Friday 6 February 2015

What's in my kitchen, February 2015

Here we are in February already. It feels like January went by in a flash. That's 1/12 of the year gone already, just like that. Although I imagine all those mothers who are sending children off to school think the month just crawled by. It's all about perspective I suppose!

In my kitchen is...

A simple spinach pie. I finally decided what I was going to do with all the spinach I preserved and it worked out beautifully. No layers of fiddly filo pastry to deal with, and an end result that was delicious, tasty and toddler approved. Also much healthier than the traditional spinach pie version as the cheese and oil is reduced and it's bulked out a little more with some rice. Definitely something I'll be making again!


In my kitchen is...

Hand cut, twice baked potato chips. These were amazing. I made them on a whim one night, and Mr Fork and Ellie have requested them again at least twice since. They take a bit more time than store bought chips to make but the effort is really quite minimal and the result so much tastier.

Simply bake whole potatoes which have been washed and pricked with a fork on a bed of rock salt. Bake 20 minutes then turn over and bake another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool slightly then cut into chips. Season with salt and olive oil and then bake on baking paper for another 20 minutes until golden and crispy. Devour.


In my kitchen is...

Mushroom and pumpkin risotto. Another quick and easy meal, this one was invented because I didn't have any decent stock to hand. I did however have a burning desire to clear space in the freezer, and some frozen pumpkin soup which I had made with decent stock. I simply substituted the pumpkin soup for stock in the recipe, and watered it down to ensure that I had enough, and the flavour wasn't too concentrated and soupy. I threw in some mushrooms and ended up with a delicious and flavoursome risotto that had Ellie asking for seconds!


In my kitchen is...

A collection of Pukka teas, which I am working my way through. Although it says detox on the box, it's a delicious mix of cardamom, aniseed and fennel which I'm not using as a detox but more of a tasty alternative to the copious amounts of water I drink in order to keep up with my nursling's requirements. I find having a cup of tea is a lovely excuse to make some time to sit down, put my feet up and take time out of my day to relax for a few minutes.



In my kitchen is...

Two chill factor squeeze and flip jelly makers. These were given to Ellie as she just loves jelly, however, I find them annoying. You have to store a large part of the device in the freezer and then make the jelly, put it in the device and sit there squeezing the thing for 3-4 minutes. Then you flip it and leave it to sit for another minute or so before it's ready. So, that's still a good 5 minutes of preparation time before it can be consumed... which it practically a lifetime in toddler minutes. Frankly it would be easier to make the jelly as per normal and refrigerate overnight in small portions. I predict these will not actually last long in my kitchen as I don't have space to leave for fad gadgets at all. I just need to sneak them out when Ellie's watchful eye is distracted elsewhere!




PS: Not actually in my kitchen, but kitchen relatedI had one of those moments recently, where I wondered if I've been doing it wrong and no one has told me. Like when I'd only seen the word canapĂ© written before and never heard it spoken so I pronounced it as "ca-nape" instead of "can-a-pay" (that was embarrassing). So... tell me... is it lasagnA or lasagnE?

I am linking this post in with Fig Jam and Lime Cordial's monthly In My Kitchen event. Go have a peek through other kitchens around the globe!

What's in your kitchen this month?

17 comments:

  1. Ooh i love the look of your spinach pie, very yummy.
    I'm doing Pizza scrolls this month, a big hit in our house and a lovely snack for the kids for after school.

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    1. Thanks Kat!
      Scrolls are a huge hit in our house too. I used to regularly make them when my toddler was small, with vegemite and cheese in them. I should get back into the habit now you've reminded me. They're scrummy! :)

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  2. i did read that lasagne was the plural of lasagna but i tend to use lasagne. i pronounce them the same:) Yes the jelly gadgets sound annoying. Love your chips!

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    1. I pronounce them the same too, and tend to spell using 'e'. It makes sense that one is the plural of the other... I'm fascinated about word origins when you trace them back :)

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  3. Think I need some chill factor things! Gee they do sound very fiddly, much better to await and get the joy of seeing something set overnight I think. Love spinach pie, any form and chips done like that are great. Thanks for the peek!

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    1. I think that anticipation is sometimes the most fun part!

      Oh spinach pie is amazing... and so are chips! I do love my carbs :-) Thank you for the visit! x

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  4. I love pukka tea. They aren't insipid or OTT synthetic like some other herbal infusions.

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    1. Exactly! They're a gorgeous flavour. I really do love tea :-)

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  5. I'll go with lasagne though pronounced lasanga. Or as we like to joke in our house 'la-sag-knee'. I bought a friend's son a cup that you froze and put soft drink into, to create a slushy. I suspect it has suffered a similar fate! cheers Fiona xx

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    1. Tee hee, 'la-sag-knee' sort of sounds like a posh pronunciation doesn't it! :-)

      I must start being much more particular about which gadgets are keepers I think... now to spiraliser or not to spiraliser....

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  6. Gosh, I have always said lasagna but now I'm unsure how I write it! I think with an 'a' though! And I have those kinds of pronunciation discoveries all the time, and sometimes wonder if I'll ever outgrow them :P

    Thanks for the twice baked chips idea - I love that. I love Pukka teas too :)

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    1. I pronounce them both the same way now that I think about it. It was just the spelling that I was unsure about. You know when you're writing and sometimes you just look at a word and even though it's perfectly correct you have doubts about it suddenly? That's what happened here. I often have pronunciation mishaps... the way I say things in my mind when reading is not always the 'correct' way I'm finding! :-)

      Chips are always delicious aren't they!

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  7. Your jelly gadget reminds me of an electric wine chiller I once had. You have to put ice in it ! It was never used! Your Pukka teas are interesting, I have been drinking a 3 ginger one of theirs.

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    1. Oh the ginger one is lovely isn't it!

      Sometimes gadgets are very overrated aren't they! Crazy about needing to add ice to a chiller. I can see why it wasn't used!!

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  8. The Italians here tell me it's lasagne with an "e", so that's how I write it when my spelling isn't crooked. :) All those gadgets that need a pre-frozen bit are annoying and space consuming - the only one we keep these days is the icecream maker. We used to store "frosty cups", but they took up so much room! Thank you for the idea of the twice cooked chips - I'm going to try it! And finally - yes, love the Pukka teas, but can't get my favourite one now, which was the black after dinner one! Will have to look harder!

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  9. Lisa, thank you for your homemade potato chips recipe. (Literally,I sat here and memorized 20 - 20 - cool, cut - 20.) (Referring to minutes. ;) What temp do you bake them? As for lasagne (vs. lasagna), I prefer the "e" version. (I asked that question once, too, and the "e's" won...) Tasty either way!

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    1. Hi Kim, home made chips are the best! I bake them at 220C in a fan forced oven which seems just perfect for fluffy middles and golden crispy outsides. Do let me know how you get on with them!

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