01 | October | 2026 | Bewitching Kitchen

In My Kitchen posts are hosted by Sherry, from Sherry’s Pickings. Please visit her site to see what everybody else is sharing this month. I join four times each year, on the first day of January, April, July and October. If you are a food blogger, consider taking part of this fun event. It is a chance to share those little things you bought or received as gifts and that make your life in the kitchen easier.

Starting with gifts….

From our former graduate student Lorne and his wife Wasu, beautiful ceramic pieces… We love owls, living in a place absolutely packed with them, I adore elephants, and that vase has the colors of the Brazilian flag. Can you spell perfect gifts? Thank you, it was lovely to see you again!

Speaking about friends knowing me well, this was another quite appropriate gift from our friend Gary… Yeah, defines me to a T.

Once again my friend Monique surprises me with a Dalmatian-inspired gift… I melted on the spot. Spot? Did someone say spot? Black spots maybe? Thank YOU, Monique1

Moving on, let me share a few things that joined our household since my last virtual tour, in the Summer.

In our kitchen…

These jams are not easy to find. They are from Ohio, but my beloved husband, the resident Jam Lover and Critic, fell in love with them, so he stocked up on two big bottles. If you ever see them for sale, grab them. They have less sugar than most brands and are very flavorful. Of course, this is info conveyed by the husband, I admit I don’t eat jam, although I use them in baking. Not these, though. The man I married is very protective of them (cough, cough).

In our kitchen…

Have you noticed I baked a lot? Maybe you did… ANYHOO, I am smitten by this line of pans, from Caraway. The coating is superb, they look super stylish, so I slowly changed some of my old pans by these. You can find them online, either at Caraway site or The Super Evil Empire. But keep an eye open because I’ve seen them in stores such as Marshall’s.

In our kitchen…

Rye Berries! An ingredient that is quite important if you make Danish Rye bread. I will have a blog post about it soon, so if that is interesting to you, stay tuned. Available here.

In our kitchen…

Paper stencils, these work wonderfully on sourdough bread, you need to be gentle and make sure to dry them well after use and place them inside a book or something to keep them flat. Available here.

In our kitchen…

My first bread using those paper stencils, a little bit of a learning curve, but I like the outcome…

In our kitchen…

Ube-flavored condensed milk. I saw it used by a baker on Instagram. Had to order a can, but have not put it to use yet. I am tempted to just make Ube-brigadeiros, but cannot quite decide, so the can is sitting and waiting. Yes, it was an impulse buy. Available here.

In our kitchen…

We have been using our two cast iron pans a lot. I have two gadgets to keep them clean. The one behind, with fine links, is my favorite. The other one, although easier to handle and easier to wash (it will go in the dishwasher if you want to), is not as efficient to reach the sides of the pan, and depending on how small the glued stuff is, it won’t remove as easily as the small chain does. Both are available on amazon, just do a search because the specific brands are always changing.

In our kitchen…

A heavy-duty kitchen paper holder. We’ve had one for 10 years, it finally broke, the bottom cracked. I tried to find the exact same brand but it was impossible, so I went to work and searched around The Evil Empire, reading reviews. Brought this one home and hope it will last as long as the first one did!

And now, let’s expand the horizons of our virtual walk, I will take you to the backyard, a place we’ve been enjoying more and more after our retirement back in May.

At this time of the year, we can sit outside when clouds go from white to pink, as the sunset starts. It is magical and we try to savor this moment, that lasts maybe a full ten minutes, whenever we can.

Prince believes we are there just for playtime with him and Star, nothing to do with pink clouds or the majestic beauty of the universe…. We obviously comply!

Of course, the backyard is more than a playground to them. They guard it, protect it, inspect it. Particularly Star, she is fearless and totally committed to the job.

Guarding the property against invaders is not an activity restricted to the backyard. They scrutinize the street for people daring to walk their pups, squirrels, bunny rabbits, wild turkeys, and flying leaves. WE ARE ON IT!

But all that enthusiasm can backfire at times…

During a walk, a squirrel rushed past us, and the commotion he caused made me let go of their leashes, and resulted in a furious chase which thankfully ended well for the squirrel. Prince came immediately back when called, but Star went through a fence and found herself dangerously close to three huge cows and a young calf. Those were very stressful minutes that I don’t like to remember, so yeah, she’s been booked and charged. Charges were later dismissed, for reasons that nobody quite understands.

Shockingly, bad behavior is not restricted to the outdoors. It involves the indoors. More specifically, doors. Doors that are mercilessly scratched when closed against the will of the resident pups.

Charges have been filed, and later dismissed, for reasons that are not fully understood.

Could it be because we are impossibly cute?

It is possible that cuteness explains it all. Not only charges being constantly dismissed, but the fact that they keep showing up on cookies…

Prince and Star could not be more different and at the same time they are so great together… Star has endless appetite, will eat pretty much anything anytime, whereas Prince can be very picky. He will often beg for treats by coming up on the countertop where we keep them, but then refuses each one…

However, even the Pickiest Eater in the house, has his weaknesses….

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The meaning of life, according to Star is sleeping well, playing hard, getting belly rubs, always wagging the tail, and giving slobbery kisses!

Well, that is all for now, my friends! I hope you will come back to read about our adventures in the next installment of In My Kitchen, which should really be In The Kingdom of Dalmatians!