In my kitchen…
…is a morning’s harvest from our garden – zucchini, cucumbers, long eggplants and an assortment of chillies…
In my kitchen…
…is a delicious tub of French hazelnut praline paste. I haven’t yet figured out what to do with it other than eat it with a spoon…
In my kitchen…
…because I’m so suggestible, is a garlic twist. I bought one from Peters of Kensington after reading about it in Glenda’s September IMK post. It’s made of sturdy, dishwasher-proof plastic and minces garlic in just a few quick twists…
Best of all, I use it to make chicken rice dipping sauce! I mince (separately) garlic, chopped ginger and half a cayenne pepper in the twist, then combine them together in a bowl. The mix is seasoned with a pinch of salt, and then a little hot oil is poured over to bring all the flavours together…
In my kitchen…
…are glowing jars of Pete’s apricot jam. We bought a five kilo box of apricots at the markets for $10, ate half of them, and Pete made fifteen jars of jam from the rest…
In my kitchen…
…are three faux brioche loaves, made with the sweet dough recipe. They were delicious with our scrambled eggs and salmon…
In my kitchen…
…are bamboo salad hands, a gift from Pete…
In my kitchen…
…is a potato ricer, bought to replace our old one which was falling apart. This Kuhn Rikon model disassembles completely to make washing up much easier…
In my kitchen…
…is a most wonderful gift from Rose! She knitted me seven cotton dishcloths – one for each day of the week – and they work brilliantly! The open weave means they rinse out cleanly, and the strong Australian cotton (from Bendigo) comes out of our hot machine washes as good as new. Thanks again Rose, I love these…
. . . . .
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 do so. We’d love to see what’s happening in your kitchen this month! Please link back to this blog, and let us know when your post is up, and we’ll add it to our monthly listing.
. . . . .
Here are this month’s posts…
Siobhan @ Garden Correspondent
Elizabeth @ Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse
Lizzy @ Bizzy Lizzy’s Good Things
Johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe
Sandy @ Vegans Eat Yummy Food Too!
Mrs Mulberry @ Mulberry and Pomegranate
Anne @ Life in Mud Spattered Boots
Elizabeth @ Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse
(late January post)
awesome Celia
Thanks Linda! :)
What a delightful collection of items, the garlic twist sounds like a fun little gadget. Tell Pete he will have to make extra apricot jam next batch as I will be placing an order for multiple jars, apricot jam is my favorite of all jams.
Norma, Pete makes the best apricot jam in the world. He’s always very light-handed with the sugar, and he never makes it unless the apricots are really, really good. We made 15 jars, and they’ve run out the door – I think we only have five left! We’ll save you some next time.. :)
Oh Celia, you have the most incredible treasures in your kitchen again this month. I LOVE the idea of your garlic twist. I have been hunting for a garlic press for the longest time (I am quite fussy and want a solid unit – not one with a removable inner). Think I will look for a twist instead!
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, the garlic twist really is a treasure. The metal one we were using before is such a pain to clean, and it doesn’t go in the dishwasher. This one just rinses out. I hope you can track one down! :)
Your brioche loaves look absolutely fabulous, Celia! And your beautiful shiny vegetables…. Interested in your dismantling potato ricer – mine is very good but such a beast to clean, even in the dishwasher. E x
E, thanks for playing this month! :) Our old ricer was inherited from our neighbour, and it was an all-in-one aluminium piece that was really hard to clean. I haven’t had reason to use the new one yet, but I have taken it apart, and the whole pressing ring comes out for washing!
Hi Celia, you forgot to say ‘and it is easy to clean!’
I don’t have a potato ricer. What do you use it for. Do I need one?:)
Love everything, especially those dishclothes.
BTW Here is a link to my post
http://passionfruitgarden.com/2013/01/31/in-my-kitchen-february-2013/
Glenda, I’m almost scared to look at your IMK post – every time I do I see something that I “need”. :) Having said that, the garlic twist is a wonderful tool, please thank Maus for me – I remember she was the one who insisted on buying it! The ricer makes the smoothest potato mash ever, and great gnocchi! Do you need one? ;-)
Love the garlic twist. Nifty gadget! In 2 weeks I won’t have a kitchen. The builders arrive and start tearing things down. Life will be interesting.
Misky, I hope you’ll take lots of photos for us! It will be fun to see you new kitchen come to life! :)
Oh yes, I will! I tried taking photos of my old one today. It’s difficult to get it all into the shot!
Love the bread and those knitted disclothes add a pop of color:) Happy Thursday!
