It’s been celebration central at our place. John’s parents, Rob and Joan, enjoyed a lovely steak dinner with the family for their 67th wedding anniversary. John’s family came up from Melbourne and that turned it into a festive occasion. This will probably be the last year that Joan knows who we are so it was a special time. We had the dinner at home because loud places are very difficult for her.
Now you know why In My Kitchen is late. Everyone’s gone home, the house is clean and I’m back on the job.
We got up early this morning and headed to our local farmers market and I bought heaps of goodies.
Then I found these lovely tomatoes at the Noosa Reds stand. I fell in love. We have PLENTY of tomatoes now.
I was clicking through photos on Instagram the other night and someone made falafel patties on pita bread and I kept thinking of it so that’s what we had for dinner. It was a very good idea.
When we were walking through the farmers market we saw the French Sin shop and bought two sourdough batards and I couldn’t wait to get home. First, I sliced the bread and we dipped it in good olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then dipped into dukkah. I could have sat there all Saturday afternoon and eaten the whole loaf but I had a better idea.
Last night I hung some Greek yogurt in cheese cloth to make labneh and today I mixed a bit of the labneh with some sumac and cumin. I roasted some butternut pumpkin pieces and when they were done, I sliced the bread and toasted it.
I put the pumpkin on the toasted bread, sprinkled a bit of dukkah over it, added some caramelized onions, some of the labneh with sumac and cumin and garnished them with tiny parsley leaves. I’m not going to tell you that it was to die for good. Oh yeah, I am. You need to make this.
Finally, my little friend is always by my side. He hasn’t had a lot of personal attention lately but there were lots of people to keep him company.
This post is part of the In My Kitchen series by Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial where food bloggers from around the world give a peek at what’s new in their kitchens for the month. Join in – I’d love to see what’s in your kitchen!
aww Maureen ! amazing and lovely pictures all look beautiful! Like joy!
and love your little friend:) cute!
xo
…MMM very delicious Maureen, one of my favorites! I am like you, I could sit and eat the entire loaf of bread dipping in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar! Absolutely love it!! 🙂
Congratulations to your in-laws on their 67th wedding anniversary.
A lovely meal indeed. I remember eating the entire first loaf of ciabatta that I ever made with extra virgin olive oil in which freshly minced rosemary rosemary leaves had been steeping. I added some coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper to the oil as well … pure heaven.
Your falafel plate is inspiring me to make a fresh batch tomorrow and leave the remnants in my freezer for another day when I don’t have any free time.
Whar a whirlwind you have going on at times…bet it’s nice to have quiet back for a bit.
I have not had breakfast and that was a mistake. Now I want it ALL!! Especially that last treat; it’s an ‘oh my’ one for sure.
67 years! Amazing! Yes, I can see your friend by your side – making sure you don’t forget him:)
Bread with olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar Forever. I could live on that alone. 🙂
HI Maureen, wow! this sounds divine, would love to re-create. Congrats to your in-laws, that’s quite a long time.
So glad you found the Noosa Reds… we are officially in love with them here… bought some seeds back in February, hoping to grow them! Love all the good things in your kitchen, Maureen, Charlie included.
Thanks for the reminder about making labneh, that’s on the list! Both those dishes are making me drool. Lovely indexed.
Charlie is gorgeous, Maureen and what an excellent photo of him. He looks so contemplative and full of intelligence. Married for 67 years! That’s amazing. I’m so glad you had a celebration for Rob and Joan and it’s very sad that she may not know what’s going on for her 68th wedding anniversary. Your produce from the markets looks excellent and as for the pumpkin-on-bread-with-home-made-labneh – that looks outstanding. Great photos, Maureen xx
Everything looks delicious and your dog is the cutest ever!! I have never made falafels before. Isn’t it amazing that you can cook like crazy all the time and there are still tons of things you haven’t made yet!! Making crabapple jelly for my first time right now.
Wow I cant even do the math on 67 years. Maureen I am sure that those bruschettas are amazingly good but I cant tell you how good the photos are . See you soon -I’ll ring this week
G’day! Happy Anniversary Rob and Joan; a milestone indeed Maureen!
Your photos are gorgeous today and thanks for brightening my day!
Your four legged one is always a cutie and seems to like being photographed!
