Kate's Kitchen of Kyneton | For the Love of Baking

Tea cups and you…

The biggest part of my kitchen is not the food, or the decor, or even the delicious coffee! Its…. YOU! The beautiful people who walk through the doors! They are what makes my kitchen what it is.

When I decided that I wanted to incorporate my two loves – people and baking – I put a lot of thought into how I could make it a personalised and special experience.

I wanted choice to be the thing that would make a simple dining experience into something more… something memorable!

So the choice is yours when you come in for tea at Kate’s Kitchen… select your tea cup! 11169148_1000630103321679_3440272383059150313_n-2

We have a beautiful array of cups and saucers – each with their own personality and charm. Whatever draws your eye first is what you should select – it stood out to you for a reason!

Enjoy the beauty of sipping out of china cups – one you have selected from the shelf just like you would at home!

We all have a favourite mug at home, or cup or glass that is distinctly you – and thats what I wanted to bring to my kitchen!

So pop in a have a look – select your tea from our beautiful range then select the cup that is quintessentially you and sit back relax and enjoy some YOU time with us!

Winter and Devonshire Tea…

Nothing warms your heart like a warm scone with jam and cream and a hot cup of tea…

Especially in Kyneton on these cold wintery days!

And nothing warms my heart more than making scones! I find the process very relaxing… Which is lucky that I have opened a little kitchen which serves lots of them!

I make my scones the traditional way – by rubbing soft butter into the flour then adding milk… There are lots of fantastic recipes out there for quick and easy scones using cream and lemonade – but the reason I prefer the butter method is because I like spending the time making the dough! I actually enjoy the process – a bit like some people enjoy meditation – I like making scones!

So why don’t you give this recipe a try – or if you don’t feel like making them yourself come on in to Kate’s Kitchen on Piper Street, Kyneton and have some Devonshire Tea with me!

225g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb soda
40g unsalted butter (room temperature)
25g caster sugar
150ml semi skim milk (warmed slightly)

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C.

Sift together flour and bicarb into a large mixing bowl then rub in the softened butter (take a moment to enjoy this process!)

Stir through the caster sugar.

Pour in the semi skim milk and gently fold together until dough is formed. (Take care not to over work it though – nobody likes to be over worked!)

Transfer dough onto a floured bench and gently pat out to about 10cm thick.

Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

TIP: Place the scones close together – this will aid them to rise UP instead of out!

Brush on a little milk then bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown on top. (Don’t over bake or you’ll end up with rocks instead of scones…)

Enjoy with lashings of cream and beautiful home made jam!

The key is to be gentle with your scones through all the steps… give them love and care and they will finish up fluffy and beautiful!

And most of all – enjoy the process, take time to find joy in each step as I do in all my baking…

‘For the love of baking…’

Just start…

Just start

I’d been putting off one large job in particular at the shop… not because it was hard or that I wasn’t ready for it but because the thought of actually doing it was stopping me…

It’s not the most enjoyable job and its very time consuming…

Can you guess what that job is??…

Painting!

Every surface in the whole shop needs the be painted… At least 3 full days work involved… its messy, you have to cover EVERYTHING and the paint fumes… yuck! – so you can see why it was a task that I was putting off… If I could find an excuse to not start – I would! And have been for the past month…

BUT! Without the painting done I can’t open! So we made a start and you know what – yes it is exhausting – but it wasn’t so bad once I started! And it was amazing to look back at the end of the day and actually see some progress and improvement!

So, the life lesson I’ve learnt in this – JUST START! Don’ think about things too much, don’t think about the process or the end result, just start and be present in what you are doing. Enjoy just now, and don’t worry about how far you’ll get or what more you have to do.

You will get to the end before you even know it – and you’ll actually enjoy the process along the way!

So to all my readers out there with projects that you are putting off – just make the start! You can do it! And you’ll feel so good and satisfied not just at the end but along the way too.

Progress report!

A lot has changed lately at Kate’s Kitchen of Kyneton HQ! So I thought it was about time to give you all a bit of an update!

We actually have a front of house display area which is incredibly exciting – I can now picture the layout of the tables and chairs and visualise people sitting in the shop enjoying our food and hospitality!

We also had some beautiful new flooring put down throughout the whole shop which has completely changed the look and feel of the place! It’s starting to feel like home!

We have also made decisions on signage and arranged for its installation, selected paint colours for inside and sorted out our storage room (boring for some – exciting for me!)

Bench tops have been installed and plumbing and electrical nearly completed!

Behind the scenes we have also been thinking about and making decisions on employee’s which is a very exciting step in our journey – inviting people along for the ride! Setting up our point of sale system – “Kyal’s Baby” – my husband is very good with computers so this is totally his thing! And finalising suppliers and our menu for opening!

So although it looks like all I do is bake all day – a lot has been going on at Kate’s Kitchen!

Can’t wait for the moment I hit the submit button on the “We’re now open” blog! I can see the light – we are very nearly there!

