This January 2014 I want to start off by wishing Celia from Fig Jam And Lime Cordial and her family, an amazing year! Thank you for inspiring us each month to share with you what is new in our kitchens. This month I start with what is new in my garden!
I was given a fantastic food hamper from Pick N Pay in anticipation of the opening of their new store at the V&A Waterfront. The store is amazing and so worth a visit, if not for the gelato at the entrance or the great tea and coffee bar, then for the fresh duck and rabbit! I used the box from my hamper to plant my tomato seedling into and hopefully I will have an abundance of tomatoes.
Dave has taken to making open omelettes for breakfast and our omelette pan is not very suitable for the oven as even though it fits in quite nicely, it does not sit in the centre due to the handle. Dave wanted a small round pan and I gave him this braising pan as a Christmas gift. It has a lid which means I can use it for casseroles and it has been tested with an open omelette made with leeks, tomatoes, asparagus and feta and works excellently.
I was given a gift voucher from yuppiechef and I decided to use it to buy the salt cellar to go with my pepper grinder from Le Creuset. I must say that my table looks really good now with these beautiful cherry adornments and they work well!
Last December I gave my Bennett & Read automatic dustbin too much of a good clean. I broke the mechanism which automatically lifts the lid when you wave your hand in front of it. I finally decided to get myself a new dustbin and chose a rather large one! It has a separate holder for recycling which is perfect. The lid also locks open making changing the bag really easy, and the bag hides away inside the bin. It is meant to be fingerprint proof as well! I have moved the old dustbin into the scullery to take the recycling as we need all that extra space.
I am still obsessed with bread making, even though my starter is in the freezer. I placed it there for ‘safekeeping’ before we went to Italy and I have not had the time to make bread since then. But I have been watching the very dishy Paul Hollywood bake bread on TV and so I decided to buy his book as a Christmas gift to myself. Sadly it does not have his recipe for stollen in it which I wanted to make as a gift for my mom.
I have come to rely on my Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer a lot. It is so easy to use and so easy to clean and I have a lot of attachments. But, I think the newest addition is going to be the best one yet. It is a flex edge beater which means that the ingredients get scraped from the edge of the bowl as it is beating. I have not tested it yet but I am sure looking forward to doing so when I get to bake while I am on leave.
A few months ago I attended a bread making course courtesy of Taste Magazine. Not only did we learn a lot about bread, which if you follow me on twitter you would have read about already, but we also got to do a charcuterie and beer tasting. The beers were from Triggerfish Brewery which is owned by Eric. Eric gave me some stout to make my chocolate stout cake which Taste Magazine featured in their December copy. I was so chuffed to see my recipe professionally styled.
What I blogged:
- two years ago – In My Kitchen
Happy New Year, Tandy!
Love the series “In my kitchen” for several reasons: curiosity above all as I like to see what others buy and use in their kitchen, and I am very tempted to have a go at it.
The flex edge beater for instance, how often do I have to manually assist my mixer instead of the other way around!
We have a stollen recipe in the family, tell me whether you would like to have it and I will send it to you.
Have a wonderful January 1st!
I would love your stollen recipe! Thank you for all the tweet ♥. Wishing you an amazing 2014 🙂
Happy New Year, sweet lady! Hope it’s started out beautifully where you are and will be a grand year right from Day One. Happiness in your kitchen and everywhere. 🙂
xoxo
Thank you for those lovely warm wishes! I wish all the best for you 🙂
Hi Tandy, that beater looks like a great idea. You will have to report back on whether it works as good as it looks.
Hi Glenda, I have used it a few times and it really works well. So worth getting one as it saves time 🙂
Happy new year to you both!
Thank you, and the same to you xo
I’m going to have to look into that beater…it sounds like a great idea.
And so worth it Karen 🙂
A VERY VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2014!!! 🙂
Thank you!
A happy 2014 to you, your loved ones & your cool blog, dear Tandy!
Cheers! X
and the same to you Sophie!
Happy 2014!
Thank you!
Happy New Year!
I love the wooden box you got your hamper in! Gorgeous!!
Thank you for a peek inside your kitchen.
I was really impressed with the box Julie 🙂
You have a scullery! The last person I knew who had a scullery was my grandmother. What do you keep/do in it?
The flex edge beater looks an excellent idea.
Anne, the scullery is in our yet to be completed house. Eventually it will have my fridge and pantry in it, the sinks and dishwasher and space for a washing machine and tumble dryer. At present it has Dave’s gas BBQ and the recycle bin 🙂
Tandy, could you please come over and talk to my Pete? I keep insisting our rubbish bin in the kitchen isn’t big enough, but he won’t hear of getting a larger one! I hope you get oodles of tomatoes, and that braising pan is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for your kind wishes, and I hope 2014 is wonderful for you and Dave! All the very best! xx
Dave was not impressed with the size of the bin at first either – and we have swapped around the containers so we are using the larger refuse side for recycling and the smaller side for rubbish – which is great. Thank you for your kind wishes xox
Hi Tandy what a great way to start the new year – cookbooks, goodies and gadgets!
