In My Kitchen- November 2013

November is here and it's time again for another In My Kitchen Post!

Linking up kitchens around the world with the gorgeous Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and her many friends. Click her link for a peek into her fun kitchen and the list of participants this month.

OK, let's see what's going on here today....


In My Kitchen is a bottle of Liquid Smoke- wonderful for adding to our BBQ sauces. A little goes a very long way. Once I dropped and smashed a glass bottle of this in the kitchen of our rental home, it stupidly had kitchen carpet and the smokey smell NEVER came out! It didn't put us off however, and our ribs just wouldn't be the same without a sweet, sticky, smokey glaze

In My Kitchen are some yummy Maple products from the deli. Maple Sugar and Maple Butter might no be new to our North American and Canadian friends, but they are certainly a novelty down here. The sugar is lovely and subtle and the butter is terribly moreish!

In My Kitchen is a fun mug from Max Brennar- it has a spiral groove from the top of the lip leading to the bowl of the cup

 

The idea is that you place a piece of chocolate at the top of the spiral, fill your mug with hot milk, and let the chocolate slowly ooze downwards with you controlling the amount and flow. I just need some cold weather now to check it out

 

In My Kitchen is a cookie stamp from Typo. I plan on using it for the kids biscuits so they can't accidentally get mixed up with mine. I do usually just make one big batch, but there a times when I have to make some for friends or family and I don't want to spend extra on gluten free flour. I can see this coming in very handy in avoiding accidental contamination

In My Dining Room- is a mid week dinner of Satay. I tried out three different styles with one a dry rub, one a fresh ground marinade and one a sweet pre-prepared sauce. The winner was the dry rub just beating out the fresh marinade. I used long, thin slices of pork belly instead of chunks because they cook properly that way, then grilled them quickly over charcoal, and served it all with compressed rice, pineapple and cucumber and a great big salad. There was enough food for 3 meals!

In My Kitchen Garden- is a new irrigation system of drippers for every bed. BigJ is very handy and always helpful with the right motivation :)

The beds are now planted with a huge array of goodies, all tucked up with sugarcane mulch and sprouting like crazy. The fruit beds and barrels are all busy too with our first of berries expected this year- if we can beat the dog to them!

 In My Kitchen- are some grapefruit. A big bag of them appeared at the gym for us to help ourselves to. As the weather permits bags of zucchinis, lemons, tomatoes  and even figs from garden excesses turn up. I'm going to take in some bunches of herbs as my mint, parsley and laksa mint is going crazy at the moment

In My Kitchen- is my Lunch! A nice big gluten free roll with Smoked Salmon, tomato, capers and soft cheese as well as a luscious fresh Mango- Yummo

And the last thing In My Kitchen- is the IPod on an 8 hour loop of Christmas Carols. November has hit and that means Christmas is coming up fast and frenzied. Baking and decorating are about to overtake my household very, very soon indeed

So Dear Readers, What's going on in your kitchen this month, and have you started getting ready for Christmas yet as well?

Beans Means...

Homemade of course!

The cold weather makes me want to have rich, warming smells wafting through my home promising of tummy filling goodness later. It's a rich smell. I don't mean the richness of the sauce, I mean the richness and generosity of spirit it inspires. It makes me feel secure, it makes me feel love, it makes me feel full, knowing that my family is provided for and will have that same feeling too when they walk in the door, even if they don't understand why. And I'm sorry, but popping the lid off a tin just won't cut it!



Oops, actually I'm using tins...... I mean they are the starting point, I could soak the beans overnight and all, but we do need to be practical and tins of plain beans are fine. Really. Truly.

1. I start by popping the lid off a tin -ha ha. I like to use a variety of beans for flavour and texture. Make sure you rinse the beans thoroughly and get rid of all the goopiness. Drain in a colander for a bit.

2. Make a basic mirepiox of carrot, onion, celery and garlic and soften in some oil over a medium to low heat. You just want to sweat and bring out the sweetness of the vegetables without browning them.



3. I would normally add in a few tablespoons of tomato paste at this point, but someone -I'm looking at you BigJ- forgot to tell me we were out. Hmmm.... a quick rat through the cupboard revealed a jar of Avjar, a type of red capsicum paste that I've been meaning to use in a Paprika Chicken dish. Let's say, add in 1/2 a jar.

4. Put in other spices and flavourings now, but not salt. Never salt beans until they[re completely finished cooking as it will retard the process and you don't want chalky beans, you want soft beans that will squish satisfyingly between your teeth.I used cinnamon, smoked paprika, cracked black pepper and a dash of liquid smoke for extra kick. I also added a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar for sweetness, but maple syrup is good too. Cook mixture off for a few minutes, stirring around so it won't stick. This will take the rawness off the spices and pastes.

5. Add in (yes, I know) a tin of chopped tomatoes and cover the whole lot with stock. You can use any kind, keep it to the veggies if you like, but I prefer chicken. Stir it around a bit, then cover.

6. This is when I like to pop the whole thing in the oven for a slow bake. Just check the moisture levels now and then and top up if necessary. It's done when the beans are still holding their shape, but are soft to bite. Check seasonings.

You can also leave this to cook on the stove top, but it needs more looking after and checking that it doesn't stick,etc.

Something else I like to do for my carnivores, just as I'm about to pop the lid on, is to top the beans with a couple of smokey ham steaks or speck to bake on top and baste their juices into the beans as they cook. If this is the case, take the lid off the dish about 10 mins or so before taking out the oven so they can burnish up their colour a little. Or you could also add chopped speck, bacon etc. when you are sweating down the mirepoix. I don't do this though, as then the Meat isn't obvious enough and my BigJ is a sook when it comes to vegetables only.

Serve these yummy beans with some bread or toast to soak up the juices and smile smugly, knowing the superiority of opening 4 tins to create a better product instead of just 1!