In My Tropical Kitchen, August 2025

As I write my monthly IMK post, which is more of a newsletter this time really, I am calmly enjoying the satisfaction of knowing that I have a large pot of my Tomato Marinara Sauce simmering away in the Slow Cooker, and a large saucepan of Scottish Red Lentil Soup bubbling away on the stovetop. It's been a productive morning, and an economical use of my time preparing both dishes at the same time.

Once again it's time to be sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the monthly 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.

Are you ready for my latest Air Fryer recipe?  Crackling good Pork Belly flavoured with  Chinese Five Spice was delicious cooked in the Air Fryer.  We couldn't get enough of this incredibly tasty pork with perfect crackle. The secret is to buy a piece of pork from a good butcher that has a good balance of meat and creamy white fat. Recipe coming soon.

 I went to the Wednesday morning Farmer's markets early yesterday at the Bluewater Quay, on River Street in Mackay, and came home with some beautiful fresh local produce. Charlie Muscat, one of our local Maltese farmers, was selling perfectly ripe tomatoes for $3.00 a kilo, which is so cheap. Will tomatoes ever get to $2.00 a kilo again? Perhaps with a good season they will. I also bought some nice green zucchini, and a sugar loaf cabbage from him. I'll be back next week Charlie to see what you have available. Tomatoes are going to be at their peak here before Summer gets too hot, so it's time to start stocking the pantry and freezer with tomato relishes and Marinara sauces. I also bought some lettuce, radish and silverbeet seedlings for the garden from the Seedling Man. His seedlings are so much healthier and cheaper than those available at Bunnings and the local nurseries. Strawberries are in season, and our amazing local farmers from Fresh As Sweet As have bucketloads of strawberries available at the moment at the markets, and they are so sweet. Following all of my purchases, I walked across and sat next to our beautifully blue Pioneer River, and enjoyed a coffee with a lovely friend. What a perfect morning in paradise.

Marinara sauce ingredients assembled in the slow cooker

I plan to refresh my slow cooker Marinara Pasta Sauce recipe shortly. I added a couple of extra elements yesterday, and it was delicious. 8 bottles of the sauce in the freezer will be a good standby over Summer.

I cooked another double batch of Chilli Con Carne, and adjusted the recipe again ever so slightly, and this time it had just the right balance of earthy flavours and heat to suit all palates. I think that now I have a Chilli recipe that I am really happy with and love to eat. Watch this space for the new revised and final recipe.

Chilli Con Carne

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce was the perfect dessert afterwards.

It was time to submit my recipe for Nigella's Italian Sausage and Chicken Traybake to the Brookford Kitchen Diaries Bookclub. This has been one of the most popular recipes on Happy Retiree's Kitchen. Whilst Nigelissima isn't purely an Italian recipe book, this recipe is from the Italian Tuscan Hills, and purely Italian.

It's Winter, so there are still nourishing and delicious soups to be cooked and enjoyed at our table. This Split Pea and Ham Hock soup was born on a particularly cold day. I need to make some more before the onset of Spring.

We were away for half of July, down at Yeppoon, a beautiful seaside township in Central Queensland, on the Capricorn Coast. Mr. HRK played in a Pickleball Tournament, while I cheered on, where he did very well to win a Gold and a Bronze medal with his partner, more jewellery to hang on the wall. There's quite the collection now. 

The second week of the tournament was cleverly called the Pineapple Alley Rally, and it was very appropriate that pineapples were the theme. The best fresh pineapples I have ever eaten are grown on farms around Yeppoon. I spent a lot of my childhood and adolescence visiting Yeppoon when I lived in Rockhampton, only a 30 minute drive away by car, and fondly remember the sweet pineapples on offer. During  the tournament, Yeppoon pickleball committee members were wandering around during the day offering everyone free pieces of fresh pineapple and watermelon to eat. It was a lovely touch.

This is a photo of Mr. HRK (white shirt) and his pickleball partner Murray (olive green shirt), receiving their gold medals which were in the shape of a pineapple, of course. They also had to wear these special pineapple hats for the presentation which was a fun touch, cute eh? Unfortunately we couldn't bring the hat home.

Murray and Mr. HRK proudly wearing their gold medals and their kooky pineapple hats

Strutting their stuff on the  pickleball court.

Whilst wandering along sun-drenched Normanby Street, Yeppoon, towards the Main Beach and the Pacific Ocean, we discovered Drapes Deli, which offers fresh house-baked Focaccia sandwiches, the best in town. Our daughter Shannon had told us about the deli so we were on the lookout. The deli is the latest culinary venture of Brent Draper, Masterchef  Australia Winner in 2023. Below is just one example of the exceptional bread rolls on offer. The laid back atmosphere of the cafe suits the very relaxed vibe of Yeppoon, but the standard of the food, the coffee and the desserts rivals anything to be found in the cities or elsewhere. 

Mortadella, Stracciatella and hot honey Jam with Pistachio Pesto Rocket $20.00, enough for two

All very laid back inside the deli with signature brand coffee for sale

A getaway to beautiful Great Keppel Island, just a short boat trip from Yeppoon, was the icing on the cake for our trip. I enjoyed a delicious seafood Marinara for dinner, while Shannon and Mr HRK. ordered fish tacos which looked amazing as well. No food photos but a few scenic ones. This is such a relaxing destination for everyone. The restaurant food was top class, with the seagulls hovering and squawking nearby hoping for a taste. There are no high-rises on this island, just lots of rustic charm.

A family of Native Eastern Curlews near our accommodation

Beautiful beaches of Great Keppel Island

On our return from holidays, I still had some cream in the refrigerator, and some yellow zucchinis on our bushes had grown in our absence so I made a delicious Vegetable Quiche featuring the golden zucchinis. Who doesn't love quiche?

Warm wishes,

Pauline