Thanks for this month kitchen’s view!
Cheers! Joanne
O I am loving the look of that falafel over there! And Happy anniversary to your parents in law too. Some amazing food you had!
What a special time especially with Joan and her condition and all. Ooh you’ve just reminded me of tomato season-yay! 😀
Nothing quite beats a good falafel right? And those cute little tomatoes are calling my name, they look fantastic!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
wonderful things in your kitchen maureen. i love your cute dog. and i must try that bread with pumpkin, labneh etc. sounds marvellous.
so sad about your mother in law. it is so hard watching the olds get…well…old. seeing them diminish is a very hard thing to take. all the best.
Happy 67 anniversary to The Olds! What a benchmark and how wonderful that your MIL is still able to enjoy it. Steak is the perfect celebration food. This little pumpkin treat looks perfect for our fall.
Oooh, I love your tomatoes. They’ve got great colours!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
wow, what a healthy selection of food intake,
well done Maureen!
You sound so rested now and full of energy – yeah! Love you yummy sandwich and can’t stop looking at that tomato picture, it looks like art work. Your little furry friend warms my heart, that face is just adorable!
Yum, those little bites look delicious! And, I love your little dog….so cute!
I’m glad you were able to celebrate with the in-laws…they are so lucky to have been blessed with you as a DIL. Sounds like you’ve had quite the yummy month so far!
I am loving what’s in your kitchen and on your counter and in your belly! Totally! Great to have such happy occasions to celebrate!
Maureen, your sweet friend is so photogenic! What a precious pup. All your photos are beautiful. I’m craving a bite of that gorgeous pumpkin crostini!!
Maureen – your pumpkin on bread looks mouthwatering!!! WOW – What a fantastic creation! Happy Anniversary to Rob and Joan!!! xxs
What bounty from the market! Your falafel pitas look excellent (so do your roasted pumpkin toasts). 67 years is indeed worth celebrating; my grandparents celebrated their 65th anniversary in June :).
Hello kitchen friend! I do love a furry friend underfoot while creating.
Those open sandwiches do look amazing. As do the falafel pitas. Now I want at least one of each. And I’m envious of the lovely colourful farmer’s market bounty. What a lovely IMK month!
That sourdough with the labneh Maureen… divine! It’s great when a plan comes together. Wonderful that you were able to have one last celebration and make some memories for the rest of you. Cheers xx
67 years! That is quite an innings.
Love the first and the last entries – good food and a good companion make life a lot easier.
Maureen I don’t know how I missed this when you first posted it, but I took one look at gorgeous pumpkin and labneh on toast and just about fainted it was so beautiful! Also those tomatoes are so stunning I wish I had some with me right now!
Oh yeah, I could eat that. For breakfast please, can you deliver? Those tomatoes look AMAZING too – did you buy out the whole shop? And 67 years married! What an achievement for Rob and Joan – congratulations to them! You are so good looking after them M, they’re very lucky to have you. xxx
67 years! I *think* next year is our 10th year… I think… LOL. Wow that a big milestone! I love your fresh ingredients from farmer’s market! The shot of roasted pumpkin on toast looks amazing… Now I’m hungry. 😀
I love those tomatoes too. What did you do with them in the end? But, oh la la! The pumpkin crostini looks to die for. What a flavour explosion. Can I come round for an aperitif? I will be posting my guide to making tradtitional French bread at home shortly but it looks like the French Sin shop has it all sewn up. Off to check our your eggplant and caramelized onion dip now. What a treat your blog is!
Maureen, you know how much I love your Charlie, nothing compared to him 🙂
So much deliciousness from the markets Maureen! How lovely that the anniversary was celebrated in style 🙂 We have ours next week, but with only 24 yrs under our belts we have a long way to go! Xox
Hi Maureen! I’m a falafel fanatic, I love making it as a quick meal. And fresh homemade Labneh is delicious, I may have to go make some now! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Oh, what a beautiful post! I love my farmers’ markets too, and that open sandwich looks incredible. Thanks for sharing!
Now all I can think about is bread/pumpkin/caramalised onion/dukkah! What a brilliant combo. I can’t wait for tomato season to start here. Thanks for the peek into your kitchen!
Well this post made me quite hungry! I want that bruschetta!