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World Baking Day – Rustic Nut Pie

20 May 2013 in Baking

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Not being the most proficient baker I decided I was going to pass on World Baking Day, but being of weak character I allowed myself to be persuaded by my friend Chantelle to join the fun, and I am glad I did. After much perusal of the 100 different recipes number 1 being the easiest and 100 being the most difficult, I decided on a South African recipe by Monique Davis.

Rustic Nut Tart (click to be taken to the recipe)

Instead of walnuts and hazelnuts I used pecans and macadamia nuts, otherwise I stuck to the recipe.  I was very pleased with the resultant tart and we ate it with some homemade vanilla inc cream. Himself and I both agreed that there were too many nuts and when I make it again I will certainly cut down on the amount, the pastry was particularly good, I’ve never used cream in a pastry before.

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Matt Preston’s Cola Baked Sticky Chicken

13 May 2013 in Cheap and cheerful, Easy to prepare, Economical

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I’m a big fan of  Masterchef Australia, even if we are only viewing the 2011 series, I much prefer it to the British version.  I ensure that we are parked in front of the tv with our dinner trays on our laps by 6pm promtly Monday – Thursday.

This is Matt Preston’s recipe that I found on the Masterchef site, apparently he has a cookbook coming out soon.  He is a curious looking man, however I find myself strangely attracted to him.  I mean, he wears the oddest clothes and those cowboys boots…well! *shakes head*

I had an issue with the timing as my oven is not the fan type and after two hours the sauce wasn’t thickening so I decided to up the temperature to 175c and that seemed to do the trick.

I used (skinned) chicken drummettes instead of wings and decided to marinade them overnight in the sauce, Matt doesn’t do that. I’ve no idea if it made them better than Matt’s as I’ve never used the recipe before, all I know is that they were tender and completely delicious.

 

750ml Cola

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 cloves garlic grated

1 large brown onion grated

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1kg chicken wings cut at the joint

Juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 140c fan forced (I think they mean thermofan)

Arrange chicken in a single layer in a deep oven tray and pour over the cola mixture.

Bake for 3 – 3.5 hours or until sauce is thick and very sticky. ( I did 2 hours @140 and then 1.5 hours @ 175)

 

 

 

 

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Sweet Potato Mash – Irish Style

2 May 2013 in Cheap and cheerful, Easy to prepare, Vegetarian

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I don’t like potatoes much…I can hear the incredulous gasps! I will probably eat one roast potato with a roast and a couple of chips with a steak, but I’d rather have an extra veg truth be known. I feel the same way about rice, unless it’s got all kinds of goodies in it I will pass, now pasta that’s another story all together, it’s the one starch I really like.

I do like sweet potatoes though and the addition of the cabbage and spring onions was really enjoyable. My apologies to the Irish for bastardising their national dish Colcannon.

750g  orange sweet potatoes

200g piece of cabbage shredded very thinly

1 cup spring onions chopped

30g butter

salt and white pepper

Peel the potatoes, slice them into even pieces and boil in salted water until tender.

Drain the potatoes really well.

Mash half the butter into the potatoes (I use a potato ricer to avoid any lumps) and put aside.

Melt the remaining 15g of butter in a frying pan and stir fry the cabbage until soft, don’t overcook it, you want a bit of crunch.

Stir in the spring onions.

Add to the potatoes, combine and season to your taste.

If you would prefer this delicious Italian Onion Mash pictured below then click here

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Homemade stock – so easy!

24 April 2013 in Easy to prepare, Economical

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There is one, and only one factor about winter that I embrace wholeheartedly… comfort food! I love winter fare, gimme some tasty soup and crusty bread and I’m a happy bunny. Himself loves stew and dumplings, thus my slow cooker works overtime.

Stew and dumplings

The base for a really tasty stew/soup/casserole is good stock, it’s so easy to make and it makes all the difference to the flavour.

