Friday 1 April 2022

In My Kitchen - April 2022

Greetings, everyone.  I hope you're all doing okay.  We're having a damp and soggy end to the month.  And yes - it's been raining again, and areas of northern New South Wales are inundated again.  They had barely started cleaning up from the floods a few weeks ago.  And as for Ukraine - I can hardly bear to think about that.  

And then there's the topic du jour - Will Smith.  I won't dignify his appalling behaviour, except to say he clearly needs help!  And what the heck is going on with society where being rich and famous means you get away with this behaviour?  Enough of that; let's move on to brighter things!

Easter is a-coming.  Oh my, how did that happen?  Hubby's birthday is on Easter Monday.  Very inconvenient of him; and I'll have to order his cake the week before :-)  Of course, he said: 'I don't need any presents'.  But I managed to think of a couple anyway.  Don't tell him I bought him a flat cap.  Luckily he doesn't read my posts (unless I ask him to - tee hee).


In My Kitchen:


yep, coffee bags and Tumami spread

The coffee bags were a bit disappointing as I prefer my coffee stronger.  The Tumami is a black garlic and tomato spread.  Delicious in soups, stews and so on.


raw honey

This honey is harvested once a year in Tasmania.  Kunzea is a native Australian shrub, which has very useful essential oils.  (I love the roll-on liniment which is an anti-inflammatory cream and is also excellent for insect bites!)


native chilli oil

This punchy oil has macadamias, pepperleaf, wattle seed, shallots and garlic swimming around in the jar.  Delicious on many things.


dried bush fruit powder and native spice

Finger limes are a native fruit, growing in the coastal border region of New South Wales and Queensland.  It's always a wonderful surprise when you open them up, as the tiny vesicles (aka beads/pearls/caviar) can be any one of a number of beautiful colours, including pink, orange, lime or lemon.  The dried powder has a marvellous, tangy flavour and scent.  And the Aussie lemon myrtle makes a beautiful lemony and fragrant spice.


and then there was lunch ...

I slapped together some avocado, smoked salmon, my homemade preserved lemon, and a good squeeze of yuzu Kewpie on corn thins.  We go through so many bottles of that delicious, creamy, citrusy stuff! 


green food waste caddy from our local Council

Our local Council has started handing out food caddies, which can be emptied into our normal green waste bins.  Such a fab idea!  All our food scraps go in them, to be turned into compost for farmers.


ready to be hung!

My curveball is this wonderful painting by our friend Catherine Reason Macauley from Reason Gallery.  It is quite large, and takes up a fair bit of real estate on our living room wall.  We love it!


So get to it, friends and new friends.  Join us for another IMK post.  And here's how to do it:

IMK posts are about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month.  Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on.  And a curveball is welcome - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related (see my artwork above).  

The link is open from the first of the month to midnight on the thirteenth of the month.

Options for adding your post to IMK:

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, or if you would like it to be added after the 13th ('cos I can sneak it in)




In My Kitchen:


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

54 comments:

  1. Sherry, I love your way with words, especially "swimming around in the jar"! Wish I could participate in your IMK, but what with posting just every other week now, it just doesn't work out.

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    1. thanks jean! You are always welcome - IMK lasts till midnight on the 13th of each month.

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  2. Why does the timing of this part of the year always surprise me? I'm always surprised when I suddenly find that it's Mardi Gras, and then I always seem equally surprised when it's Easter!

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  3. Hi Sherry,
    The InLinks software won't let me post. Here is my wrap up of what's in my kitchen and also what's on my mind:
    https://maefood.blogspot.com/2022/03/whats-cooking-in-my-kitchen-and.html

    Thanks as always for hosting this fun event.

    best... mae

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    1. Thanks for linking my post! Also, I meant to mention about coffee bags: they sometimes contain only some real coffee with some instant coffee. So never as good as the real thing. Often they are supplied in hotel rooms, in my experience.

      All your new stuff looks good, especially the painting.

      best.... mae

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    2. No worries Mae. Blogger is a pain a lot of the time!

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    3. I guess i'll just stick to my coffee pod machine!

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  4. You always have the best stuff in your kitchen! Wish we could get some of it here!

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    1. thank you abbe. I do love our native aussie ingredients... If there's something you're really keen on, let me know and i'll post it to you.

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  5. I love seeing the things you post that we don't see here! One day I will get my act together and have a post ready in time to join you!

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  6. I've heard of that Tumami paste and it sounds fantastic! Loving all the spices and things in your kitchen, and that painting is gorgeous. Thanks for hosting IMK!

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  7. That's a really beautiful painting! Macadamia is a surprising ingredient in Chinese chili oil, but it sounds fabulous. I would love to try that finger lime..an exotic and interesting ingredient for me.

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    1. thanks angie. I love catherine's work. THis is a native aussie chilli oil so macadamias are perfect :)

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  8. Love reading your posts Sherry, misread your paste - thought it was tsunami paste lol then again it might be a tsunami of flavour haha xxx

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    1. thanks michaela. Yep a real tsunami of flavour!

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  9. I love the composting idea - what a great initiative from the local folks! I do enjoy your posts as I always learn about new products and ingredients that are out of the usual for what we see here in the States! And that honey that is harvested once a year? How cool is that! I bet it's delicious!

