In My Kitchen, October 2013

In my kitchen I have a pretty pink box.  It was given to me by my good friend Rach who is a midwife at one of Sydney’s private hospitals and this box had been given to her by the wife of a certain Sydney billionaire.  She had helped deliver their third child.  Everyone who helped look after either the mother or her baby was given one of these boxes with a beautiful handwritten card.

A pink box

A pink box

Inside the box is a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Rose Champagne.  Pink Champagne!  Rather fitting seeing as the couple was celebrating the birth of a baby girl.  Now Rach doesn’t drink which is a shame for her but a bonus for me as knowing I’m rather fond of bubbly beverages, she re-gifted this to me when she and her husband came over for a dinner party.  And as for the billionaire and his wife; well sadly, within 12 months of the birth of their daughter, the couple announced the end of their marriage.

Cuvee Rose Champagne

Cuvee Rose Champagne

But…all credit to them for being generous and showing gratitude to the nursing staff (also giving a substantial donation to the hospital) because I have had a past life as a nurse and it was always a tremendous boost to all of us when we received a thank you.  (Rach has looked after other celebrities who have been given rock-star treatment only to have them walk out without so much as a backwards glance!)

In my kitchen I have stick insects.  Trust me now, they’re in there.  They belong to Alfie’s classroom and he kindly put up his hand and said we would look after them for the school holidays.  Apparently they don’t need much looking after.  We have to find eucalyptus leaves for them to eat and to drink you just spray the leaves with water.  I was told I had to drive to the school to collect them on the last day of Term III as the glass container is ridiculously heavy.  I sent Archie and Alfie was so proud to see his big brother walk into his classroom.

The stick insects from Alfie's classroom

The stick insects from Alfie’s classroom

Speaking of Archie, in my kitchen I have this green plastic contraption.  Do you know what it is?  It’s a voice steamer.  You put boiling water in it then you hold it over your mouth and inhale the steam and apparently it has you singing like a canary.  Archie uses it most days and likes to leave it on my kitchen bench!

Archie's voice steamer

Archie’s voice steamer

In my kitchen I have two gorgeous girls.  They sleep in this basket in the kitchen but when Carl’s away they get a royal upgrade.  Don’t tell Carl!  Thank you for all your thoughts and concern for them.  As you can see they have recovered very well from their oral surgery.  Rosie, (the little one with the pretty face) now has no front teeth top or bottom and really should have dentures but alas, they don’t exist so instead I’m chopping up her BBQ chicken into very tiny pieces.  Ruby is much hardier by nature and has been chewing bones and gulping her food just like she was pre-surgery.  The girls live on and last Monday’s episode at the vet’s is I’m sure, just a distant memory.

Rosie with her mother, Ruby

Rosie with her mother, Ruby

In my kitchen I have food.  But only because Celia would be very cross if I didn’t put any food in my In My Kitchen post.  So Celia, I have some dried pineapple.  It doesn’t look like regular dried pineapple and it is certainly a lot uglier but this is organic and it has been dried without the use of chemicals.  It’s very seasonal and quite expensive but highly addictive and it’s my treat to get me through the school holidays.

Organic, chemical-free dried pineapple

Organic, chemical-free dried pineapple

If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post, do link up with Celia.

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Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing!

  2. Food? Who needs food when you have a beautiful bottle of bubbly? THAT’S what should be getting you through school holidays….

  3. Such interesting items in your kitchen…but I have to agree with Lauren! The girls look so sweet in their basket, glad to hear they have recovered from their ordeal.

  4. Cheers to the bubbly Charlie – what a treat. I have had a stick insect in my kitchen too but only because he or she made their own way there from the garden. I wonder if Archie’s voice steamer would have helped my laryngitis the last couple of days and when I first saw your pineapple, I thought it was mushrooms – oops!
    So pleased your pups are all better now – they look adorable in their basket but bet even more adorable on your bed.
    Have a happy day.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  5. I wouldn’t have been very cross if you didn’t have food in your post, but I probably would have said something – that would have been too hard to resist. 🙂 What a magnificent bottle of champagne and how kind of your friend to give it to you! I’m glad the girls are all on the mend, and Archie’s steamer is very cool! xx

  6. They both have pretty faces! They’re such cute puppies!

  7. I love friends who bring bubbles! So glad the puppies are over their surgery. That green contraption looks like something you would need if you had asthma? Who needs food…. nice to see what’s in your kitchen.

  8. I was waiting for some story of how the champagne connected with the insects or the dogs or Archie. It would most likely be Archie, correct? I am using my creative license here thinking such thoughts.

  9. Ohhh, I love those faces in the basket. 🙂 How gorgeous they are!! 🙂

  10. Congrats on the Pink Champagne – it sure was nice of the billionaire and his then wife.
    And congrats on your gals doing so well – I have two too – one Collie/golden retriver mix and another Newfoundland mix – I like big dogs and I cannot lie 🙂
    Never heard of dried pineapple before – I gotta look for these here in GA!

  11. I’ve got to do one of these In My Kitchen posts one day.. as soon as things slow down a bit around here. Who am I kidding, that will never happen:D I love your pups.. you can take photos of them as often as you like, I’m seriously longing for a new dog! xx

  12. How I’d love a Eucalyptus leaf to rub between my fingers and breathe in right now. Home.

  13. I have never had dried pineapple. You have some very interesting things in your kitchen and what cute pups:-)

  14. Am I shallow for saying that even though your two girls are lovely, I’d volunteer to take the pink box and contents off your hands if you were clearing house? 🙂 Both my brother and SIL are nurses and the job you all do/did is not appreciated nearly enough.

