In My Kitchen, June 2014

It’s not only the first day of a new month but also the first day of a new season.  Here in the Southern Hemisphere we are now officially in winter; my least favourite season.  So far, it’s not too bad and I dare not complain after the harsh winter those living north of us have just experienced. So here’s what’s happening away from the cold and inside my cosy kitchen. In my kitchen I have a new cookbook.  At most schools, children are invited to bring in $10.00 and stalls are set up and they can buy a gift for their mother for Mother’s Day.  I can tell you from a wealth of experience that some of the items are absolute duds and great acting skills are required to not give a crushed look when you unwrap the gift.  I don’t know if it’s the school Alfie’s going to or whether he actually is wonderful at choosing gifts, but the things Alfie has chosen for me have always been above and beyond my expectations.  This year it was this cookbook, Taste Bake.  Fantastic and what great value for $10.00.  I’ll look forward to sharing the recipes with you.

Taste - Bake Cookbook

Taste – Bake Cookbook

In my kitchen I have another new cookbook.  Archie also gave me a cookbook for Mother’s Day.  It’s the Planet Cake cookbook and a cookbook I have been wanting for quite some time.  Planet Cake is a shop in Sydney that is hugely popular for it’s sculpted cakes; so popular that they released a few cookbooks sharing their techniques for producing beautiful and pretty cakes.  Given my love for making sculpted cakes, I thought this was a very thoughtful gift.

Planet Cake Cookbook

Planet Cake Cookbook

In my kitchen I have all these ginger products from The Ginger People.  Ginger is not only full of flavour but it has many medicinal uses and all the products I’ve been given are even more so because they’re organic.  I’m looking forward to trying the sushi ginger and the minced ginger will be very handy for Thai stir-fries.  The Traveller’s Candy would be very handy if I had a boat trip to look forward to because ginger is useful for curbing seasickness.  As for the crystallised ginger, I have a Christmas in July event coming up and I will use the ginger to make a glaze for a baked ham.  The ginger syrup really interests me and I think it would be great on pancakes and this month I’d like to also use it to make a ginger syrup cake.

Ginger

The Ginger People

In my kitchen I have also been given a new range of products from the Simply Honest company.  The company is Australian owned and all their products are non-GMO, have aluminium-free raising agents, contain no added preservatives or vegetable oils.  The range contains a quick scone mix, an original pancake mix, a Mr Brownie mix,  and the Queen’s Chocolate Cake and icing mix.  What’s very refreshing about the range is that the ingredient list on the back of the boxes reads like a recipe of natural ingredients you would be creating in your own kitchen.  If you get the chance, do check out the Simply Honest website – it’s lots of fun.

Simply Honest products

Simply Honest products

In my kitchen I have a gift from Arabella.  As well as Mother’s Day, in May I also have my birthday.  Arabella gave me a shopping list pad that I can stick to my fridge.  There’s a pen attached so there should be no more excuses for forgetting to buy what’s needed.  She also gave me a couple of tea-towels which is very handy as a lot of my current tea-towels need to move on to their next stage of becoming cleaning cloths.  Arabella also gave me some post-it notes.  There has been a lot of tension in my kitchen lately because I’ll buy things for the Hotly Spiced kitchen only to have them devoured even before I can use them for my blog.  As Arabella is usually the culprit, she thought the post-it notes could be put on the sacred items and she would know to back away.  So far it’s working nicely.

A shopping list pad, two tea-towels and some post-it notes

A shopping list pad, two tea-towels and some post-it notes

In my kitchen I have two lovely girls who had an outing to Alfie’s rugby match.  Unfortunately, it had been raining heavily and the ground was soggy and both my girls came home covered in mud.  It was into the torture chamber and the expression on their faces tells you exactly what they thought of their treatment.

Two tortured souls

Two tortured souls

If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post, be sure to link up with Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

How to guard the edibles for the Hotly Spiced website

Guarding the goodies for the Hotly Spiced website

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Comments

  1. That ginger looks fantastic, and I can’t wait for the ginger syrup cake recipe 🙂 and I’m just loving being apart of the food blog world… So thank you for introducing me to this fantastic world… It has changed my life 🙂

  2. Those poor wee dogs look utterly tragic!
    I like the idea of post-it notes to keep things in the pantry safe. Maybe if I’d had those I would still have most of the 1 kilo bag of Belgian cooking chocolate which has mysteriously vanished.

