In my kitchen…
…are colanders of crabapples, picked when we visited Pete’s Uncle Bob and Aunt Robin in Mudgee. The boys stood on the tray of Uncle Bobby’s ute (truck) to pick them from the old tree in the front yard…
Pete turned the fruit into eight jars of delicious crabapple jelly…
In my kitchen…
…are baskets of Anarel Garlic and homegrown onions. We’re not particularly adept at growing onions, but it was nice to find a few in the garden…
In my kitchen…
…are new kitchen gadgets. Last year I killed my mini food processor and Pete destroyed my handheld blender. I replaced both with bright orange Cuisinart…
In my kitchen…
…is a basket of miniature toys that Small Girl and Little T play with when they come to visit. It will keep them content and sitting at the dining room table for an hour, which is long enough for the grown-ups to have a cup of tea and a chat…
In my kitchen…
…are these gorgeous Cambodian bamboo bowls that Pete’s sister Katey gave me for Christmas. Isn’t it just the most beautiful shade of red?
In my kitchen…
…are two large rectangular pizza stones. I’ve searched for these for a long time, and was very excited to come across them at Victoria’s Basement…
They fit neatly side by side in my 90cm free-standing Smeg oven, and provide a large continuous baking surface (they’re both the same size, please excuse the fish-eye effect in the photo)…
In my kitchen…
…are paper liners which fit my loaf tins perfectly. I also found these at Victoria’s Basement and they were relatively inexpensive ($6 for 40)…
They made the latest batch of tiger cakes just that little bit easier…
. . . . .
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 love to see what’s happening in your kitchen this month!
. . . . .
In My Kitchen Posts, February 2012
Amanda @ Lambs’ Ears and Honey
Pam @ Grow, Bake, Run
(brand new blog!)
Lizzy @ Bizzy Lizzy’s Good Things
Misk @ Misk Cooks (belated Jan 12 IMK)
Mandy @ The Complete Cook Book
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I have never heard of crabapple before. They look lovely and how genius of you turning them into glossy jellies :)
Tes, it’s the most delicious jelly! It’s great on toast, but also really good with ham and cheeses…
Orange – such a pretty colour. I’d be lost without my handlbender. I don’t use my food processor much but my handblender is used at least 3 times a week. I’d be lost without it. :)
Misk, I used to have a cheap old one (my mum won it in a club raffle, which gives you some idea of the quality), and Pete killed it trying to puree stuff for the worms. For the worms! I was pretty cross, but at least I got to buy the new orange one. Interestingly, in both cases, the orange option was the cheapest in the range!
I always love these In My Kitchen posts! Makes me wish I could be in your kitchen, too.
Em, I wish you could too, I think we’d have a lot of fun.. :)
Love that jelly and those labels… so cute!! You have so many pretty things in your kitchen, love those paper loaf pan liners, I’ve not seen those before. It’s great to have a couple of pizza stones that line up… you could make giant loaves of bread on those:)
Smidge, the loaf liners are great – I find myself now scrolling through my cookbooks looking for loaf cake recipes! And the pizza stones have been fantastic – they’re all marked up and getting dirty already.. :)
Loved the bright orange immersion blender & processor combo… great buy!
everything else is awesome too, the paper liners for the loaf pans, I neeeeeed those!
very nice post, Celia! (great to see you back)
HI Sally! Thanks…I’m really very happy with the Cuisinart pieces so far!
Beautiful, lovely, interesting…. I was wondering how it is, this crab apple. First of all I heard this apple after my UK travel, when I was searching a tree with its fruits that I took in Lacock in UK, I learned that it was famous crab apples… And now I am learning once again in your post. But I haven’t tasted yet… Should be so delicious… They seem like a green olive… first of all I thought like that… Your kitchen photographs fascinated me so much, there are so many things that I loved… and you can guess which one is my best, you know I love all these kind little things… Thank you dear Celia, Good Luck in your kitchen, with my love, nia
Nia, thank you! Crabapple is a generic term for miniature apples, and there are lots and lots of varieties! Sadly they don’t grow well here in Sydney – too warm and humid, I think. The tree we planted died off after just one year…
I’ve been away from home for nearly 3 weeks now, so am unsure exactly what is in my kitchen – although, having left the menfolk on their own, I’m fairly sure it won’t be good.
Amanda, don’t spoil your holiday by thinking about it.. ;-)
Love reading your monthly posts :) I had an idea at a friend’s house the other day to do one from her kitchen which is far more interesting than mine and entice her into the world of blogging…. heh heh.
