In my Kitchen February 2016

I have found so many amazing things for you this month for In my Kitchen. Some of my kitchen goodies are still sitting in the pantry until I have a lightbulb moment as to what to create with them. I’ll show you some more beautiful shots I took of Melbourne & Albert Park Lake and of course, our furbaby’s here too.These blueberries (above) were on special. I want to use them incorporating chia seeds. Do you have any recipes you’d like to share? Using chia seeds, couscous, millet, faro, spelt and bulgar, in both sweet and savoury dishes is something I’ve been experimenting with over the past couple of months but I’m always looking for inspiration. Blueberries are a great source of antioxidants while being full of vitamins that are essential for our bodies. I froze these until I can decide how I’ll use them (and seeing as most frozen berries aren’t Australian, this is a perfect way to keep them).

In My Kitchen . . .

. . . is my new addition to my kitchen, a Jamie Oliver crinkle knife. It cuts all veggies or fruits with a crinkle edge. Perfect for adding character to my carrots for stirfries, something a little fancy to cucumber for salads or even homemade crinkle cut chips. I found it at Woolworths for under $10.

In My Kitchen . . .

. . . are these fantastic spelt wraps. I found them a health food store in Geelong. We’ve been eating quite a bit of spelt breads and wraps over the past few months and let me just say, no more bloated tummies or feeling lethargic. Spelt has a wonderful, nutty flavour. No more going back to white bread now, unless the nephews are over.

In My Kitchen . . .

. . . are these cute little bowls I found on special, 99 cents each, at Lincraft. They’re made in Portugal and are just perfect for holding all my condiments when I create recipes or blueberries, olives, nuts or anything I can find to go in them. They’re also dishwasher, oven and microwave safe – bonus!

From My Kitchen . . .

. . . I see Kojiro enjoying the evening sunset, hoping for birds to land on the balcony. He doesn’t go on the balcony as he’s a bit too adventurous and would probably jump after the birds, so he admires them from behind floor to ceiling glass sliding doors. His silhouette with the lamp lighting, with the evening sunset is one of my favourite photos of him.

In My Kitchen . . .

. . . of course, cookbooks. My new favourite is Nigel Slater’s From the Larder, a Kitchen Diary. He shares his recipes he creates on a daily and monthly basis, with the produce that is in season at that time. There are so many bookmarks already in this cookbook and I’m only halfway through! Nigel is a very personable and his style of writing inspires me – it seems like he’s really talking to me in my kitchen. Snow Flakes and Schnapps, by Jane Lawson, is all about Scandinavian, German and Eastern European food. I’m looking forward to reading it after Nigel.

Out My Kitchen window . . .

. . . are some amazing photos I took of Melbourne city and Albert Park Lake. The city was looking fantastic with the dark stormy clouds behind while all the buildings lights start coming on at dusk. Bottom left photo is of a huge dust storm over the lake – I couldn’t see any apartment buildings that run behind Albert Park Lake or even more than two trees behind! I’ve never seen anything like it in the three years we’ve been here. And the last photo, bottom right, is after one week of organising the Australian Grand Prix track, which is next month – there’s already barriers around the back corner of the track and a sand pit. The stands for that area are going up as I write this. Only five and a half weeks to go! So excited!

And lastly In my Kitchen . . .

. . . is some goodies I picked up from BAS wholefoods in Brunswick. While I was reading Sandra from Please pass the recipe IMK post last month, Francesca from Almost Italian wrote a comment about her friend who goes to get spelt flour from there. I knew I had to go check this place out. I picked up some spelt pasta, dried chickpeas, wholemeal spelt flour and bulgar. Now I need to change Riley (my sourdough starter) into a spelt starter.

And just in case you missed my recipes of the past month, here they are for you to drool over 😉
From left to right:
Mini pork schnitzel tostadas with a Japanese mayo
My Top 10 recipes of 2015
Korean pickled onions
How to julienne carrots – with a photo tutorial

Looking for some kitchen inspiration? Come and join us with Maureen from Orgasmic Chef, who is now hosting this wonderful kitchen party. We’d love to see what’s in your kitchen, so come and join us by the 10th of every month to meet some wonderful friends and food inspiration, while learning and laughing together over a cuppa.