Thanks Renee! The dishcloths are absolutely fabulous!
Loved the brioche loaves! And I have a very similar salad “hands”, which we bought on a trip to Canada many years ago… works so well, we also use it for pasta… :-)
Sally, I never thought of using the salad servers for pasta, what a great idea! I saw Nigella using something similar on tv, and thought it so much more elegant than sticking my hands into the bowl a la Jamie Oliver like I usually do.. :)
Let’s hear it for Pete!
I’m cheering for him daily, Peter! :)
Fantastic mix of new, homegrown, homemade, colourful, sweet, savoury and wonderful :) I may just add a garlic twist to my next PoK order.
ED, it’s affordable, works cleverly and doesn’t take up a lot of room in the kitchen. The perfect kitchen accessory, as far as I’m concerned. Of course, the downside is that once you open the shopping bag at PoK, there’s always something else to add to it.. ;-)
Ah, that brioche again… one day… some day… I’d love to have a baking lesson on the brioche with you, love. xo
Lizzy darling, it really is the easiest recipe! I can just imagine all the really clever things you’d do with it. It doesn’t involve any of the laminating and hours of resting in the fridge etc, and it actually uses one a small amount of butter.
Here’s the tutorial:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/09/17/pain-viennois/
and here’s the video of Richard Bertinet making it! :)
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/03/bertinet_sweetdough
Thanks so much, Celia… it’s one I think I’ll concentrate on at the end of this year when, hopefully, I can retire from full time work, love. Incidentally, here is my IMK post for February http://www.bizzylizzysgoodthings.com/2/post/2013/02/in-my-kitchen-february-2013.html
Hmmm the spread sounds GOOD. What about crepes?
Thanks Claire, someone else suggested that too! Hope you’re having a wonderful hols! x
Definitely crepes for the praline paste- yummo! And I love how the ricer pulls apart, mine is a real pain to clean :( So many goodies as usual sweetie, and kudos to Pete on that gorgeous jam! Xox
Becca, I was thinking of swirling the paste into sweet dough scrolls? And the older I get, the more ease of cleaning becomes a priority in the kitchenware I choose (sore hands, as you know). xx
I know indeed sweetie :( Luckily for me though, I have daughters who still do the dishes every night for me! :)
Love the fancy dishcloths! Yet another wonderful harvest Celia. It must be so exciting to walk out every morning and see what you discover. Well done Pete, impressive gift buying and jam making!
Claire, thank you for understanding – I have this blip of joy every morning when we go outside to see what’s grown overnight! xx
Oh how wonderful to see homemade dishcloths! I remember these from when I was a kid at my great-aunts house – so practical and sustainable.
Amanda, Rose was SO kind to send them, and they’ve been so useful. Makes me want to knit again! :)
Oh, and as for the praline paste – how about using as a filling for croissants? I could drop by and help out with disposal.
Darling, that’s where my brain is headed too. I was thinking sweet scrolls, a bit like cinnamon buns…
You always have such wonderful things in your kitchen! Apricot jam is one of my favorites!
Your garden is still producing well. Very nice produce.
Manuela, thank you – one of the things I finally understand about the garden is that you eat lots of a few things for a while, then you eat lots of something else. Which was something I never really thought about when all our veg came from the supermarket!
That apricot jam looks fabulous…and those brioche loaves….now there’s a good combination! A slice of that would go very nicely with my coffee right now Celia!
I have the same potato ricer but in white. Love it…but it is so bulky to store! You will have to make gnocchi now.
I am surprised you haven’t done a praline chocolate. I just saw in the santos online newsletter that they have organic cocoa butter and thought of you, wondered what magical things you would conjure up with a block of that butter.
SG, I have cocoa butter in the freezer – I used it to make lip gloss. :) I did Nutella chocolate recently, and the praline chocolate seems too similar..
Did the lip gloss make you want to eat chocolate all day long?! :)
surprisingly, it didn’t taste of chocolate at all! :)
Love the garlic twist and the salad hands and the ricer, but above all that wonderful container of goodies from your garden. Only managed a few tomatoes, chillies and a handful of herbs from mine this morning . . . oh some cavolo nero too – third growth, getting small leaved . . .
Eha, we don’t have any tomatoes at all, and our cavolo nero only seems to work in winter – too many bugs in summer! Isn’t it lovely to pick stuff from our own gardens? :)
A friend of mine just bought knitted dishcloths from becalm for around 20 dollars each, so yours are an extra bargain, and in my favourite colour. The new ricer looks cool, I can’t live without my ricer. Such shiny fresh veggies, you are a an artisan producer that I should do a bio on.
