Tuesday, December 31, 2019

A Decade in My Kitchen

Today marks the end of the month, the end of the year, and the end of the 20-teens. Throughout this decade, I've been writing blog posts about what's in my kitchen and on many other topics. Besides the kitchen, I've written about food I've eaten at home and elsewhere, about travel to many places, and about books I have read, especially about food in books.

For the last few years, I've been wrapping up each month with a shared post for the blog party "In My Kitchen," currently hosted at Sherry's blog (http://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/ ). For a little change of focus, this In My Kitchen Post includes one kitchen photo from each of the last 10 years, with a link to the original post. I've tried to pick photos that vary as much as possible.

Wishing everyone who participates and reads my blog a very happy New Year, and a great time in the twenties. The roaring twenties? Maybe, who knows?

2010: For the first time in many years, I found green peppercorns and made several favorites like greenpeppercorn steak (link).
2011: A favorite fall item: farmers' market tomatoes. (link)
In this photo they are ready to be roasted with herbs and frozen for winter.

2012: Quiche for pi day. (link)
2013: My old coffee press on a new dish mat. Both have now been replaced.
(link)
2014: My Breville toaster oven, just purchased, next to my very old one.
The new oven has proved to be truly useful for many tasks. (link)
2015: Peach sauce in the fridge: another fall market favorite. Nearby: a locally grown cantaloupe. (link)
2016: A goose for Christmas. Len was the chief cook and also did the carving.
(link)
2017: Our new toaster for eating breakfast in the kitchen.
(link)
2018: Our new kitchen torch. For a while,
we zapped everything from marshmallows
to oatmeal. We need to get it out again! (link)
2019: The ridged surface of a banneton impresses a pattern on loaves of bread
as they rise. One of a number of items for Len's very successful bread baking.
Another great item: the thermometer next to the banneton. (link)

What's in my kitchen now?

Actually, there's not that much new stuff here, as we've been traveling and hosting visitors quite a bit in December. Thus we've been staying with more familiar food and tools. I recently purchased an Asian noodle book which I hope will inspire me to do some interesting cooking in the New Year.

Finally, for Christmas, I received a s'mores maker for microwave use, which is really amusing and fun, making very gooey classic s'mores.


S'mores: You fill a little reservoir with water and assemble the graham crackers,
Hershey bar sections, and marshmallows under two little hands.
In the microwave oven, the chocolate and marshmallows melt.
I'm not sure why there's a water reservoir, but I suspect it absorbs some of the
microwave energy to avoid overwhelming the chocolate and marshmallows.
Note: All photos copyright © 2010-2019 mae sander for maefood dot blogspot dot com.
If you read this elsewhere, it's been pirated!

16 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

You too have a wonderful new year celebration! I must try that green pepper crust for my steak next time!

Iris Flavia said...

I´ve never seen green peppercorns around here! (I love your wallpaper!)
You can freeze tomatoes?! I´m falling off of my chair if you go on like this!
Hmmm, that quiche looks yummy!
Such a mini oven will be in use today again over here (Toast Hawaii).
Ohhhh, a goose for Christmas!!! Yum! Greetings from my (late) Mum here, yum! Sweet memories!
Not into sweets, but what a cute guy, ummm, tool, you got there for marshmellows!

To raoring twenties!!!

Nil @ The Little House by the Lake said...

Happy New Year Mae!

Shaheen said...

Happy New Year, i think its more likely to be the raging twenties!
Green peppercorns sound good to me, but i've not seen them in the UK
My mums been freezing tomoatoes since i was a nipper, i wish i could but my freezer is small, so its tinned when we are not growing our own and peach sauce sounds amazing. S'mores maker sounds like a novelty, it would be in the UK!

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

What a great share! And thanks for the farmers' market tomatoes link. I have a great idea for tonight now :) May 2020 hold all that you need!

Tina said...

That's a nice look at the last decade in your kitchen. Love those tomatoes and the bread baking pans are beautiful.

Vicki said...

I love tomatoes and those look really good! I got an Instant Pot Toaster Oven. I love the bread pans and s'mores maker.

Happy New Year!

Beth F said...

Fun! Hope you like that noodle cookbook as much as I do.

Deb in Hawaii said...

I love the idea of posting a picture from each decade--very cool. I am also taken with your S'mores maker--how fun! ;-)

Jinjer-The Intrepid Angeleno said...

The quiche and peach sauce look especially yummy!

I love the ridged banneton (which is a new word for me).

I'm super jealous you had goose! I thought things like duck & geese would be easy to get in the little town of Arkansas where my Mom lives since the people here are all about hunting, but no. The three grocery stores all looked confused when I asked if they had a goose.

I need that s'mores maker!!! That is too cute!

Carole said...

Quite a decade! Happy New Year

Marg said...

A smores maker sounds like fun!!

Moya-Food and Tools said...

Happy New Year Mae, love the cute smores maker and that blow torch looks a bit fierce... but it's a really handy kitchen tool to have :)

Liz said...

Happy New Decade Mae. That microwave s'mores maker made be giggle. We love them over a campfire but I had never thought of making them in the microwave. And we love our Breville as well and use it almost daily. Loved the look back over the last decade, good idea to freeze the tomatoes. I've covered them with olive oil but they don't last as long. It's an idea for next summer.

Sherry's Pickings said...

happy new year Mae and thanks for being numero uno again! always good to see you at the top of the IMK ladder:-) Hope you had a fabulous festive season, and wishing you a great new year. the 20s will be mad i reckon. roaring indeed. love your s'mores maker. what an odd little beastie it is. congrats on your ten years of blogging. i am up to year 7 this year. where has the time gone!??! all the best for this year
cheers
sherry

Johanna GGG said...

Belated happy new year Mae! I am smitten with your s'mores maker - that is so cute. Love the little trip down memory lane with your kitchen - brings back many memories of the decade. Best wishes for another decade of blogging - you seem to be going strong right now - I can't believe all your posts for January so far - you are indeed having an interesting time!