In my kitchen - May

The months are rolling around far too quickly for me to keep up right now! But I have a few fabulous delights in my kitchen this month, so I thought I'd share.

I'm trying to crank up the health factor in what I'm eating [and drinking] so making a bit more of an effort to have a green smoothie every day. This one had baby spinach leaves, cucumber, carrot, ginger and some pear. It made loads and was very refreshing to slurp on throughout the day.

Sometimes I think the chickens are the best fed at our place! I'm really grateful to our local greengrocer, Feast on Fruit at Morningside, for helping us keep our girls fed in greens. At least three times a week they give us a very generous bag of lettuce and cabbage leaves from their scraps pile. The girls go crazy when they hear that red bag rustle! We've been buying loads of our fruit and veg there since moving here about 8 years ago, and their deli is sensational!

My fairly blah day yesterday was brightened immeasurably when this gorgeous pack of goodies arrived from Nessun Dorma Coffee Roasters and cafe at Yeronga. A bag of coffee, a couple of macarons, some drinking chocolate and a gift voucher to check out their cafe for lunch or breakfast over the next couple of months. Excellent timing as I'm just about out of coffee - a calamity when you are a full time uni student, and trying to run a business and blog and feed a hungry hubby and step-kid!

I'm a massive fan of Thomasina Miers Mexican cookbooks, so I was beyond delighted when Fiona from Tiffin gave me a pack of wahaca chilli seeds she collected on a trip to the UK. I really need to plant them, but I love the pack too much!

This wooden flour scoop was mum's that I found a couple of years ago. I remember using it as a kid when I baked, and I love that it is now in my kitchen again. Especially as I've been having a bit of a baking revival over the last year or so.

I'm a massive fan of Marion Nestle and her wonderful blog Food Politics - a blog that everyone who wants to know more about food and the power of "big food" should be reading. I bought a couple of her books recently, and they are fascinating reading - especially What to Eat. 

The gorgeous people at Heilala Vanilla noticed a tweet of mine a while back that said I hadn't ever tried their product, so they sent me some. How kind was that! I'm now a convert, especially to that vanilla paste. OMG yum. Shortly after it arrived, Bizzy Lizzy posted about a slow cooked vanilla beef casserole that I just had to make - it was stunning.

What's in your kitchen this month?

Thanks to the lovely Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for instigating In My Kitchen - you can check out other kitchens on her blog.

In My Kitchen November 2012

I'm an In My Kitchen newbie this month - after reading so many others for many months I decided it was time to jump in!

To break with tradition, the first pic is In My Garden - WE HAVE CHICKENS!!! Just in case you don't follow me on twitter or Facebook :)

This one is hubby doing a bit of chicken wrangling this afternoon as three of our four ESCAPED. I was not happy. They are massacring the veggie garden. Hopefully his latest trip to Bunnings will sort it all out later today!

But despite being naughty, two of our beautiful chooks are providing us with breakfast, almost every day. YAY! Hopefully the others will start to lay soon too.  All in their own time...

Mmmmm cheese. This is a few of what is currently in the fridge. Yes, I'm a bit addicted. I also have ricotta, fetta, cheddar, parmesan and a few dregs of a blue I bought in Adelaide earlier in the month - it reached the stinky-shoe-smell stage just as I arrived back in Brisbane. Pretty sure the other passengers on my flight didn't need to smell that. Olympus haloumi is a favourite, and also made locally in Brisbane. The yellow and red cheeses are from Maleny Cheese (I really must go there one day!). These three I picked up at the Good Food and Wine Show recently. The organic Brie style is a favourite I get from Woollies every now and then.

And to go with the cheese, a selection of crackers. I LOVE the Sakata wholegrain - gluten free and soooo good. I always pick up a few packs when they are on special. The ones in the box are Fig crackers - gorgeous with a soft ripened cheese like a Brie. I'm also eating a rosemary cracker from the same company which I love. The square bikkies are Kurrajong Kitchen's lavosh bites (egg and yeast free), also picked up at the GFWS recently. They are about to increase their range in IGAs and other independent stores, so keep an eye out.

A big thanks to Emma from Chobani for sending a box of one of my new favourite yogurts. I love the 2% the most, and use it for a load of savoury dishes - most recently for tandoori chicken and a cucumber and mint raita. Hubby loves the small flavoured ones. I've been a fan since tasting them in the US a couple of years ago - I love them even more now they are made in Melbourne. Check out their success story - what a man can do with a dream :)

I'm a volunteer speaker for the Heart Foundation so when I saw they had a cookbook out by Pete Evans, I had to buy it. Especially when I found out $8 from the sale of each goes to raising awareness of heart disease. It's only $20 - it would make an excellent Christmas pressie.

I love fresh garlic - this is Australian grown, and picked up the farmer's markets in Brissie last week.

Aren't these little matryoshka dolls cute? They are also practical as they are a set of measuring cups. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for giving me these for my birthday a couple of years ago. 

Cherries scream Christmas to me. And while I am in NO WAY ready to acknowledge that it's nearly that time of year, I was very happy and grateful to receive this gorgeous box of cherries from the Brisbane Produce Markets recently. A big thanks to them and especially to Cherry Growers Australia for providing them to me. Our cherry season is far too short, so stock up now so you don't miss out. I must say I was pretty happy to discover hubby and Mr12 are not cherry lovers. More for me. YAY!

I love these preserving jars. They are some of mum's that I inherited last year. I have many childhood memories of them being used - not just for food! Mum was a keen maker of preserves and jams and sometimes pickles and chutneys. I'm determined to use them - maybe not all of them as there are over 100 of varying shapes and sizes! I've used a few so far as vases, to make fermented tomato salsa, for mango chutney and I've gifted a few (filled with food of course!) to family members who also miss mum.

Last but not least - my thermomix. Otherwise known as the wonder machine. This makes life in the kitchen SO much easier! Most recently used to make gluten free chocolate cherry brownies. Perfect for the person who loves to cook AND the person who hates cooking :)

Well, that was fun! If you want to peek into other kitchens, check out Celia's list at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

What are you using in your kitchen this month??

Disclaimer: The Chobani yogurt and the cherries were sent to me. THANK YOU. Everything else featured I purchased or acquired as mentioned in the post.