Pages

26 February 2023

Adventures in my Kitchen

This post comes to you from my kitchen.  We definitely feel like we are slow stepping towards Spring here, the days are longer, the sun is shining more.  It is still bitterly cold and we are still getting frost and the occasional flurries of snow.  In the kitchen we are most definitely still eating the food of winter.  The veg boxes are full of root veggies and will be for many more weeks to come.  I am heading towards the time of being ready to move on from those but know that is still a way off yet.

My kitchen is a small space, 3.7m x 2.8m this has been extended from the original footprint of 2.8m x 2.5m by previous owners removing internal walls.  I have also made use of an under stair cupboard as a pantry which originally would have been in the hall.  I have read in a few places recently that having your washing machine in the kitchen is a peculiar quirk of Europeans, whilst I cannot speak for those over the channel, where I have not visited many private homes, in the UK it is commonplace.  This is because it is often the only place to put it.  Many of our homes were built before washing machines were even a thing so a separate utility room is a rarity, my house is nearly 100 years old and is unusual in my village as it was originally built with an internal bathroom, most of the houses we looked at before buying this one had had a bathroom retrofitted by taking some space from the largest bedroom.  The alternative would be to locate it in the living room or dining room as the hall is not a big enough space, that is the downstairs of my house, so the kitchen is where it sits and always will do.

I am continuing to make full use of my slow cooker, I love that I can throw some ingredients into it in the morning and by the evening we have a tasty meal to eat.  It is really helpful on those days when we are home a bit later and need to eat shortly after we walk through the door.  I have found that jacket potatoes do well, they don't have the crispy outer that you get from the oven but that is a small price to pay with the amount of electricity we are saving.  I wrap each potato in silver foil and place it in the slow cooker, it takes about 3-4 hours on the highest heat on mine.  Being the frugal person that I am I keep the silver foil unwrapping the potatoes carefully each time to allow for that, it lasts about five or six uses.  I bought a new to me recipe book last month and have found a few dishes in there that go well with jacket spuds, pinto bean chilli being our most favourite so far.  We love these beans and I love it when I find a recipe to use them in.

My sourdough starter is still doing well, I thought I had killed it at one point but I threw most of it into the compost bin and fed it up again and it was as right as rain within a couple of days.  I make bread at least once a week, sometimes more, if I have the oven on more often.  I cut the loaves in half and freeze them, that way I always have a supply.  I feel like I have mastered the recipe that I have been using for a while now and am considering others to give us some variety.  I watched a series of programmes about sourdough and have used some of the techniques mentioned in them, I feel like I am slowly getting a feel for the dough, how much I need to kneed it and what it should look like when it is properly cooked.  I am realising that these are skills that are so much easier to pick up if they are passed on rather than read about in books.

I had an intention to make and eat more fermented foods this year.  I haven't got round to making sauerkraut yet but I have had a continual supply of fermented pancake mix to make dosas.  There are hundreds of recipes out there to make these pancakes, mine uses quinoa and lentils with fenugreek powder.  As it is winter I have to leave this mix for a few days to get the fermenting process going, it sits on the side doing its thing.  I am eating a pancake for breakfast a couple of days a week.  I have also made a quantity of fermented coconut chutney to go with them, I am still working my way through the first batch I made this year but it is running low so I need to make some more soon.

These dosas have been a welcome re-addition to my breakfast choices, I am not a cereal girl and I am not keen enough on porridge to have it every day.  I had been eating boiled eggs every morning which whilst quick and easy is not very varied.  I have been making oatmeal pancakes again, a really simple recipe of medium oatmeal soaked overnight in yogurt before adding egg in the morning and frying them up into wee patties.  They are delicious with fruit and as I have a freezer brimming with fruit picked from the garden I have been making coulis with blackcurrants to have with mine, a good burst of Vitamin C which is always good thing in Winter.

I have also re-introduced risotto into our menu, we have it each week now after Alice requested it.  I have been looking for different recipes to give us some variety, apart from the traditional, for us, of just adding peas we have also had mushroom, tomato and mozzarella, squash and chilli and leek and tomato and mascarpone, this last incarnation is very rich but totally delicious.  If you have any vegetarian risotto recipes that you would care to share I would love to hear about them.

I have mentioned salve making on a previous post from my kitchen, I tried two batches last year and both sadly went mouldy.  I don't think the leaves were quite dry enough when I put them in the oil.  I removed a few leaves from my comfrey plant late last year and had them drying in the bowl in the kitchen.  I finally got round to soaking them in oil at the beginning of the year, they will soon be ready for making up into salves and are looking like they will not go mouldy this time, third time lucky, I hope.

That is my round up for my kitchen in Winter I will back again in the Spring, bye for now.

25 comments:

  1. The smaller and much older house I lived in before I moved down to the beach had the washer and dryer in the kitchen. I found it rather handy. The tops of the machines were always used as extra counter space. Now I have to run up and down the stairs to the lower level to do it. It's in a small closet in the family room and if The Mister is watching TV no laundry gets done.
    I make a big pile of whole wheat waffles and freeze them so all I have to do is pop one in the toaster every morning. I have to eat before I drink any tea or coffee or I pay for it all day with reflux issues and they are the easiest thing to swallow while I'm on the run feeding the hungry critters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh what a great idea to make and freeze waffles, my daughter loves them. Yeah washing machines are noisy aren't they, our house is open plan downstairs which means when the washing machine is on it fills the house with noise.

      Delete
  2. Nice to read about different ideas for tasty food. We have pancakes most weekends as we too have bags of fruit in the freezer from last Summer. Your bread looks amazing, I should make more bread.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words about my bread. There is nothing like homegrown fruit in the middle of winter is there.

