During our December holidays we had the opportunity to revisit our “hometown”, Port Elizabeth. We were invited to the wedding of two young people, Evan and Mariska. We have known the groom since he was a little boy and he has always been close to our hearts. We had met Mariska earlier and we were very impressed with this friendly young woman. We looked forward to return to P.E. and … Continue reading →
Our last trip to Europe was in June 2010 to Turkey, Greece and France. It was wonderful. First of all we stayed over in the magical Turkey for three days. The Hagia Sophia is our favourite monument to visit in Istanbul. Then we explored the monasteries in Monastiraki – breathtakingly beautiful. Strange how some people choose to live, but I always admire guts. And then off to the Athens, but … Continue reading →
We spent Christmas day at Deon’s mother. We decided to take along a pork belly as part of the meal. I do not eat pork. Well, not included are frankfurters; bacon; chorizo; … But pork – it is definitely a no go area for me. Deon does not share this sentiment. And he has been searching for the perfect pork belly recipe. He cooked yet another pork belly on the … Continue reading →
Deon’s mother invited us to have our Christmas dinner at her home and I was responsible for the desert. I decided on something light and easy, something I could assemble at her home, after the dinner. So, I decided on my own version of the popular Eton Mess. Ingredients 1 cup blueberries and a handful of fresh cherries 3 cups hulled strawberries macerated for a few hours in 10ml sugar … Continue reading →
This is a dish familiar to most South-Africans. It is a dish most of us make when we have a typical braai. It is extremely unhealthy, but always popular. Ingredients 4 sliced potatoes a tin of sweetcorn 125ml cream 250ml grated cheddar cheese salt and ground black pepper Method Layer all the ingredients in a flat dash, flavour with salt and pepper and bake in an oven which has been … Continue reading →
The Master of the House would choose a salad if he has to choose a last meal before his last minutes on earth. It suits me, because I do not have to slave away in the kitchen during the holidays. A meal is always quick and easy in our home. The following salad is fresh and healthy. Serve it with dry white wine and crusty bread, and you have the … Continue reading →
I added a few more ingredients than usual to add more flavour to Macaroni & Cheese: Ingredients 1 onion, chopped Five strips of bacon Florets of 1 cauliflower About 500ml of runny white sauce to which you add a small chunk of blue cheese Sea salt and ground black pepper A pinch of herbs, e.g. Italian herbs 5ml Dijon mustard Elbow macaroni, about 3 cups when cooked 200ml cheddar cheese … Continue reading →
1 tin of Indian Style Diced Tomatoes (diced tomatoes with curry leaves and spices) One hake fillet, cut into chunks (or enough for 2 people) A pinch of sea salt Fresh coriander Bulgarian yoghurt Parmesan cheese Method: Add the tin of tomatoes; salt and coriander to a small casserole. Add the chunks of fish and cook until done. Add the coriander. Serve with grated Parmesan and yoghurt.
Continue reading →This zesty oil is refreshing with any dish, hot or cold. Ingredients 125ml good olive oil Zest of 1 lemon 1 chilly (red or green) Garlic (as much as you prefer) Mint Easy to make: Mix everything together and chill until needed.
Continue reading →This is the recipe for a meatloaf that I made during the holidays. It is a perfect meal when served with a salad, or use it as part of a meze feast. Ingredients 4 eggs 2 onions, chopped A splash of olive oil for frying the onions Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 5ml Worcestershire sauce 20ml tomato and herb pasta sauce (or any other tomato sauce) 5ml Italian herbs … Continue reading →
I developed the following salad and it has become one of our favourite summer salads. It is easy and quick to make, as well as healthy. Tuna and potato salad Ingredients (serves 2 people) 1 tin of tuna (chunks) Crisp salad leaves and 1 spring onion A handful of caper berries Three or four anchovies Good quality mayonnaise 4 Mediterranean style potatoes Salad oil Pour 175 ml olive oil into … Continue reading →
Festive chicken This is a recipe I inherited from Deon’s bachelor days. It evolved over the years into my own variant. Ingredients (serves 3 people) 1 large onion, chopped 1 clove of garlic, crushed 4 chicken breast fillets cut into strips 250 ml cake mix 275 ml Beef Bolognese Pasta Sauce (from Woolworths Food) sweetened with 5ml brown sugar 1 sachet roast chicken stock concentrate (also from Woolworths Food) A … Continue reading →
I have a cupboard in the living room which are full of wonderful recipe books. I love to collect these books. On the shelf you will find Julia Child’s My life in France; River Café Cook Book Easy written by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers; Jamie’s books (all of them); Gordon’s Healthy Eating; Confessions of a Hungry Woman by Sam Woulidge; Marlene van der Westhuizen’s books: Delectable; Abuncance and Sumptuous; … Continue reading →
