In my Kitchen July 2014

How quickly has June gone! I can’t believe its July already but I’m so glad to be back with you all – I missed you. Thank you to Celia from Fig Jam & Lime Cordial for another wonderful party – it’s so good to have a peak in your kitchen for some new inspiration. What’s in your kitchen this month?

This month In my Kitchen . . .

. . . More cookbooks! I just love my cookbooks, especially anything to do with Asian cuisine. My aim one day is to have a bookcase where a whole wall is devoted to cookbooks! (I can only dream of having a wall bookcase one day.)

The Vietnamese Street food cookbook (most Vietnamese food that is typically served on the street of Vietnam, you can now make in the comfort of your own home – Roast duck, skewers, wonton soups and baguettes – yumm!)

The Spicy Lovers Bible cookbook is the comprehensive collection of recipes, cooking techniques, food history & horticulture for cooks interested in spicy cuisine – I just love this cookbook, it’s absolutely my favourite right now. All of these wonderful cookbooks were given to me by my wonderful husband – unannounced surprises! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

The Jacques Reymond Cuisine de Temps was bought when we were at the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show last month – I got Jacques to sign it too! A free tea towel from Myer was also thrown in with every book purchase.

. . . No Worries Curries spice blends. These were purchased when we visited the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show last month. They are made locally here in Victoria by a lovely lady who one day, while cooking with her friends, decided that these spice mixes should be shared with the rest of Australia and the rest is history. Made Butter Chicken the other night (recipe coming shortly) and it would have to be the best butter chicken I’ve ever had! These spice mixes take the guess work out of gathering all the spices myself. These are perfect to get those Authentic Indian flavours for dinner if time isn’t your friend – dinner is on the table within the hour, perfect!

. . . Also found at the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show last month Urban Spirit condiments. We bought three different sauces and tried them with some pulled pork pasties, which I made a couple of weeks ago. I’m still looking for the perfect dish for these sauce to work perfectly with. Do you have any suggestions as to what you think these sauces would go well with?

. . . It was my nephew’s 3rd birthday and he’s really into all large industrial machinery – loves diggers, cranes, dump trucks, excavators, tractors, etc (and he knows exactly what each one is called!) I came across the idea via Town Mouse Country Mouse, through In my Kitchen actually, last month! I knew my nephew would be so excited about this cake – his smile was enough to know it was a pretty awesome cake. All I did was construct the cake from store bought sponge, Betty Crocker’s chocolate frosting, maltesers and flake. I borrowed my nephew’s matchbox diggers and that’s how you ‘make’ a cake. I was proud of how it turned out.

. . . I also baked! I know, it was a shock for me too 😉 I don’t normally bake but these cupcakes looked so good I had to try them for myself. And yep, they were good! They were even delicious warmed up in the microwave for 20 seconds with cream, ice cream, custard or yogurt on top for dessert – yumm! Think I’ll be making these again as they were loved by both adults and children at my nephew’s party!