Monday 2 January 2023

In My Kitchen: January 2023

Welcome to 2023! December 2022 was quite a whirlwind, let's take a look together in my kitchen.

Starting in France...

I started December in Paris visiting S. My music friend also came over from Vienna for the weekend, and we had a really nice catch up - we haven't seen each other since COVID!

Black forest cake from a very, very fancy patisserie Mori Yoshida 

I almost always buy artichokes when I'm in France since they are hard to find in Anglophone countries.. these were so delicious and fleshy.

A lovely rose that S' friend brought him all the way from Israel. The flavour was quite unique, tart and complex. 

Back in Toronto...


I tried scoring Christmas trees into my sourdough... 


8-strand sourdough challah for a music gathering one Sunday afternoon. How I love plaiting dough.



Lovely gingerbread cookies made by my friend. They are just perfect in texture, slightly soft with a great chew. 


Then, I got sick. I was sick for the last 10 days before I flew out to Italy for Christmas... I was so sick that I took 3 days off work, something that I don't ever remember doing. Here is the takeout S ordered me thanks to Ubereats (he was still in France) - my favourite congee, fresh rice noodle rolls with shrimp, and spicy turnip patties. 

And though I was sick, I was committed to the sourdough panettone project. I was so happy with how they turned out! 

Christmas in Italy...


There is nothing in the world like fresh pasta. 


I shaved the zucchini with a veg peeler and marinated it in some of his mother's home grown lemons. The antipasti mix we bought from the fantastic pasta shop Artusi in Padova. 


Sole fillets we roasted in the oven in a bath of lemon juice and olive oil, topped by sage freshly picked from his brother's garden. This was so simple and so delicious. 


Roasted carrots with he lemon-oregano-parsley oil left over from Christmas dinner, and braised brown lentils with beautiful local cabbage


This was part of the Christmas spread - swordfish and artichoke hearts. 


Spaghetti con vongole - freshly caught clams with the taste of the sea... 


And can one EVER have enough pasta? This pasta is cut to order, so it is literally as fresh as you could make yourself. The sauce was excellent. I could just move into that shop... 

The Curveball


So the curveball this month is a special snippet of Venice - what a beautiful view of the water, with a cute little bridge.. The big white building in the background is actually the most insanely ornate hospital I have ever seen. What a romantic place to get engaged, right in front of the hospital ;) 

Thanks to Sherry for hosting the In My Kitchen series, which has given me so much joy in revisiting my food photos every month. Thanks also to the community of food bloggers out there who keep this tradition going, for sending your encouraging comments. Happy 2023!

14 comments:

  1. I hope you are implying that you got engaged in front of the hospital! If so, all my best wishes and I hope you tell us your plans!

    Have a wonderful year in 2023. Keep posting all the utterly gorgeous food, like the food in today's post. Please!

    best...mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Mae, well I didn't want to make it a big deal but I figure some of you have been following our love story for a while! No doubt there will be more food photos of the journey :)

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  2. just what i was going to say! are you engaged? how exciting. congrats if so. your challah looks divine, as does the zucchini and the fish and ... Venice looks so beautiful - one day ... Hope you're feeling well now. Do you mean that your fella ordered ubereats for you from another country??!! all best wishes for 2023 to you, and thanks for being part of IMK. cheers sherry x

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    1. Hi Sherry yes we found out that you can order Ubereats for anybody anywhere as long as you have an account! So I've ordered it for him in Paris and he ordered it for me in Toronto.. I even ordered it for friends back home in Sydney! Thank you for your warm wishes and for hosting :)

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  3. Glad you got to see your friend! Happy 2023! Hope you are better now! I also just missed three days of work. Take care!

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    1. Thanks for visiting Debra! Hope you are all well and recovered now

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  4. I had so much to say (like sorry you were sick, and oh that pastry, and Italy in December) but then I saw the special words about Venice! Congratulations! May you have a lifetime of happiness and music, and good food xxx

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    1. Thank you Tandy for your warm wishes, we do hope to have a lifetime of happiness, music and delicious food :)

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  5. Congrats on your engagement! I am happy for you.
    Your post makes me hungry and no, you can't ever get enough pasta!! That's one of my food loves. I made a spinach butter garlic pasta that is amazing and I hope I don't mkae it so much that I get tired of it - haha.

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    1. Thanks for sharing in our happiness Tina! I totally agree with you that pasta needs its own food group, especially the freshly made pasta with an excellent sauce...

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  6. Can't agree more, fresh pasta is the best. Venice is a wonderful place and we loved our visit too. Have a great new year :)

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    1. I need fresh pasta in my life all the time, but it's hard to find when you live in non-Italian countries :)

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