In My Kitchen November 2017
November already, how the months fly past! I’m linking up with Sherry from Sherry’s Picking the hostess with the mostess for the monthly In My Kitchen forum, a regular get together of worldwide food bloggers who share what’s been happening in their kitchens.
bread making tools
In My Kitchen I have new tools to aid with my sourdough bread baking endeavours. The functionality of the dough scraper way exceeds expectations. I use it to divide dough, move dough and clean up dough that is stuck on my stone bench top.
The lamé, a dough slashing blade with handle, I bought cheaply to try out. After admiring hand carved and hand wrought lamé handles I settled on a cheap plastic number with a fixed blade. It will take some practice to perfect the technique but I do see the ease and advantage of using a thin fine blade for slashing my loaves before baking.
salted anchovies
In My Kitchen I had some salted anchovies. Most people either love or hate anchovies. We love ‘em. When these little guys turned up in my local deli I just had to give them a try. Let me tell you there is no going back to anchovies packed in oil after sampling these. They’re a bit more work to prepare. They need to be soaked to soften them, then filleted, but the flavour is wonderful.
In My Kitchen I have goodies from last week’s Brisbane Good Food & Wine Show.
Oz Harvest Tea Towels
Oz Harvest is a charity dedicated to feeding the homeless and underprivileged by utilising unwanted food and ingredients collected from restaurants, cafes, caterers and food retailers which are then turned into nutritious meals for those in need. I use tea towels to wrap up leafy greens so they stay fresh in my fridge. Using those I purchased from Oz Harvest not only supports this worthwhile charity but will remind me that waste is irresponsible. Oz Harvest, nourishing our community.
salami and cheese
In my Kitchen I have some delicious new products I tried and enjoyed at the Food Show. Firstly there’s a locally made Duck and Juniper Berry Salami from “Goose on the Loose.” It’s quite a taste sensation without the fattiness often associated with salami. The cheeses, both French in origin have been aged to their peak. Herve Mons Gabietou from the Basque region is a delicious firm nutty tasting cheese made with both sheep and cow’s milk. From the same affineur I have the sweet, savoury and buttery Bleu D’Auvergne. These purchases cry out for a good loaf of sourdough and a decent bottle of red wine.
As an adjunct to what happens In My Kitchen I’ve just finished reading “Coming To My Senses” by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame. It’s the story of her young life and the experiences that shaped her ethos as a restauranteur and food campaigner. While Waters is older than me I vividly remember the times when San Francisco was the centre of flower power and counter culture. My journey with food has been an undetectable ripple compared to the impact Waters has had on the current food movements, but I relate to her experiences and beliefs on many, many levels, albeit in a different time and place.
Sherrys Pickings
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37 comments on “In My Kitchen November 2017”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
I really need to get a lame too Sandra, the bread knife really isn’t cutting it (bad pun unintended!) My favourite hack with these things is using a paint scraper as a bench scraper/dough cutter – works great 🙂 And another anchovy fan here though I found the salted ones a bit annoying as they come in such big tins and the salt seemed to get everywhere in the fridge – might just be me though…
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Hi Beck, I saw a great lame hack and tried it the other day. All you need is a square satay stick and a double edged razor. You thread the blade onto the end of the stick then give it a twist to secure it. The lame I bought is disposable I realized after I wrote the post, although the blade may take a few sharpenings it seems to have dulled already.
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thanks Sandra, will give that a go!
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Sandra, thanks for your multi-purpose post.I grew up in a “hold the anchovies” mindset, but have since come to appreciate their flavor — and your prep tips! Loved your recommendations on Alice Waters’ book. (About to search Amazon as we speak.) If you’re in need of another tome to tempt your palate, look up “Becoming Madame” by Olivia de la ‘Valiere… as delightful a read as yours!
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Thanks Kim, I followed Olivia when Becoming Madame was just a lil ol’ WP blog. Didn’t know she published a book. I’ll go look for it right now and then I’m going to read the IMK posts
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My copy of Alice Waters’ “Coming To My Senses” is on the way, yay! (The title alone prompted ordering… your recommendation seconded it.) Thank you! Hoping you can connect with Olivia’s book, too — one of the best food/love stories I’ve read recently — with recipes, to boot! Enjoy… off to catch up with the rest of the IMK’ers. 🙂 Such FUN!
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I just received Alice Water’s book as a birthday present from my husband but haven’t read it yet, I am looking forward to it. I don’t think she is a natural writer so that may be why you think she lacked passion. I will let you know. It came with a reservation to the restaurant at Chez Panisse, where we had a fabulous dinner last night with friends.
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Lucky you, dinner at Chez Panisse is on my bucket list. I have heard Waters speak a few times, very passionately so you’re probably spot on re her writing
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I love salted anchovies and buy them by the large tin full as they keep forever. Yum. And some of my little ones love them too- we train them well. Keen to read that Alice Waters book too.
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Maybe I’ve been wearing blinkers but this was the first time I’d seen salted anchovies. I’m a convert!
