Sunday 1 May 2022

In My Kitchen - May 2022

This is the third long weekend in a row here!  We had Easter; we had Anzac Day and now we have Labour Day.  I baked up a storm of Anzac biscuits last weekend for our local Historical Society's Anzac Day service.  As long-term readers may remember, my granddad fought at Gallipoli during the First World War.  Such a young lad to go off to such horror.  And he never really recovered from his war wounds; he was in and out of hospital his whole life.

The weather is finally changing at last!  I even wore a (light) scarf on our afternoon walk the other day.  We are heading down south to Canberra (our capital city) in a few weeks where it will be freezing for us poor Queenslanders.  I am taking MANY coats and scarves.  But for now, I am sitting here in a tee-shirt, enjoying the afternoon breeze.  Let's head off to my kitchen round-up, before I get stuck into the several short stories I am intending to write before we go away.   


In My Kitchen:


snipping parsley and chives for the freezer

I love having herbs in the freezer, so I snip them up and shove 'em into freezer bags.  Et voilà!  Ready to pour into a stew or a soup.


there were many seedy chicken pasties made

Our friends were unwell, so I made some pasties for them so they didn't have to worry about meals.  Quite tasty, I have to say.  I do love me a whole heap of seeds!  These had white and black sesame seeds plus poppy seeds.  Do you remember all the fuss a while ago about people turning poppy seeds into opium/heroin?  I didn't even know you could till they told us :-)  The same with the painkillers they used to sell; you could make 'em into hardcore drugs.  Who knew?  A wee bit hilarious for us innocents.



and hand-carved wooden spoons by Thea Conway

As regular readers are aware, I am obsessed with hand-carved wooden spoons.  These are eating spoons, made by an Aussie lady.  I do find the bowls a wee bit shallow, so I will use them for cooking mostly.


I bought this

Not really a fan I have to say.  It was expensive, and I don't really like the flavour.  I may try making my own version next time, but without the dried garlic!  And I always have heaps of seeds in the pantry :-)


here we have semi-dried tomatoes in EV olive oil

I bought these for the pizza pie I recently blogged.  I drowned the leftovers in EV olive oil, and into the fridge they went.  So handy for other dishes.

Easter gifts from my cuz

My cuz sent these to me for Easter.  So sweet of her!  I adore that bunny plate.

It has been a busy April, and I have much to do in May before heading off for our road trip.  Covid restrictions have been lifted, and we seem to be heading into normal life again.  What a weird world it has been!  Hope yours is coming along well too.


oops, nearly forgot my curveball!

This is another wee sculpture from our mate Dion.  I have several of his works; this is L'il Dusty who sits on my desk, watching me type.  So cute.  And as a tribute to our Pa: in uniform, going off to war as a teenager in 1915.  They didn't even have the proper uniform or insignia at that stage.  Lest we forget!


Bertie Jackson aged 17

So let's get to it, global 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 the 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; I know the boss)



You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

50 comments:

  1. I love the hand carved wooden spoons! And like you, I always have lots of seeds in my pantry and love to sprinkle them on my baked goods. I just dried some cherry tomatoes I bought in our farmer market :-))

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  2. Your grandfather was a handsome man. Such a shame to go off to war at 17 and ruin your health.

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  3. Your grandfather was a handsome man. What a shame to go off to war at 17 and ruin your health.

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  4. Yup, we're pretty seedy too. :-) Those spoons are pretty cool. Glad covid restrictions are coming off for you!

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    1. thanks KR. Yes life is getting back to near normal now. Yay!

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  5. Total agreement about that "bagel" seasoning. I hate powdered garlic! I don't like it on actual bagels either: give me poppy seeds! Or even sesame seeds! But not EVERYTHING.

    Thanks again for another month of IMK!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. yes the garlic is not a good addition to that mix! Eek. Thanks for joining in again. Appreciated.

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  6. Never thought to freeze herbs like that

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    1. hi bridget
      yes it works really well. i always have herbs in the freezer now.

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  7. I’ve made some spice blends recently which we really like, an Indian spice blend and a Mexican spice blend.

    I hope you first excursion “post” Covid is wonderful!

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    1. thanks marie. we are hoping our road trip is terrific too!

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  8. Sherrie, I had the hardest time making a comment. I am the anonymous
    commenter.

