Morsel and munch, it’s the first of the month which can only mean one thing, it’s time to join Sherry and friends for a retrospective look at what’s been happening in my kitchen. Side note: how did it get to be March already?! I think 2025 needs a pause button!
At the start of the month, our dear friends Tracey and Nick came to town and I made a belated birthday cake for Tracey whose birthday it was the week before. I decided to make a T cake because I was short on time and inspo but I’m really pleased with how it came out. Nigella’s Buttermilk Birthday Cake recipe never lets me down – this went down a right treat.
We ate the last of the spekulatius cookies we got from the Christmas markets in Cologne. The tradition of these Christmas cookies dates back to the 15th century and they’re known for the yummy combination of spices – cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamon. We bought some of these cookie tins for gifts and we thanked our past selves for keeping one for ourselves!
I spent a few days in London with my auntie who was recovering from some surgery. I popped into her local supermarket and the deli to stock up on my favourite Jewish items. When I came back, we feasted on bagels and chopped herring and chopped liver – our favourites! I also bought some matzo ball mix and these yummy croutons – they go great on a soup or even a salad!
Talking of matzo balls, I whipped up a batch of my auntie’s (now not so) secret recipe chicken soup and it was the perfect antidote to the sub zero temperatures we’ve been having!
Do you ever get a hankering for something you never usually eat – right out of the blue? Well, I do! This month’s latest food fancy was rice pudding. I whipped up a batch in the Thermomix and it was so good. Eating a serve of rice pudding was like a hug in a bowl!
Every Friday I go to the town market to buy my eggs from Mr Fowler’s (yes, that’s really his name!) free range hens. The eggs were so fresh they even came with a feather!
I shared the recipe for this Gluten Free Chewy Caramel Slice. I made it recently for a friend who’s just been diagnosed as coeliac and I’d forgotten how good it was. The recipe sat in my drafts for five years (yes, you read that right!) and I’m so happy that it’s now out in the world!
As our wedding anniversary is on the 10th February, Valentine’s Day is a bit of an afterthought round here. I did order David a heart shaped pork pie from Nelsons, our local butcher though. He was thrilled with it – who said romance is dead?!
You won’t be surprised to hear that pork pies are not the traditional gift for one’s 18th anniversary. Porcelain is the traditional gift and blue is the associated colour. Well, we didn’t get porcelain but we did get pottery and that also begins with a ‘p’ so that’s close enough! We nailed the colour blue too with a set of these pasta bowls to add to our Polish pottery collection. It’s such a pleasure to eat out of them!
At David’s bequest, I made a Cheddar and Pesto Loaf – I haven’t made one for ages – and we had forgotten how much we love it. It was so good!
We had friends over for dinner and I made this Raspberry and Coconut pudding. It’s another one of those recipes I’ve been meaning to blog for like forever but the pudding always disappears before I get photos. Not this time though! Stay tuned for the recipe…
So that’s all the news from my kitchen, tell me all about the February food news from yours. I’m all ears!
