In My Kitchen

In My Kitchen – November 2023
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In My Kitchen – November 2023

Thank you Sherry for hosting In My Kitchen, a collection of posts focusing on what is new in kitchens around the world. You can read them all on Sherry’s Pickings.

Not a whole lot has been going on in my kitchen. October and November have been filled with travel. We stayed with friends in the California  gold country, then a reunion of our New Zealand gang at Donner Lake, then on to Mexico for a week long retreat with a girlfriend, and finally Utah to visit yet more friends at their lovely second home.

My contributions to the parties are usually wine and goat cheese from our local Anderson Valley (Mendocino County) wine region.

I did cook dinner one night for our Donner group.

Asian salad with brown rice noodles and peanut dressing

Asian salad with brown rice noodles and peanut dressing

 

The New Zealand gang minus Bob who took the picture

The New Zealand gang minus Bob who took the picture

The dogs didn’t go to New Zealand but had a wonderful time on the trails near Lake Tahoe where they were able to run off-leash. That’s me in the middle of the back row.

In my kitchen I have a selection of goat cheese from Pennyroyal Farm in Boonville, CA (in the Anderson Valley wine region). I belong to both their cheese and wine clubs. If you get a chance to visit, you shouldn’t miss this stop. They serve lunch in addition to wine and cheese tastings. Anderson Valley wineries feel like Napa and Sonoma 40 years ago, they are friendly and welcoming and you don’t need a reservation. Because the valley is cool, most wineries focus on white wines and pinot noir.

This quarter's cheese selection from Pennyroyal Farm

This quarter’s cheese selection from Pennyroyal Farm

In my kitchen I have this package of crisp red peppers. They added a nice crunch to our green salad.

Crispy Red Peppers

Crispy Red Peppers

In my kitchen I have a new chili paste. Sally at Bewitching Kitchen wrote about it recently in her blog post for Aji-Amarillo roasted chicken thighs. We eat a lot of chicken and I am always looking for new flavors. I know Amazon isn’t everyone’s favorite, but it allows me to purchase items that are not available in our rural outpost.

Aji Amarillo Chili Paste

Aji Amarillo Chili Paste

I am still trying more salad recipes from the cookbook Salad Freak. Last night I made this one with roasted Romanesco cauliflower, endive, roasted grapes and hazelnuts with a apple cider vinegar dressing. It was delicious. We had some cold roast chicken on the side.

Roast Romanesco cauliflower, grapes, endive salad

Roast Romanesco cauliflower, grapes, endive salad

I will try and post the recipe for you in the next few days.

I am finding it difficult to come up with recipes I haven’t already posted. There are a lot of them after so many years. If you are looking for something you can search the categories on the right side as you read the post. Unfortunately it doesn’t work with your phone, you won’t see it.

The New York Times published a recipe for fried rice with kimchi a few months ago. One of the commenters wrote that they made it with riced cauliflower. I decided to try it and it was very successful.

Fried Rice with kimchi

Fried rice with kimchi

I garnished it with fried shallots.

Gnocchi has appeared on our menu more frequently since I discovered that you can stir fry the fresh varieties without cooking them first. This time it was sauteed with turkey sausage.

Turkey sausage with fresh gnocchi

Turkey sausage with fresh gnocchi

It was delicious garnished with pomegranate seeds.

 

In my kitchen I have a new cookbook, a birthday present from my dear husband.

It is much more that a cookbook and I am enjoying reading about her life and thoughts about food.

From my kitchen I can see this lovely new vase, another gift for my birthday. This time from a lovely friend. I filled it with the last of this year’s dahlias.

Lastly I wanted to leave you with a couple of amazing sunsets. This one is from our last night in Utah. From our friends’ front porch looking out over the Capital Reef National Park.

And this strange cloud formation was seen from our car on the drive back to the bay area. I don’t think I have ever seen this particular type of cloud before.

It looks a bit like a spaceship or like the alien in the movie Nope by Jordan Peele.

In My Kitchen – September 2023
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In My Kitchen – September 2023

I will get this post into Sherry at Sherry’s Pickings for the monthly blogging party just under the wire. In My Kitchen is a regular collection of blog posts from around the world, highlighting what is new in all our kitchens. Thank you, Sherry, for continuing to host this long-running party for us.

