Wednesday 1 May 2019

In My Kitchen - May 2019

May you say?  The month between hubby's April birthday and my own in June.  Heading into Winter at last, my fave season perhaps, here in (sometimes too) sunny Queensland.  I am a Winter baby, and I love being able to slap on a scarf and jacket.  Funny thing Life - with me ending up here where the sun shines most of the year.  Do you feel you are in the right place, my friends?  Or is it a bit of a mystery how you got there?  Truth to tell, I don't think I could cope with real Winters anymore, so just as well I'm here :-)

Enough of that mental meandering now.  Let's take a leap into the previous month's goings-on in my kitchen.  It was as busy as usual clearly, 'cos it just flew on by, faster than a Concorde jet.  Or maybe faster than a Virgin spaceflight, though less deadly.  Nope, you're never getting me into one of those things.  I like a bit of gravity in the morning:-)  



a beautiful blue ceramic bowl

Here we have another ceramic bowl I bought recently.  This one is made by Ruth Bruten, a Melbourne writer, cook and ceramic artist.  And mother of five!  A busy lady indeed.  I love its smooth roundness in my hand.  Happiness!




handmade pastries

I love these cute little baked pies.  So handy to have in the fridge!  I made quite a few, which didn't last long as Mr P. and I scoffed them down for lunches.



baked Brie

We had friends over for dinner one night so I popped a Brie with walnuts and honey on top into the oven for about 15 minutes till it started to run.  So delicious, folks.  Serve it with warm bread as a starter.




more wooden spoons!


Are you laughing Tiffin Fiona?  Yep I knew it.  Only one of these is for me though.  The white oak one is for my nephew who just gained his chef's papers.  The wood came from a Bundaberg Rum distillery vat!  And the silky oak is for me, origin unknown except for Far North Queensland.  The carver Ron makes wonderful implements from reclaimed woods all over the place.  Every time we go to Stanthorpe, we stop by Jersey Girls Café for a milkshake made with fabulous jersey milk, and I can't go past Ron's fab stuff. 




as per the label

Yep this is tartaric acid, not quite the same as cream of tartar apparently.  I had to hunt for this one, as it is not readily available.  I will be using it in a recipe soon, so keep an eye out for an upcoming post.



a cookbook!  told ya:-)

Remember I said last month I was expecting another couple of books?  Well, here's this one by Irris Makler, an Australian journalist based in Jerusalem.  Over several years, she collected the stories of Holocaust survivors who shared their family recipes with her, and now with us.  Thinking of the Holocaust reminds me of a young man we met in Hungary years ago over a cup of coffee.  He kindly invited us to stay at his flat in Vienna, which we did.  I got sick and we had to stay for a week (he must have been sick to death of us by then).  He regaled us over the week with tales of his neo-Nazi leanings.  Being laidback Aussies with not an anti-Semitic bone in our bodies, this was indeed a bizarre experience!  



local (ish) olive oil

Mr P. and I headed west a few weeks ago for a short break.  It's so good to get away from city madness, and head off to the country.  We pottered around, caught up with friends, and bought some local produce, including this extra virgin olive oil.  Surprisingly to many, it does actually snow in sunny Queensland; this olive oil comes from an area on the border with New South Wales where it does indeed sleet and snow now and then.



Easter treats

On Easter Sunday morning, we ducked out to the local chocolate shop to grab some last minute treats, handmade by the lovely chocolatier Jessica.  See the beautiful pink bunnies?  You may have heard of the latest craze - ruby chocolate, made from the ruby cocoa bean.  All very top secret as to how it is made!  Tastes like white chocolate with a fruity hit.  Really delicious.




my cute ceramic toad overseeing my kitchen


Last but not least is Ferdinand, my kitchen toad.  He is made and hand-painted by an artist in L.A. - Caroline McFarlane-Watts, who makes beautiful miniatures for Hollywood.  How could I resist this green beauty?  That's enough from me this month, so join in my friends with your kitchen happenings!


Please feel free to join us for this month's In My Kitchen link.  Everybody is welcome!


(Addendum to links for IMK: Inlinkz has changed its linking method due to the new EU data protection laws, so I can only add other people's posts on their behalf, in a list separate to the actual linky.  So, I will still have the inlinkz option up, but you have to either verify yourself through social media or create an inlinkz log-in.  I think you only have to do that once!  I will also have a list of posts for those who don't want to log-in, so if that means you, either comment with your details on this post, or email me with your post details and I will add it to the list - hoorah!)




1. Add via the Add Your Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the Add your IMK link


2. Comment on this post, providing a link to your post so I can add it to the list below.  


3. Email me: sherrym1au@gmail.com, with your link or any queries about the link process
 
 






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Sherrys Pickings

38 comments:

  1. Hi Sherry,
    Very nice things in your kitchen!

    Your Holocaust Survivors' cookbook is timely -- May 1 is Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Ha Shoah). Here in the US we have been violently reminded of antisemitism by another synagogue shooting, but we are also observing the day in a more comfortable way. Your story about the neo-Nazi was a bit chilling!

    About your Linky Tool: it remembered me and worked without a hitch. It did not even take me to another browser page.

