preference but the colour is lovely. Your tea cosy is the same design as ours which is a solid maroon highlighted by rainbow stripes but your teapot is very lovely and very you.
And, I would have been the person at that market lurking, hoping you would reliquish your grip on The French Kitchen.
LikeLike
I wonder, if you had been at the book stall, whether I would have been generous enough to give you the book! It is a delightfully presented book, and I like her little snippets about the place of each recipe in her family. Did you make your tea cosy? Mine was quite easy to knit.
Enjoy your souls and stews 🙂
LikeLike
“souls and stews”? Oops, that of course should have read “soups”. (Now I am wondering about Soul Stew 😉 )
LikeLike
It made perfect sense to me, it does seem to be ‘feed the soul food’. And I’m not, yet, a knitter, so I bought the tea cozy from The [wonderful] Remnant Basket at Macksville.
LikeLike
You are so right — “soul food”! I was thinking about it in a much more macabre way. I love the name of the shop. It sounds like it should be full of wonderful things just waiting to be loved.
LikeLike
The cabbage galette looks perfect for the leftover cabbage I have sitting in my fridge. How cute is your tea cosy and how lovely to have tea served in bed, lucky you!
LikeLike
My Fella has brought me the tea for along time, but now that I am retired I am able to savour each cup! I am indeed very lucky. Did you make your galette? Mine is yet to be made — our menu changed over the last few days.
LikeLike
Oh yum, definitely making the cabbage galette this weekend. One problem due to various household members food fads I will probably be the only one to eat it.
LikeLike
Thanks for visiting, Madge. I hope that you enjoy your galette! We all need a little treat in our lives!
LikeLike
A Kew Gardens teapot – how lovely!
LikeLike
Yes, I was delighted to know that some of the proceeds went to support the Gardens. They are one of the world’s special places. Have you seen the Shirley Sherwood Collection of botanical art? It is exhibited in the Gardens gallery.
LikeLike
We don’t get to Kew nearly often enough… another trip is in order soon, I think.
LikeLike
Oh I love tea! and I wish I could go to the vic markets… We have a few farmers markets, but nothing like THE VIC here on the Gold Coast! I love to eat french food, and try to cook it when I can! I bough the Julia Childs cooks books after seeing “Julie and Julia” and have made a few recipes. There is truly nothing like making something from scratch! Thanks for sharing!
LikeLike
Farmers markets are great, and usually the produce has less food miles than the Vic Market. It is the range of produce available at the Vic Market that is wonderful. What did you think of the recipes in your book? Sometimes recipes are not very successful. Thanks for dropping by.
LikeLike
All the recipes I have tried are very authentically French… lots of butter, but the beef bourgeon I think is the best yet!
LikeLike
Yum!
LikeLike
There’s a Royal Worcester pattern called Evesham that matches your teapot perfectly 😀
LikeLike
I am sure that you are right! I will check it out. 🙂
LikeLike
This is such a wonderful, slice of life post Anne. I love your teapot, your tea cozy and your tea ritual. Mike brings me tea in bed on occasion,though it is rare for me to linger there. He makes me cups in the evening too.
I laughed when you said you were going to ‘paint’ the persimmon, at first thinking your were going to literally paint the fruit. That would taste awful! Then it clicked. LOL
LikeLike
I love lingering in bed! I often plot and plan the day — or that is my excuse for lying there! It is one of the joys of retirement for me. Your comment about painting the persimmon made me smile! If I was going. To do that, I would paint a big happy face on it! I suspect that it will get too mushy before I will have time to paint it on paper.
LikeLike
I’m glad you’ve made good use of your time in retirement lingering in bed. Brilliant.
LikeLike
🙂 No lingering this morning though. I had a shift at Before School Care that started at 7:15. I was up at 5:30!!
