I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen event, hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.
It is most surreal to find myself writing a final In My Kitchen post for 2016. I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it hard to conceive that 2017 is on the horizon. Here is what my kitchen features in this final, December edition of the year.
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| Besan flour pancakes with Choc Shot chocolate syrup and banana |
In my kitchen were some besan flour (chickpea flour) pancakes. We periodically have a pancake night for dinner where Mr Bite makes traditional pancakes and progresses through a reliable string of fillings (tuna and cheese, followed by banana and nutella, jam, lemon and sugar, and/or chocolate syrup). I vary my pancakes each time and on this occasion made a batch with besan flour - simply 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of water. I had enough for dinner and some the next day, so enjoyed various savoury (tahini, sweetcorn and paprika) and sweet (diced apple with cinnamon and vanilla soy yoghurt; lemon and maple syrup; banana and Choc Shot chocolate syrup) fillings. The banana chocolate version, pictured above, was probably the best.
In my kitchen was the new Pret a Manger vegan Christmas lunch baguette. It features grilled carrots, parsnip puree, crispy onions, chutney, toasted pistachios and watercress. I didn't like it quite as much as the Pret red pepper and artichoke baguette I've raved about before, but it was still very good. As a bonus, a proportion of the proceeds go to helping the homeless through apprenticeships.
In my kitchen were two new varieties of dairy free yoghurt. Sadly, the Koko coconut yoghurt, pictured above, was a disappointment. I found it to taste quite bland and then discovered mould growing in the tub well before its use by date! I did, however, love Alpro's new plain 'go on' yoghurt - so much so that I finished the tub before photographing it. It is marketed as an alternative to strained yoghurt and has the thick, creamy texture I associate with pot set dairy yoghurts.
In my kitchen are flavoured coffees. With a 4-month-old who is some way off sleeping through the night, I need coffee to start my day. The Little's jars are new additions to my kitchen and I've been enjoying the chocolate caramel and french vanilla flavours.
After my morning coffee I move on to drinking rather a lot of tea, but in the interests of my health and Mini Bite's sleep, I try to stick to caffeine free varieties. The Twinings fruit selection box has given me some welcome variety and the Tetley green tea with forest fruits supposedly packs bonus B1 vitamins (I do know that green tea has caffeine!).
I have also been getting B vitamins from Marmite on toast. After being unwell for so many weeks, I suddenly had a massive craving for Marmite, which suggests my body wanted B vitamins and knew how to get them. Seeing the above photograph has sparked off another craving so I may finish this post to go and make another plate of toast!
What is happening in your kitchen this month?
Snap on the flavoured coffee which I will showing off in IMK this month too, i got the banana flavoured one - it was quite expensive though, but its a treat - right! I am selective with which Twinnings I like, my current fave it beetroot, but last year it was Winter spice, nice to try different flavours though. such a shame about the Koko yogurt, i do like the Koko alternative to milk and we have it in the fridge now instead of Alpro
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of beetroot and winter spice teas - I will have to look out for them. And possibly my experience with the Koko yoghurt was just a bad one off (the mould at least) so if you like the milk it might still be worth a try.
DeleteI have you are feeling better now. Like you, I cannot believe that Christmas is looming. Your pancakes look yummy. Happy December to you and thank you kindly for the shout out xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Lizzy :-)
DeleteGlad you are feeling better - well at least enough to have marmite on toast - I love the idea of the Christmas baguette at pret a manger and nice that some money goes towards helping others - and you mention that green tea has caffeine but am I right in thinking it is less than regular tea?
ReplyDeleteYou're right, green tea does have less caffeine - which allows me to justify it even when I'm trying to keep caffeine low! (Especially as I don't ration my chocolate intake and that has plenty of caffeine itself :P )
DeleteSo sorry to hear you haven't been well. I do love marmite and grew up on it in NZ. I also drink fruit tea. I've been buying that brand of yoghurt and love it - it's great in Indian curries too. I've never bought a mouldy one! xx
ReplyDeleteMaybe I need to give the yoghurt another go! And it is so nice to hear from you :-)
DeleteGlad to hear you are feeling better. I am a vegemite gal, and can't go past it on toast (with or without avocado). I love that you have a pancake night - that is something I could get into...I do prefer thinner crepe style pancakes than thick hotcakes and I love having them savoury.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty bad at making thin crepes but somehow I can make besan flour pancakes quite thin. I recommend adopting the pancake night philosophy :-)
DeleteHope you are feeling better. Those flavoured coffees look great and I don't even like coffee (as in the hot drink, coffee cake is fine!)
ReplyDeleteFlavoured coffee with coffee cake could be the way to go :D
DeleteI have heard that Marmite tastes the same as Vegemite but I have never tried it. Pancake night sounds great. When we stayed with a friend in Philadelphia for a few months, we always had pancakes on Monday nights - with icing sugar! and vegetables. a bit weird. Anyway Merry Xmas to you and yours. xx
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of pancakes every Monday!
DeleteMarmite and Vegemite are definitely similar, but they do have a different taste. If you like one there is a good chance of liking the other though. Something to try eventually :-)
Happy Christmas to you too!
I'll have to try using my chickpea flour for pancakes. Some savory ones for dinner would be a lovely change since my boys are always asking for breakfast for dinner. I too enjoy fruit teas, iced in the summer and hot in the winter.
ReplyDeleteYour boys know what they want with their requests :-)
DeleteI'm a big fan of breakfast meals for dinner too :) those flavoured coffees sound very good... I don't think I've ever seen preflavoured coffee on our shelves here so very jealous of that. I'm glad you're feeling much better. The toast looks very good, but I'd slather it with Vegemite myself :-)
ReplyDelete