In My Kitchen December.

Yet again I cannot believe how quickly this has come around. Thanks Celia, for hosting this forum, you inspire so many of us with your “down to earth” approach and sincerity!

So what’s in my kitchen this month?

I just had a crack at making some Elderflower Cordial. I have no idea what this should look like, taste like, or how to use it. I planted an Elderflower plant last year with the intention of making some Elderflower Champagne I’d seen on the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall River Cottage Program.

The plant has grown exceptionally well, and it is really pretty but when I was Googling for some recipe ideas it was mentioned that it is supposed to have a fragrance. None that I could whiff! Pressing on, I made a cordial based on a recipe from the prestigious Lake House at Daylesford. Result is it is just VERY  lemony in taste, with not much else. Quite a substantial amount of citric acid which would add to that.Nice as a lemon cordial but should there be more to taste? Also in my kitchen is a packet of supposedly true Wasabi powder. We have been buying Wasabi coated peanuts from our local supermarket but they are not going to stock them for much longer, so I’m hoping to re-create them. Any tips?Just outside my kitchen is the garlic I harvested tonight from the asparagus bed.  I love giving garlic as part of christmas gifts and this years crop is great! This is about a third of the crop. Got some huge bulbs, this one is sitting in a one litre milk carton to show size. Still stopping to smell the roses occasionally. This is a sourdough cake starter. When I was at the hairdressers she packed me off with a bowl of her “Herman the German” friendship cake mix. I had never heard of it but because I like playing around with bubbles I took on the challenge. We also had a piece that she had made in between the colour and the cut and it tasted quite good. Almost puddingy. I am having trouble finding time to get to making it though, so I just keep feeding it along with my bread starter.With the giving season upon us I’ve got some onions that I will pickle to go into gift hampers. I love pickled onions and I’m quite fussy about their “crunch” value. This  recipe, Grandma’s Pickled Onions  has proven to be a trusted one to achieve a good crunch. You can spice it up or down to suit your own preferences.I am calling out to any IMK participants who may live in Delhi or who are going to Delhi to assist in my attempt to source our favourite tea.

When we visited India last year we came away with a kilo of the most beautiful black tea purchased from a spice store in Delhi. I have attempted to source some locally but no joy. I’ve also tried to purchase online but no joy there either. We’ve been to specialist tea stores but they haven’t been able to match it. If anyone just happens to be going to Delhi or lives in Delhi and may be able to source some Black tea from Mr Anshu Kumar, I would love to communicate to see if we can arrange a mutually agreeable arrangement to.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe festive season, I look forward to seeing what 2015 brings. I may even get a kitchen!