In My Kitchen, July 2014

In my kitchen I have been making pasta.  It would be easier if I hadn’t lost the clamp that locks the pasta machine onto the bench.  Where did it go?  I need a third arm to hold the machine in place as I feed the dough through the machine.  Making pasta is a messy process; I had flour flying around the kitchen.  But I have to say, there really is no comparison between store-bought dried pasta and the Italian-mama version where you and your apron and every horizontal surface is covered in flour.

Making pasta

Making pasta

In my kitchen I have some Whoop Ass Hot Sauce.  I truly bought it because I liked the presentation of the bottle.  I believe it’s super, super hot but I haven’t tried it yet.

Whoop Ass Hot Sauce

Whoop Ass Hot Sauce

In my kitchen I have condiments sent to me by the Beerenberg company.  There’s Scotty’s burger relish that’s full of spices, fruit and vegetables and is apparently meant to make your burger mouth-watering.  There is also Graham’s Hot Chip Sauce which is a blend of sour cream and sweet chilli sauce.  This would be a refreshing change for chips from the standard tomato sauce accompaniment.  I’m totally set for my next burger and chips night.

Condiments from the Beerenberg company

Condiments from the Beerenberg company

In my kitchen I have a lot of berries.  There is a man who drives around my suburb in a van and when he can find a legal park he pulls up and sells farm-fresh berries from the footpath.  The quality is amazing and the price about half what you pay in a supermarket.  The gorgeous platter the berries are sitting on is a birthday present from my mother.  It’s a large ceramic bowl in natural colours which will be well used by Hotly Spiced Headquarters.  Get ready to see its presence in lots of upcoming posts.

My new platter loaded with berries

My new platter loaded with berries

In my kitchen I have a Nutri-Bullet.  Are any of your husbands addicted to infomercial shopping?  Mine leads the pack.  The delivery man makes regular stops to our home and this is what was delivered a few weeks ago.  I’m told the purchase was inspired by my juice fast.  Every morning juices are made and I have to say the Nutri-Bullet has won me over.  It doesn’t take up a lot of room, it’s so easy to clean, it makes juices in just a few seconds and it encourages you to fill up on a lot more of the good stuff.

The nutri-bullet - sorry it's not very clean, it had just been used!

The nutri-bullet

In my kitchen I have this absolutely beautiful bowl with a set of salad servers.  My cousin Megan thoughtfully gave this to me for my birthday.  She thought it would be useful for my blog.  It certainly will be.  I love the size of it and the colour and it’s surprisingly very lightweight.

My new salad bowl

My new salad bowl

In my kitchen I have two gorgeous girls who love each other so much.  They both have a wicker basket to sleep in but during the winter they prefer to share and cuddle each other all night long.  In their old age they’re also inclined to a few daytime naps and so again, they synchronise their sleeping and share the same space.

A daytime sleep is very therapeutic for the elderly

A daytime sleep is very therapeutic for the elderly

So that’s what’s happening in my kitchen this month.  If you’d like to participate in this series, be sure to link up with Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial before July 10.

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Comments

  1. Those berries look amazing. I haven’t had my pasta machine out yet, I really must. It was a gift from a non foodie friend. Fab In My Kitchen. GG

  2. A man who sells berries! How nice. Immediately I thought of that old Chris de Burgh song, ” Don’t Pay the Ferryman” , sunnstituting Berry. Could I be suffering from Bali Brain? That salad bowl is rather gorgeous.

  3. I also have the nutribullet and love it. I’m thinking of getting one for my mother for her birthday in a couple days. That platter is gorgeous and so is the bowl. Looks like you had a rather nice birthday!

  4. It’s the cleaning up after making pasta that always stops me even starting. I love the colour of the bowl – so vibrant. Do the berries last long in your house? I’d have to put a force field around them here.

  5. Homemade pasta is so good isn’t it? I quite enjoy making it as well. I’ve always wondered about the nutri bullet. Though, where you make lovely healthy juices with it, I must confess, mine would be more of the variety with a bit of alcohol in them…. Beautiful bowl. Can’t wait to see how you use it!