1 kg marrow bones (I got from Pick n Pay  R12.99 a kg)

1 slice of beef shin chopped

1 large onion

Celery tops or 1 large stick of celery

1 large carrot

Fresh Parsley

1 tsp peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Oil

4 litres of water

Preheat your oven to 200C

Roughly chop the veggies and place on a baking sheet with the marrow bones, drizzle with oil.

Roast until the meat is browned (about 45 minutes) you don’t want it to burn, just colour.

Place everything in a slow cooker and add the water.

Cover and set the slow cooker on high for a couple of hours and then on low for another 6 hours.

Obviously you can also make stock on the stove, the beauty of the slow cooker is that it does it’s own thing and I am not tempted to stir it (stirring makes the stock go cloudy)

When it’s cool, transfer to a pan and put it in the fridge overnight or until the fat congeals on the top making it easier to remove.

When all the fat is removed, heat the stock and strain,  then boil it until it is reduced by half. you don’t have to do this step but I’m a bit short of freezer space.  All you do when using the reduced stock is add the same amount of water to reconstitute it.

Easy peasy hey?!

 

 

 

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In My Kitchen April

8 April 2013 in In My Kitchen

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In my kitchen…

.. are chillies, lots of em! So I decided to dry some in our biltong maker for later use.

In my kitchen…

…is this signed cookery book by fellow blogger Sam Linsall. This lovely book formed part of the prizes I received from last year’s tv show Dinner Divas. It is packed full of wonderful photographs (all taken by Sam) and some equally interesting recipes, I can’t wait to try some out.

In my kitchen…

…is my ravioli maker that I bought from Lakelands when I was in England last year. I don’t have a pasta maker but I decided to give my bingo arms a workout and rolled my homemade pasta by hand! Phew it was a mission, but the prawn ravioli was delicious and as you can see, they looked pretty darn good. *Adds pasta machine to her birthday list*

In my kitchen… 

…are these homemade pork sausages, yes, Himself and I made them all by ourselves, using a piping bag nogal!  It was a very amusing morning with many rather suggestive remarks flying around! I minced my own pork and added some extra fat, but even so, we found the consistency quite dense but they were full of flavour.  I am currently on the look out for a sausage feeder attachment for my Kenwood.

In my kitchen…

…is this Maxwell Wiliams bamboo spoon which I admired on the blog Lavender and Lime. Tandy very kindly sent me one, it has a totally different feel to normal wooden spoons and I’m very taken with it.

In my kitchen…

…were some mini battenberg cakes. I was in Cape Town last year and there I briefly met a lady called Rosemarie Oliver. Imagine my surprise when I received a parcel containing this packet from her, she had remembered that I liked them and bless her, she bought a packet back to South Africa from England. Thank you Rosemarie.

 

Want to see what other food bloggers have in their kitchens? then head over to Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, where Celia has a list of participants on the right-hand-side of her blog.

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My Version of Pronto Mama’s Slow Roasted Tomatoes in a Spicy Vinaigrette

1 April 2013 in Easy to prepare, Economical, Jams & Preserves, Uncategorized, Vegetarian

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“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”

There is a range of sauces by Pronto Mama that are simply delicious, sadly they don’t appear to be available here in Natal. So when every baby tomato plant opted to ripen all-of-a-sardine I decided to attempt  to replicate their Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes in a Spicy Vinaigrette with Rosemary.

The label clearly states what is used in the preparation but them dastardly devious folk refrain from telling you exactly what herbs and spices were used! :)

This is not a recipe as such, it’s just wot I done innit……

I sliced my cherry tomatoes in half, roughly chopped some red pepper, chucked in an unpeeled clove of garlic, drizzled everything with olive oil, sprinkled with sugar, salt and pepper and few tiny sprigs of rosemary.

Then I slowly roasted them for 2 hours @ 95c

(discard the blackened rosemary after cooking)

Next step was the vinaigrette, which as long as you stick to the base of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar you can add anything you like.