There are not many Australian terms that baffle me after reading your blog for a while now ;) but these did. Fortunately I quickly looked it up and now I am enlightened. Uncle Bob’s ute is a pick up truck isn’t it? And the tray is the bit at the back, got it!
I confess I have problems with those paper liners as they don’t quite fit my tins properly, but I do use them from time to time, and I used them this weekend as they are brilliant for lining dodgy tins of uncertain age when you really don’t want the cakes to stick when I was baking in another kitchen. I love the bowls, but I love all bowls and particularly rounded ones like those.
Fabulous jelly from Pete ! :)
Jo, thanks for the tip, I’ve amended the post for everyone else who doesn’t know what a ute is. I’d forgotten that it was an Aussie term. And yes, Uncle Bob drove his truck onto the lawn under his huge tree, and the boys stood on the flatbed at the back and picked apples. They did a good job too! :)
The paper liners fit my Chicago Metallics tins very well, but they do result in a cake with crinkly edges. That’s not for everyone, I’m sure!
Hi Celia… how quickly the month has flown past! Gosh, I haven’t seen crab apples for what seems like a lifetime! Love the look of the Cuisinart mini processor. I bought a very inexpensive mini mini one (i.e. very small) and it does the job beautifully, but is just a little too small for some jobs. Isn’t it great to have a regular supply of good quality garlic! Thanks so much for sharing your kitchen this month. I hope to post my entry soon (just getting back into the grind of the first week back at work, gah!). Looking forward to visiting everyone’s kitchens too! Happy cooking.
Lizzy, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in your kitchen this month! I burnt out three of those super cheap mini ones (from KMart), I think they were $20 each and they only lasted a year or so. I think the gears were made of plastic or something, so after a while they just stopped spinning. This new one is slightly bigger, much more expensive, but seems to be much sturdier. Have a great week! :)
Welcome back – I’d love to try some of the crabapple jelly – wonder what it tastes like!
Oz, thank you! Crabapple jelly is absolutely delicious – we’re rarely without a jar in the pantry! :)
Welcome back Celia. Thanks for this post – I have been looking for loaf tin liners everywhere and was contemplating buying some from the UK. Instead, I’ll be visiting VB at lunchtime!
Hi Sue! I’ve also found them at Peters of Kensington (cheaper there, but I’m never game to actually go into the shop, as it’s always so stupidly busy). Hope you’ve been well! :)
Welcome back Celia! Your kitchen once again looks beautiful this month! Those loaf tin liners look perfect…I will also be searching for some of them. The orange Cuisinart is a work of art, so pretty!
My post is linked…thank you!
hi celia..i’m surprised how early those crab apples have ripened..do you know what variety it is?
the jelly pete made looks so pretty..the jelly is so delicate and lovely, and not available commercially as far as i know, that i especially planted a crab apple tree in my new garden a few years ago..last year was it’s first, albeit small, crop and i made one jar of jelly..this year i might get two jars.:)
Jane, I’m sorry but I have absolutely no idea! I think Aunt Robbie was saying that it had been in their yard for decades! I’m glad to hear your tree is doing well – ours has carked it!
What a gorgeous colour that jelly is! I saw that brand of liners at a My Value store yesterday for $2.99 and thought they were a great idea.
Lovely and cheery appliances always make cooking more enjoyable too.
Your oven looks shiny and sparkling clean Celia, something I struggle with as I cook in it practically every day and make lots of roast dinners. Next time I’m so buying a pyrolitic oven no matter what the cost! Love seeing what goodies are in your kitchen each month :)
Becca, that’s good to know, thank you! I paid double that for mine! My oven really isn’t clean, but I guess the dirt doesn’t show on the dark interior. :)
(I agree with Bec’s comment above about your oven and the plan to buy a self cleaning one next time!! So true, so true.)
The crabapple jelly looks just gorgeous – perfectly clear and delicately pink. Lovely. And I am most impressed with your pizza stones that fit so well in your oven. I haven’t had much success with my pizza stone and have ended up taking it out of my oven. Never produced a good crust on bread or pizza, no matter how long I preheated it for. Perhaps I have dodgy ones? I do use it in the bbq sometimes though and it seems to work better there. Makes good pita bread in the bbq.
Our friend Lisa has a self-cleaning oven, and loves it! I wonder why your pizza stones didn’t work? That is puzzling… xx
Those bamboo bowls are what caught my eye. The colour, and the shape. Beautifully made things.
Linda, thank you for saying that – it took me ages to get a photo that would show the actual colour of the bowl. It’s a deep red, glowing, but not shiny, if that makes sense. I love it. :)
Lovely happenings! I am having no luck with onions at the moment either..