      Delete
  3. I am impressed that you can work and produce such good food in so small a space! My kitchen/dining area is 14 ft by 21 feet long with a ceiling that slopes from about 10 1/2 feet to 9 feet on the back wall. Let's see, in meters that would be 4.3m x 6.4m, I think. My washer and dryer are in my bathroom, which is about 8 x 14 feet so plenty of room in there for them but my first house, the washer was in the kitchen and I found it quite handy actually. I am fortunate that this house, which I designed when I was 22, is all one floor.
    I am so intrigued by all the things you make too. We have also been varying breakfast away from eggs every day. Today it was waffles with bananas, strawberries and blueberries and maple syrup made locally. Yesterday I had some of the granola I make, with Greek yogurt and strawberries. The day before was oatmeal, and before that ehhs. It is nice to change it up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow that is a huge kitchen/dining area, my wee kitchen is just that I have a separate dining room. Your kitchen is about the same size of the downstairs of my house! It is so good to have different things for breakfast isn't it, your waffles sound delicious.

      Delete
  4. Those sourdough loaves look amazing!! You've got me thinking about baked spuds in the slo cooker. We do like a crispy skin but I reckon I could whack them under the grill to brown off if need be, I think I'll give them a go 😊 x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you San. I thought we would miss the crispy skin on the jacket spuds, but you get used to them being different.

      Delete
  5. Your bread does look delicious! You already mentioned my two go-to recipes for risotto - pea and mushroom or leek, but I have had butternut squash risotto before, which was OK. I now feel rather hungry!
    Best wishes
    Ellie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ellie. The butternut squash recipe is a good one, you have to cut up the squash into tiny pieces to ensure it cooks fully with the rice otherwise it is a bit hard!

      Delete
  6. We always had our washing machine in the kitchen until we moved house last year, now we have a separate utility room, which is actually a bit weird after having everything in one room for over thirty years of married life. Your bread looks delicious. I used to make my own bread but have got out of the routine now there's only the two of us at home, we don't eat all that much of it, but like you, I could freeze it. Something to incorporate back into my routine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jo. Despite there being four of us at home we eat very little bread so it would go mouldy if I didn't freeze it. I make breadcrumbs with any bits that are looking a bit dry and stale, I freeze them too, you can usually add them to most recipes when they are still frozen they are small enough to break up.

      Delete
  7. I like your intention of eating more fermented food. I'd like that, too. I have a book with lots of fermented food recipes but have yet to make anything. The dosa you make sound good, I'll google a recipe. I usually make plain risotto but roast different vegetables in the oven to mix in after cooking. My favourite is probably roast courgette and onions seasoned with thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Not so seasonal just now but soon. I also roast butternut squash tossed in a spicy herb mixture, very good with risotto. If you like mushrooms, dried porcini are excellent if a bit pricey. I used to make a risotto with red radicchio salad cooked in towards the end. Not a family favourite but I love it. I wonder if you could make risotto in the slow cooker? Here is to spring with all the spring vegetables that come with it (soon) x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ooh thank you for the risotto ideas, I love the idea of adding roasted vegetables. I have no idea if you can cook risotto in a slow cooker, that is a fabulous idea, I am off to go and find out....

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a cosy post, you have me feeling all warm and content. Also very hungry. I wish I could make bread, I can never figure out the flours and raising agents. I had wild mushroom risotto at a restaurant recently, it was utterly delicious.xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw that is so kind of you thank you. Sourdough is very forgiving, the raising agents come from the flour so you don't need to add any. I would say find a recipe and keep trying it until you can get it to work. Flour varies enormously, not only that the weather can effect things too, in terms of hot and cold and whether it is dry or humid. The more you make bread the more it becomes an instinctive thing. The amount of flour I add changes each time a make it but I can work out when to stop much more easily now than when I started making bread.

      Delete
  10. It all sounds rather delicious and your sourdough looks amazing - I never did get to grips with mine :)
    Risotto is a huge favourite of mine, as I like most meals that can be cooked in one pan. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear you on cooking in one pan, I love those that cook in one oven tray or I can put in the slow cooker. Thank you for your kind words about my sourdough and I am sorry to hear that you were not able to get to grips with your sourdough.

      Delete
  11. I used to have a huge kitchen and when we moved we went to a small kitchen. I like a small kitchen because it's easier to keep clean :) Love that sourdough goodness!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's so true! Small kitchens are so much easier to keep clean. I would love my to be a little bigger to give me more storage room.

      Delete
  12. I see so many features on modern "laundry rooms" and never fail to be surprised. People have whole ROOMS just devoted to laundry! Our house is older as well, and our laundry machines are in the (unfinished) basement. It's a lot of walking up and down the stairs. Your bread looks amazing and I admire you devotion to your starter! Your winter meals sound filling and warming, just as food should be this time of year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A whole room for laundry that is mad! I guess if you have a big house you can have that luxury. Thank you for your kind words about my bread, yes to filling and warming winter meals, I am loving them.

      Delete
  13. I wouldn't be able to eat it but the soughdough looks delicious! I don't think you can beat hot bread straight from the oven.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Nikki, I am guessing you cannot eat gluten, I believe you can make gluten free sourdoughs too but I have never tried it.

      Delete
  14. Hi that was a lovely interesting post, I know that the fermented foods are supposed to be good for you but I really don't think my stomach can take it. We had something on holiday last year that left me off for days so I give it a miss. I know what you mean about the seasons being slow to change, we have just had a stew with all roots and I think for all the buds and daffodils out there we are along way off yet. Have a lovely week. x

    ReplyDelete

Hello......would love to hear from you :)