In my kitchen we’ve had lots of fresh dates from our garden date palms and many have been given to family and friends. Snipped from a branch, these fresh dates are called Al-Khoneizy and are ready to eat. To keep a supply of dates to enjoy throughout the year, we will leave the rest of the dates on the date palm to dry for about a month before picking. One of my favorite date recipes is this easy date and banana dessert, it only takes minutes to prepare and handy if you need to entertain on short notice.
After a conversation with Fifi who was on a quest to find locally sourced eggs from happy hens, these organic eggs are from my sitter in-laws neighbours friends chickens. In Bahrain it has proved quite difficult to find local free range farm fresh eggs… unless you are willing to keep a few chickens yourself.
In my kitchen are colorful dishes from Turkey, a thoughtful gift from Georgina, back from her recent travels. Couldn’t resist buying this stylish spoon, it was the last piece… I guess you can never have too many spoons.
Happy to announce… after waiting almost six years, we finally have limes growing on our lime tree. Making mojito’s and nojito’s in my kitchen to celebrate… cheers 🙂
Baked a rustic vegetable tart made with home-made pastry. Depending on the vegetables at hand, this savory tart was filled with aubergines, caramelized onions and tomatoes. We also love Yotam Ottolenghi’s green bean and freekeh salad, I have made this dish often… one delicious way of eating some healthy greens.
Have made Glenda’s Mum’s delicious pumpkin fruit cake recipe a couple of times now, it’s a lovely moist cake and keeps well. Also, baked a lemon poppy-seed cake which needs an obligatory cappuccino on the side… well, in my kitchen it does.
This was my first attempt at making goats milk yoghurt and although others in the house preferred yoghurt made with cow’s milk, I found the mild flavor of goats milk very pleasant. The goats yoghurt had a loose consistency and this was my only gripe… straining through a cloth thickened it. You can use J Cloths for straining yogurts or curds, a tip picked up at a cheese making class I attended some years back. Decided to strain the goats yoghurt for 10 hours, ending up with a soft tangy goats cheese to spread on some crackers.
In my kitchen are new yoghurt cultures for making Bio Yogurt, have not tried them yet. Although I have been very happy with the results of the Bulgarian culture…apparently bio yogurt is more gut friendly.
This wraps up yet another In My Kitchen post, joining the host Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and other bloggers from around the globe… showcasing kitchen treasures.
Food and Tools 
Oh what a gorgeous kitchen this month!
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You can’t beat home cooking and some produce grown from your garden 🙂
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Wow, goats milk yogurt and cheese both from the same process. I’ve had mixed results making cows milk yoghurt using a dollop of yoghurt as a starter, so the idea of a proper starter culture appeals – thank you for the tip.
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So far I have had great results using heirloom yogurt cultures and the resulting yogurt tastes quite different than using a dollop of shop bought yogurt as a starter. Still need to try the bio cultures as they just arrived.
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Moya, I have never seen fresh dates, let alone tasted them. It is amazing what will grow in one person’s garden is an exotic fruit to another.
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They do taste quite different Glenda and each type of fresh date has its own unique characteristics, love having date palms in the garden 🙂
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How lovely to have your own dates! And I’m impressed you’ve made your own goat’s yoghurt. It’s a shame it didn’t have the consistency you were after but I think it looks amazing xx
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Well I was expecting it not to be as thick as yogurt made with cows milk… the rest of the family preferred the goats cheese over the goat yogurt 🙂
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I love fresh dates and always have some in my fridge for when I feel like a snack. How lucky you have them growing on your own tree. Thanks for the peek into your kitchen this month 🙂
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Your welcome Tandy, trouble is… with so many fresh dates in the fridge, you end up snaking more than you should 🙂
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How wonderful to have your own fresh dates and your bowls are exquisite!
Have a happy day.
🙂 Mandy xo
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Thank you Mandy hope you have a good day too. You can never have enough cute bowl in your kitchen 🙂
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Love that you finally harvested limes! Do the trees normally take that long to mature? Love the goat’s milk yoghurt and the dates. Lovely kitchen view this month.
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After buying a small lime tree I found out later that it does take them a long time to mature. I believe grafting can help… but I am not that good a gardner. Thanks for stoping by Deb 🙂
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Moya, YAY for fresh limes at last! (I need to check out your mojito/nojito recipes…) Can’t begin to imagine how wonderful fresh dates are, too, right off the tree. Your baked goodies look tempting — so does that green bean salad, yum. Have fun making yogurt — and thanks for the cool tip about using a “J cloth” for straining! xo
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Kim, I had almost given up on my lime tree ever producing limes… but finally celebrating with mojito’s. It really is wonderful having such an abundance of fresh dates in our garden and that we can share some with family and friends too 🙂
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lots of inspiraton here Moya!! Especially keen to try the beans from Yotam Ottolenghi, that reminds me to get out his cookbook!! Cheers, Jan x
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Its a lovely recipe Jan and am sure you will like it. He also has a really delicious aubergine cheese cake recipe too 🙂
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Congrats on your first limes. Mojitos seems like a great way to celebrate! I love the spoon, what a unique find. The pumpkin loaf and cappuccino look really nice right about now!
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Gretchen, a happy moment to finally have limes as I had waited so long for them to grow. We love cake and coffee in our house 🙂
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Lots of lovely things in your kitchen, but its the Turkish plates that have got me all envious, so pretty.
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They are very pretty, I will most likely use them as seasoning bowls 🙂
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i love that cute spoon and the little bowls. how marvellous to have fresh dates! your vege tart looks delish. good enough to eat:) and how clever are you to make your own goat’s milk yoghurt..
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It was the last spoon and it was going for a barging… you can never have enough small spoons. The goats yogurt was a trial and although I like it, the rest preferred the cheese 🙂
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Hi Moya!
Did you find the goats cheese made the yoghurt well… taste kind of… farm-like? haha I’m not even sure I’m making sense!
Also, we have very similar Turkish bowls. Aren’t they just the most stunning things?
Anyhow, I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award!
You may or may not want to do it but I think you deserve it!! 🙂 xx
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I like a bit of farm in my cheese 🙂 Roxanne, I really appreciate your kind gesture for nominating me for an award, thank you. Also, best of luck with your new blog and thanks for stopping by 🙂
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