Punching Plums

The shops are full of the summer fruit delights. Plums are so cheap, it's like Jamie Oliver always says "Cheap as old chips"! Although  I must say, I'd rather have a bag of plums, than a bag of old chips.

I have bought a few bags which I plan to make into plum jam, like I did last here. (See post). The rest are being eaten fresh, baked into cakes or poached as I did last night.

This simple poached plum is wickedly deceptive. You see the beautiful soft plums, the thick red syrup and think it's a harmless poached plum. That's until you take your first bite and you're caressed with a hint of fresh lime, a sticky sweetness of sugar and right when you think you have had it all, the chili kicks in and says "hello" to your mouth!

Poached Plums with a Punch

2 Cups of Water
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Fresh Lime cut in Quarters
½ -1 Dry Red Chili (depending on your tastes)
8-10 Plums (sore the top of the plum with a X)

Boil the Water, Sugar, Lime and Chili in a saucepan until the sugar has melted and reduced by ¼.
Add the plums and gently simmer for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, remove the chili and leave to cool to room temperature or chill in the fridge.
Serve the plums with the syrup and some ice-cream to cool the palate.

Yoghurt Cream with Strawberries and Rooibos Syrup

What a delight it is when you spend days dreaming a dish in your head and then producing something that comes so close to perfection, it sends your entire body into raptures.

I now know the satisfaction that Albert Einstein must have felt when Arthur Eddington proved his theoretic observations in reality, going against much of which was accepted science in it's day.

Okay, so I certainly haven't found the answers to the speed of light or the made a giant leap for mankind in solving the mysteries of the universe. I can't do calculus, almost failed trigonometry and still have algebra nightmares - but I have discovered a fusion which is more in touch with the day to day life of the average family than and . 

I also happen to think my discovery is much prettier than anything Albert, Isaac or even Stephen Hawkins have come up with, but that's just my point of view - you're welcome to yours.

 
Yoghurt Cream with Strawberries and Rooibos Syrup

100g Puff Pastry
1 Egg Beaten (for egg wash)
1 Teaspoon Icing Sugar

2 Cups Fresh Strawberries (washed and hulled)
1 Cup Water
1 Cup of Sugar
3 Rooibos Tea Bags
2 cups of Plain Yoghurt (strained overnight through muslin to thicken)
2 Tablespoons Icing Sugar

Preheat your oven to 200ºC
Roll out the puff pastry and cut into 4 disks and 4 hearts (with a cookie cutter)
Brush the pastry with egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden.
Allow to cool.
Dust with icing sugar once cooled.

In a sauce pan boil the sugar, water and rooibos tea until reduced by 1/3.
Remove from the heat, add the strawberries to the hot syrup and allow to cool.

Add the icing sugar to the thick yoghurt and combine.

To plate the dish :
Place 2 spoons of the yoghurt cream on a plate.
Top with the strawberries and drizzle with the syrup.
Decorate with the a puff pastry disk and one heart.
Serve and delight!

International Food Evening

On Saturday night our church held an mission's celebration and each bible study group was asked to choose a country, dress up in national dress, as well as cater a table with food from that country. It was such fun and very interesting, we had a talk from locak Pastor who was a missionary to Morocco for 6 years.

The countries were not randomly chosen, as in our church we have people from the 4 corners of the world. I was part of a group from the Cameroon. It was a great experience from the foodie side too, as I had to research a cuisine that is totally foreign to me.

The people in West Africa eat lots of fish, beans, peanuts, coconut, pineapples and chili. The most exciting part of this food adventure, was that I found a shop in Parow that only sells ingredients that are used in West and Central Africa. I didn't recognize anything, and kept asking the owner to explain - I think I was about 2 questions away from him saying "Lady, we cater to foreigners, if you want to understand everything in a shop, go to Pick 'n Pay!"! Next time I go, I'll have more recipes in hand, so I won't have to ask so much!

My attempt at Cameroonian food was this Suya, a kebab. It can be made with any kind of meat - I chose beef. It is marinaded in a dry spice mix and then cooked over hot coals. The flavours are subtle (except for the chili) and work remarkably well together.


Cameroonian Kebabs
Makes about 18

1kg Steak chopped into 1" cubes
10ml Meat Tenderizer (this was my addition)
60ml Chili Flakes
20ml Garlic Powder
15ml Paprika
10ml Onion Powder (I used 2 Knorr mini Stock cubes)
1 Cup Roasted Peanuts finely ground (but not into a paste)
15ml Ground Ginger
Salt to taste
Red, Green and Yellow Peppers, cut into 1" pieces

Mix all the ingredients together and marinade for a few hours.
Thread onto skewers with some colourful peppers.
Cook on the braai (BBQ) or in the oven under the grill.


I served this together with some grilled pineapple kebabs. This is inspired by Cameroon, but not authentic.

Take two whole pineapples and cut off the peel.
Slice into wedges and then into 1½" cubes
Make a mix with about 125ml hot honey and 10ml dried chili.
Coat the pineapple with the mix and thread onto skewers and grill over the flames or on a hot griddle pan.
Brush with more of the sauce before serving.

Goosebumps and berries!

I was so excited when I saw that my Cape Gooseberry has started flowering and then ....


jumped for joy when I spotted it has a little baby berry too!

What lovely Plums

I have two plum trees in my garden. They were planted very lovingly by my father. Since he left the trees no longer enjoy the kind of love they should get.

My back garden is paved, with not a blade of green anywhere (except the few stubborn weeds which push up between the cracks)! So the area under the plum trees is the only place which can now be used to wash paint trays, spades with concrete on and any other toxic waste which can not go down the drain.

Would you believe that in the 5 years of total abuse, that is not counting our "scientific" approach of pruning, which is very simple - "if it sticks out, cut it off", these two plum trees have never failed to yield a beautiful crop of the sweetest red plums every year.

Yesterday while walking past them, I noticed the first signs of fruit, and so I am posting the pictures as proof to all you gardeners out there, in case you are wondering why your fruit trees don't bear the standard of fruit you long for.

I have considered publishing a book on fruit tree growing, but I know that Green Earth may lodge a protest as to the harmful effects of genetically modifying fruit with cement and paint!