In My Tropical Kitchen, April 2026

The month of March and into early April, including Easter Week, called for some calming and comforting food, and some careful planning. I needed assurance that food would be catered for throughout the month and particularly over Easter when our club's Annual Easter Indoor Pickleball Tournament was being held, and most importantly, our daughter Shannon was driving home for Easter. I know that also means that a cake needs to be baked, and I also planned that her favourite Monte Carlo biscuits would be in the biscuit tin, or in the refrigerator, still necessary at this time of year.

It was one of those rare mid-week evenings where I hadn't really planned anything for dinner, most unlike me, but lunch had been quite substantial, homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken at the request of Mr. HRK Then I remembered that I had a brown paper packet of mushrooms in the crisper and some haloumi cheese. I searched Happy Retiree's Kitchen... which is where you are now,  and I found my Herbed Mushrooms on Sourdough Toast recipe. I quickly cooked up a version of this using Haloumi Cheese sauteed in olive oil and Maple Syrup, instead of Goat's cheese as a topping, and added a couple of small lonely Zucchinis needing to be cooked, some garlic powder and a teaspoon of Maple Syrup for good measure, which I though would work well with the Balsamic vinegar. I served this on a toasted slice of my sourdough bread from the freezer. Mr. HRK loved it, and went back for seconds. When you have mushrooms in your crisper, there is always a delicious dinner waiting to happen. So simple, nourishing, and very tasty.

A large batch of tomato based Chicken Tikka Masala curry, cooked in my slow cooker (first time I've used the slow cooker for this curry ) was time saving and delicious and provided many meals. It just kept on giving.

.

 Before cooking the curry, I visited our local Indian supermarket, just to buy some Fenugreek leaves for the curry, and walked out with much more, I had a great time. I bought ground Cumin and Basmati rice, Fenugreek Leaves, a very large box of frozen Samosas which complimented the curry, and I also bought some frozen Naan bread. A large handful of Curry leaves from our curry tree added to the aromatic flavours within.

 Leftover Samosas and curry have been delicious to eat for lunch with my homemade Red Curry Dahl.  

 

I love serving a  homemade curry with quite a few side dishes, including the essential basmati rice, samosas, naan bread, Red Curry Dahl, Mango Chutney, Lime Pickle, homemade cooling Raita, and a small fresh salad, and lots of freshly chopped coriander on the side. 

The first time I made this curry, it was followed by a Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding tart which was quite comforting with pieces of dark chocolate and pops of marmalade throughout, and oh the crispy crust was incredible.

It was very nice served with ice-cream.

It was the perfect time to bake a cake, leading up to Easter, and this Spiced Pumpkin, Prune and Orange cake with Orange flavoured icing was delicious. Pumpkins are at their peak right now, and are a rich orange colour, just the right ingredient for this cake.

To celebrate the change of seasons, I had quite the baking spree. This Fruit and Nut Sourdough Loaf never disappoints. It was devoured quickly, and also toasts up beautifully. 

I've been wanting to bake my Mum's recipe for Monte Carlo biscuits for a longtime, and after a couple of practice baking sessions, and using her original hand written recipe, I was happy with the result. When Shannon arrived home for Easter, I surprised her with these, which she remembers her Ma Ma baking. Apparently they measured up very well to Mum's biscuits, which I was so happy about.

I baked a batch of Aussie Damper Scones, always on repeat, so simple to make and an ideal way to use up that carton of cream in the refrigerator. I forgot to add a mist of flour to the surface before baking, but never mind they still tasted great. They also freeze well. This is my go to scone recipe, we all need one of those.

During the month there was a period when I was going quite mental over lentils. I cooked up these Pesto and Capsicum Lentils, delicious.

 A batch of Scottish Lentil Soup always soothes the soul. The Red Lentil Dahl which I've already mentioned, was very good value for money too. Recipe coming on that one.

Ingredients for Scottish Lentil Soup

Scottish Red Lentil Soup

With the much awaited cooler weather now upon us, I love that a pot of soup can be simmering on the stove, or waiting in the refrigerator, for when the need arises. Soup always comforts us, and is a gentle reminder that despite the concerning harshness of the world at present, caring for others and sharing food is always important.

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. It makes me dig deep, and really think about what I've cooked and the food we've enjoyed and shared during the past month. 

Warm wishes and stay safe,

 Pauline