What's in my kitchen, July 2016

I skipped last month's in my kitchen round up. I nearly didn't make this month's either. We have been the house of sick here. With children in daycare, winter does tend to mean that we are all constantly teetering on the edge of illness, but I overbalanced off that edge and fell right into a chest infection. Probably the kids had it too, but they were much peppier than I was. I'm putting it down to the resilience of youth. It really couldn't have come at a worse time either (not that there is ever a good time to be ill). I work in a stream of technology related to payroll and the systems behind them, and the month leading up to the end of financial year is always busy. None the less, I'm on the mend and the work deadlines have eased so the end of financial year celebrations can now begin as well as a few other work milestones that were met simultaneously.

Although there is no central host for this month, here are some highlights from my July kitchen:

In my kitchen is...

Pei Pa Koa. I generally hate using cough syrups, but when it gets to the stage that I'm keeping myself and everyone else awake with my constant hacking, I resort to Pei Pa Koa, which is a herbal syrup that I obtain from my local asian grocer. By all reports it was originally developed by a physician back in the Qing Dynasty. It is taken orally, I usually just use a tablespoon and take it straight, although for my children I mix it into water and have them drink it.

It does contain honey so it is not vegan, but it works and I feel comforted using something that I have used over the years whenever I have been ill. There is something to be said for habits and traditions, which I'm sure contribute as much to a cure as real medicine does as well.

In my kitchen is...

In keeping with my chest infection, I found myself cross, thirsty, hot (perhaps a little fevered) and heaty. Yes, that was deliberate; I do mean hot and heaty as two separate symptoms. Instead of rushing to the doctor at the signs of illness, there are many, I suppose one would call them 'old Chinese wives tales' that can help cure what ails you. Traditional Chinese wisdom uses food as medicine, and the notion of cooling and heatiness relates to a balance of yin and yang within the body. In the Chinese context, barley water is good for cooling internal 'fire'  and calming a sore throat and other heat related issues. Apparently, the English used to serve barley water to the sick and infirm, so perhaps there is something to it all. Regardless, I wanted some, and so I cooked up a batch.

I didn't have the proper Chinese barley on hand, so mine was made with plain old pearl barley and not sweetened at all, although I did doctor the servings depending on my mood. Some were plain. Some were served with Pei Pa Koa mixed in. Some had some lemon and a splash of rum included too (perhaps not very traditional that last one!). I am not a rum drinker, but Mr Fork is and he nearly went into hysterics when he saw which of his precious rums I had chosen to use in my barley toddy (apparently it was a very good one). I have never seen the point of straining all the good barley bits, so I leave mine in when serving.

Pictured in a glorious glass bottle that has it's own little neoprene cover. I was gifted a set of these BBBYO (Beautiful Beaches, BYO) bottles by a dear friend of mine. They are wonderful - I use them for hot and cold drinks and find them one of the nicest reusable bottles I have ever used.

In my kitchen is...

The most amazing rocky road. Made by the Noosa Chocolate Factory in Noosa, Queensland, their rocky road comes in white, milk and dark chocolate varieties. Amazingly, and oddly not well advertised, their dark chocolate version is completely vegan! That's right, ninja vegan rocky road!! So good, it has me walking from one end to the other end of the city regularly to stock up. I've told them that they're missing a prime opportunity to cater to vegan chocoholics by shouting that from the rooftops, but they said that, although the machinery is cleaned in between batches, they do use the same machines for the milk versions as well, so can't 100% guarantee that there aren't trace ingredients.

It's my guilty pleasure. Guilty because, if I eat without restriction, I can quite easily polish off an entire bag in one sitting. Look at it though! I have no idea how they make such delicious marshmallow and jelly without the gelatine, but they've done a spectacular job of it. Many of their dark chocolate items are also vegan, but this one is my favourite.

In my kitchen is...

A gift from my work colleague who, knowing what a chocolate fiend I am, brought me a dark chocolate frog when she was up visiting from Melbourne recently. As she works very closely with me, I suspect that she is also feeling all kinds of relief that it is the end of financial year too. Perhaps a package of celebratory rocky road may need to find it's way to her desk soon.

I love that I have colleagues who love and appreciate me as much as I do them. I have been slowly nibbling away at this dark chocolate (vegan!) frog when I have a hot drink after dinner at night times. Mr Fork and my children all shun dark chocolate, so these treats are pretty much all mine (which means they last for ages and don't just disappear when my back is turned)...

In my kitchen is...

