'Cookbooks, it should be stressed, do not belong in the kitchen at all. We keep them there for the sake of appearances; occasionally, we smear their pages together with vibrant green glazes or crimson compotes, in order to delude ourselves, and any passing browsers, that we are practicing cooks; but in all honesty, a cookbook is something you read in the living room, or in the bathroom, or in bed.' In researching for this little journal, I enjoy finding interesting or unusual quotations on topics that I'm writing about. The observation on cookery books (above) fits that category in that it is interesting, perhaps amusing, slightly cynical, but it's completely at odds with my own philosophies and practise ― although I have been know to peruse my cookbooks in both the living room and in bed. The old books in this pile are among my treasured favourites and, from time to time, each one makes its way from the library in the front room to my bedside table and then onto the kitchen bench. Published in the 1950s and 60s, they are culinary classics in their own right and bring me inspiration and great pleasure. Many, many years ago, my mother gifted a paperback copy of The Art of Hungarian Cooking by Paula Pogany Bennett and Velma R. Clark to my older brother, Alex, who also loved to cook. When I started work in the 1970s, I ordered the hard cover edition for myself, and paid for it with one of my first ever pays. On my brother's death in 1999, I took possession of his much-loved, well-used and absolutely tattered copy, and am thinking about having it rebound for my daughter. Over the years, I was fortunate enough to find the other titles ― Viennese Cookery, The Flavour of Italy, Russian Cooking, and The Talisman Italian Cookbook ― in second hand bookshops and at book fairs. Let's take a look at what else is in my kitchen this month. In my kitchen is this sweet little strawberry, which Peter presented to me when he come indoors after gardening. The summer flourish of berries has now calmed and, rather than filling colanders, we're picking only enough for nibbles. In my kitchen for a short time was this single origin Lime and Chilli chocolate from the kind folks at Haigh's. Pictured is the wrapper. The chocolate didn't last long enough to be photographed, I'm afraid. It was so deliciously zingy! In my kitchen are baby Cos lettuces, fresh from the kitchen garden. This is the first of six seedlings that I planted. The others will be picked and enjoyed over the next couple of weeks, lest they turn bitter. At the top of my baking agenda is sourdough bread, with 'Priscilla' starter from the one and only Celia! (Thank you, love). I'll be following Celia's tutorials closely, methinks. While breadmaking is not new to me, for some reason, sourdough makes me nervous. Though I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. Stay tuned. As a footnote, I should point out for those readers who are new to Good Things, In My Kitchen is a monthly round up hosted by my dear friend and fellow cook and blogger, Celia, who shares her adventures at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. The same Celia who so generously posted to me (and many, many others) a package of her sour dough starter, and who inspires many cooks and bloggers around the globe. Do pop in and visit Celia's blog and say hello to the wider community of blogger friends! In my kitchen are more of those store-bought vine ripened tiny tomatoes. Despite hitting the high 30s for a few days, it has been a very cool summer in Canberra, so our tomato plants are not producing at all. These flavoursome little specimens are from my local Aldi. I love to bake them whole. In the larder in my kitchen is this Camargue organic red rice, kindly gifted to me in December by the folks at The Essential Ingredient in Canberra. This rice has a nutty flavour and is perfect in Ottolenghi-style salads. There are apricots galore in my kitchen, some of which featured in my Torta con albicocca e agrumato limone recently. Apricots have always been a favourite summer fruit and these flavoursome beauties are from my local Aldi Supermarket. I love to eat them fresh from the hand, and they also make a divine compote. Recipe coming soon. Another of the Aldi products always in my kitchen is this reduced fat, sliced cheddar cheese. It's good, really good. For a light lunch, I team it with sweet red bell peppers, sandwiching the cheese in between slices of the capsicum. Yum! In my kitchen is corn on the cob, bought fresh from the grower at ourlocal farmers market at EPIC. One of Peter's favourite vegetables, corn is sweet, succulent and tender, and will make for tasty chowder, salad, or pancakes. To the surprise of many a wine snob, some of Aldi's least expensive plonk took out top honours at the prestigious Sydney International Wine Competition late last year. This $4.99 El Toro Macho Tempranillo was one of them, so needless to say Peter and I have stocked up! If you enjoy a drop of red, but care about your hip pocket, this one is well worth investigating. Tell me dear friends and fellow cooks, what good things are happening in your kitchen this month?
