In My Kitchen – June 2015

By Thecookspyjamas @thecookspyjamas

There seems to be a lot of fresh produce In My Kitchen this month. My dad gave me three baby pumpkins from his summer harvest. Each is the perfect size for a batch of roasted pumpkin soup. One seems a touch green but I am hoping that it will cook up well.

Mr Grumpy's workmate has a tree laden with avocados, so Mr Grumpy engaged in a little bartering this month. One dozen of our freshly laid eggs for half a dozen avocados. Given the price of avocados in the shops at the moment, I feel we got the better end of the deal. Now we just need to wait for them to ripen.

I have been stocking up on the new season walnuts that have started to appear at the farmer's market. A fresh walnut tastes sweet and creamy, and completely different from the shelled walnuts I usually buy. They are nice to snack on, although unfortunately I don't appear to own a nutcracker. We have taken to crushing the nuts to get to the kernel, which leaves the nut meat slightly squished. I am thinking a nutcracker needs to be a priority purchase this month.

Years ago, when we lived in England, our local Indian take away did a cracking dhansak curry which I absolutely loved. I have yet to find a decent dhansak anywhere in Perth, so when I found this dhansak curry powder in a local Indian specialty store last week I snapped it up. I also picked up these cute Indian dishes as food photography props, which I have already put to good use. Now I just need to blog more curry recipes.

Staying on an Indian theme, my new rice cooker has a setting for flavoured rice, so I picked up these Turban Chopsticks Rice Kits in Woolworths. I always keep a jar of curry paste or a meal kit in the cupboard for an emergency meal, and am a huge fan of the Turban Chopsticks range. Their kits and curry pastes contain no artificial ingredients, and all are packed with flavour.

Apparently I have not been baking enough of late. It seems that no sooner do I bake a cake or a batch of muffins, they are demolished by The Princess and Mr Grumpy. I whipped up a quick batch of these Coconut Chocolate Bliss Balls this week to try and fill the gap until I find time to bake.

Short and sweet for my kitchen this month. Don't forget to hop over to Celia's at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to see what is happening in other kitchens around the world.