cinnamon

When you least expect it, love finds you — in the most unexpected places. And it usually hits the hardest when your defences are down. So, I have this amazing new job, lovely home – what more could I possibly need? That’s when love entered the equation and I had a hard time trying to find some kind of equilibrium.

But it was almost impossible . . . it took over my kitchen, you could taste it in every dish I made. It turned into a Like Water for Chocolate thing – where I cooked all my emotions into the food I prepared. I could see how it affected the people who ate my creations.

I have now achieved some kind of balance, I think. This sweet omelet, however, is dedicated to love and lovers.

You can either serve this as a dessert or as a very special breakfast for your lover and you – it’s just enough for two. And, of course, you can use fresh instead of canned fruit. But, I must admit, I love the cloying sweetness.

This is what you’ll need

4 eggs

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons smooth cottage cheese

2 tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon cinnamon

More cottage cheese and honey to serve

Canned cling peaches

This is how you do it

Beat the eggs with the teaspoon honey and the first round of cottage cheese. Heat the butter in a frying pan and pour in half of the omelet mixture, lifting and cooking the eggs until they are still custardy. Mix the cinnamon, cottage cheese and peaches and place half of it on the one half of the omelet and fold over. Repeat with the second omelet. Drizzle with honey and serve.

I haven’t been here for quite a while. And it isn’t because I lost my passion for cooking – rather the opposite. Not only life happened, but cooking in a big way! After months and months of uncertainty and 18 months of juggling two jobs and nearly killing myself in doing so, I finally got my dream job. Since 1 May this year I’ve been appointed food editor for Move, Kuier and tvplus magazines and I’ve been cooking up a storm!

Also, during that time my little nest high up in the mountain had been in the market for two years. My landlord, over eighty, moved to New Zealand and had to sell her assets in SA. The flat was the last one and she gave me first option, but I didn’t have the millions.

When I started to look for somewhere else to stay, I never thought that I could have anything like I had up there – a little piece of heaven. But from the first moment that I stood outside the gate of this house, I was smitten. It was everything I ever dreamed of – view, the most amazing kitchen and a little garden for my cat.

I have a fig tree and three guava trees, the cliveas are all in full bloom now and the sweet smell of jasmine and yesterday, today and tomorrow pervades the air. I even have a little fountain.

And the neighbours . . . On the one side I have a house filled with hip youngsters, very well-behaved and quiet. And on the other I have a family with three boys, aged four, six and eight. The youngest, Joseph, asked me the other day: “Karen, are you going to stay forever?”

I’ve tumbled down from my bird’s nest high up there and suddenly found myself part of life. I’ve even attended a school concert! In the mornings, when the boys are off to school and they see me in the kitchen, I always get a “Hallo, Karen!”.

And their mother and I have our daily little chats over the fence – about the weather, getting the washing on the line and skinnering a bit about the crazy Portugese woman who lives at the back.

As luck would have it, she works for a wine company that specialises in buying wine for clients and often advises me on the latest and what to serve. I get very good wine at very affordable prices to serve at my table.

I’ve ditched the office and am now working from home, only attending the occasional meeting at head office. I have an ever increasing stream of visitors to my home – from work, friends, neighbours. And once they’re here, they do not want to leave.

The house is like a hearty old boeretannie, hugging you to her ample bosom — you find peace and comfort. And I’ve been cooking up a storm here, even done some restaurant style catering here. My table for ten dream . . .

This short rib beef bredie infused with chocolate and cinnamon is for the last few cold days before summer hits us and it represents all the goodness and comfort of my new home.

It take a bit of time – it’s a long slow cook

This is what you’ll need

1½ kg beef short rib cut into pieces

Salt and pepper for seasoning

120 g pork rashers (optional), cut into small pieces

1 onion peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves peeled

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup dry sherry

1 litre beef stock

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs parsley

2 sprigs thyme

50 g dark chocolate

1 cinnamon stick

This is how you do it

Season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper. Keep aside. In a large heavy bottomed pot and braise the pork rashers over low heat until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon and transfer the rashers onto kitchen paper to absorb the excess fat. (If you don’t use the pork, use 3 tablespoons of olive oil instead, but add 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika when you add the chocolate). Raise the heat to medium and brown the short ribs in the bacon fat (or olive oil). Use a slotted spoon to remove the ribs from the pot. Add the onion and the garlic to the pot and braise for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and the sherry. Return the ribs and rashers to the pot and add the stock and herbs. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. After 1½ hours add the chocolate and the cinnamon stick and continue cooking for the last half hour covered. Remove from the heat and let the pot cool down completely. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight (it gives the flavour time to develop and it’s easier to scrape off the excess fat). Reheat the stew and turn up the heat to cook off the excess fluids. Season to taste.