44 Comments
30/1/2015 01:23:51 pm
I LOVE my cookbooks and regularly scour op shops to see if i can find any of the old classics. I'm with you - Lovely to look at, lovely to hold but they also get a good run in in my kitchen - Kel
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Lizzy
30/1/2015 01:34:59 pm
Hiya Kelli... it's such a fun thing to do, especially for those of us who love food and cooking! I bet you have a fab library of cookbooks too!
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30/1/2015 01:41:15 pm
Hello Lizzy. Your kitchen is bright and vibrant as usual! I love that wine label...I may have been known to choose wine purely based on the attractiveness of the label! Good luck with the sourdough. I can only imagine how delicious that chocolate would have been.
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30/1/2015 05:52:19 pm
Getting the jump on the competition hey? Sneaking in a day early... love the photo of the cookbooks Liz. Your photos in general continue to be great and I always enjoy looking at them. You can my share of the fresh apricots as I'm not a fan. I'll have any wine snobs share of the wine. cheers! Fiona xxx
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31/1/2015 12:31:17 am
Cook books are such precious cargo indeed. I love that Tempranillo.
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Liz, I absolutely love that quote! But, like you, mine actually make it to the kitchen im addition to the living room (27 there now), bedroom (14 there now) and, yes, the bathroom (a count of 3). I look at cookbooks as my friends - they follow me wherever I go!
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31/1/2015 09:09:41 am
I can honestly say I have never read a cookbook in the bathroom. I must get myself down to Aldi to pick up some wine, cheese and apricots xx
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Eha
31/1/2015 10:35:05 am
Well, you are a fast one for the February list!! Love it all but having had a life-long passion for cookery books [which I'll read anywhere :) !] I would just love to pinch your Hungarian and Russian tomes for a read . . .
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31/1/2015 02:19:24 pm
Love that cookbook quote!! Gorgeous photos.
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31/1/2015 02:41:20 pm
Lovely selection Lizzy. I just cooked some corn. It was so sweet that I ended up eating two cobs of it! :D
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31/1/2015 03:24:56 pm
I love the look of those cookbooks! Lol, and I have to say, my books are much like those in the quote. I keep them in a cupboard outside the kitchen. I mostly use mine for inspiration rather than recipes, so they're not in everyday use, but for reading on the sofa, or in bed.
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31/1/2015 03:58:05 pm
Lots of deliciousness in your kitchen, which is not surprising! The diversity is great, I enjoyed the inclusion of the affordable Aldi goodies, they really have some decent stuff.
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Sophy
31/1/2015 05:32:45 pm
I adore spending time leafing through my dozens of cookbooks, dreaming up my next culinary creation, whether it's for a normal weeknight dinner or a special occasion with friends and family. Some of my books are well and truly battered and spattered, especially on the pages where the favourite recipes are. Other cookbooks are so gorgeous, that although I use them, such as Maggie's Harvest, I am very careful about keeping them pristine!
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31/1/2015 10:46:04 pm
I love how you scour op-shops for second hand cookbooks- I have found some of my most beloved cookbooks in there and in second hand shops! My bestest estest cookbook was given to me by my mother though- a book called Huisgenoot se Wenresepte nr 2! It is in Afrikaans, and has so many interesting parts. I cannot imagine the chef I'd be without that treasure! And of course it always makes me think of my mum, even though (or maybe especially) since she absolutely hates cooking😉
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1/2/2015 10:39:52 am
wouldn't a pantry stocked with Essential Ingredient jars and bottles and tins look heavenly. mum and I visited that shop when we went to Canberra for floriade a few years ago, and I still remember how gorgeous it was.
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1/2/2015 12:11:49 pm
I'm a huge Aldi fan - I don't understand the snobbery around the label at all but more fool the naysayers I think. I can't wait to see how your sourdough goes - you know how addictive it's going to get don't you!
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1/2/2015 12:50:06 pm
Totes thought I commented on this post already, soz Liz, bit behind I am. Hope you had a cracker weekend and you are feeling better.
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1/2/2015 02:25:07 pm
I'm a cookbook addict. There's always one in my kitchen and at least one in every other room in my house.
