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..."