IN MY KITCHEN: APRIL 2017

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It’s been three long months since I last invited you for a virtual tour of our kitchen, the event initiated by Celia and now hosted by Lizzy from Bizzy Lizzy Good Things. Better late than never, let’s get started…


Last month was my Birthday, and I got two wonderful surprise gifts shipped from opposite corners of the world. The first package arrived from England, sent by our dear friend Denise, with a gorgeous apron and a matching coffee mug. Can you spell posh?   The second package arrived all the way from Brazil, sent by my niece Raquel, containing two Silpats for macaron baking!  Can you spell posh baker? Thank you Denise & Raquel, you made me feel super special…

In our kitchen….

The two on the upper row were bought for their looks, both found at Marshalls, one of my favorite spots to get unusual things for our kitchen. The third one is kind of vintage, a Pyrex sturdy bowl that I find myself using all the time. Perfect to mix a small batch of bread dough, cake batter, meatloaf, guacamole… I really use it almost on a daily basis.

In our kitchen….

Of all the alternative pastas out there, this one is my favorite. It was recommended by Elaine from foodbod, and I decided to give it a try. The texture is perfect, and the taste reminded me of homemade pastas made with a little spinach in the dough. Really nice, and quite a bit lighter than normal pasta. As you know, I have no gluten issues, no restrictions in my diet, but love to try new things. If it’s not tasty, I am not interested. This is tasty, and with the lower content in carbs, more than welcome at our table.

In our kitchen….

Two new ingredients to play with. First, hemp seeds which are high in protein and have many uses. You can add it to salads, smoothies, homemade crackers, cereal, yogurt.  Mild taste, nice crunch.  The black sesame powder you can obviously make from scratch using black sesame seeds in a spice grinder, but I found it available in our Asian market and brought it home, with one particular recipe in mind.  Black sesame macarons. Yeah, baby. You read it right. Stay tuned for it.

In our kitchen….

Zhorat tea blend. Have you heard about it? If not, I invite you to read this post by the one and only Sawsan. I thought about making it from scratch, but then ordered a batch already prepared. It is wonderful, I love to brew a pot before dinner and then enjoy it the whole evening right until going to sleep. It is floral, smooth and fresh at the same time. If you love tea and prefer to avoid caffeinated tea, this is a great option.

In our kitchen….


Another new ingredient to play, black tahini. It is exactly like a regular tahini, but made from black sesame seeds.  I haven’t tried it yet, but should start important experiments soon.

In our kitchen….

From black to color… My special food coloring batch in powder form, to make macarons, of course. Liquid food color is a no-no to make macarons because they interfere with the delicate balance of the meringue and almond dough.  Powdered or gel are a must.

In our kitchen….

Sprouted wheat flour from King Arthur Flour.  I first learned about this product reading Alexandra’s blog. Could not resist and ordered a bag.  I made a nice loaf of bread with it already, should be on the blog soon. Because the flour is made from sprouted wheat, it is supposed to be easier to digest, as the sprouting process starts metabolizing the wheat. The resulting bread feels smooth and moist. Excellent product.

In our kitchen….

Fathead pizza! This one blew my mind, big time! If you google fathead pizza you’ll learn that it is the Queen of Low-Carb Pizza, by far. I was very curious and one evening decided to give it a try, because it’s quite simple and quick to prepare. It turns out that I love it! It is the closest thing to real pizza I ever came across, and it is quite filling, so when I make the whole recipe I can have it for dinner and then lunch next day.  You can find the recipe clicking here.

In our kitchen….

A drink made from apple cider vinegar. As you know, I am into this type of alternative, non-alcoholic drinks. And I found this product in one of our grocery stores, Hy-Vee. It is actually very good, although I prefer to dilute it with carbonated water. I do 1/3 of the drink, 2/3 carbonated water, eyeballing it. The same company makes several different flavors, but I like this one the best.

In our kitchen….

Beware. These are addictive. Phil found those at our grocery store. Brought them home. OMG. They are good with hummus, with cheese, with avocados, with tapenade. They are good naked. The crackers, not necessarily the person munching on them. If you find them in your neck of the woods, pounce on the bag.

In our kitchen….

These are unreal. They are from Australia, so if you are partial to local food, I feel a bit sorry for you. To savor these babies without hurting your principles, you must face a pretty long trip to Sydney, and the tickets are quite pricey.   Amazingly, our grocery store carries them.  I am a big white chocolate lover, but must say the dark chocolate is much, much better. Phil and I savor one each on special evenings, making the box last as long as our will power allows.

In our kitchen….

A delicious dessert, from a book I reviewed recently, London: The Cookbook. As I already shared a recipe from the book, consider this an additional teaser. They are Bavarois Framboise. Quite easy to prepare and absolutely wonderful!

And now, it’s time for the Magnificent Trio to say hello…

We have a pretty regular routine in our home… We get up early, and while Phil gets our cappuccinos going, I grab the dogs’ bowls and get ready to feed them. At that point the morning symphony starts. If you’d like to listen to it, click here. After they are done wolfing their food down, they know they’ll have another hour or so in the coziness of our home. Then we leave for work and they must go outside. They use that precious hour very wisely.