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1/2/2015 06:43:40 pm
Isn't it funny Liz, my tomatoes have been great, but my chiles and zucchini aren't doing well, and now the weather's cooled down again! That's great news about the wine, what a bargain indeed and the fresh veggies are always fantastic as well - yummo! Xo
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The Haigh's lime chocolate bar sounded delicious. I've seen the red rice at the local health food store and it was very expensive and I've wondered what it was like. My tip for reading cookbooks --while your husband watches football on TV. I like to be in his company but not always watching sports, so I nod and comment in answer to him now and then, and bury my face in a cookbook! Thanks Liz!
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Not sure I agree with the quote as I love having my favorite cook books in my kitchen and they have never been there for the sake of appearances... but each to their own. Your home grown baby cos looks fabulous. I should try my hand at growing some here but not sure they would look as perfect as yours. Hope my starter arrives sometime soon or I may have to clone Priscilla. Looking forward to seeing your sourdough bread Lizzy :)
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3/2/2015 10:19:26 am
what lovely product you have in your kitchen - I am missing apricots - they were great for a brief period - I have missed the sun a little but not that much and apparently it will be warmer in melbourne next week so I hope your tomatoes get some sun too! Love the stack of old cookbooks and best wishes with your sourdough baking. It really does seem a miracle to take a loaf of sourdough bread out of the oven.
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3/2/2015 07:50:19 pm
What beautiful summer produce. I love those old books too - I imagine they are very special to browse through.
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Lizzy, look at those apricots! We have a tree in our yard, but it's not yet producing - I can't wait. Sounds like those AND that wine will be a good reason to be visiting Aldi soon! And given the photos today darling, I don't think you ever need to be nervous about sourdough again! :)
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7/2/2015 03:52:47 pm
how lovely to have your own lettuces. i love having cookbooks all over the house; they make me feel happy and serene but i do prefer them to be useful too. interesting news about the aldi wine.
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7/2/2015 06:30:12 pm
I LOVE my cookbooks ... but don't use them nearly enough!! I'm an op shop devotee - it's amazing what cooking memorabilia and tools can be found - utensils, bakeware, books, serving dishes etc. It's just a shame I often find these things on the road, when there is no room to bring them home. Much to my partner's delight :D
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What a fantastic kitchen... I'm loving all the corn at the moment out of my garden it is so delicious! I like the the chocolate was only in your kitchen "for a short time" looks divine... How did you go with the sourdough! I have found Celia's blog invaluable and her starter is amazing... always perks up even after a couple of weeks! Thanks for sharing! Liz x
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10/2/2015 10:46:33 pm
My dad actually recently bought that red wine from Aldi, not realising it had won an award. He was pleasantly surprised by how good it was, and ended up drinking it instead of cooking with it like he'd originally planned!
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12/2/2015 01:50:53 am
Hi Liz, lovely post! Thanks for sharing! :)
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13/2/2015 01:29:41 pm
I too love old cookbooks and enjoy locating the most-used, best-loved recipes in each by the smudges on their pages. On-line recipes are useful, welcome finds but can't replace my fondness for the printed page.
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19/2/2015 08:08:34 pm
Loving your cookbooks Liz! They are something definitely worth passing down, I wish I had cookbooks/recipes from my grandparents. My mum's cookbooks I already have from the 80's! I am going to go to Aldi and get me some of that wine - the price is just amazing! How good is home grown produce - there's nothing quite like it, is there!? Have a lovely rest of the month x
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25/2/2015 05:03:09 am
Liz, I'm joining your IMK party long after the "fashionably late" designation came and went. ;) (Please forgive me... house-relocating mania in progress.) Oh, how your treasured "Art of Hungarian Cooking" and "Viennese Cookery" cookbooks appealed to me... my ancestry. Just knowing that such precious copies exist in the world is a balm to my soul! I learned 'how to' by standing by my Czech Grandma's side, counter-top high... watching, observing her (lack of) measurements, and recently listening to unshared 'favorites' during phone calls with my Mom. Such are the ways kitchen legacies are passed along, xo! I also loved your cos lettuce, tiny tomatoes, sweet corn, and apricot photos... simple & spectacular.
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Welcome...Üdvözölöm
Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
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NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
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