  6. After making pasta with my mum recently and finding how useful the clamp was, I sympathise about the pasta machine but it does taste amazing when you make your own. Love your new bowls and all those berries (can he come to my suburb) and the sauces – berenberg’s labels have gone very modern lately but the sauces look great – I was quite tempted by them recently when present buying. The nutribullet is something I don’t know much about – I thought it was a blender but now I am less sure – and lovely to see the girls looking healthy and happy.

  7. Snap on the NutriBullet – I just bought one two days ago 🙂 I love mine too and agree that the minimal space it takes up is an added bonus. I also love your new platter (and the berries) and bowl, and those sauces sound like they will take burgers from standard to wow with no trouble. Impressive pasta making, too!

  8. Those berries are to die for! I love those bowls too. You had a nice birthday with all those presents. The bullet thing – I’ve seen that on TV and thought it was a wank but if you say it’s worth it I might have to rethink. 🙂

  9. Ahhhh yes! I’ve seen the photo of your homemade pasta on your Instagram. Making pasta from scratch is something I’ve always wanted to do but never got around to for the fear of failing and causing a mess. Need to get over myself and give it a go one day. Am sure the end result will be worth it (hoping that it works out, of course)

  10. Beautiful bowl, berries and platter.

  11. I wish I had some interesting things in my kitchen but sadly I do not. I too have the NutriBullet and I love it too. It makes amazing peanut butter too.

  12. Ah…another lovely in my kitchen post. Love the constant fixtures 🙂 They are the best.

  13. Love, Love ,love your new beautiful blue salad bowl. What will you make with all of your delicious berries? Have a super day! BAM

  14. I laughed outrageously at the first line. I rescued my mom’s pasta maker (a friend had given it to me and she ‘borrowed it for 20 yrs) from their bungalow after she passed away and the clamp wasn’t in the box.

    http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/148576.html

    I’ve used it without the clamp to make pasta and cannoli dough. Doable, but a pain. A couple of months ago, my nephew went in to look for something and ran across it. I was SO SO happy to see it though I haven’t used it recently. Your pasta maker is a lot prettier than my boring stainless steel version.

    I love your fruit platter and salad bowls too and your cuddly girls are too sweet.

  15. Sweet Posy Dreams says:

    I really like your two new bowls. The blue is such a gorgeous color.

    My husband’s grandmother was Italian. Sadly I never got to meet her, but I understand she was quite the pasta maker. No pasta machine for her; she rolled and folded the dough over and over, then cut it on a device called a guitar which had wires to cut the noodles. My mother-in-law had a table that her mother had used for rolling out the dough. It had a worn groove about the width of a rolling pin.

  16. Gorgeous bowl indeed Charlie! I got the pretend Bullet to see if I would use it or not and have been very impressed with its performance. I’ll put the cheapy into MiddleC’s glory box and have to buy the original 🙂 Your girls look very cosy and happy, maybe they’re waiting for some goodies to fall off the bench just for them xox

  17. Wow Charlie those nutri bullets are expensive! We called up about them but as soon as I heard the price I was turned off. Hope it’s worth it. Love love love the berries!

  18. Aww gorgeous girls! I’m a little jealous of that berry bowl. I don’t know how you can resist just gobbling them all up. Hope you had a wonderful Birthday! x

  19. So many great things! Love the pasta making, both new dishes are gorgeous and I’m thinking about looking into the nutribullet. A great peak at your life!

  20. Hi Charlie, I love the look of those berries – a berry man is a dream come true. Your puppies are gorgeous.

  21. How good is fresh Pasta…? I just can’t eat the other stuff any more! Do you freeze it too for later? Those berries look amazing! I so miss Sydney sometimes!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Liz x

  22. aww your girls are gorgeous! and i would love a pasta maker to make my own pasta!

  23. LOL at your hubby being addicted to infomercial shopping!! Do you also own those nifty 9 way ladders, bowflex treadclimbers and Brazilian Butt Lift machines? 😛

  24. Oh no, wonder if you can get a replacement clamp for your pasta machine – think its time to get mine out again and make some scrumptious pasta. Berries at half the prie – what a bargain and your bowls are beautiful.
    have a lovely day Charlie.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  25. I know I should be focusing on your kitchen, but I’m in love your dogs. So sweet. 🙂

  26. Nutribullet…. Soooooo awesome. Although I haven’t used mine since the temps dropped below 10c. LOL! Go you making fresh pasta, and with a colourful machine too. Great happenings in your digs this month.

