Рецепт April 2021 “In My Kitchen”
April 2021 “In My Kitchen” By Eliot, on April 7th, 2021 Hello! Spring has sprung here. (Thanks goodness!!!!) Along with it has come a deep seeded desire to get OUTSIDE. (Pun intended here. I meant to use deep seeded instead of deep seated.) Cleaning the yard and garden has been our primary task. Right now we have a HUGE pile of brush to dispense with.
Hope it’s warm and sunny where you are!
In My Kitchen is hosted by Sherry’s Pickings and is a great way to get a glimpse into kitchens around the world. Here is what’s happening in our little corner.
From L-R: Cheapo to expensive (at least on our budget)
In May, I’ll be hosting Bottle Shock for Food ‘n Flix. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a loosely based telling of the Judgement of Paris in 1976, pitting old school French wines against the brash Americans from Napa Valley. I enjoyed it immensely. For my foodie posting (spoiler alert), I decided to be ridiculous and host a wine tasting with the following Chardonnays: Trader Joe’s “Two-buck Chuck,” Chateau Montelena 2018, and Stag’s Leap.
So far, none have been uncorked yet. I’m waiting to re-watch the film and do that wine tasting. Look for the announcement post here around May 1.
I’ve kind of been on a wine blitz here lately (at least with buying). Many years ago, my sister and I found some wine bottled in cool fish bottles at a local big box warehouse store. We both bought a bottle and repurposed it for olive oil. We’ve since broken ours but I found this Alsatian wine at World Market. I had to buy it for the bottle itself. I haven’t popped the cork yet (or rather unscrewed it) but the bottle was worth the price.
Last month I mentioned I had purchased spices from Penzey’s. Here’s a recipe for the best sandwich in the world: whole wheat or whole grain bread, a slather of cream cheese, avocado slices, slice of turkey, Penzey’s Sandwich Sprinkle and tomatoes. It’s to die for. No photo but I would highly recommend that Sandwich Sprinkle. Seriously, that spice is something else!
I ordered The Hubs Rodney Scott’s newest (and first) cookbook for Christmas. I had to pre-order it as it wasn’t published until last month. It came and I have used a lot of recipes from it with rave reviews. (Notice I said “I” have used it…The Hubs wants to do a whole hog at some point so that’s his area.) Look for a review of the book here soon.
The results have been fantastic!
If you recall, I tried Blue Apron for a couple of years. Then I recently switched to Hello Fresh. Now I’m on to bigger and better food delivery: LocalFarmOK. Here’s what I got on our first delivery:
Inside the bag was a HUGE amount of lettuce and arugula and four avocadoes. This past Friday, I received this outstanding delivery:
Lettuce, mint, kale, bok choy, sweet potatoes, red cabbage, broccoli, nectarines and peaches.
This company HAS to co-op with other farms across the nation. Otherwise, there would be no way for me to get peaches, nectarines, avocadoes, and artichokes! These bags (left on my doorstep every other Friday) are spurring me on to cook with more fresh ingredients. So far, knock on wood, I have not wasted a single thing by letting it laze about in the fridge until it’s unrecognizable.
Finally, if you’re into foodie fiction, I invite you to read Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor. I’m hosting the April/May edition for Cook the Books. You can read the announcement post here.
Thanks to Sherry for hosting IMK! I’m off to see what’s up in everyone else’s kitchen!
OMG! I almost forgot the BEST thing from our kitchen (or rather patio). It’s an Ooni pizza oven. You might remember from the February IMK post, that we had built a makeshift oven on our patio. We were so impressed with that first version (and after The Hubs did a LOT of research), we decided to purchase an Ooni oven.
We loved it so much that my sister and BiL ordered one, too. They deemed that it resembled the shuttlecraft from one of the Star Trek franchises. (That is, without the chimney.)
These are just a sampling of pizzas. Generally, we make two every Saturday night. Sometimes we use leftovers from the fridge. We’ve created some great combos like Zaatar pizza with roasted chicken and feta; artichoke pizza with roasted red peppers and olives; Soppressata pizza with fresh moz; pulled pork pizza with goat cheese, dilled green tomatoes, red onions, and a drizzle of BBQ sauce; bacon and avocado pizza; and a cheeseburger pizza using a leftover grilled patty with pickles, onions, and cheddar. There are other combinations too numerous to mention.
If you like wood fired pizza, I would highly recommend this little oven. What we purchased was the Ooni Karu 12. We use both hard wood charcoal and some chunks of pecan wood for our cooking purposes.
See you in May!
Clubs and Blog Hops, What we're growing, eating, and doing. In My Kitchen