10 January 2019

In My Kitchen in January

It’s nice to start a new year in the kitchen, and as usual I want to share some new items and dishes with you.

I got the new seasonal winter Moomin mug for Christmas, and I bought some Moomin coffee to go with it. The mug has a very serene winter atmosphere, and I gladly drink my coffee and mulled wine from it. Another great Christmas gift was this cute polar bear, fox and hedgehog placemat. I'm sure that you will see it in some future food posts.




I also got some new kitchen gear as a Christmas present from work: two large oven dishes and a set of tea towels, potholders and an apron. Those will surely come in handy, and I actually didn't own an apron before, so maybe I'll start wearing one now.



There was a lot of food over the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. However I didn’t photograph so many dishes. I found some food gems in Finland, like this new product Vegekebakko, vegan wheat protein on a wooden stick that sent me on a trip to my childhood. The stick mimics a 80s classic, a meat version of the product. I was so excited to see that they made a vegan version, and had to buy a packet. They were actually very nice, so nice that I need to go back to Finland soon to get more of them. For this dish I also made some pickled kohlrabi.





I couldn’t resist this festive mature Cheddar (juhla=party), and I’m saving it for a special meal in the near future. I will probably try it with these crispbreads and the rye buttons. One of the crispbreads is a new product FINN CRISP Carrot Crunch, a rye crispbread containing carrots and seeds. The other crispbread is one of my favourites made of oats. 




Of course there were also plenty of chocolates and Christmas beers, some of which are depicted here.





For New Year’s Eve my partner and I had a relaxing jackfruit taco night at home before we went to see the local fireworks by our lakes. For the tacos I followed Meriel Armitage’s recipe for jackfruit carnitas. It was a very nice recipe, especially the pineapple salsa, and I will make these carnitas again.




I didn’t have a big Christmas tree this time, just a mini tabletop one and a small pine outside in front of the window. Of course at my mother’s place we had a proper Christmas tree. I also got a bunch of blue hyacinths for the season.



I quite regret not buying one of these vegetable characters to my kitchen from a Finnish supermarket. Especially the broccoli would've been great.


I’m sharing this post with Sherry from Sherry’s Pickings blog, who is hosting the excellent In My Kitchen series also this year. Go and have a peek into her lovely blog.


Your Veghog

11 comments:

  1. An apron is essential for a messy cook like me. I hate when all my clothes have spots! I've even upgraded to a smock (made from one of my husband's old shirts) for when I'm making something really splattery. So enjoy your apron! And your other fun things too.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  2. i do have a few aprons but i always forget to wear them. i looove our Moomin mug. so gorgeous. I do love the Moomins. and that tray is just fabulous. i'm not sure i could handle the vege kebakko though. i just can't handle the thought of fake meat:-) we had a small christmas tree this year too. we're just getting too old to bother with a big one. :) that little snowman is just like one we have. i think it's the same actually. his cute little green hat ... thanks so much for joining in IMK. cheers sherry x

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    1. I'm glad you like the Moomins, there are quite often Moomin mugs on my blog. :) Thank you for hosting IMK again!

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  3. I keep reading about jackfruit. I read the recipe link and it looks interesting. Do you think it would be ok without the nutritional yeast? I find an apron is essential if I am wearing anything other than an old shirt and pair of jeans (which only happens infrequently). The hyacinths are lovely. Happy New Year.

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    1. Hi Liz, yes I certainly think that the nutritional yeast is not a must have for that recipe. Try it, they were great.

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  4. Hi, Veg Hog! I'm intrigued by your pickled kohlrabi... do you have a recipe to share? We usually eat them raw, cut about the same size, but pickling would take it to the next level. Fun array of Christmas gifts and goodies, too! Loved your "mini Christmas tree" and variety of crispbreads, but especially that Cocoa Orange Bar. May you have a "Bliss"ful New Year!

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    1. Hi Kim, happy New Year to you too! My kohlrabi is just quick-pickled, here is a rough recipe: Chop 1/2 or 1/3 of kohlrabi into small pieces. Heat 1/2 cup white wine vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt in a pot. Place the kohlrabi in a conservation glass, add some green peppercorns, if you like and pour the hot liquid on the top. Leave for at least 30 minutes in the fridge and then it's ready to serve. It's quite nice, and I use this same quick-pickling method for all my veg. However I agree with you that raw kohlrabi may be the best. It's also nice as a cooked mash though.

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  5. Wow all those bits and pieces make me think you had a great Christmas and New Year. I love the Moomin mug and the vegie kebakko - sounds worth a trip to Finland. Love the snowman beer labels and yes that broccoli character would be fun in the kitchen. Happy New Year and enjoy your cheese and all your goodies

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    1. Happy New Year Johanna! I had indeed a lovely time over the holidays. I hope that your year has started nicely as well.

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  6. So many good things! Love the new place mats. Happy (belated) 2019!

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