Sushi (すし, 寿司, 鮨, 鮓, 寿斗, 寿し, 壽司), according to Wikipedia, is a Japanese food consisting of cooked flavoured rice combined with other ingredients (ネタ neta), usually raw fish or other seafood. Raw meat (usually but not necessarily seafood) sliced and served by itself is sashimi. Yes, our next cooking class was all about preparing Japanese miniature works of art, called sushi. But, my attempts to create these little works of … Continue reading →
It is official! The Tears Animal Rescue calendar 2014 is on sale. And the July picture is that of …. Leica Binneman! I must say, the pictures are really beautiful. These are all previously abandoned animals who have been offered a new life – of which all accepted the new life with grace. Look at their eyes, and you will see pure joy and happiness. These beautiful animals are … Continue reading →
We love all kinds of salads. Greek salad with green pepper; red onion; cucumber sliced into thick rounds; ripe tomato slices; soft feta; olives and olive oil drizzled over is a favourite. Salad Caprese is another winner. I simply put pitted olives in a baking dish, enough for two people; add some cherry tomatoes and whole anchovies to taste; add a few shredded basil leaves; season with black pepper; grate … Continue reading →
This is the recipe from TASTE magazine (July 2013) I used as the main course on Deon’s birthday Serves 4 to 6 3 T olive oil; 1kg diced lean lamb shoulder; 2 onions, sliced into wedges; 6 plum tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 t ground ginger; 2 T honey; chermoula; 3 cups hot fresh lamb or chicken stock; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to … Continue reading →
Because it had been Deon’s 60th birthday in September, we did a little bit more than usual. We celebrated on our own at Cassia at the Nitida estate one night; we celebrated with an afternoon tea; we celebrated with the family at Orca restaurant in Melkbosstrand a week before the birthday and we celebrated at home with friends two weeks later. We really celebrated this one! For the celebration dinner at … Continue reading →
After a very long and a very wet and cold winter I was so glad to see waterblommetjies for sale when I went to my favourite shop, Food Lover’s Market. If one can buy fresh waterblommetjies, then it has to be spring! It can be turned into a hearty stew suitable for a cold spring dinner! Waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyosis) is an Afrikaans word meaning small water flowers. The bredie is … Continue reading →
As featured in Garden and Home October 2013) 250g mixed berries (defrost if frozen) 100g caster sugar zest of 1 lemon 250g mascarpone cheese 125 ml cream 100g sponge finger Boudoir biscuits, broken in half 50g Amaretti biscuits 80ml apple juice 45ml Frangelico or Amaretto (I used Amaretto) optional! Serve with 50g white chocolate shavings Place the berries, half the sugar and the lemon zest in a bowl and toss … Continue reading →
Gentle Café Paradiso in Kloof Street is one of our favourite restaurants. It is part of the Madame Zingara group. On a cold day we like to sit inside close to the fireplace. In summer it is wonderful to sit outside in the beautiful tranquil garden where one has an excellent view of Table Mountain. We are always reminded of our Spaniel, Luca, when we sit outside, as it was … Continue reading →
We read about Perfect Paella, owned by José and Lisa Gómez, in Cape Town. It seemed like a good idea to attend and to learn more about Spanish cooking and paella in particular. When we mentioned it to Deborah, she was enthusiastic as well. She and her son, Krige, have just completed a Spanish language course and she thought this could be a good thing for her and Krige to … Continue reading →
There are times when you have to entertain without having time to prepare elaborate dishes beforehand. So, these are a few ideas for pudding which you can make in the nick of time: Romany Cream Delight (Serves one person): Put a Romany Cream cookie (or any other) in a pretty bowl – I like to use small espresso cups. Splash some liqueur over the cookie and heat in the microwave … Continue reading →
With Sandra’s mother visiting, and it being the winter school holidays, we had the opportunity to take a drive out to the countryside of the beautiful Western Cape. I have been to Wolseley with a number of residents from a retirement centre in February and we had a very enjoyable lunch at the Harvest Table Bistro. I then decided to return to this delightful restaurant with Sandra. Who need more … Continue reading →
Looking for a great Mediterranean experience when eating out? Try a quaint little restaurant on Dunkley Square in Gardens, Cape Town. On a hot day it is lovely to sit outside under the shady trees while enjoying a typical Greek meal, sipping cool wine from small glasses. In winter, on a really stormy day in Cape Town, it is warm and cozy inside. We stumbled upon this charming little restaurant … Continue reading →
