Kitchen Diary

Hmmmmmmm…….delicious, garlicky and so more-ish!!!  

A couple of evenings ago hubs and I had some wraps for dinner…..just perfect al fresco dining fare for these perfect mild evenings we have been having in Cape Town lately……a glass of chilled vino or cider as we had, and you have a delicious meal!! I sort of followed a “greeky mediterranean” theme for these and made some hummus and tzatziki, pan seared some pounded chicken breast fillets in a bit of olive oil and seasoned with just salt & pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, then sliced thinly. Served with rocket, sliced red onion, tomatoes, pitted black olives, feta, sundried tomato and of course the floured tortilla wraps 

HUMMUS

1 Can Chickpeas – drained and rinsed
 (of course you can soak and boil your own if you want to Belinda!!!)
2-3 Cloves Garlic – finely grated or crushed
100ml Tahini Paste
1 Lemon – juice of whole and a little of the rind finely grated
Salt & Black Pepper
Lemon Infused Olive Oil (the best is Willow Creek!!)
Jenny Morris Smoked Paprika

Blend the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice & rind together until smooth and creamy
Add a bit of water if it is too thick
Drizzle in a little glug of olive oil while blending
Season to taste
Dollop into a bowl then drizzle over a little bit more olive oil
Sprinkle over a good shake of paprika
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves or parsley

TZATZIKI

250ml Thick Greek Yoghurt
1/2 Cucumber – roughly grated and squeezed a bit
(to get rid of some of the juice)
1-3 Garlic Cloves – finely grated
Salt & Black Pepper to season
1 tsp Chopped Parsley
1 tsp Chopped Mint
Squeeze of Lemon Juice

Mix all the ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning
Allow to stand for a few hours or overnight
Garnish with parsley or mint and serve with pita breads or as part of a mezze spread

Enjoy!!!

browniegirl xxx

 
Well, I must say……..that feels so much better……I had such a craving earlier for curry that I had to leave the fudge pots for a little while and satisfy my cravings!!! There was just nothing else to do……

DHAL MAKHANI

MOO’S DHAL MAKHANI

1 Tbs Butter

1 Tbs Cooking Oil

1 Can Lentils – drained
1 Can Kidney Beans - drained

2 Onions - chopped

4 Cloves Garlic - finely grated or crushed
1 Tbs Grated Fresh Ginger

2 Red Chillies - finely sliced or chopped

50g Tomato Paste

1 Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes - just use a sharp knife to chop them up in the tin

1 tsp Cumin Seeds - dry roasted in a pan

½ tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Crushed Chillies or Chilli Powder (I wanted it hot!!!)

1 tsp Ground Coriander -  use whole spice then roast and grind - much nicer

½ tsp Fennel Seeds

5 Cardamom Pods – pounded then seeds toasted and ground

¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder

2 Bay Leaves
Small handful of dried curry leaves

1 tsp Garam Masala
Salt & Black Pepper to season

1 tsp Sugar -  to neutralize the acidity from the tomatoes

Bunch Coriander leaves - chopped -  keep a few sprigs for decoration

Cream or Greek Yoghurt

Mix all the spices & seeds together (excepting for the Garam Masala) and set aside

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped onions and sauté gently until limp not browned

Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and stir for about a minute

Add the mixed spices and stir-fry until the fragrance is released

Add the tomato paste and stir

Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt & pepper, bay leaves & curry leaves and stir then bring to a gentle boil.

Allow to simmer for 10 minutes

Add the drained lentils and beans, stir then simmer for about 20 minutes to marry all the flavours

Stir through the Garam Masala, taste and add more seasoning if needed

Add the chopped coriander leaves and stir through

Add 2 Tbs Cream and stir through (I used Bulgarian Yoghurt)

Serve garnished with a sprig of coriander and a swirl of cream or Greek Yoghurt

Accompany with rice or rootis

I never had time to make the rice, I never had rotis and I never had naan (which I would’ve killed for hehe)  but I did have a wrap left over from dinner a couple of nights ago…………..mmmmmm, browniegirl mopped up every last bit of delicious, spicy goodness!!
 

