In My Kitchen...September

In my kitchen...


...are some brand spanking, bright and shinny Nigella Lawson measuring spoons.  Rather fitting, as Mr K has recently started to call me his, "blonde Nigella". I am not normally persuaded to purchase any "celebrity chef" lines of kitchenware, but Ms Lawson is my soft spot. When I moved into my first bachelorette apartment, friends and family got together and decided to purchase some of Nigella's lovely, creamy coloured and very organic shaped serving platters as a housewarming gift. It started a bit of a trend and every now and again, friends and family sometimes very kindly add a little number to my collection - just like these beautiful spoons, which were a very generous gift from a friend and work colleague.

My lovely new Nigella Lawson measuring spoons 

.... are dark red coloured beetroot, covered in earth and dust, which I purchased from my local farmers market. There are also some lemons (see last month's in my kitchen post  - they are always in my kitchen!!!) and some crisp, crunchy, bright green granny smith apples. I am totally obsessed with cooking beautiful vegetables and my beetroot was destined for an experimental thyme and beetroot tarte tartin. The leaves were also to be used for making up some simple horta, tossed with lemon and garlic, to serve along side some tiny whiting that was brushed with flour and cooked in good Greek olive oil - full of flavour.


Beetroots, lemons and apples, with some fabric from Sienna.

I love painting and drawing nearly as much as I love cooking and before the beetroot got to the pan, I set it up for a little still life practice along with a beautiful square of fabric that I had purchased at a market in Sienna in July. The lemons are sitting in an antique olive wood bowl, which Mr K and I purchased from Corfu - on our first trip together to Greece.

The small hut in a mountain village in Corfu, filled with antique olive wood bowls and carvings 

Stopping to buy the bowl turned out to be a wonderful blessing, as the owner of the little antiques hut was able to direct us to a fantastic local taverna - where everything served was made from produce grown on the property or from local home gardens - when I say everything, I mean everything - the wine, oil, bread, cheese, pork, eggplants - everything. It was absolutely divine. If you ever visit Corfu - head to the village of Afionas  and to Panorama restaurant. They also have accommodation - and a spectacular view.  We were, of course, way to late for lunch - but our host kindly invited us in, poured a generous carafe of red wine, gave us a plate of melting eggplant and cooling tzatziki. Then it was time for the smokey grilled pork chops, called bresolas, a savoury rice pilaff, home made chips (cooked in olive oil) and fresh garden peas. Whenever I use this honey coloured olive wood bowl - I always remember our beautiful lunch, albeit in the drizzle of September rains.



The view from the fantastic panorama restaurant in Corfu, Greece 


The Panorama in Afiona's Corfu - Mr K gives the traditional Greek sign of approval, 10 out of 10! 





.... is a foil bag of sauerkraut and a big jar of bright yellow mustard. It was Father's day in Australia, yesterday and Mr K and I decided to take Madame and Monsieur Zen (otherwise known as mum and dad) for a springtime feast in the sunshine at the German club. It was a fantastic day - very old school with a warming sense of community (even though none of us have any claim to German ancestry). 

German mustard and sauerkraut 

On the menu were enormous smokey bacon chops, plenty of red cabbage, pork knuckles and some tangy, salty sauerkraut and mustard. There were also some heavenly strudels - and a traditional German dessert of sponge cake filled with an almond cream. It may have been a German beer to many in the sun, but I decided to hit the food stall - offering many products imported direct from German - and stock up on Sauerkraut and mustard. Looks like I might be hosting Oketoberfest in my kitchen soon!! 

The pork knuckle, spatzle and sauerkraut 

Beautiful blue spring skies 

The bacon chop, red cabbage, sauerkraut, spatzle and potato dumplings 

The classic Cherry and lemon strudel to finish.....phef! 

.....is, last but not least, some fantastic seeds from the Italian Gardner - which I am in the process of planting, in the hope that a post for "in my kitchen...' in summer will include a healthy bunch of chervil, summer savoury and a crop of tomatoes - bursting with sunshine.


In hindsight, perhaps I should have called this the "pork chop" post - but in any event, that's my kitchen in September. What about you? I'd love to know what is in your kitchen this September. As always, I would also like to say a huge thanks (or efcharisto poli) to Celia for hosting this fun blog hop. Make sure to visit Fig Jam and Lime Cordial - and join in the fun of "In my kitchen..."

24 comments

  1. Mrs M, another lovely post! Those spoons from Nigella Lawson are just the best. I used to sell them and they were always popular! Always good things in your kitchen and I just love how you take us travelling with you xox

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lizzy! I always love buying things for my kitchen from faraway places - whenever I use them, it takes me to that place or time x

      Delete
  2. Wow, that's quite the porky lunch - looks wonderful! I noticed today that I've had one tomato seed sprout - hopefully more will poke their head through the dirt soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh so much pork! We're going vego for a week or two after that lunch!! I hope you have some more tomatoes sprout soon! Home grown tomatoes are the best!!!

      Delete
  3. Hi there. I'm so happy you found my blog as you gave me the chance to discover yours.
    I love those Nigella measuring spoons. I've been wanting to buy them for ages. Thanks for the reminder.
    It's nice to see some pics of my native foods here as well. And I love Kerkyra!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for your lovely words Magda - I was just thrilled to discover your great blog! Kerkyra was so beautiful - I love all of the Ionian islands - I hope to be back very soon ; )

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi-
    I'm quite taken with your German feast of pork chops, knuckles, and spaetzle and sauerkraut! I love spaetzle- drizzled with olive oil and fried up with garlic and a nice stringy cheese.
    Thanks for sharing what is in your kitchen- I enjoyed your post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your lovely words, and I love your suggestion for spaetzle, yum!!

      Delete
  6. So many beautiful things in your kitchen Mrs M. Your memories of Greece have sent me into a daydream! I love the old cookbooks in your first photo too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jane! I often find myself daydreaming about Greece - cant wait for the next visit!

      Delete
  7. Wow that all looks great. Especially that little tavern in Corfu. Can't wait for a report on the progress of those seeds in summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Glenda. Any tips for seed development would be much appreciated!!

      Delete
  8. What a delicious round up! And I love my Nigella measuring spoons. They're so pretty with perfect curves! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lorraine. I see Peters of Kensignton have a nigella sale on.... Oh the temptation!

      Delete
  9. So many gorgeous things in your post! Lovely to see photos of Corfu - I would think it would have been hard to leave a view like that! The pork knuckle looks mouthwatering...thanks for sharing your kitchen with us! xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love, love, love the measuring spoons!!! I'm after Nigella's set of enamel utensils, in white. I have a serious problem collecting kitchen ware (sigh...) Gorgeous photos of Corfu. I could sit at that taverna and eat eggplant and tzatziki (oh, wow I cannot spell that word...) for days. Yum!

    Thanks for sharing some 'pork chop' with us Mrs. M! It was fantastic, as always ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Emilie! I love that enamel set too. I can't seem to track a set down anywhere in Sydney though. Maybe my next trip will turn up a set!!

      Delete
  11. lovely Post Mrs M :) I am in for Oktoberfest at your place :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a lovely post, what a lovely blog! Your photos are gorgeous! I'm signing up! It will be interesting to read about Greece through your eyes as I am half Greek and live in Athens.
    Eleni @On Top Of Spaghetti

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for your lovely words Eleni! It was so lovely to discover your blog ; )

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate every single one!

© Mulberry and Pomegranate
Maira Gall