Wow! January already!
In my kitchen…
… is this beautiful smoked garlic. This was a gift in a bag of goodies that the fabulous people at Food Connect gave me for Christmas. I’ve used it in tomato sauce and hummos. The smell pervaded our kitchen and I’m going to be quite sad when it’s all eaten.
In my kitchen…
… my Christmas pressie from my beloved. While we don’t usually give each other gifts for Christmas, we always give each other a book, and not surprisingly, mine is nearly always a cook book. I’ve not cooked from this one yet, but I will soon!
In my kitchen…
… technically these are in the recycle bin, but close enough! I decided to go alcohol free in January to kick-start a healthier year, and so far so good for the first few days.
Then my lovely friend Catherine phoned on Sunday morning to see if we were free for dinner as she and her husband were in town (from Sydney) for the night. YES! And when they turned up with two bottles of Brokenwood Cricket Pitch (one of my favourites) it would have been positively RUDE to have said “oh, I’m not drinking”. Especially on the day that Australia officially won the Ashes 5-0. Yes, I’m a bit of a cricket tragic. Have been since I was about 12 and went to the cricket 1-2 times a year with dad. Speaking of dad, the bottle of muscat was one of dad’s favourites. We were talking about how he died over dinner, and I had been thinking of him a lot lately, so it seemed fitting to open it to toast him. I think dad also introduced me to Brokenwood many years ago.
In my kitchen…
… some summery drinks the people from Bragg (of the apple cider vinegar fame) sent me recently. I am looking forward to trying the ginger spice and limeade flavours the most.
In my kitchen…
… loads of cookbooks! My food challenge for 2014 is to try and cook at least one recipe from 300 cookbooks from my collection. So far I’ve cooked from seven of them. I’ve blogged my first week and will also aim to blog each week. And you can follow #cookingthebooks on twitter and instagram!
That’s about it for now!
Thanks to Celia fromย Fig Jam and Lime Cordialย for hosting In my kitchen every month โ check out her blog for more posts.
tableofcolors says
Wow! What a splendid collection of cook books to explore! Thank you for giving us a little peek ๐
Cassandra says
Loving smoked garlic – I came across it for the first time at the Good Food and Wine show, and couldn’t not buy some to take home. Sadly, my stash has now run out, and I am on the lookout for more.
Mel Kettle says
Try Food Connect – I think they need to make it a regular part of their offering ๐
JJ - 84thand3rd says
Ooh that garlic sounds fabulous! Hope you had a lovely break and best wishes for a very Happy New Year. xx
Mel Kettle says
thanks! JJ you too.
celia says
Mel, that garlic does indeed sound amazing, and I’ve eyed that David Thompson book off for ages – will be interested to know how you find it. Brokenwood make fabulous wines, how nice that you were able to drink one in your dad’s memory.. xx
Mel Kettle says
thanks Celia – I’m not sure what I’ll make yet, but it will be modified as most recipes call for prawns or shrimp paste and hubby (who gave me the book) is allergic…
Joanne T Ferguson says
G’day! Great collection of cookbooks Mel, true!
Happy New Year…look forward to what you do and thanks also for this month’s kitchen view!
Cheers! Joanne
Kim | a little lunch says
Mel, your aspiration to cook a new dish from each cookbook is a great goal for 2014! I also think being flexible and hospitable when your guests brought wine was a lovely thing to do, especially the toast to your Dad.
Lizzy (Good Things) says
Happy new year to you Mel. So many good things in your kitchen… the garlic sounds sublime! And a new Thai cookbook, how wonderful. Happy cooking.
heidiannie says
I think smoked garlic sounds heavenly- and doable at home. Or at least I’m going to give it a try!
Drinking a glass to your father’s memory sounds like a very good and noble idea. And sharing it a very vulnerable and open state of mind!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Mel Kettle says
let me know if you try making some – love to know how it works out
Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas says
You’ve just inspired me to try and smoke some garlic in my smoker. Those drinks look very interesting. Will look forward to your thoughts on them. And I love your challenge. Will be following to see how it goes. Thanks for the peek into your kitchen.
Mel Kettle says
thanks Tania – let me know if you make some and what it’s like.
Fiona @TIFFIN bite sized food adventures says
I love the idea of the smoked garlic in hummus – sounds divine! Now I know why you were on the soft stuff at #CurryCabinet. Cheers. I look forward to reading throughout 2014.
Mel Kettle says
I was the least hungover of the three of us at #CurryCabinet ๐
Leah says
What an awesome collection of cookbooks you have, I’m in awe. You might be interested in joining us in our Cookbook book club at The Cookbook Guru when you’re exploring your books ๐
http://thecookbookguru.wordpress.com/
Mel Kettle says
Thanks Leah, I LOVE The Cookbook Guru – what a fantastic idea. I have 1 Tessa Kiros book but forget which one – will definitely try to participate. Clever.