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by browniegirl

A fantastic Giveaway Food and Wine Blogger Indaba

June 13, 2012 in Uncategorized

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 There is so much happening on the Indaba front that I rarely find the time to pop in to visit blogs or even to come and blog on my own blogs these days. But this is so important and special that I absolutely have to share it in case someone here has not been over to read the official SA Food and Wine Blogger Indaba blog lately. And if you haven’t I would encourage you….nay….URGE you to go and read the Agenda and if you would like to attend this very exciting event then book immediately. There are only 20 seats remaining. If you are on twitter (and once again I urge you to open an account and tweet if you own a blog) then follow me @Collywolly or the official Indaba account @SAFWiBI – there are AMAZING giveaways happening over there. You can also follow on the official Facebook page to keep up to date. I am sad to see that this event, the only one of it’s kind in Africa, is not well supported and advertised over here on this forum.  Subscribing to the Indaba blog posts will keep you totally abreast as well. I hate to think that anyone who has a passion for blogging will miss out because they didn’t know about this event.

I look forward very much to seeing some of your fabulous bloggers there……

Until then,

browniegirl xx

PS This competition closes midnight Friday 15 June 2012

Who DOESN’T want their blog audited right? I reckon every blogger should be clamouring for this particularly wonderful prize, valued at R5000 and available to only one lucky winner. Closing date is Friday evening, so get cracking on twitter if you would like to win this…..

One of the sessions at the Indaba that we are most excited about is the search engine optimisation workshop that will be run by Neil Pursey.  Most of you have probably heard of the term SEO but have no idea how to apply it to your own blog – and yet there are many fairly simple tips to make it easier for search engines to find your blog which Neil will share with you at his workshop.

Neil is the owner of WebGrowth, FoxyTonic and co-founder of the GROW Academy. He is passionate about search and website usability and discovered his interest in SEO by chance while trying to generate more traffic and sales for one of his previous businesses.  Neil identified a need for SEO in South Africa and so he founded WebGrowth and started researching SEO. Since its inception in 2006, WebGrowth has evolved into a software and education company and uses its platform to educate South Africans in SEO.

During the course of Neil’s workshop at the Indaba, he plans to cover:

  1. A brief introduction to SEO and where we are at today
  2. Basic techniques to improve your site’s search visibility
  3. How to track your progress
  4. Live site audit
  5. On-site optimisation
  6. Competitor analysis
  7. Strategies to improve on SEO

And point number 4 is where you come in! Neil has offered that bloggers attending the Indaba and who are curious to know how well their site is currently optimised for search engines are going to be given a chance to find out during a live site audit on the day.  If you would like your site to be considered for this live site audit, here’s all you have to do:

Tweet “I want my site audited!” and include the hashtag #seobloggerindaba as well as the url of your website/blog

It could not be simpler!  Also, if you have any questions relating to SEO, you can tweet the question at any time before 24 June using the same #seobloggerindaba and Neil will (time permitting) try to answer your questions during the workshop.  From all the submissions, Neil will choose the website best suited for the SEO case study on the day of the Indaba.

And as an added bonus, those of you who tweet and enter the competition will be placed in a lucky draw that will be drawn at the Indaba.   The winner will receive a full month worth of reporting stats on their blog, together with a 1hr consultation with Neil at the end of the month. The winner will also receive a full strategy and action plan to improve on their site’s search visibility. The prize is valued at R5000.

The competition closes on Friday 15 June, so you’d better hurry and get Tweeting! Good luck! 

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by browniegirl

Easy Creamy Asparagus Soup Recipe

April 23, 2012 in LIGHT MEALS

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Lately I have been struggling to cook. When you cannot eat the food yourself you lose that passion to cook awesome meals. It has been 10 months now since I last ate and chewed my way through an ordinary every day meal….one that you take for granted until something happens and you find yourself spending your days longing for a piece of steak, or a slow roasted leg of lamb. Pork chops done in cider with cranberry would be delicious…..as would perfectly pink duck breast served with some awesome sticky citrus sauce or some yummy quince jelly. A delicious lemon and thyme roasted chicken would hit the spot right now. But instead my days are filled, in reality, with whatever smoothie I can make with the ingredients and fruit that I have on hand, or what soup I feel like sipping….I can manage soft stuff like flaky fish, well cooked finely minced beef or lamb, soft pasta, pureed or smashed veggies….in other words stuff that doesnt require any heavy duty masticating! As in chewing people before your minds start wandering off the subject here. So with the struggle to cook comes the struggle to blog…they go hand in hand. You passionately bake or cook something that looks drool worthy on the photos and sounds delicious reading through the ingredients….you will be passionate and proud to get it up on your blog. That just hasn’t been it for me in a while. So when I DO manage to do something delicious (even if it is the dreaded soup or a smoothie) I feel a bit of that old passion returning and it gives me hope to know that the fires are not entirely ashes….that some embers are warmly flickering inside there, just needing some little bit of life breathed into them to burst into flame again. I hope those embers can withstand another 7-9 months….I sometimes feel that I cannot, but I am only just over half way through my treatment program. Next surgical procedure happens mid May. And then I feel depression settling around me like a heavy, grey, dull, asphyxiating blanket. Almost like when that very thick peasouper of a fog comes rolling in off the icy ocean to settle in the valley where I live….Above the valley the sun is shining…..2 miles out of town the sun is shining and everyone is having a wonderful day….while in the valley we feel only the damp dankness of the fog. We see no shining sun….we believe that the rest of the city is shrouded in the same wet blanket. I constantly remind myself,  daily, that I will not look beyond THIS day…..

