In my kitchen - November

I am joining this month's series of In My Kitchen hosted by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.  It's a welcome break from the cooking and baking challenges and hops that I join and always a fun and lovely way to meet other kitchen enthusiasts.  Thank you Celia for hosting and hopefullly, I can continue on to join the challenge from here on.  

In my kitchen this month...  are these lovely smoked olives I got from the markets.  They don't have a brand or a name but they are made by a family who knows about smoked foods.  They also have smoked salmon fillets and they were divine!  I caught them at the North Sydney markets one weekend.  Their claim - these are the best taking olives in the galaxy!  I couldn't agree more. 

In my kitchen... is this tiny box of Ceylon tea fresh from Sri Lanka from an office colleauge who recently did the off-the-beaten-track road trip from Sri Lanka to India.  Food gifts are the best, don't you think?

In my kitchen... is this handsome fast and furious juice extractor.  I got sucked into it while browsing through the TV channels and I'm loving it!  I have a glass or two of nutriblasts a day!  Have you seen this on TV?  Or maybe you already own one?

In my kitchen.... are these two new ingredients I got from this wholesale shop I discovered just recently Oriental and Continental Foods.    This vanilla extract was only $4 and the tahini sauce is $3.  I got so many more stuff but these are worthy of mention.  And oh, they also have more than a dozen varieties of sea salt flakes - from pink Himalayan to citrus infused flakes.  

In my kitchen... is this lovely French wire basket/tray I scored from the local Scouts car boot sale recently.  I do love a good bargain when I see one. 

In my kitchen.... are bunches of these kale.  Not grown but bought from weekend markets.  Kale has been making its way in our kitchen since we bought the Nutribullet.  Well, kale and lots of the other green good stuffs.

In my kitchen... is this kneading mat. Something I bought ages ago but never used.  But since I've been making empanadas lately, finally this mat has seen the light of day.  More use of this in the next months.

In my kitchen this October

I am joining the monthly series In My Kitchen hosted by Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial starting October.  Every month, I quietly browse through all the lovely produce and books about food & gardening, kitchen utensils and other knick knacks  and food adventures from Celia and other food bloggers across the globe such as Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things, Life in Mud Sputtered Boots,  The Clever Carrot, Lambs' Ears and Honey, Passion Fruit Garden, and so many more amazing bloggers.  So after awhile admiring from a distance, I thought enough of the stalking and why not join in the fun!  So here I am sharing my sanctuary that is my kitchen from this month on.

Our calamansi plant is looking lovely as ever.  Buds are sprouting and we're exciting to get some fruits in a few weeks.

Found these cute reusable doilies from IKEA.  They're washable too!

My fave. Roma tomatoes growing from an unlikely place - in between the nooks and crannies (tiles) of our front porch.

We've doing a trial with these guys - supporting local farmers by buying direct. But I'm not sure if they're better than if I get them straight from the local markets.

This lovely number was something I picked up from the roadside during a council clean up week.  A few brushes and cleaning and they're now holding my kitchen staples.

My latest recipe book acquisition. So many lovely recipes inside.

Finally picked up some Maggie Beer Sangiovese Verjuice from the weekend Masterchef Live event.  Excited to use them with summer fruits for compotes and coulis, and.....

Also from the Masterchef Live weekend, supporting Austalian produced sea salt flakes!  I'm imagining lots of dishes will be flavoured by these.

Another purchase from the Masterchef Live weekend - Caprino goats hard cheese from the Mornington Peninsula!  Lots and lots of savoury and sweet dishes running through my head.

I don't have a vegetable garden like Celia or a balcony garden like Mel, but would love to have one. And potted plants are my only option for now.  I need to wear one of them green gloves I think.  Maybe it'll help cover up my not-so-green thumb somehow.