Three months have passed since I took you for a walk around the Bewitching Kitchen. Time for another virtual tour. In My Kitchen is a fun tradition started by Celia and now hosted by Sherry, from Sherry’s Pickings. Stop by their virtual spots to say hello, but not before you are done walking with me…
As usual, I like to start by sharing the gifts that found their way into our kitchen….
For my Birthday (back in March), from my grandkids:
A gorgeous Bundt pan, and a rectangular tart pan with removable bottom. Can you say happy camper? Getting one year older all of a sudden is a lot less painful…
From Phil, temptation in shape of many truffles….
From Aritri, temptation in a can…
Gulab Jamum is heaven in form of dessert. I fell in love with it the first time I tried, many years ago. You can read all about it here. I’ve flirted with the idea of making it from scratch, but it’s really a very involved process. Little balls with a taste that reminds me of cooked condensed milk, floating in a simple syrup. Yes, very sweet, a little bit will satisfy your cravings…
Since I spoke of Aritri, I take the opportunity to give a little update. Tomorrow, April 2nd, she starts the second cycle of chemo at Sloan-Kettering, New York. We have the gofund still going strong, and thanks to all the generous donations she’s been able to stay in New York and get the best possible treatment. Thank you for all of you who donated or helped in any way with messages, advice, and moral support.
From Ms. S., Aritri’s Mom, home-made temptation on a plate…
Paatisapta, a Bengali dessert. Delicate crepes, traditionally made with rice flour from freshly harvested rice. The filling can vary a lot, sometimes even savory stuff is used. These had a creamy coconut filling, and were very delicious. The crepes were made with a mixture of rice and semolina flour, as they were unable to find the exact kind of rice flour they would have in India. Absolutely lovely!
From my niece Raquel…
Raquel knows of my love for elephants, and sent me this package with two beautiful coffee cups (handmade), pen holders, and elephant and dog clips. They work great to close paper and plastic bags, and also to keep parchment paper collars when you want to make a tall souffle, or something along those lines. Such thoughtful gifts!
From Phil….
As you may have noticed, we do have a little problem with coffee and tea cups. Oh,well. There are worse addictions in life. We are not interested in any type of therapy to get rid of this one. These were all from our favorite UK artist, Mary Rose Young, found on ebay.
In our kitchen…
A baguette-flipper. A wooden board that is perfect to transfer baguettes from their proofing stage into the oven, as the less you mess with them after shaping, the better. I’ve always wanted to have one, and now I do! Stay tuned for a baguette adventure coming up soon.
In our kitchen…
Since we are talking baguettes, might as well share one more item to make them. Diastatic malt powder, often used in bread dough to maximize fermentation. America’s Test Kitchen recommends using it in uses some in their baguette formula.
In our kitchen…
A dough docker. Yes, I realize the tines of a fork do the same job. But this is sexier. So there!
In our kitchen…
A spoon-shaped cutter. I first saw this gadget used to make a super cool bite-size dessert. Take a look at this post. I got in touch with the company, and Mr. Roy shipped it to me from the UK. I intend to put it to use very soon… Adorable, don’t you think? You can also roll out sandwich type bread very thinly, use the spoon cutter to cut them in spoon shape, toast and serve with all sorts of dips, tapenade, cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers… Endless possibilities!
In our kitchen…
A cookbook with very interesting ideas for non-alcoholic drinks. For more info, click here.
In our kitchen…
Cute little platters found at Marshall’s. I see blue macarons in the future…
In our kitchen…
Another Marshall’s gem. As I’ve mentioned many times, I am not too fond of jams. Never spread them on toast, alone or paired with peanut butter. But, they are amazing as components of macaron fillings, so whenever I see a more exotic flavor, I cannot resist bringing it home.
In our kitchen…
A very nice tahini, in fact this is the brand recommended by the one and only Ottolenghi. I ordered it from amazon, as I could not find it in town.
In our kitchen…
This is a silicone piping bulb. I have not tried it yet, but intend to do so in the near future. The reviews on amazon were pretty good, and I think it might come in handy for small piping jobs. It comes with three tips, but it will fit most sizes of tips available in the market.
In our kitchen…
A clay pot. I used to have one many many years ago, but it cracked and after saying goodbye to it, I decided to live without one. Recently, my beloved had a craving for clay pot chicken, and that was all the stimulus I needed to bring it into the Bewitching Kitchen. Stay tuned. Did you know you can use it to bake fantastic loaves of bread too? Ours is glazed inside, which facilitates cleaning.
And now, it’s time for our loyal and goofy four-legged furry friends to say hello… They’ve waited patiently for 3 months and cannot wait to share their own adventures….