Well, on THIS day I decided to make a new soup – not new in the sense of us never having eaten it before but new in the sense that I have never made this one before. At the end of last week I was at the Food Lovers Market and they had some beautifully fresh crisp green asparagus spears there so I bought almost 1kg of them with the intention of using them in a number of different ways. Needless to say they came in very handy for the soup that I made today – a creamy delicious green asparagus soup that has left me with a warm full belly and enough passion to do a blog post immediately! YAAY! And there is enough left over for 2 more helpings! Last week I made some stunning roasted butternut, sweet potato and apple soup. So very good….and I have about 5 portions left in the freezer for when I want some. Tomorrow I am making my Cold and Flu Busting Chicken Noodle Soup because yes…….I am fighting this head cold which seems to be winning at the moment. I cannot afford to be ill right now. I am into the final run of planning for the SA Food and Wine Blogger Indaba and it is taking up all my time and energy. Can not be in bed with a thick head now with so much to do. The pressure is on and I have to get the booking open this week.

So for now……..here is my recipe….I stood with paper and pencil next to me as I worked and wrote down what I was doing so that I could put the recipe up here. And it turned out to be really delicious!

CREAMY ASPARAGUS SOUP

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 750g Fresh Green Asparagus spears – woody stem bits discarded
  • 1 Large Onion – peeled and chopped
  • 3 Leeks – washed and sliced
  • 1 Garlic clove – peeled and finely sliced
  • 30ml Olive Oil
  • 30ml Butter
  • 1 Liter Hot Chicken Stock (use Vegetable stock for the veg option)
  • 500ml Water
  • 6 Sprigs Thyme – leaves picked off and stems removed
  • Large bunch Fresh Parsley (about 25g)
  • 60ml  Cream or Crème Fraiche (optional)
  • ½ Lemon – Finely grated zest and juice
  • Salt and pepper
  • 20g Parmesan Cheese – finely grated

METHOD

Cut tips from the asparagus (about 3cm from top) and reserve for garnish. Chop the remaining asparagus stalks up into 3cm pieces and set aside

Place large saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil, butter, onion, leeks and garlic and sauté for about five minutes, stirring often, until onion is limp and translucent

Add the asparagus pieces and the thyme and saute for another 5 minutes

Pour in the hot stock and bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, with the lid on, for about 15 minutes until the asparagus pieces are tender

Take off the heat, cool slightly

While the soup is cooling bring about 500ml water to a rolling ball in a small saucepan with a good pinch of salt

Add the reserved asparagus tips and boil for about 3 minutes just until done. Refresh immediately in some icy cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside until needed.

Add the chopped parsley, zest and juice of the lemon to the slightly cooled soup and blend until smooth with a stick blender or food processor

Return to the saucepan, add the cream or crème fraiche (if using) and the parmesan cheese. Season to taste and stir over heat just until heated through

Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a few asparagus tips and some extra parmesan cheese

Later this week I will be my making my families favourite broccoli and feta soup (YUM!) and then my Spicy Carrot Honey and Ginger Soup will follow….also fabulously warming and healing. I DO love the cooler weather!

Have a great new week everyone. Its a short one again for us in South Africa….and another short one next week too. Brownieboy is taking a day or two off in between and has a about a week or so off work. He needs it badly as he is suffering with a bit of stress and exhaustion, so the time off is going to be good for him! I am just trying to put an Indaba together :)

browniegirl xx

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by browniegirl

Easy Simnel Cake Recipe for Easter

April 5, 2012 in BAKING

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Easter – a time of year when Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday and a celebration of His resurrection to life on Easter Sunday. On Good Friday it is traditional to eat hot cross buns. Easter Sunday is the day of feasting and celebration, the day when kiddies all go on their Easter egg hunts and overdose on sugar and chocolate. For many families it is a tradition to bake and enjoy a Simnel Cake, a light fruit cake that has a layer of marzipan (almond paste) baked into the middle of the cake and another layer to decorate it when it is cold. It is also decorated with 11 little marzipan balls – these symbolize the eleven disciples of Christ (Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ is not included).

