In my kitchen: April 2021

Is it true that every month of your life goes faster because you are getting closer to the end? Certainly feels like it at the moment! I had quite a bit of time off work in March, did lots of writing and drawing, and also did the sugar project...

In my garden...

My pumpkin Alfonso grew to a very healthy size. His leaves died off and when I snipped them away, a whole set of green leaves grew again. Then in the massive NSW storms, his stalk rotted off and I had to harvest him. He weighed in at a very healthy 4.187kg!

The radishes are growing really well and their leaves have been less bitter than previous batches. 

The purple shiso has been excellent this year, and I'm quite addicted to drinking it as tea. I took some to my friend's place and he has the most adorable tea sets. I think this single shiso leaf in a pot is quite pretty...

On the baking front...

Another month, another Jewish vegan baking project. This time it was hamantaschen for the festival Purim, where the pockets symbolise the defeated enemies of the Jewish people. These were gluten free, the pastry made with rice flour and the stuffing a paste made of date and poppy. Crumbly and delicious!  

I made a blue cheese and walnut loaf for my friend, and the smell of this baking was incredible! 

My friend L gave me Modern Sourdough - Sweet and savoury recipes from Margot bakery for Christmas and I'm planning to bake my way through the book. The method is slightly different to my usual one with a long pre-ferment and different mixing method, but the results are similar. 

I love these simple but gorgeous puff pastry rose tarts, filled with plums this time

Sourdough donuts! Who knew that they would puff up so good? We made quite a few different shapes, but my absolute favourite were these kangaroo ones made with a kangaroo cookie cutter I bought during Covid (I planned to send kangaroo cookies to my friends in Canada... but still haven't done it!) 

Onto the Food and Music series....

I made wonton noodle soup one night for my string quartet, accompanied by Beethoven's Op 18, No.1. We are going through a strange patch at the moment with everyone's availability not quite lining up, and eating late means that we don't even get to play very much... 

Continuing with the beautiful plating of salads theme, my string quartet had chicken stew one night and I made this spinach, rocket, pear and pomegranate salad. I adore the splash of red that the pomegranate juice brings to the dish. After dinner we played Beethoven's Op 18, No. 2, for no reason other than S was also playing this in Paris! 

We made this cherry clafoutis one night when my friend L was visiting Newcastle. She is the most incredible pianist, such a talented and expressive musician. Together we played Bach's A minor violin concerto, a very longstanding dream of mine, and Mozart's G major violin concerto. 

And here is my curve ball, a stick insect that I found on my front door one day!

Thanks for coming for a whirl around my kitchen this month, I'm sending this to Sherry who hosts the monthly In My Kitchen series - thanks Sherry!