Creamy Chicken Salad with Mango and Almonds

As my friends and family in the Northern hemisphere languish in the icy grip of winter, we in Cape Town are enjoying enduring a heat wave. The country is in the strangle hold of the worst drought in 10 decades. People all over South Africa are donating bottles of water to be delivered to the towns were there is just no more water left.

Amazing pictures of truck loads of animal feed being delivered in convoy. While we are a country in distress, it is beautiful to see how people are standing together.

Cooking and eating big hot meals is about as far from my mind as the memory of rain is in Cape Town.

This creamy chicken salad, with mango and almonds was a huge winner - As we always say "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"!!

Creamy Chicken Salad with Almonds and Mango
Serves 2

4 chicken breasts sliced into 1"chunks
1 Onion sliced
15ml Tomato Paste
10ml Curry powder
80ml Chutney
80ml Mayonnaise
5ml Sugar
20ml Apricot Jam
125ml Plain Yoghurt
10ml Lemon Juice
Salt and Black Pepper
Oil for frying

Salad for Serving
Salad leaves
1 disk Feta Cheese
1 Mango peeled and cut into bite size pieces
40g Toasted Flaked Almonds (I toasted them myself in a dry pan)
Fresh coriander or basil for garnish (optional)

Fry the Chicken in a little oil until turning golden, but not cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Add the onions to the pan and more oil if necessary.
Fry onions until soft.
Add the tomato paste and the curry powder and fry for 1 minute.
Add rest of the ingredients (except the salad ingredients).
Stir the sauce and let it simmer for 5-8 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through.
Check seasoning and adjust.
Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

Place the salad leaves on the plate.
Place the chicken coated in the sauce on the leaves.
I didn't use all the sauce but add as much as you would like to your salad.
Place pieces of mango around the plate.
Sprinkle with feta and almonds.
Top with garnish and black pepper.

Serve and enjoy

Creamy Basil Pesto Salad Dressing

I have a basil fetish going on at the moment. It's quite fortuitous that I have a large garden and an accommodating gardener husband, who has planted 5 different varieties (so far) and found space for the ever growing demand for more.

I never knew there were so many kinds, I always just accepted that common garden basil, was exactly that - basil common to the garden. Oh no, there are different colours, ethnic groups, sizes and flavours that make my garden sound more like a UN conference than a garden.

This recipe is not an original idea, it's been around the "salad dressing circles" for years, but it is my first attempt and I am very happy with the result.
Quick,easy and very good with all the salads which we eat at this time of the year.

I am hoping that by the end of summer, I will have my garden established enough to be able to eat from it with only occasional help from the outside.

Creamy Basil Pesto Salad Dressing

80ml Mayonnaise
160ml Fresh Cream
30 - 45ml Fresh Lemon Juice
80ml Basil Pesto (store bought is great I like Pesto Princess)
10ml Fresh Chopped Garlic
2.5ml Black Pepper
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and adjust seasoning to taste.
If you like it more tart, you can add more lemon juice.
I store mine in used Grolsch bottles.

Summer Salad Sensation

"We having guests on Saturday night, I would like to do a braai (BBQ), since the weather is so good. The only thing is that half the guests are vegetarians".
He says: "What? You mean they don't eat any meat? - not even chicken? Why would you want to braai - what on earth do they eat?".
She replied : "Don't worry, they'll have great food, good enough to make you want to change your life choice of carnivorism.".
He smiles : "I very much doubt that.".

So we had the braai and the vegetarians certainly didn't go without and while the carnivores enjoyed the meat, they also enjoyed the meat-free dishes too. Perhaps not enough to change their life choice, but definitely enough to surprise them that meat-free can be almost as good.

Here is one of the wonderful salads I made, which can easily be a full meal, served with some home made bread or a brie and olive focaccia.

 

Roast Vegetable Salad

1 Whole Aubergine sliced
1 Red Pepper seeded and sliced
3 Courgettes sliced
Olive Oil for roasting
2 handfuls Rocket leaves
Walnuts roughly chopped

Dressing
2-3 Garlic Cloves
½ teaspoon Coarse salt
Juice of 1 Lemon
60ml Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
10-15ml Palm sugar (or regular sugar)
2.5ml finely ground Black Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC
Roast the aubergine, pepper and courgettes coated in oil until soft and brown.
Make the dressing, by pounding the garlic to a paste and
then mixing the rest of the ingredients, adjust to taste.
Once the vegetables are done, pour over the dressing while hot.
Allow to cool slightly and then toss in the rocket leaves, pepper and the walnuts.
Serve at room temperature, drizzled with the dressing and optional extra walnuts .

