Saturday 1 August 2020

In My Kitchen - August 2020

Well, the last week or two has been a bit discombobulating - a massive branch from our tree fell onto our neighbour's tin shed, and kept on going into the other neighbour's backyard.  Hubby, myself and another neighbour spent a Sunday afternoon chopping it up.  Then our gas hot water system blew up, and the new and very expensive system hasn't worked since they put it in.  Grrrrrr!  Let's hope this month is a bit better.  I need a hot shower, or even lukewarm :-)  This is the coldest month of the year, after all.

Not much to tell for In My Kitchen in these Covid days, but I do seem to have more going on than I first thought.  Here goes nothing (as Lando says in Star Wars VI):



new-harvest EV olive oil
I love this time of year when all the new-harvest olive oil is available.  I bought this one online, and shared it with a friend.  Grassy and fresh!  Yep, the oil, not the friend.  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)



another book of essays

I was so sad to see that this writer had died tragically young.  I love her essays; her friendly tone, her handy hints, her useful recipes.  I really enjoyed her first collection of essays, and this was just as good.  And her little girl was only eight when she lost her mum; so very sad.


and there are vinegars...

I love collecting all sorts of vinegars: the sour cherry I bought online, and the chardonnay I bought on our weekend away for my birthday.  We went to a wine-growing region, where they also sell vinegars, and jams, and chocolates and relishes ...


and relish and jam and harissa

I love preserved lemons, so I had to try this harissa.  Really good with chicken and fish.  And the red capsicum relish is one of our faves; fabulous on everything:-)  


enamel cup and wooden spoons

I can't resist enamel cookware, or wooden spoons!  We stopped in at Jersey Girls CafĂ© while we were on our break.  They sell cheeses from the jersey girls (cows), have a range of local produce, and stock these gorgeous wooden spoons handcarved by a local artisan.  Yep, I'm as mad as a hatter about spoons, but I don't care.


Nutella muffins

I made muffins, with Nutella and bling - of course!  Yep, I'm a Nutella nut, and a bling nut.  My cousin gave me gold bling dust for Christmas; I have to get me some more of that fabulous stuff.  Though gold and silver stars are pretty fab too.   


Princess Pia in my birthday apron

Here we have Princess Pia modelling one of the the cute aprons made by my dear friend Ms MM. for my birthday.  Lucky me!  She even put my blog logo on the pockets.  And doesn't the Princess look the business?  



Robert Gordon/David Bromley pourer

Robert Gordon is a well-known pottery company based in Victoria since 1945.  The family business has been passed along through three generations.  David Bromley and his wife Yuge are Australian artists and designers.  They collaborated to put out some gorgeous pieces of kitchenware, including this 150 mL pourer.  So sweet.  Like I needed another jug?  Tee hee - heck no, but who cares?

That's it for this month.  I would love to see you here, friends.  Feel free to join in this month (or any month) with your foodie kitchen and garden goodies.  Everyone is welcome.  Here's how you join in:


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


OR

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

OR

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








You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter








In My Kitchen:



The Intrepid Reader



Happy Retirees Kitchen

50 comments:

  1. Sounds like that you had quite an eventful week, Sherry. That preserved lemons harissa sounds really intriguing and I wouldn't be able to resist the beautiful wooden spoons and enamel cup too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi angie
      thanks for dropping by. it has indeed been eventful. keep safe.

      Delete
  2. I read Laurie Colwin some time ago, and yes, her early death was very sad. Her daughter, Rosa Jurjevics, now around 30 years old, grew up to be a man named Felix, who writes sometimes.

    I hope your household catastrophes all are quickly and permanently resolved!

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh i didn't know that about her daughter becoming a son. the hot water still not fixed! one day...

      Delete
  3. Hi Sherry ! You're the first one to ring in August already !! We all are still in July, here in Canada. Joining your party for the first time.
    PS. OH and I do hope, your troubles disappear quickly.
    Much love
    Naush
    www.doodlebuddies.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi Naush
      I may have to delete your post - sorry but it's not an IMK. thanks for the contact tho. keep well.