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    1. Yes our Council is on the ball! Haven't tried the honey yet but i know it will be marvellous ...

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  10. Like the picture! And you already know I like smoked salmon. :-) That chilli oil speaks to me -- but spicy stuff always does. Thanks!

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    1. smoked salmon is so delish. and I must try the chilli oil very soon.

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  11. Where do you get all your interesting yummy stuff from?

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    1. Online mostly. The fruit powder etc is from Melbourne Bush Foods.

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  12. Wonderful painting by your friend Sherry, if we ever get back to Brisbane I'll visit her gallery. Just when we think it's safe to travel, covid case numbers are rising. Anyway....I love lemon myrtle flavours. A friend has a tree and I keep meaning to dry some leaves.Those food caddies look great, we have a compost bin but l hope there's a spin-off to regional areas.lots of interesting things this month Sherry.

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    1. thanks pauline. yes her gallery is full of marvellous and quirky things. I love our food caddy! Clever Council... and i feel so virtuous as it goes to the farmers. (I hope they don't pay.)

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    2. For some reason my comment didn't send??? Or did it? Anyway, thanks for hosting Sherry. You always have such interesting things, many of which I have never heard of.

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  13. Love and adore that painting! Those powders sound very interesting as well. You always highlight the coolest products!

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  14. I love the ingredients in your first three pictures. Especially the "black gold" which I added to Pasta al Pomodoro. I have way too many versions of honey and I do make a spicy chili oil which I love too :)

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    1. thanks judi. 'Black gold?' Do you mean the tumami? I didn't realise you can get it overseas.

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    2. Yes.black garlic. See my post https://cookingwithauntjuju.com/2015/04/10/pasta-al-pomodoro/
      I did order it online from a company in Wisconsin.

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    3. the Tumami paste is made in australia so I figured it was only sold here. Good old Alice; she is doing well with her food and cookbooks.

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  15. That artwork is just stunning! Those powders appear to be intriguing as well. You always feature the greatest items!

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  16. Happy birthday to Mr. P!

    Okay, totally agree with you about the entitlement of the rich and the hubris of WS. But also, I never, ever find it acceptable to make a person’s illness the butt of a joke. Both men should not be let off for their actions. Harrumph.

    On to what’s in your kitchen! A lot of garlic this week… ;) As I said on social media, I adore that painting and whatever real estate it takes is real estate it deserves.

    Happy April!

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    1. thanks David. Oh yes indeed. She looks beautiful on our wall. I had to move another painting but yes worth it!

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  17. Happy birthday to your hubby! An Easter baby he was...well, sometimes.

    The compost bins are an excellent idea.

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    1. thanks Deb. Yes occasionally he is an easter baby :) Yep love the caddy.

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  18. What is the brand of the corn thins in your yummy-looking lunch, please? I wonder if they're available in the US. I love seeing all the products you've posted about. That Tumami sounds great and the waste caddy does too. We save a lot of vegetable ends and peels in the freezer for stock, but we really need to get back to composting for real. We have a compost container for the kitchen and a big composter that the kids gave my husband out in the yard, but we haven't started back to using them again.
    Thanks for visiting my blog!

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    1. hi laurie
      the brand is Real Foods; they are an aussie company but they say they export them so maybe you can get them over there. I buy the sesame seed ones; delish! cheers S.

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  19. Nice haul Sherry! I'm so tired of this rain. And it isn't doing our garden any good either! We had those compost bins at our old place but the new council here doesn't have them.

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    1. oh dear i read you are having a rain bomb! try to keep dry!

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  20. I hope we start food waste composting soon as a council incentive. We do have a great recycling collection which is a start. One day I hope to try finger limes. Birthday blessings for hubbie :)

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    1. finger limes are really fabulous! thanks re birthday blessings.

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  21. Lovely painting, it’s a treat seeing all the artwork you post. Love the spices too. I’ve linked and hope you don’t mind I added a recipe at the end of my post.
    I saw some else’s post lamenting those who post recipes instead of kitchen gear :-)
    Thank you for hosting!

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    1. Hi Tina,
      I complained about people who linked ONLY a recipe post (sometimes just an old one), nothing about the kitchen. I think it's great to ADD a recipe, and I loved your post. But that's my opinion, though I suspect Sherry agrees.

      mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    2. thank you Tina. No worries; I don't mind a recipe added to an IMK post. As Mae says, it's just when people only link some old recipe that it gets a bit maddening. cheers!

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    3. I appreciate it! I didn't have too much new here so I almost didn't link up.

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  22. This year just doesn't let up, does it! I hope you have a good easter and fun celebrating mr p's birthday. You have some lovely things in your kitchen as usual - those native fruit powders sound interesting.Tumami and Kunzea sound wonderfully exotic and intriguing. And the compost scraps in the bin are a wonderful initiative - we have had it for a few years and I love that if I have scraps it is useful.

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  23. I would love to try all of those tasty goodies! Especially the honey and the chili oil. YUM! Love the painting. Hope the weather improves. If you could, I love for you to send us some of that rain. We're in a drought.

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