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In My Kitchen… September 2013

In my September kitchen…

…are two mega bottles of Tabasco Sauce, lugged back for me all the way from the USA by my friend Mel. I’ve included a normal size bottle in the photo so you can see just how big they are. Like me, she can’t resist a bargain and can’t bear to pay over inflated prices when you can bring it home yourself in your luggage. Thanks Mel! These will certainly get a work out.

In my kitchen…

…are lovely, lovely limes.  We were driving through the back blocks of Tin Cay Bay on the weekend when I spied a handwritten sign for limes outside a house. 30c each or 4 for $1.

Lime Pair

Are you kidding me? The going rate for limes at the supermarket is generally $1 each so there was no way I was missing out on these babies. I bought 12 for the princely sum of $3. Some are scarred from where they have rubbed against the tree, some are small, some are ready, some are too green still but they are all mine!  I’ll cook with a few and splash them around with gay abandon. The rest will be juiced and frozen. With Summer just around the corner, these will be a welcome addition to coolers and quenchers.

In my kitchen….

…are 172 red frogs. Lots of red frogs. There was a competition at work to guess how many red frogs were in the jar, and I won. They were a little tricky about it too.  There were two sizes of frogs in the jar but I still managed to guess correctly. I work with a bunch of statisticians so it probably drove them crazy that I won by guessing, rather than applying some mathematical equation to it all.  172, 171, 170… red frogs

In my kitchen…

….is this jar of strawberries marinating in cider vinegar. Why? Because I’m halfway through making a Strawberry & Rosemary Shrub. A shrub is a vinegar based fruit cordial.  Another blogger (sorry, I can’t recall who – leave me a message if it was you!) made mention a couple of IMK’s ago that they were making a Shrub and I thought ‘I’m going to do that too’.  Whilst I would love to make a cherry shrub, it’s strawberries that are in season at the moment.  Macerating the fruit in vinegar is step 1. More on Shrubs in this post.

In my kitchen…

….is this nifty little sifter. It’s actually a strainer and I have a bigger one that I have been using for years to sift my flour. Trouble was, sometimes it needed to do double duty in actually straining something wet which then took it out of action to sift dry goods. I was wandering along the aisles of a supermarket in Chinatown when I saw this this smaller version. Perfect for flours, it now resides permanently alongside them.

In my kitchen…

….are blood oranges. They look a bit odd on the outside and I had to give preemptive advice to Anthony that they are meant to look like that and not to throw them out because he might think they were old.  Inside though….luscious, lovely, ruby flesh and juice.  Not hard to see where they get their name from.  The season is short so you have to make the most of them when you can.  These went straight into a Friday night Paloma cocktail using tequila, blood orange and lime juice with soda.  The rest went into ice cubes for the summer ahead.

In My Kitchen is coordinated on a monthly basis by Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. It’s an opportunity for bloggers to talk about what’s happening in their kitchen and their lives and maybe include a few things that they haven’t had time to blog about. If you visit Celia’s blog, you can read about other In My Kitchen enthusiasts.

27 comments… add one
  • Jasmin BarkerMitchell September 14, 2013, 9:02 pm

    Do you mean this Mel: http://www.cooks-notebook.com.au/? What a fab present! I was only lamenting on her blog the other day that I can't get all the fabulous types of Tabasco at the supermarket in Canberra, only to find a big bottle of Chipotle Tabasco (my absolute favourite) at the supermarket the other day 😀 I did pay $9 for it though, but it was definitely worth it! Well done on those

    • Mel Kettle September 16, 2013, 2:23 pm

      Thanks for the mention! We're rapidly using up one of our bottles of chipotle Tabasco 🙂

      More than a bit jealous about those limes. I paid $1.50 for one last week. RIDICULOUS.

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 16, 2013, 6:13 pm

      Yes indeed, the same Mel. She asked me if I wanted a bottle and look what I got. Bonus! I've juiced a few today and am making some ice blocks with mint and ginger.

  • Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things September 15, 2013, 4:22 am

    Great post, Fiona. Those limes, what a bargain! And I'm looking forward to hearing more about 'shrubs'.

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 15, 2013, 8:53 am

      Yes, the limes have beena joy! I'm making the second half of the shrub today.

  • Jan Rhoades September 15, 2013, 6:44 am

    hmm! A G&T with lots of lime for starters tonight?

  • celia September 16, 2013, 6:02 am

    Fiona, I laughed at your Tabasco sauce – good on Mel, and didn't she have a serious haul of stuff in her luggage! Lovely limes, and clever you to guess the number of red frogs, although I'm not sure I'd ever get through 172 of them! 🙂 I *think* the shrub may have been Anne at Life In Mud Spattered Boot's creation, but I'm not sure. And isn't it great when you find the

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 16, 2013, 6:11 pm

      Hi Celia – I have a real sweet tooth so I'll get through them easily. I'd like to say I'll have one a day for 172 days but, it's not shaping up that way I'm afraid. Thanks for the tip of the phantom shrubber – I'll take a look.

