Gingerbread Cookies...

**Thanks to the latest Your Family magazine for this super easy Yummy Yummy recipe**

Makes 20 - 25 cookies

Prep 10 min & chilling time

Bake 10 - 12 mins

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup (125ml) firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (125ml) golden syrup

1 egg, separated

2 1/2 cups (625ml) flour

1 tblsp (15ml) ground ginger

1 tsp (5ml) cinnamon

1 tsp (5ml) bicarbonate of soda

1 cup (250ml) icing sugar sifted

Step 1 Preheat oven to 180C and line two large trays with baking paper (wax paper works well too)

Step 2 In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale using an electric beater. Beat in the syrup and egg yolk

Step 3 Use a spoon to fold the flour, spices and soda to form a smooth dough. Form into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and chill for 30 mins

Step 4 Divide the dough in half. Roll out pieces between baking paper to 5mm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes

Step 5 Place on the baking trays and bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle icing sugar over the cookies once they have cooled

Canderal Cook Off fun!

Wednesday evening saw myself and 5 other super cool Joburg bloggers (Alida, Jess, Jeanette, Tanya & Angie) battling it out for the honour of top Salon de Culinaire Chef!

Ok I get a little carried away, we *were at Salon de Culinaire in Fourways, and we *were cooking, but there *was no competition..thank goodness...I had a hard enough time figuring out which knife to use to slice the plums.

 The lovely Natasha (as well as the rest of the super awesome LiveWired team) had organized a night of cooking, eating, drinking & being merry in honour of Canderal's launch of their Yellow range. We were put into teams in charge of making the starter (Angie & Jeanette), main (Alida & me) and dessert (Jess & Tanya). Thanks ladies, It was a lovely evening!

*Stuffed Butternut* for dinner!

Summer is supposed to be around the corner, but with the last few days being as cold as they have been, here is something to keep you warm and full...

Ingredients

Tin foil

Butternuts 

Olive Oil

Herbs

your choice of stuffing (here I used feta & sun dried tomatoes). Mushrooms, onions, lentils & bacon also work well!

Step 1: Pop the oven onto 180 C. Slice your butternuts in half and remove the seeds

Step 2: slice up your fillings (make sure to have nice bright nails to avoid slicing your finger open!)

Step 3: Once your butternuts are well and truly stuffed full of yummyness, drizzle some olive oil over them and sprinkle with herbs. Wrap in tin foil and pop into the oven.

Step 4: after 40 mins in the oven, unwrap the foil and poke a stick into the butternuts to check how they are doing. Leave the foil off them and bake for another 10-15 mins.

Step 5: Enjoy!!

Spring into a Night Market!

Come celebrate the first day of Spring at Jozi's very own Market on Main, Night Market! 

clothes...shoes...art...food...food...and more food...what's not to like?

The *Honey* Guys...

Driving from the Farm to Pietermaritzburg, Farmboy and I passed these delightful characters. Selling fresh honey off the comb (for R10 a chunk) we, as the saying goes, **overindulged**. This led to a very long and windy ride to Maritzburg and a few stops along the way to 'get some fresh air'.

We did check to see where they 'found/scavenged' the honey and they got it from the Bee Farm they work on where the owner sells the honey by the barrel :) Anyway, couldn't resist a few pic's (and some padkos for the road!)

Tea and Cake *Blackwood Nursery, Richmond*

Tucked away in a little corner of KZN lies this little gem...Blackwood Nursery. With a huge array of plants, tree's, garden & home decor and yummy dishes to choose from, you could very much spend all day there.

And the best part...the chocolate cake, omnomnom :)

Directions:

Take the R56 towards Richmond (37k's from Pietermaritzburg), then the  district road D562. Blackwood Nursery is situated in the Baynesfield area. Look out for this sign:

Contact Details:

082 379 1858

bnursery@mweb.co.za

Brekkie in Melville...De La Creme

Being a Jo'burg girl, I haven't done too much exploring of the Melville area. To remedy this, I spent some time wandering around and came across this little gem...