I used:

150 oil

50 vinegar

1/4 tsp mustard powder

2 tsp my homemade chilli jam or you could use fresh chilli (to your taste)

1 tsp honey

1 clove garlic cooked and crushed

1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped

Whisk everything together, season to taste and set aside.

Chop half a small onion and some olives.

Pack the cooked tomatoes, onion and olives into clean jars and top with the vinaigrette, cover with lids and leave to steep for a couple of weeks.

Did I achieve the same delightful taste of Pronto Mama? of course not, but I was very pleased with what evolved. It’s especially good  on pizza or bruschetta, great as part of a  mezze platter or with pasta, the uses are endless. Once you have used all the filling, the oil that remains makes a wonderful salad dressing.

I was not remunerated for writing this post in any way and I do hope the good people at Pronto Mama will forgive me for even thinking I could re-create their product……but you can’t blame a girl for trying! :)

 I topped this Easy Cheese Slice with a dollop and it was really lekker (South African for really good)

 

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Easy, Economical, Cheese and Veggie Slice

24 March 2013 in Budget Beater, Cheap and cheerful, Easy to prepare, Economical

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You all know me by now, if there’s a bargain to be had, I will sniff it out at 50 paces, hence my freezer now boasts many little bags of frozen grated cheese.

Grated cheese freezes really well and defrosts very quickly, so useful for making cheese sauces, etc. so watch out for specials.

This recipe which is essentially a crust-less tart is based on one posted by Celia from the blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. I have made it in a round cake tin but I prefer the look of a loaf style. It’s a piece of tacky to make, great for lunch boxes and lovely served with salad for a light meal. I have added diced ham before and the original recipe suggests cooked bacon, so play with different elements.

2 cups (500 ml) grated raw veggies – I used I cup grated baby marrow and half a cup each of grated carrot and butternut)

1 cup (250 ml) grated cheese of your choice

4 jumbo eggs

1 medium onion chopped finely

1 cup (250 ml) self-raising flour

1/2 cup (125 ml) sunflower oil

Season with salt and white pepper

Heat your oven to 175c

Line your tin with baking paper or grease very well.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and stir until combined well.

Spoon into your tin and bake for 40 minutes or until firm and nicely browned.

If any of you are curious what I topped these two cheese slices with, then you will have to read my next blog post. :)

If you have any leftover, try dipping it in beaten egg and frying it in a little butter, it makes a  tasty breakfast.

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Pietermaritzburg Pops-Up!

15 March 2013 in The Table

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Living in the sticks Pietermaritzburg I am very much aware that Cape Town and Johannesburg food bloggers have the edge when it comes to foodie happenings. So you can imagine my delight at cracking-the-nod to a pop-up event here in Sleepy Hollow.

My excitement was palpable; here was an opportunity to tweet/blog about something other than the annual cake display at the Royal Agricultural Show!

Held at the beautiful home of well known concert pianist Christopher Duigan, the evening was entitled The Table. The idea behind this gathering was for everyone to bring something to the table, some sang for their supper and others contributed to the food and wine, even the bespoke dinnerware was made by renowned potter David Walters.

One of the tables just before we were plunged into darkness – photo by Christopher Duigan.

What an evening it was, Christopher played for us, as did Maxine Matthews on the saxophone. Then we were treated to the fabulous voice of  Njabulo Madlala who sang songs from the African Song Book, whilst he was singing you could have heard a pin drop, he has a voice as smooth as velvet.

Maxine Matthews, Christopher Duigan and Njabulo Madlala.

The food was marvelous, from the delightful canapés from Penny Hatting through to the Exploding Bone Marrow and Smoked Cherry Ice Cream by Neil Lowe.  Just as we sat down to enjoy the evening, in true African style the power went off, making things a tad difficult for those serving food and those *cough* who couldn’t see their phone keys to tweet! However the soft candle light contributed to the convivial atmosphere.

