It’s a good thing I take food photos as I go along, because so much happens in a month I completely forget what all we ate! And looking back over the photos there was a lot of red going on too!

This was a transitional month In My Kitchen. We moved from summer foods and salads to more autumnal foods. I made a batch of beef jerky from grass fed beef. I know, you can buy jerky and that is easier, but this way I know exactly what is in it. It is based on the recipe my Mother made when we were young.

There was a whole lot of zesting going on in the kitchen as the limes were at their peak of production. The lemons usually have to wait until after the first frost to be ready. I zest and juice the citrus and make ice cubes out of it, then turn them out into zip loc bags for the freezer. I make some blocks with zest and juice and some with just juice. I’m not fond of having to use the zest from citrus that are sold in the stores, so I also dry zest for future use. The combination smell of the lime zest and some freshly cut basil nearly sent me into orbit one day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not adding many new gadgets to my kitchen these days but I had to try a spiral slicer to see if I could add some extra vegetables and interest to my salads. For those of you who haven’t tried one, I’m not necessarily recommending this one, just showing you what it can do. It’s okay, but with dense vegetables like pumpkin and beets it takes quite a bit of downward pressure to use (or else I’m a terrible weakling, which could be true also!) The results are pretty, and certainly more edible in their raw state than larger pieces, but the jury is still out how long this gadget will take up storage space in my kitchen!

I replaced some old coffee mugs, that had chips in them, with a couple of new ones decorated with Aboriginal art motifs. (These are licensed to the original artists, not cheap rip-offs) The shape and handle of them are very nice to use. My little red Japanese style tea pot came from a lawn sale–for free! It had never been used and now I use it every day! It really is true, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

My husband and I had been at the travel agent one afternoon, planning a trip for later in the year, and we arrived home to see a stack of parcels at the door. Among them was this cookbook. I was completely confused about why it was there, knowing I had not ordered it. And then, I realised I had WON it! I had entered a competition with an Australian travel company (APT) telling of our favourite travel moment on a trip to Russia. The book is lovely, describing the various parts of Vietnam as well as the foods that come from each region.

We are now fully into autumnal eating, verging on winter. (As I write it is only 9C – 48F this morning) Beets are available and in addition to spiralling them to eat raw, I have had some fun pickling my own. In fact, it was the first time I’d heard of Pickled Eggs and Beets and I had to try it. The beets were heavenly, not sure about the eggs, but the colour was certainly stunning.

Also Brussels Sprouts are on the menu several times a week at our house. We both enjoy them, but since discovering this way of making them, I am obsessed with them– even having them for breakfast with my eggs! I don’t have a recipe, but here is what I do:

• quarter and steam about 12 sprouts
• in a non-stick pan, sauté the sprouts in a couple of teaspoons of ghee (butter will do)
• as soon as they take on a bit of golden colour, add 1-2 T slivered almonds and about the same amount of dried currents and cook until the nuts and the sprouts are golden
• season with salt and toss through—delicious with anything

And finally, I’ve brought out the Romertopf clay baking dish. I learned about it on Celia’s Pulled Pork post at figjamandlimecordial.com and have begun to learn how to use it. This is my second attempt at a Pulled Pork roast. I’ve used tomato paste and my own rub mixture to make it. It was delicious. I also made my own barbecue sauce to serve with it, which I forgot to photograph, but which you can see the recipe for here. Thank you Celia, and that goes double from my husband!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(In My Kitchen posts are part of the monthly hosting by Celia at figjamandlimecordial. Lots of interesting things in kitchens around the world. Have a look!)