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    1. hi Mae
      thanks again Number One IMK'er. I'm so glad the linky tool worked for you. i think inlinkz is just trying to drive me nuts sometimes:-) I had no idea it was Holocaust Remembrance Day. such a co-incidence. all the best sherry

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  2. Gosh..I am drooling seriously over that baked Brie! I love that beautiful ceramic bowl.

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    1. thanks angie. that brie is marvellous to eat! give it a try. cheers S

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  3. Sherry, wouldn't it be fun (nope isn't it fun) to actually go into other peoples kitchens and poke around? I suppose that's why I look forward to your (and others) monthly in my kitchen posts.
    Tartaric acid? Perchance we see a new bread recipe coming. Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to it.
    I meandered around in this journey of life for many years wondering where I should be, but now I'm home, even if it is 8400 km from where I was born.

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    1. hi Ron
      thanks for dropping by. Please join in IMK sometime. we'd love to have you! yes weird that tartaric acid is not readily available unlike cream of tartar. and so interesting where we all end up! cheers S

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  4. I love baked pies and my husband loves them too, you can fill them with any leftovers abd they are always delicious, yours look yum☺☺

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  5. What a nice post Sherry - so many things I enjoyed; the wood spoons (I have a nice collection of olivewood); never heard of tartaric acid - look forward to your recipe; ruby chocolate - I wonder if we have that here in the US; your toad made me chuckle and I will have to take a look at the cookbook you mentioned. As a history buff the Holocaust was of particular interest to me. Thanks for sharing...

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    1. thanks for stopping by judi. yes i have always been fascinated by the holocaust - the sheer unbelievable horror of it all...

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  6. Hehe I'd love some Queensland weather! Oh and I made one of Irris's recipes and it was delicious. Good to see that she has a cookbook.

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    1. it's still warm here lorraine. can't wait for winter:-)

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  7. Those pies look great! They wouldn't last long at our house, either. And I've never heard of tartaric acid -- can't wait to see what recipe you use it in!

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    1. hi KR
      thanks for dropping by. yes tartaric acid is a bit of an old-fashioned thing!

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  8. Love, LOVE, LOVE the toad!!!!!!

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    1. Isn’t he fabulous? She is such a good artist!

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  9. I love that frog - your kitchen must be so full of fun stuff! And the pink bunnies and the pies (what are in them) and the brie and of course your lovely ceramics. I am curious about the tartaric acid. And I really love the idea of a cookbook of holocaust survivors - so wonderful that the people have survived to share their recipes and leave a legacy to show that the Nazis did not wipe out their culture.

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    1. hi johanna
      lovely to have you here. my pies were filled with beef mince and veg.! very moreish. yep my kitchen and the other rooms are full of interesting artwork. i keep thinking i should open a gallery so everyone can see it all:-) cheers S

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  10. And I meant to say I organised a login today - am a bit less frazzled than last month - only slightly :-)

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  11. Love so many of these things, Sherry. Above all, I am super curious about the tartaric acid and how it will get used. Inquiring minds want to know!

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    1. thanks david. wait and see! i will post my tartaric acid recipe down the track.

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  12. Nice stuff in your kitchen, and I feel the same about winter. I quite like it being in the cold, maybe that's how I ended up closer to home again! I've also shared my link for this month. Thanks for hosting as always!

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    1. thanks veg hog. lovely to have you here again. cheers S

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  13. I love these 'behind the scenes' posts! It's fun to hear what's been going on in your kitchen, Sherry. The utensils from a rum distillery vat are super unique! I love that story. And Ferdinand the Toad? Hilarious! I bet he does a good job keeping you company in the kitchen. Haha!

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    1. hi david
      thanks for dropping by. Join us some day for an IMK post. i'd love to see your post here too. cheers sherry

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  14. What wonderful treasures you found for your kitchen Sherry! By chance I was recently reading about that cookbook too. Bring on winter I say, plenty of pumpkin soup to beat those colds and flu! Cheers, Sue @globalfarm

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    1. hi sue
      thanks so much for dropping by my blog!

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  15. I love Ferdinand, as you know but I thought he was a she? Is she gender fluid? : ) I love those little hand pies. I'm always looking for things to make a freeze for quick dinner or to fill the lunchbox. I think I might give these a go. Of course I am laughing. All I can say is, don't let a match get near your collection!

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    1. i think Ferdie can be a he or a she! i love little pies/pasties. so handy in the fridge. a match? what can you mean?:-)

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  16. hmmm... that match comments sounds like a threat...

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    1. i'd better have my fire extinguisher handy then?:-)

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  17. Your kitchen toad is awesome, such a cool thing to have. I am now hankering for baked brie!

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    1. yes that baked brie is always a hit at gatherings shaheen. thanks for joining us at IMK again. have a good May. cheers S

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  18. Your opening paragraph said it all for me, I grew up where it was cold but I don't think I could endure that kind of cold anymore., So here I am in hot old Florida.
    Love the ceramic bowl and olive oils always come in handy, I must use those every day cooking. Lovely cookbook.

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    1. hi tina
      thanks so much for stopping by. cheers sherry

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  19. Hey Sherry, as usual you have lots of goodies in your kitchen, love that little ceramic bowl and you can never have enough wooden spoons. You are heading into winter and we summer. Enjoy wearing your winter clothes... hopefully will join next month :)

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    1. Hi moya
      Lovely to see you here. Would be great to have you for imk next month! Cheers sherry

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