I really should try to get my blogging mojo back I think! I miss the time focussing about what to write, planning ahead for what needs to happen and putting the ideas together to string some form of ‘story’ together. I’m finding that I’ve fallen a little into the trap of using Instagram (IG) or as I am now renaming it “Instant Gratification”. This is OK but it doesn’t really give me the same satisfaction as writing a post. Thank goodness for ‘In My Kitchen’, a forum where bloggers put up some snippets of what is in their kitchens each month. All of these blogs are linked to a common point by the wonderful Liz over at Bizzy Lizzy’s Good Things. Go and have a look at some of the great things going on.
Not a lot this month In My Kitchen as we went camping for nearly 2 weeks. I did manage to still bake bread while we were away but this time I cheated somewhat and used the oven in the camp kitchen. I baked in a pasta pot we have in the camping kitchen and it was a great success.
We brought some great bacon back from the butcher at Merimbula. This bacon is beautiful, they also had some nitrate free bacon which really appeals to me so I got some of that too. Down side is that it is packed in cryovac plastic packaging. This is a shame, but sometimes when weighing up the options an outcome that is not ideal is the result. My delight in getting good quality over what is available at home that would still be in plastic won over.Also In My Kitchen is some sourdough starter I am dehydrating. I have shared quite a bit so needed to replenish my stock. This is my original ‘Vesuvius’ starter that I began about 10 years ago. I have been making some potholders. I am using an old woollen blanket that is beyond its useful life as the thermal filling in these. I am also using up scrap cotton I had in my cupboard for the covering but I have bought a couple of extra pieces. Next week I’ll scout the op shops for suitable garments I can re-purpose. This years glut! NOT! Nowhere near any previous seasons harvests, very disappointing. I’ll be buying a couple of boxes for making passata I think. Not a lot, but the flavour is really good this year. My experiment of having half the tomatoes staked and laterals pruned and the other half just doing their thing without attention has bombed. I have not had one tomato that hasn’t been eaten even when very green in the free range plants. Finally In My Kitchen this month is a pic of todays wholemeal bread I made and tested out a couple of different baking methods. The top 2 loaves were cooked in the cast iron dutch oven, the pumpkin seed shaped loaf was baked in a clay cloche and the bottom one was baked in my Falcon enamel roasting pan. All work well but I prefer the cast iron.So that’s the little peek into my kitchen this month. Are we going to get a peek in yours?
Hi Maree, it has been so long since I sat down and wrote a post. Our downsizing ordeal is nearly over. Our place in Perth is picture perfect but alas our place in Bridgetown is now chock full of boxes. More downsizing required, I think. :(. I would never have dreamed it would be so hard. I am in Bridgetown for the first time in 2 months. Btw your bread looks perfect, as always. I hope to get back into the swing sooooooon.
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Glad to hear you are getting things sorted Glenda!
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That pumpkin shaped loave looks amazing! I never thought of trying my cast iron pot for bread, will give it a whirl, thanks for the tip. Do you heat the pot before you put the bread in or put it in cold?
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Yes, preheat first. I put it in when I turn the oven on and turn the loaf out onto baking paper then into pot. Have to be VERY careful not to burn yourself, so always do before vino o’clock!
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Your tomatoes really are tempting — too bad your garden’s yield wasn’t up to your hopes. We won’t have anything like it for another 6 months. Our tomatoes are shipped from Mexico or from hoop houses in Ontario, Canada, which isn’t very far from here — they are practically local.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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Wow, is that when in season or all year round? I presume by you saying another 6 months that you will have better ‘local’ supplies then.
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No, you are definitely not going to get a peek into my kitchen! You wouldn’t see anything except dirty dishes! But I have managed to get the bread sorted in the toy oven though. I just wait till the top is reasonably browned and then pop a piece of foil over it. It doesn’t brown any further and the rest of the loaf is browned just fine. It also seems lighter and is magic when toasted with just butter…I can’t see that it’s anything to do with the oven though and I haven’t changed the recipe at all.
I was going to try next year’s tomatoes au natural, without staking, just let them scramble, but your experience has made me think twice. Maybe the things that eat yours don’t exist here.
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Glad to hear about your bread, I was a little nervous for you. We have loads of blackbirds that seem to like to get in and under the foliage and I think its them doing the carnage. But, we don;t have rabbits and that’s a blessing.
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Your bread and pothotlders look so impressive! Sorry to hear your tomatoes didn’t glut as hoped but still looks impressive to me! And I am sort of pleased that my thoughts about InstaGram are reflected here – I have people tell me that I should do IG and I resist as I like writing as much as photographs but also because I have to decide where to put my time.
