In My Kitchen - May

In My kitchen May

If you follow my blog you may have noticed my lack of posts lately....

To be honest, I'm just enjoying being creative in the kitchen without having to measure items or take the time to photograph them!
Of course that doesn't mean I'm not spending much time in my kitchen, in fact I'm probably spending more! 
I have had fun using many of the new items that I posted about in my February edition of In My Kitchen.

I have also had the chance to try a few recipes that I had tagged as "to try".

Here's a few that I've really enjoyed:

Chocolate peanut butter jelly bars

 These are very rich! I would rather these with a jam spread in place of the peanut butter layer. But what a fancy looking dessert for when visitors pop over! They are so easy to make!

Chickpea flour omelette 

Totally DELICIOUS! This will be a regular for our lunches now!

 

Raw buckwheat porridge 

Addicted to this! To be honest I am a bit over eating oats and was in hunt of a different breakfast alternative so when I tried this I was in a state of pure bliss!

 

 Gingerbread granola

My hunt for an alternative breakfast found me this. I quite enjoy cold cereal sometimes but don't like to buy processed varieties. I omitted the oil from this recipe and also halved the sugar.

Cheddar cheeze spread 

I wasn't so keen on this when I first made it, however after sitting in the fridge it thickened up and the flavours blended together deliciously! Then I was a fan!!!

 

I have also enjoyed cooking from my cookbooks! 

This orange and poppyseed cake from Skinny Bitch Bakery was AMAZING!

And I also enjoy experimenting in my kitchen without recipes :-)

 

This burger was made with a tofu omelette & quinoa and lentil pattie.

 Individual shepherds pies.

Soaked chocolate oats with cherry cream.

 Scroll pie with mexican bean mix.

Curried chickpea patties with roasted sweet potato chips on salad.

Banana and berry ice-cream with chocolate chips.

 

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas.... ;-)

Especially in the form of baked apple (oat crumbs on top) and banana ice-cream!!!

 When I think of time spent in the kitchen I think of bread. I don't know why - perhaps because its just one of those items that get made only when I have a lot of time, perhaps its the rising time needed. We don't eat a lot of bread so thankfully I don't have to worry about it too much!!!

I am not one who has mastered the art of home-made bread. I need to find a way to make home-made wholemeal bread work out better. Mine always seems so dense. I need to discover the difference between bakers flour & regular flour I think!

Anyone want to enlighten me???

However, I have thoroughly enjoyed making this focaccia - twice!!!

Once as a regular herbed focaccia and the next time as a focaccia filled pizza. This went down particularly well with my family!

 

A few chocolate treats always delight as well!

The one on the left is a freezer 'fudge' made using bananas, coconut flour, and cocoa powder. The one on the right is a peanut butter oat slice that set in the fridge without baking. I blended soaked dates and prunes with oats and peanut butter and then stirred through puffed rice. Sorry I don't have quantities to post an official 'recipe' - they are pretty versatile to make - just pop ingredients into a food processor and blend til smooth then spread into desired tray and refrigerate or freeze.

 

Sadly these okara currant cookies sat in our kitchen too long!
I had made them on a Friday afternoon and because we were out all weekend instead of leaving them on the counter top I put them into the cookie jar. And well..... you see, our cookie jar is usually empty so they sat there unnoticed by my husband and when I went to pop them into my daughters lunchbox on Monday morning they had mould on them.

Such a shame - they were so so tasty and moist. I really do love currants.

Talking about lunchboxes, Term 2 here has recently started and I do love packing lunchbox meals!

This is couscous salad with ryvita crispbread with the above mentioned 'cheese spread', grapes, strawberries and roasted broad beans.

Sadly these cakes were not in our kitchen very long at all!

I had baked them all for a fundraiser and I am pleased to say they went down VERY well! 

I did also make a cake for my family to nibble on while the oven was on baking these treats as I did have several comments about all the delicious smells coming out of the kitchen!

 

Our little home garden continues to deliver us the occasional goodie. 

This week we picked our very first eggplant! 

I had never seen an eggplant tree before and am pleasantly surprised at how pretty the flowers are. 

We haven't grown any zucchini yet but I think this little guy from the shops seems happy enough about it if you ask me!!!!!!!!!

And last but not least I wanted to share this sign with you!

It is obviously not in my kitchen - however I think I need one of these for our kitchen!

It was at a cafe we visited over Easter! 

My kind of cafe that's for sure!!!

What's in your kitchen this month?
Link up your kitchen to Fig Jam & Lime Cordial blog.