April 1st – how did that happen? Isn’t March supposed to be a long month?!
It’s time for In My Kitchen again. And this isn’t an April Fools I promise, but in my kitchen this month there is not one single new enamel plate, bowl or tray to show you.
No, before you ask, I’m feeling just fine! I just didn’t see anything that caught my eye this month. Hopefully normal service will be resumed next month.
In My Kitchen though we have….
…..strawberries. Since before Chinese New Year in fact we’ve had strawberries in the kitchen every single day. These ones come from Taiwan, they’re not organic, and whatever they are doing to them it’s working because they are so sweet & juicy. They are so good. I can’t be bothered doing anything to them other than washing and eating them. We have them on overnight oats in the morning and for dessert in the evening. And I snack on them during the day…..
In My Kitchen….
….is ghee. The first time I’ve ever bought it and cooked it with it. I haven’t eaten a spoon a day as recommended on the side but I’m using it instead of olive oil when I fry anything and so far we’re getting along just fine. The tin is destined for the kitchen bench as a wooden spoon holder if I ever make it to the bottom.
In my kitchen….
….is a new cook book. I’m fascinated with all the different varieties of sourdough in here as well as the techniques for shaping. I made the sourdough grissini a couple of weeks back and they are brilliant – even if I say so myself. Next time I’ll stretch them out more and make them thinner and I’ll add garlic and herbs to some, and sprinkle others with sesame. For once I actually followed the recipe – as I’m finding this bread making so satisfying, it’s also a bit daunting for me still.
Although, having said that, I now have my own spelt starter following the instructions in the book and made a very acceptable spelt sourdough this week so I’m getting there….
In My Kitchen….
…is another cookbook. They couldn’t be more different! I guess this sums up where I’m at with food at the moment. I don’t subscribe to following a particular diet or style of eating because that just doesn’t work for the way we like to live and eat. Quite honestly any diet that says hummus is not a food group is no friend of mine and I like throwing in a can of cannelloni beans into stews and salads. However, for a good while now I have cut out refined sugar from our diet – apart from when we eat out and order dessert. I started by cutting the amount of sugar in a recipe by a quarter, then a half and gradually our taste buds changed and now I just use a tablespoon or two of brown malt syrup when sugar is called for. Any sensible person can substitute or cut out sugar from their diet but this book gives good alternatives and there’s plenty of interesting recipes and ideas to keep me flicking through it. It’s working for us but we’re not slaves to it – stick a brownie or a piece of cake on a plate and push it in my direction and I’ll never say no….
In my kitchen….
…is lots of Chinese tea, beautifully presented in four silk boxes from different tea growing regions in China. I can’t tell you much more than that because I’m no tea connoisseur and of course I can no less read Chinese than fly to the moon. These were gifts from Richard’s colleague and her fiancé who came for dinner on Friday.
They also brought a dozen French oysters flown in that morning in a gorgeous wooden crate. Each oyster shell was stamped with the initials of the company for authenticity – I’ve never seen that before! I did like their style though bringing oysters instead of flowers! Better yet, neither of them like oysters so that was our breakfast on Saturday sorted out.
So that’s a wrap. April In My Kitchen. Link up with Celia over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial before the 10th of the month or just head over there and check out all the goodies from kitchens around the world.
What’s going on in your kitchen this month?
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