Gearing up for the holidays! I love this time of year, preparing for big family meals, making clever little gifts from the kitchen, cookies and treats galore, is always so much fun!
I was late with the October In My Kitchen so I vowed to be on time with this one. Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial hosts this great gathering of people all over the world sharing what’s “In My Kitchen”. Link back to Celia’s site to join in!
Tonight we are getting our first freeze of the season. The tomato plant that was planted back in April has turned out to be one monster of a plant, producing tomatoes the size of soft balls weighing between 9.5 and 16.4 ounces each! The plant has a basket full that should get harvested before the freeze. I’ll have to pull out my dad’s Green Tomato Chow Chow recipe, after we slice, bread and fry a couple first.
Final Harvest!
I enjoy a good fried green now and then, after I’ll try a pie.
I have fresh turmeric in my kitchen this month!
Fresh Turmeric
I felt so lucky to find it. We’ve been using it for sautes, potatoes rice and all kinds of dishes. You do have to be careful though in that is notoriously famous for staining everything it comes in contact with, bright yellow. Fingers, boards, clothing, so use caution if you don’t want anything stained by the intense color of fresh turmeric. I put a paper towel down on my cutting board before using fresh turmeric to protect it from stains.
Turmeric is a great healing spice so it is good to find ways to work some into your diet. One of my favorite dished to make with it is an Indian dish called “Aloo Gobi“. This is a dish made from cauliflower and potatoes and is very aromatic and delicious.
I started taking an online course from Rosalee de la Foret in Canada on “The Taste of Herbs.” This course takes 5 months and breaks herbs and spices into 5 categories. You learn about the healing properties and how to use the herbs and spices.
She approaches Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda concepts with an ease that makes it so understandable.
So far, I find it very informative. I’m glad I signed up.
Rosalee may offer the course again in the Spring so if you are interested, visit the Taste of Herbs website here: http://www.tasteofherbs.com/standby_pages/25720
Below is the blueprint that is the foundation of the course.
Isn’t that interesting?!
I found these adorable little dishes in a shop. I couldn’t resist them. Robert is wondering what I’ll use them for so I’ll have to put on the creative cap to show him how essential they are to have in my kitchen.
Irresistible small dishes
I have a big bowl of apples!
Fresh Crisp Fall Apples
We gave some out for trick or treats last night along with mandarin oranges and organic lollipops. I drew pumpkin faces on the mandarins. When the kids got to choose, It was surprising how many chose fruit over the candy!
Trick or Treat Goodie Basket: Mandarin Oranges, Crisp Apples and Organic lollies
We made sure everyone got an orange, even the parents.
And then there was the time this month, I walked into the kitchen and saw a delicious plate set up and I ate it. Only later to realize I ate the photo shoot.
I’ll be cooking and hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year! I am so excited. I’ll have to plan on taking lots of photos and writing lots of posts with ideas for the upcoming holidays.
In the meantime, What’s in your kitchen this month?
I ate the photo shoot
Related articles
- Tidbits about Turnips (pacificcoastharvest.wordpress.com)
- The Benefits of Eating Green (Vegetables, That is!) (natural-holistic-health.com)
- Time to bring tomatoes in from the cold (edugrow.wordpress.com)
- Indian spices that prevent cancer (anjaliankuragarwal.wordpress.com)
- 4 Herbs Everyone Should Have in their ‘Medicine’ Cabinet (naturalsociety.com)
- Green Tomato Chow-Chow (spoonfeast.com)
- 10 Amazing Health Benefits of Turmeric (wakingtimes.com)
Spoon Feast 
I never realised that fresh turmeric looked like that. To be honest, I’d never even thought about it so thanks for enlightening me.
Fresh turmeric is a delight. I can’t help but to think about all the good stuff it does for your body.
Can I just say, I’m absolutely IN LOVE with your dishware! What a beautiful assortment!
Thank you! Now to convince Robert. . .;)
Hi Pam, It is so interesting what is hard to find in one place, is easily available in another. Sometimes bloggers casually mention something and I think ‘Wow they can get that!!’. Berries in particular upset me. Blueberries and raspberries are available here but are very expensive and have usually come from half way around the world so I don’t buy them. Other berries are not available. We make do with frozen.
Turmeric is readily available here. I guess because we have such a large Asian community and it is a staple for them.
I didn’t realise you are in North Carolina, Maus has a nephew in South Carolina.
BTW your dishes look like essential items to me.
The world keeps getting smaller!
I can see how you’d find those small dishes irresistible. They’re gorgeous!! LOVE the idea of drawing faces on citrus, good on you for giving the kids a choice! xx Great IMK post
Thanks Lisa! After reading your post, I’m off to buy some pomegranates this morning!
That taste of herbs wheel is an interesting concept. Thanks for sharing.
It is very interesting to learn it too. I thought I knew a lot about herbs, I am learning so much more!
I love your first picture of the basket w/the tomatoes. I love that basket handle! And your mandarin oranges are very cute and rather sweet, I imagine?
Yes, they are sweet and tiny. We like them but they are only available here a short time.
I think the small dishes are gorgeous, I’d have had trouble resisting them as well! As Glenda says, fresh turmeric is readily available here, although our attempts to grow it have been less so. Your tomatoes are beautiful – we’ve never done anything with green tomatoes, I think we’ve been missing out! 🙂
Oh I hope you try a pie! They are so tasty and quite surprising!
Nice IMK post – so much going on this month. Love your idea of the mandarin faces and interesting that the kids took these over sweets. Just goes to show if you make food fun kids will make a healthy choice.
G’day! Love your Herb Flavor Wheel and seeing fresh turmeric too!
I have never used fresh, but it is in on my list to day; thank you for this month’s kitchen view!
Cheers! Joanne
Viewed as part of Celia’s IMK
I love the patterns on your small dishes, there is no way I could go past those in a shop either!
I laughed when you said you ate the photo shoot. Sometimes we are busy blogging and photogging and forget why we do it. When I gobble a meal and then remember I haven’t photographed it I always think ‘Oh well, next time!’. Thanks for the tour