Can you believe that it is now 2016? It is with such anticipation that we wait for Christmas and the New Year’s Eve and then suddenly it has been and gone. I always find New Year’s Eve a little lacklustre now that we have little ones, most of the time I am asleep before the midnight fireworks – but that’s life and I enjoy other things, like waking up fresh on New Year’s day.
As you may or may not be aware, Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial is no longer hosting ‘In My Kitchen’ and has handed the baton over to Maureen at The Orgasmic Chef.
In my January kitchen…
I’ve got some of Roza’s Gourmet Thai Pesto. Now, I picked this up at the Belconnen Markets because the name Roza jumped out at me {because I have an awesome friend named Rosa}, but also because they had some scrumptious recipes cards to go with their product marketing.
Then I found that they shared some awesome recipes in their Christmas countdown on their facebook page, like this one:Roza’s Thai Pesto Summer Quinoa Salad {GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY FREE, VEGAN}
PREP TIME 15 mins | COOKING TIME 20 mins | TOTAL TIME 35 mins
Ingredients:
½ cup finely diced broccoli
½ cup cooked quinoa
½ diced spanish onion
¼ cup grated carrots
¼ cup chopped enshallot
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
For the Dressing:
5-6 tablespoons of Roza’s Thai Pesto
Preparation:
In a large bowl toss cooked quinoa, broccoli, red onion, carrots, enshallot and peanuts together. Mix until combined. Fold through Roza’s Thai Pesto and mix until well combined.
In my January Kitchen…
I’ve got a bottle of this awesome Red Orange, Blood Orange Cordial. Now Redbelly Orange sent me out a box of their blood oranges last season when they had a bumper crop. And this awesome cordial has been made with said bumper crop – so I couldn’t have been happier when this arrived {delivered by my awesome early morning courier – thanks for always rocking up when I am still in my PJ’s}.
In my January kitchen…
I’ve got some of this delicious Orange Spice tea from NUMI Organic Tea. This is delicious hot, but I’ve also been using it to make some wicked mocktails {because that’s how I roll – or will do until I finally wean the Little Dude… who am I kidding, I’ll probably just be pregnant again when I finally do}.
In my January kitchen…
I am going to whip up the Simple Dahl and South Indian Style Coconut Dahl from Chef’s Choice. Now I picked up these awesome little packets from the Belconnen Markets for quick and easy dinners when I couldn’t be bothered cooking a healthy meal from scratch {as most of us feel in the holidays}.
I whipped these up late last year and couldn’t have been happier with the results. I added a can of coconut cream to the Coconut Dahl – I don’t know if that’s traditional or not, but it was super tasty.
In my January kitchen…
I’ve always got a couple of these tins of dolmades {with an awesome, easy, ring-pull}. Now, you can make dolmades from scratch and you can pick up some wonderful dolmades from the deli – but I am telling you that these ‘Always Fresh’ dolmades are the bee’s knees when it comes to having something a little fancy on hand for lunch that you can simply pull out of your pantry {and isn’t that what we are all looking for over the summertime?}.
What new things have you picked up and tried lately? Do you purchase new brands or do you stick with what you have tried and tested? Anything interesting happening with you and your family in January?
i love dolmades so i will have to try the always fresh ones. i love roza’s products especially as she was a queenslander like me:) so sad she died some time ago but her husband kept it going which is great. Happy new year! blood orange cordial =yum.
Dolmades are delicious! I didn’t know that Roza had passed away, but it is so nice that her husband kept the business going. Happy New Year to you too, Sherry xox
Dolmades are delicious! I didn’t know that Roza had passed away, but it is so nice that her husband kept the business going. Happy New Year to you too, Sherry xox
i love dolmades so i will have to try the always fresh ones. i love roza’s products especially as she was a queenslander like me:) so sad she died some time ago but her husband kept it going which is great. Happy new year! blood orange cordial =yum.
Shari, adding coconut milk (or cream) to your dahl sounds delicious whether it’s traditional or not! Your ready-to-eat dolmades got my attention, too. Wishing you a Happy New Year (even though it’s mid-January!)
Thanks Kim – it was a super tasty addition 🙂 I hope that you’re having an amazing start to 2016!
Even with little ones we usually manage to stay up NYE, though this year we in bed by 10 since hubby was working such long hours and we were exhausted! I always loved mocktails, especially in a pretty glass when I was pregnant or nursing. Happy New Year to you and your family
Gosh Gretchen, this year we were all asleep by 9:30pm and we made the most of New Year’d Day at the beach. Hoping that you have an amazing year this year and thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂
I love Roza products but I haven’t tried this one. I’m interested in the mocktails too – more information please.
Thanks heaps for joining in In My Kitchen this month!
I shall most definitely have to do a mocktails post this January as it seems there is quite some interest. Thanks for being the new host of IMK – I look forward to linking up each month 🙂
Mmm, I’m loving the look of those products Shari – yum! You’ve piqued my curiosity with the orange spice tea-turned-mocktails – please do tell! Do you chill it then just mix with soda water, or is there a secret ingredient for success? 🙂 It would be perfect in this hot Brisbane weather at the moment. As for me, I definitely like to branch out a bit too and try new products all the time. New in my kitchen this January is some NZ sheep’s milk feta I’ve been buying from the cheese stand at our local markets lately. It’s just amazing! I’ve also been playing around with some of my Mum’s homegrown chillies and am slowly but surely acquiring a taste for them! I’ve been very much anti-chilli for a long time and have a very low tolerance, but I think that’s finally changing. A very Happy New Year to you and your family, Shari!
Thanks Lisa 🙂 I add some vanilla {as in vanilla bean pods} and cinnamon quills to the tea whilst it steeps, then I let it cool. Once cooled, I mix it with soda water and a simple sugar syrup – it is the business.
The sheep’s milk feta sounds so good – I love anything that you can pick up from the local markets.
Happy New Year and thanks for commenting 🙂