You’re very kind, love! :) The dishcloths are worth the money I reckon, they’re fabulous!
A friend knitted me some cotton dish cloths once and you are right – they’re excellent. They lasted for years. I love the look of that pretty garlic crusher. I need one of those! And how wonderful to have all that beautiful apricot jam for just a few dollars – well done with that bargain! xx
Charlie, thank you, although the apricot jam isn’t just a bargain, it’s also the only jam any of us will eat these days. All the jams we can buy just seem too sweet! :)
Hmm if I had the room I suspect my kitchen would be full of little gadgets like your garlic gadget! :P Love those tea towels!
L, the garlic twist doesn’t take up a lot of room. And it DOES work well.. ;-)
Enjoy your new ricer. Love your gift of dishcloths. My post will be up today :)
Ooh Tandy, looking forward to it! Thanks for playing!
Hello Celia…where did January go I wonder? I love your harvest of perfect summer goodness! The garlic twist looks very handy. I bet that brioche was delicious with eggs and salmon! Their shiny glaze looks just perfect. Your dishcloths look so soft and useful. Have a lovely weekend :)
Thank you once again for the tour, my post is linked.
Jane, the faux brioche is such an easy recipe – we never get around to making the real thing, because there is just so much butter in it! Thanks for playing every month, I so love looking into your kitchen! :)
Oh my goodness, Celia! It’s February already? January just flew by, didn’t it?
Your brioche loaves look about as pretty as any loaf could aspire to be. You really do know your bread. That garlic mincer is something. I saw another type recently. It seems that we just cannot get enough items to peal and chop our garlic. That’s some ricer you’ve got there and those dish cloths are beautiful. What a great gift — and post!
John, thank you! You’re right, Jan went flying past, and Feb is only 28 days long! I was all excited with my new ricer at the ready for your gnocchi post, but it wasn’t the gnocchi I thought it would be! :D
Celia your brioche looks wonderful as is your garden harvest. What a happy place your kitchen must be.
Anne, it’s a very calm small space, and we love it. It’s not always very clean though! :)
Oh, Celia- I do look forward to your posts each month!
Your harvest is lovely- and your salad hands so – well- “handy”!
I put up a post this month with a crocheted bag a friend made me- but I also have a whole stack of crocheted dish cloths that my sister made me. Isn’t is wonderful having such talented friends?
Heidi, I love that someone with all your talent can still be in awe of your talented friends! You are so nice! Can’t wait to see what’s in your kitchen this month! :)
Your kitchen is wonderful as always, Celia. I think I need one of those garlic mincers. And a whole jar of hazelnut praline paste. Surely the serving suggestion starts with “take a spoon and dig in”!
Jo, it’s been hard to do much else with that praline! But I can’t just eat the entire jar with a spoon! ;-)
Those bamboo salad servers are gorgeous! What a beautiful present and kitchen treasure. Your bread looks gorgeous too!
I’ll be linking up a post later this week I think :)
Look forward to seeing your post, Kari! Thanks for playing! :)
Thanks for hosting!
My post is up :) – http://www.bitesizedthoughts.com/2013/02/in-my-kitchen-february-2013.html
Hello!
There is lots of goodness in your kitchen this month! Your brioche looks divine! It’s one of the breads I’ve yet to try baking :-)
This is my first time playing along, and I had a lot of fun writing up my kitchen post. Thanks so much for hosting :-D
Have a lovely weekend!
Sarah xx
Sarah Jane, thanks for joining in! Our “brioche” isn’t the real deal, but it’s a lot easier to make! :)
Awesome brioche! I am looking forward to warm weather so a garden can be planted again. Your harvests are encouraging!
Pamela, the weather here has been bonkers – it’s cold today, and it was 46C just a couple of weeks ago! Madness! :)
Your veggies are looking great Celia!
If it makes you feel any better, I also would be eating that praline paste out of the tub!!! I love that stuff. You could always do a layer of praline & chocolate inside one of your sweet dough creations ;) Hope you’re enjoying the weekend!
