As winter in Sydney oh so slowly relinquished its chilly grip I made the most of slow cooked food, the type we tend to eat only in the cooler months. And ticked off a few new-to-me ingredients I’ve wanted to try. Hence we’ve eaten slow braised ox-tail, lamb necks and a soupy-stew made with pearl barley.
Warming up wasn’t a problem… au contraire… when we sampled the G.O’s cousin’s home-grown & homemade chillies in the traditional manner of their Uncle Ernie.
Because life has been quiet otherwise, I’ve been enjoying Saturday morning expeditions to Eveleigh Famers Market, a chance to stretch my legs with a good walk and the reward of a nanna trolley load of fresh produce. I’m in love with fresh turmeric I add to scrambled eggs for breakfast and Australian blood limes which added to a glass of wine spritzer makes drinking it a summer cocktail experience. Both from Kiwi Down Under Farm at Bonville on the Coffs Coast, NSW.
Also because life has been quiet there’s been time to appreciate crystal rainbows in the kitchen on sunny Sunday mornings, and I’ve indulged in a little retail therapy; adding few -more- cook books to my collection, a retro rose thermos & rose tin, and a quirky skull sugar spoon for sweet tooth G.O. In return, to underline the point we’ll be traveling light when we embark on our caravanning adventures the G.O. bought us foldable spoon-fork-knife doohickeys.
In the last week of August the G.O. and I slipped away for a quick roadtrip to Taylors Arm via Tamworth to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, and picked up a few souvenirs along the way.
Best of all, In My Kitchen at Taylors Arm was blogger Kate from talltalesfromchiconia and her hubby who visited us while on a trip down south.
Thanks to Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for hosting In My Kitchen and the IMK community for foodie inspiration & the virtual company they provide. If you’d like to join in, link back to Celia’s blog.
“For great things do not done (sic) just happen by impulse but are a succession of small things linked together.”
Vincent van Gogh explains what it takes to achieve great things in a letter to his brother Theo (October 1882).
daleleelife101.blog 
And In My Kitchen is the huge vacuum pack of macadamias and the macadamia oil you gave me! The nut oil is destined for salads, it’s far too good for baking, and I’d be surprised if the nuts last longer than a couple of weeks! It was such fun to meet you both after talking on our blogs for months, just like catching up with an old friend…
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We’re officially old friends now, I think 🙂 I’m looking forward to reciprocating the visit. I quite like to add a slug of macadamia oil to blended vege soups like pumpkin to give it depth & gloss.
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Ah, for me, pumpkin soup needs butter, or perhaps bacon fat. Oooh, I just happen to have some rather fabulous bacon, don’t I…?
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That’s a great retro look you have in the kitchen and some interesting meals you have on the go. The sugar spoon is ‘wicked’ I’ll have to see if I can find one now.
I hope you had a wonderful 1st Anniversary.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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Thank you. We really enjoyed our roadtrip anniversary, and covered a lot of ground.
The skull spoon is great… my weird sense of humour is tickled whenever the G.O. uses it and the sugar runs out the holes… but he indulges me 🙂
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Except for the spoon, everything else made me drool. 🙂 Oh and I bought a slow cooker a couple of weeks ago and am starting to experiment. 🙂
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You don’t like the spoon? It’s a hoot! Half the G.O. sweet-tooth’s sugar runs out the holes.
Happy slow cooking 🙂
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lol – I know! That would have me grinding my teeth in frustration. 🙂 I’m thinking of slow roasting a chicken this weekend. I can’t image how it will go without any liquid in there but the recipies say it can be done so who am I to quibble? That said, though, I’m not trusting that recipe without trying it out supervised first. Would not want to come back to a burnt out house.
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You can always do what I do and put it outside 🙂
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lmao – not sure I’d trust either the dog or the alpacas!
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OMG Ella, you and Kate look the same!!!
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There does seem to be a somewhat of a resemblance. I think I’m part of a huge, widespread tribe 🙂
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You two do look like sisters. And I suppose you might guess which items took my fancy- those lovely old tins and the rose thermos. I haven’t come across blood limes but I am sure I would love them.
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It’s interesting how often it’s commented I look like someone else or am asked if I am xxx 🙂
Every time I find a retro-rose treasure I think ‘Francesca!’.
I’m sure you’d love blood limes. I thought finger limes were the ultimate but blood limes have pipped them. They are like a super-lime.
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Great post! Nice to see you, EllaDee!
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Thank you 🙂 I really enjoy the IMK peeks into kitchens the world over.
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ElleDee, it’s great to see you and Kate . You could be sisters. I remember having oxtail soup in Germany and it was delicious. . I have never seen blood limes, how do they taste.? I love blood oranges.
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Thank you. I really enjoyed catching up with Kate & her hubby. For me it was the highlight of our long weekend and the IMK post opportunity couldn’t be missed 🙂
I slow braised the oxtail but next time I’m making soup with it!