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    1. hi there anon. i know - blogger is such a pain. always hard to comment. I wonder who you are? ... :)

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  9. Happy Anzac Day. Lots of lovely things here but my favorite takeaway was freezing the fresh herbs. I really need to do that and didn't realize it was so easy!

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    1. thank you jeanie. yes i love have a freezer full of herbs! it is soooo easy.

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  10. I always enjoy my visits to your kitchen (and art collection). The curve ball is wonderful - so cute.

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    1. thank you david. isn't l'il dusty cute tho? :-)

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  11. Safe travels for your road trip to Canberra, so much to see and do there in the big capital. Heaven forbid, will you be there around election time?
    Love the look of pasties, Winter always brings on a craving for pies, pasties etc. Always nice new things in your kitchen Sherry, to play with. I love using seeds, herbs etc but generally just use fresh as I have some growing. I did dry a whole lot of parsley one year which has been useful. Loving the weather. Take care, Pauline

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    1. thanks pauline. we will be there on election day!! should be interesting. yes i love having herbs in the freezer. they used to get chucked away as i never used a whole bunch. have a good May. x

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  12. It's interesting reading about your changing out seasonal clothes. You're pulling hats and scarfs and my husband is pulling out T-shirts and shorts. As for me, I'm cold even in the summer, so my closet stays pretty much the same year round, :) Loe those wooden spoons! And I can never have enough oil-brined sun-dried tomatoes.

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    1. yes i always know it's winter (hehehe - average temp 20C) when i put on my first scarf of the year. Wooden spoons are the bomb!!

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  13. Can I just say those chicken pasties look amazing Sherry!

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  14. Sherry, Your hand carved spoons are lovely and I could use a pair of sheers like yours to cut herbs. Such a good idea to freeze them for spontaneous use.

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    1. thanks judee. yes i do love my kitchen scissors :)

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  15. Love Little Dusty. I have seen recipes for DIY bagel toppings. If you do make your own, I hope you post the recipe. Thanks for hosting and Happy May!

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    1. yes i may do that debra. cos i really didn't like the commercial one.

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  16. I use a lot of seeds in my recipes and love sun dried tomatoes.

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  17. Always fabulous to see what's cookin' in your kitchen Sherry. Enjoy Canberra, my most favourite place of all having lived there for a few years xxx

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    1. thanks M. Yep looking forward to canberra. Brrrr ...

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  18. Snipping parsley and freezing it is brilliant! I love the old photo of your grandfather, those old photos are priceless.

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    1. thanks tina. glad i learned the freezing tip for herbs. just remember to lay them flat in the plastic bag, so it is dead easy to thaw them. not that i bother. they just go straight in the pan :-)

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  19. Safe travels. I love those new wooden spoons. I could so do with a set so I shall ask my sister to be on the lookout. My parents will be in Canberra and Sydney this year. I am sure your bagel seed mixture will be better than the one you bought :)

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    1. thank you tandy. yep wooden spoons are wonderful.

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  20. Your Pa looks so young! I hope to hear about your bagel seed mixture - though after hearing about how dangerous those seeds can be, I hope you are careful :-) That Easter plate is so cute and the spoons are beautiful. Enjoy your canberra trip

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    1. he was very young! yep might be interesting to make my own version. thanks re the trip! some of the roads are closed due to flooding so fingers crossed ...

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  21. Wow, that is a crazy photo of your grandfather - he's so young! I can't imagine being faced with that as a 17-year-old. Hats off to him for sure! And I totally get what you mean about everything bagel blends. I've had some that are great and some that are not so great. You nailed it - it's pretty easy to make yourself, and then you can use whatever proportions you want! In fact, that would've been a good topping on those pasties. Yum!

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  22. Love that old photo of your Pa! War is hell. It's depressing to think that human beings still can't seem to manage to kick the habit.

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    1. thanks frank. it is a great photo. yes war sucks!

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  23. Adore your wonderful bowls and serving ware collection, you seem to find something amazing every month! I do exactly the same with sundried tomatoes, and it works a treat for later when you need to chuck it in something. Thanks for hosting!

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    1. thank you! i am always on the lookout for great stuff. cheers!

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  24. I bet your pa could tell a story or two - what a handsome young man. It's hard to imagine what they endured. Lest we forget indeed. Those pasties look delish! I often freeze left over herbs but never thought to chop them first - that's just genius!

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    1. yes he never truly recovered from the war. yep chopping them first makes it so easy to use...

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