      Delete
  4. Oh I hope your hot water system will be fixed soon. It just had to stop working in winter, just like my AC here in hot summer months!

    So sad to hear about the young author’s passing.

    I too love enamelware. It’s hard to find good quality ones now, and they can be expensive.

    Take care, Sherry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi Nil
      thanks for dropping by. Feel free to join in IMK sometime.

      Delete
  5. I hope that your hot water system is fixed soon. I can't think of anything worse right now than no hot water. Actually I probably can, but that is right up there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks marg. they still haven't come to fix it! it had better be soon... cheers S

      Delete
  6. That new harvest olive oil looks incredible! I wish I had such wonderful local produce. The vinegars also sound very good.

    Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yep we are lucky to have such good produce available to us. enjoy your Sunday!

      Delete
  7. You have to have hot water! Hoping that gets repaired son. I'd love to spend a cold month down there and grab some books I can't gte here and some food goodies.

    I am not ready with my kitchen post but wanted to say hello. I'm hosting at Food 'n Flix this month so I needed to get that announcement post today. So, I'll be back. Just hello for now and tell you I love Nutella as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hello tina
      nice to see you here. Yep nutella is the best! hot water should be fixed next week i hope!

      Delete
  8. I love your kitchen posts and eventually will join in the share. Meanwhile, I just like to be here! Isn't Laurie Colwin the best? I remember loving all her novels but the ones I saved were Home Cooking and More Home Cooking -- her essay style rocks and some of the recipes were good ones. I need to re-read those.

    I'm sorry to hear about your hot water heater. Mine is dying a fast death and I'm going to have to replace it very soon. Not the way I wanted to be spending more than I had planned this month. I hope yours is working well soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks for dropping by jeanie. yes i'd love to have your post here one day:) the hot water was about twice what i thought it would cost - eek!

      Delete
  9. Sorry to hear about the branch, and even more sorry to hear about the hot water situation. I hate not having a hot shower. Laurie Colwin is wonderful -- and her recipes always work (not all cookbook authors can say that). I remember when she died. She was writing a monthly column for _Gourmet_ magazine, and she had delivered a year's worth of columns right before she died. So each month they ran one of them, until they ran out. Voice from the grave sort of thing. Spooky, and kind of sad. Anyway, good stuff in your kitchen. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi KR
      well things are looking up except for Victoria down south- they are going into lockdown and curfew from tonight. let's hope it stays all good up here in QLD! keep well.

      Delete
  10. It's so hot here we can barely go outside. Your oil and condiments look delicious. My husband is a BIG fan of preserved lemon which we sometimes make ourselves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes i make preserved lemons now and then too. the harissa is great!

      Delete
  11. You have had quite a manic time of late, hope its all calmed down now. I love the wooden spoons and was sad to read that the author Laurie Colwin of the book had died young, i will look out for the book now that i am getting back into reading.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi shaheen
      yes things have calmed down a fair bit tho we are still waiting for the hot water to be finally fixed. hope you're keeping well.

      Delete
  12. What a lovely collection and how nice to have your logo on the apron! :D Glad to see you're adding to your spoon collection!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks lorraine. there can never be enough wooden spoons!:)

      Delete
  13. Looks like you have added a number of items to your kitchen. I love my vinegar too and flavored oils as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi judi
      yes i always have a big collection of oils and vinegars. keeps it interesting.

      Delete
  14. You do have a lot going on and I hope that your hot water situation has been resolved! I always enjoy seeing what you're collecting. That olive oil looks wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi debra
      the hot water still has to be fixed properly tho we do have some hot water going on:) yep fresh olive oil is the bomb!

      Delete
  15. Love the fresh olive oil, that would be a great thing to have access to. Laurie Colwin was such a talented writer. She is missed in the foodie nonfiction world. She died so very young.