So what is new in my kitchen? Not too much actually. I was sick with COVID-19 for almost three weeks, at the end of August and the beginning of this month. Not terribly sick, thank goodness. But I relapsed after taking Paxlovid, turning positive and having to isolate again. My enthusiasm for cooking waned and my dear husband took the reins. The surprise hit was a very simple dish of shredded sharp cheddar mixed with mayonnaise and spread on crisp whole-grain toast, with sliced tomatoes on top. We saw the recipe in the NY Times cooking section. It’s something that would only be fantastic with aged cheddar and perfectly ripe summer beefsteak tomatoes. It needed nothing else although he sometimes added rotisserie chicken or arugula. I will add some pictures in the future because he will be making it again, this time to enjoy with a chilled glass of wine.

Late Summer Tomatoes

Late Summer Tomatoes

This bread was a discovery. It’s from a local bakery and makes the most delicious base for those open-faced sandwiches; a mix of rye and wheat flour plus seeds.

Hanne's Austrian Seed Bread from the Fort Bragg Bakery

Hannes’ Austrian Seed Bread from the Fort Bragg Bakery

But while a languished in our guest bedroom, the dahlias bloomed. Fresh flowers cheered my days, seen from the kitchen.

Dahlias

Dahlias

Dahlias, a Sunflower and other mixed blooms from the garden

Dahlias, a Sunflower, and other mixed blooms from the garden

The zucchini didn’t stop their growth while I was away from the kitchen. We are starting to grow tired of our usual method of serving them, grilled simply with olive oil and salt. Still grilled but topped with a spicy sauce and fried shallots gave them new life.

I purchased a new cookbook while cruising the internet. I love the pictures in all of Donna Hay’s books, this one is full of healthy vegetable-heavy recipes as well.

 

I have grown tired of fumbling through my overcrowded utensil drawer for serving spoons and forks. Adding another caddy to the counter put them easily at hand.

Serving Utensil Caddy

Serving Utensil Caddy

These oil sprays came from Trader Joe’s when I was there a month ago, useful when you only want a bit of oil to glaze a chicken when it’s ready for roasting or a hot skillet.

Olive oil and avocado oil spray

Olive oil and avocado oil spray

And lastly, here is a quick photo of our new water dispenser. Our problem with a well that has been contaminated with salt is too long (and boring) to write about here. The water is safe for washing and watering plants, but not ideal for drinking. We have begun getting deliveries of water, both for us and the dogs. Here you can see me, in my COVID-19 bathrobe (I was living in that thing), taking a picture of the water cooler (and inadvertently myself).

 

In My Kitchen – May 2023
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In My Kitchen – May 2023

After a month out of my kitchen, I seem to be making up for lost time. And I have missed all of you.

So, what’s been cooking in my kitchen? Here are a few highlights from the month.

 

Thai influenced chopped cabbage and kale salad

Thai-influenced chopped cabbage and kale salad with Korean BBQ chicken (air-fryer)

 

 

 

This recipe for skirt steak and the cherry tomato salad came from a cookbook I received at Christmas from our daughter. She knows what I like and this one is filled with beautiful pictures and recipes for entertaining on the California coast. I will be posting this simple recipe, perfect for summer. It would be even more delicious with mixed color summer tomatoes. It was an appropriate dinner for our daughter’s visit this week, skirt steak is her favorite.

Malibu Farm Cookbook

Malibu Farm Cookbook

 

Grilled Spring Asparagus

Grilled Spring Asparagus

Because of the work on our decks, the BBQ grill has been rolled to the edge of the vegetable garden. But we still managed to set it up for our first grilled dinner of the season. Simply grilled fresh asparagus is my idea of spring. It only needs a slick of olive oil and salt, yum.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know of my passion for cookbooks. Our bookcases are stuffed to overflowing and you will find cookbooks piled on most surfaces. I read them like others would read memoirs. They are, after all, stories of a particular person’s relationship with food and eating. How do they approach textures, flavors, and scents? If there are pictures, what is their approach visually? How do they relate to their unique geographical place on the earth, to the environment, and sustainability? It’s all there between the lines. Sometimes it’s even right out there in front. The most fun is when there are personal elements. Some cookbooks, I’m thinking of M.F.K. Fisher, are essays with recipes. A more modern writer who does the same would be Ella Risbridger.

