I am linking this in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.
Last month I was feeling nostalgic about the end of summer. This month I am back to embracing autumn, my long-time favourite season. The days have been delicious lately, with clear sunny skies and a crisp but not painful chill to the air. The leaves are yet to turn, but the light has mellowed from summer bright to autumn glow. The only downside is the dark mornings - I am looking forward to daylight savings ending so my early runs are not black.
Other than the weather, I am enjoying some fun items in my kitchen. This bowl came back from Italy with us and is the perfect size for nuts, chocolate or other small snacks.
Not in my kitchen, but related to the bowl, are other small Italian ceramic purchases. We loved this motorbike and curious duck.
More kitchen-specific are another set of new items from Tesco. Honestly, they expand their 'Free From' range by the month! I was delighted to see the vegan strawberry-vanilla ice cream cones and Mr Bite and I both enjoyed them. The only downside is that the vanilla ice cream component tastes creamy rather than vanilla-y, which I don't love. That is motivating me to eat the ice cream in a mixed up fashion rather than taking the flavours in separately (my tendency). When eaten in that way, the cones are delicious.
I was also pleased to see the butternut squash and kale nut roast. I am sure Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe, a goddess of nut roasts, could make a better version from scratch but I am not a regular nut roast maker. I enjoyed the roast and accompanying sauce but as Mr Bite does not like nuts it's not a great purchase for our household. I ate the roast over a week and it would really be better suited to a family roast dinner.
I served some of the leftover nut roast with cauliflower rice. Did you know you can now buy cauliflower rice in a packet?! I am a bit ashamed to have bought cauliflower rice in a packet, but it was such an unexpected sight I couldn't resist. I saw it in Whole Foods and there were a couple of flavours available. My lemongrass and chilli choice was flavoured with those spices and coconut milk. It was interesting and different to the cauliflower rice I'd made myself. I liked it, but probably not enough to buy again.
Also from Whole Foods is this block of Madecasse dark orange-cranberry chocolate. It's a rare month I share an IMK post without chocolate. Most of my chocolate purchases are fairly dark so this 63% cocoa block is a nice, lighter contrast.
In my kitchen there is also KT Tape to try and address persistent plantar fasciitis pain. My right heal / foot has been troubling me for a while now and I really need to sort the issue out. I've had plantar fasciitis before and suspect I'll be consulting a physiotherapist if this tape doesn't do the trick. Please let me know if you have tried and true cures...or non-tried and true for that matter, as I'll try most things at this point!
What is happening in your kitchen this month?
As you might well guess, that nut roast has me all excited and also sad that we don't get such packaged foods in Australia. I love your italian ceramics and that is odd to find cauliflower rice for sale. Good luck with your heel and with lighter mornings for your runs. Autumn is indeed a lovely season.
ReplyDeleteI did think of you when buying, eating and posting about the nut roast :D
DeleteHow cute is that little duck! Thanks for the peek into your autumn kitchen xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Lizzy!
DeleteMy sister bought a very similar ceramic fruit bowl from Italy (with the lemons) and she had to hold it carefully for the whole time they were on a tour. It survived the trip back to Australia alright :D
ReplyDeleteIf we didn't need to fly home I think we'd have bought more ceramics. It will be dangerous indeed if we ever drive to Europe!
DeleteKari, your opening description of autumn was so lovely I read it aloud to my hubby. (He's used to such things.) ;) Sorry to hear about your foot problems! The only cure I know (and I'm not playing "doctor") is to avoid hyper-extending the arch of your foot -- it pulls the tendon over your heel bone, thus causing pain. For me it meant not wearing flip flops for almost an entire summer. (Wah!) I now swear by Skechers brand shoes. (Go Walk is my favorite style; they have running shoes, too.) Hope that helps. Loved your Italian ceramic pieces and orange cranberry chocolate!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Kim - both for sharing that you liked the opening lines and for that very useful advice regarding my foot pain! I will look into Sketchers shoe options but also keep in mind the hyper-extending risk. I wear ballet flats a lot for work and I've heard they're just as bad as flip flops so maybe I need to re-think those too!