I know you probably think I’ve lost the plot – such a fuss about a stove! But that is how it is – I’m totally obsessed with cooking and a stove plays a far more important part than a man in my life.

I’m slowly but surely succumbing to the charms of my new stove – it’s hard not to. And it seems as if the two of us are going to survive the honeymoon.  Yesterday morning I baked a couple of cupcakes to take to work – it was the last working day of the year (I didn’t think I’d survive this year, but now it’s almost over!)

But I thought it might be a good idea to try out a new cupcake recipe for the new stove and decided on these wonderful white chocolate and pistachio darlings.

This is what you’ll need

For the cupcakes

225 g (a heaped cup) soft butter

200 g (1 cup) castor sugar

225 g (2½ cups) cake flour

2½ teaspoons baking powder

4 large eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

100 g (½ cup) chopped white chocolate

For the icing

200 g (1 cup) chopped white chocolate

5 tablespoons milk

165 g (2/3 cup) sifted icing sugar

3 heaped tablespoons chopped roasted pistachio nuts

This is how you do it

Mix all the ingredients for the cupcakes, except the chocolate, in a large mixing bowl and beat until the mixture is light and creamy – about 2 -3 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture into paper cups lining 2 12-hole-muffin pans (the recipe is enough for 24 cupcakes). Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes in a preheated oven of 160°C. Take the pans from the oven and let the cupcakes cool down in the pans for 5 minutes before you take it out onto a wire rack to cool down completely. Melt the chocolate with the milk in a double cooker while stirring often. Take it from the heat and beat in the icing sugar. Spread the chocolate mixture on top of each cupcake and sprinkle with the nuts before the chocolate gets time to set. Heavenly!

This weekend I’ve been in mourning. I had to say goodbye to an old dear friend – the stove I’ve had for the past six years. With all the cooking and catering I realised it’s become way to small and I had no choice.

I also bought a new fridge, but I wasn’t sad to see the old one go. I mean, who in their right mind can feel something for a fridge that forces them to defrost and clean out the thing every weekend?

And as it so happens, my brother’s fridge suddenly died on them and they had a crisis on hand. So it was the ideal solution, albeit a temporary one and it forced me to take the big step a little sooner than I anticipated.

It took me a couple of days more to decide about the stove. My old stove and I shared so much during the time we’ve been together. It has never left me in a lurch. Every bread I baked came out perfectly, my cupcakes were always light and perfectly baked. Every little cookie I made  . . . Any leg of lamb came out succulent with a crispy crust, just like I intended.

And the times when I forgot food in the oven or on the stove, it has been so forgiving, even though the burnt smell stayed for days and must have been so humiliating for the poor thing.

The worst part was when I had to go in to Cash Crusaders and sign some forms. My stove was standing there in the office – so forlorn and out of it’s depth, so useless and abandoned. It broke my heart in a thousand pieces and I went into the blackest of depressions – not even two happy pills, a sweet cup of tea and the chocolate the Belgians brought me could lift the dark cloud.

I know I will eventually bond with my new stove and find it less intimidating the more I cook and bake. But, in the meantime, I have comforted myself with the accidental discovery of a new recipe. It took shape when I realised I need something light to round off the family Christmas dinner we had on Sunday evening – before my brother and sister left for their holiday destinations with their families.

That was when my imagination took over and the idea for this Limoncello trifle — light as a feather and so refreshing on the palette — was born.

This is what you’ll need

125 ml Limoncello
100 g lady fingers
200 ml double cream
200 ml boiling water
1 packet lemon jelly powder
200 ml Greek style full cream yoghurt

 zest of 1 lemon
250 ml custard
250 ml whipping cream
Maraschino cherries to garnish

This is how you do it

Mix the boiling water with the jelly powder and set aside to cool down. Whisk in the yoghurt until the mixture is smooth. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and put in the fridge to set. Pour the Limoncello in a shallow bowl. Break each biscuit in half and dip into the Limoncvello before arranging it in a glass serving dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with the sloshed biscuits. If the Limoncello is finished before you’ve dipped all the biscuits, add a little more to the bowl. Sprinkle the leftover Limoncello over the biscuits. Spoon the double cream over the biscuits. Take the jelly mixture from the fridge and dollop spoonfuls on top of the cream layer. Pour the custard and smooth it to cover the jelly layer. Sprinkle the lemon zest over the surface. Beat the whipping cream until just before it reaches the soft peak stage and spoon it on top to form the last layer. Cover the bowl with cling plastic and place in the fridge for about 3 hours until it has set completely. Garnish with Maraschino cherries just before serving.  If you really want to wow your guests you can serve it with a shot glass of Limoncello on the side. Limolicious!

I can’t believe Christmas is upon us. It felt like only yesterday that I put my last Christmas cake in the oven. Last year I had my Christmas tree up more than a month before the season was upon us. This year I’m only going to put it up this weekend – a week before.