Recently my friend Michael Olivier  called and asked me if I would be interested in baking his Granny’s Simnel Cake for him to include in the Easter edition of Crush! Online Magazine. I was delighted in his faith in my abilities to recreate some childhood memories for him and set about preparing the ingredients and baking the cake according to the recipe supplied by Michael. What a delightful cake! And one that I will adopt for my own families Easter celebrations from now on!

GRANNY’S SIMNEL CAKE (courtesy of  Michael Olivier)

Ingredients:

For the almond paste

250g castor sugar

250g ground almonds

2 free-range eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence [some like to use almond essence]

For the cake

180g butter [don’t even be tempted to use margarine or vegetable fat]

180g soft brown or Moscovado sugar

180g cake flour

¼ tsp each ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves and fine salt

3 extra large eggs

150g Orange River Raisins

150g Orange River Golden Sultanas

50g currants

60g chopped mixed peel

grated rind of 1 lemon and one orange

2 Tbs smooth apricot jam (for brushing on cake before the applying the almond paste topping)

1 egg – for brushing over the cake before grilling.

Method:

Prepare a 20cm cake tin by lining it, bottom and sides, with greaseproof or silicone paper.

In a large glass bowl mix the sugar and the finely ground almonds.

Whisk the eggs until frothy and add only enough, a bit at a time, to give the paste a soft texture.

Flavour with the vanilla essence and knead gently for about a minute.

Divide the almond paste into three portions. Roll out one third to make a circle 18cm in diameter which will go into the centre of the cake.  Wrap the remainder tightly in double cling film and set aside. One half  will be used for the 11 balls and the other to roll out another circle to place on top of the cake once completely cooled.

Preheat oven to 140C.

Using your mixer cream the butter until light and fluffy and then add the sugar and beat together until pale in colour and light in texture.

Sift together the flour, spices and salt in a separate bowl.

Add the eggs one at a time and add about a third of the flour mixture with each egg as this helps to prevent curdling.

Add the fruits, the mixed peel the grated rinds and stir together with a wooden spoon to mix well.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared cake tin.  Level it off with an off set spatula and then put the circle of marzipan on top.

Spoon the rest of the batter on top and smooth over allowing a little bit of a dent in the middle to ensure that the cake ends up baked with a nice flat top.

Bake for 1hour 45 minutes, insert metal skewer into the middle to test.  If it comes out clean, the cake is baked.  If not test after a further ten minutes baking.  Remove the cake from the oven.

Allow to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cake is completely cooled remove it from the greaseproof or silicone paper.  If it is slightly domed, put it upside down on a baking tray.

Set your oven’s grill on high.

Heat the apricot jam and brush over the top of the cake.  Roll out one half of the  remaining marzipan  into a thickish circle the exact diameter of the cake (use the pan to measure) and place it carefully on top of the cake.

With the remaining marzipan, roll out 11 small round  shaped balls and place them around the edge of the cake.

Brush the marzipan and the balls with beaten egg and set in the oven to brown gently, watching all the time for about 1 – 2 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill.  Otherwise use a blow torch to brown it.

Garnish with some little candy or small chocolate Easter eggs.  And do place a little fluffy chicken on top.

As I sit here writing up this post my skin is being caressed by the most beautiful cool sea breeze blowing gently in the window. It has been so many months since I last felt that and my whole body is  cheering on the advent of Autumn. This is MY time of year…the season that I delight in the most! In previous years by the time Easter came upon us autumn had all but disappeared and winter was already making her presence felt with wicked north westerly gales and driving rain. I remember well that my daughter, who has her birthday at the end of March, throughout her childhood years bemoaned the fact that she could never have a swimming party around the pool! Instead all her little friends arrived dressed up warmly in coats and boots and they had to play indoors! This year for the first time sweet daughter was able to have her wish……for her 33rd birthday!

If you are on the roads travelling at this time of year do drive safely and have a wonderful time with family and friends. We remain home as brownieboy has to work. Usually our Good Friday is quiet with those who want to going off to church to commemorate the crucifixion. In true Cape style I always enjoy some pickled fish for my lunch on this day! YUM! On Easter Sunday the family gathers at daughter and son in laws home to participate in the excited hunt for Easter Eggs. Then we all head to church as a family to celebrate Christs resurrection. After church we gather around the table at our home to  feast!

Now it is time for a nice cup of soothing rooibos tea before I tackle the afternoons admin…… and a slice of this delightful Simnel cake would do very nicely too thank you! But I shall have to wait until I have baked it again!

I wish you all a Blessed and Happy Easter.

browniegirl xx

This recipe was first published in the 17th issue of  Crush! Online Magazine and also on Michael Olivier’s website  Crush is available globally and provides very interesting reading with interactive pages. Just supply your email address to subscribe and your issue will drop into your mailbox once a month – absolutely free of charge! 

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