In my kitchen - September 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

After missing a few In My Kitchen posts, it is nice to be back for September. Here are some recent highlights from my kitchen, from new products to old staples.

A new product and an old staple comes in the form of tinned barley by Napolina. I love barley, but don't always love the time taken to cook it. Having a tin on hand is excellent when I need a quick meal (which is often).

Tinned barley

Every work day I buy a coffee from the coffee shop at my local train station. (I know this is a luxury). While they are making my oat milk latte, I ponder the cabinet with pastries and muffins. It has been years since I had a Danish pastry, but recently, they have been taunting me and making me wish a vegan alternative was available. I'm not aware of any vegan Danish pastry offerings so I made a version myself with Jus Roll puff pastry, Alpro custard, stewed apples and strawberries. I can't pretend these were authentic but they were tasty.

Vegan 'Danish pastry' variants

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In my kitchen - June 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

We are half way through 2018 and summer is in the air. I have had lunches that mix warm soup with fresh summer produce (above) and my first green smoothie for the year (below). I also seem to have purchased an enormous number of new vegan-friendly products this month, so this will be a very full IMK post!

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In my kitchen - May 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

We all say this regularly but...how is it May? We're more than one quarter of the way through 2018 and I don't know where the days and weeks are disappearing to.

With the new month upon us I am sharing another peak into my kitchen, which this month brings a mix of old and new products.

'Old' includes these red onion and chive bagels from the New York Bakery Co. I've enjoyed them at various points over the years, moving through phases when bagels appeal and then phases when I'm not too interested. Mini Bite actively disliked these, which is unusual for her, but I find them a nice (if denser) change to bread.

Another rediscovered product is kiwi fruit. I have spent the last 25 or so years actively avoiding them, after I ate a kiwi fruit every day for months as a child and then got thoroughly sick of them. It seems 25 years is enough time for my kiwi interest to return.

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In my kitchen - April 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

In my kitchen there is an impressive amount of chocolate. I could attribute this to Easter, but that would be somewhat unfair. In truth, there is always a lot of chocolate in our house and Easter has just increased the quantities further.

Vegan friendly hazelnut chocolate bars, thanks to Marks and Spencer

Not directly related to Easter are dairy free chocolate bars from Marks and Spencer, as pictured above. UK vegans may know the hazelnut studded Vego chocolate bars, which are delicious and moreish and akin to Nutella in chocolate bar form. M&S have brought out a comparable bar of their own, the Gianduja bar. As shown below, it even looks the same as the Vego equivalent. It is also just as tasty and just as dangerous to have in the house! The Novi' block, pictured in the middle above, also features hazelnuts but I'm yet to try this.

Also not Easter-related, albeit bought when buying other people Easter chocolates, are the sour cherries in dark chocolate sold by Lidl. I've had these before and they strike a nice balance between sweet dark chocolate and sour dried cherry interior.

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In my kitchen - March 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

I mentioned snow in my February IMK post and March has started the same way. Spring is yet to spring in the UK and last week brought the heaviest snow I've seen. My kitchen overlooked white scenes and a good foot of snow that lasted several days.

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In my kitchen - February 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

In my kitchen, the days are getting longer. Last week it even felt a bit like spring - but then this morning it snowed, proving we are not quite there yet.

To offset the wintry weather and the reduced variety in winter fruit, my kitchen regularly has imported berries. I ease my guilty conscious slightly by trying to find ones that come from southern Europe rather than south America (fewer air miles).

In my kitchen are new vegan 'chicken' slices by Quorn. I was very excited to see this addition to the vegan Quorn range. The slices are very reminiscent of chicken, although a little too processed for my usual tastes.

 

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In my kitchen - January 2018

I am linking this into the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings

It is surprisingly easy to write 2018. We are a week into the new year and I am enjoying the freshness that January brings, even as the festive atmosphere of Christmas fades and leaves us with dark mornings and nights that are unadorned by Christmas lights.

In my kitchen this month are old favourites and new products. Berries are high on the 'old favourites' list. With winter fruit options revolving around apples and citrus, they are a welcome alternative.

