In My Kitchen

In my kitchen this month are the wonderful fruits and vegetables of summer ~ the first mangoes and avocados, apricots and other stone fruit, asparagus. There is nothing like the first tastes and scents of these delights.

These lovely fresh ingredients make great salads, simple, easy.

In my kitchen are the last of the homegrown peas, but the beans and corn seeds have sprouted in the garden. I have also harvested quite a few kilos of potatoes and thirteen garlic knobs.  The strawberries are still cropping.

In my kitchen were these little treats. Actually a friend and I ate them in her kitchen 🙂 I bought them from my nut stall at the Victoria Market. The nut stall has the most delicious lemon flavoured almonds, but I digress…. I don’t know the name of these pastries. They were very similar to baclava, without the honey syrup. Very tasty once you realised they weren’t sweet.

In my kitchen is a new packet of dashi powder. Dashi is a Japanese stock and I use it to make teriyaki salmon. I love boxes of things that I can’t read. My brother is teaching himself Japanese and he was able to read some of the other words on the box. Unfortunately, while he could read them he didn’t know what they meant. I gave him the job of translating the recipe on the back of the box! 😉

In my kitchen is my yoghurt maker. Thank you to everyone last month who gave me suggestions to make it thicker. I haven’t been very successful YET, but I have been persistent! In the last batch I heated the milk, added some milk powder and was quite strict about the time I left it to set. It was a little thicker, but still a way to go. It will not defeat me ~ I am going to make thicker yoghurt!

In my kitchen is a new tap for the water filter. I broke the other one when I knocked it with my elbow. This stainless steel job should be impervious to accidental knocks.

In my kitchen is a recipe from Aunty Helen. It goes like this:

Quick Crustless Quiche

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1 zucchini, carrot, potato, all grated (but really, you can use whatever is lurking in the fridge ~ it is a great recipe for this)

1 onion, diced

1 cup grated cheese

Chopped parsley. Also add in thyme, chives, oregano, whatever

1. set oven at 200 C; brush quiche pan with oil
2. Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheese
3. Pour into quiche pan and sprinkle cheese on top
4. Bake 15 mins at 200 C then reduce to 160C for 20 -25 minutes until set.

Aunty Helen’s notes go on to say “I make this often ~ we have small serves and it does us 3 meals with vegetables”. She does eat like the proverbial sparrow. 🙂

This last one is almost in my kitchen…..We have watched Bob the Pigeon for a few years now. He patrols the area outside our back window and perches in the maple tree. But now he has a mate, Bobina. Sensibly they built their nest tucked under our eaves in the safety of the grapevine. I can only get glimpses but thought you might like to have a peek too. [Apologies for the terrible photo.]

In My Kitchen is hosted each month by Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. This will be the last time Celia hosts the series. After five years she is handing the baton to Maureen at The Orgasmic Chef; I am sure she will do a fabulous job. So many thanks to Celia for giving us the opportunity to get inspiration from her kitchen and others around the world. She has allowed so many connections and friendships to flourish. (BTW, you must jump over to Celia’s post and check out her chocolate chess set!)