We enjoy visiting the towns around Cape Town. We have been to Riebeeck-Kasteel, Greyton, Franschhoek for the Bastille Day festivities and now Stellenbosch. We sleep over for a night, explore the town on foot and try to find a good local restaurant before heading home the next day. This time we reserved a room at De Hoek Manor, a guesthouse in the historic centre of Stellenbosch. We know Stellenbosch well. … Continue reading →
I have the ability to annoy chefs. The first time was on a boat trip between Cape Town and Durban. It was our first cruise and most enjoyable, but when I was younger, I enjoyed cooking more than eating. My husband and the friends we shared the cruise with, thought that they were in heaven because there were breakfast; morning tea; lunch; afternoon tea; dinner; more tea and snacks later … Continue reading →
On our first visit to Istanbul in 1997 we stayed at the Alaaddin Guest House in Sultanahmet. This neighbourhood gets its name from the Blue Mosque (The Sultan Ahmed Camii) that is just around the corner. We long ago decided to always stay in the old city centres where we would be the close to the touristic attractions. We enjoy walking around in the … Continue reading →
In search of the perfect burger? Well, what about a burger on a stick? I made my own patties and used mini hamburger buns.The recipe is as follows: 500g beef mince 2 spring onions, chopped 2 eggs, slightly beaten 2 slices of bread, crumbed 1 garlic clove, chopped ½ cup of chopped coriander leaves a pinch of salt ground black pepper 50ml tomato sauce Mix all the ingredients together. Roll … Continue reading →
We invited my mother-in-law and family for Mother’s Day. We had beautiful weather and decided to braai chicken on the Weber. Our starter was Pear, Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup. The chicken recipe comes from Sam Woulidge’s new recipe book, Confessions of a Hungry Woman. (Random House Struik). It is a brilliant recipe for chicken, but next time I would bake it in the oven, as she suggests. It is important … Continue reading →
Our first visit to Istanbul was in summer 1997. We were well prepared. We have read much about Constantinople, the once capital of the civilized world. One of the first things we wanted to do, was to visit and experience the 14 centuries old Aya Sofya (The Church of the Devine Wisdom) built by emperor Justinian to restore the greatness of the Roman Empire. It is said that Justinian, on … Continue reading →
There comes a time when the Master of the House just needs a potent curry. Friday afternoon, on our marriage time outing, we decided to return to Annapurna. It was as if I could hear the Lamb Vindaloo calling my name! And again, I was not disappointed. We were still looking for a replacement for the wonderful Indian restaurant, Royal Delhi in Central in Port Elizabeth, that we used to … Continue reading →
We all have a favourite recipe for chicken pie. My version of the famous pie is cooked in the Weber. The secret of this recipe is that the pastry should be cold when you put it on the coals. Ingredients 4 fillets of skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips 1 sheet of puff pastry 250g packet of mushrooms 3 small leeks, cut into rings 1 egg 125 crème fraiche 3 … Continue reading →
My best ever Tiramisu recipe (meaning “Pick me up”) never fails and is always a hit with everyone. Our friend, André, who lives in France and visits us once a year, demands Tiramisu on his visits and was once extremely annoyed when I presented him with another variation of this recipe. Here it is, as adapted from the book Culinaria Italy by Könemann: Ingredients 250ml thick cream; 4 egg yolks; … Continue reading →
Our favourite movie (or at least one of our many favourites) is Shirley Valentine. We have watched it many times. [At first I was not allowed to participated in the dialogue, later on I was not allowed to move my lips in sync with the the dialogue (Master of the House)]. Whenever one of us felt we were losing the art of living and of a good marriage relationship, we … Continue reading →
During the school holidays we decided to venture out in search of the perfect (or at least a very good) hamburger in and around Cape Town. The first one Deon tried, was at The Eatery at the Durbanville Hills Wine Estate just outside Durbanville. It is called the Gourmet Venison Burger and Chips and was made with ostrich meat. It was served on a wooden platter with potato wedges. It … Continue reading →
A year after relocating from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, our best friend and companion, Luca, suddenly passed away. It was so sad to say farewell to our beautiful Spaniel. Luca loved visiting restaurants with us. In the photograph we are at Café Paradiso in Kloof Street, Cape Town. How wonderful to have dog friendly restaurants. Luca was the best behaved dog ever and knew that he had to put … Continue reading →
I still remember reading Dafoe’s Robinson Crusoe when I was young – for those who forgot, the story is about a man who is stranded on a desert island for many years. With the supplies he salvaged from the wrecked ship, Robinson Crusoe builds a fort and then creates a world for himself by taming animals, gathering fruit, growing crops, and hunting. The story is filled with difficulties like pirates, … Continue reading →