  27. Making pasta without a clamp for your machine is tough! I think I’d just roll it out by hand, although that takes a bit of skill, and one that I’m only so-so at. I’ve seen those Nutribullets around, but didn’t know how good they were. If you say there are, they are! Thanks for a fun post.

  28. I agree nothing like fresh pasta – don’t know how you manage with out the locking mechanism. Everyone I know has a nutribullet except me!

  29. I would love these lovely berries, reminds me of summer during the cold 😛
    And homemade pasta is unbeatable!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  30. Charlie, that platter is gorgeous! (And the perfect backdrop for cut-rate berries!) So is your salad bowl set… with or without greens. Don’t you just love artistic serving pieces? Had to smile about your beloved pets’ preferred ‘afternoon sleep therapy’ — a lot of that goes on at our house, too — and we don’t have a dog. 😉

  31. Ha Ha! I don’t like hot sauce or anything spicy, but I really do like that WHOOP ASS bottle and would probably just buy the hot sauce for it – LMFAO – nice marketing 😉

  32. How fun is that sauce bottle! The bowl is beautiful! I wish there was a berry selling man in our town!

  33. It is the amount of flour that goes everywhere that often stops me from making pasta. But I agree it is in a league of it’s own isn’t it. I love the bowls you have there, particularly the blue one. I am also beyond jealous of the beautiful berries you have.

  34. Wish the berry seller could pop past my house! I love making pasta and I hope you can find the missing piece of your machine 🙂

  35. Charlie, making pasta without a clamp to hold the machine in place is a labour of love! And you’re so right about the flour going everywhere – drives me a bit bonkers. 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you do with the hot sauce (if anything – it sounds deadly!) and how cool to have a berry seller driving around with his wares!

  36. Your blue bowl is absolutely gorgeous, Charlie. I’ve been thinking that I really do need a new salad bowl and now I know I want one with a little color. And the two little girls are particularly charming. 🙂

  37. Jennifer from Milk and Honey says:

    Haha. I’ve been caught watching Nutri-Bullet late night infomercails and not once been tempted to get one. One word from you and I’m sold!! Thanks for a great IMK post.

  38. I’d even hesitate to try something called “whoop-ass hot sauce”. 🙂 That is a gorgeous blue bowl and I love the last picture. So sweet. I’ve lot lots of berries in my kitchen as well. Gotta love those berries! Speaking of berries, thanks for mentioning “summer pudding” in your comment on my mixed berry pudding. I had never heard of summer pudding before and that’s exactly what this pudding is. Based on US comments vs. comment by others outside of the US, apparently, it’s not well known here. So that’s for the info!

  39. The bowl…oh my…the bowl. And truly the hot sauce wins the award for most clever packaging! Always fun to peak into your kitchen.

  40. My husband eats hot sauces and I bought him a three-pack of Whoop Ass sauces because the faces cracked me up. And those hats, ha!!

  41. G’day! Thanks for your WHOOP ASS to make me smile today!
    Your four legged ones are indeed cuties!
    Thanks for this month’s kitchen view too!
    Cheers! Joanne

  42. Thought I’d come past and say hi after seeing you post on IMK. I’m intrigued – how did you come up with the name Hotly Spiced? I was wondering where you got that Hickory smoked Whoop ass sauce from? I would love to try some. Thanks for sharing your kitchen

    • I don’t know how I came up with the name – it all happened in a rush of deciding to start a blog. I thought a blend of spicy stories and hot food would be a good blend of what I would put on my blog.

  43. Love what’s in your kitchen.
    Especially the lovely blue bowl w/ salad servers and sleeping doggies! WONDERFUL 🙂

  44. I also have a pasta machine & love it! Your berries look Yummy too!

    A cool tour!

  45. I don’t have enough hands for a pasta machine so I got one that attaches to the mixer. Even now I still struggle sometimes.

  46. The whoop ass sauce really made me laugh. The fresh berries look divine. I love your two special girls. Daytime naps are very important. I am new to IMK so my post was a bit late. It is up now if you would like to read it. Emma.

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