LikeLike
What a stunning teapot, Anne!I love the tea cosy you’ve made for it as well. You have some of the best foodie markets in Melbourne – the fruit and veg look great, and the lamb shanks look the business – just what this colder weather needs! What a bargain the cookbook was! Hope you enjoy cooking from it this month! 🙂
LikeLike
It is a gorgeous tea pot. Our last one had a cat theme and was sad when its handle got knocked off. When selecting this one I had to make sure it was a little out of the ordinary too. You are right about winter being just the right time to slow cook.
LikeLike
The recipe for cabbage galette is intriguing isn’t it? I might have to give that a go just out of curiosity. Lamb shanks are prefect for winter aren’t they? We’re heading into the rainy season here so the oven is more or less turned off now for the next few months. Thanks for the peek into your kitchen.
LikeLike
Thanks for dropping by Nancy. Do you cook stews and soups at other times?
LikeLike
great time to make lemon oil, preserved lemons, lemon curd etc:)
LikeLike
You are so right, thank you for your suggestions! What is lemon oil? We have a lemon tree that is finally producing well, so we will have a reasonable crop. And lemon curd, yum!
LikeLike
i am not sure if i answered this but i have just put some lemons and lemon peel into a jar of EVOO and now will wait for a month till it is infused and hopefully all lemony and delicious.
LikeLike
It is something that I will try. Thanks for the recipe, Sherry.
LikeLike
hi again anne
i will put in the link to selma’s table which has the original idea for lemon infused oil. it is going around the IMK world this month:)
LikeLike
Love your tea pot and tea cosy and we have lots of “would you like a cup of tea” in our home. Love winter warming dishes and as you head into winter we are heading into summer.Great that you found a cookbook that you love and at a great bargain. Thank you for the peek around your kitchen 🙂
LikeLike
It was my pleasure to show you around the kitchen. Thank you for dropping by and sharing a cup of tea! Actually, at the moment it is a chilly morning and I am propped in bed, drinking my morning cuppa 😉
LikeLike
Years ago I used to make a cabbage pie with bacon and hard boiled eggs from a publication put out by the Vic Egg Board. It was always delicious. I’d totally forgotten about it until now! Thanks for the reminder. I’m loving winter food, soups and braises too…
LikeLike
The Vic Egg Board — doesn’t that conjure up a time gone by? Hard boiled eggs would be an interesting addition. Thanks for visiting. Enjoy those winter soups.
LikeLike
Hi Anne – I have that Joanne Harris book also and have cooked quite a few dishes from it. I love the photo of the dog sitting in the truck waiting for his master. Now I see why you were so keen on Celia’s tea. Cheers xx
LikeLike
Can’t go past a good cup of tea ~ especially first thing in the morning. 🙂 Any favourites from the recipe book?
LikeLike
Anne, the cabbage galette sounds tasty and the thought of soup & stock simmering is comforting. Such beautiful produce photos, too! I also loved that you get artistic inspiration from wayward fruit! (Your drawings are exquisite — simply had to take a side trip to your etsy page, too.) Thanks for this month’s IMK peek!
LikeLike
It was a pleasure to have you drop in for a cuppa, Kim. The good thing about drawing produce is that you can eat the evidence. It is a win all round, as you have a (hopefully) reasonable drawing, a tasty piece of food, and evidence is eaten, so you can’t compare the art to the original!
LikeLike
Hi Anne, what a bargain your cookbook was, look forward to seeing the galette .
cheers
Jason
LikeLike
So sorry to disappoint, but the galette has been made and eaten, without any photographic evidence! It was very tasty though. 🙂
LikeLike
hehe well that is the main thing 🙂
LikeLike
(BTW Jason, I seem to be having trouble posting a comment to your blog. 😦 )
LikeLike
oh no, what sort of trouble? what does it do, i’ll see if I can do anything to fix it.
LikeLike
I log in as with my WordPress URL, add in the comment and post, and it seems to float off into the ether. I have just tried again, with the same unfortunate result.
LikeLike