It was a pleasure to meet up with Cape Town blogger Jane-Anne Hobbs who was responsible for the delicious fillet salad for which Margie Harel of The Fat Aubergine roasted the fillet to perfection. Other dishes included Seared Sesame Oil Salmon by David Walters and 40 Clove Garlic Chicken made by our host Christopher.

Jane-Anne Hobbs Beef Fillet and Potato Salad with Green Goddess Dressing, from her book Scrumptious. Photo by Micheal Le Grange courtesy Random House Struik.

Chef Jackie Cameron from Hartford House and behind her is Margie Hemel owner of The Fat Aubergine, one of my favourite places to lunch.

 

No ice cream maker due to the power cut, so a plan was made using manpower and dry ice.

Maxine Matthews – Alto Saxaphone and Nompumelelo Mqwebu -The Mercury Newspaper.

Denis Hemel and Joan Mitchell enjoying the lovely wine supplied by Cameron Mackenzie of Parklane Spar.

It was a fabulous evening, enjoyed by all and I would love to be involved should there be another.

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Italian Style Pork Meatballs – Mince Your Own Meat

14 February 2013 in Budget Beater, Cheap and cheerful, Easy to prepare

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The reason for my lack of posts recently is because my beloved camera died on me, I sent it to Durban to be fixed almost 3 weeks ago and NOW  they tell me they don’t have the part and will have to order it, so it will be another couple of weeks. As it’s also going to cost me over R2000.00  I’m pretty bleak right now.

There again, it does give me time for reading more blogs, my word there are some food bloggers (both here and overseas) that take themselves way too seriously.  So, if you are a reader who likes to use special ingredients sourced from a secret underground cave in outer Mongolia, where they are hand picked at midnight by 16 year old virgins….then you’re at the wrong blog!

Nope, this home cook intends to carry on using everyday local ingredients found in most homes and supermarkets, always with an eye to saving us all some dosh.

On that note, pork is particularly economical at the moment, in the ‘olden’ days it was advised never to buy pork in months with an r in them. In these days of good refrigeration I think we can take a chance! :)

I bought some for R29.99 a kilo just before Christmas and minced it, using my Kenwood and the mincing attachment.

My favourite words ‘Special Offer’

Pork mince  can be used just like beef mince, I make burgers, meatballs and I recently made a barbecue pork cottage pie which was delicious. I also watch out for beef specials. I like knowing exactly what is in my mince.

Here is a link to a recipe for some Italian style meatballs I made a while ago, also made with pork mince.

 Hold thumbs that my Canon gets fixed asap, like Arnie says, “I’ll be back”

 

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Sage & Onion Chicken Loaf

17 January 2013 in Budget Beater, Cheap and cheerful, Easy to prepare

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It’s that time of year where we all bemoan our diminished bank balances, yes January is the ultimate Salticrax month.

This easy-to-make, economical Chicken Loaf is very versatile it can be served cold with salads or warm with roast potatoes, veggies and gravy. It’s great in sandwiches too, once refrigerated it can be sliced quite thinly.

350g skinless chicken breasts

4 pork sausages skin removed

1 small onion chopped

a handful of raisins or chopped dried fruit (optional)

1 pkt of Paxo sage & onion stuffing * or you can make your own from scratch here.

Heat your oven to 180 c and grease a loaf tin.

Chop the chicken into cubes and using a food processor blitz the chicken into very small pieces (but not mush) and place in a bowl.

Following the instructions on the packet mix the stuffing with boiling water, do not add the oil.

Add the onions, sausage meat, stuffing, fruit and the chicken and mix together.

Press into your greased loaf tin, cover with foil/lid and bake  for 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes to brown the top a little.

Serves 6+

* Paxo stuffing is sold at most supermarkets, Ina Parman also does a version but I find Checkers Heritage brand to be the most economical.

 

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