Bogey Quit That, over the 18 months he’s been with us, has changed a lot. He seems more adapted to his new routine, and is having a lot more fun patrolling the backyard with his brothers. However, there is no doubt he prefers weekends, when he can be inside with us.
Oscar, as usual has his “issues.”
Your willingness to share with me some of your fancy soup is appreciated, but I don’t think I would like it. Therefore, I won’t even taste it.
Whereas his brothers had a totally different take on it…
Normally a very well-behaved pup, Buck got himself into trouble.
Those were the remains of the cork of a very special balsamic vinegar, a gift from our friends Marijo & Vlad. I must have dropped the cork on the floor and did not even notice until it was too late.
Would you ever forgive me, Mom?
Maybe the fact that I am the cutest dog in town could help?
Oh, pleeeeease… cute is MY middle name!
Methinks you are both in blind denial. My carefully placed spots make me the most handsome dog to ever roam the Earth.
And I’m the only one who matches Mom’s outfits…
You must be joking. I can outmatch you anytime!
Plus, matching outfits is no big deal. I am the only one who meditates with Mom…
But, not all is peace and quiet in the Bewitching Kitchen…
Scary indeed, but nothing compared to Osky, when he accidentally saw some luggage going into the pick up truck.
Luggage = kennel.
He hid in the den, and tried to cover himself with the dog bed. I was not fast enough to get a perfect shot, but his sad eyes convey all the emotion… Still, we always come back to rescue them and shower them with love!
That’s all for now, folks!
We hope you enjoyed the Spring version of In My Kitchen…
ONE YEAR AGO: First Monday Favorite
TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, April 2016
THREE YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung with Suzanne Goin
FOUR YEARS AGO: Chai Brownies
FIVE YEARS AGO: Pomegranate-Molasses Glazed Carrots
SIX YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Peach Glaze
SEVEN YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce
EIGHT YEARS AGO: Spring Rolls on a Spring Day
Bewitching Kitchen 
Wow, so much cool stuff!!! Your kitchen must be bursting at the seams 😆😆😆
I’ve never heard of the baguette flipper or the malt, I look forward to seeing them in use…of course, the tahini looks GOOOOODDDD, that’s the proper stuff!!
And the doggies, always love the doggy antics ❤️❤️❤️❤️ such funny boys xxx
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as you know, I am hard at work baguetting away today…. so exciting!
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😊😊😊
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So many goodies. I love the look of those truffles. I think that you should really try to make gulab jamun one day. I’ve got a couple of recipes on my blog. The trick is to deep fry them at a lower heat than you would expect. 🙂 I’ve been doing a lot of bread baking so I’m a bit envious of your clay baker. Doggies .. SO cute.
I had braces when I was in my teens. It was NOT fun.
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will definitely take a look – the ones I saw in the internet seemed sooooo involved!
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Sally
I always look forward to your posts but this is one I especially enjoyed. First of all, those gifts were lovely and something I would enjoy. I’ve GOT to try the gulab jamun. (Have never heard of this but I’m glad I know about it now – yum!)
The dogs are wonderful! I’ve got six myself and all are spoiled rotten, too. I know only too well the routine whereby they commandeer the couch – or bed! – and you have to cover them with blankets because they’re shivering. I mentioned once before that I’m (still) not home so I don’t know what’s going on with them too much; but hubs admitted to me the other day that he’s been feeding our Boxer yogurt and blueberries for the anti-oxidants in them. Boxers usually pass away at 10 years old after succumbing to cancer. Our guy is 12 now and healthy, as far as we know. But this anti-oxidant thing is typical of us (crazy) dog lovers, isn’t it? lol
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oh that blueberry yogurt gave me a huge smile! yeah, we spoil them rotten, but they do give us so much joy in return… cannot imagine my life without them
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Hmm, Sally – there I was admiring that beautiful Bundt pan (have never seen one as intricate l!) and the elephant clips and the ‘sexy’ dough docker, when I got that feeling, that knowing feeling . . . the pups would be next, and they were, at wonderful length and so enjoyed. But, well, sorry, if you talk about the Three Musketeers, please don’t expect scatterbrained me to remember what you posted before their pics !!!
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oh, I do know their popularity beats ANYTHING I could share from the kitchen… I don’t even know why I bother sharing the clay pot, the tahini..
😉
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What a great load of loot! Happy Easter!
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Thank you! Hope you had a nice Easter!
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Lovely to see the furry trio again! Love the rest of the post too, but the dogs are always the best bit. I can relate to the story of Buck and the cork – you have to be pretty quick to beat a terrier to anything dropped on the floor.