  3. Both Alfie and Arabella are smart and practical gift-givers. They sure know what to pick! Nothing will be put to waste ;).

    Julie
    Gourmet Getaways

  4. I would love to look through the cookbooks but they would be pretty much wasted on me, especially the cake one, cause these days I find all my recipes on the net and cake decoration is NOT one of my talents.

    All the different gingers … treasures I would love to have in my own kitchen especially the pickled sushi ginger though I’d have to resist eating it straight out of the jar. The post it notes are a great idea in a household like yours with many possible snackers.

    Your wet and bedraggled little girls are charming. When they dry off, bring them over and I’ll give them a few treats to make up for the horrible experience. 🙂

  5. The Planet Cake book is the perfect book for you Charlie! Archie and Arabella gave you such lovely thoughtful gifts 🙂

  6. The “Planet Cake” book looks Delish,
    but the Two tortured souls are ADORABLE!! xx

  7. Hahaha…good on Arabella! Hopefully the boys will learn the code as well! What a great book Alfie bought for you – looks like he got the pick of the bunch! And can’t wait to see what you make with the Planet Cake book (but I’ll bet THEY don’t have a Titanic cake in there!). Ginger goodies sound most fine.. 🙂

  8. Asseverated, your girls look terrified! Love the post-its! And what a good idea to use them for marking goods for HS!! Can’t wait to see what goodies you come up with to use your mixes….I have some coming up on my blog soon!! 🙂 xo

  9. Love the post it idea! Im very impressed with all your mothers day goodies too. What good gift givers you’ve created.

  10. The Ginger People better be selling the peanut butter ginger candies by the time I get back to Australia. And the coffee flavour. BEST.

  11. That traveller’s candy from The Ginger People is fantastic! We always keep a box in the Jeep! It works well! Love all the good things in your kitchen, Charlie xox

  12. Good idea the post it notes – might try it myself – and love the little puppies faces 🙂

  13. It’s always so nice to tour someone else’s kitchen! That Planet Cake book looks like it needs to be in my collection, lol. And your dogs are adorable! Might they be long-haired Dachshunds? One of my daughters has an English Blond Long-Haired Dachshund, Olive, and she is ever so lovely.

  14. What great cookbooks! Such a thoughtful gift! You have so many delicious bits and pieces!

  15. Loving the ginger products Charlie, and so many other goodies too! Great pressies, very thoughtful- and much better than I would get from the school mothers day stall. One year pieces of tanbark had little plastic zoo or farm animals glued to them along with a large artificial flower. Sadly these were made by adults, not by the children xox

  16. Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Birthday. Looks like all three kids gave you some really wonderful gifts. I love the sticky note idea! I really try to get into ginger and I love the looks of all the ginger products you have. I just can’t do it. Not my cup of tea. But brownies? Now you’re talking my language!

  17. I know this is supposed to be about your kitcehn but I can’t take my eyes off that cute little antique table!

  18. The look on your dog’s faces is priceless. Simply Honest look like fun – I’ll have to take a closer look. Thanks for the tour. xx

  19. G’day and thanks Charlie for your kitchen view this month too!
    Love the cookbooks and can’t wait to see what you do!
    The ginger syrup is absolutely divine!
    Cheers! Joanne

  20. Oh those poor darling girls. What a lot of great things you have this month Charlie

  21. The mother’s day gifts brought back the best memory. One year Alan bought something from the school stalls. A ‘gorgeous’ long gaudy rhinestone necklace. I didn’t wear it and one morning he had tears and said, “you really didn’t like it, did you?”

    I told him I’d forgotten about it and I’d put it right on. He was beaming as he left the car to go to school. I promptly forgot that I was wearing it and headed to a city council meeting to speak about zoning regarding the factory I managed. Needless to say when someone said, “Charming necklace, Maureen,” I nearly died.

    Why couldn’t he have given me a cookbook?? 🙂

    Terrific things in your kitchen!