 Great service, lovely atmosphere and lots and lots of yummy yummy goodies to munch!

My mom and uncle Mike who is here out all the way from New Zealand to celebrate my mom's wedding :)

Yummy Egg's Benedict, and the tasty toasted croissant with bacon and avo...

Directions:

Cnr 4th Avenue & 7th Street, Melville

From the N1 (Western Bypass) take the Beyers Naudé turnoff and travel through Blackheath, Cresta and Risidale towards Melville. When you get to Melville, Beyers Naudé Drive becomes Main Road. Turn left into 4th Avenue from Main. Continue straight ahead for approximately 4m. They are situated on the corner by traffic lights on your right.

Opening Hours:

Monday - closed

Tuesday - Sunday: 07:00-23:00

*Tomorrow I will be posting a recent interview I did with a very interesting lady...stay tuned for that!* 

*CupCakes*

I was feeling a little sorry for myself yesterday...it was my birthday and no one had made me a cake (*boohoo*), anyway! I decided to whip up some cupcakes! Bear in mind I'm not the most creative of people, so the cupcakes look a little gaudy...but what they lack in appearance, they make up in taste!

Farmboy and I have been having a lot of fun in the kitchen (I must admit he does most of the actual work and I take the pictures but enough about that) check out our lemon cordial, hummus, stirfry and pasta!

The recipe below makes 24 cupcakes...

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 cup unsalted butter (I used Butro here and it worked like a charm)

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

 1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Icing

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6-8 cups icing sugar

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180C and set out your cupcake cases.  In a small bowl, combine the flours.

Step 2: In a large bowl (electric mixer), cream butter until smooth. Add sugar until fluffy and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Step 3: Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk and vanilla.

Step 4: Fill the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 mins and leave to cool.

Icing

Mix the butter, 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla essence in an electric mixer (3-5 mins) until smooth and creamy (add a few drops of food colouring if you'd like).

Add the remaining sugar (1 cup at a time) beating for 2 mins between each cup, until icing is thick. Use an icing plunger thingy to decorate (or just use a spatula) and go wild!

Thanks to the FoodNetwork for the above recipe!

Stir-fry a la Sophie!

Everybody loves a good stir-fry :)

Ingredients 

(this fed 6 hungry people)

noodles (we used egg noodles but you can use any type u feel like)

4 chicken breasts

2 carrots

1 pepper

250g mushrooms

2 small cabbages

4 courgettes

small fistful of raw ginger

small head of broccoli

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

(ay other yummy things you feel like adding)

for the sauce:

black bean sauce

sesame oil

maizena

Old Brown Sherry

Step 1. Chop up all your veggies (we separated them into 2 piles...those that cooked quickly like the mushrooms and cabbage...and those that took longer like the carrots and peppers)

Step 2. Sauté the chicken breasts in a little Olive Oil and add the ginger & onion to the mix. Once browned remove from heat and put aside.

Step 3. Now the fun part, making the sauce :) In a bowl, add some sesame oil, sherry, black bean sauce & Maizena (this thickens it up nicely) and stir. Adjust according to taste.

Step 4. Soak the noodles in boiling water for +-10 minutes (just check with the instructions on the packet if your using any other type of noodles). *have a bite of cupcake if your feeling peckish*

Step 4. Place the pan with the chicken back onto heat, and after a minute or 2 of reheating, slowly add the veggies. Add a few drops of water to moisten the mixture. Then add the noodles and finally the sauce.

Step 5. Mix and serve with chop sticks! Yum Yum!

**Lemon Cordial**

A great way to use up lemon's if you have a tree bursting with them, otherwise, an easy way to up your intake of Vitamin C this winter...

Ingredients 

12 lemons

30g Epsom Salts

30g Tartaric Acid

30g Citric Acid

1kg sugar (yikes! There really is no other way to sweeten it...but sweeten to your own taste buds)

3 litres boiling water

Step 1: Get yourself a lemon picker (or head out to your nearest fruit and veg store).

