In my kitchen March 2014

These baby nashi pears are reminiscent of the cool, crisp autumn mornings we're now experiencing and soon the leaves on many of our trees will bear this shade. Summer is definitely over for us and the change in temperatures, particularly overnight and at the break of dawn, is quite remarkable.

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It's March and with the start of a new month and a fresh new season, it's time to take a look at what good things I have in my kitchen. Remember those vanilla beans that I popped into a bottle of vodka back in January? Well this is how the infusion looks now. A few more weeks in a dark cupboard and we'll take another peek.

There's market-fresh corn on the cob in my kitchen. Corn is one of Peter's favourite vegetables and he's at his happiest when I cook a couple of cobs for his lunch. I make chilli butter with our home grown chillies as an accompaniment.

We bought a jar of this exquisite Lime Salt from Suncoast Limes at the Eumundi Markets in the Hinterlands on the Sunshine Coast. There are no additives, just sea salt and limes (apparently it takes seven limes for one jar!). Peter loves this on his freshly cooked corn, along with the chilli butter.

In my kitchen is a copy of Almonds: Recipes, History, Culture, which was sent to me for review. It really is a beautiful book.

There are quinces in my kitchen, bought fresh from Jonathan Banks at Pialligo Apples. I will either poach them with some ground vanilla beans (see below) or slow roast them in the oven, a la Diane Holuigue's method.

Vanilla is one of my favourites in the spice box and I'm grateful to the lovely team at Heilala Vanilla for sending me these jars of ground vanilla beans to road test. Two grams of ground vanilla powder is the equivalent to one vanilla bean. 

Le Cordon Bleu cookbooks are among my most used cookery titles, so I was absolutely thrilled to win a copy of The Chocolate Bible. Thanks so much to the Australian Regional Food Guide for this prize! 

Also in my kitchen are these tiny heirloom tomatoes from Kerrison's Orchard in Pialligo. Our tomatoes fried on the vine when summer temperatures hit 41 degrees C (!), so I'm glad to have access to great tasting fruit!

These fennel seeds were also from a stall at the Eumundi Markets and they added a delicious depth of flavour to my slow roasted pork shoulder. Tell me, how do you like to use fennel seeds?

Cauliflower is back on the menu and I think I'll roast this market-fresh cauli with onion and garlic, per this tasty recipe I spotted in a newsletter this morning. I also plan to make a rather tasty gluten free and low fat cauliflower cheese!

These little packets from Duck Creek Macadamias in Byron Bay arrived on my doorstep at the weekend and what a lovely surprise! The range includes premium roasted macadamias coated with couverture chocolate, and also roasted with pure honey and flavoured with exotic savoury spices. Love the branding! Guess which packet we will open first!

Peter bought a carton of dcider apple cider from a stall at the Royal Canberra Show last weekend. We love the flavour and the fact that this cider is made in the Southern Highlands from Batlow Apples. I'm going to use some of this when I next roast a leg of pork! 

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Now that I've given you a peek into my kitchen, I really must go and start breakfast and then get on with the day's cooking. Thanks for stopping by to say hello. Pop in and visit my friend Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, where there's a monthly roundup of In My Kitchen posts from food bloggers across the globe. Happy cooking xox