In My Kitchen, December 2024

 What is it about December each year which means the pace of living ramps up, and we are trying to cram too much into our lives in these last few weeks before Christmas. I refuse to be hurried or succumb to too much Christmas hype, and I think by now I have met all of the deadlines on my list. Christmas cards? Not sent yet. Do you still send them? I am wavering.

 Firstly, I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event. If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by the 13th of the month. Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens. Thanks for hosting this event once again Sherry, it's a lovely initiative and unites all of the keen bloggers and cooks around the world.

My Christmas cake and traditional Plum pudding were made weeks ago. It's always great to tick those two items off my to do list.

Is it unusual for zucchinis to be very well priced in November at the beginning of Summer? I'm not sure, but I made the most of the lower prices and pickled some zucchinis. They were large ones, so perhaps not that great for eating as a vegetable but perfect for pickling. This is my go to recipe for Pickled Zucchini, which has become a firm favourite of our friends P&J, who I have shared it with. These are always delicious when presented as a condiment on a cheese board or added to a burger for some extra flavours. The recipe originally came from the wonderful Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella fame. Here's the link to the very original recipe that I posted in 2014, some recipes just never date.

Our sweet basil plants are such a success story that I need to start using them so I made some delicious Basil pesto. I used Nagi's recipe, and made two small batches, because my food processor can only hold that many ingredients at any one time. It contains all the usual suspects, pine nuts, basil, grated parmesan cheese, EVOO, and salt and pepper and is delicious. Each batch made exactly one cup of pesto. I bottled it and the jars are now in the freezer in readiness for a pasta night.

Freshly made homemade Labne decorated with Eungella Garlic flowers, perfect for a cheese platter. My friend Lulu gifted me this little treat.

Mangoes are now in season, and for we Northerners, it is an exciting time. Farmers are selling them by the roadside and at the local markets, and we all wait hoping the  prices will come down even more towards Christmas. People with mango trees in their large backyards are drying them, freezing them and eating lots of them. So luscious! The sweet, fruity and floral aroma of mangoes in the refrigerator is one that I grew up with, each year before Christmas, and is one I would miss if I moved overseas. It is such a typically Queensland experience.

I finally took the plunge after many months of contemplating, and bought an Air Fryer, and my friends I love it. So Russell Hobbs now sits proudly on my kitchen bench. No advertising intended here. I chose the Russell Hobbs brand because the basket was wider than the others, and not as high and narrow. I was tempted by the very popular Ninja brand, but it was more expensive and it had a high basket, not a wide one. Perfect for hot chips, but we don't eat hot chips very much at home. RH was also a good price, the Manager's Special. It really has taken so much heat out of my kitchen at dinner time, which is wonderful. I won't bore you with all of the meals I have made in it, but a whole roast chicken, numerous vegetables with melted cheese on top, sausages, and Asian dumplings were all delicious and successful and a cinch to cook. This Gochujang chicken was a bit of an experiment but gave the humble chicken thigh, bone in and skin on,  a real zing. 

A day rarely goes by without Mr. HRK and I experiencing the immense joy that our garden brings to us. The original yellow Gerbera plant from which this one was born must be at least 16 years old, and was my Mum's. the gerbera has a little droop in the mid-afternoon heat, a bit like me, and then bounces back the following morning. I have a few of these plants, which really brighten up our garden in Summer. 

I wish I could send the beautifully delicate fragrance of my Vanda orchid to you through this post, it is quite intoxicating. She must also be about 20 years old, and is still in the original ceramic pot. 
She is almost growing on air now. It's all about location, location, location as they say with houses.

This low calorie Eggplant and Vegetable lasagne was really a hit in our house. Delicious. It lasted Mr. HRK and I three days, and we enjoyed every mouthful.

Mr. HRK enjoys making pasta from scratch. When it was our turn to host the weekly tennis and pickleball friends for dinner, Mr. HRK volunteered to make pasta. Then we discovered that the whole crowd were in town, numbering 15, so after a huge gulp, we put industrial measures into place. Industrial is good. The pasta was strung over clean electrical conduit rods on our patio, with a step ladder supporting the end. Mr. HRK has no problem at all with bringing his shed equipment into the kitchen and cooking process. As you can see we had enough pasta to feed an army, a pickleball army. The pasta was delicious. I made a Bolognese sauce from scratch, and a creamy Carbonara containing mushrooms, bacon and spring onions. I usually just make Bolognese sauce out of my head, but this time I used Nagi's "Forever Bolognese Sauce", which is very similar to mine, but she is very good with estimating quantities.  It all went down a treat. Because there was rain threatening to fall and it was a slightly cooler, I made my Sticky Date Pudding for dessert, perfect for feeding a crowd. It's an old recipe of mine which I have cooked many times, and I need to refresh and repost it some time. It was a big night.

A large pot of Bolognese sauce

These Miso mushrooms were amazing and full of umami.

Stem Ginger Pear Cake was a very sweet and gingery treat.

However, my biggest achievement this month besides the above, was preparing and finishing a Photobook for my Son and Grandson full of photos, memories and anecdotes of their holiday here in June/July, when they travelled over from France. The project involved many hours in front of the computer, but was well worth it in the end. A labour of love. It's now in transit to their home in Montpellier. I really hope they love it.

 

I hope you are enjoying the lead up to the festive season everyone, and that things are well under control with preparations.

Always stunning in our garden before Christmas.

Warm wishes, 

Pauline