If I had to choose a favorite month of the year, it would be October. Not only because it is my birthday month (that has become less popular as the years roll on), but because it marks a major shift in the weather. And thus, the types of food I cook.
Spring sneaks up on me, there is no sudden change. It’s a slow transition. Somehow autumn is different. The first winter rains usually happen in late October, the trees start to change color, and the mornings are crisp. It seems to happen overnight. I want to re-decorate my house in oranges, reds, and yellows. Early October is hot, sometimes the warmest of the year in an area with Indian summer. And then, it’s not. It’s sudden.
What’s new in my kitchen this month?
There are some new cookbooks, two of them (The River Cafe Cook Book and What Katie Ate) are for the on-line cookbook club, The Cookbook Guru. Please join us if you love and collect cookbooks as I do. It’s wonderful to be challenged to try new dishes and spices. Don’t you think that cooking can become boring very easily?
In my kitchen I have chocolate.
And more chocolate! The shopping list said ketchup and chocolate, a request from my family, and permission to go wild!
On a healthy note I have started to use my Spiralizer, it replaced pasta on a recent evening with a simple marinara sauce.
Spiralized Zucchini
In my kitchen I have a new spicy marinade and sauce.
Nothing unpronounceable in the ingredient list. So far I’ve used it as a marinade for salmon and a quick sauce in a stir fry. Both were good.
In my kitchen I have a bottle of Saba. Are you wondering what it is? I’ve found it similar to a good aged balsamic vinegar. Saba is a syrup made from freshly squeezed grape juice, also known as must. Grape must contains many of the sugars naturally present in the grape, and when it is slowly cooked into a syrup, it develops into a very rich, concentrated foodstuff that can be used in a wide assortment of ways. Saba is most closely associated with Abruzzese cuisine in Italy, although it is used in other regions of Italy as well, and it is a popular offering at Mediterranean-inspired restaurants overseas.
And lastly, in my kitchen I have apples. These are golden delicious and they were very sweet. I picked them up from a road side stand in the middle of an apple orchard. The trees were old and gnarly but beautiful.
What is new in your kitchen? This post is part of a regular monthly blogging event “In My Kitchen” hosted by Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Click on the link to get a glimpse of what is happening in kitchens around the globe.
What a fun post full of lovely ideas! I also love October! It is amazing and beautiful! Can you please tell me more about spiralizer?
Hi Lynz, hope you are doing well. It’s an appliance for cutting vegetables into strands or slices. There are lots of recipes on-line for making zucchini noodles but I’ve also used it for carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets. You will see a picture on my last months “In My Kitchen” at:
https://spadesspatulasandspoons.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/september-2015-in-my-kitchen/
I think that there is a least one post from Fiesta Friday that uses a similar gadget (there are several on the market). I purchased my Paderno from Amazon.
Wow thanks
Lynz, take a look at the “In My Kitchen” group. I think you will find it interesting.
sounds good, thanks!
October is a lovely month! Looking at your courgette I need to locate my spiraliser and get started! I have never heard of Saba but it sounds delicious and I need to keep an eye out for it and try it! 🙂
Hi Petra, thank you for visiting. I had to take mine down from the top cupboard, I’ve been fascinated by some of the recipes on Pinterest for using it.
Saba sounds like it’s related to Vincotto which I love. I’ve been thinking about a spiralizer. Is it worth it?
I have only really just started using it so will let you know. There are some interesting recipes for sweet potatoes, carrots and other veggies spiralized and roasted to crispness. I am going to try them and post. And always, zucchini to replace pasta (delicious but not really pasta).
Hi Liz, I was about to say your Saba sounds like vinocotto but I see Sandra has said that. I love vinocotto so I am sure to love Saba.
I am not familiar with vinocotto but it does sound similar. I use it like a good balsamic, as a finishing sauce. It is delicious.
Liz, Happy Birthday! (And who’s counting?!) 😉 Hope you have a delightful day, xo. October is my favorite month, too, even though it seems to catapult us into the “W” season. I’ve been debating about acquiring a spiralizer, but your “zoodles” photo convinced me, thanks!
Hi Kim, I try NOT to count. It’s about how you feel, right? The zucchini noodles are actually very good, but certainly not pasta. I think they are also good simply dressed with a good vinaigrette and some shredded parmesan. They are so thin that the vinegar will cook them slightly.
Oh! I like your vinaigrette & Parmesan suggestion — thanks, Liz. I keep racking up “mileage” too (birthday-wise), but you’re absolutely right — it’s how you FEEL. I feel pretty good and hope you do, too! 🙂
I really need to break out my spiraliser now that the warmer weather is here (though I wish it were autumn!) The saba is very interesting, I’ll have to check that out too. Thanks!
Hello, I’ve broken out mine for the cooler weather. You have tomatoes to look forward to, and green beans, and zucchini flowers. We are on the dwindling side of those.