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Hi Johanna, thanks! I love the potholders too. I really am trying to balance where you input posting energy and I was quite chuffed that I thought of the “Instant Gratification” analogy for IG. I do feel that it nurtures a bit of “it’s all about me” culture which I would prefer to avoid. It is nice to see positive feedback about things you know are nice though. Wouldn’t swap communicating with all my lovely blogging ‘friends’ for quids now though. Cheers, Maree
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Sometimes it is really difficult to get the writing juices flowing! And, going by this post, I think you have your blogging mojo back. Just keep writing. I love your breads and have been following all the wonderful bready things people are posting on the facebook page which look delicious and sometimes very inventive. By the way, what happened with the stencil? I use a cast iron pot in my oven for baking bread and it (so far) is a fool proof method. Good to know it works for you in the camp kitchen. Love the handmade pot holders. I do these, too, and also use them to put between nested bowls to keep them from knocking and cracking. A great way to use up left over fabric scraps. I’ve also contemplated making padded placemats this way. It is a shame that the tomato harvest isn’t going to be enough for passata, but we had the same conditions last summer and all the vines simply shrivelled up in the heat. Let’s hope this summer is better!
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Hi Debi, I spent hours cutting that bloody stencil out and did a test with flour on the bench which worked well. I rinsed the flour off and put it to dry on a T/towel on top of stove and didn’t realise it was there when I put the hot lid on the towel, hence put it in the stencil. I wish I could write as beautifully as people like yourself and Francesca but I have a much more just “spit it out” style. I am really enjoying making the pot holders, nice and simple but you feel very satisfied with the result and I love that the old blanket is being put to good use rather than chucking. Watched Simon Reeve in Greece last night and made me a little nostalgic 🙂
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Everyone’s writing is different. Capitalise on that ‘spit it out’ style. It’s communicating that counts. I have to get back into being a bit more inventive with my bread making. It seems all I do is the same old white sourdough loaf. The FB page is great!
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🙂
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I have such a case of tomato and sourdough bread envy! I will have to wait for a few more months.
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Thanks Liz. How are your works progressing?
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We have had so much rain this winter that it has delayed things significantly. They had hoped to get a start this week but the ground is still too soggy for the heavy equipment. Sigh. I will be posting some pictures once they start, we will be up there this weekend and maybe I will take some “before” pictures. I had the larger plants moved (a gorgeous yellow rhodi and 2 massive azaleas) a few weeks ago, fingers crossed that they survive.
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Bad weather males things just drag on and on doesn’t it. Hope your rhodies and azaleas survive. I fed all my azaleas today. 🙂
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So far they look ok, yeah! The azaleas are blooming away and lots of buds on the rhodi. We are on opposite seasons as I fed my citrus trees this weekend.
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You are the sourdough queen Maree, even the loaf baked in the boiler is amazing
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Don’t know about that Sandra but thanks. I do love baking bread and after doing so for about 40 years I finally think I’ve got it to where I’m happy with it. That is until the next challenge arises!
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So envious of your fabulous crop of tomatoes 🙂
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Thanks Christine.
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It is so easy with Instagram, made me laugh when you referred to it at Instant Gratification! No wonder I find it hard to blog sometimes.
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I thought I was brilliant using that term for IG then my girlfriend informed me she heard it being referred to as that somewhere in the media. I don’t do media, so I reckon they pinched it from my post!
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That is quite a gorgeous loaf of bread for camping! Someday I may try a loaf over the campfire in a cast iron dutch oven. I do like cast iron for my sourdough in the oven too. I’m hoping for a tomato glut this coming season, I’ve just started 7 varieties of tomato plants from seed and am waiting to plant them outside. I too need to get back into the swing of blogging. I enjoy IG but find I don’t have as much time for recipe testing to blog. It’s time to change a few things maybe.
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Love your beautiful produce and that bread! Oh my! Gorgeous. Yes I am a big fan of IG too. Such a friendly community.
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Maree, apologies for being late to the party… your IMK offerings look spectacular! Loved your “camp-out bread” (your conclusions on cast iron, too) and thoughts and tips in between. I think of you every time I look at the “Tea Time” towel you sent me, among all the other lovely linens..So thoughtful! Wish I could abscond a few of your green tomatoes. “Fried Green Tomatoes” are a favorite o ‘mine and a few months away here yet.
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Cheers Kim, I was really happy with the camping bread. I’d gladly send some greenies over but they might be a bit ‘stinky’ on arrival! 🙂
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Just thought you might like to see the espaliered apples.
They are at the top end of Anzac St ,next to the park.
Best wishes
Annie
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Thanks Annie! Cheers.
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