have a great evening,
browniegirl xxx

Browniegirl needs some spiciness…………and some savoury!!!! I am surrounded by sweetness. Cake, fudge, jellies, jams, cookies, biscuits, muffins, chocolate……….on the blogs today I seem to be seeing sweet things……..NO!!! I need some sustenance now….Rosie’s bread would be wonderful, Julie Jam’s  lamb chops would be superb…… Nafisa’s quesadillas would be grand (with some jalapenos in the middle) but the way I am feeling right now……it has to be spicy and curried………..Ive started dreaming about curried fudge…….any takers for that one???? Hmmmm……..I am off to feed my craving…………..my house, and probably the whole neighborhood, is permeated with the sweetest smells coming from my kitchen, fudge smells sublime,whatever flavour you are making, chocolate goodies smell divine, christmas cakes smell fragrantly warm and wonderful….but I am off to get me some curry!!!!!!!!!! Enough is enough…………watch this space, brownie is on a mission……….

till later,
xxx

Here is a photo of my chilli fudge……..now this is SUBLIME!!!

Followed other blogger examples and did the blogthing quickly while waiting for cakes to come out oven……….I am the same as my blogga soulsista …………..surprise surprise…….but hey I am also not divisive……….unless Im cleaving something apart with my chef’s knife hehe!!

You are a Knife

You are precise, determined, and detail oriented. You mean what you say, and you say what you mean. You enjoy taking risks and living on the edge. You are a controversial person. You opinions tend to be divisive.

Let’s see what kind of utensil you lot are…………………..

WHAT KIND OF UTENSIL ARE YOU

browniegirl xxx

Day is dying in the west………

FINALLY…………………as the sun sets on a magnificent day……………browniegirl gets a bit of breathing space to blog!!!! I have been having withdrawal symptoms already!! I have missed everyone and I am so glad that I was missed in turn!! Thanx so much for all the comments and messages. I really do appreciate them )

Last rays of sun on the mountain             Sunset over the Kom

MY BAROMETER – indicating S/E wind for tomorrow

The reason for me being MIA is that I have entered the busiest time of the year in my kitchen so I have been slogging away over hot pots – making jam, jellies, fudge, chutney, chilli jam……….the list goes on and on. This is for my regular stall that I have at our annual church Christmas Fair. What can I say? Browniegirls goodies are popular. The cookies and biscuits have to be done the day before the fair but by then all the other stuff has to be made, bottled and labeled. And all that on top of my regular baking orders for cakes & quiches. AND………….despite trying to fly low and stay below the radar this year (because of moving house Belinda) my regular Christmas Cake customers are finding me and the orders have started coming in. So guess what I will be doing tomorrow??????? Yep, baking again. Just as well I love, really love, doing that!!! In case you all are wondering……..browniegirl and hubs still have to eat so a bit of cooking also has been happening here and there!!

Making pectin

Sweet daughter and her little family moved house this weekend so hubs got involved with the manual stuff and I did a bit of babysitting……..not as much as I would’ve liked to help though. Moving is very stressful as you lot all know!!

Granny’s little helper!!

I did manage to spend a bit of time in the garden with my trusty camera though. Today was a spectacular day in Cape Town and the gardens are looking so lovely, thanx to all that wonderful winter rain that we had (and moaned about!!!) Anyhoooo………here are some photo’s from my garden………

And, oh yes, my wonderful hubby stepped up to the plate today and made us a very unhealthy fry-up for lunch……………..how can it be that a browniegirl can have an underweight man in the house……while I am trying desperately to lose some weight (a lot of weight in fact!!) poor hubs is desperate to put on 5kgs!!!

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my latest photies!!

God bless and have a great week,

Browniegirl xxx

As you all know, or should know Belinda, October - or Pink October as it is known - is the month dedicated to raising Breast Cancer awareness. One of my favourite bloggers – Bron Marshall - has invited other bloggers to join her in this fun event to raise public awareness for Breast Cancer! 

Paris Brest, a french choux pastry confection, was created in 1891 in honour of the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race, the precursor to the Tour de France of today. The circular ring shape resembles a bicycle wheel! 

PINK PARIS BREST
originally blogged here  – pimped by me (as usual)

Choux Pastry:

250ml Cold Water

100g Unsalted Butter

Pinch of Salt 

1 cup strong / high grade White Bread Flour - sifted twice. I used stone ground white bread flour

3-4 Jumbo Eggs (weighing about 220g out of the shell) –  lightly beaten

Pink Ganache:

50ml cream

100g Organic white vanilla chocolate, chopped

Rose Syrup - just a few drops to tint it pink

Flaked Raw Almonds – dry toasted in a pan

Edible dried Pink Rose Petals - or fresh if you prefer  

Mascarpone & Raspberry Filling:

1/2 cup of fresh or frozen/thawed Raspberries

125g Mascarpone 

100ml Whipped Cream

1/4 cup Castor Sugar - or to taste

1 tsp Orange Flower Water

Draw 8 x 10cm circles, well apart, onto baking paper, then draw 8 x 5cm circles inside those.
Turn the paper over so that the pencil marks are on the bottom and place
onto a large baking sheet or tray.
Preheat the oven to 190ºC

• Place the water and butter in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a rolling boil.
• Add the sifted flour and salt all at once and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes away from the sides and forms a stiff ball.
• Remove from the heat, add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition, until the dough reaches dropping consistency. If you pinch off a bit between forefinger & thumb it should stretch as you move your fingers apart. If it breaks instead, add a bit more egg.
• Using a piping bag, fitted with the biggest nozzle you have, pipe inside the rings drawn on the baking paper. Pipe another circle right inside and right up against the first one, then pipe another circle on top so that there are no gaps.
• Sprinkle a little water about the tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed, dry and golden.
• As soon as you remove them from the oven pierce each ring in a couple of places around the side with the tip of a sharp knife to allow steam to escape and reduce deflating.
• Remove from the tray and cool on a wire rack.

~~~~~~~~~

• Heat the cream & rose syrup to just below boiling point – I do this in the microwave
• Add the chopped chocolate and let stand for one minute before whisking all together until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth and glossy
• Allow to cool slightly

~~~~~~~~~

• In a large bowl stir the mascarpone to loosen it a bit
• Add the whipped cream, raspberries, sugar and flavouring

~~~~~~~~~

Slit the choux rings in half and fill the bottom ring with a generous amount of the raspberry macarpone cream.
Place the other halves gently on top of the fillling and spread a little of the ganache attractively so it runs down the sides, sprinkle with the flaked almonds and rose petals.

Makes 8 delightful sized B cup Pink Paris brests )

Choux Pastry Troubleshooting Tips

• Collapsed Rings – Could be removing from the oven too soon – Underbaked; Using too soft a flour; Oven too hot; Too much water; Too much egg.
• Lack of Volume in Rings (Tough and Doughy) – Could be too much flour; Not enough egg; Using too soft  a flour.
  

Enjoy!!! I know my family certainly did….sweet daughter declared them the best
choux thingies she has ever tasted )

browniegirl xxx

 This is for Vusi to take to the party tonight to celebrate Julius Malema
joining the comedians…….

browniegirl xxx

Sooooo, after our fab morning at the Stellenbosh Fresh Goods Market and lunch under the trees, and of course the wallet injection, we headed out of Stellenbosch once again en route for Polkadraai Strawberry Farm. Take a look here if you want to know more about them and other pick-your-own places!! Cherry picking is next on my list of things to pick. Every year I say I want to do it but the season is so short and before you know it I miss it…..not this year God willing!!!!!!!

This is a worthwhile family outing. The children love picking their own strawberries and are fascinated by the many scarecrows dotting the landscape. The only thing I hate about it (well other than my back-ache that is) is the horsefly thingies that bite like blazes – if you don’t get them first. I used Tabard (past experiences and the like) but they still got me in a couple of places I didn’t spray ( but it was still worth it LOL!!! 

If you live in Cape Town and surrounds……go pick your own!!!!!

browniegirl xxx
 

Saturday dawned as the most perfect day in the Cape Peninsula….I am sure Capetonians were all soooo thrilled to get a clear, rain-free, fog-free, wind-free day!!! The beaches were a popular destination for many. But I was on a mission. I wanted strawberries……….and I wanted lots of them!! To make jam with!! So hubs and I left our nest quite early Saturday morning and took to the road – headed for the mountains instead of the beaches! Our destination – Polkadraai Strawberry Farm to pick strawberries!!!! And of course, secretly, browniegirl intended visiting the Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market as well, unbeknownst to happy hubby hehe!! I mean really, how can you visit the area without popping in there??? Especially if you are a passionate foodie!!! I had heard and read so much about it!! So, halfway there,  I had to make my intention known and we decided we would go to the market first as we had no idea where it was or what hours it operated……I am soooo glad we went. It was just fabulous and browniegirl was in her flippin element……….even had to ask one of the stall holders if there was an ATM nearby *blush* but to hubs abject relief he answered “No!” LOL!! But I had such fun while it lasted……..

SIDE VIEW’S WEEKEND CHALLENGE

Here’s mine

Seeing as that was so easy and Cat & Col got it straight away,
here is another one…………..

Have a great week!

browniegirl xxx