I don’t have a proper baguette flipper – I use a wide ruler left over from a quilting phase!
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definitely any board would work, but you know… I cannot resist a gadget… (sigh)
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hi sally thanks for joining in IMK this month. lovely to have you.:) i adore your bundt pan – so amazing. and of course your dogs are just wonderfully cute and adorable too. i have a real love for handmade pottery too so i keep collecting even tho my ktichen is bursting at the seams. the baguette flipper looks like fun and so useful. the truffles look very tasty and beautiful indeed. too much chocolate in my kitchen at the moment. i do have a romertopf hiding in a cupboard somewhere. mine doesn’t have a glazed interior so it is very difficult to use and keep clean so i gave up, sadly. cheers sherry x
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I used to have a clay pot non-glazed, and it is really a pain in the butt to clean – I had to soak it with baking soda, scrub etc etc… It gets to be too much… This one is a dream!
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Baguette flipper-what a nifty invention.
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Isn’t it? Made me feel so professional…. (small things give me loads of fun!)
😉
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So many new things in your kitchen! You are really ready to bake baguettes — I hope they come out delicious and crisp-crusted. And your dogs are really appealing — our long-lived Dolly (who died many years ago) looked like the shaggy blond.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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they turned out great, made a batch yesterday… should be on the blog soon!
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Your dogs are soooo adorable! Love all your new kitchen gear – especially your new bundt pan and the baguette flipper. Never heard of it but of course I will now be looking for one. =)
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the baguetter flipper is nice tool, you can of course use a cardboard cut to fit, but it’s so much fun to look like a pro… 😉
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Whew, what a lot of lovely things in your kitchen. And your fur family is adorable as always. Life would indeed be boring without them. Very enjoyable post.
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Glad you enjoyed the virtual tour…. I am already looking forward to the next one… in a few months… 😉
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These monthly summaries seem to be the only ones I have time for these days.
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I’ve come back to read this post a couple times… they are always my favorite (as you probably know by now) a day brightener in every sense. I don’t know how you find room for all your kitchen treasures but I’m pretty sure you have fun trying ;-). Love those doggie/elephant clips!! And your furry men always manage to capture my heart. No lack of personality chez vous – grosse bise, x.
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Personality abounds, I must admit… never a dull moment, as you know…
I have so much fun writing these IMK posts, sometimes I think it’s what keeps me blogging…
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Sally, what a delightful post! Your IMK goodies (and delightful pups) made me SMILE! Speaking of which… they’ll get used to your braces eventually. (Bravo to you for getting them!) I had to get braces while my son was still “in utero” and spent much of my pregnancy (several times a month) ‘upside down’ in the orthodontist’s chair. (Such fun!) After he was born, it was another few months before my “hardware” was removed — and he cowered in TERROR at his Mama’s new smile! Life goes on… for your canines and YOU! Also loved your birthday presents (belated HAPPY!), truffles, tahini, and “spoon shaped cutter” (I NEED one of those!) — what a great way to serve up appetizers (tapenade, swoon…) and whatever else your creative heart desires!
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your comment arrives on the very day I did the second phase of the braces, half of the lower teeth now have braces too.. To put it mildly, I am not very thrilled… 😉
oh, well, it’s for a good cause, and two years will pass by quickly. Right? RIGHT? Please, universe, make it so!
😉
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It WILL go faster than you think, Sally, and be WORTH it in the end. One word of caution before it’s over… make up your mind to WEAR YOUR RETAINER for as long as they advise afterwards! Sadly, I ditched mine a couple of months later and my bottom teeth moved and pushed some of my hard-fought — not to mention painfully re-positioned!! — upper teeth out of place. (Hindsight? Youth? Impatience?) SIGH… Go the distance, my friend, and SMILE proudly afterwards! I’m still happy with my slightly out-of-whack smile, but I “know” what it looked liked after the orthodontist removed my braces… and now. Don’t waste your money or your time! Just DO IT (to the end!)– and make it LAST. You won’t regret it!
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great advice! Thank you, the orthodontist told me exactly that – because there is SO MUCH movement needed on my lower teeth, I will need to use a retainer once all is done. We are looking at maybe longer than 2 years, but it’s ok… I WILL be patient and go the extra few miles…
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If it’s any consolation, I had to wear “head gear” too (the wrap-around, semi-construction-like girders encircling my skull with mini-rubber bands) for the fist 15 months to move my stubborn upper teeth. That December I hung CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS from them just for FUN! 🙂 Wear your “metal mouth” PROUDLY and maintain a good attitude with the OUTCOME in mind. You can DO IT, Sally!!! xoxo
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