In my kitchen…
…is a chocolate chip cake, made to a recipe from the Green & Black cookbook. The cake itself was quite ordinary, but the topping was wonderful…
I scattered over Moo’s magic sugar crystals, and they set like shards of polished glass…
In my kitchen…
…is this stunning French clay speculaas mould, a gift from our friend Maureen. It’s finished to look like stained wood. I haven’t figured out how to use it yet, so I’d be grateful for any tips…
In my kitchen…
…is a ginormous tin of sliced jalapeños. We went to buy a small jar during our last visit to Harkola, and found one for $4.50. Then we walked past this 2.8kg tin for $8…
In my kitchen…
…are the baby garlic bulbs that didn’t grow to a decent size this year. They’re all under an inch in diameter. We’ve been eating them up, and they’ve been delicious…
In my kitchen…
…is a little porcelain wren, or at least that’s what Pete thinks it is. It’s a gift for my mother…
In my kitchen…
…is a bowl of salt roasted almonds. The process turns their shells papery crisp and gives them a delicious, addictive taste. We buy some every year to add to our Christmas hampers…
. . . . .
Tell me, what’s happening in your kitchen this month?
If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post on your own blog, please feel free to use this format, and to leave a comment here linking back to your post. We’d all love to see what’s happening in your kitchen every month too!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
If you need speculaas’s recipe, tell me. I will write you. Every year we make speculaas for Christmas time.
Thank you, Lo, that’s very kind of you to offer. We use our friend Maureen’s recipe – https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/01/19/speculaas/ – although I might have to adapt it to work with the new mould!
Must get some of that sugar….you know how I feel about your IMK posts.
Thanks Norma! Hope to take a peek inside your kitchen one of these days too! :)
Very interested in those almonds Celia. (Beady eyed look) roasted in their shells. Do you think possible to do at home, or would explosions result?
Lovely things happening in your kitchen, I almost did a post for you last month and then there just wasn’t enough loveliness here. I will see if I can whip one up this month. Hugs, Joanna
Jo, they’re really interesting – a relatively new thing at middle eastern supply stores in the last few years. We sit around and crack them out of their shells, in a similar way to shelling peanuts. I have no idea how they do them, but that’s what one seller told me they were – salt roasted. If you find out how to do them at home, please let me know! :)
Can’t help you on how to use the mould because I have no idea what speculaas are, but am intrigued to find out what you do with it. That sugar looks amazing too and very glad you are enjoying your garlic :)
Choc, speculaas are a wonderful Dutch spice biscuit, made with almonds. I’m sure you’ve had them – they come in the most gorgeous little tins and are usually shaped like windmills and the like. Here’s the recipe we use:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/01/19/speculaas/
Now I just have to figure out how to get it in and out of the mould – my first attempt was just a sticky mess.. :)
Ah yes, I do know what you mean. Was just confused by the mould as I’ve only had them as little finger biscuits in a packet.
Have you found a way around it yet? I have every faith that you will soon be producing beautiful speculaas.
Always so many lovely things in your kitchen Celia. I love the idea of the salt roasted almonds and the bowl is exquisite!
I have just diarised a reminder to do my December post.
:-) Mandy
Thanks Mandy for always playing along! I’ve put up your November post on the sidebar list! :)
There is nothing happening in my kitchen. I have been out and about too much. Today i went to a tiny village in the mountains to watch a lovely lady make cheese and then ricotta from milk straight from her cows. Later I went to another village for their chestnut festival.I bought some delicious honey, so now I have ricotta and honey in my kitchen, perhaps something might happen soon.
Deb, ricotta and honey is one of those amazing treats the old nonna next door introduced us to years ago. It was our standard breakfast for a while there! There is really nothing like fresh ricotta – I’ve had it warm, but never from such fresh milk as the one you describe!
Every time you do this…I say to myself ‘how interesting’, ‘I want to do this too’ and then I promptly forget. One of these days for sure!
Thanks Joan, I hope so – I’d love to peek inside your kitchen! :)
Lovely group of lovely things! ;-)
My friend and baker extraordinaire Gary, told me that you can either roll the specullas dough (not sure if your recipe that contains slivered almonds could work, I am wondering if the almonds would make it harder to do?) – anyway, you can either roll the dough on top of the well floured mold, or press small bits of the dough on each square (again, heavily floured) and delicately peel it off.
I had a ton of trouble with mine, but you are 100,000X times better than me for this type of concoction, so have fun, and i’ll be looking forward to your post about it.
I was planning on making an “In My Kitchen” this month, but doubt I’ll be able to… upcoming trip, life is so busy, I wish it was December 17th already (vacations!)
