In my July kitchen….
….I have a huge bowl of Barossa Valley walnuts that I bought over Easter from the CWA in Angaston. They are sitting in a beautifully hand turned wooden bowl I won at the Ziegenmarkt auction whilst we were at the Barossa Vintage Festival. They’re burning a hole in my pocket. I was going to make a cake with them last week but missed the moment. Hmmm…. What to do? What to do?
In my kitchen…..
…..is an enormous bag of Blue Sky Coffee beans from their roastery in Teneriffe. I thought I was buying ground coffee but wasn’t paying attention. I have a very small coffee grinder so I can only grind it one plunger at a time.
In my kitchen……
…..is an ever growing pile of cookbooks that under no circumstances can be put on the shelf until they have been read from cover to cover. They’re just a bit too big to take on the bus every day to read on the way to work, so the pile sits there, looking at me.
In my kitchen…..
…..is this enormous bottle of olive oil that was sent to me as a gift from Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards as a thank you for tweeting during their Porchetta Party and for sending them a copy of all my photos. It arrived unexpectedly and came with a very handsome bottle of HJ Shiraz. The wine will be cellared and the oil will be savoured. Thanks Corinna!
In my kitchen….
….are some yellow runner beans, picked from my garden. It’s not really bean season but the winter has been mild in Brisbane (24c today!) so they keep appearing.
In My Kitchen is coordinated on a monthly basis by Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial (great name huh?). 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.
G'day and wow, I want to come to your kitchen now!
Love you bowl and walnuts too!
Look forward to what you make or bake with them too!
I don't think one could ever have too many cookbooks? You? Thank you for your kitchen view!
Cheers! Joanne
Hi Joanne – yes, I'm very happy to have the Walnuts as they're not a seasonal item in Qld as it's too warm. I think I'll be making a cake from Greg Malouf. Thanks for visiting. Hope to see you back.
Lovely walnuts, Fiona. They are a long time favourite of mine….. my mother always cooked with them…. shelling them and grinding them herself! Nice haul of cookbooks and coffee too!
I love coffee but by some quirk of fate ened up with 2kg of beans in the same week. That's a lot of grinding! Still, it will go with a walnut cake.
Love to hear your thoughts on 'arabesque'. Was considering it, haven't had anyone give me an up to date opinion. Good?
It's a goodie Rhu. Very grown up as it only has a few colour plates dotted throughout so you have to use your imagination! It's also divided by ingredient rather than the traditional entree, main, dessert. So 'Walnuts' has sweet and savoury in the one section.
Great post Fiona 🙂
I love walnuts too – we used to always have a bowl of unshelled nuts on the kitchen bench when I was growing up – with a beautiful hand turned wooden nut cracker. That I broke while using it on a macadamia. Silly me.
Sad that you broke the nut cracker but now an opportunity has opened up to look for something in a vintage or antique shop. I use a 'Bonk' for macadamias – basically as mini vice. Was on our wedding registry…. Works well.
http://www.nutworks.com.au/shop/nut-crackers/bonk-nutcracker-420g
Hi Fiona,
My fiance is obsessed with his coffee machine and through this I have discovered that freshly ground coffee is infinitely better than stale coffee so celebrate your tiny coffee grinder and enjoy each plunger even with the extra effort it requires!
Today when I rinsed out the plunger there were two whole beans lurking in the bottom. How did they escape the blades? I think I need to bay a little more attention when grinding! Thanks for stopping by!
I love fresh walnuts. They taste so different from the old, stale ones you buy in the shops don't they? I have a pile of books very similar to yours that cannot be put away either. I loved the William Sitwell one. A fascinating read.
I've read a couple of chapters only of the William Sitwell one. I love the bit where he tells you to sit in your multi coloured dressing gown and enjoy the flat bread ala "Joseph & His Technicolour Dreamcoat'. I need a holiday to read the rest!
We are just about finishing a huge bag of walnuts – I made some great leek walnut and blue cheese scones, I also have a favourite walnut chocolate cake on my blog but if you want something simple I still love to make vegemite and walnut sandwiches – a great combo that I used to eat as a child.
And I would love to read your stack of books for you – looks like a fun read ahead when you
Hi Green Gourmet Giraffe – I have never heard of vegemite & walnut sandwiches! I like walnut and cheese and, cheese and vegemite so it makes sense that walnut and vegemite would be a combo. I'm giving it a go! Thanks for the suggestion.
Fiona, how fabulous to have you joining in, thank you for sharing your kitchen with us! I love that Arabesque cookbook, it's full of great ideas. And I hope you find something creative to do with the walnuts – you have to crack them all first, but I'm sure they'll be worth the effort! 🙂
Ha ha – yes, I think that's why I haven't made anything yet! They're easy to crack so I've had a few but better restrain myself so I have a critical mass to cook with. Thanks for organising this event -it's introduced me to many great blogs.
The bowl of walnuts looks lovely indeed, but cracking them could be a chore! I, too, always have a pile of stacked books; they seem to look at me with a rather reproachful air.
I live so far away from you, in the US (Minnesota), fairly close to the Canadian border.
Hi Marianne – 'reproachful air'…… I couldn't have put it better myself. Yes, we are worlds apart! Isn't it wonderful that this little community has brought us closer together? Thanks for visiting.