I had two rather shitty (excuse the French, but that’s the only word for it!) Christmases. Two years ago I didn’t know if I had a job to go back to and last year I spend Christmas at the hospital, bidding Saffron Man a last goodbye.

No wonder I approached this Christmas with so much fear and trepidation. And when Percy died last month, I thought: “Uh-oh, here we go again!” But I have decided this year I’m going to get into the Christmas spirit, no matter what happens.

I’m not going to roll my eyes every time I hear Little Drummer Boy or I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas. I’m going to enjoy putting up my decorations, starting with the beautiful angel Peacock Man gave me. And I’m going to bake some Christmas cake.

Last year I got the most delicious (and very boozy) recipe from my neighbour. It is quick and easy to make and one of the most delicious recipes I’ve ever tasted. (The pic is from the cover of the Kuier food supplement — I did the cake for that special issue.)

This is what you’ll need

500 g fruit mix for cakes

200 g glacé fruit, chopped

200 g butter

250 g soft brown sugar

5 ml mixed spice

15 ml bicarbonate of soda

250 ml brandy

2 extra large eggs

125 ml sherry

125 ml milk

400 ml cake flour

100 g mixed nuts, chopped

Whole nuts and glacé cherries for garnish

This is how you do it

Grease a 24 cm spring form baking tin and line with baking paper. Mix the fruit, butter, sugar, spices, 7.5 ml of the bicarbonate of soda and brandy together in a saucepan and heat over medium heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes while stirring it often with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and let it cool down completely. (My neighbour says she usually does this the day before so that she can immediately start with the baking. Beat the eggs until light and foamy in a large mixing bowl. Add the sherry and the milk and mix well. Sift the flour and the rest of the bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and add the chopped nuts. Add the cooled down fruit mix and the egg-milk-sherry mixture and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepare baking tin and bake for 1½ to 1¾ hour in a preheated oven of 150°C. Take it from the oven and let it cool down in the baking tin. Shake it a little before you turn out the cake on a wire rack and let it cool down completely. Of course you can do the marzipan thing, but I don’t like it. So I melt a little apricot jam and brush it on top of the cake before to arrange the whole nuts and more glacéd fruit on top. It look so festive and it tastes divine!  I have also baked it in giant muffin pans for smaller individual cakes, but then you must remember to adjust your baking time accordingly.

But  . . . Let’s face it. There are quite an number of people out there who can’t stand the idea of fruit cake or mince pies. This Christmas I’ve discovered the most delicious recipe for a fruit-free Christmas cake.

This is what you’ll need

For the cake

4 large eggs, separated and 2 extra egg whites

125 ml (½ cup) sunflower or canola oil

125 ml (½ cup) water

30 ml (2 tablespoons) runny honey

200 g (1 cup) soft brown sugar

75 g (210 ml) ground almonds

150 g (1½ cup plus 3 tablespoons) cake flour

10 ml (2 teaspoons) baking powder

5 ml (1 teaspoon) bicarbonate of soda

A pinch of salt

5 ml (1 teaspoon) ground ginger

5 ml (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon

2,5 ml (½ teaspoon) ground allspice

1,75 ml (¼ teaspoon) ground cloves

Zest of 1 orange

100 g (½ cup) castor sugar

For the icing

250 g (1 cup) icing sugar

Boiling water

Red glacéd cherries

This is how you do it

Beat the eggs and oil together and add water, honey and brown sugar. Beat well. Fold the almonds, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, spices and orange zest lightly into the mixture. Put the egg whites in another mixing bowl and beat until it forms soft little peaks. Add the castor sugar a little at a time while you keep on beating. Fold the egg white mixture into the cake mixture and pour into a greased `Bundt cake tin. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven of 180°C. Let the cake cool down in the tin for about 30 minutes before you turn it out onto a cooling rack and let it cool down completely. Sift the icing sugar and mix with boiling water until you have a very thick paste. Spoon the icing over the cake until it resembles a snow-topped mountain peak and garnish with the glacé cherries.

Enjoy!

It’s been very quiet without Percy. And I’m not talking about his trumpeting breaking the early morning silence. It’s as if the soul has gone out of the place. Even the mountain seems to have shrunk.

The animals feel it the most  . . . Poor Penelope and the kids have been wandering around aimlessly. They seek out my company, but only stare at me listlessly when I try to feed them their favourite blueberries. Daisy has been affected the most. The poor thing took to the streets and hasn’t returned yet. I’m praying to all the angels and saints to bring her back safely.

But, even so, life goes on  . . .  It’s been a hectic time of the year for me with the cooking and catering in between the double deadlines. I’ve been working myself to a standstill, hardly getting three hours of sleep a night for days on end.

