Monday 5 March 2018

What's in my kitchen, March 2018

It feels like the year has only just started, and yet, here we are at the beginning of March. It's Autumn! Where did all the time go? I feel like I can no longer say that my daughter has just started school. The year has no longer just begun. Where does the time go?! Having said that, I'm looking forward to the onset of colder weather. We have been having an unusually long spate of hotter than usual weather, which is playing havoc with my sleep, my garden, my laundry schedule (due to lots more storms than usual), and my moods. Cold weather to me means lots of comfort foods, not waking up in a sweaty heap, and fun snuggly clothes. Anyway, here are a few of the things that have been occupying my kitchen lately.

In my kitchen is...


Scrolls for my preppie's lunch. We've had some trial and error packing her school lunches, but these seem to be a consistent winner, and they're super easy to make. I have Ellie help me make them too, so I think that provides extra incentive for her to eat them since she had a hand in their creation. They're just store bought puff pastry (because I do not have the time or patience to make my own), spread with filling, rolled, sliced and then baked until puffed and golden. She is a particular fan of this version, which is pizza sauce, diced ham and shredded cheese filling. Her second favourite is a simple vegemite and cheese filling.
In my kitchen is...


While on the topic of school lunches, these biscuit bars have also been a hit. I found the recipe in a recent Coles magazine that was a lunch ideas special. Ellie was immediately drawn to the sweets pages (typical!) and as soon as she saw these, insisted that they needed to be made. They are not vegan, as they have egg and milk in them, but they seem to be a hit. I tweaked the base recipe slightly, reduced the recommended sugar, subbed in some healthier options (some wholemeal flour, swapped the brown sugar for coconut sugar etc) and then added some mini m&ms and dark chocolate buttons (her request). I cut them smaller than the magazine suggested, so I got 24 biscuit slices from a single batch. They freeze well and are super easy to pop into lunch boxes too. 
In my kitchen is...

Pierogis! My friend invited us over for a pierogi making session (yes, that's also the bottom of a wine glass in the background, because, wine!). Pierogis are Polish dumplings and, I can say from personal experience, are absolutely delicious. We made a huge batch with two different fillings - cheese potato and truffled mushroom with cabbage. My favourite ones were the mushroom ones, but both versions were amazing. We cooked and ate some fresh after making many trays, and I was sent home with a doggy bag of leftovers and some frozen for later consumption.
Yum!
In my kitchen is...

A fruity loaf of sourdough that I experimented with, not really expecting that it would turn out as well as it did. I cleaned out the pantry and unearthed some dried pineapple and dried dates that needed to be used. I added these to the mix, as well as some mixed spices and it turned out absolutely amazing... not overly sweet, but very fruity and a little reminiscent of hot cross buns due to all the spices I added. If I make it again, I think some nuts, maybe hazelnut, would be an awesome addition.

It's delicious served plainly with Nuttelex - who needs to go out for breakfast?!
In my kitchen is...

Some jars packed full of all kinds of things, hidden away for six weeks or so to turn into fire cider. As well as sourdough and kombucha, I've started fermenting other things as  well. Fire cider is something I saw at a fermenting workshop many months ago, and was recently reminded of again. I thought it would be something nice to have on hand as an immunity booster coming into the colder months, so I finally got all the ingredients and put it together. In my jars are garlic, ginger, onion, chilli, peppercorns, rosemary, tumeric, lemons and galangal, all topped off with apple cider vinegar. I'll update how it works out in a month or so, but if the initial smell is anything to go on, it will be delicious!!
I'm sending this to Sherry, of Sherry's Pickings for linking in to her monthly In My Kitchen link up.

8 comments:

  1. Baking special treats for lunchboxes is an amazing labor of love!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  2. hi lisa
    do you drink the fire cider? it sounds very interesting. love the Polish dumplings; they look so pretty and i bet they are delish. those cute scrolls also sound very tempting. my sister tends to make those for parties etc. thanks muchly for joining in IMK this month. cheers S x

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  3. It looks busy in your kitchen - I like the idea of those scrolls for lunches (though oven permitting as our oven is playing up). Your pierogis look so impressive. And the fire water sounds intriguing

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  4. The Pierogis look great! I'm lucky at my boys' new school, they give them morning tea and a cooked lunch, no more lunch boxes!

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  5. Your Polish dumplings and fruit sourdough look wonderful. Ellie is lucky with her lunchboxes too!

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  6. Mmmmm, pierogis! yours look uniformly beautiful. Cooking with friends is such fun... and wine :>)

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  7. Love all the yeasty and fermenting things in your kitchen!

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  8. I am really liking everything in your kitchen. I want to get into fermenting and have done kimchi and sauerkraut, but want to experiment more - love the sound of the fire cider, please do share the recipe if it turns out well. I’d love to give it a go. I do like pierogi too and need to make some more for the freezer.

    ReplyDelete

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