2020 is winding down. Thank goodness. Has anyone bought the 2020 plague T-shirts out there yet like this?
Or this?
Me neither. I would just rather forget.
I hope everyone stateside had a safe masked or distanced Thanksgiving. Let’s hope for large quantities of vaccine for December.
Now, on to more pleasant things…things from my kitchen.
Here’s a cheese ball my niece made for Thanksgiving. Loved her creativeness. (Not from my kitchen exactly but I still had to share.)
Believe it or not, more cookbooks found their way into my kitchen in November.
The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook. This book is the Cook the Books’ selection for December/January. (In fact, our next four books have been announced; you can read about them here.) Deb from Kahakai Kitchen is hosting this round. I am anxious to jump into this book. The illustrations are fabulous. Some of the recipes are simple but I love the narration that goes along with each.
Alice Hoffman is included (she’s kind of my new favorite author) along with Anthony Doerr. I just finished reading Four Seasons in Rome which has prompted me to pick up All The Light We Cannot See again. (I wasn’t engaged the first time around.)
Cook the Books is a virtual book club open to anyone. As a cohost, I just wanted to put in one shameless plug. Deadline for the current round is January 30, 2021.
I also just received a new family cookbook, one from The Hubs’ side of the family. As soon as I can visit in person with my MiL, I want her to notate the book for me…who’s who, what were favorite family recipes, etc.
Look what came in the mail for my birthday?
This gift came from my sister. She’s been brewing kombucha for a few years. I’ve got some brewing on the cabinet now. (I have to say that scobie is a gelatinous frightening looking thing.)
More fermentation is going on as well. I decided to try to make my own apple cider vinegar after I made an apple pie and apple marmalade and had a pile of peelings and cores. I don’t have a photo (I swear I took one of all the peels, but oh well) and I thought it was ridiculous to take a photo of a jar with opaque liquid in it. 🙂
But, I did want to share this gargantuan pomegranate!
This photo does not do it justice. I got about two cups of seeds out of just half of this pom behemoth!
Here’s some of the apple marmalade . This might be my all time favorite preserve.
I’m hoping to rival Sherry’s December IMK post today with some pottery that I recently found. (Sherry’s Pickings is the host of In My Kitchen and she always has some lovely pottery finds to show.)
Here’s what I recently found (online via a Yelp event): Gravesco pottery. 
Each cup came with a silicon lid. If I ever travel for work again, my skull coffee travel mug will be utilized.
I also ordered two of these tumblers. During the Yelp presentation, Rebecca, the potter, said she puts these in the freezer to chill and then serves white wine. Genius. I just love the graphics.
I’m finding it hard to get excited about decorating for the holidays, but we did purchase some poinsettias. I’ve arranged them in a corner of the kitchen.
Finally, I ordered an amaryllis bulb encased in wax for my mom. I had to order one for myself to see if they really grew well this way.
Although this is setting on the kitchen hutch, I am including this as my curveball.
Thanks to Sherry at Sherry’s Pickings for hosting IMK. Check out her post for the rest of the links to kitchens around the world. 
I think the T-Shirts are not a bad idea. Your sister knows you very well 🙂 I can’t wait to see your homemade kombucha, Deb. Beautiful festive poinsettias.
I am having to call her often for guidance on the kombucha. Can’t wait to bottle some up. Thanks, Angie.
The Artists and Writiers Cookbook has been on my list for several years but I’ve never managed to get it. I also am very intrigued by the earlier version, published in 1961 or before, which has work by the famous Paris artists and writers of the pre World War II generation — intro by Alice B. Toklas. That one is unaffordable!
Nice kitchen stuff!
be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I would love an original copy as well. And, I am always on the lookout for Reichl’s A Feastiary! I’ve seen them for $200 up.
that bulb in wax has me intrigued. what happens next? love your pottery, and the graphics!. and that cookbook also sounds intriguing. i loooove those tee shirts. what a fab idea. we probably have them here too. thanks for joining IMK and using my logo – much appreciated. I’ve not heard of apple marmalade before. have you blogged it? very interesting. have a wonderful festive season. see you in 2021.
cheers
sherry
You can just see the leaves poking through the top on the amaryllis bulb. So far, they’ve grown to about three inches. I’m not optimistic it will bloom before the holidays. I have blogged the apple marmalade. http://eliotseats.com/2014/11/27/apple-marmalade/ It’s my favorite preserve!
Very clever making a turkey with the cheese ball. It made me smile. I really like that mug with the bee. Cute, would make a nice gift for my son’s girlfriend. Or me 🙂
I didn’t think the pottery was overly priced (but I did have a coupon). They hold heat well, too.
i’ve actually bought that cookbook now. so just waiting for it to turn up…
Can’t wait to see what you think about it. You should consider joining CTB for this round.
Supposedly, each pomegranate has the same amount of seeds! Not that I would ever count them. I am interested to know how your apple cider vinegar works out, and treasure that family cookbook – may it bring you years of happy memories 🙂
Really. Maybe these were bigger seeds then, but I didn’t think the seeds looked enormously large like the whole fruit. I will not count them either. So far, the apple cider vinegar looks a bit thick but it has a while to settle yet. Thanks for the thoughts, Tandy!
Oh my goodness that cheese ball is SO adorable! I have kombucha too but I just use pretty ordinary glass jars for them. The old house for the scobies (there were about 12 at the time) exploded all over the cupboard. The clean up was not pretty…. now I have subdivided them and donated quite a few to friends, and they are living much happier in a smaller container
I think I would just walk away of Scobey exploded in my kitchen! 🙂
Debra, the only T-shirt I’ve considered buying to “remember” 2020 (or not) was one that said: “Wine (noun)… the glue holding this 2020 shitshow together.” (Please pardon my language…) Also loved your suggestions for cookbooks. (Thanks for the link!) How ’bout those poms and jars of apple marmalade?! Glad to see you’re still putzing around in your kitchen. It’s sure been an illuminating look around the world in IMK this month (vs. the ongoing effects of Covid-19) and I appreciated your perspective “next door.” Happy Holidays my friend, xo.
Yes. That is definitely a good slogan as well. Or we can just let bygones be bygones and forget the whole shit show (forgive my French, too). Happy Holidays, Okie friend!
I do love snooping in your kitchen, you have so much cool stuff happening. Love your nieces cheeseball, may nick that idea for the future. The bee potter tumbler is gorgeous and always like to see what you have been fermenting or brewing – nice to see the kombucha brewing jar.
Nick away. What’s mine (or the niece’s) is yours! I’m a sucker for good pottery and especially those graphics. I wonder how she does that?
There have been quite a few interesting tshirts made this year, and these ones are cute. Yes, maybe we should forget, and look forward rather than backwards. I’ve never made apple marmalade but yours look good… might try some when the apple glut arrives. Love those mugs too.