    I'm usually late but...here I am :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. fantastic tina! thanks for dropping by and joining in!

      Delete
  16. So much goodness in one post - where do I start? Probably with the gorgeous wooden spoons (I wouldn't have been able to resist either) and what about that fabulous apron (complete with blog logo no less!) how thoughtful! I really hope your boiler starts behaving and that you get a hot shower soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i so love handcarved spoons! all that love in them... wasn't i lucky to get those aprons? such a dear friend she is. still waiting for the hot water...

      Delete
  17. Sherry, I love seeing what you have bought online. Thanks for the heads up about the olive oil, I will check that out. The apron looks beautiful, and functional as well, pretty special to have your logo on it.I keep meaning to try to make some aprons, I like the design of yours. Preserved lemon harissa looks delicious. I can imagine using those vinegars in so many ways, strawberries perhaps? You have so many nice new things to play with, enjoy. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks muchly pauline. yes i love the olive oil season. so many good ones to buy. i also bought a tassie one- Ashbolt, and my annual Cobram Estate First Harvest, and Red Rock ... the lemon harissa is the bomb. i made fishcakes last night and spooned plenty in. fabulous!

      Delete
  18. Sherry - so sorry about the tree and water heater -- both really big issue on their own but at the same time? Ugh.

    And I hadn't known of Laurie Colwin until this... so very sad that she died so young. I will have to look for her essays.

    Okay, that olive oil looks truly amazing. Wish we could get our hands on that. I remember seeing oil like that in Morocco and wishing I had brought an empty bottle to bring some home. (That was when you could travel with liquids!)

    Beautiful and fun apron! Mark wishes I would wear one... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i adore getting the new-harvest EVOO every winter. so fresh and zesty. we have a shop near us where you can buy oil; you can either buy a glass bottle there to decant it, or bring in your own. tho probably not during covid times, come to think of it :)

      Delete
    2. So many things have changed during COVID... but at least you can still get the new oil! :) Lucky you!

      Delete
  19. You have some interesting vinegars in your pantry, as a heavy vinegar user specially in the Filipino cuisine, I want to give those a try

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi raymund
      yes i love all sorts of vinegars. so useful in the kitchen.

      Delete
  20. The produce all looks so good - and the apron is stunning. I would have bought the wooden spoons as well - I need a few more, and that jug! My dad loves the word discombobulating but I am sorry to hear you have not had hot water. That is not fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it's a great word! some words just seem to dance in your head:) wasn't i lucky to get that apron (and 3 more) as a birthday gift? a great friend. still waiting for the hot water to be fixed ...

      Delete
  21. Hey, you could use that new pitcher as a holder for wooden spoons! Sounds like a great combination, right? Like you, I love unique spoons, and I've always liked the look of olive wood utensils. Hope this coming month is better than the last - umph.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it is very small tho that new jug:-) I love wooden implements and yes olive wood is so beautiful and special. hopefully august will be better...

      Delete
  22. Wish you have better times, staring now dear ! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I hope that is the end of your home catastrophes for the month Sherry! Love the pottery pourer-and the beautiful woodgrain in the spoons. Ciao and stay well, Cristina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. me too Cristina. thanks for dropping by. cheers S

      Delete
  24. Oh dear - what a week - hope you are well and now having warm showers again! Glad you have some lovely jars of accompaniments to cheer you up - that sour cherry vinegar looks intriguing - is it like raspberry vinegar? - we have had bottles of good raspberry vinegar that we use like a cordial. The jug and wooden spoons are lovely works of art. Love the bling on your muffins and the personalised apron. Lots of special items in your kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks johanna. yep finally the gas man turned up yesterday after 2 or was it 3 weeks? All good now. haven't tried the vinegar yet...

      Delete

I would love to hear from you. Please leave your comment and I will reply as soon as I can. If you have problems commenting, please try without your WordPress profile. You can try Anonymous (add your name in the text) or your Google account if you have one.