Spoons Glorious Spoons - What Is There More Handsome? and so on...

Yep I couldn't resist a wee tribute to Oliver The Musical there.  As some fellow bloggers would know - yes I'm looking at you Tiffin Fiona - I adore wooden spoons in all their glorious forms.  When you come into my kitchen and pantry, you will be able to divine this very readily.  Long, short, round, oval, thin and fat, I have them all.  So here is a brief introduction to my collection:

glorious spoons!

On the left is my fragrant Huon pine ladle all the way from gorgeous Tasmania.  I adore Huon pine, so sweet smelling, so smooth to the touch, so ancient.  Next comes my spurtle; some of you may have seen it on an IMK post.  I think it is pine but not Huon. Perfect for porridge and sauces, and getting into the nooks and crannies of your saucepans.

In pride of place is my beautiful, handcrafted walnut spoon/ladle all the way from Colorado, USA.  The very talented Robert from KitchenCarvings hand carves all his spoons and kitchen utensils from trees that have either blown down or had to be felled due to old age.   

Then you can see my cute small-bowled spoon which came from the bloggers' conference in Canberra last October.  It comes from The Essential Ingredient, and is a handy little fella.  And on the end you can see an olive wood ladle from Israel.  Or maybe Greece.  I bought it in a deli cum kitchenware shop in Brisbane.

and more

The first 2 come from Stanthorpe, bought on one of our annual trips out there.  The first one is made from the mantelpiece of a historic home that was being demolished.  It is actually very long, perfect for stirring big pots of jam.  The second is from an old wine barrel. The black marks you can see along the handle are due to one of the local wineries having a fire.  The burnt barrels were made into spoons and other implements.   

Next we have another hand carved spoon by Robert, this time made from sugar maple. He carves them, and his wife sands and polishes them so it is a real family affair.  That is why it takes so long for them to turn up!  Then you can see a one-cup beech wood measuring spoon, which is from the Hairy Bikers' range.  Their stuff is big and robust, just like them.

lots of wee ones

I would be lying if I told you where these come from.  I haven't a clue!  They have been collected or given to me, over time.  They are all very small and just so cute.

this gives you a sense of the scale 

a rimu stirrer from New Zealand 

This is such a handy implement, made from native NZ rimu wood. We bought it on one of our trups there (that's a little joke for any non-Antipodeans reading, referring to the NZ love of mangling their vowels).  Sorry Kiwis!

another spurtle 

And last but not least is another long, heavy spoon - not sure of its provenance, and a spurtle given to me by a Scottish friend way back when.  Notice the traditional thistle on top.

Well folks, there you have a look into my crazy collection, and this is by no means all of them.  I have lots of others, made from various woods.  I forgot to show you my French beech spoon.  Ah well, another time...

Love enamel dishes!

Yesterday Mr Pickings and I headed out to Paddington which is a hilly suburb with one very long winding street through the middle of it.   Along this street are many cute old Queenslander cottages that have been converted into cafes, galleries, boutiques and with a lovely old St Vinnies.  I cannot resist an enamel dish so these beauties had my name written all over them!  And orange for heaven's sake- never have I seen such delights. So here they are, safely tucked away in my kitchen till they feel the need to migrate to another cook's domain.

De Buyer iron pan

Today I have been seasoning my new De Buyer crepe pan.  Such a good price and apparently the French love using them.  I have rinsed it and heated up a small amount of oil till smoking point then wiped out with kitchen paper. Now all ready to make delish crepes!