In My Kitchen- January 2013

Welcome back to my kitchen!

Another year of living to do- one day at a time-

one meal at a time- one recipe at a time.

In my kitchen…

005

is my new laundry detergent.

I am so sick of EXPENSIVE and gaggingly perfumed

laundry detergent.  And I’m tired of hearing all the

claims for clean and bright clothes that are no more clean

than they should be for much more cost.  Plus they are

so sudsy that it never seems to rinse out properly.

So, when my niece gave me this recipe-

020

I started making my own.

This is so much more economical.  And it rinses out beautifully- PLUS- my clothes smell

clean – not perfumed- and they look brighter.

I just made a second batch- using Fels Naptha laundry soap bar instead of Zote.

018instead of pink-it’s yellow-047

But it works just as well- and hardly cost more than  25 cents a load!

In my kitchen…

008

Is this lovely sea glass candle holder-

028

So pretty when lit up from the inside!

In my kitchen…

026

is a delicious selection of teas- Lemon and Ginger, Rooibus- Painted Lady,

a wonderful masala chai, and Keemun- one of my favorite afternoon black teas.

In my kitchen…

 009

is a jar of preserved lemons that my darling Willow made me for Christmas-

I have a book of recipes in my Ohio kitchen that I am dying to try with these!

In my kitchen…

049

Is pizza- enough to feed my family and then a little left over for lunch later this week.

In my kitchen…

061

is this sauce- from one of the parishioners at my son’s church.  I don’t know Ethel- but

she makes a killer butterscotch sauce!

In my kitchen…

063

is this truffle trio!  I’ve used the salt, and tasted the honey- it is so deep and flavorful-

can’t wait to play with them!

In my kitchen…

062

Craison –nut oatmeal cookies.  Just perfect after the holiday onslaught of sweets!

In my kitchen…

 

067

are some really good bottled glazes and chocolate toppings.  This one is great on top of

pork tenderloin!

Well- that’s my kitchen down here in Chincoteague!

What’s in your kitchen?

Join the fun at Fig jam and Lime cordial, and take a look at all the bloggers sharing their kitchens!

December …by the Atlantic.

053

The road out to Assateague was recently repaired!

054

The beach still needs some work- there are huge pieces of the asphalt on the beach.

062

The wind was blowing sand into our faces- Luke was brave to smile!

065

Both of my sons- brave and handsome- and dear to my heart!

074

And my beautiful daughter in law, Willow- have I mentioned it was VERY COLD?

079

The sky was gorgeous!

076

I’m so happy to see the beach again. 

Even in the wicked cold.

And the crazy strong wind.

SNOW

007009

Thought I’d share a little of the snow that we accumulated yesterday and overnight!

010011012

013

For all of those who live in warmer climates- here is some holiday snow!

003

And some Macadamia thumbprints with dark chocolate and sea salt caramel! 

I’ll try to write up the recipe later.  Delicious!

Next to the last minute goodies!

002

Chocolate marshmallow reindeer with pretzel antlers and a cinnamon candy nose!

003004006007008

001

Really quick and easy to make- I made 30+ in less than 45 minutes!

 

021

Caramel corn.

Pop about 7 quarts of popcorn- I used an air popper and ran it twice.  Make sure the kernels are all popped

-discard the old maids.

In a small pot mix together the following:

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup margarine or butter

Bring to boil on moderate heat.  Once you have a boil

stir constantly  for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add:

* 1/2 tsp baking soda

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir over your popcorn ( have popcorn in large roasting pan)

and then pour on top of popcorn.  Don’t worry about coating it all at this point,

put the popcorn in the oven preheated to 250 F or 120C and bake for 1 hour,

stirring every 15 minutes.

Cool – then break up into smaller pieces and enjoy!

023

I put mine in plastic decorating cone bags and added a popcorn heart to dress it up!

037

,a nice and easy way to give bread is to shape it into stars.  Just use your favorite

dough and shape it into five long rolls- place them together into a star shape- make sure

the inside points are touching and then use an egg wash and sesame seeds to add a little

sparkle and flavor.

038

I’m almost ready for Christmas!

How about you?

In My Kitchen- December 2012

025

Actually- I’m starting out with – Outside my kitchen window!

The sky last night was a riot of colors- this is pale by comparison-

but I can’t seem to get the whole scheme of color to show up when

I’m posed behind the camera.  It was so lovely!

In my kitchen…

019020

I’m geared up for Christmas- here are a couple of the “Santa Bags”

I’ve been knitting to hold the goodies I’m making!

In my kitchen…

002

a boxful of goodies ready to send to my secret Santa exchange-

lavender wands and sachets, felted handmade soap and crocheted

dish cloths.

In my kitchen…

005

Dinner!  Italian sausage and sauce over bow  tie pasta with avocado and garlic bread.

In my kitchen…

007008

TWO birthday cakes for my husband’s birthday!

011

Red velvet layer cake with salted caramel chocolate garnish and a chocolate crazy

cake with dark chocolate and peppermint crushed on top.

In my kitchen…

012

herbs for a kitchen holiday wreath.

017

Wire them together- parsley,rosemary, thyme,fennel,sage, and bay leaf-

018019

Shape into a circle- add a bow.(I just noticed the old bandage on my thumb- sorry.)

022024

and hang up in your kitchen.  When it dries out- you can sprinkle the herbs into your recipes-

025

or take off the bow and toss the entire wreath into a soup pot!

In my kitchen…

026

are fruitcakes, getting their last basting of brandy!

027

In my  kitchen…

029

are roasted nuts packed in honey!

028

I got the idea for this from the Bush Gourmet jar that my niece, Meredith,

sent me.  Delicious- but I’m an American and needed a little extra salt to finish up

the flavor- so I asked her to send me the honey and I added salted roasted nuts

031

to this honey!  These are so good- I made up a lot so I could bear to give

some away as Christmas gifts.

In my kitchen…

035

taking up valuable space on my kitchen table is this paper pile.  I started

making my own Christmas cards years ago- and try as I might- I just can’t send

out boxed cards anymore.  Although I have drastically cut down on my Christmas

card list- I’ve got to get these finished and send them off.

034

In my kitchen…

038

is this book my sister-in-law gave me.  I’d dearly love a masonry oven

outside my kitchen door.  I’ve been reading and trying to figure out

how to make this happen- but, well- it doesn’t look like it will happen

anytime soon.

So I took a picture of it next to my wooden tree to share with you!

037

Merry Christmas from my kitchen to you and yours!

Check out other “In my kitchen” posts on Celia’s blog , Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.