Step 2: Squeeze those little guys! If you have a food processor, then peel the rind of the lemons and zap them into the machine. If not, go the old fashion way and squeeze them by hand.

Step 3: Add the rest of the ingredients to the boiling water. Sift the lemon juice into the pot to get rid of those unsavoury bits...don't forget to keep stirring until all the sugar dissolves.

Step 4: Once all the sugar has dissolved (keep tasting it and adding more if you need to) then it's time to decant! Add some labels to your creation, and there you go. Great drunk with lemonade or soda water for an extra fizz..otherwise just plain water is yummy too :)

Make your own *HuMmUs*

This is an easy peasy 5 minute recipe to make your own healthy Hummus for spreading on toast or as a dip :)

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Combine everything in a blender or food processor and voila!
If the mixture is too dry, add more yogurt to make it smooth and creamy.

*enjoy!*

Yummy *Bran Muffins*

For something really yummy (and guilt free!) try these Bran Muffins:

Ingredients:

Makes 12 muffins

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (or honey)

1 1/2 cups oat bran (Snowflake "Digestive Bran" works well) 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (Snowflake "Nutty Wheat" works well)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs (or 4 egg whites)

1 1/2 cups chilled applesauce

5 tablespoons fat free vanilla yogurt (or vegetable oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup raisins (or anything else you would like to add)

Step 1: preheat oven to 205 degrees C. Line or spray muffin tins, including the top of the pan, with cooking spray.

Step 2: In a mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, oat bran, and cinnamon. Sift in the flour, baking powder, soda, salt & raisins.

Step 3: In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, chilled applesauce, yogurt, and vanilla. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until everything is moistened. Use as few strokes as possible (lumps are okay). Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, each 2/3 full. Let stand 10 minutes (important for softening the oat bran).

Step 4: Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean..and enjoy!

Thanks to Versagrain for the recipe!

Me Tarzan, you eat???

For something a little different, why not try out this very strange but uber yummy way to roast lamb. It's called a Tarzan Roast, you'll see why :)

Thanks a whole bunch to Justin Bonello from CookedinAfrica for this recipe, we just added/took away one or two things here and there.

*sorry for any vegetarians or vegans out there!*

Ingredients:

about a 2 ½ kg fatty leg of lamb, with the shank intact – very important (which feeds +-10 people)
a sprig of rosemary
10-15 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half
3-4 bunches of spring onions
a handful of dried oregano
2 onions, sliced
the juice of 2 to 3 lemons

**optional: veggies to roast**

and

a baking tray
about half a metre of galvanised wire
2-3 metres of rope
a forked stick
a basting brush
a sharp knife
a small stool
a wheelbarrow
orange wood – any hard fruit wood will do, but do not use ordinary firewood
an accessible branch on a tree that is not too close to your house (we used a hook on the patio but it did leave lovely black marks on the roof)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Lay the leg of lamb on its side in the baking tray and, using a small sharp knife, cut slits 3-5 cm deep at a 45 degree angle all over the lamb. Force rosemary sprigs and garlic slivers into the slits, then force the spring onions in as well – the green leaves will jut out, a bit like a porcupine :)

2. Mix together the oregano, the onions and the juice from the lemons and pour this all over the leg of lamb. Leave to marinate while you make the fire.

The meat actually cooks by radiated heat and is gently smoked at the same time. I usually use orange or apple wood because of their aromatic properties and I make the fire in a wheelbarrow. This is useful because the cooking time is somewhere between 4 and 6 hours, and during that period of time Mother Nature could blow hot and cold and change her tune a number of times. But with a wheelbarrow you can adjust the position of the fire and take full advantage of the prevailing wind CookedInAfrica

First, slip the wire through the shank and twist it so there’s no chance of the meat falling into the fire. Attach the wire to the rope with a slipknot (we used a very large metal hook attached to some more wire...the possibilities to hang this thing are endless...get creative!)

