In my kitchen - February 2013

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. 

In my kitchen, there are, at long last, vegan marshmallows made up from my UK-purchased but New Zealand-made mix.

From this...

...to this. The wonderment!

After reading some of the comments on this post, I used slightly less sugar with the mix than recommended (1 3/4 cups instead of 2), and coated the marshmallows in corn flour instead of icing sugar or anything else sweet. The marshmallows are still sweet, but at the level expected for marshmallows - and I love them. 

The process of making these was also quite an adventure, and as a result, there are a few sticky spots in my kitchen too. 

This picture didn't really need to be included, 
but the unintentional posing of my right foot made me laugh.

Whipping marshmallow mix up should have been included in chemistry lessons at school. Between the heating of water and sugar to 120'C, the thickening of said sugar on standing, the change in form of the marshmallow mixture when beaten, and then setting of the mixture from liquid-gooey to solid-gooey...what more does a chemistry lesson need?

This picture did need to be included,
because this is a dish that invites one to dive in.

In my kitchen, there is a free calendar provided by a local chemist.

I am not usually one to use chemist-provided calendars, but this one is above average and the picture for February is particularly soothing on hot summer afternoons.


In my kitchen, there are soaked great northern beans and dry puy lentils.

Great Northern Beans, from Canada, apparently

These are the first puy lentils I have bought and I am looking forward to trying them.

Puy lentils, from the Le Puy region of France, because that's how they roll

They are also the first lentil variety that I am deeming beautiful. Truly, gorgeously beautiful.

In my kitchen, there is a new cereal, bought on a whim whilst on special.

I quite like it. Mostly for snacking, though, rather than breakfast-ing.

In my kitchen, there is a renewed love affair with quinoa. When I rediscovered couscous at the end of last year, quinoa seemed to drop off my grain rotation. I have now brought it back on high rotation.

Quinoa with salsa and chilli flavoured kidney beans

My quinoa love affair has also been taken to new heights by the combination of quinoa and star anise. Thank you to those of you who left advice (or just comments of enthusiasm) on my recent star anise purchase. You are all right. It is divine. I adore it.

Star anise flavoured quinoa. Oh, the deliciousness.

In my kitchen, or at least adjoining it, there will soon be a bike. This is because I am not the bike repair person in this house, and having a bike inside the house (normally Not Allowed Never At All) seems a worthwhile trade off for someone fixing my bike.

Why the bike fixing? After riding into a fence a week ago, temporarily interfering with my bike chain and with the intactness of my leg, this week I blew my back tyre about 10 minutes from home. Please note that the 10 minutes from home refers to cycling time. It turns out that 10 minutes in cycling time is more like 40 minutes in walking-your-bike-home time.

Riding my bike into a fence was the consequence of trying to re-arrange fresh produce in my bike basket while riding. After my tyre difficulties this week, our fruit and vegetables were purchased with a car, and came home in a box.

And so, in my kitchen, there is also a box worth of fruit and vegetables and a fridge filled with watermelon, rockmelon and grapes.

What is happening in your kitchen?

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