Thursday, August 8, 2013

In my kitchen - August 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 have been snow pea crisps, a surprise find in the Asian section of Woolworths. Clearly not as good for you as fresh snow peas, but a highly enjoyable crispy, slightly salty snack nonetheless.


In my kitchen, there are some pink beetroot-coloured noodles. I'm very excited to cook with them. It's going to be a beautiful dish when the time comes!


In my kitchen, there is some Rawganic raw chilli and lime chocolate. It sounds good, but it was (is) a bit disappointing. I prefer my recent homemade dark chocolate peanut butter bites


In my kitchen, there was a loaf of 'tropical storm' bread made with spelt flour. My usual bread apathy ceases when you add dried papaya, mango and pineapple, not to mention various seeds.


In my kitchen are these Quorn sweet chilli stir fry strips. I prefer tofu (all Quorn products have egg white in the ingredient list), but Mr Bite loves these. He says they taste just like chicken.


In my kitchen, there is an empty freezer. Our fridge-freezer unit inexplicably stopped cooling properly a few weeks ago, and we had to abandon the freezer when we realised it was only getting to -11'C (versus at least -18'C for food safety). After 'resetting' it - a fancy way of turning it off and then on again an hour later - it seems to be working, but it has to regain our trust before we reload it fully.


As a consequence of the freezer issue, there is also an old, full-size freezer in our garage! This was my grandparents, which had been passed to my parents, where it was sitting unused. Thank goodness we could borrow it.

Our single car garage is a little bit full...

In my kitchen, there were carrot rolls made following Johanna's recipe for the same on Green Gourmet Giraffe (although I made mine without poppyseeds). I predicted that I would like them with vegemite and with vegetable soup, and can attest they worked perfectly with both.


What is happening in your kitchen this month?

37 comments:

  1. great to see your carrot rolls - they look fantastic

    love the heirloom fridge :-) but it is terrible when you lose trust in your eletronics

    most excited about the beetroot pasta - I would buy it in a flash if I saw this about and then I would wonder what to do with it (would be tempted to do a pesto just for colour contrast)

    and I love the name of the bread - I am swayed by a good name!

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    1. Pesto is a great idea, and I have been thinking about colour contrast - corn also came to mind :-) I will also confess to being swayed by the bread name as much as the bread ingredients! It's been a good bread month really, between that loaf and your rolls.

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  2. Hi Kari, Ive got two pumpkins, a spaghetti squash, almond milk and a cauliflower. Some good has to come out of that!

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    1. Spaghetti squash!! Now where did you get that Liz? I have wanted to try it for years but have never seen if near me.

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  3. The beetroot noodles look amazing! You will absolutely have to let us know how they go :)

    Our kitchen this month: broccoli, cauliflower and pumpkin - looking in our fridge you would swear we have been storing for the whole of winter :P

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  4. Wow you've given me lots of new foods to try and find!! I'm going to be travelling for work for the next 6 weeks or more to Canberra so my kitchen is a hotel kitchenette!

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    1. Ooh, have fun Jan! I hope the work trip goes well and that the kitchenette proves versatile ;)

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  5. Nice! Glad to hear the freezer is working again... ours is pretty empty, too, because we have no containers to make and store food. ;)

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    1. Containers are such crucial things! Hope you get some soon :-)

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  6. Carrot rolls sound great!
    And how disappointing to lose your freezer - but how lucky to be able to borrow one!

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  7. We have an old upright freezer downstairs that is old, but trustworthy. Why don't they make appliances to last any more?
    You have some interesting and fun items in your kitchen- I like the idea of the snow peas- but then I am a salt fiend!
    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. The older appliances definitely seem to have a better lifespan than the newer versions. Terrible trend really!

      Glad you like the look of the snow peas, they are delicious and especially so if you like salt ;)

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  8. Kari, you might need to keep the old freezer - before you know it, it will be fully stocked! :) Gorgeous carrot rolls, and there's always stuff in your kitchen which I've never seen before - like snow pea crisps and beetroot noodles! I'm not a raw chocolate fan, I'm afraid, but that loaf of bread does sound really interesting! :)

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    1. I think you're right on the freezer - I'm already imagining how great it will be to make up big batches of things and freeze them! It's been an impossible luxury before now :-)

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  9. Pretty much nothing. I'm bored with cooking right now. Fresh summer fruits and vegetables plus entire cheesecakes in the freezer are doing me nicely.

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  10. Love the Tropical Storm Bread and the pink noodles.

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  11. O - M - G how weird are those pea chips. I bought them in Thailand. I wanted to like them so bad but they are so weird! Also broccoli chips - BLERGH. We have a freezer in our garage too. So handy!

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    1. Bahaha - I loved the snow pea chips! Broccoli, though, I might draw the line at :P

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  12. Shame about the chocolate but the bread looks fantastic. And I'd be interested to try the snow pea crisps - never heard of them! I think I grew up in the days when everyone had a chest-freezer taking up most of the space in the garage xx

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    1. I'm feeling quite attached to our new garage addition now - and one can never have too much freezer space after all :)

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  13. I adore random Japanese snacks - they're always the most innovative flavours and textures and a super surprise every time you try a new one! Needless to say, I covet your snow pea crisps. Ah-mazing!

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    1. Innovative flavours and textures sums it up perfectly Jasmin :)

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  14. I am loving your kitchen, Kari ;). Those snowpea crisps are quite addictive, aren't they? And I cannot wait to see a picture of the cooked beetroot noodle! You're right..it's going to be absolutely stunning. That tropical storm...mmm....
    No need for my usual peanut butter and jelly. At first, I was horrified that you don't have a working freezer! I would faint if that happened to me. I freeze everything! So relieved to hear that you found a substitute for the time being ;). Hope you have a lovely weekend, Kari!

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    1. Thanks so much Min! And I was horrified by the freezer too, believe me :S Thank goodness for the spare!

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  15. G'day Kari!
    You sucked my right in with those Snow Pea Crisps, true!
    never saw them before and loved your beetroot organic noodles too!
    Thanks for providing a delightful kitchen view!
    Cheers! Joanne

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  16. I'll have to keep an eye out for the snow pea crisps, they sound just like my type of snack. The beetroot noodles look like a fun thing to try too. I love a good fruit bread but haven't tried one with tropical fruits - yum!

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    1. The tropical pieces really did make all the difference! I hope you find a similar loaf to try yourself :-)

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  17. Oh, I've been hearing about those snow pea crisps but didn't realise you could pick them up in Woolies - how easy. From one 'bite sized' to another - Thanks for that tip.

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  18. You will never go back to only one freezer now. I have actually just started a list on the side of my stand alone so I know what is in there :-) I do like quorn but have only tried the unflavoured varieties. I love the look of those snow pea crisps for snack attacks.

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    1. I am definitely keen to hang on to the new, large freezer - I'm already accustomed to it and don't want to say good bye! Your idea of having a list on the side is excellent.

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  19. So sorry to hear about your freezer woes. (I can understand your caution until it earns back your trust.) You have a fascinating array of In My Kitchen goodies! What kind of sauce will you pair with the beetroot pasta? Thanks so much for your IMK post!

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    1. I am going to aim for contrasting colour with the beetroot pasta - it will be a rainbow dish if I can manage it! I'll definitely post what I end up doing :)

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