I hope you had some of that chocolate for your BD and hope it was/is a great one! I loved hearing about everything! I’m going to have to checkout the cookbook guru – I thought about it once…and yes, cooking can get boring sometimes – I don’t know why; I guess it’s inspiration, or cooking for others and their tastes, time? Fantastic post!
It was a wonderful birthday, thank you. Working around other peoples tastes is sometimes a challenge (my son is refusing to eat beef because of the amount of water used in producing a pound of meat), being in a hurry to dinner on the table when I get done with work also negatively impacts creativity.
I must check out The Cookbook Guru. I have an obsession with cookbooks… and chocolate. You kitchen is full of good things
Hi Jennifer, we would love for you to join us. The one for Nov/Dec (What Katie Ate) looks particularly interesting. I have way tooooo many cookbooks but I love them. I have some from my mother and grandmother that are very precious. And, isn’t it amazing how they have changed over the years?
I love hearing about how the seasons change in a place where they change radically. One can never have enough chocolate in the house. Those marinades/ sauces look very nice too
We don’t get much seasonal change, the weather in San Francisco is very moderate. No snow, rare frosts, mostly cooler summers because of the coast. Winter is rain…usually, and fingers crossed. I have a chocolate jar in the cupboard, there are great complaints when it is empty. I don’t make a lot of sweets so a square of chocolate serves as dessert.
I love Lindt Chocolate! I even like the 90%. Although, admittedly, I like to eat it with peanut butter slathered on and sprinkled with raisins and nuts! I really want to try the coconut. I’ll have to go on a Lindt search! Umm, those golden delicious look so tasty and your description of the trees is just beautiful. I love eating all those autumn fruits like apples and pears.
I am really looking forward to seeing what you make from your Cookbook Guru cookbooks. I think this sounds like a great idea but at the moment I am not in a position to join – my kitchen is not my own but when I have my own place again, I’ll definitely have to participate!
thanks again for the glimpse into your kitchen!
Hi Maggie, I visited the Lindt factory in Cologne a few years ago. They had a fountain of liquid chocolate in the lobby! Peanut butter with raisins and nuts, yum! My favorite chocolate has raisins and nuts in it, but I am the only one in my household who has that preference.
We wold love to have you join our cook book club. It’s such fun to get insights from other folks.
I too am a HUGE October lover! My anniversary falls this month and the hubby’s birthday. I LOVE when the weather changes, it’s my absolute favorite time of year 🙂 Love these fun new things in your kitchen post, it’s a great idea!
Hi Sarah, sounds like it is a month full of celebrations. I also love the change in the weather and the change in cooking. Suddenly the BBQ is not taking center stage.
Every time I see vegetables cut using a spiralizer it makes me want to buy one, definitely healthier than pasta 🙂 I want to be in your kitchen with all that lovely chocolate. Happy birthday for October Liz 🙂
Thank you, the chocolate is wonderful. I’m not a big dessert person, but chocolate is different! It would be fun if the blogging parties could occasionally be not so virtual.
Spring never sneaks up on us here in Qld. One day it is winter, the next spring and then poof, that is gone within a few weeks and we are straight into summer, well ahead of schedule. Lindt Sea Salt – a favourite in this household. I love the sound of Saba and when I looked it up, found out it is also known as vincotto which I have in my own cupboard. Always good to add new words to my culinary lexicon. cheers
Summer came early on our side of the world as well, and still hasn’t completely lost it’s grip on us. We had a lot of hot weather this year and not much fog. Now the nights are starting to be cooler but days are still quite warm. I will be drooling over your summer produce come December.
I love the idea of the spiralizer- I think the sweet potatoes would be excellent that way- crispy and crunchy. I think October is one of my fav months as well- everyone here in New England KNOWS what’s coming and knows they need to take advantage of the last wonderful crisp days, and impossible blue skies. Thanks for posting- I love your recipes!
Thank you so much Jane! Wish you were closer to my side of the US so we could share dinners more often.
i’ve not heard of saba before. is it a bit like verjus but concentrated? love the cookbooks. my collection is overtaking the house:) and all that glorious chocolate…what can i say but yum!
Hi Sherry, I have had a serious cookbook addiction for years. My collection spills out all over the house. Saba is a thick syrup made by slowly cooking down grape juice and concentrating it, it’s more similar to a really good balsamic. from a comment below I learned that in Italy it is called vincotto.
Verjus is a vinegar made from grape juice. I understand it is more often used in Syrian cooking.
Liz, your spiralizer has produced beautiful zucchini pasta! And that spicy sauce sounds delicious – I love it when the ingredients list is “clean”! Enjoy your new cookbooks! 🙂
Thank you Celia, can you believe it is almost November!? Time for a new IMK. I think my cookbook collection is taking over the house.