Also welcome is soup. I have recently discovered the refrigerated range of soups in supermarkets, many of which are vegan. Clearly they are not as good as homemade, but they are much nicer than tinned and very easy for a quick winter lunch. Mini Bite is now able to manage chunky soups on a spoon so they are a useful new lunch option for her too. Sainsbury's lentil dhal soup, pictured below, was a recent favourite and we also love the Glorious Indian cauliflower, chickpea and turmeric option.

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In my kitchen - December 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

I suspect a lot of December IMK posts will start with some reflection, or expression of alarm, about the end of 2017 drawing near. I too have no idea how we're at this point of the year. Winter is upon us and Christmas is on the horizon. Here is what is happening in my kitchen as we hurtle towards 2018. 

In keeping with Christmas, I recently brought home the M&S vegan Christmas chestnut roast wrap. There are quite a few vegan Christmas wraps and sandwiches about, and I have also tried the Pret a Manger and Boot's sandwiches. If I'm honest, I preferred both of those to this wrap, but it was nonetheless pleasant enough. I think the chestnut flavours were just slightly too strong for me. 

More successful was this vegan and gluten free pumpkin pie I found at Whole Foods on a recent journey across London (if I can manage it, any journey across London features a stop at Whole Foods).

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In my kitchen - November 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, currently hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

In my kitchen, it is often dark. I mentioned in my last post the end of daylight savings, but when I wrote it, I hadn't yet had a post-daylight savings workday. I'm officially in the stretch of the year when I leave for work in the dark and return from home in the dark. (I have a long commute, so it is at least light when I arrive at and leave work.)

Despite the darkness, there are bright food features to be found. I had to laugh at this 'Leapin Lemurs' cereal. The name amuses me and its pretense at being healthy amuses me. I bought it to snack on and I love the puffed peanut butter and chocolate flavoured balls - effectively a vegan version of Reese's peanut butter cup cereal. However, I can't imagine eating it for breakfast.

Instead, I have been having quinoa porridge for breakfast at home and packaged up to take to work. It is something I used to do a lot but then forgot about. I make mine by cooking 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk, a diced apple, some vanilla, and some cinnamon or mixed spice. You can add a little more milk on serving if needed and additional fresh fruit. It is delicious warm or cold and I'm glad I've brought it back into rotation.

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In my kitchen - October 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, currently hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

In my kitchen are some old favourites and new finds. The old favourites include English muffins (topped with hummus, Marmite, jam, or nothing at all) and autumn-appropriate porridge. A decadent English muffin twist includes almond butter with raspberries and vegan-friendly, sugar-free chocolate sauce. A fork is required!

Other favourites include Nakd bars picked up on offer from Sainsburys, who currently have a 50p deal happening. I was able to try out the new cocoa coconut flavour, which is now my new favourite. It tastes just like I remember coconut rough chocolate! I expect I'll buy a few more bars before the 50p offer ends.

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In my kitchen - The first birthday edition {August 2017}

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, now hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

It was this time last year that I introduced Mini Bite to the blogging world via an In My Kitchen post. It seems appropriate to mark her first birthday in the same way now. I will not even attempt to summarise the learning, highs, low, development, milestones and laughter-to-tears that accompanies the first 12 months of a babies' life. Instead, I will share a few recent pictures and showcase her two birthday cakes - a fruit based tier for her, and a vegan chocolate cake for us.

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In my kitchen - July 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, now hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

Well. Hello. I didn't intend to drop off the blogging radar for a fortnight, although in hindsight I could probably have predicted it. The shift from maternity leave to work wasn't quite as monumental as the opposite transition a year ago (work to new motherhood), but it isn't far off. Time is short and time for blogging is not, if I am honest, at the top of my list.

Given all of this, I am pleased to be able to check in now and showcase my busy July kitchen.

Local strawberries, blackberries and cherries

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In my kitchen - June 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, now hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

June. The mid-point of the year, with long days and the commencement of summer. The weather is warming up and it won't be long before smoothies and frozen banana soft serve are present in my kitchen. They aren't here yet - but here are some things that are featuring this month.

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In my kitchen - May 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round-up, now hosted by Sherry of Sherry's Pickings.