I think you will love blood limes. The ones I bought were tiny, the size of quail eggs but with an amazing blood orange – lime flavour.
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I’m thinking of cooking oxtail now, it’s one of my favourites 😀 I love your retro kitchen and have been meaning to tell you I got a bargain from the local op shop. It’s a framed and signed Graciela Rodo Boulanger etching. I bought it for ten bucks because I liked it, but when I got it home and googled it I realised it could be worth a lot more. I love a bargain 😀
And yes, I agree with others here – you and Kate look like sisters 😉
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I’m also wondering if I can wring a couple more winter slow braised meals out of the season. I need to have another go at the oxtail, cook it even longer and slower.
I googled ‘Graciela Rodo Boulanger etching’. Wow. I can see why you bought it. Bonus that it’s collectable 🙂
When I saw the pic more so than when we met, I thought we looked alike too.
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Lovely to see both you and Kate! Lots of interesting bits and pieces here Dale. I remember the fork and spoon/knife/doohickeys from when I was a girl and my brothers each had one to go camping. The cherry and balsamic mixture really caught my eye, as well as the lovely rose thermos and tins. Thanks for the kitchen tour!
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Thank you. When I knew Kate’s visit was coming up, I thought ‘ooh IMK post’, and Kate came prepared with camera!
I’m sure the doohickeys will come in handy, and I got the message about travelling light!
Francesca has been a big retro-rose influence. I saw similar in her IMK posts and was hooked.
The G.O. who reckons he’s not a foodie suggested the cherry and balsamic shrub would be worth a try both as a salad dressing and also as an addition to a slow braise 🙂
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I made a recipe, loved it and then lost it :(, using mostly balsamic and something else, to cook apple halves in, to serve with pork, so that might be another idea. It was just delicious.
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A lovely lot of goodies this month, and that special visitor. It must have been such fun to meet up. I was surprised to see the tumeric. I always think of it as a powder and forget that it comes from a root! It must be delicious in the eggs.
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Fresh turmeric was for me this winter’s superfood. Great as a tea with ginger, honey & lemon, in eggs and stir fried mince and veges. I’m planning to try to grow it and ginger when I get a garden.
It was lovely to meet up with Kate and her hubby. We are part of such a wonderful blogging community 🙂
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I will keep my eye open at the market. I am sure it must be there somewhere. If not, I will have to try the powdered sort. 🙂
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My slow cooker has been a fixture on my counter for the past month. You’ve got a lovely collection of things in your kitchen. Must get my hands on some blood limes. I see the slow cooker being packed away and my cocktail shaker taking its place in the coming warmer months.
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Blood limes and summer cocktails would be a lovely combo, although the closest I get is spritzers & sparkling wines with a piece of fruit added!
In winter unless the oven isn’t working as happened in July I mostly slow cook in the oven to warm up the apartment, and use the slow cooker more in summer for tomatoes, and cold or pulled meats for lighter meals 🙂
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I’ve never seen fresh turmeric. Wow! Oxtail and neck if lamb (not together) were a regular feature of my childhood. My mother tended to follow the old habit of cooking certain things on certain days. Can’t say I was too fond of either too many nasty bits of bone. The meat was ok when you could find it. Didn’t take long to cook though, a few hours say,mbut just low, on top of the stove with the usual veg, carrots, celery onion, maybe potato, as I recall. Usually had cabbage with it I think. I heard oxtail was banned in the UK after BSE, don’t know if it still is. No loss in my opinion! We had something with pearl barley in but I can’t remember what on earth it was.
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I’d be surprised if you can’t grow turmeric. I saved this article http://www.therainforestgarden.com/2011/12/how-to-grow-turmeric.html to my Pinterest page for future reference. All I can say is, for me it’s almost addictive… so good. Our verdict on oxtail was bony… maybe ok for soup. Probably with pearl barley which I love in a soup.
Ah yes, I remember if it’s Sunday it must be corned beef or roast lamb etc, ok… but I loved corned beef fritter Mondays or Shepherds Pie… leftovers have always been my favourite 🙂
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Roast beef Sunday, cold beef Monday, shepherds pie Tuesday with the very last of Sunday’s roast, Wednesday varied, Thursday could be lamb chops or the above bony stews, or corned beef hash, roast lamb Friday, fish on Saturday. Funnily it never felt boring.
I’ll check the linky. Ta.
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Fab spoon. You touch a nerve here as I just love my new toy (well, bought it in Feb) the ice cream maker and sugar is unavoidable. But we only eat tiny portions … Vanilla frozen yogurt, strawberry and rhubarb sorbet ,,, mmmm. I have never heard of much less seen a blood lime. And like roughseasinthemed I’ve never seen fresh turmeric either. Lancashire hotpot is our most famous ‘best end of neck’ of lamb dish. As your seasons are changing one way ours are another and it’s beginning to sound appealing.
