In my kitchen

Thanks to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for hosting the In my Kitchen series each month. It is always so much fun to take a peek into other people’s kitchens. So make yourself a cup of tea, and travel to kitchens around the world from the comfort of your own armchair!

In my kitchen this month was……a pumpkin to make pumpkin soup. It ended up being a turnip, parsnip and pumpkin soup because the other veggies were looking lonely in the fridge.

Also in my kitchen were…….. mussels. I bought them at the Victoria Market. They were cheap ($6 a kilo!) and local (Mount Martha — from the name you wouldn’t know it is a town on Port Phillip Bay!). I popped them in a pot with some onion, garlic, chilli, chicken stock and a generous slurp of white wine. YUM!

In my kitchen are……2 sorts of new teas.  We usually buy the ordinary supermarket stuff. This month we bought a kilo from the tea shop at the market. Tasty, but is it as good as Bushels the usual? I am reserving judgement. The other pack is a sleepy tea. Lately the big supermarkets have stopped supplying my usual sleepy tea. Grrr. I am also reserving judgement on this replacement too!

In my kitchen are…..ingredients for noodle soup. The dumplings are prawn and pork. Boil them up for about 10 minutes and add them to the soup. The noodles were even easier. I just poured boiling water over them as they sat in a colander. However, I didn’t use many of them. Any suggestions on how to use 7/8 of a kilo of rice noodles? Do they freeze well? (Who could resist a product that comes from the Best Multiple Food Company?!)

In my kitchen were…..pears from Harcourt, Victoria and rapa and greens from my garden. The rapa looks like broccoli. Disappointingly, I found it to be quite unpleasantly bitter, but the leaves are included in the pile of greens.

In my kitchen this month is……..a new butter dish. New to us ~ the Fella hunted it down at the local Op Shop. It is better than our last one because the sides of the lid are slightly curved, which makes it easier to lift off.

And lastly, in my kitchen was…..chicken to make Adam Liaw’s chicken adobo — an easy and tasty recipe from his cook book,  Asian after work.

Chicken adobo created by Adam Liaw. Apparently it is the national dish of the Philippines.
6 chicken marylands or 2kg of chicken wings
3/4 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 brown onion, peeled and sliced
1 tsp caster sugar
4 bay leaves
1 tsp while black peppercorns
3 tbsp peanut oil or other vegetable oil
Steamed rice and greens to serve

Separate the drumsticks from the marylands. Combine the chicken with all the remaining ingredients except the oil in a large, non-reactive bowl. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat until very hot. Remove the chicken from the marinade and brown it in the hot oil. Pour over the remaining marinade, including the solids, and 1 cup of water, and bring to a simmer. Simmer covered for 30 minutes or until the chicken is very tender.

Serve with the steamed rice and greens. Enjoy!