Welcome to The Kitchen Playground. Cooking can bring great joy and great despair. I hope that the recipes you find here, many of which are very quick to make with the weeknight in mind, help you to experience more joy than despair. Many recipes have instructions for the Thermomix 31 as well as traditional instructions. The emphasis is on real, fresh food that combines flavour, texture and scent to delight the senses.
Chez KP was demolished a few months ago. That’s right. Razed to the ground. It’s being rebuilt bigger and better than ever. You will not be surprised to discover that the kitchen will be the centre of the house and features more upgrades than any other room. It will be light and spacious and truly […]
This has become a winter staple here at Chez KP. It can be used in a multitude of ways such as in baking and on pancakes but is primarily an addition to our daily porridge. Thermomix. Sugar Spice Mix 1kg soft brown sugar 1 cinnamon stick 3 cardamon pods, cracked and seeds removed (discard pod, […]
I had plans for a glorious meal tonight. Pork Siew Yuk, rice, vegetable stir fry. I’ve spent most of today salivating at the thought. Unfortunately, the pork did not defrost in time. In fact, I cannot recall the last time I saw a piece of meat defrost quite so slowly. As I type it is […]
I had a spectacularly long day at uni today, followed by picking up the kids from the various people I had begged favours from. So by the time we got home, it was much later than it should have been. I had dinner on the table precisely 20 minutes after I walked in the door. […]
We spent a lovely day yesterday at a friend’s farm and came home with an abundance of cucumbers, garlic, eggs and figs. What a wonderful bounty. I added to the bounty this morning, digging up the potato patch and picking a good sized batch of rhubarb. We have been out of jam for a while […]
Life in the Kitchen Playground is awfully short of play these days. The Ankle Biters are nibbling closer to shoulder height and full of homework, sporting activities and unstructured fun with friends. The Bread Winner is working as hard as ever. Me? I’m Mum’s taxi, working two part time jobs and studying full time. Oh […]
Lil Miss had her sixth birthday party today. A lovely little affair at our favourite park. Lunch time parties tend to make me somewhat recalcitrant about cooking dinner. Entirely due to constant nibbling. Fortunately for the hungry men of the household, I was all set with a meal so light, delicious and quick to prepare […]
This recipe for a happy man is very appliance versatile. The whole shebang can be done on the stovetop. It could be made between stove top and slow cooker, stove top and oven, in the thermomix, or in a combination of thermomix and slow cooker. No matter how you make it, it’s the perfect blend […]
Delicious little morsels, perfect for finger food or piling into lunch boxes. Very bento friendly. Just in case you were wondering, the recent lack of photos is a gesture of disgust at the hideous lighting in my hideous house. Photography will resume when the house has been demolished. Which will happen soon should the universe […]
This is pure gold. Everyone at Chez KP scoffed this down in a matter of moments. Even after I told them what it was and where it comes from. They’re not offal eaters as a rule. I served it with a green salad on the side. Allow plenty of time for simmering (I did this […]