Dark November

My kitchen is not that interesting this month, I haven't been spending much time in it either cooking new or experimental recipes, just making the usual tried and tested recipes for ease and convenience. 

I don't have very much to share, but here goes with the little I do have. 

I picked up this salt pig when we went to Hay-On-Wye a couple of months back. I don't any more salt pigs, but this was one was so pretty with trailing flowers and being sold at a bargain price, I dithered as I knew D would not be very pleased at my purchase..what to do?...it was just too nice to leave behind.  

The woman selling it gave me a fantastic idea and said, you don't have to use it as a salt pot, but perhaps put a jar in it containing a trailing plant.  Sold.  I bought it there and then.

I also picked up this handmade terracotta snack tray for holding nibbles: peanuts, olives and the like, but thought it would be nice to hold some small cactus plants. I think it will come into use around Christmas time, by the way these are the last of the tomatoes from the greenhouse.  

We also went into Bristol and just outside St Nicholas Market, there was a young woman selling home made Ethiopian sauce.  I picked up two. I thought they'd be good t perk up some of our pasta dishes.

This Squash is waiting to be roasted.  

I don't know what came over me a few weeks back, but i really wanted to eat some paneer which is Indian cheese, so i picked up a packet from a supermarket.

That weekend I made Paneer Swiss Chard an adaptation of Saag or  Palak (Spinach) Paneer that you often find at South Asian take-aways and restaurants.  I'll share the recipe later this week. 

Now this was an impulsive buy.  

I picked up not one, but two types of Black Charcoal Cheddar Cheese.  D was none to happy as they were not cheap, but i said, they will last us up into Christmas and we don't indulge that often with cheese, so he forgave me - but I put my hands up, it was excessive, thank goodness they expire in February 2020.  

I have already used one block of the Black Charcoal Cheddar Cheese for Black Macaroni cheese a late Halloween meal for friends. 

I introduced these Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio bars to IMK last month, I quite liked them and picked some more up they are essentially sticky nuts glued together with blueberries and pomegranate molasses.

And finally some herbal tea: Blackberry, Apple, Beetroot and Ginger.

I am sharing this blog post with Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen series.  If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by the 13th of the month