  22. I too am not a winter fan Charlie. We have also been enjoying an extended warm autumn. I really do hope it lasts all the way through winter – that would be nice.
    So many fabulous goodies in your kitchen this month, except for the upset girls who had to have a bath.
    Have a beautiful week ahead.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  23. The Simply Honest products look great – there’s nothing more off putting than a list of things I can’t pronounce on the ingredients panel. Good on Alfie with his presents I be the was chuffed you were happy with them.

  24. What a great stash of kitchen goodies!!!! Heading off to check out the Ginger people and Simply Honest websites. Enjoy your cookbooks…and other lovely gifts! x

  25. What thoughtful gifts from all of your kids.

    Just have to share that my friend Mike made a rhubarb dessert for our bible study group last week and had to hide it from his wife so she wouldn’t dip into it before we arrived.

  26. I love the post it notes idea!

  27. Whatever it is in that cup in your cook book, I want it, NOW!

    Your two fur babies, as usual, steal the show 🙂

  28. Hehehe, I love that picture of your two adorable doggies 🙂 Oh how horrible to get a bath!

  29. You have lots of great things in your kitchen! I can’t wait to see what inspiration comes from the new cake cookbook. The expression on the girls’ faces is priceless. We’ve just tipped into summer. I hope you have a warm and cozy winter…it’s not my favorite time of year, either, but it does have some perks and comfort foods!

  30. So many wonderful new things in your kitchen this month. I’ve always drooled over those beautiful cakes from Planet Cake and after witnessing your amazing “Titanic” cake, I’m looking forward to seeing your new creations! Very envious as well over those gorgeous ginger products.

  31. coconut flour? sounds intriguing. I have some coconut sugar at the moment so maybe i should try making something with both!

  32. Thanks for the look in your kitchen, how cute are your girls? Love a good cook book and the post it note idea is great.

  33. Oh, my, those lovely little miserable puppies were the highlight for me today! They’re adorable! Oh, and the other highlight is finding out it was your birthday! I’m so sorry to have missed it.. so let me say Happy Birthday now:) I think your kids have given you the perfect gifts, they really know you so well and adore you. My mom also used notes stuck on her baking when she made something for her class (she was a teacher) or we would eat it all as well:D xx

  34. Well done Alfie. His cookbook beats a cake of soap wrapped in a hankie any day of the week, I mean, Mother’s day of the year. Thanks for the heads-up on the Simply Honest range of goodies, I’ll keep my eye out for those. Thanks for the tour.

  35. I would love to look through those cookbooks. I bet there are filled with beautiful photos judging from the covers! Your pups are the cutest! I just grand pup sat for my daughter’s dachshund. Sweetest dog!

  36. There is a lot to love in your kitchen this month! What lovely mother’s day and birthday gifts, and I can’t wait to see what you share from the cookbooks. I am also very impressed with your array of ginger products. What a selection!

    Thanks for your moving thoughts too – we are flying next week!! My poor mother is doing her best to be brave about it but I suspect she’s not too thrilled underneath – although it gives her an excuse to plan trips to England.

  37. What a fun kitchen! I love the cookbooks and I’d love to experiment with the ginger. But those two little girls are particularly fun. They are really such sweeties. I look forward to your In My Kitchen posts. 🙂

  38. The puppies made me LOL! Big fan of ginger, crushed, roasted, pureed, raw and pickled, its just so dang tasty. 🙂 You have a bunch of fun ‘stuff’ happening in your kitchen, like always, not much happening in mine.

  39. Great stuff in your kitchen! Always love to get new cookbooks, and yours look great. That shopping list thingy is terrific too — I need something like that.

  40. Oh Ginger! I once hated it so much then fell pregnant and was feeling nauseous 24 hours a day and it became my best friend! Sipping on a freshly brewed ginger tea as we speak!

  41. I did not know the Simply Honest range existed. I will have to keep an eye out for them. More cookbooks are always a good thing. Thanks for the peek into your kitchen.

  42. Charlie, the illustrations on your Simply Honest stash are a hoot! (I love a company with a sense of humor — and products without additives.) I was also admiring the table you set them on for their photo … fabulous carvings! Is it a family heirloom or perhaps a found treasure? Have fun with your new cookbooks!

  43. First of all, I love that table! I’ve never noticed it before. All of those ginger products really caught my eye. What a great collection of ginger! Fun post!

  44. I thought dogs loved water?! I guess not all of them do :D.

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