3. Once the leg is attached to the wire and the rope you need to find a nice strong branch in a tall tree from which to hang your meat. (Be sure that it’s far enough away from your house and any dry tinder. You don’t want to end up chasing a runaway fire.) Balance the baking tray with the left over marinade on a stool and position this directly under the joint. Wheel the fire in next to the stool and place it so that the prevailing wind is blowing towards the lamb. You should be able to hold your hand between the fire and meat for just a few seconds without burning it. If it’s not hot enough chuck a couple of extra logs on the fire to really get the heat going.  

For the next 4 to 6 hours, you need to keep basting the lamb with marinade and the fatty juices that drip into the tray. Every 10 to 15 minutes turn the meat about 45 degrees and secure its position with the forked stick.

4. Get yourself comfy, with a good book and a glass of wine. (Don't forget some roast veggies:


Start preparing at about the 3-hour mark. Chop all the veggies into pieces about the same size so that they will all be ready at the same time. Use:

baby potatoes

beetroot 

parsnips

carrots

sprigs of rosemary

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Blanch the various vegetable types separately in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Place on a baking tray, add the rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Slow roast for between 40 minutes and 1 hour, turning occasionally. Once they’re cooked, reduce the heat of the oven to its lowest setting to keep them warm.

While the roast is resting make a sauce by pouring all the drippings and scraps of lamb in the baking tray into a pan, mix a teaspoon of cornflour in a cup of milk and add this to the pan. Keep stirring on low heat for between 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. To serve, place vegetables and slivers of roast lamb on a platter and drizzle the sauce over the meat).

5. And there you have it. Your very own Tarzan Roast. Now just get yourself  a nice group of people to share it with :)

Home made *Pesto*

Easy peasy recipe for making your very own basil pesto... 

Ingredients for Basil Pesto

2 cups basil

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of pine-nuts/sunflower seeds

2 garlic cloves

1 Tbs (tablespoon) lemon juice

pinch of salt
1/2 cup Virgin Olive Oil
**all of the above can be adjusted to your own taste**

Step 1: You gotta get yourself a basil plant first, which I guess makes the rest of this post void of you ain't got no basil :) click here for more info on growing basil from seed. 

Once you have yourself a a basil planet, get to picking! Gather up a whole load of leaves (the more the better) and give them a rinse.

Step 2: Roast the nuts/seeds in a pan on a very low heat

Step 3: With a blender/mixer, grind up the nuts/seeds, while slowly adding the rest of the ingredients

And hey presto...your very own pesto :)

**Yummy on pasta, but most especially on warm toast with butter...

Home made *Pasta Affair*

Something along the lines of a previous post "Pizza a la **Pazzala**", heres some instructions for making your very own pasta....so easy and most delish!

Ingredients for Basil Pesto Pasta

Pasta: 

500g cake flour

5 eggs

(makes enough for 5 people, work on the basis of 100g flour & 1 egg per person)

Sauce:

200ml Basil Pesto (1 1/2 packets of Ina Parman's works well!

100 g mushrooms

50g fresh basil

100g fresh rosa tomatoes

1 onion

olive oil (for frying)

pinch of salt

Step 1: Get yourself a pasta machine (@Home for R250 or see your nearest Antique store)

Step 2: Mix Flour & Eggs together and knead.

Step 3: When mixture reaches an even consistency, wrap in cling-film and put into the fridge for 30 minutes

Step 4: Break mixture into smaller, more manageable balls and start putting it through the machine. Use the setting to thin out the pasta mixture (usually has settings 1-7, start with the thickest and work your way to the thinnest).

