In My Kitchen: January 2013

Looking around my kitchen in early January I thought to myself “after a robust first go in December surely there’s nothing left to share for Celia’s ‘In My Kitchen’ January linkup“. Boy was I wrong.

There were of course a few bits and pieces from Christmas but it is amazing what else pops up when you’re looking for it! Off we go…

In my kitchen this January:

Last month I made it quite clear that we have unfortunate counter tops, so I figured this month we’d start off with a peek at them. Behold the spectacularly yellow 70’s mustard sunshine that engulfs my kitchen.

Needless to say a suitable backdrop this does not make and that damn orange manages to peek in whenever I do shoot here. Next month I may share the primary coloured power-point plates. Oh the anticipation.

~~~

Leftover Christmas cookies have been tiptoeing into my closet and making my clothes smaller, sneaky little bastards. These need to be moved from the fridge to the freezer asap simply so they are less accessible.

Hot Tip: Christmas cookies last for AGES in the freezer. Best surprise ever when you find a bag in the back corner sometime in July.

~~~

A little nub of ginger has decided it wants to grow up to be a plant. In the way of the universe I came across this pin yesterday. One guess as to what I’ll be doing this weekend.

With any luck it will be bigger each month and by May I’ll have fresh ginger. Do you ever act on anything you see on Pinterest?

~~~

A trip out west a few weeks back saw me wasting time in Paramatta one hot Saturday morning while RJ did work stuff. I had some tea at Three Ropes, ran into Miss Piggy and The Boy, had some more tea with them at Short & Sweet, then went back to Three Ropes for avocado & chili oil on toast… and another tea.

Eventually I headed to an Asian grocery store to wander aimlessly along the jars and packets and bags. I should probably mention I cannot enter an Asian grocery store and exit empty handed.

One packet of dried Shiitake Mushrooms [for soup perhaps? although I’m tempted to re-hydrate them to see if they will work for Shiitake Bacon…] and one packet of Szechann Peppercorns [no idea what they will be used for, have always wanted some] later, I made it to the counter… only to come face to face with a green pawpaw.

~~~

I’ve had green papaya in tangy Thai salads and have been eating green mango with lime and chilli quite a bit lately so I figured this would work in the same way. Conveniently it has.

~~~

You have no idea how excited I was when I discovered Spaghetti Squash at Harris Farm Market. I adore this stuff and didn’t think I could get it over here! I can’t wait until it cools down enough to turn the oven on and cook it, there will definitely be a post at some point.

Now to locate jicama and fresh tomatillos and I’ll be set…

~~~

Summer equals fruit and I’m making the most of it. Cold slices of watermelon, sweet strawberries, a bucket of plums and juicy white peaches are only some of the goodies that are parading through the kitchen currently.

~~~

Of course when it comes to summer fruit we cannot forget about the quintessential Aussie treats. Mangoes and cherries are abundantly abundant right now so I’m stocking up and filling the freezer.

Hot Tip: Peel mangos and slice off the cheeks, pit the cherries, then lay fruit in a single layer on a baking paper [parchment] lined tray to freeze. Once solid move them into a bag for storage.

Don’t miss my How to Pit Cherries (without a cherry pitter) step by step, it’s been called genius and is pretty cool if I do say so myself.

~~~

The kitchen door that decided back in December that the sum of it’s parts was no longer greater than the whole has still not been re-assembled. It is sitting stacked neatly against a cupboard that rarely gets opened. On the upside we have now purchased wood glue.

~~~

Ahhh Christmas, RJ came through this year [as he always does!] and surprised me with both a grill pan and an ice cream maker. Then he patiently accompanied me to the store to exchange both for the ones I wanted, bless him.

I’ve been coveting a proper cast iron and enamel grill pan for ages. They didn’t have the fire orange/red colour to match my casserole pot but I’m quite partial to the green. It has been getting a workout on everything from sweet potatoes and zucchini for salad to chicken and mushrooms for tacos.

Can anyone give me advice on how to best clean it though? I’m struggling a bit as I don’t want to scrub with lots of soap if I can help it.

~~~

While looking for the grill pan I stumbled across this lovely eco non-toxic non-stick, and as my large fry pan went to Vinnies in our most recent clean-out this came home with us. I’m in love.

~~~

Finally the piece de resistance – the new ice cream maker! Cue bursting rays of sun and angels singing. Thanks to Santa I no longer have to whinge about not having one…

I will however need to restrain myself from making ice cream every week until the 5kgs from 2012 exit the premises.

I could have shared a close up of my new baby on its own but the miscellany going on in this photo is far more amusing. And so we wrap up with a ceramic pickle jar that is being used to store tea, another festive fruit themed feature tile and a wad of blue tack used to affix fabric backgrounds to the aforementioned yellow madness.

~~~

I hope you are having a wonderful January, I can’t wait to see what shows up in my kitchen next month. Don’t forget to pop over to Fig Jam & Lime Cordial to check out the rest of the In My Kitchen posts!

Related Posts

In My Kitchen: December 2015 – February 2016

In My Kitchen: September - November 2015

In My Kitchen: August 2015

In My Kitchen: July 2015