May 5, 2016 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

May 2016 – In My Kitchen

In my kitchen this month I have peas, snow peas that is.

Snow Peas

The plants were incorrectly labeled snap peas in the garden store, they are really flat oriental pea pods. Either way they are delicious simply stir fried with a bit of sesame oil at the end. I’ve had a bumper crop this year.

Snow Peas

In my kitchen I have a new tool. Bon Apetit recently had an article about tools which are essential to chefs. This was one I had never seen before, it is an extremely clever idea.

: Kuhn heart shaped whisk

: Kuhn heart shaped whisk

It’s made by Kuhn and is called a heart shaped spring whisk. See how the whisk part flips from one side to the other? It’s for reaching into the corners of a pot when whisking on top of the stove. You can find it on Amazon and also here.

In my kitchen I have lemons and lots of new spring herbs. Perfect for a simple baked chicken.

Chicken with lemon and fresh herbs

In my kitchen I have Meyer lemons. Over the last few weeks I have made Meyer lemon marmalade, quick Meyer lemon pickle, spicy fermented Meyer lemon pickle, preserved Meyer lemons, and Meyer lemon aigre-doux. The fermented pickle will be finished early next week. I don’t have much experience with fermenting, but a lot of curiosity. It’s an area I would like to explore. There is a building body of scientific evidence that fermented foods are very beneficial to our health.

: Meyer Lemon Marmade

: Spiced fermented lemon pickle

: Preserved lemons

: Quick Meyer Lemon Pickle

All of the recipes above required you cut off the end of the lemons. I hated throwing all those tasty Meyer rinds in the compost heap. Knowing how delicious they are roasted, I baked them at 425 until brown and crisp. They added a tart yet sweet note to a spring salad.

Lemon ends ready for roasting

Roast lemons

Spring salad with roast lemons, red onions, avocado and candied walnuts

In my kitchen I have the first of what will be multiple batches of strawberry preserves before the season is over.

Strawberry preserves

We used our last jar from last year only a week ago. It was wonderful to see and purchase a flat of fresh strawberries at the farmer’s market. It is officially spring. These preserves contain only three ingredients…strawberries, organic sugar, and a touch of lemon juice.

Lastly, in my Fort Bragg kitchen I have dust. Lots of dust. The remodel is going well and we hope to be mostly finished (why is it that the last 5% takes so long?!) by the end of this month. Stay tuned as we will be up this weekend and I will post an update. The floors should be finished and appliances installed.

Kitchen Island

This post is part of a monthly gathering of foodies and gardeners from around the world who give an accounting of what is happening in their kitchen each month. It’s hosted by Maureen of the Orgasmic Chef. Please come join us, click on the links on the right side of her blog to read posts from other bloggers. They come from the west coast of the US to Australia and New Zealand and beyond.

November 1, 2015 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

November “In My Kitchen”

It’s November, the start of the holiday season, oh my. Are you ready or does the thought give you a panicky feeling as it does me?

The beginning of each month is also time for the monthly series “In My Kitchen” hosted by Celia of the blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Of all the virtual blogging clubs on the internet, I think this collection of posts is one of the most fascinating. The bloggers come from around the world; and the posts reflect both the seasons and the individual style of the writer. As winter starts in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is starting in the Southern. I drool over photos of tomatoes posted by Australian bloggers in February and pin the recipes for use in six months. l’ve learned a lot from the dedicated bakers, cooks, and gardeners in this group. Come join us by clicking here, we’d love to hear what is happening in your kitchen.

Now on to my own kitchen. In my kitchen I have sunflowers. They are a colorful reminder that it is still fall, winter hasn’t started quite yet. Because of the drought here in California I don’t have a garden this year, but the farmer’s market is still full of flowers.

Sunflowers

In my kitchen I have a new cookbook, Lucky Peach 101 Easy Asian Recipes. I was drawn to this book by a recipe I found online for “Odd Flavor Sauce” (although the combination of flavors didn’t seem odd to me at all).

I renamed it “Yum Sauce” and have used it with several dishes over the last week.

Yum Sauce

: Rice bowl with a fried egg and Yum sauce

: Jook with Yum Sauce

: Baby Lobster Tail with Yum Sauce

It added a big punch of umami to a simple rice bowl with roast vegetables, a comforting bowl of Jook or Congee, and some baby lobster tails I found at Costco. What a treat! I brushed them with Yum sauce, wrapped them aluminum foil, and baked them at 450 degrees F. for 22 minutes. Delicious!

In my kitchen I have Mandarin oranges.

Mandarins

I made a batch of Mandarin Orange Aigre-Doux with them. The oranges are canned with red wine, vinegar, sugar and black peppercorns. The result is a sweet and sour combination popular in France and Italy.

Mandarin Aigre-Doux

I will use them to make a sauce for the duck confit I purchased on my recent Costco trip. Isn’t that place amazing! For the sauce you drain the oranges and reduce the liquid until syrupy. Then blend the sauce and oranges together to make a wonderful red wine/orange sauce. It will be lovely with the duck.

Duck Confit

In my kitchen I have Parmesan oil.

Parmesan Olive Oil

It was a post on IMK from several months back that gave me the idea. I couldn’t find the original post so please speak up if you read this, I’d like to give you credit. Covering your leftover rinds with olive oil for several months infuses the oil with the most heavenly flavor and aroma. I use it as a finishing oil or on a salad of spicy greens.