Of course, sometimes the weather early in the morning is not compatible with doggies being outside, and in that case, they don’t get their food until later in the day. Once they realize there’s no food coming, you can sense the disappointment in the air…

But of course, snacks and little bits from our own food are always making the rounds to keep our four-legged friends happy. Happy? Well, maybe not all of them….


Buck is now the sweetest dog we’ve ever had! His personality changed a lot after Chief passed away, and even more after Bogey joined our home.  I call him my Little Tim Tam… not always, just sometimes.
Like twice, maybe eight times a day.


Oscar was definitely ready for his summer shave. He was having one bad hair day after another…

But we took care of it, and now….


Bogey has been with us for 8 months, and it’s clear that he’s adapted well… a few pieces of Parmigiano cheese disappeared from the kitchen island, as well as a batch of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, a full genoise, freshly baked from scratch, a couple of sticks of butter and the eventual bar of soap.  But we love him to pieces!

The Magnificent Trio for the most part gets along well together, especially when it’s time to do their tricks for Mom and Dad. Those are rare moments in which I get their full attention…


That’s all folks… 
I hope you enjoyed Mom’s tour through our kitchen… 
 See you in a couple of months!

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ONE YEAR AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Chicken Korma and a Bonus Recipe

TWO YEARS AGO: Josey Baker’s Olive Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Almonds, A Cookbook Review

FOUR  YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots

FIVE YEARS AGO: Codruta’s Rolled Oat Sourdough Bread

SIX YEARS AGO: Roasted Corn and Tomato Risotto

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Light Rye Bread

32 thoughts on “IN MY KITCHEN: APRIL 2017”

    • gotta check what I have in my youtube vortex… 😉 I do remember the cow video, actually I think I’ve got several of those, with Buck too. Buck won’t accept walking within half a mile of their spot now, it is so funny. He starts dragging, puts his paws up on my legs and gets this terrified look on his face… I once thought he had a problem with his legs or hips – then, I turned around to walk back home, and he was a new dog, dashing ahead of me, pulling on the leash – all he needed was to know we reversed the route, and the cows were farther and farther away… 😉

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  5. OMG, black sesame macarons are my current fave!! I can’t wait to see yours. Happy Birthday dear friend ~ your apron with matching mug is such a thoughtful and beautiful gift (and you wear them so well) – you know I love your kitchen posts and find it so hard to just pick out a few things when everything is so enticing (edamame speghats? gotta find). I’m so happy to see how well Bogey is fitting in, oysters and all ;o), and your magnificent trio has me melting every time. Meanwhile. that rose…

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    • Thank you, I got one year wiser…. or should have. The Drama Queen still hits sometimes, depending on what’s baking.

      So glad you enjoy these posts, I have to say they are my favorite type of article to compose – and the pups keep providing good “raw material”…

      as to the rose, it was a gift from my beloved, not only it was my bday but our 17th anniversary… isn’t that amazing? Not bad for a second timer!

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  6. I love the apron and matching cup. Special macaron Silpats seem oh so posh. But, I’d feel guilty for not making macarons more often. So far, I’ve only made them twice in my life. I’m sure I’ll get around to making them again one day. I even bought a set of gel colours so I’ll be set when inspiration strikes.

    Your pups are adorable as always.

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    • I have been making macarons on a monthly basis, more or less – but the silpat works for anything, so I would not feel too guilty if I had bought them. When I make macarons I make them slightly smaller than the circle – but still have to work on getting them more homogeneous in size. So many details with macarons… but you know that already!

      thanks for stopping by and saying hello!

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  7. Welcome back, Sally! Lovely to see you participating in this month’s IMK. Thank you for the lovely shout out, very kind. There are so many goodies in your kitchen, plus cute pooches, I hardly know where to start. I ADORE the rose. And the Bavarois Framboise also caught my eye. Happy cooking lovely one xx

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    • thanks for hosting… glad to be part of your last time “in charge”… I wish I could join more often, but maybe it’s better this way, I get more stuff to talk about

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  8. Always love these posts and it makes my day to see the magnificent trio! My best friend has had his breakfast and has gone back to sleep on my bed, waiting until I have had mine and am ready for his morning walk. Not a bad life!

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  10. Pingback: Modish Taste | IN MY KITCHEN: APRIL 2017

  13. The rose is gorgeous. I’ll have to be on the lookout for that pasta. The older I get the less my body likes carbs, well my waistline anyway! I remember our dalmatian growing up getting into his share of food trouble, the biggest problem being a bowl full of Christmas chocolates he snuck.

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  14. Ah so Many interesting things in your kitchen and of course all your beautiful dogs 🐶. The black tahini sounds very interesting as does the sprouted flour. And the black sesame powder. I expect you will be making many delicious things with it. Love the bowls.

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  15. Sally, belated happy birthday and 17th anniversary. Your entire post was a celebration — loved it from beginning to end! Edamame pasta sounds interesting. The closest substitute I’ve found for the real deal is black bean pasta… nice “tooth” to it, but the grayish color, meh. Time to Google the green! Also didn’t know there were flavored apple cider vinegars. Ginger spice sounds good! Your trio stole my heart (so did your captions) and the rose from your hubby is gorgeous. FUN post!

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