Lovely thick and hearty dahl, made from split peas. I've been making lots of legume meals lately. They're easy to make in bulk, freeze well for the nights I don't feel like cooking, and are so soothing and warm now that winter has settled in and the weather is most decidedly chilly. This particular version included tomato, coriander seeds that I'd dried from the garden, some mustard seeds and a whole bunch of lovely spices which made the house smell gorgeously fragrant. Served over some rice, it was a warming meal and perfect for soothing a sore throat.

There is no official link up for the In My Kitchen this month, so I'm just going to throw it out there to all... what's going on in your kitchen this month?

What's in my kitchen... June 2015

And the year is just flying by. It's officially Winter now. WINTER! How on earth? I mean, it feels like just yesterday that it was Summer and I was complaining bitterly about having a nursling who wanted to be constantly attached in the middle of the heat. Now it's starting to get cold and I have a curious infant I have to encourage to feed for longer so I can steal some snuggles and warmth! Haha. I'm loving the change in seasons and everything it brings though - mornings are cooler and the sun rises later, so everyone sleeps a little longer (hurrah!). We've added some more blankets to the bed, so it's really hard to get out of it in the mornings. When I do get out though, that sole cup of coffee I allow myself tastes all the better for being hot when the house is just so cold. Winter vegetables are coming into season, so there are lots of lovely pumpkins, green leafy spinach type things and potatoes making an appearance in our meals.

In my kitchen is...

Porridge! Now that it's officially winter, there is no shame in admitting that one of my favourite winter breakfasts is the humble oat porridge. Since I'm still on maternity leave, I like to make it the old fashioned and slightly longer way, with proper rolled oats (not the express type) on the stove top instead of in the microwave. I like mine made on just plain water, so I use a mix of 1:2 oats/water ratio. That gets put onto the stove and stirred until the water is absorbed and the consistency is thick and hearty looking. I then divide that into three - a larger bowl for me, a medium bowl for Ellie and a tiny bowl for Jimmy (wow, that sounds a little Goldilocks like now that I've written it). Mr Fork is not a breakfast person and just has a coffee before work before you think I'm mean and not sharing...

Jimmy has his plain. Ellie and I vary our toppings, but she tends towards plain honey and shredded coconut on hers. I like to mix it up. Some of my favourite toppings at the moment include:

• Frozen raspberries, shredded coconut and maple syrup
• Shredded coconut and passionfruit jam
• Almonds and blueberries
• Mayvers chocolate superfood spread
• Stewed fruits and cinnamon (the leftover apples from my flower tarts were perfect!)
• Coconut or almond milk for a little bit of extra decadence

In my kitchen is...

Mayvers spreads. I can't believe I've not mentioned these before, but since I brought it up with the porridge, I better elaborate. I think all of these spreads by Mayvers are awesome-sauce. I love the super spreads (I have two because they've been on sale when I grocery shopped recently). I've also tried a few of the tahini varieties and the peanut butters. I'm especially chuffed that they are a bit different - instead of plain peanut butter (which they also do), there is a peanut and coconut version as well as a peanut and cacao variety too. I'm munching my way through them all, knowing that they are all-natural pure foods, and I'm supporting an Australian business at the same time. Winner, winner!

In my kitchen is...

A lonely lime. I know that I've been showing off a lot of citrus recently, but this one is special as it is the only lime that I have managed to coax from my own lime tree. This one is a survivor, managing to thrive despite leaf miner infestations and several attacks on the tree by the hoards of rampant grasshoppers in my garden. Go you good lime! I think it will be my only citrus this year.

In my kitchen is...

Passionfruit jam. That bowl of passionfruit from last month was cooked up and turned into jars and jars of passionfruit jam. It turned out absolutely delicious, and I've been eating it on bread, cooked into muffins and drizzled over the top of my morning porridge. Ellie was thoroughly interested in the whole jam making process and couldn't wait to try the end result. Her verdict? "Yummy, except I don't like the seeds". Yes, I think she has missed the point slightly! Luckily I think it's great.

In my kitchen is...

Chocolate, choc chip banana cake. Have I ever shared on here that I loathe bananas? Well I do. The smell and taste of them is just not my cup of tea. Despite that, my children both love them, so I suck it up and buy them. At this stage I even help Jimmy to eat them as left to his own devices he just squishes them into everything and gets frustrated that not much makes it into his mouth. I had two bananas that were beyond eating but perfect for baking, and so, when I came across a recipe that did everything in a bowl with a mixer, it was a winner (since I didn't want to use my hands).

Sorry for the terrible picture, but a certain toddler insisted she needed a piece "right now mama please" so I didn't get time to take in situ photos.

