Last time I joined this fun party initiated by Celia, from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial was…  June 2012.  Almost a full year!  I wanted to compose a post about our kitchen once we changed a few things around, but the harsh reality is that our home in Oklahoma is still in the market (can you detect some anxiety?)  so all the changes we’d like to make in our new home are on hold.  But, that doesn’t prevent me from highlighting a few things we have around…

In our kitchen…  (click to enlarge any of the photos)

Finally a drawer that can hold all our precious spices! Or… almost all!.  A few are in the lower level, bay leaves, whole star anise, cinnamon sticks… but most players live together in this huge drawer.

The best ever kitchen paper holder…  I love it!  Until now I had those flimsy thingies that promise to hold the roll while you pull a  sheet, but instead you’ll end up with is 5 ft of paper hanging between you and the roll, most of it on the floor… Frustrating.  Not anymore, though.  The Polder Single Tear  does the job. Cannot recommend it enough – and yes, I read a ton of reviews online before getting it.

In our kitchen….  many very special gifts!

From a couple of new friends from California, a Japanese spice mix, Nanami Togarashi, that contains chili pepper, orange peel, sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, ginger and seaweed.  It adds quite a kick to a marinade, and it can also be used as a dry rub on chicken, fish, even vegetables.  Stay tuned for a special recipe coming soon…

From Ivan, my former husband (and great friend),  a collection of pepper sauces from Brazil, made by a company called “Bravo”  (= Angry).   It gives you an idea of the level of heat of these babies!  Some include habanero peppers, others are made exclusively from peppers native from Brazil.

From my virtual friend Marilyn, a regular contributor at the discussion forum eat.at, a chocolate sauce that can also be spooned out while cold to roll as incredibly tasty truffles!   The concoction, which she calls “chocolate dyslexic sauce” has a funny story associated with it; click here to read it. After a lot of tweaking, her final recipe can be found  here. I wish Marilyn would start blogging,  she is a fantastic cook and a hoot to boot!

From David, that superb baker at The Fresh Loaf Forum, a bag of the most delicious dried figs we ever had! They are from a company called Sierra Nut House.  Since in my post about David’s sourdough recipe I mentioned having to use dates for not finding good quality figs, he shipped a bag for me… Am I lucky or what?   Even though someone repeatedly attacked the bag, I had more than enough to make two loaves of his fig and walnut bread.  Recipe as posted earlier here, just substitute figs.Verdict: better than dates. By a long shot.

Home-made macaroons from a friend and colleague from KSU.  I often make long experiments involving repetitive and precise movements with radioactive iron.  Concentration is a must. Needless to say, by the time I’m done, I’m pretty exhausted.  Last week I crawled back to my office after one of these experiments, and found a cute little box with 5 perfect macaroons inside.  Again, am I lucky or what? They were amazing!  And… she shared the recipe. Now I wonder if I have what it takes to make a batch.  😉

In our kitchen, Buck, the Peanut Scavenger Extraordinaire!  Whenever Phil starts shelling peanuts, Buck positions himself glued to him, and stares at the floor, ready to grab any piece of nut that might fly off.  He won’t blink, won’t look up, won’t make a sound.  Of course, every once in a while, peanuts are dropped “by accident”. Patience  does pay off.

and… in the room next door to the kitchen:

Chief, from the top of his more than 14 well-lived years, does what comes most naturally to him now…  Cuddles in a cozy corner, and dreams…..

… oblivious to his naughty young brother….

Well, I hope you liked the little glimpse of our home…  Visit Celia’s site to see what goes on in many kitchens around the blogosphere!

ONE YEAR AGO: Thrilling Moments (CROISSANTS!)

TWO YEARS AGO: Maple-Oatmeal Sourdough Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Pork Trinity: coffee, mushrooms, and curry

Following Celia’s tradition at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial,  I share with you what’s been going on in our kitchen these busy days. It seems like yesterday, but in fact I published my first “In My Kitchen” almost one year ago!  Now, 11 months and 5 posts later, a bittersweet moment:  this will be the last one to come from our Okie home.  A new bewitching kitchen is waiting for us in the  “Little Apple“,  and I cannot wait to share it with you in the near future!

In my kitchen…
KIND, our favorite cereal bar! We tried it for the first time while living in Los Angeles, and were thrilled to find its many  flavors, all delicious, in a special store here in town.  They are moist and satisfying, with a perfect combination of flavors.  My favorite is the mango-macadamia, super tasty!

In my kitchen…We always have some type of dark chocolate hanging around.  Phil loves to nibble on a little piece with his coffee, and his passion for chocolate is highly contagious: I find myself more and more dependent of a small piece before going to bed.   This brand, Chocolove, is a new favorite, with a very smooth finish. To make it even better, it is a fair-trade product.

