IN MY KITCHEN (AND BEYOND): OCTOBER 2019

Posted in In My Kitchen by


It is time to invite you all for a walk around our kitchen. In My Kitchen posts started many years ago with Celia and is now hosted by Sherry, from  Sherry’s Pickings.  In this version, we will go beyond the kitchen because we were away on a professional trip for the whole month of August, so I will include a few bits and pieces from our stay in London.

Starting with gifts…

While in London, we had the opportunity to meet a dear virtual friend of many years – Elaine – The Sourdough Queen. She had us over for lunch and we sat for hours chatting. Had amazing vegetarian spreads and of course the best sourdough loaves a person can wish for. Fresh from her oven. Knowing how much I love tea cups, she gave me this gorgeous cup, handmade by a pottery artist from the region.  I adore it! Thank you, Elaine!


From our dear friend Sarah who lives just a couple of miles away from us, these cute fabric wrappers that you can place under bowls and plates to go into the microwave. No more burning hands on hot bowls, plus they help retain the heat. She made those herself… how cool is that?

In our kitchen…

I’ve been using this for years, then the other day Phil asked me if I ever shared this tip on the blog because it works so well.  It turns out I did not. So here I am, late rather than never, to tell you that a pastry cutter works WONDERS to make guacamole. If you do it, you will never look back. You are welcome…

In our kitchen…

Great find by my beloved. Minced black truffles. Potent, very potent. A little bit goes a long way. We love to add it to regular mushrooms when sauteing them for a side dish, or make a little olive oil concoction to add to grilled steak.  I used some in little mushroom appetizers featured not too long ago.

In our kitchen…

White lentils… I first learned about them through Mimi, when she blogged about a salad. Stay tuned for a recipe showcasing them. Unfortunately I could not find them in our town, but I was so intrigued that I had to place an order online. I know, the sacrifices I make for the sake of food blogging…

In our kitchen…

It is that time of the year. Pumpkin rules!  This one from our farmer’s market, should turn into a dessert. No, not pumpkin pie. I have slightly more exotic plans for this baby…

In our kitchen…

Sometimes things get wild… Please, no questions.

In our kitchen…


Thanks to the efforts of my dear husband, I now have the perfect tool to make spun sugar. I am still at a stage of covering all countertops, most kitchen appliances, and 2/3 of our dogs with spun sugar on several levels of thickness. Practice makes perfect. Here’s to hoping for a long life for Sally.

In our kitchen…

While in London, I also had the opportunity of meeting another food blogger I’ve known and followed for years. The one and only Philip, who was a finalist in the show Britain’s Best Home Cook.  He made me an amazing lunch that was crowned by his homemade lemon pie (he even blogged about it, check it out). He also offered me delicious chocolate cookies called “Bourbons” and showed me the special cutters used to make them from scratch. I knew I had to have them. I already made two of the four kinds, and you will soon read all about them.

In our kitchen…

A few more items from London. I had heard nice things about Silverwood baking pans, and had to bring these home with me. They are beautiful, and work like a dream.

In our kitchen…


Pizza party for our lab members!  We love doing those, I make the dough early in the morning (using my default recipe), let the dough rise in the fridge the whole day, when guests arrive the toppings are ready to go, and we can have a pretty relaxed get together in which the hosts can have as much fun as the guests…

In our kitchen…


What is quickly becoming a routine for our Saturday lunch: Cobb Salad, in many different interpretations.  This one used salmon made in our own smoker, very mild flavor.

In our kitchen…

Mango pearls, made with agar-agar and mango pulp. Approved by the resident pup with a gourmet palate (yeah, right).

In our kitchen…

Icelandic yogurt (skyr). We eat a lot of non-fat yogurt, reserving the full-fat for cooking and baking. This one is simply the best.

And now it’s time for the pups to bark their story.

If he is going to be a complete jerk about what goes on in this house, he can talk to the tail…

Because I actually do some work around here, as this photo proves. 


Indeed, in a rare (cough, cough) moment of clumsiness, I had dumped a small container of yogurt, making considerable mess on the floor. Buck to the rescue, making clean-up a lot easier.

Speaking of clean-up, we go through this routine more often than we like to admit. Oscar is The Burr Magnet, and a complete Drama Boy when it’s time to get them pulled off, no matter how gently we do it.

Not sure what to write as a caption. Honestly, we have absolutely no idea how the remote ended up in there. It could be Bogey Quit That (™) unique way of disapproving our entertainment choices.

But unfortunately, they were forced to endure a full month of kennel due to our trip to the UK. It was hard for all of us…

.

..

Indeed, we were in the UK for a little over 30 days. I share with you a few shots from the trip, mainly during weekends when we had a chance to explore the city a bit.

We had some days with nice weather…

Some days… not so much…

We visited magical Stonehenge….

We had amazing – truly amazing – fish and chips (with mandatory mushy peas).

I had a small dessert-macaron at Laduree (that place is a dream).

And by complete accident I stumbled upon a book signing by Nadiya Hussain, winner of Great British Bake Off a few years back. I told her how much we loved watching her, and that in fact I watched her season at least three times….