So, while I am on the subject of cookbooks…what are the new ones on my shelves (actually piled beside the bed)?

The Chicken Bible

The Chicken Bible

This one is from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen. We eat a LOT of chicken, I didn’t think there could be any new ways to fix it. I would be wrong about that. This is a true compendium of chicken recipes cooked in every way imaginable, including the slow cooker and air fryer. I do not have the best relationship with slow cookers, although I love the concept. For me, they are okay for soups, but not so much for other things. So, I tried one of the book’s slow cooker recipes which sounded very flavorful from the ingredients. I just have to say that I won’t be posting it and it did nothing to change my opinion of the slow cooker. However, I will be posting others that are more successful, so stay tuned…too many recipes and too little time.

Chi Spacca Cookbook by Nancy Silverton

Chi Spacca Cookbook by Nancy Silverton

I am an avid follower of Nancy Silverton and this is her newest. This is not a cookbook for novices. The recipes have many steps and are fairly complicated. I’m waiting for a day when I have nothing on the agenda (read no weeding), so it might have to be the first rainy day of fall. The book is also very meat-centric, certainly not one for vegetarians. You will have to make friends with your butcher.

Donna Hay the new classics

Donna Hay the new classics

Although the recipes in this book are simple, they are classics after all, the presentations are beautiful. I’m not one for drops of various sauces around the edge of the plate, I think that’s pretentious. But this is how my mother would present her food (she was cordon bleu trained and taught cooking classes for years). It’s also not one for beginners as there isn’t an excess of explanations, but they are not overly complicated either.

Six California Kitchens

Six California Kitchens

My friend, Sharon, recommended this one, knowing I would enjoy it. The line on the cover that included ‘stories’ got me into the bookstore to purchase it. The book follows Sally Kelsoe through six of her kitchens. Included are her mother’s, The Vintage Cafe in Yountville, The Chutney Kitchen in Yountville, The French Laundry also in Yountville, The Apple Farm in Philo, and finally The Elk Cottage in Elk where she retired.

New in my kitchen is this electric kettle. I think this is number 5 in the lineup. If you have not had experience with one, you are in for a wonderful surprise. They heat water very quickly. This kettle is number 5 because they are in constant use for tea or coffee in our household, therefore they poop out eventually. The manufacturer is a new one for us.

While we were in New Zealand I judged the comfort of our hotels by only a few criteria…clean, comfortable beds, electric towel warmer, and electric kettle. With one exception (no towel warmer), they all passed. The electric kettle allowed me to make a cup of tea while I was dressing and packing up for the day. The kettle is the first thing I reach for at home after I let the dogs out. It’s amazing to me that electric towel warmers haven’t caught on in the U.S. while they are fairly common in many parts of the world.

Mueller Electric Kettle

Mueller Electric Kettle

Several years ago, when I purchased an electric kettle number 4 and posted it on IMK, this brand was recommended in a comment. Your comments are remembered and important. So please pipe up and write in. I love comments, read them, and respond. I love being connected to my readers.

This month’s curve ball came off a coaster in a shop in New Zealand.

This post is part of the monthly blogging collection detailing what’s new in kitchens around the world. Come over to Sherry’s Pickings to read the blogs.

In My Kitchen – April 2023
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In My Kitchen – April 2023

There isn’t much that’s new in my kitchen, except that I am in it after three weeks away. It was the longest trip we’ve had in several years. Honestly, I think two weeks is long enough. We missed our home, family, friends, and dogs. Where were we? New Zealand on a hiking adventure around the South Island. It was amazing! And beautiful, and a lot of fun…just a little too long. Look for a couple of future posts with pictures.

Is there anything new going on in the kitchen here at home? Well, one of our guides introduced us to a local South Island chutney. She fixed our picnic lunches on several days and a tablespoon of one of these chutneys was usually included.

Barker's Chutney and Jelly

Barker’s Chutney and Jelly

I managed a trip to one of the local groceries to pick up several jars. The Red Pepper & Chilli Jelly is a gift.