Sally, thank you for the tip! Another friend told me to wet the mould first, and yet another suggested rice flour. Will have to experiment and see how I go, and I think you’re right, I might have to adapt the recipe slightly…
Rice flour could be a good idea, if the way it works with bread in a banetton is any similar…
I will be all ears.. or… eyes on your blog about it
Loved the shards of sugar ! Mara Stewart did up a fine cookies speculaa recipe last Xmas and she may have some online at her website this year?my problem was not having a speculaa mould:)
Thank you! I usually make speculaas without a mould – the trick now is to figure out how to make them with one. :)
Here’s our speculaas recipe – it can be made as a sliced log, which makes handling very easy!
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/01/19/speculaas/
Love this idea of sharing what’s in your kitchen. Love the little ‘wren’ too. Speculaas, yummy!
Lizzy, thank you! I actually bought two matching little wrens – one for my mum and one for myself.. :)
A sweet speculaas mould! Speculaas is on my list for Christmas gifts this year, alas they will be mould less though :-)
Lots happening in my kitchen at the moment, I’ll see if I can do a post.
Brydie, that would be lovely! I’d love to see what’s happening in your retro kitchen! It’s time to gear up for Christmas, although we haven’t really started in earnest yet…
I have small ceramic moulds with impressed patterns of Australian animals, you make the biscuit dough mixture and then press the moulds over the top, at least that is how the small individual ones I have work.
Thanks for the tip, Roz! I’ll let you all know how I go! :)
Love the mould and the bird and of course, would have eaten the cake. Why was it ordinary? In our kitchen are apples picked today from our neighbour farmer’s orchard. There were absolutely no leaves left on the trees just many red apples. Strange sight but quite beautiful today against the clear blue Autumn sky. I’ll try and post photos on blog.
Hey darlin’, hope it’s all going well in France! Fresh apples must have been wonderful, look forward to seeing photos of them. The cake was just a bit boring, to be honest…
I always love your IMKitchen posts Celia! I bought the same little wren in green and it sits next to a real birds nest with blown quail eggs in my dining room- obviously we both have exquisite taste! I also have very similar mould for gingerbread that I just dust with flour before using like stamps. I was told never to wash them- kinda like seasoning a wok. If you still have trouble, press the mould on, then pop the whole thing in the fridge to firm up before peeling off perfectly, that’s the best way in hot weather anyway- remember Christmas in Holland is not 30#c :-) Good luck sweetie, and let us know how they go!
Oooh Becca, that’s a great tip to put them into the fridge. You always seem to do much better with this sort of thing that I do – I remember how crisp your homemade stamped cookies were! And how nice that you have the same little wren – I saw the green one as well, but the little grey one just called out to me… :)
I bought a speculaas mold when I went to the Netherlands and was very excited to come home and use it. I used the recipe that came with it (had to translate it first! :) ) But even floured heavily I still had a big sticky mess! Look forward to hearing when you figure it out!
Kat, my first attempt was a bit of a disaster too, so I’ll need to rethink the recipe. Will definitely let you all if I get it figured out! :)
Your bird melted my heart. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t help note that you bought one for yourself too. I must admit, I sometimes do the same thing. Apart from the joy it brings me, I continue to be reminded of the other person. For me, it’s a bonding thing I guess.
I’d be so proud if that pretty purple garlic were out of my garden.
Hope I find the time for another IMK – I always have loads of new and happening things.
Mariana, please do another IMK post, I loved your last one and would love to see what’s happening this month too! The little wren was just the cutest thing – it was so lifelike I was expecting it to twitch!
The speculaas mold is gorgeous. I have no idea how you would use it but I can’t wait to see the result.
That’s enough jalepenos to light a fire!
I did my little in my kitchen tour on the weekend too. http://clairekcreations.com/2011/11/in-my-kitchen-november/
Claire, thanks for playing along, you always have such interesting things in your kitchen! The jalapenos were surprisingly hot, which made things interesting given that we’d bought nearly 3kg worth! :)
Celia I will read through all your past posts on “In my kitchen” and join in next month if I may. (I’m still new.)
Rose, absolutely! Please do join in, we’d all be very interested to see what’s in your kitchen! Also, please let me know when you do, and I’ll add you to the listing in the sidebar so everyone else can pop in for a visit! :)
Thank you for your comment re the mould – I’m half tempted to hang it as art instead of using it!
BTW, the mold is just beautiful.
Ooh, Celia, that’s a scary amount of jalapeno’s. Your repertoire will take a turn for the spicy when you open that tin!
Love the little wren – I bought a similarly sweet one in blue hand-blown glass for my mother recently.
