July 2024 marked a milestone birthday and one of the coldest and wettest winters we have had in a long time. It rained non stop for over a week. And as soon as the sun came out, the entire City of Cape Town did their laundry! Our solar panels generated so little electricity as the default setting for the month was overcast with a hint of snow. I say a hint as we could not actually see the mountains due to the low cloud cover. I spent time with my mom this month, which was wonderful. And Dave and I did a whisky tasting and celebrated a friend’s 90th birthday.
The recipes I shared in July 2024
I made a fresh tomato sauce to go with scialatielli. This is an unusual pasta in that it is made with milk. A batch of yuzu nuts was made to enjoy with our whisky, rather than the usual crudités. To remind me of a friend I made ginger ale chicken. She makes hers with coke which works really well to get a nice and sticky sauce. Being known for my baking I made a malt loaf to enjoy at work, and cottage cheese pancakes for afternoon tea. Then a tray of ginger cookie dough brownies was baked, and shared among friends. Last but not least was a white miso caramel to go with my gateau invisible that will be showcased next month.
What was new in my kitchen
Our preferred choice when we travel is to self cater. I always take a few essentials with us, such as salt, pepper, salad dressing and olive oil. In the kitchen bag is dishwashing liquid and laundry sheets. And most vital of all, coffee sachets. The first thing I want to do when we arrive somewhere is have a cup of coffee. And usually this step is before we go shopping. And not everywhere we stay has complimentary coffee. I bought new containers for all the liquids for our trip to Italy. And they leaked! Thankfully I had put them into ziploc bags, but it was a mess. So when we got home I bought several new bottles with better closures. These are the ones for the salad dressing and olive oil. The bottles I got for the kitchen have plain lids.
This is my August submission to the #IMK series hosted by Sherry. Each month bloggers around the world gather to share what is new in their kitchens. Please keep an eye out for the International Scone Week post on the 3rd of August. It would be great to see more bloggers taking part in this.
See the links below for blog posts I published on August 1:
- 2023: July 2023 Showcasing In My Kitchen
- 2022: International Scone Week 2022
- 2021: Win
- 2018: July 2018 Showcasing In My Kitchen
- 2016: Vegetarian Schmaltz
- 2014: August 2014 Showcasing In My Kitchen
- 2013: August 2013 Showcasing In My Kitchen
- 2012: August 2012 Showcasing In My Kitchen
- 2011: Food Quiz Number 61 For A Friday
- 2010: Food Quiz Number 32 For A Friday
I too just baked a malt loaf 🙂 It smells so good.
I look forward to seeing your version 🙂
That’s a sad story about the leaky vessels! Good for plastic bags, I hope they really save the contents of your suitcases. We once decided to bring a bottle of local Maple Syrup as a gift, and it leaked into a coat pocket where it had been stowed. No more liquids except in the toiletries bag.
Have a good month in August — not too wintery.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
That is a clever place to store items – in the toiletry bag. We are expecting more snow and rain so I think it will be fairly wintery 🙂
Having a severe gluten problem (and being vegan) , traveling is difficult for me. When I travel locally, I bring food and staples for me such as rice cakes, gluten-free bread, etc. But when we go over seas, I don’t have room in my suitcase and/or can’t carry more bc it’s too heavy for me. I’m intrigued with all you bring. The ginger cookie dough brownies look really tempting.
I have seen lots of GF and vegan foods while we travel, which made travelling last year with a vegan quite easy. I am sure you can make the brownies with GF flour 🙂
Sending you lots of Florida sunshine. I think it’s clever to bring your home essentials with you when you travel. I bring coffee while traveling but, in the future I need to add olive oil and vinegar.
Velva
Thank you for the sunshine, it is much needed and appreciated 🙂
Happy Belated Birthday!!!
Thank you!
OK, that malt loaf really caught my eye! You did yourself proud, lots of variety in the different foods cooked, but best of all, is sharing it with others!
Thank you Melynda 🙂
thanks for joining in Tandy. Looks like a lot of cooking going on in your kitchen! We like to self-cater too on trips but only when we are on road trips and have our car. I definitely take lots of coffee! Have a great month.
cheers
sherry
It is great when you have a car and can pack all the little extras in it 🙂
Wow miso caramel and yuzu nuts sound amazing. I have never seen yuzu zest but recently had an amazing hot yuzu drink in a Japanese cafe. Travelling with liquids is a challenge and those bottles look lovely. Having a travel pack sounds so organised. I love seeing what is in a holiday kitchen, though mostly it is basic. I was quite shocked at a holiday flat in Edinburgh this year when I was told we had to have our own laundry capsules, which were unlike anything I would use at home.
I don’t mind having to use something new, as long as I can buy just what I need 🙂
I hope your weather has improved. I would love to share some of the warmth and sunshine we have. I think if I was traveling to Italy, I would buy a bottle of olive oil there and bring what I didn’t use back home as a souvenir. 😊
It is still very cold and wet here, and I shall take the virtual share of your good weather 🙂
Loving your gateau invisible, which is now my favourite cake to make, especially with a baby I need something super quick and reliable! White miso caramel sounds like an amazing addition too
I hope you try the caramel the next time you make the cake 🙂
Everything looks really delicious! If it makes you feel any better, it’s summer here and we have had grey days too! It’s mad how holiday properties vary in terms of what staples they supply – some have a fully stocked kitchen and others have absolutely nothing! I love the idea of your kitchen bag with all the basics – genius idea!
I would rather take it from home and not need it, than arrive somewhere and not have the basics 🙂