  15. Your girls are so cute!

  16. Oh Charlie…I enjoyed taking a peek at you kitchen…Rosie and Ruby are so cute…
    Have a great week my dear 😀

  17. Charlie, your life is so random it makes me smile. (Everything from your Burger Barn review to pink champagne from billionaires, to bugs to vodka bottle-shaped cakes, to canine oral health.) Gotta love it! Thank you for this glimpse into your interesting, varied life. You’re one of the reasons I read blog posts so ardently… especially yours. xo

  18. That is quite an assortment of interesting items in the kitchen! I did survive the years of insects, baby mice, and fungii for science experiments that occupied my kitchen for years. I must admit sometimes I even miss that activity a bit. The pink champagne is a lovely thoughtful gift. My daughter is a nurse, and I don’t think she’ been given anything quite that nice. 🙂 Enjoy!

  19. Glad your adorable girls are OK now. Had no idea there is such a thing as a voice steamer. Your dried pineapple reminds me of dried persimmons.

  20. Awww your pups are the cutest they make your kitchen the best 🙂
    Them and the pineapples… I love pineapples… 😉

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  21. I can’t get over how gorgeous your dogs are!

    I love dried pineapple but I don’t buy it very often because it’s very sweet. I’ve never tried the organic version though so I will have to give it a try sometime (or perhaps I can see if I can dry them myself using my dehydrator?).

  22. Hehe I had no idea what that voice steamer was! I wonder if it will help me sing? 😛 And how gorgeous are your two lil girls! 😀

  23. G’day Charlie! Thanks once again for this month’s kitchen view!
    Glad your two girls are feeling heaps better too!
    Cheers! Joanne

  24. A very eclectic mix of things in your kitchen!

    Nazneen

  25. I love your stick insect guests – and now I know how to care for them, should the need ever arise! Oh, the things we learn in each other’s kitchens…

  26. Haha love that you threw in a food item at the end. I could live off dried pineapple and mango. Now I’m going to have to buy some!

  27. Such cute puppies! Thanks for sharing what’s in your kitchen ! 🙂

  28. I love these posts!

  29. I’m fascinated by the voice steamer, since I sing in a choir. My voice has been so croaky from the recent virus that I’ve had to give it a rest. That voice steamer would be a real asset. I must see if they are available in NZ. Your kitchen is full of life, and stories as well as food. Nice post.

  30. Snap, Charlie – I was a nurse about 100 years ago too! And I used to use alcohol to get through the school holidays – not dried fruit!

  31. Organic dried fruit always does look rather ugly doesn’t it? But ugly in a good way I think! Glad to hear your two dogs are recovering well too…and as for the voice steamer, well! What will they think of next?

  32. I’m intrigued to learn more about your past life as a Nurse Charlie! I’m guessing the billionaire and his soon to be ex wife were in the papers just last week no? Very generous of them, and equally generous of your friend to regift you the bubbly!
    Love the picture of Rosie and Ruby! Such gorgeous little ladies, glad to hear they’re on the mend xx

  33. You have such great stuff in your kitchen! That champagne is wonderful. And your furry friends look so cute. Don’t worry, none of us will tell Carl. 😉

  34. OMG you have stick insects too?!?! We had them too when my daughter was in preschool. She “volunteered” to take care of them… Well they are back in nature now but oh boy I got freaked out when she handed me a temporary box filled with these insects. Always enjoy peeking your kitchen!

  35. Oooh, what a beautiful bottle of champagne! And I love seeing what else is in your kitchen. Thanks for sharing!

  36. So happy your pups are doing better! Guess you’ll have to cater to their tender teeth now 😉

  37. Champagne and stick insects – interesting combination of things in a kitchen. 🙂 I wouldn’t be able to do anything in my kitchen with Rosie and Ruby looking at me like that. I would just melt.

  38. I love the bubbly story! I’ll get my post done this weekend. I only have one more test!

  39. Wow. That Champagne is a fabulous present – Charlie, you do have some amazing friends! Love your puppies, they’re such pretty girls!

  40. Well, I have nothing in my kitchen to compare with these goodies! What fun! But the girls are the best of all.

  41. What a fun post! I love that your friend shared her pink box with you. Loved hearing about the stick insects and voice steamer. Your “girls” are adorable and that pineapple looks a bit like dried mushrooms! I’m sure it’s delicious! Thanks for sharing!

  42. The kitchen is the center of our world, too.(I am even there now, at the computer)Yours looks like a lot of fun!

  43. Glad to see your Girls have rebounded and are doing so well, Charlie. I’ve never seen nor heard of a voice steamer before but it does make sense. If it works, all the better. Stick insects? You’re a great Mum, Charlie. 🙂

  44. Wow that really is so generous of the couple but what a shame that they divorced 🙁 that voice steamer looks really interesting! I’d like one that’s bigger so I can steam my face hehe I heard that it’s great for clearing up the pore or something like that hehe ~

  45. dried pineapple? i could do with some of that now 🙂

  46. I love peeking at what other people have in their kitchens! You are more original than most with stick insects and a voice steamer… can’t beat that ;o)

  47. It’s nice to be thanked, but sad their marriage didn’t make it.

    Happy the girls are free of halitosis and the voice steamer made me giggle.
    Carolyn

  48. ha ha – I like the way you got food into your post in an unusual way – dog food, stick insect food and even what some might call a liquid lunch. Am glad Rach appreciated the pretty champas even if she doesn’t drink it. Sorry to hear your dogs have been poorly but they do look happy – sounds like you are giving them the care they need.

  49. I read about your girls with interest. Our cat Holly soldiered on and on, losing a tooth here and a tooth there until she found it very hard to eat and there were bits of food everywhere in the garage. They are remarkably resilient! Good to see that pineapple slipping in. Yes, we are so used to seeing bright colours and perfect shapes – it’s a shock to see natural. Though still delicious of course.

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