Amanda, we’ve opened the tin and divvied it up between glass jars in the fridge. I have to say though, it really is a lot of jalapenos! We might need to share it out amongst the neighbours (“oooh, Celia, did you bring us chocolate brownies?” “Nope, even better, it’s…jalapenos!!” :)).
Love the mould! I would eat all the other cookies first, saving the cats for last! What’s happening in my kitchen this month is a lot of pumpkin stuff, including my Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream.
Jean, how nice to see you, thanks for stopping by again! It’s pumpkin pie time in the US, isn’t it? :)
That wren is just darling, your mum is a lucky lady :)
Thanks Cindy! There was a little baby one that I should have bought for her as well.. :)
Love the little bird. I have one similar that’s a sparrow. :D
Misk, they’re very cute, aren’t they? I was surprised how irresistible I found it!
lovely beautiful things in your kitchen this month!
Thanks Tandy, yours too! :)
Hi Celia,
Great to see you on the weekend! I read the piece about Sarah and your ring, it was beautiful. Hope to see you soon, when we come to see Piccasso,
Love Isobel :)
Hello darling girl, thanks for having us over on Sunday, next time you need to style my hair too. :) See you soon, thanks for reading what I wrote about Sar. xxx
Thank you for the speculaas link, I might just try them this year. Last year was the first time I’d ever heard of these cookies before. I get tired of making the same old cookies and love to try new things. I love those little wrens. I have trouble resisting the urge to buy any of those little ceramic birds. I hope your mom enjoys hers! That is one big tin of jalapenos. When I worked at the movie theatre as a teenager some of them used to sit there and see who could eat the most before having to take a drink. I could not eat them period!! Way too hot from the can for me.
Mel, the speculaas are very moreish, particularly sliced very thin – they’re a bit like eating lollies! :) The jalapenos are surprisingly hot!
The mold is amazing! I’d hang it on the wall. I’ve been messing around with stews and pies. I want to do more salads and vegetarian dishes so I’m going to try some Yotam Ottolenghi recipes this week.
Maz, the Ottolenghi recipes are wonderful – we make a lot of them here! If you really enjoy his vegetarian recipes, you might want to look at his Plenty cookbook, which is a collection of all his Guardian veg recipes in one volume.
I’ve been eyeing “Plenty” I wanted to try a few of his recipes first. I made a potato, shallot, goat cheese tatin last night that was surprising nice. It had a caramel glaze but wasn’t too cloying.
Maz.
The bird is so cute :)
Thanks Tes! My mum liked it too!
That tin of Jalapeno is huge and for $8 only. I’ve never heard of Harkolo but we go to another one on Carlotta street in Artarmon that stocks very similar stuff too.
Chopinand, the one in Carlotta Street is great – we’ve been in a couple of times, but we really need to explore it more fully. Last time we were there we found poppyseed paste for Hungarian beiglis! :)
[…] ( This is a continuing series in conjunction with Celia’s at Fig jam and Lime cordial […]
I love your kitchen, Celia!
You have wonderful taste and cooking abilities.
But what I love most about your kitchen, is that you are there!
I put up an IMK post this month, as well!
Just found out the gingerbread challenge is more of a team/community bonding exercise- so I will be making a much amended version of the house
I was planning. Much easier- but then a full day of cookie decorating challenges at the actual bake-off contest.
Heidi, I love all the stuff in your kitchen too! It looks like it’s all ready for Christmas JOY! :)
I’ve missed your IMK posts! Those speculaas molds are so intricately beautiful! :D
They’re quite beautiful, aren’t they? :)
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Speculaas-Molded-Ginger-Cookies
They have pretty sketchy instructions, but it does talk about how to use the molds! I have a rolling pin with patterns carved into it, inherited from my grandmother – but I’m not certain whether it is meant to be used for shortbread or speculaas! (the shortbread didn’t hold the design too well – too much butter, I think). I might have to try it with speculaas.
Abbs, thank you, I’ll check out the link! My friend Heidi has carved rolling pins too – I’d suggest you pop over to her blog and ask her how they’re meant to be used!
Here’s the post where they were mentioned…
http://heidiannie.com/2011/07/in-my-kitchen-4/
Thank you! I`ll do that!
Celia I’m so behind my work this morning! But, I must admit I’ve had an awful lot of fun putting together another In My Kitchen. Would you mind terribly if I tell my Hubby it’s Celia’s fault the mowing wasn’t done today?
I look forward to seeing the Speculatius! :) Such a pretty mould!
I just posted an IMK post at http://miskcooks.com/2011/11/24/misk-cooks-unplugged-and-in-my-kitchen/