I missed your comment on twitter (sorry I was laid up in bed with a nasty virus – I’ve now progressed to the sofa!) and sorry to hear you lost your Brussel sprouts too, I wonder what it was th ekille dthem off? Let’s hope 2014 is a green fingered one for all of us. x
Hope you are feeling much better! I think it was an attack of aphids. I am going to start planning my garden with more thought and use companion planting so that I don’t lose the next crop 🙂
That beater looks awesome!! No more stopping the mixer to scrape the bowl!
And it works, which really helps!
What a great haul Tandy and a big congratulations for having your chocolate stout cake featured! 😀
Thank you Lorraine, I was quite chuffed 🙂
I’ve been wanting one of those Kitchen Aid beaters, too! They look so fab. Great post!! 🙂
Happy New Year!
it is so worth getting one!
Tandy wishing you a year filled with everything amazing. Love the Le Cruset braising pan–i have it and use it regularly. I just love the “in my kitchen” that you do–there is always a little story behind each item
Thank you Usha, we are enjoying the braising pan a lot! Have a super 2014 as well 🙂
Happy New Year to you. did you enjoy Paul Hollywood’s bread show? My hubby being a baker snorted his way through the first episode and so I never got to see the rest!
I loved the show – has to do with the looks as much as the bread I think 😉
Happy New Year Tandy. You have wonderful treasures in your kitchen again this month, I especially love your new bin!
🙂 Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy – it has proved very useful with us being home all the time 🙂
Tandy stollen is my new Christmas tradition, I’m completly hooked on the stuff and only wished I had made three of them this year…actually on second thought, maybe it’s best!
Congratulations on having your recipe in taste too. Exciting 🙂
I have to make one soon, even though it is a bit late (or very early!) 🙂
Happy new year Tandy…. I like the sound of that beater… wonder if it would fit onto my appliance, which isn’t a Kitchenaid, but isn’t dissimilar. Happy baking and all the best for 2014.
I wonder if it is suitable – pity I cannot come over with mine to test it 🙂
G’day Tandy! Happy New Year, true!
May it be the best one ever too!
Tomatoes and tomato plants always make me smile…remind me of dad, now passed away!
Thanks you also for your enjoyable kitchen view today!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks for the visit Joanne, I am hoping for an abundance of fresh tomatoes soon!
Happy New Year Tandy! So many great goodies in your kitchen this month! Its a sign of things to come throughout 2014 🙂
Thank you Lisa, I certainly hope so 🙂
I want one of those beaters too. But even more I want your recipe for stuffed cabbage leaves – those look amazing. Happy New Year.
Thanks Sally, I posted the recipe for the stuffed cabbage leaves here: http://tandysinclair.com/meatballs-wrapped-in-cabbage-leaves-traditional-frikkadels-recipe/ Happy 2014 to you as well 🙂
The pepper grinder in red is such a perfect accessory to the table!
Thank you Misky 🙂
Tandy, Happy New Year and thanks for sharing your omelet combo — sounds like a happy mix of flavors. The braising pan looks great!
Thanks for the visit Kim, and a happy 2014 to you 🙂
Happy New Year, Tandy!
Your bin is big and beautiful and just right in my opinion. I like the no fingerprint finish- mine always needs to be wiped down.
And the kitchenaid flex blade look great- I want one too!
I love your wooden carryall crate with tomato plants in it- that is exactly how I would have used it!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Now I am hoping that the tomato plants will bear some fruit! Thanks for the visit 🙂
The flexible mixer paddle looks so useful! I need one of those!
I am wondering how I made do without one!
Kitchen Aid accessories seemed like a very popular Christmas present. I’ve seen quite a few posts and comments on Twitter. As to Paul Hollywood…I had previously looked him up to check if that was really his name (it is). We see him here on the Great British Bake Off and I have to say, I like him and his northern accent. Keep on baking! I look forward to reading throughout 2014.
I just love his accent! And getting anything from Kitchen Aid as a gift makes my day 🙂
a scraper blade sounds so sensible, instead of using a paddle thingy to do the scraping as you hope your fingers won’t end up damaged
It is really the best thing!
I have a bread starter in my freezer as well…maybe I will now find the inspiration to make bread again. Lately I have been making buns with fresh yeast with my kitchen aid…they are fairly quick and tasty but nothing beats a loaf of bread made with a yeast-free starter. I love your new attachment. Happy New Year!
I love using my Kitchen Aid to do all the hard work!
Lovely post, as always!! Congratulations on being featured (again) in the Taste mag!
Thanks Zirkie! I hope 2014 is a great year for you xox
Catching up on posts I missed over the holidays. This made me laugh because I also give G gifts for the kitchen I can use myself!
I thought that was such a clever thing to do!