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The G.O. just remarked the weather is still coolish, he’s not working tomorrow, so we’re off to the farmers markets where I think we’ll shop for something to cook long and slow. I delight that many of the old fashioned cuts are still such a good buy.
My next kitchen shopping trip I plan to buy an icecream maker. Homemade icecream & frozen yoghurt is wonderful 🙂 Our of the benefits of our new fridge is the capacious freezer has room for icecream. Even though I don’t put it in my tea/coffee I don’t mind sugar, in moderation, itself but the sneaky inclusion of it and its facsimiles in products annoys me.
I had never seen fresh turmeric either but will be searching it out now until I can manage to grow it.
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Ooh – we can swap ice cream recipes – roast banana for example – no cream just milk but awesome!
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Take a look here for growing information for turmeric: http://greenharvest.com.au/Plants/Information/Turmeric.html
If you have a frost free spot at TA and can arrange for enough water, I don’t see why you can’t grow your own. Failing that, I’ll have to become your supplier, since I have the correct climate for it.
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Thank you 🙂 We have a couple of damper spots, so it’s worth giving it a try.
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Every year I promise myself I’m getting a blood lime and a finger lime. Still on the list! That square tin with the rose lid took me right back to being on a family picnic. I instantly smelled nut loaf and boiled fruit cake and felt the pressure under y fingertips to gently get the lid off without getting yelled at for damaging it. Was it a Casbury one, that seems to ring a bell! Groovy little tea pot near the tap. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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**Cadbury**
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I had finger lime on the list but the blood lime has edged in front. Both are wonderful.
The tins are so old and pre-loved there are no remaining labels. But I’m sure they were repurposed for cake, biscuits etc.
Thank you… that’s my favorite ‘spaceship’ teapot 🙂
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If you get a chance at the market tomorrow, go for some brisket. We generally buy a whole beef brisket, get the butcher to trim off the fat (which we keep and render for dripping), and we then take it home and divide it into three rolled joints and small trimmings for stew. Each joint makes two meals for us both, and the stew another so we get 7 meals from one brisket. It’s a succulent, tender and wonderfully comforting cold weather meat.
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I’ll ask, if not available this week I’ll order some 🙂
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Linga Longa Farm Meats had brisket! I’d never seen it there before, so I was very pleased. It’s now slowly cooking in the oven in a bath of beef stock with a few glugs of Cherry and Balsamic Shrub added 🙂
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Ooooh yum… Did you save the fat? Rendered down slowly in the oven, it makes the most wonderful roast spuds.
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I cooked the whole piece for just under 4 hours fat on to keep it ultra moist and to store the leftovers in the fat-cooking juices, which it’s now resting in. It looks amazing. Great suggestion, I had heard of brisket but never thought of cooking it. Thank you 🙂
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If your eyes don’t cross with pleasure when you eat it, I’ll be very surprised…Brisket and shin (gravy beef) are two of my favourite slow cooks, because all the connective tissue melts down and makes them luscious.
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Gosh, never heard of blood limes before, aren’t they gorgeous! Wonder if I can find them here in the UK…
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I hadn’t heard of blood limes either but worth checking it out I think 🙂
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I was just talking to a friend of mine about name changes. She hyphenated her last name with her husband’s last name and said it caused endless problems with paperwork. I think everyone has to do what feels right for them. And doesn’t cause too many paperwork frustrations. 😉
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Systematic hyphenating is a pain… my efforts are strictly ad hoc!
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Lots of goodies in your kitchen and love the rose tin 🙂
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Beware the rose tins… they are addictive 😉
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What a great teapot. With the rainbow, the teapot looks like a dancing girl taking the stage. (Sigh I have a similar faucet – found on sale but still in the box still….someday it’ll get put in where it should be)
Blood oranges, I’ve seen, but blood limes are new to me. Fresh turmeric..something else to look for.
You’re headed to warm-up weather and we are so ready for a cool down ( and soups) People just are never happy, HA HA. Got my year’s supply of Hatch chilies roasted and put up. Even when busy, there are some things that just have to be done. Enjoyed the visit
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Thank you. I also have a kitchen tap at TA still in the box… waiting…
A somewhat rotund dancing girl… laugh 🙂
We’re on the cusp… still eating cool season menu, and salad.
Just a touch of chilli -which is all I can manage- brings out the flavor in a dish.
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The ones from Hatch, NM are only available a few weeks out of the year. Roasted they give a smoky flavor – just chop off a little bit each time – so they last and so it is just a touch. No Ghost peppers, those are really really be careful with them they are so hot. People probably think we are nuts having so many varieties of peppers around, but different flavors and intensity. I’m not a big cook, but experimenting with these is fun…just have water nearby….
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I love the foldable doohickies. 🙂 Now I want some of those too!
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Well, of course… if you and Cherie considering some travels, they’re apparently just the thing!
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