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You can get them in a tin- usually from Sicilia- for about $18. They last well once you take the lid off with another plastic lid and all that salt. Great on pizza too.
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mmmm, cheese! I love the work done by OzHarvest, they are such a fab charity.
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Indeed, they’re doing great work..
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Hi Sandra, and happy November to you! I think I like your lamé better than Tandy’s hack from Paul Hollywood (those razor blades are scary!). The sardines look and sound amazing.
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Interesting you say that, I tried Tandy’s idea, it’s actually much more effective. Salted anchovies are great! 😘
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What lovely provisions, I read Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee a wee while ago and it was very good. I will have to go look this book up. Cheers.
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I found Water’s book lacked passion but maybe she’s just not a writer. A bio may be a more enjoyable option
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Oh I love my bread lame, no turning back after you use one. And envious of that duck salami…..
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The duck salami is delicious..
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A packed IMK post! You are right about the anchovies in salt. People say the same about capers. Using tea towels for lettuces etc. in the refrigerator sounds much more economic and environmentally friendly than using paper towels. Must remember to start doing this! Love the sound of that duck salami. Please let us know how the lame works for you. I still use a sharp serrated knife to make my slashes and it does drag the dough a little. Finally, I didn’t know of Alice Water’s book – must add this to my list of cook’s biographies. Have something coming up soon this month on Paula Wolfert, who I think was an influence on Waters.
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Yes a great comparison capers and anchovies. I only use salted capers, much much more flavour and smaller size too. I use my old thin tea towels as well as those that are ugly to wrap anything leafy, as well as celery and spring onions. It really prolongs their life. Water’s biography is a light and interesting read, but not as passionate as I expected
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Now that’s interesting. I have read a blog post about the dough slasher this week and here you have one too. Funny how things pop up in the ether. What a shame I missed the good food and Wine show last weekend. Always so much to do on weekends isn’t there? I’ve just finished that book by Alice Waters too:). I love anchovies especially the white ones. Sooo delicious. Thanks for joining in IMK and the mention. Much appreciated. Cheers S x
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The Food & Wine Show was a bit the same as last year so you didn’t miss much Sherry. I love white anchovies too but they’re no good for cooking with. The salted version were amazing
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Thrilled about the work Oz Harvest is doing and support it every chance I get. Totally a win-win situation! And being Estonian-born I have rarely used anchovies in oil . . . but salted, pickled etc anchovies are ‘there’ almost every day . . . . actually most I use do not have to be soaked at all . . . . obvious breakfast on top of hardboied eggs on top of black bread . . .
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Like the sound of your breakfast Eha, salty fish and eggs are fab together
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I love sardines and good ones are so expensive so i will hunt these out as well as the Alice Waters book. Have you read the memoir Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton – she has a restaurant in New York – it’s very interesting. Oz Harvest is great and the tea towels would make good Christmas presents. I’ve been buying Who Gives a Crap toilet paper – it makes for a laughter filled talking point and friends and visitors leave clutching a roll of toilet paper!
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Haven’t read the book you mentioned but will look out for it. Oz harvest deserves all the help they can get as does that ethical loo paper.
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Your kitchen is full of new flavors and products. The food show appears to have been very neat.
The Alice Waters book looks like a good read! Several other authors have traced the food revolution that started in Berkeley and L.A. in the seventies, but I hope to read this one to get the first-hand account of how it happened. I left Berkeley just before she got there, so I know what the food scene was prior!
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.om
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I’m sure you’ll be able to relate to a lot of what Waters has to say, Mae, it’s always good to have context
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A bench scraper is truly a must, I find myself using it more and more lately. I too have admired the hand carved lames, someday maybe I’ll get one. In the meantime a plastic one works well. The salami and cheeses do sound perfect with wine and sourdough. Nice to know hike you use your tea towels they are supporting a worthwhile cause.
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Both Oz Harvest and their counterpart Second Bite deserve all the support they can get. They’re feeding the needy and saving the planet at the same time!
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I’m a ‘love em’ for anchovies, sadly the only one here. I’d be interested to see what you think of the lame, I just use a plain old razor blade as I cannot see the value in the pricey ones. I didn’t like the one I had like that, but one thing I have learned is that different things suit different people, so you go with whatever works for you. Those scrapers are brilliant! Love Oz Harvest too, so logical. What an interesting read that book sounds. there are some amazing stories about truly amazing people around. Thanks for the peek!
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You’re welcome. I’d been slashing loaves with a steak knife until I got the lame and that worked for me. I think if wanted to do intricate patterns the lame would work but on a day to day basis I could manage without. How do you handle the razor without a handle?
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I have a plastic scraper. Doesn’t sound nearly as useful as yours!
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I have plastic scrapers too and find them best on the curved surface of a mixing bowl. the metal scraper is very useful
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Hello, do you soak the sardines in water or milk? Louise
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Hi Louise, I soaked these salted sardines in water to soften them so I was able to remove the backbone. I would have done a second soak in milk if they had tasted super salty, but it wasn’t necessary
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