I can hardly keep up with how fast this year is flying by – how did it get to be September already? Eeep! It being the first of the month means that it’s time to join Sherry and friends for this month’s edition of In My Kitchen, so let’s get cracking, shall we?!
It was a busy month both hosting and visiting some of our favourite friends and family. We had a lovely long weekend in the North East with the outlaws and on the way home, popped into see David’s cousin and his wife who recently moved to a farm. The outside of the house was idyllic and the inside was like something out of a magazine. They are regular shoppers at auction rooms and have some really stunning vintage pieces, including these two plates which were surplus to requirements and so I willingly rehomed them. This photo doesn’t do the colours justice!
My dear cousin, Lucy and her husband came to stay and brought this stunning platter from their Moroccan travels. The little dishes can be removed so you can use it as a dip plate or one large platter. I love it so much!
My friend Joan came to stay with her dog Dolly and as always she bought me a London Cheesecake. Interestingly, my cousin Lucy had never seen, heard of or eaten a London Cheesecake and she has literally lived all her life in London! These cakes are very old skool and can only be found in a traditional bakery… Or in London branches of Aldi apparently.
We have a traditional old skool bakers shop in town but it doesn’t sell London Cheesecakes as we’re not in London. Anyhoo, the bakery where the bread is made is a 2 minute walk from our place so I finally bit the bullet and took a morning walk to the bakery and bought some bread fresh from the bakers oven! This was my first loaf from the bakery but it definitely won’t be my last.
I love cooking and baking in my enamel tins but due to the age of the tins, my clumsiness and the general over stuffing of my kitchen cupboards some of mine have come to the end of their lives. I bought a new set of enamel baking dishes and smaller pie dishes and am thrilled with my purchases.
My other prize purchase is this £5 (about $10 AUD) multi-pan lid from the middle aisle of Lidl (like Aldi but in my opinion, better.) It’s adjustable and can fit pans from 24cm to 28cm and if all that wasn’t exciting enough, it can go in the dishwasher and the oven too!
We happened upon a food festival The Great North Feast on our walk in South Shields which was full of delicious. We bought some natural dog treats for Teddy, some spectacular Scotch eggs (which didn’t last long enough for photos) and almost the whole range of these Calder’s Kitchen condiments. We couldn’t choose just one so we bought the lot! I like it hot, so the chillililli is one of my faves.
There have been some unusually hot days here in the UK – the weather is very all or nothing this summer – and so we have had our favourite salads on high rotation. This Store Cupboard Halloumi Salad has been a fave. It’s so quick and easy to make and needs just a few fridge and pantry staples.
My neighbour, Tim bought me some rhubarb from his allotment which he kindly washed and trimmed for me too. Now that’s what I call service!
He’d also given me some licorice powder which he’d bought to go with his new Licorice Cookbook. I know licorice is a very divisive flavour but I absolutely love it. Never one to waste ingredients, I upcycled Tim’s rhubarb into a Licorice and Rhubarb Loaf. It was very dense but very delicious and the tartness of the rhubarb was perfectly balanced with the subtle flavour of the licorice. So yum!
Talking of loaves, I finally posted the recipe for this marvellously moist and fabulously fruit Blueberry and Apple Loaf. You could actually use any berries in this recipe but don’t skip the crunchy cinnamon topping – it really is the tops!
August was definitely the month of homegrown produce (not my home though!) I picked this punnet of cherry tomatoes from a tray of produce that was free to take from outside someone’s house.
I also grabbed some baking apples that were shared by another neighbour and my friend, Aine gave me some zucchini – how cool is the yellow one?
I couldn’t decide what to make with the zucchini so asked my lovely Facebook community who persuaded me to make a Zucchini Slice. I had a coeliac friend staying so I made it gluten free and it was a big success!
Keeping with the gluten free theme, I also made this Flourless Coconut and Almond Cake – it’s my go to gluten free cake.
I served this cake for dessert when my neighbour came over for dinner. I gave her dinner and she gave me these stunning tomatoes from her garden. They were almost too colourful to eat!
It’s blackberry season here in the UK and the brambles are full of juicy blackberries so of course I went foraging for a few.
I made a Blackberry and Apple Crumble which was delish and also this Blackberry and Lemon Yoghurt Cake which was super delicious. Now all I need is some time to post the recipes!
Remember my Ukranian neighbour – he of the delicious layer cake fame? He got a job so we wrapped up the English lessons and last week he brought over these Ukrainian chocolates. They’re called ‘Kyiv Evening’ and I can’t help but wonder if there’s a morning and/or afternoon version too!
What’s the news from your kitchen? Have you been enjoying any homegrown produce? And how do you feel about licorice? Is it a yay or a nay?
