Wednesday, 1 January 2014

In My Kitchen ... in January

It's 2014! 
Happy New Year!!! 


Welcome to my kitchen!

In my kitchen in January ... these traditional Greek Christmas and New Year's Day cookies - Kourabiethes - made by my wonderful mother-in-law, Maria, tempt me whenever it's time for coffee!





 In my  kitchen in January ... a rather large and fabulous Panettone - given to us as a gift by our gorgeous Italian friend, Maria S, keeps calling to me ... eat me, eat me! Hmmmm, let me count the ways!






In my kitchen in January ... we are enjoying fresh produce from the garden including tomatoes, lebanese cucumbers, lebanese mini eggplant, kale, silverbeet, banana peppers and beans.





In my kitchen in January ... I'm exploring ways of using the 'superfood' kale. Growing it in the garden for the first time it has been prolific. Pictured is my favourite recipe so far - Kale Frittata.




In my kitchen in January ... I'm making homemade Basil Pesto. It's so easy - and one of my favourite tastes of summer!





















In my kitchen in January ... I've used leftover egg yolks to make luscious Lemon Curd. I used some in a fabulous Lemon Meringue Pie.




In my kitchen in January ... I'm usually making a year's supply of peach jam and freezing batches for later use. Unfortunately not this year! The peaches pictured are half the total picked from the tree this year following wild weather during flowering.






























In my kitchen in January ... I was excited to discover flour produced by the Cummins Milling Company at Foodland Thebarton. I just had to buy it and immediately bake a loaf of bread! Why? I'm a Cummins girl and my Dad worked in the orginal mill as a young boy. Local gold standard grain is used to make the flour which previously I've had to buy in 20 kilo bags when we visit.




In my kitchen in January ... I'm thrilled to have my KitchenAid food processor back after a lengthy wait for a new bowl. It's absence made me realise just how often I use it!





Finally, in my kitchen in January ... I'll be celebrating my 60th birthday! I love meringue, and I love watermelon so I'm planning to make a pavlova similar to the spectacular Meringue and Red Fruit Salad Christmas Wreath as a birthday dessert!




The fun and fabulous In My Kitchen series is hosted by Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Head over there to peek into kitchens from around the world!

Thank you for visiting my kitchen!

Happy New Year!

Cheers!

M



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27 comments:

  1. Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things1 January 2014 at 22:32

    Wow Marian, firstly happy 60th birthday this month! That is a milestone indeed! Love the goodies in your kitchen... mmmmm to the biscuits baked by your MIL... and also the panettone... oh my how I love it. Look at your fresh produce, what a bounty! I have yet to try kale!

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  2. pallyme542 January 2014 at 04:12

    Thanks for your birthday wishes, Liz! I'm looking forward to it! My little garden is certainly productive at the moment! I had not previously tried kale until I was given seedlings to grow! It's much milder in flavour than I had expected - and makes an excellent frittata!

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  3. Anonymous2 January 2014 at 13:28

    Exciting times, Marian, happy 60th! It's hard to manage without our food processors, isn't it, I know I've grown quite dependent on mine since I bought it! Love your gorgeous garden produce, and how absolutely wonderful to find flour that you have a connection to! Thanks for sharing your lovely kitchen with us! :)

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    1. pallyme542 January 2014 at 17:59

      Thanks Celia! It is a great pleasure to be a part of your inspired IMK series!

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  4. Anonymous2 January 2014 at 14:25

    That frittata looks rather yummy! Francesca

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    1. pallyme542 January 2014 at 18:03

      The frittata was beautiful! I did try to convince my grandsons that it was their favourite pitta (spanakopita) - without the filo pastry - but they weren't having any of that!

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  5. Linda Woodrow2 January 2014 at 14:47

    Hi Marion, happy 60th! I love kale - one of my favourite garden crops because it produces so reliably and for so long. I live cavolo nero - Tuscan kale - the best but the curly leaf is good too. I have a collection of kale recipes, and I've recently found it makes a good pesto that goes really well through pasta. That, and kale pakora, would probably be my favourites.

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    1. pallyme542 January 2014 at 18:09

      Thank you for your birthday wishes, Linda! I think I need to talk to you about how to use kale - I've got three plants and they are massive! I'm not sure what variety my kale is - it has a wide flat leaf - as I bought the seedlings off a school stall! I will be trying your recipes - thanks so much for the links!

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  6. Anonymous2 January 2014 at 17:00

    beautiful roundup and Happy 60th birthday! Hope you have an amazing day filled with great food and company.