Jumping in the deep end…

In the time since deciding on a new career path and opening the cafe of my dreams I’ve spent a lot of time treading water in the deep end of life!

I’ve had limited experience in a lot of the things I’ve done in the last few months and spent a lot of time wondering “am I doing this right?”…

But I have come to realise that there is no right or wrong way of doing something, no bad result or good result… There is just doing and results. And from doing and getting results we learn! And isn’t learning the most wonderful thing we can do!

If we never take ourselves out of our comfort zone and “give it a red hot crack” – how will we ever experience anything new in life! How will we learn if we keep doing the same things are are used to?

Sure things can always be done differently but I’ve found that no matter what way you do something (the long or the short way) you will get the same result in the end! So it doesn’t matter how something is done, or how many hurdles you have had to jump over because you have LEARNT! Those hurdles were put in your way because you had something to learn…

And boy have I learnt a lot – not only how to do things but also proven to myself that I CAN do things! My first instinct when faced with something new was “I’ve never done this before – how am I supposed to know what to do??” – and I was exactly right – how was I supposed to know what to do! But giving it a shot, and learning along the way was how I was going to get to the end result. And sure – next time I go to do that thing I’ll do it completely differently – but I still got there in the end so does it really matter? No! Did I learn something? YES!

Learning to live out of your comfort zone is one of the most rewarding things you can do – but first you MUST NOT BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF! Give yourself a break! You’ll get to where you want to be, you’ll achieve what you want – but most importantly you’ll learn – so let yourself learn and enjoy the process!

For those of you out there wondering “should I give that dream a shot” I say YES! Go and do it! Give it a try! Get out there and learn! You never know where it’ll take you if you don’t give it a shot!

So sure – I’ve been treading water in the deep end but I’m still here, still learning and loving what I’m experiencing along the way!

I love Green Tomatoes!

So its the end of the tomato season and your tomato plant is filled with green tomatoes that are just NEVER going to ripen… don’t despair! This is my most favourite time of the tomato season!

Because you know what that means…

Preserving time! and… Green Tomato Pickle!!

Below is my favourite recipe for Green Tomato Pickle – from Sally Wise’s recipe book “Out of the Bottle”. This truly is a great book for those first time preservers – it has pretty much everything you need to know to get you started, trouble shooting, tips and hints and is packed with great recipes!

Green Tomato Pickle

3kg green tomatoes, chopped
1kg onion, peeled and finely chopped
3tbs cooking salt
3 cups white vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1kg sugar
2/3 cup white vinegar (extra)
3 scant tbs curry powder
3 scant tbs mustard powder

Place chopped tomatoes and onions in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and mix. Cover and leave over night on your bench.

After leaving to stand over night, a large amount of water will have been extracted from the tomato and onion mixture – drain off and discard this water.

Then place the onions and tomatoes into a large saucepan, add the 3 cups of vinegar, pepper and sugar and bring to the boil.

Once boiling, cook for 1 hour stirring often.

After one hour has passed, mix extra vinegar with the curry and mustard powders in a small bowl then stir into the cooked mixture. Bring to the boil again and simmer for 5 minutes until thick and well combined.

Pour into sterilised jars and seal before allowing the mixture to cool. (This will make about 4 litres of pickle.)

And you are done! This keeps for 2 years in a cool dark place – the longer you leave it the darker the colour gets and more developed the flavour… yum!

Your’s to enjoy with cold meats, cheese, on pies or sausage rolls, in sandwiches… the list is endless!

Seriously give this one a try next time you get your hands on some green tomatoes… you won’t be disappointed!

My new job title – “Project Manager”!

When I embarked on the journey to opening my very own kitchen I knew that it wouldn’t just be a walk in the park, I realised there would be many hours of researching, sourcing, organising, emailing, calling people… And a hell of a lot of learning to be done also!

What I didn’t fully comprehend was how much I would have to learn about building, construction and renovating! I guess I assumed that all of this would take care of itself… how wrong I was!

So my new job title – until we open of course! – is “Project Manager”! I take my hat off to all those project managers out there! You basically have to have a good understanding of every trade you are dealing with!

Given the fact I didn’t know much about building or trades before I started – I have been asking A LOT of questions! I have to make sure I fully understand what each specific trade was going to do, what they needed to have done before they can start and how long they are going to take… All this so that I can work out the logistics of where, what, when and how!

As soon as I realised that I was in fact managing the building side of this wonderful little venture – it was “apron off and hard hat on” to make sure I got everything running like a well oiled machine!

So – at the moment, the electrician and plumber have “roughed in” (a new tradie term I picked up!), walls are ready for the plasterer to come and finish off, part of the new flooring has been laid in preparation for appliances and bench tops to be installed, the new front doors are being constructed and the external painting has mostly been completed!

