In My Kitchen- January 2014

Welcome to Another New Year!

I hope you have had a lovely holiday period Dear Readers, and are full of New Plans, New Ideas and lots of great New Years Resolutions to see you through the next twelve months in style

What better way of starting off the New Year than with lots of new goodies? Lovely Celia's In My Kitchen posts have taken off with up to 50 blogs joining in across the Blogisphere letting you in their kitchens for a lookey-loo at what's new and what's cooking around the world. Check out all the action Here to join in the fun



In My January Kitchen... is a huge tray of 30 mangoes, and for the bargain price of 50 cents each!

I just love the tropical and stone fruits that bless our summer months. So delicious, what we can't eat quickly I'll turn into puddings or cakes, or freeze to use in desserts later

In My Kitchen...

is a cute jelly mold from Lorraine. I've been trying to justify getting one of these for ages, so I was so excited that she thoughtfully took the decision out of my hands :)

In My Kitchen...

Is a beautiful cookbook from a great chef who really knows his stuff, Luke Nguyen. We love Vietnamese flavours and I'm looking forward to cooking my way through the whole book. A lovely gift from my Friend Pony

In My Kitchen...

Is another gift from Pony, a drink dispenser ready to help me make sure I drink my minimum 2 lts a day to stay hydrated and healthy. Today I've flavoured it with Pineapple Sage and Borage Flowers- Summery Fresh!

In My Kitchen...

is yet another addition to my cookie cutter collection. A 3d Space Shuttle that is very cute. A Christmas pressie from MiddleC

In My Kitchen...

Again from MiddleC, a cute little Half Pint milk jug, perfect for my lactose free milk needs

In My Kitchen...

From BigJ came a Cream Gun so I can finally have whipped lactose free cream. I'm very grateful for the fresh and UHT Lf cream available, but now I can make InTolerant friendly pavlova! Yay!!!

In My Kitchen...

Is some delicious fresh Goat Yoghurt- I think I'll make some gorgeous fresh cheese. For step-by-step instructions check out my post Here

In My Kitchen...

is a Smoked leg of Lamb. We've been too busy working our way through the Christmas ham to get to it, but it's days are numbered!

In My Kitchen...

is an absolutely amazing, incredible, wonderful new appliance called a Yonanas. It turns frozen fruit into gorgeous, fluffy soft serve ice cream! You simply freeze the fruit, let it thaw for about 5 mins, then feed it through the tube and out pops deliciousness- perfect for anyone like me who doesn't like sickly sweet desserts

This is banana and raspberry- just banana and raspberry- nothing else added at all. Can you see how smooth and creamy it is? I would recommend this machine to anyone, but for people with InTolerances and allergies it can be a life-changer for sure! No gels, gums or additives, no egg whites or dairy products- just healthy fruit. I've been having 'ice cream' for breakfast and can't get over the giggly, guilty feeling as it seems so wrong :)

And finally In My Kitchen...

is some new Dog Food. Thank you Dear Readers for all your kind concern and comments on our Christmas Doggy Drama, but he's making a steady recovery and has finally graduated from homemade Congee to solid food again. Yes, mushy boiled chicken and rice was all that could be tolerated for a week, without even the benefits of stock and ginger that gives my people-food Congee it's deliciousness. Hopefully this new diet will help him stay happy and healthy for a few more years at least

So Dear Readers, have you dived straight into the New Year yet, or are you still recovering from 2013?

 

Beauty Spots

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things...

Well, these are Maria Von Trapps favourite things, how about I show you some of mine in my kitchen?
What have we here?



My lovely big oven that holds the largest size commercial bain marie tray. Yes, it's the same one that burnt out, but it's all better now.



My single dish drawer. We really don't need two. When we had a full size washer it would take a couple of days to fill it. These ones are surprisingly roomy and accommodating.

My two tone kitchen. We have offset drawers and cupboards here and there for a bit of interest. The colours are actually much better in real life.

A cute little Two Timer. This has two dials so you can be monitoring two things at once. I like the old style 'brrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiing' when the time is up.

My gas top. If you have a close look at this, you'll notice that it's actually sunken. If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm probably a bit shorter than you. Just a tad under 5'2". When we built the house we made the whole kitchen bench top an inch lower than average, but next time I'll go still lower. When we went to a gas top, I realised that they sit really high- the burners sit higher than the benches, the racks sit even higher still, and I already have height issues! I opted for this top that has the racks sitting at bench level. It has the added bonus of catching any spills before they overflow onto the floor too.

My cheffy qualifications. This is my apprenticeship certificate. Yes, I have it framed in the kitchen. I am very proud of achieving this. I came to cheffing later than most, and felt I needed to prove something. I did consider copying and laminating it to use as placemats for my family. That way If they had any complaints about my food - not that they would of course!- I could instantly prove that I indeed, know best.

These are some of my Shun knives. Japanese sharpness. Very strong and light, also great for smaller hands like mine. A sharp knife is less dangerous than a blunt knife. You should use a steel each time you use your knives, and get them sharpened properly every now and then too.

My big mortar and pestle. Made of stone and great for making curry pastes. It's very therapeutic to smash the dickens out of something now and then. As you can see, when not in use, it makes a very stylish door stop.

My favourite teabag tea. Strong and flavoursome. The perfect pick-me-up any time of day. I even take them to work with me.

This is my tasting spoon. Every chef needs one. You see them stuck in our little arm pockets on our uniforms. You really don't want us sticking our fingers into your food, so a handy spoon is the answer. BigJ had these specially engraved for me for my birthday one year. I wanted something a bit different and unique, with a bit of attitude- like me!

My fridge door. Stuffed to the brim with exciting odds and ends. These door shelves hold my sauces, pastes and condiments. There is pomegranate molasses, wasabi mustard, flavoured oils, and goodness knows what else.

Moving on to one of my pantry shelves. I need a much bigger pantry. As you can see, I like things lined up neatly and labeled. My fridge shelves are labeled too. No, I don't have issues- really! I can see wasabi sesame seeds, tinned sugar cane, and other weird stuff that I'll get around to using eventually.

This is a cute picture stuck on my fridge. It makes me smile.

Here is my absolutely fantabulous Kenwood mixer. With a 6.7lt bowl, it's about the largest non commercial unit available. Actually, you can get smaller commercial ones. The reason I went for this particular mixer came down to weight. The same type in a professional machine was much heavier at 20ish kilos instead of a more reasonable 12ish. This way I can manipulate it around the benches and even take it on catering jobs if I need too. I love it. I have a drawer full of attachments- food processor, icecream bowl, and others. The only problem is...... Kenwood have just bought a new model out in the same size that also has an induction plate. Just imagine, cooking and mixing at the same time! Risotto, custards, sauces, and my nemesis- caramel. I have many a fading scar from splashes of that sticky beast. I just can't justify buying a new mixer just yet. But if Kenwood ever wanted to give a deserving chef a break.........

And finally, my De Longhi coffee machine. It's top of the line, fully automated, and very fancy pantcy. We actually won it at the Good Food and Wine Show one year. It makes a yummy coffee, but I use it to make my half-strength lactose-free decaff. At work I have it with soy milk and they call it my 'crappachino'. I think this is very rude of them, and I chose to extract my revenge on the staff meals when they are not looking. Just by saying this, I have sown a seed of doubt in their minds and stomachs. Whether it's true or not, maybe I will now get the respect I deserve!


I won't bore you with any more bits and pieces- like my cookie cutter collection, engraved chopsticks, herb and spice drawer, etc, etc. These I will save for another day.


So dear Readers, what makes you happy in your kitchen? And do you get the respect you deserve?