At long last I have some things to write about for the In My Kitchen blogging group; truthfully there hasn’t been a lot going on in my kitchen these last couple of months, at least not in the way of interesting food news. We’ve been away on holiday; and when home, involved with the upgrades to our cabin in Fort Bragg. It is finally becoming a real house and not just a holiday cabin. Our contractor has assured us that the new addition will be completed sometime in July, we shall see. Meanwhile the construction team has made real progress now that the rain has stopped. I will be posting pictures of the new bedroom and bath soon, but it doesn’t have much to do with the kitchen so please humor me. After the construction completion, comes the creation of a real garden, both vegetable and ornamental. That will be my own project and I am looking forward to getting my hands in the dirt.
Last weekend I hosted a wedding shower, a real English tea for a good friend’s daughter.
The garden roses put on their best show for table decorations, and I got to appreciate them for a few days after it was over.
Also left over were a few (not many) sandwiches and tea cakes. The mother of the groom made the desserts and they were well worth any extra calories. Aren’t they beautiful?
She is a genius and is also planning to bake the wedding cake.
We made a big selection of tea sandwiches. All of the usual kinds were represented…egg salad, cucumber and cream cheese, smoked salmon, goat cheese and fig spread, and goat cheese with olive spread.
I made a few spreads and dips. Cashew hummus and almond sesame were hits. I will be posting the recipes.
Also leftover were a few slices of delicious Danish rye sourdough baked by the mother of the groom. She has promised me some starter and the recipe.
This is a very dense and flavorful bread, meant to be sliced thinly and amazing with the egg salad or cucumber/cream cheese sandwiches.
We are all very excited for the happy bride and groom, plus the uniting of two wonderful families.
In my kitchen I have two new cookbooks to feed my passion (maybe it should be termed obsession) for them.
The Spice Companion by Lior Lev Sercarz is a comprehensive and knowledgeable guide to spices from around the world and how to use them. To those of us who love trying new flavors, it is a prize. It also has recommendations for new spice mixes, I look forward to trying some of them and will post the best.
And I couldn’t visit the Oaktown Spice Shop without making a couple of purchases. Cyprus citron lemon flake sea salt is fantastic sprinkled over simple roasted asparagus.
I first read about Marsh Turkish Chili in My Pantry by Alice Waters. It has a great depth of smoky flavor and only moderate heat. It is known as “Maras biberi” in Turkey. The chili flakes are traditionally mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and used to season chicken, lamb, and goat dishes as well as vegetables.
Dishing Up the Dirt by Andrea Bemis is the story of tumbleweed farm in Oregon. The recipes are simple but with a twist. I served the roasted beet and carrot lentil salad to my book club earlier in the month, only adapting the recipe a little by adding some curry powder to the lentils.
Finally from my kitchen I can see Casey and Quinn enjoying the sun and baking themselves on the deck.
This is my June contribution to the “In My Kitchen” series. At the beginning of each month food bloggers worldwide give you a peek into their kitchens. Sherry of Sherry’s Pickings fame is our host, so click on the link and check out what’s happening elsewhere, or better still join in. You have until the 10th of the month to link up.