Wednesday 2 November 2011

Some of my favorite kitchen things


So, this thing is, my big round chopping board is a piece of rose mahogany from Tolga Woodworks in Far North Queensland. It was sold as a raw piece of wood, for someone to make a bowl from I guess. The smell of the wood still comes through when I scrub it in hot hot water and I just love it. The origins of my big wooden stirrer are now forgotten, but it does a great job as a walnut smasher when not being used for stirring, and it is a fabulous thing that I use almost every day. Bowls I have a few - only a very few. This one I bought in Bangkok a few years ago and it brings back memories of picking it out in a crowded shop smelling of sandalwood and spices. 
On spices, my spice rack is like a bit of artwork on the wall. Nothing unusual really, but I got this one at the National Gallery in Victoria when I went to see the Golden Summers exhibition of the Australian Impressionists. Just using the spices reminds me of being young beside the upper reaches of the Yarra in high summer. The teacup comes from the Dunedin Potters' Co-op gallery on Lower Sturt Steet. Reminds me of walking up from the markets on a cold Saturday morning with a bag of vegetables on my way to have coffee in the Octagon. It was very special when the gallery was full of flowers for the Rhododendron Festival. The dried chillis are from Rachel's garden, just up the road here in Rotorua. I forget to use them though.
This old clock is set at ten past eight. It used to work, I used to have a lego key which fitted it perfectly (!) and I'd wind it up once a week, but I lost the key (any more, Matt?) This clock was on the wall of the farm kitchen when I was a kid. Time to run for the school bus! Maybe a wedding present of Lou and Joan's? But I also love it for it's own sake. Very cool. 
These two things are from Singapore. The C. K. Tang money box is about my most favorite object. This was their old store on Orchard Road, long gone, sadly. What a lovely shop that was, with it's sloping wooden floors and old shelves piled deep with all manner of things, a treasure trove. I dream about that shop. And the Villeroy and Boch sugar bowl, which has a matching milk jug, came from the new C. K. Tangs and was a wedding present from Justin. One day I might get a teapot to match.

Finally - just a few of the boxes, tins and containers from old sorts of places. The world has got too small, that you can now buy french sardines at Capers in Rotorua, eh.

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