Despite the above photo, in my kitchen there are no more spring flowers. I was delighted to grow tulips for the first time this year, but they are finished and local daffodils are looking rather tired. We are fortunate to have lots of bluebells flowering near us, but it seems spring bulbs flower earlier each year and so finish before spring is over.

My In My Kitchen posts often feature novel products or treat items, and so I thought I'd share an insight into my 'normal' products this month. As the photo below shows, we are not one to have an empty fridge (!) and at any given time there will be several Tupperware-style containers filled with leftovers or washed fruit.

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In my kitchen - April 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round up, currently hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

Another month and another peak into my kitchen, thanks to the fun round-up currently hosted by Bizzy Lizzy.

It is officially spring in the UK and with the warmer weather comes an embarrassing amount of ice cream in my freezer. No, really, a truly embarrassing amount:

In my defense, all of the above items were new-to-me options that were dangled in front of me by Ocado. In an example of good marketing, Ocado offered me 3 months of free home grocery deliveries and, like a good consumer, I have made multiple orders that I otherwise wouldn't have done. (To non-UK readers, Ocado is an online grocery chain that offers lots of gourmet and vegan items.) I love all of the above ice creams, although the two Fry's tubs are not very sweet and Mr Bite was not a fan.

In addition to new ice cream flavours, the Fry's company have released some new frozen savoury items. I loved their stir fry strips made from rice protein and chia seeds (you can't detect either in the flavour, which is of rosemary and sage) and also enjoyed their Asian spiced burgers. Both are very faux meat-y and so aren't something I'd eat too regularly, but as faux meat products go they are excellent.

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In my kitchen - March 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round up, currently hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

Spring flowers - visible from my kitchen

Happy autumn to my Australian readers. We have a few weeks until spring officially starts in the UK, but it is starting to feel spring-like as the days grow longer and spring flowers start to appear. Indeed, some are visible from my kitchen, thanks to the bulbs I planted last year starting to sprout.

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In my kitchen - February 2017

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen round up, currently hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

We are through January and into the second month of the year. In our part of the UK, January was cold with maximum temperatures often around 0'C. In contrast, my Australian family have described 40'C temperatures in Perth. My long term readers will know what I prefer! Whatever your current weather is, I hope you are keeping appropriately warm or cool.

Indoors from the cold, my kitchen has seen some new vegan products from Marks & Spencer. An M&S foodhall has opened within walking distance of us, which is exciting for me if not for our finances. Fortunately it is a half hour walk so my visits and spending will be moderated! I was pleased to pick up their new vegan sandwiches, shown above, after a long period where M&S lagged behind other food chains in providing vegan sandwich options. I expected to like the Rainbow Veg option best, with its red pepper bread and chilli squash filling, and it was enjoyable. However, I preferred the Super Greens pack with minted edamame and pea crush on linseed and chia bread.

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In my kitchen - January 2017

Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things is taking a break from hosting In My Kitchen this month but the central round up will be back in February.

2017. In many ways, to my surprise, it feels less odd to write that than I might have expected. 2016 was such a full year (featuring the significant milestones of pregnancy, birth and maternity leave) that it seems appropriate to be into a new year now.

Dairy free Marks & Spencer truffles; Caramel Choices truffles; Mini Moo flavoured chocolate bars

With the new year, there are some exciting products in my kitchen. I was extremely fortunate with Christmas chocolates, as featured both above and below. These complement birthday chocolates from earlier in December, meaning I am doing well in the chocolate stakes at present!

Marks & Spencer 85% cocoa chocolate; Montezuma orange and geranium dark chocolate

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In my kitchen - December 2016

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.

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.

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In my kitchen - November 2016

I am linking this in to the monthly In My Kitchen event, hosted by Lizzy of Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.

Another month and another peek into my kitchen. November brings cold weather, dark evenings (daylight savings has ended) and Christmas items in shops (but not yet in my kitchen). It also brings lots of autumn colours and there are some gorgeous scenes around us.

To balance out the dark and cold days, November sees even more new vegan products in my kitchen. It is a good time to be vegan in the UK! The Linda McCartney range has several new vegan additions, including the pulled 'chicken' pictured below.

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