In our kitchen, I’ve dragged out an old juicer I hardly used and have been having a marvelous time juicing up all manner of fruits! It’s a great hit with the daughters..
The crabapples and jelly look divine!!
Chris, I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t grow onions this year! Mind you, Sydney’s been so wet it’s been hard to grow anything! The juicer sounds like fun! :)
Which reminds me I am desperate to do this this month. soon soon (I have so much to share) and tell pete I love the labels on his jam, and that red is indeed gorgeous! c
Oooh, can’t wait, Celi! :)
You always have something interesting in your kitchen, Celia. I’ll be interested to hear a report on the mini blender after you’ve used it for a while. I had a cheap one and it was useless.
In my kitchen, 3 jars (only 2 1/2 now) of delicious blackberry jelly. I raided the wild and very thorny berry patch at my neighbours yesterday, just before the rain returned. There’s also a batch of honey, whole wheat and oat sourdough ready for shaping.
Liz, as I was saying to Lizzy above, I went through three of the cheap ones in as many years. This new one is looking promising so far. I made tapenade in it today!
Wild blackberry jelly! That sounds absolutely wonderful!! As does the sourdough.. :)
When I was growing up we had a huge crabapple tree growing in our yard and used to make crabapple jelly which I loved (along with quince jelly). I’ve planted a crabapple in our garden but have yet to get the first crop. Hopefully this year!
Davey, you know that if you were closer, I’d run a jar over to you. Hopefully you can grow crabapples in Melbourne – should be cold enough!
oh, oh, oh… you’ve got one in orange! I’ve been eyeing off a small food processor for a couple of years now, and haven’t justified buying one. (I’ve got a handheld, bigger processor, kitchenaid blender thingy) All are fine and dandy, but I REALLY think a small processor would be a lot handier…and now you go and show me one in orange?! Happy Birthday me?…No, wait that’s not ’til November… Happy Valentines day??…yep, that might do it.
Brydie love, you have the PERFECT excuse coming up. How else will you puree baby food? :) Orange was the cheapest, surprisingly, and I bought both pieces from Everten Online:
http://www.everten.com.au/Cuisinart-Mini-Prep-Plus-Processor-Tangerine.html
Beautiful labels on the jelly jars….and what great pizza stones, the round ones are just too fiddly to use properly.
Sally, I baked a huuuuge foccacia on the double stones yesterday! Worked a treat! :)
Lovely things, I can’t believe it’s February already!
Cindy, hasn’t it gone quickly! It still feels like a new year to me.. :)
I have been reading your posts for the last year and just love your In My Kitchen ones. You always have such interesting things.
My Mum always made crabapple jelly from her tree, it grew extremely well in NZ.
In my kitchen today I have some of my very moist, very yummy Christmas cake. Soaking the fruit in Cointreau for a month is the trick!
I also have brandy snap baskets left over from last night’s dessert….only left over because I didn’t put them all out! I served them with strawberries and my Baileys dip, big hit :)
I also have some butter shortbread cookies made from your recipe Celia, thanks.
There is a bowl full of little yellow tomatoes, all self seeded from last years plants.
And last but not least I have some of my homegrown garlic. It grew brilliantly…I picked 142 bulbs!!!!
Jen, thank you! The brandy snap baskets sound wonderful – I love brandy snaps but never seem to be able to make them very well. I think they might be a new project for me. And 142 garlic bulbs!!! That’s amazing!! :)
I love the pizza stones and they are on my wish list! This is the first time I have seen crab apples :)
Tandy, we’ve now been given crabapples from three different friends, and each time they’ve been completely different looking! It really is a generic word for miniature apples, I think. I hope you find these pizza stones – they’re much easier to use than the round ones!
What a fantastic post Celia. I love seeing what’s in your kitchen. I’d love to do a similar post but I think I’ll have to tidy up a bit first! I have pizza stones and they are awesome – they help the pizza bases become so crispy. And I must go to Victoria’s Basement and buy some of those paper liners – they would be handy. But as for the crab apple jelly, that is a 10 out of 10. How beautiful does it look and that would just make the most perfect gift. I would love the recipe. Such great clarity!
Charlie, Pete makes the best jellies ever, but it’s a real art. Jellies are much harder to get right than jam, or at least in our experience. We blogged about the crabapple jelly we made a couple of years ago here:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/03/05/crabapple-jelly/
But the latest batch was made slightly differently – they were very tart, so Pete didn’t need to add any lemon juice this time. The clarity of the finished jelly seems to be related to 1. not squeezing the pulp as it drains, and 2. lots of skimming to remove any floating scum on the top as it boils.