It’s been winding now. The only thing that still lies ahead is all the friends and family visiting over the festive season. The worst is those unexpected phone calls followed by the surprise visits  — always at a time when you have almost nothing left in the fridge, freezer or the cupboard.

I have discovered a real lifesaver for times like that – a really cheap and easy dish that looks so impressive and tastes really, really good. You can serve it hot or at room temperature with a salad as a light lunch or as a hearty appetiser with some drinks.

This is what you’ll need

1 chopped onion

2½ cups grated cheddar cheese

4 slices white bread crumbed

5 tablespoons tomato sauce

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

75 ml milk

1 packet frozen puff pastry (defrosted)

Milk or egg for the glaze

Mix the onion, cheese, bread, tomato sauce, curry powder, salt, pepper and milk together in a mixing bowl. Roll out the pastry in a 30 x 25 cm rectangle and place on a baking sheet that has been slightly dampened with water. Place the filling in a straight line on the one half, leaving an edge of a centimetre or two. Brush the edges with milk or egg and fold the other half over. Press the edges firmly together and form a frilly little edge with your fingertips or the handle of a large cutting knife. Loosen the roll slightly from the baking sheet by sliding a large flat cutting knife underneath. Make 7 light cuts diagonally across the top of the pastry. Brush the top with egg or milk and bake for about 40 – 45 minutes in a preheated oven of 220°C.

PS. I did the recipe for Kuier magazine — that’s why the pic looks so professional!

Percy died peacefully at the ripe old age of 14½. He will be deeply

missed byJurgen and Karen, his wife Penelope, daughters Daisy, Irene

and Olive and only surviving son, Piper.

“I delight in touching things with my bare hands. I prefer to eat with my fingers rather than use a knife and fork, to feel immediately the tenderness of a cut of meat or the crispness of a vegetable. Somehow things taste different if I touch them.”

– Gerard Depardieu, French actor, amateur chef and writer of My Cookbook.

They called her La Stupenda (The Stupendous) and Joan Sutherland was the soprano who for many years held the record for the longest standing ovation in La Scala, the most formidable opera audience in the world.

She was not a beautiful woman. “Miss Sutherland looked like no one else,” as one critic put it rather diplomatically. She couldn’t act. And she didn’t have the charisma of a Callas. But once she lifted that now famous square jaw and opened her mouth to sing, even the angels paused to listen.

When she died the other day, I was in mourning. It felt as if I had lost someone very close and dear to me. It doesn’t really make sense – I’ve never met her. I’ve never even seen her on stage. She was 83 when she died and she had not sung for years.

But hers was the voice that comforted me when I was scared and lonely, huddled up in a little bundle and trying to hide from the world. After my first marriage – a nightmare that lasted seven months – I was terrorised for a further eight months until the divorce finally came through.

When i was finally ready to leave the safey of my parents’ house and into a flat of my own, I barely had any furniture. But I had a portable cassette player and a cassette recording, The World of Joan Sutherland. And at night when, in the darkness, I relived the terror of the past months, Joan’s sweet voice soothed me to sleep.

That poor cassette has been played to death, literally and figuratively. Since then I have acquired many of her other recordings, now on CD, and that of the many other opera singers I admire. But still, whenever I feel stressed, it is La Stupenda’s voice, and only hers, that really calms me down.

In memory of her sweet voice, I have created this soothing and rather amazing tomato and red capsicum soup. And I’ve had quite a lot of fun with it – watching the faces of friends, even those who profess they do not like soup, when they take the first sip. It’s a stupendous dish!

I put it in a flask when I went on a road trip to Prince Albert with my brother and sister (that’s another story). When I told them about it, I got a rather lukewarm response. But when we stopped for a bite along the road, they went all wide-eyed in wonder and I almost got a standing ovation after the first sip!

This is what you’ll need

1 kg ripe red tomatoes (this is a good use for tomatoes that are rather over ripe)

3 medium onions peeled and quartered

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 whole red chillies

3 red capsicums, white and pith remved and cut into chunks

75 ml olive oil

1 heaped tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika

1,5 l beef stock

1 heaped tablespoon of moist brown sugar

Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

This is how you do it

Quarter the tomatoes. If you’re using small tomatoes (rosa or cherry) you can keep it whole. Arange it with the onions, garlic, chillies and capsicums in a roasting pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the paprika. Roast it uncovered in a preheated oven of 200°C for about 40 minutes. Remove the chillies and transfer the mixture to a sauce pan and pulp with a hand mixer or food processor. Add the stock and sugar, season to taste and simmer for about ten minutes over medium heat.

Serve up and watch in wonder how a blissful quiet transcends on your table before your guests burst into song!

“Evenly cover a tray with plain flour and toast in the oven 180°C until golden brown, store in a sealed container in your dry stores and use for beef bourguignon, Coq au vin, etc. By toasting the flour you not only add flavour but also you are cooking out the flour which is good for digestion.”