It's nice getting into the kitchen again

My kitchen work has been a little neglected with all the sewing I've had to do, but now that is all over I was very keen to start back into the baking and basting.

I'd bought a whole lamb from a new local butcher.  He charged $6/kg and I've managed to stock up my little freezer to the maximum.  So, I using some of the loin chops for dinner tonight, marinading them in a mixture of sliced onions and garlic, some olive oil, splash of red wine, plus a sprinkling of this spice mix picked up from Aldi.

My hubby's Argentian, so I hope this brings back some memorable flavours.  I know the packaging says it's for beef, but we're trying it on the lamb anyway tonight.  The spices listed are: salt, paprika, sugar, mustard, garlic, black pepper, dried onion, green paprika, chilli, bay leaves, citric acid, and lemon oil.

I'll serve this with baked potato wedges and salad.

Also, time to bake bread!  The past few days we've bought bread and it's just not the same.

I store the wheat in tubs with wheels in the bottom of the pantry.

Loading the hopper on the mill.

I like to mill my flour as I need it.  It tastes much sweeter that way as the wheatgerm oil can go rancid quite quickly.

This trusty flour mill has served my parents well, and as you can see, received a few dints over time.  It still runs really well, though, and if needed can be operated manually without electricity.

Flour caught in a shallow tin.

Sunbeam mixer mixes and kneads whilst I watch over the children's schooling.

I can make 3 loaves at a time (or 3 doz. bread rolls) without too much time and effort.  Again, electrical equipment comes into play, but it helps when you've got several things going at once, especially children requiring tutoring!

If you'd like to see my basic bread recipe (which is a modification on a "No Knead" variety), go here.

Or, a for variation, try the pizza rolls.