I refrained from taking a photo of the new Spiegelau glasses I bought after you’d seeded the idea in my head.. ;-)
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I decided to play along this month. :D
http://miskcooks.com/2012/02/01/in-my-kitchen-february-2012/
Wonderful Misk, thank you! You’re on the list already! :)
Never thought of turning crabapples into something edible. (As kids we used to squash them with our feet whenever we encountered them on the ground) What beautiful jelly!! I’d love to have a jar just to sit on my counter, since it is so pretty to look at. I love jam on my toast, but usually I use no sugar added jam. That’s super you could find the stones you wanted. Your oven looks big and roomy! I bet you can bake quite a large batch of bread all at once. Love the loaf pan Tiger Cakes. They made my tummy growl:) They have a nice dome on top. What size pan did you make them in? My large tins are 9X5. Would that work?
Mel, my pans are from Chicago Metallic, and in inches they’re 8.5 x 5, I think. They’re the 1lb loaf size. We’ve never tried making jam without sugar, maybe that’s the next thing on the list! :)
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Celia- you really do have the best kitchen posts!
I Love your orange gadgets and red, red bamboo bowls.
And I wish I could import Pete’s jellies and your breads and cookies!
I have a very similar basket of toys in my kitchen to play with little ones.
I put up an IMK post today- but it isn’t anywhere as fun as yours.
Heidi, the basket of toys is a wonderful idea, isn’t it? I wish I’d discovered it earlier, we grown-ups get to sit around and have a lovely cuppa now while the little ones play! :)
Target have cheap loaf liners, too, they’re such a good idea.
On your recommendation, I bought garlic from Anarel this year and I was VERY disappointed. Some of the heads fit on a 50c piece, many of them weigh less than 15g and a lot of the cloves are miniscule. Plus, they charged me $15 for postage then asked if they could just drop them off at my house on their way home from work.
For $25 a kilo, and $65 all up, I was expecting better than that.
Jade, I’m very sorry to hear you weren’t happy with your garlic. I do know they’re nearing the end of their stock, so they’ve only got smaller bulbs left. I’ve let Diana know, and she or Ian will be giving you a call about it.
Thanks for the headsup about Target – I didn’t know they sold the loaf tin liners!
hehe well carrying on from our phone conversation today, my kitchen is a bit of a mess. Today’s recipe didn’t quite work out as planned! It tastes great but just doesn’t look great :P
Sigh…that’s a bugger. It sounded like a good plan.. ;-)
Celia, you always have the best “In My Kitchen” posts! I haven’t seen crab apples since I was a little girl living in Natal – we had 2 trees in our back garden and I was always fascinated by them. I remember ours look a little different though. I would have Pete’s jelly’s on display, they are such a beautiful hue as is your gorgeous bowl.
:-) Mandy
Mandy, thank you! Pete’s jellies are always like glowing jewels…
Yet another brilliant look into your kitchen. I love the new toys!
Thanks Claire! They’ve been fun to play with, especially the mini FP!
The crabapple jelly caught my eye
It was a particularly yummy batch – Uncle Bob’s crabapples were delicious..
The colour of your bowl is wonderful, but the colour of Pete’s crabapple jelly is even better. Love the fact that you cater for little visitors so well. And you’re now making me rethink my decision to turn down a baking stone which was recently offered to me.
Those tiger cakes look so very good Celia – sigh!
Choc, thank you – the small people love their basket of toys, and it’s small enough not to take up the whole table (although they do try at times!). I love my big baking stones – have been trying to bake longer loaves now that I can! :)
I am so impressed with that jelly, it looks so clear and is such a beautiful colour!
Just to let you know that I have done my IMK for Feb.
Thanks for the invite to post about my kitchen Celia. Please add me to your list of links! This blogging business is getting a little bit exciting!
sigh. I wish I had a 90cm oven. My new make-do-for-now oven measures a tiny 30cm across. So many of my dishes and trays now don’t fit and it’s always a challenge to remember to check first before filling them ready for baking!
(I did type 50cm but had to go check….no, it’s only 30cm…sad face).
Add me to your list….I’ve finally got my post up :)
…I’ve got to get me some of those silicone tin liner things. Baking paper is always such a pain.
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This is such a fun post! I’ve really enjoyed seeing and reading about what is happening in other people’s kitchens.
Since I spend a fair portion of my “free” time in the kitchen, I thought I’d take part this month too. :) My IMK blog post is at: http://sorcha-sidhe.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/in-my-kitchen-february-2012.html.
Regards,
Sarah @ xo.sorcha.ox
Thanks for playing Sarah! :)
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