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    1. pallyme542 January 2014 at 18:11

      Hi Leah! I'm pleased you enjoyed my post! I'm looking forward to spending my birthday with the people who mean the most to me - my wonderful family!

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  7. Joanne T Ferguson2 January 2014 at 20:29

    G'day Marian and Happy 60th Birthday and Happy New year, true!
    WOW! A lot of fresh growing going on and good on ya too!
    Thanks also for this month's kitchen view...wish could try your kale frittatta...looks YUM!!
    Cheers! Joanne
    http://whatsonthelist.net

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  8. pallyme542 January 2014 at 21:06

    Hi Joanne!

    G'day! Thanks for the birthday and New Year wishes! I hope your New Year is a good one too! The Kale Fritatta was really good! I've found kale surprisingly easy to grow here in Adelaide - it costs so much for a small bunch in the shops. I'll post the recipe in the coming weeks - it's worth sharing!

    Cheers!

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  9. Don't boil the sauce4 January 2014 at 17:47

    Happy Birthday Marian, that meringue wreath looks spectacular!!
    Your garden must be thriving, what a bounty.
    I love kale too, my favourite way with kale is tossed through pasta with pancetta...a bit like good vs evil on a plate hehe.
    cheers
    Jason

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  10. pallyme544 January 2014 at 19:33

    Hi Jason! Thanks so much for your kind words and wishes! I blog about my garden (keep a photo journal really!) here - http://watchingmygardengrow.blogspot.com.au/. The raised bed has come a long way since October! Your pasta sounds fantastic - I must give it a try because we've got sooo much kale from only three plants!

    Cheers!

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  11. Sally - My Custard Pie5 January 2014 at 08:42

    Those Greek biscuits look amazing. As does all your lovely kale.

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    1. pallyme545 January 2014 at 15:51

      Hi Sally! Thanks for dropping by! The biscuits are fabulous! And I now have so much kale I don't know what to do with it!!!

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  12. Misky5 January 2014 at 09:31

    Oh my, your veg and fruit make me long for summer!

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    1. pallyme545 January 2014 at 15:55

      Hi Misky! Fabulous fruit and veggies are one the joys of summer! I'm hoping the really hot weather holds off for a while longer - one 43.4 degree Centigrade day was enough for a while!

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  13. Kim Bultman5 January 2014 at 10:30

    A milestone and a family connection to your newly-discovered flour -- what an historic way to start 2014, Marian -- Happy Birthday and Happy Baking!

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    1. Kim Bultman5 January 2014 at 11:02

      Back again... forgot to mention your Greek cookies! A dear friend (88 years young) makes Kourabiethes for me every year. Truly a blessing. Happy New Year!

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    2. pallyme545 January 2014 at 15:59

      Hi Kim! Thanks so much for your kind wishes! Finding the flour was such a lovely surprise - I even had to tell the girl at the checkout the story! And how lucky are you to have a supply of Kourabiethes - they are a truly fabulous biscuit! Happy New Year!

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  14. G'day Souffle5 January 2014 at 23:58

    Oh boy! Can't wait until you post the actual recipes (hint, hint), particularly the Kale Frittata! Happy New Year and Happy Birthday! (Fran from G'day Souffle')

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  15. pallyme546 January 2014 at 00:05

    Hi Fran!!! I'll post the recipes in the very near future - I can take a hint! Thanks for your best wishes - and Happy New Year to you too!

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  16. Tiffin Fiona7 January 2014 at 00:25

    Happy, happy days Marian! I like to use pannetone in French Toast (as it goes stale so quickly) - a real weekend treat and perfect with the citrus flavour. I hadn't thought about growing bananan peppers but might give it a go! I look forward to reading throughout 2014.

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    1. pallyme547 January 2014 at 19:55

      Hi Fiona! Pannetone French Toast - yum!!!! The banana peppers are easy to grow and fruited quite early - we love them in a Greek tomato salad. Likewise - I'll enjoy reading your blog during 2014! Thanks for dropping by!

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  17. heidiannie7 January 2014 at 12:29

    Love your post- everything looks so good. Especially the pavlova with all the fruit!
    Happy 60th- I'm celebrating my 60th in June this year!

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    1. pallyme547 January 2014 at 20:00

      Hello Heidiannie - thanks so much for your kind comments! Thanks, too, for your birthday wishes - great to hear from another almost 60 year old!!!

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