Thank you Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for hosting the “In My Kitchen” monthly event. This is a facinating peek into kitchens around the world. There are some amazing cooks and photographers taking part, it’s a wonderful collection.

Here’s what is happening in my kitchen…

I picked up this delicious conserve at the Blue Chair stall at our local farmer’s market. They were giving out tastes, wonderful! I was sold immediately. I think I will use it as a glaze with a roast chicken or duck. Their cookbook looks interesting as well, I need to take a closer look before I decide to purchase. My mother used to say that a cookbook was worth the price if there was even one excellent recipe. She always had a stack beside her bed as I do.

The market stalls are also full of root vegetables, the beets spoke to me and I pickled some ruby red and gold ones. They were delicious in a goat cheese sandwich with some arugula from the garden.

I bottled the lemoncello, just in time for the holidays.

A friend sent me a funny picture to go with my Jerk chicken recipe. I think something was lost in translation!

I saw this lovely shallow bowl and couldn’t resist, my splurge this month.

I picked up these persimmons at a farm stand, the colors are beautiful. I’ve seen two recipes recently for persimmons that I want to try. One is a carpaccio of thinly sliced persimmons with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and toasted hazelnuts, the other a caprese with mozzarella and pomegranate seeds. Can’t you picture the colors? They seem perfect for the holidays. And, of course, persimmons are lovely by themselves. When I lived in Italy as a child we would eat them with a spoon for dessert.

My orchids are blooming, I can see them from the kitchen sink.

And I have lots of leftovers from Thanksgiving. I’m getting down to the end, time for soup.

For a class assignment I was asked to make a video. Please be kind as it’s my first time on film!

I have a few new cookbooks and am looking forward to trying new recipes. If you have cooked from any of them, do you have any favorites and suggestions?

And lastly, I picked up some Christmas crackers at the store. They sell out quickly, not being as common here in the states. Because my mother was British, we always had them at part of our Christmas day dinner celebration. I keep the tradition going.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone. Thank you for visiting and I look forward to hearing from you.