In my kitchen, I also have some New Zealand chocolate. I picked these bars up at the airport on the way home.

We are not dark chocolate fans, preferring milk. Our daughter is a fan of white chocolate.

Whitman's Chocolate

Whitman’s Chocolate

In my kitchen, I have a small jar of kawa-kawa balm. The kawakawa leaves are medicinal, and one of our guides was quite knowledgeable about local plants. She made tea one night from kawakawa leaves, something we needed after a full day of hiking. This balm will be handy for those inevitable burns in the kitchen.

Kawa-kawa balm
Kawa-kawa balm

We didn’t have much room in our suitcases for much more.

Although there hasn’t been a lot of cooking going on, the kitchen has been busy. In a search of a jar of chili crisp, I ended up cleaning out the pantry. It was long overdue but not on my to-do list that particular afternoon. Educational it was though. I discovered several packages of outdated and stale crackers, three jars of Castelvetrano olives (I only need one), five jars of various salsas, a variety of gourmet this-and-that’s meant to be part of a cheese platter, and the missing jar of chili crisp next to the toasted oatmeal. In the course of the hunt, I reorganized the pantry. If true to history, it will slowly lose that organization over the next few months.

Above is just part of the pantry with its new organization. Since everything has been moved around, the new patterns are sure to frustrate searchers for the hot sauce or the ketchup.

Now let’s talk eggs…

I found the bright orange yolks of the eggs we had each morning in New Zealand surprising. When we kept chickens at our home in Oakland (yes, you can have backyard chickens in Oakland…we were quite the local stop for neighborhood children), the color of the yolks approached orange. I was told it was due to a diet rich in carotenoids, the natural yellow-orange pigment found in fruits and vegetables. But I haven’t seen that wonderful color in supermarket eggs in the U.S., even humanely-raised free-range ones.

I was a bit disappointed to find that synthetic carotenoids can be added to their feed to enhance the yolk color. The eggs were still delicious.

New Zealand poached eggs

New Zealand poached eggs

Next month there will be more pictures of food to tempt you with.

I’m sharing this post with Sherry’s blogging party on Sherry’s Pickings. Come on over for an international summary from kitchens around the world.

 

 

In My Kitchen – March 2023
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In My Kitchen – March 2023

There hasn’t been much that’s new in my kitchen this past month. But there have been some note-worthy meals. I’m sharing this post with Sherry’s blogging party on Sherry’s Pickings. Come on over for an international summary from kitchens around the world.

Friends visited for a few days around Valentine’s Day. I made a brown rice mushroom risotto in my electric pressure cooker with a citrus/fennel salad and almond cake for dessert.

 

Blood orange and citrus salad with fennel

Blood orange and citrus salad with fennel

The almond cake was delicious, gluten and dairy free, and not too sweet.

Almond Cake

Almond Cake

The combination of flavors was perfect.

The leftover cake was wonderful with a cup of coffee for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

My friend had brought the contents of her farm box with her and it contained a large head of cabbage. One night we made an easy sheet pan dinner with boneless chicken thighs baked on top of cabbage and onions.

Sheet Pan Dinner

Sheet Pan Dinner

During a rare break in the weather, we were able to hold a puppy-play-date dinner outside. During Covid, we only entertained out on the deck. It’s remained a ‘thing’, especially when we can supervise the young dogs while we are socializing. Multiple outside heaters and lap blankets have made it comfortable.

My starter that night was roasted sliced eggplant ‘pizza’. Just slices of toasty roasted eggplant with a spoonful of tomato sauce and a slice of mozzarella, then baked until melty. A carb-friendly option to regular pizza. Eggplant is a vegetable that is growing on me, it hasn’t been a favorite in the past.

Eggplant ''pizza'

Eggplant ”pizza’

Wandering through the grocery store in search of inspiration I came across ground duck in the freezer section. It made a memorable and different burger one night. I gave it a slightly Asian twist with some grated ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. Then we served it with hoisin sauce slathered on the bun. The duck was tender and moist, mild flavored. I recommend you try it if you can find it.

Duck burger

Duck burger

From my kitchen I watched the snow come down…

Snow 2023

Snow 2023

The last time it snowed here was 1989.