July 2019 was an extremely special month for me. I turned 50! The celebrations began on the day of my birthday with Dave and I spending the evening alone. On the 27th I had a small dinner party for friends. My friend Stella who lives in Johannesburg came to spend time with me to celebrate. On Monday my friend Kim arrived from Australia. We have been friends since we were 13 and the last time we were together was an early celebration of our 40th birthdays. We were born 16 days apart, so for the next 3 days I am older than she is. As you read this, we are in Hermanus spending some quality time together. On Friday my parents arrive and I am having another small dinner party at a restaurant whose origins are nearly as old as I am.
Chestnut Spread
When we were in France in May I did a lot of shopping. I saw these tins of chestnut spread for the first time in Auxerre but did not buy them as Bev did not want any. But when I saw them again on our last day of driving around Normandy I decided to buy them. I have used one so far in my soufflés and have no idea what to do with the rest. Do you have any suggestions?
Confit De Cidre
I also bought this bottle of Confit De Cidre on a visit to a cidre presse. I served it when I made the porchetta for a dinner party. Pork and apples is a match made in heaven and the cidre jelly was perfect with my Italian pork roast.
July 2019 FOMO Box
I cannot say that the July 2019 FOMO box excited me. More chilli anything is so not welcome in my house and so far all we have opened is the bacon jam. I will use the blue matcha in baking at some stage but who knows how I will make use of the cocoa tea? The most useful item in this month’s box was the olive oil as that is the one ingredient I use a lot of.
Oyster Shucker
This is another bring home from France. Dave and I went to the D Day beaches and while we were there we bought oysters to have for dinner. They were still in the shells and the only way to open them was to buy an oyster shucker. We are forever leaving our one at a friends’ house so now I have 2 so I can give him 1 the next time he brings oysters home.
Popsicle Maker
Lorraine keeps on making ice lollies and I was getting a bit of FOMO. As I cannot just pop into her kitchen to taste her creations I had to buy my own popsicle maker. So far I have only made one flavour as since then it has been far too cold! When summer comes along I shall start experimenting with new creations. I love that I can make different flavours at one time so there will always be something new to try.
For those of you who would like to take part in International Scone Week 2019, please take a look at this post. This is my submission to the #IMK series, hosted by Sherry. Pop on over to see who else has showcased what is new in their kitchens this month.
I am away and have limited access to the internet so please forgive me if I don’t reply to comments straight away. I will be back at work on the 12th of August.
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime August 7:
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- 2017 – Freezer Scones
- 2016 – Playing With Fire
- 2015 – Out And About: Friday 7 August 2015
- 2014 – Horseradish Dressing
- 2013 – Tanqueray Gin Dragon Cocktail
I hope you had an absolutely lovely birthday, Tandy! 🙂
Thank you. It’s been amazing so far.
Happy Birthday!
Thank you!
The first time I saw chestnut cream was in a Nigella cookbook. It was so long ago I can’t remember what I did with it, and I still have one can. Maybe I can search online, cause I have too many of her cookbooks to go through…
Thank you Mimi 🙂
oh yeah, just google nigella and chestnut cream. I made her chocolate chestnut pots. amazing. or you could go to her website and search for the ingredient. have fun!!! And happy birthday. 50’s are the best.
Thank you for the recipe idea, and the wishes 🙂
I keep seeing chestnuts and I want to pick up a bag of roasted ones – just to devour. Hope you haven’t been hit with this cold spell. Shari from http://www.goodfoodweek.com.au
It has been very cold here! Perfect weather for roasted chestnuts 🙂
I love chestnut spread.. On toast, In my jungle oats with a little butter, instead of sugar – That’s the best. If you make fridge cake.. try an amuse-bouche with a marscepone/Philadelphia cheese and chestnut spread mix on a crushed biscuit base.
Thanks for all of the ideas!
I bought chestnut spread or puree (my memory fails me) in a couple different forms last year for a recipe. Didn’t like the recipe in the end. So nothing to share (I got mine online after a bit of searching)
That is such a pity!
very happy birthday to you tandy. the best is yet to come… yes olive oil is always useful; not sure about those other things. thanks for joining in this month. cheers sherry x
My pleasure Sherry 🙂
Belated Birthday wishes, thank you so much for coming by my blog. The first time i had chestnut spread was in Paris with crepes. I have used it in cooking too over Christmas for a Savoury Nut Roast style cake, as well as this chestnut and lentil soup https://allotment2kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/lentil-and-chestnut-soup.html
Hope you find ways of using it.
I would not have thought to use it in a savoury dish. Thank you for the inspiration 🙂
Belated birthday wishes Tandy. Seems I can comment using my phone and not my desktop? How did you like the bacon jam?
Maybe try clearing your cache? I love the bacon jam, even though it is not as good as mine. Thanks for the wishes 🙂
Belated happy birthday – sounds like quite some celebrations! I am fascinated by blue matcha and would love to have chestnut paste but would also be at a loss as to how to use it – but I have read that you could try using chestnut puree instead of pumpkin puree – http://doghillkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/11/cranberry-filled-chocolate-chestnut.html – and here is a soup I made years ago that I loved – https://gggiraffe.blogspot.com/2008/12/chestnut-parsnip-and-orange-soup.html
Thanks for the ideas!