It’s safe to say… as much as I’m enjoying the process of the shop fit out – I can’t wait to change my job title back from “Project Manager” to “Baking Goddess”!!! And can not wait to share the completed shop with you all!

Cafe or Kitchen…?

What’s in a name…?

One of the very first things I made a decision on when I started my business was the name… I wanted something that was memorable, classic and inviting.

Who was I doing this for? Me – so putting “Kate” in the name was an obvious choice!

But why did I decide on “Kate’s Kitchen” and not “Kate’s Cafe”?

Both roll off the tongue equally as well, both tell you what I do – sell food! To me though, “Cafe” and “Kitchen” bring with it two very different feelings.

My mother has a sign in her kitchen at home which says –

“No Matter Where I Serve My Guests They Seem To Like My Kitchen Best!”

This sign has hung in her kitchen for as long as I can remember. Whenever I read it I think – how true is that…

“Kitchen’s” hold so many memories for people. It may remind you of home, to make you feel like you are stepping into your family kitchen, sitting at the bench or table waiting for a tasty meal to be lovingly put down in front of you. It may make you think of all the classics that come out of peoples kitchens – scones, hearty soups, scrumptious sandwiches, simple but delicious cakes… And it also may make you feel AT home.

So to make my guests feel all of these things, I chose… “Kate’s Kitchen!” Where I’ll be sharing a piece of my home with you all!

And once we are open I will invite you all into my kitchen to share in the things I love to do!

As they say…

Kate’s Kitchen of Kyneton…

Gluten Free is Fun Free, right?

A few years ago when my husband found out he was gluten intolerant – nearly coeliac on the scale – he was devastated! With an Italian background and growing up in a pizza restaurant, this was an extremely hard pill to swallow…

Bread of course was his biggest issue… no longer could he just go to a bakery and buy a salad roll, or have the complimentary fresh bread when we headed out to dinner… The gluten free bread options at Safeway were not ideal – they are expensive and the size of the loaf was half of a normal one…

Feeling very defeated he often just gave into eating normal bread – which of course had its consequences…

But then we discovered Gluten Free bakeries! Stocking just gluten free products – which meant their heart and soul went into making their goods the best they can be – not just as an alternative!

So I started to change the way I cooked, cooking everything gluten free. Even though I can eat “normal” food – it was pointless making one dinner gluten free and one with gluten!

As a passionate baker – I didn’t want to compromise the quality of what I was baking so I tested and tested and converted and researched gluten free recipes.

Now, most of my sweet and savoury baked items are gluten free – and you wouldn’t even notice it! I’ve had comment like “these are the best red velvet cupcakes I’ve ever had – and their gluten free!” – from people who aren’t gluten intolerant! Which is a testament to the effort put in to perfecting something that everyone can enjoy – despite having a gluten intolerance.

gluten free blog

So in answer to my first question? No – gluten free does not mean fun free! It doesn’t mean you miss out on beautiful looking and tasting food, and it certainly doesn’t mean your culinary enjoyment is over for ever!

Once the doors to my cafe open – if you have a gluten intolerance, and even if you don’t, head on in and see – that I take out the gluten to pack in the fun, taste and enjoyment!

ANZAC biscuits…

ANZAC biscuits… a humble cookie which holds so much depth and meaning… I love that Australian’s use their love of food to celebrate and commemorate certain events. BBQ’s, pie nights, baked goods – we do it all to bring everyone together to celebrate and remember.

With the centenary of the ANZAC’s landing at Gallipoli this year, my local CWA branch wanted to do something to commemorate the event. We are embarking on baking 1000 ANZAC biscuits to hand out to local’s at the ANZAC day service in Kyneton. Seems like a mammoth task but its nothing in comparison to the sacrifice these men and women made for our country.

Many people have different recipes for ANZAC biscuits with differing preferences on how hard or soft the biscuit ends up! But here is the traditional CWA recipe (I’m letting this secret out!) which produced the most lovely tasting ANZAC biscuits with a light crunch and won’t break your teeth!

CWA ANZAC Biscuits:

125g butter
2 tbs golden syrup
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
2 tbs boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup coconut

Combine butter and golden syrup in a pan and stir over medium heat until butter is melted.
Combine soda and water and pour in with melted butter – the mixture should froth up.
Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
Roll mixture into balls (approx. the size of a golf ball).
Place on trays with enough room to allow them to spread slightly and flatten with the back of a fork just a little.
Bake at approx. 160C for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
Makes approx. 18 biscuits.

For those with a gluten intolerance – you can substitute (with the exact same amount) with gluten free plain flour and quinoa flakes instead of rolled oats. Turns out just as well and just as delicious!

Your house will smell amazing after baking these beautiful biscuits. They are perfect with a freshly brewed pot of loose leaf tea… Not sure you’ll be able to stop at one though!

As you savour on your freshly baked ANZAC’s, remember the spirit in which these are named – thank them for their sacrifice to enable us to live in the beautiful country we call home.

Lest we Forget.