Wednesday 2 December 2015

In My Kitchen - December 2015

The dreaded C word is almost upon us, and I am not freaking out at all!:=)  That's reality TV speak folks; it doesn't matter what show or what is happening, they are all "freaking out".  But I'm not, so don't you worry about that (as a famous Queensland politician used to say). 

And in the meantime, here's my In My Kitchen post for the month just gone.  Feel free to join in with Celia from Fig Jam & Lime Cordial in the monthly kitchen show 'n' tell from around the globe.  




fresh biodynamic Aussie garlic - the best!  


Patrice grows wonderful biodynamic garlic.  I buy a box every year, divvy them up into cloves (skin on) and shove them in the freezer for the months to come.  I had to buy a head of Mexican garlic recently much to my dismay.  It was actually rotting, so went straight in the bin.  Never again!



I love this hand carved black walnut ladle all the way from Colorado   

Robert from Kitchen Carvings in Colorado makes these gorgeous wooden utensils from reclaimed wood and old trees.  I want one of everything:)  



a new artwork on the wall near my kitchen   

This wonderful piece is by local artist Pamela Gough.  She does a lot of research on historical street maps of Brisbane, and includes some of them in her art.  This one is of an area near our house, with the old street names showing in the middle.



a wee gift from our friend Mel  

Our friend Mel runs a cooking school in the local village.  She is a gorgeous blonde Amazon originally from Zimbabwe.  This is her clever book on blinging up your food. Lots of edible flowers are involved:)  Check out her website and you will find me in a couple of the school's promotional videos.


a batch of my homemade Worcestershire sauce   

I've made a really fiery batch this time.  I think the jalapeños were super hot.  You just never know with chillies till you eat them how hot they are. The recipe is on the blog; just type it in to the search button.  



a rainbow of floppy cutting boards   


For years I have had one of these useful boards, but now it is scratched and bent and a bit sad.  Luckily Mr P. noticed a set of 4 (for $8!) when we were in a kitchen/gift shop on the weekend.  I love them because you can chop on them, then just pick up the board like a funnel and tip it into your frypan or whatever.  So easy. Brilliant! 


It has been a fairly quiet month in the Pickings kitchen.  The dreaded flu/virus has kept me low for well over a week, and the heat and humidity have been high.  None of this is conducive to cooking I'm afraid.  Never mind, Christmas is on the way with lots of Christmas goodies to make.  Merry merry Xmas to you all fellow IMK'ers.  It has been a wonderful year getting to know you or getting to know you better!


32 comments:

  1. A few different things new this month, liking the sound of that homemade Worcestershire sauce.

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    1. thanks. i think this batch is better than last year, so tasty and hot:) funny isn't it how each time you make a batch of whatever, it can taste so different even with the same ingredients etc.?

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  2. Lovely goodies in your kitchen! I especially love the art and spoon. That is some nice looking garlic.

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    1. thank you. i adore that spoon and the artwork. and of course the garlic is marvellous.

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  3. I can't believe that it is December already! 2015 went past in about a second! The Worcestershire sauce looks wonderful!

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    1. thanks lorraine. it is quite tasty and just a bit hot:)

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  4. What lovely things. Sorry to hear you've been poorly. Hope you're all better now. Real flu is evil!

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    1. can you believe i am still a bit sick? it just goes on and on. it started with aches and pains and vomiting and went on from there. damn!:(

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  5. I like those cutting boards too. I had no idea you could freeze a whole head of garlic. I always dried, braided and hung mine. I use so much garlic that it never lasted very long but what a great idea to freeze it. I learn a lot from you.

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    1. thanks maureen. very kind of you to say. just break up the heads into cloves with the skin on, then throw them into freezer bags. it's great to have decent garlic all the time.

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  6. Hope you're feeling better soon Sherry. Always love a peak in your kitchen :)

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  7. I never thought of freezing garlic!! Genius!! I freeze it in batches of garlic butter but I think I'll give the cloves a go, thanks for the tip Sherry!! Just adore that wooden spoon - almost too good to use! So glad you aren't freaking out - neither am I ;) Jan x

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    1. oh yes i adore the spoon too. he is such a clever fellow. but i think i am freaking out....eek

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  8. It's hard to believe we import garlic when it's such a good Australian crop... and we export the best of it. I love all the bright and colourful things... I'm going to look out for a rainbow of floppy chopping boards.

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    1. yep a rainbow of boards is very handy in the kitchen.

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  9. those boards look like a great idea!

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    1. they're great cate. you just chop, pick it up and funnel it into your pan. brilliant!

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  10. I never thought to make my own Worcestershire sauce! Definitely will look into that now. You shouldn't have shown me that black walnut ladle, it would go so well with my new boards!

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    1. hi gretchen
      the ladle is gorgeous just like all his things. he is so good that he has had to extend the making and shipping times as he is sooo busy. making your own Worcester is so much fun. and it is different each time depending on the heat of the chillies etc.

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  11. I grow my own garlic, but have never frozen it - that's a genius idea, I find the imported stuff disappointing on every level. And I seriously need a book about blinging up my food - I love that.

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    1. freezing it is great; it lasts for a year in the freezer. and yep i hate buying the ghastly imported stuff! blinging is great.

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  12. It never occurred to me to freeze garlic, such a great idea! I freeze a lot of veg, for some reason I've never given garlic a go.

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    1. yep it works quite well stella. just leave the skins on and throw into a freezer bag.

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  13. Lovely things in your kitchen. I adore that wooden spoon, so tactile. I hope you feel better now and wishing you a happy December x

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  14. I've got to get my hands on some of that garlic! The spoon... 'My name is Sherry and I have an addiction'.

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    1. Patrice's garlic sells out very quickly so get in soon! Love my spoons. :)

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  15. Hi Sherry! Oh, love the sound of homemade Worcestershire sauce; and the reclaimed carved wooden spoon is beautiful! I really like the idea of the painted old street maps, love the colors she used. Thanks for sharing. :)

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    1. Thanks Emily
      I love the home made Worcester. So spicy.

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  16. Great tip on freezing garlic, must get onto that and your Worcester Sauce looks great love a bit of fire in the belly

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    1. thanks vicki. i love the hot kick in the worcester.

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