I omitted Katie's suggestion to ice it and just left it plain. This is not a vegan recipe, but since I wasn't eating it, I didn't modify it and used real butter and eggs in it. Mr Fork tried a small piece and informs me it is delicious and fudgey. It made a pretty big cake, especially for someone who doesn't eat bananas. I gave half of it to a friend as a swap for some vegetable seedlings and magazines she dropped over while I was quarantined. Of the remaining half, I froze half of it for future-Ellie's morning tea requirements, and cut the remaining quarter into small pieces for when Ellie demands a snack. Since it is very low in sugar and nasty things, Jimmy has also been allowed to gum on a small piece, to his delight.

In my kitchen is...

(or was!) Planet Food coconut chips. These were an impulse buy as they were on sale at my local Coles. While they say on the packet that they are suitable for vegetarians, I can't see anything in the ingredient list (Coconut, Preservative (220)) that makes it non-vegan friendly either. These are delicious and more-ish. Not too sweet and with a lovely crisp texture. I'm lucky I only bought one packet for I could easily eat these continually if given the chance. I ate the entire packet as an afternoon snack one day. Yum!

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?

This and that

Hello dear readers. I've been a bit quiet for the past week or so - there's been a fair bit on my plate lately.

Two weeks ago I took Jimmy and Ellie to see Playschool. It was a drizzly day and the parking situation was horrendous, so I had to park a fair way away. As we were trudging to the auditorium, Ellie tripped at my feet. Rather than trip over her and land on top of Jimmy who I was carrying, I sacrificed my ankle instead. It was a rather wicked sprain, but there is no way I could explain to an excited toddler that we would need to turn around and go home, so I gritted my teeth, sat through the production with a swelling ankle, then hobbled home for restorative icing, elevation and bandaging. I'm still hobbling around a little, but the swelling is much reduced and definitely less painful. I know that it's taking a long time to heal, but really, when I have to run around after an energetic toddler and a crawling infant, there isn't a lot of time to rest and recuperate.

Meanwhile, Jimmy came out in spots. He had spots everywhere, from his trunk all the way down to his toes. I was a bit confused about whether it was hand, foot and mouth or whether it was chicken pox as he had symptoms of both. We hustled to the doctor (just an aside, but WHY do my children always get sick on days that I have to take both with me to the doctor?), who hesitantly called chicken pox. I know that there is no treatment for either HFM or the pox except time, but it was good to have a diagnosis anyway. I'm not sure where he caught it from, but I suspect daycare as Ellie's friends love to greet him at pickup/dropoff time with snotty kisses, and he's still too young to have had a chicken pox vaccination. Apparently it's quite unlucky these days for a baby to get chicken pox... go Jimmy, beating the odds!

He's been completely miserable, so we've been doing a lot of baby wearing. My days looked a lot like this...

... swaying and rocking him to sleep wrapped against my chest. Which, if I'm honest, has always been one of our happy places to be.

What I actually suspect now, is that Jimmy had HFM, which has been doing it's usual rounds at Ellie's daycare, and then while his immunity was low, he caught chicken pox, which is when I took him to the doctor. How do I know this? Because I got HFM. Thank you SO MUCH daycare and Jimmy. Sharing the love, sharing the love, right? HFM is usually a children's virus, but I know quite a few of my parent friends who have also caught it.

So I've been pretty miserable too, as we've both had to be in quarantine at home. Here's another picture of how we spent our days once I got sick too. Here, I'm a bit flushed from getting him up there, and he's still a bit glassy eyed, but we both feel better touching each other. 

HFM is a seriously revolting virus as an adult. I won't post a picture as that's just icky, but there are lots of mouth ulcers, making it hard to eat/talk/swallow because your tongue swells and everything hurts. Little pinprick sized blisters all over your hands and feet make it a bit painful to walk or even be immersed in water, so showering/bathing/doing the dishes is agony. Despite that, I'm told I got a mild dose.

I tell you, we all better be building some serious immunity here!!  I'm super grateful that, excepting Jimmy, we have all either had chicken pox or been vaccinated, so that didn't spread any further. Also, Ellie has had HFM and didn't show any signs of further virus contamination, so I've been able to send her to daycare for a 'break' while I cared for Jimmy and myself. Mr Fork remained disgustingly healthy.

Despite all that, we are all on the mend here. I look forward to being able to get out of the house, to typing on a keyboard, and to baking properly again... I've been afraid to bake bread or do anything with kneading or hand mixing while my hands were gross. Consequently, we've been eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches around here, which I am getting a mite tired of...

I do have one more thing to share. Ellie drew me this picture to make me feel better. It's one of her first recognisable drawings. That giant head on the left is me. On the right, under all that hair, is her. She tells me we are holding hands. I won't lie, I maybe choked up and got a little teary when she handed it to me. It's worth getting sick and investing so much time and energy and love into my small people for moments like these.

Whew! That feels better. I feel all caught up now. Tell me, how has your week been?