In my kitchen I have sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes. They are a member of the sunflower family and, if allowed to bloom, produce tall (some over 6 feet) branching plants with small sunflower like blooms. The chokes or tubers grow along the roots like potatoes. Sunchokes taste like a cross between an artichoke and a water chestnut. When cooked they have a firm skin and a meltingly fluffy inside like a russet potato. Unfortunately they can cause gastric distress in some people and are sometimes nicknamed “farti-chokes”. Enough said! They are tough plants and have survived in my garden with almost no water this summer. I’ve roasted them, pickled them (they lose their uncomfortable side effects), and made them into soup.

Sunchokes

In my kitchen I have samples.

Kitchen, bath and flooring

We are starting to gather ideas for a remodel of our cabin on the Northern California coast, our retirement escape. These are a few of the samples for the bathroom, kitchen cabinets, and flooring throughout.

What do you think of blue kitchen cabinets? My thought is to have the upper cabinets in a different color, maybe a light grey. I want butcher block for some surfaces (it’s not a very big kitchen) but have been advised against it around the sink (much to my disappointment). I’d love to hear your thoughts.

? kitchen cabinets ?

And lastly in my kitchen I have dogs, always underfoot hoping for a treat or something tasty dropped on the floor.

Do I smell bacon?

Will sit for bacon!

What? Am I late to the party? BACON!!!

What’s new in your kitchen this month?

October 6, 2015 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

October “In My Kitchen”

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.

June 7, 2015 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

June “In My Kitchen”

Summer and an extremely busy work schedule have both hit at the same time. I am spending less time in my kitchen and so (unfortunately) there isn’t a lot going on there at the moment. It’s the season of what I call “non cooking”. What is that? Fresh vegetables simply cooked or raw, dressed lightly, and served at their peak. With a bit of wonderful bread or toast, and meat quickly cooked on the BBQ, it’s a dinner fit for kings and queens.

There is one new thing in my kitchen and I would love to hear ideas on how to use it from you good readers.

Fagor LUX Multicooker

This is supposed to do it all…make yogurt, be a rice cooker, slow cooker, and pressure cooker all in one. It’s actually the first and last items that got my interest. I love yogurt but haven’t made my own in years, it’s time. I just purchased a new cookbook “Yogurt” by Ann Fletcher

and am looking forward to experimenting. Does anyone have the cookbook? Any favorites or tips for making yogurt?

I’ve been hearing more and more about bone broth made in a pressure cooker. My mother had a pressure cooker, one of those ones that you put on the stove with a little whistling cap on top. It terrified me. The Fagor looks safer and easier to use for the faint of heart. If you have any good recipes using a pressure cooker, I would love to hear about them.

I am looking forward to reading the other posts on “In My Kitchen“, there is usually a lot of activity in kitchens around the world. You can read all about it in posts listed at Celia’s place, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

March 1, 2015 by Liz @ spades, spatulas, and spoons

“In My Kitchen” – March

This post is part of a regular monthly gathering of food loving bloggers. “In My Kitchen” is hosted by the lovely Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. It’s a wonderful welcoming community and a facinating look at what is happening in kitchens around the world. Come join us and tell us what is happening in your kitchen.

Here is what’s new in my kitchen this month.

Sourdough starter from Celia, who has gifted the blogging community with little packages of promise. Her starter has gone around the world and I am a bit intimidated by the loaves the children of Priscilla (the name of Celia’s starter) have birthed.

Son of Priscilla

Meet Sam, named after Sam Spade (of “Maltese Falcon” fame) and the gifted writer who created him, Samuel Dashiell Hammett. He lived in San Francisco from 1921 to 1929 and used city locations for his novels. My Sam has returned home, as one of Celia’s original starters came from San Francisco. Sam is also one of those names which can be either male or female, appropriate for yeast.

Here is Sam after the first feeding, bubbling away and ready to go.

Meet Sam

Also new in my kitchen is a Falcon enamel baker, recommended by Celia for baking crusty sourdough. It came all the way from the U.K., I’ll be using it for the first time today.

Falcon enamel baker

My first two efforts were rated a C to C+ by the resident critics. I’m hopeful that the enamel pot will increase my score.

This loaf just came out of the oven, it’s 11 pm (well past my usual bedtime). Sam definitely has my number and is in control. But, I think this loaf will get an A from the in-house critics. It smells divine and the falcon baker has made all the difference. Thank you Celia.

Sam – son of Priscilla

Also new in my kitchen is an Emile Henry clay baker. I’ve been reading a lot about cooking in clay lately and am excited to try it.

Clay Baker

New in my kitchen are two bottles of wine. These were made by my friend Barry Snyder from Crawlspace Cellars. I helped pick and crush the grapes for the rose and we bottled them both this past Saturday. The labels are not ready yet, the two bottles were a reward for an entertaining afternoon of work with the winemakers.

Mouvedre Rose and Zinfandel

From my kitchen I can see my orchids blooming, the white one has been in bloom since early December and is still gorgeous. The pink orchid came into bloom the end of last month.

: White Orchid

: Pink Orchid

Amazon just delivered the March/April cookbook selection for the Cookbook Guru, an online cookbook bookclub. “The Food of Morocco” is by Paula Wolfert, one of my favorite cookbook writers. I’ve already settled on chicken tagine with prunes and almonds in the style of the Rif mountains as my first dish. Doesn’t that sound delicious? The bookclub is open to everyone if you would like to join in.

The Food of Morocco

Lastly in my kitchen are two sauces, spicy lemon salsa verde and avocado sauce, ready to give instant pizazz to dishes of simple roast meat or vegetables.