I fell in love but bravely walked away from the mixer of my dreams….

And had a special dinner with my forever husband at Rules Restaurant, where we had a romantic meal together 15 years ago…

 

But even long trips come to an end… and we were absolutely thrilled to go back to our routine…  Dogs sleeping nicely on the first evening back…

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the Bewitching Kitchen and a few glimpses of London. I will have a bit more to share about the trip in future posts, as my dear friend Denise took me to some pretty special spots. But that’s another story, to be told another time…

Until my next In My Kitchen post…

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2018

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2017

THREE YEARS AGO: Little Bites of Paradise

FOUR YEARS AGO: Coxinha de Galinha: A Brazilian Delicacy

FIVE YEARS AGO: Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp Skewers

SIX YEARS AGO: A Simple Dinner

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Brown Butter Tomato Salad

EIGHT YEARS AGO:  Spelt and Cornmeal Rolls

NINE YEARS AGO: Roasted Potato and Olive Focaccia

TEN YEARS AGO: Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

 

37 thoughts on “IN MY KITCHEN (AND BEYOND): OCTOBER 2019”

  2. :Oh !: is all I can say ! What a fabulous post from the flowers to Bogey QT (and the others 🙂 !) Love all your London purchases and the photos both in the sun and the rain and the best picture of Stonehenge seen in recent years (smaller than any of us thought way back !) and the photo of Nadiya Hussain I followed awhile . . . and I have not been to Rule’s about 15 years either: my favourite of the classic London dining spots . . . and it’s not pea mush, Madam, but very definitely mushy peas !! And you have lost weight . . . perchance no more – you look lovely . . . and this is ‘our lot’ till next year as far as this monthly present goes . . . . I have a smile on my face . . . looking at you and the pups . . .

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. The fish and chips we had in London was fabulous so I totally understand. We do lots of fish and chips in Australia but it’s not usually that great. Any idea how much the mixer was? I have one I’ve barely used yet so not buying one but it’s quite fabulous! The tea cup is so lovely too! I have a hand decorated glass mug a friend in USA bought for me from Slovakia. Use it all the time for everything I can!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Oh, Sally! I love this post! So cool to see some tips, tricks and behind the scenes instead of just a recipe post from a favorite blogger! I may have to borrow this idea! Miss you and cant wait to get together for lunch soon!

    Like

    Reply

    • Tanya I love to write these posts, have been making them for many MANY years… yes, join the fun if you like, the more the merrier!!!!!!! Would be so nice to get together…. I actually chose that picture of the macaron with our meeting at Laduree in mind… (wink wink)

      Like

      Reply

    • oh, I have serious plans for that pumpkin…. maybe a bit daring, and who knows, I might end up with a disaster in my hands… but isnt’ it fun to just try something new?

      Like

      Reply

  7. Your trip to London looks fabulous. Our London friends took us to Rules a couple of years ago: definitely a memorable place with a remarkable history.

    I like your no-questions photo of you cooking with three of your own two hands.

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. You know I always love these posts but this one is extra special. And i have even learnt something – never thought of using a pastry blender for any thing else. The pups are as adorable as ever. I sympathise with the burr situation. It is not the season for them here yet so I haven’t tried it but I was given a tip that a bit of hair conditioner helps to get them out.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. What a fabulous post, great photos. And I have got to get a pot to three of minced truffles!
    So pleased I got you onto the shameless joys of the humble Bourbon biscuit: I bet your version will be amazing x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. i really loved your post sally. thanks so much for joining in this month. love that pottery mug; you may have seen how many i keep on buying. tee hee. great idea for the avo mashing for guac. i just use a potato masher. truffles? i don’t get it; just not my thing. love your hilarious photo in the kitchen with the multi-tasking. and that smeg mixer! Oh my 800 pounds!!! but it is so beautiful…loved the doggy photos too. such sweeties. cheers sherry

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Thanks for a wonderful post… You London trip looked fabulous!
    Truffles are my downfall. I pretty much buy everything I see that has them in it. I should have a dedicate pantry just to my truffle stuff! LOL Just this morning I ran out of my truffle paste that I put into my mushroom omelette, so the search is on the find some more as truffle season just finished hear in Australia.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Liz xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Truffles are just special! it’s good to have a nice way to use them, no matter where you live, so I think we’ll be buying those little things regularly – my husband is truly addicted to the flavor

      Like

      Reply

  15. Sallybr, I’m smitten by your tip to use a pastry blender for guacamole (eternal thanks) and photo of you in front of Stonehenge, among MANY others — your “romantic dinner past” xo, wildness IMK (hear, hear for multi-tasking), adorable pups (LOVE your photos/captions), walking away from the mixer of your dreams (such self-restraint — how cute!), not to mention your parting shot. Here’s to the rest of this year and whatever tasty adventures present themselves in 2020, xo.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yes, you are right. Walking away from that blender was pretty tough. The good thing is that it was a UK appliance, so it would not work in the US with the electrical system and all… BUT wow. Oh, wow…

      Like

      Reply

Click here to comment, love to hear from you!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.