In my kitchen…
A bottle of sorghum  molasses. For a few months now, it seems to me that every cooking magazine I open has one or two recipes using sorghum.  I finally found it and brought it home.   Hopefully, when my life gets a little less frantic, I’ll be able to try one of the recipes in my “sorghum folder”.  😉   If you want to know more about it, click here.

In my kitchen…
A new way to shape a loaf of bread, following a braided method from “How to Make Bread”, from Emmanuel  Hadjiandreou.  This particular recipe is his multigrain bread, substantial but not too heavy.

In my kitchen…   So many gifts!
Two Korean wooden dolls, given to us by a former undergraduate student,  they live near our kitchen, and love to watch us cooking.  They get along quite well with their Brazilian clay friends, a gift from our friend (and amazing cook) Anita.

In my kitchen….
A very special gift from our graduate student Vy,  who was recently in New York and brought back a bag of chocolate disks from Jacques Torres.
Here is what they look like.  These babies make fantatic chocolate chip cookies,  I promise to post the recipe in the near future.    It will be worth the wait… 😉

In my kitchen….

Have you ever seen this amount of saffron? And I mean, great, authentic saffron!  Talk about a special gift!   I am lucky enough to have a friend who travels to Saudi Arabia once a year, and he surprised me with this incredible load of saffron.  When the box arrived, I could smell the saffron through the box and the double wrapping of paper!    And, if that wasn’t special enough, he also included in the package a bag of…
Ras El Hanout!  One of the few spices I didn’t have in my cabinet!  Am I lucky or what?  No doubt in my mind I have the most amazing friends!

and finally, in my kitchen….
A very well-behaved dog, who never begs for food, but makes sure his eyes are as sad as he can possibly make them while Phil and I are enjoying a nice dinner…   😉

ONE YEAR AGO:  Goodbye L.A.  (one full year,and  a new goodbye on our horizon!)

TWO YEARS AGO: 7-6-5 Pork Tenderloin

Life has been pretty busy.  I am shocked to realize that my last “In My Kitchen” post happened three months ago!  But, before 2011 says goodbye, I take you to a little virtual tour of what is happening in our kitchen,  again inspired by Celia, who started these virtual tours and got many bloggers following her lead.

In our kitchen….
My pressure cooker, that goes into reverse-hybernation during the warm months, but comes out to play in the Fall and Winter.  Cooking beans, potatoes (mashed potatoes in 15 minutes), soups, stews, even risotto.   Many people are afraid of pressure cookers, but nowadays they are very safe and easy to use.  Ours even has a cool timer attached to the lid, that counts down from the moment it reaches full pressure, beeping when the time is up.

A few goodies brought from Trader Joe’s during our short visit to Los Angeles last month.  Assorted dried mushrooms,  dried cranberries… Their Pound Plus dark chocolate bar is great for baking, although it’s hard to resist grabbing a little square here and there to nibble with a cup of capuccino.

And, speaking of capuccino,  as the weather turns cold and sometimes gray outside, we brought some color to our kitchen, with these fun cups to serve our first java of the day.

But when only a shot of pure espresso will bring us back to life, these cute cups we bought in an antique store in Germany many years ago are perfect to enjoy them.

A madeleine pan – a blog on madeleines will be up next year (it’s only a couple of weeks away 😉 – with a non-stick coating that helps these delicate little cakes come out easily after baking.   But, I don’t use it only for baking….

Their shape is perfect for laying a piece of plastic wrap on top, and spooning items to be frozen.  For instance, we love a particular brand of salsa (Victoria), but they only sell a huge bottle.  We simply spoon portions on the madeleine pan and freeze the tray.  After that, the portions are dropped in a zip lock container, and stored in the freezer.   The shape of the madeleine pan is perfect for this use, better than muffin tins.

My most recent acquisition, a Christmas gift I gave to myself: a bread proofing box!  It stores flat, but once you assemble it….

It turns into the perfect environment to proof starters and bread doughs, no matter how cold your kitchen is.  I am absolutely smitten with it!  Stay tuned for a post on my first bread made with it.

And, finally… not exactly in our kitchen, but in our dining room…
A chandelier we brought from Brazil after my Dad passed away.  It was in my parents living room, but my Mom moved out of that house and had to keep it stored in a box for years, waiting for a loving home.   Phil painstakingly assembled it last week,  looking at old photos to figure out how to do it.   I know my Dad would love to see it in our home.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour through our kitchen…   So, what’s happening in YOUR kitchen these days?

ONE YEAR AGO: Homemade Ravioli

TWO YEARS AGO: 100% Sourdough Rye