  • Lisa the Gourmet Wog September 16, 2013, 3:48 pm

    Love limes and love a good bargain and 12 for $3 is certainly a steal!! Your Strawberry & Rosemary Shrub sounds very interesting! Never heard of a 'shrub' before. Love it x

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 16, 2013, 6:12 pm

      I'd never heard of a shrub either until an Aunt in Plymouth offered me a Rum & Shrub. She couldn't quite explain what it was either! Thanks for stopping by!

  • Pat Machin September 16, 2013, 4:45 pm

    Hi, lovely to 'meet' you.

    My Dad would have said that bottle of Tabasco sauce was big enough to go to work!

    I'm totally with you in your glee at scoring such cheap limes. I've been known to insist on turning the car round to go back to where I've seen a roadside bargain.

    We only get blood oranges for a very short time and they never look as

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 16, 2013, 6:15 pm

      Hi Pat – it's been a busy weekend juicing and zesting and freezing and the like. When you freeze the juice of the blood oranges, they take on an opalescent quality. Quite pretty.

  • Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) September 16, 2013, 6:00 pm

    I so want to know how the shrub works out! And I would have bought all the limes 🙂

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 16, 2013, 6:25 pm

      I did think about taking all the limes but demurred. I probably could have as I suspect there were dozens more on some tree out the back. If I return, I won't be so polite. You've spurred me on!

  • Anne @SlamseysFarm September 16, 2013, 6:01 pm

    Your limes and blood oranges look wonderful and of course quite exotic to us in UK. Somehow buying fruit from the side of the road makes them even better. I'll be interested to see how your shrub turns out- Strawberry and Rosemary sounds a delicious mixture.I made Redcurrant Shrub but it turned into a jelly, which was a bit difficult to drink (pectin levels).

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 16, 2013, 6:23 pm

      That's a good tip about the pectin Anne – that hadn't occurred to me. Your own blog has set me on the path to make my own bitters. I would never have thought of shrubs or bitters if it wasn't for IMK!

  • thecompletecookbook September 17, 2013, 11:23 pm

    I too love sniffing out a bargain and get very excited when I find them.
    You have so many lovely goodies in your kitchen and I especially love the thought of your shrub. Would love a taste of that.
    🙂 Mandy xo

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 18, 2013, 8:06 am

      I've read a lot of the IMKs this month and hot sauce seems to be a theme, that's for sure. So far the limes have been put into a cakes, ice blocks (popsicles) and cocktails with still more to come! Thanks for visiting.

  • passionfruitgarden.com September 18, 2013, 12:02 pm

    Hi Fiona, sorry I am late with my comments. I saw your haul of Tabasco and thought I had read the post. I realise now it was Mel's!! Congratulations on winning the competition, it is always fun when you win! I am very interested in your shrub, I am coming back to learn more. Glenda

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 18, 2013, 2:39 pm

      Hi Glenda – I welcome visitors any time, day or night so don't be sorry! I'll be doing a shrub post very soon and will let you all know. The red frogs have been reduced but still number well over 100.

  • Kim | a little lunch September 23, 2013, 9:06 pm

    Fiona, your Paloma cocktail sounded marvelous — a great way to celebrate winning the "guess how many are in the jar" competition and discovering reasonably priced limes! I keep a stash of "lime cubes" in my freezer, too.

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 24, 2013, 6:47 pm

      The Paloma was a good kick start to the weekend and to Spring. Thanks for stopping by!

  • dandyli0nfricasee September 24, 2013, 4:07 am

    What? I've never heard of a shrub…until now. It definitely sounds like something I should try out.
    We don't have 'cordial' here in Canada so it would be neat to try and make my own.
    dishnthekitchen

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 24, 2013, 6:49 pm

      Yes, I hadn't heard of a shrub either. I've decanted it and made the second part and it tastes delicious. I'll be writing about it this weekend and then, you'll be able to introduce it to Canada!

  • Joanne T Ferguson September 25, 2013, 9:03 am

    G'day! Love lime shrubs, true!
    I LOVE the colors and taste of blood oranges, but have never bought or used them to date…your In My Kitchen post now inspires me to do!

    Viewed as part of IMK
    Cheers! Joanne

    • Fiona Bris-Vegas! September 25, 2013, 6:13 pm

      MK has inspired me so I'm glad you're inspired too. You can get blood oranges in the supermarket at present

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