Step 5: Start putting the thin sheets of pasta through your choice of spaghetti/linguine settings, making sure to keep flouring each side of the pasta. Once the pasta is in "strings" use a stick/broom to wrap the pasta over to dry

If your feeling a little more creative, add some food colouring to the mixture :)

Step 6: Begin getting your sauce ingredients ready. Chop the basil, mushrooms and tomatoes and fry in a pan with a little olive oil.  Keep aside to add to the final product:

Step 7: Fill a large pot with enough water for the pasta and leave to boil (add some salt and olive oil). Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes, or until al dente (throw a piece agains the wall, if it sticks, the pasta is ready!)

Step 8: Drain the pasta & add the basil pesto and the rest of the ingredients and voila! Pasta at it's finest! :)

Pizza a la **Pazzala**

Tired of boring old restaurant bought pizza's? Why not try making your own?

 Not only are home made pizza's more fun to make, they are a whole lot healthier! And if your really keen, why not go the extra mile and buy or make yourself your very own pizza oven!! 

Click here for more details on building your own oven..alternatively, Builders Warehouse sells them in certain branches *Balito being one of them!*

Step 1: Get together a bunch of crazy cooks *family and friends work nicely*

Step 2: Home Pizza Oven Preparation

1. Keep the chimney closed while not in use to prevent water getting into the oven and wetting the base. Steamed pizzas are a disaster.

2.  Light the fire 1  1/2 hours before you intend to cook the pizzas to heat the base to ensure crispy bottoms. The best wood is a blue gum or wattle to get nice smoky flavour, but any wood which is used for braaing will do.

3.  Pizza’s cook from the top and bottom. To ensure pizza’s cook from the top a flame needs to be present.  Have some small logs handy which will catch alight easily. Otherwise keep the fire fed but not over hot or pizzas can burn.

4.  Before cooking pizzas move the burning logs towards the back of oven. Use blow pipe to clear ash from cooking area. If pipe has been mislaid, use a piece of wet newspaper which has been slightly dampened and held by tongs to wipe ash away.   

5.  Pizzas need to be shifted around to ensure they do not burn on the side nearest flame.

6.  Hot coals spread over the spillage from pizza’s in progress is a useful way of cleaning up the oven base.

7.  Before using your oven next time make sure the ash has been cleared out and the base cleaned. 

Step 3: Get your ingredients ready

   Dough (Makes 8 medium pizza’s)

 Ingredients: 800 g Bread flour, 200 g semolina flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 heaped tsp sugar, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 packet yeast, 650 ml lukewarm water. 

1.  Mix dry ingredients and oil in Kenwood using dough hook. Gradually add water until dough forms into a ball rolling around the edge of mixer bowl. All this can be done by hand but it involves 10 to 15 minutes of kneading.

2.  Put into bowl to rise. Cover with cling film with a little oil to prevent dough from cracking and drying out. Takes +- 90 minutes.

3.  It is best to separate dough before rolling Individual pizza’a. Roll out dough by hand into one long roll (like French baguette). Cut into 8 portions and round them into balls.  Flatten by hand and spread out. Roll the balls into round shapes using semolina or flour to prevent sticking. It is a good idea to use cutting mats so pizzas can be carried from one table to another.  Once rolled out ensure there is a good spreading of semolina or flour underneath the pizza base so it does not stick to the mat. This is probably one of the most important tips as a stuck pizza is a nightmare for the person doing the baking in the oven.

     Tomato base mix.

 Ingredients. Depends on number, but should be sufficient for 15 pizzas.

 2 tins tomatoes; 

2 tins tomato puree; 

2 garlic cloves, 

2 onions, 

Herbs (origanum, bay leaf or two)

Fry chopped onions and crushed garlic in a little oil. Once onions translucent add other ingredients and let cook under low heat for +- 60 to 90 minutes to get rid of some of liquid. Chilli’s can be added.   The tomato base can be pureed in a liquidizer, but this is not essential. Spread tomato base thinly keeping a small outer rim clear of tomato. 

Step 4: Make sure to have a good glass (*or 2) of wine handy for quenching thirst

Step 5: Compare Pizza making skills

Step 6: Put pizza in oven

Step 7: Enjoy your hard work!