DeleteSorry to hear about your heel condition; I do hope the tape works. We have just clicked over to daylight saving this morning. I love your Italian ceramics; the motorbike is gorgeous. I've been meaning to make one of Joanne's nut roasts for a while - she certainly has a few on her blog xx
ReplyDeleteShe does indeed - I don't think I knew there were so many nut roasts before I found her page!
DeleteI hope you're enjoying the longer days after your wintry winter.
As you've had plantar fasciitis before, I'm sure someone has told you that the best way to stretch and repair your foot is rolling your foot back and forth over a tin of baked beans on the floor, a few times a day. It was actually a Dr in the UK that taught me that trick. It can be so infuriating, hobbling like an old woman.
ReplyDeleteThat little ceramic Vespa is adorable!
I hadn't heard the tin trick!! I knew about rolling but have always had tennis balls promoted to me. I will try a tin for variety - thank you :D
DeleteMy physio recommend the small Coke bottle with the bump in the middle of it - you can fill it with cold water and that helps with the pain as well. Hope you recover soon.
DeleteThere are some interesting things in your kitchen - i love seeing food from other countries. The Tesco range is intriguing, as is cauliflower rice in a bag.
ReplyDeleteAutumn is beautiful! Beautiful little ceramic pieces, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteHi Kari, I love your purchases from Italy.
ReplyDeleteThank you - me too :-)
DeleteThe Italian ceramics are charming, certainly an antidote to Autumn's shortened days and changeable weather. The cranberry-orange chocolate sounds SO delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt is! I don't know why I haven't had those flavours in chocolate before as they work so well.
DeleteThat little bowl is just gorgeous but it's the ceramic duck that had me going 'awww'. Those ice creams look delicious, and that nut loaf looks amazing, but would probably suffer the same fate in our house and I would end up thoroughly sick of it after a week of eating it myself :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope your heel is on the mend soon... I was interested to read the comment about hyper-extension of the arch as I primarily wear flats to work which could go a long way to explaining foot aches of late!
Happy October x
I'm glad you could benefit from the heel advice too! I think sometimes we're doomed in footwear unless we live in trainers, which really don't suit work well. I'm glad you liked the duck too :-)
DeleteI love that little bowl - I actually brought something similar back from Mexico. I try to bring some kind of bowl back from all of our trips, as I think it makes a nice souvenir.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice idea - and then you get to use your souvenirs too :-)
DeleteI saw that cauli rice in Whole Foods and ummed and ahhed about buying some. I quite fancied it, if only because it was so novel! Those cones are really good, and the Tesco vanilla vegan ice cream is really good - a bit Swedish glace like!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see the Tesco vanilla ice cream! I've heard about it through a few blogs and somehow my Tescos never stock it. Ah well, the cones are more exciting anyway :-)
DeleteHello duck! :-) We are so lucky just now (well not today) with that beautiful weather. I always make my own cauliflower rice as it's so easy and quick and you can throw in all sorts of things with it - saves on the disappointment of the ready made stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll be reverting to homemade cauliflower rice too now :D
DeleteI'm usually a dark chocolate fan too, but the odd piece of the lighter stuff is nice, especially if it's good quality and has interesting flavours. Your dark orange-cranberry chocolate sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteIt really is :P
DeleteOrange cranberry chocolate says autumn to me! Love the cauliflower rice. I'd check my local Whole Foods but will need to wait when they reopen after the floods. The nut roast looks incredibly delicious as well.
ReplyDeleteThe motorbike and the curious duck are fab, and so is the small bowl. I love little quirky things like this.
ReplyDeleteamazing. cauliflower rice? and in a packet? i think we may not get that here for a while. love the ceramics. i have a little bowl that a friend brought back from italy which is very similar.
ReplyDeleteOh how I love your Italian ceramics! They're gorgeous! I think you can get a boot for PF which helps while you're sleeping. Biggest thing for me though was untucking the end of the bed sheets - when they were tucked in, my feet would be forced into a ballet point while I slept and in the morning, that first step out of bed would be a killer! Hope you get it sorted soon! x
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