Thanks Emilie – someone else suggested using it to line a tart shell before adding filling. I’ll have to give that a go! :)
Love the garlic gadget! i wonder if we will get them here and have just been catching up on your fab bhajis and chocolates and enjoying reading your blog as always. Those dishcloths are just wonderful too and very special. I am useless at making apricot jam, It always goes too smooth and as we can get good French apricot jam I have given up. I suspect it is in part because the fresh apricots we get are imported and are picked very under ripe to withstand the travel process. Have a lovely February, much love to you and Pete and boys x Jo
Jo, here you go – garlic twist available from Amazon, although for a fair bit more than we pay for them here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Garlic-Twist–3rd-Generation/dp/B0046CBC4Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359888368&sr=8-2
Pete is very demanding when it comes to apricot jam – he only makes it in years when we can buy really good fruit, he has to taste it first at the markets, and then there is a long process of getting the sugar/acid balance right. I think you’re right too – ripe picked apricots make all the difference.
Hope you and B are having a not too cold month! Lots of love xxx
Fifteen jars of apricot jam has me trembling at the knees. I love your market finds. Now just think of the lovely chocolates you could make with that hazelnut praline – assuming there is any left of course ;-)
Choc, the apricot jam is soooo good, Pete has a really deft touch. I’m still turning ideas over in my head for the praline.. :)
[…] month, Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, hosts a collection of posts from bloggers all over the world who share a peek into their own […]
That garlic mincer has me inspired! We use jarred minced garlic but fresh would be way better! And I love those enviro friendly cloths!
Clare, it works really well! The old lever one we’ve been using for years has now been shelved!
I grew up with dishcloths like those! Next time I’m in town, I’ll pop in the market and get some cotton yarn to make some – so much more sustainable than the bought ones! I love the brioche, too.
Pat, the dishcloths work so well – the open weave means they rinse out well, but what surprised me was how well they came out of the washing machine! Just perfect…
LOVE the idea of those cotton dish cloths. I’m forever throwing out dirty, smelly, falling apart dish cloths and know it’s sinful given i’m so thorough about recycling everything else in the kitchen. What a great idea!
Rachel, they work really well! And they’re extra-special Rose made them just for me.. :)
Good Morning! I finally got to this months In My Kitchen post. Here is the link: http://annashortcakes.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/in-my-kitchen-feb-2013/
Thanks for playing, Anna! :)
I think this is my favourite IMK posts of yours – so many fun things!! I need one of those twist choppers… and some brioche… and some jam… ;D Can you share where you get your jars and lids from?
Hi JJ, we buy our jars at Plasdene – more details on our Suppliers page!
http://www.plasdene.com.au/
They’re great to deal with, but you need to buy in bulk – I think you need a certain minimum spend (not hard to do if you’re going to get into some serious jam making! :))
[…] up with Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial who started the In My Kitchen series. Click on through to see what other bloggers have in their kitchens this […]
Celia, those washable dish cloths are such a fantastic idea! I am definitely going to start doing that. Have just published my IMK post too – pretty much on time this month for a change :)
Thanks for playing Christie! The dish cloths have been really great! :)
Hi Celia – I love the idea that you have of “in my kitchen”! I just done a post on my blog too!
I love the colour of those dishclohs you were given! Very pretty :-)
Sandy, how great to have you joining in! Thanks for playing! :)
hi celia
I would love to help you with the praline :-) and would love to try that garlic twist (it doesn’t peel the garlic too does it!) and I admire your jam making house.
I did an in my kitchen post this month at http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/in-my-kitchen-february-2013.html
Johanna, that’s the only downside, it doesn’t peel the garlic! :)
[…] the fun of “In My Kitchen” — just pop over to Celia’s Fig Jam and Lime Cordial feature In My Kitchen and see what other people are sharing from their […]
Hello! Here’s mine for February. http://miskcooks.com/2013/02/09/in-my-kitchen-february-2013/
[…] In My Kitchen posting neatly summarizes what has been happening in my kitchen over the last […]
Found you via Liz & as I enjoyed her In My Kitchen post I wanted to visit you & see what’s in your kitchen. I love the idea of sharing gadgets, food products & raw ingredients in one post. I may be brave & pull together a Scottish version! PS I can almost smell those brioche loaves -stunning
Hi Kellie, thanks for dropping in! We’d love to see what’s in your Scottish kitchen! :)
Kellie, thanks for stopping by! We’d love to see what’s in your Scottish kitchen! :)
[…] Here we are halfway through another month and it’s time for me to share a bit of what is happening round these parts for Celia’s ‘In My Kitchen’ February linkup… […]
I love how industrial that praline paste looks — I thought it was a cannister of fertilizer at first glance. I’m a huge fan of handmade wash cloths and dish cloths. They are thirsty old things, aren’t they? I finally got my IMK post up, after a month off. Hope to see you there!