In My Kitchen: September 2021

Oh August. I wrote a huge introduction on how difficult the lockdown has been this month, but upon reading it again I've decided to stay focused on IMK - I am just so happy that the first of the month rolls on by and it's time to revisit my food photos again. 

In my garden...

I have taken a lot of solace in my snow peas, which have flourished during August. There's nothing like picking a few peas to munch on every day after work. 

I've had a lot of success growing radish - it grows quickly and consistently gives me pockets of pepperiness for my salads. 

The rainbow chard and kale took a long time to get started - maybe over a month in the 1-2 inch height stage, before they finally went through a growth spurt. I adore the vibrant colour! 

 

In my kitchen...

I made wontons with some of the turnips from my garden. The greens are kind of spiky but they mince down well - the traditional Shanghainese wonton is made with a vegetable called shepherd's purse, and this was pretty close.  

I started this oyster mushroom farm, which was a birthday present. What a fun weekend project it was, and now it's hiding in a corner waiting to grow. 

I had a profusion of super sour mandarins from the farmer's market so I made a few jars of mandarin jam which turned out really well. I've been having them on everything from toast to pancakes to straight out of the jar. 

On the baking front... aka. Crazy complex baking projects that kept me sane

One weekend I made this zebra bread... it's actually a vegan recipe made with tangzhong, so it kept soft for quite a few days. I did have to adapt it for sourdough, but it worked well.

Another weekend I made leopard bread... 

These were vegan croissants I made for my friend B. I did some research into the science of the butter block in laminating dough and it was super interesting - one needs ~80% fat and so I had to melt copha (100% fat) and nuttelex (60% fat) to make my own vegan 80% blend, which I then set together to make the "butter" block! It laminated quite well and the texture was great, though the flavour was not as rich as butter. 

I made these steamed breast buns at the request of my high school friends (when we get together we are very juvenile!) I made a Hokkaido milk tangzhong dough thinking I would bake them, but I ended up steaming them instead. I made a custard filling for the inside, hoping they would squeeze out, but the egg ended up setting during the steaming process. The chocolate nipples were delicious!

Onto the Food and Music series... 

Due to the lockdown, there has been very little music making in August. I made this black forest cake for my piano duet friend who had her birthday during the lockdown. She is my singles buddy so we were able to celebrate her birthday together. Afterwards we played Schubert's Death and the Maiden - I know, not exactly the prime birthday choice, but it reflects my inner turbulence. 

My string quartet is still meeting once or twice a week on zoom. We drink tea, knit and chat about what we are doing in the lockdown (mostly cooking, knitting and jigsaws). I am very grateful for the support that they have given me in this time, and we are very much looking forward to playing music together again. 

And finally, the curveball. A few months ago, I signed up to volunteer for Ozharvest, an organisation which focuses on the minimisation of food waste and food rescue. I have been cooking in the Ozharvest kitchen where we prepare meals for charities serving the homeless and disadvantaged people. It is inspiring to work with other volunteers who are passionate about the cause. It's amazing to see a pile of food that would have otherwise gone to landfill being turned into something that feeds people in need. When we sit down to have staff lunch, it is a nice way to connect with the food that we are cooking - we have it for lunch, and someone else will be having it for dinner.

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the IMK series. Thanks Sherry!