Butter Bean Butter Boom

We've had a hard few days in our household this week, hence the fact that I only have one post this week. My Keith had double knee surgery and is recovering on the couch, unable to bend his knees. It's amazing how you can take a body part for granted until it's out of action and then you're literally floored!

Meatless Monday became a trip to the Spur (a local steak house), Tuesday was something re-heated (after fetching my patient from the hospital) but by Wednesday I just had to have something healthy - my body was screaming from all the junk from the last few days.

I always have a tin of butter beans (Lima beans) in the pantry. They are my favourite standby for just about any meal - from butter bean mash to plain in a bowl with salt and olive oil. The creamy sweetness filled with goodness, opening the tin makes me feel healthy!

This simple butter bean, grilled vegetables and harissa paste salad was so good, I wish I  had made more.

 

Butter Bean Salad with Harissa Paste and Grilled Vegetables

1 Tin Butter Beans (drained and washed)
10ml Harissa Paste (I used shop bought, but you can make your own)
Zest of 1 Lemon and the juice of ½ the Lemon
10ml Palm Sugar (or plain sugar)
4 Courgettes slice diagonally and char-grilled
½ Yellow or Red Pepper seeded, sliced and char-grilled
10ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10ml roughly chopped parsley
Salt and Black Pepper
Rye Bread, thinly sliced, rubbed with olive oil and grilled with the vegetables

Place all the ingredients in a bowl, expect the bread and allow to marinate for 1 hour.
Serve the salad on the hot toasted bread.
Garnish with fresh parsley.

Salad Nicoise in South Africa

Salad Nicoise, a French composed salad with tuna, green beans, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, onion, capers, and potatoes. Essentially it is a meal in it's self, using the freshest of ingredients it's a collection of colours, textures and flavours to fill your mouth with a party!

Yesterday I treated us by buying a beautiful fillet. A rare treat, due mostly to the high cost of fillet. I love fillet, it's the only cut of steak which I want to eat and have seconds. I know that it hasn't got the flavour of rump or sirloin, but that soft butter melting texture gets my heart thumping.

So, to bump up the flavour which might be lacking from the fillet, I made a flavour packed salad. It's not a traditional nicoise salad, it's my adaptation to make it a great side dish.

Salad Nicoise for the Side

Serve 2

1 Large Potato cut into 1½" pieces, which skin on.
1 hand full French Beans (runner) trimmed and cut length ways
6 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Medium Soft Boiled Egg, shelled and cut in half
8 Black Olives pitted
10ml Oil from Anchovies bottled in oil.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the potato until just done. Keep a close eye on them, they must not be soggy or breaking.
In a non-stick pan, add the oil and fry the potatoes until they are golden, tossing regularly.
Add the tomatoes, olives and beans. Fry gently to warm through.
Plate the salad and top with the egg.
 

New Age Waldorf Salad

You're the top!
You're a Waldorf salad.
You're the top!
You're a Berlin ballad.
You're the boats that glide
On the sleepy Zuider Zee,
You're an old Dutch master.

Cole Porter

The Waldorf salad was first created between 1893 and 1896 at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City. The original recipe did not contain nuts, but they had been added by 1928. The salad became popular enough that  featured it in the Cole Porter song "You're the Top".

 There now seems to be more variations to the Waldorf Salad than Microsoft Windows, adding everything from chicken or turkey to dates and raisins. Not to depart from the tradition of blogging, of taking something simple and changing it into something complicated, I reinvented the wheel, with something surprisingly easy and beautiful.

 
Instead of apple, I used an Asian Pear, which has the shape of an apple, skin the colour of a potato and tastes like somewhere between an apple and a pear, with a high water content. It is  not suitable for baking because of the high water content and is best enjoyed fresh.

New Age Waldorf Salad
Serves 2

Dressing
30ml Mayonnaise (Home made is best, click here for a great recipe)
10ml Lemon Juice

Combine the mayonnaise and the lemon juice.

 Salad

1 Asian Pear cored and thinly sliced.
¼ cup Hazelnuts (dry roasted until skins loosen and go golden brown)
1 Cup of finely shredded Celery (I used the inside fronds only, because they are sweeter)

Place the celery in the mayonnaise and mix together.
Arrange the slice Asian Pear on the plate.
Place the celery mayonnaise in the middle.
Scatter with the toasted hazelnuts.
Serve immediately, before the pears turn brow.

Verlaque Recipe Challenge

Over the last few months I have made no less than four original recipes using wonderfully proudly South African ingredients from Verlaque.

From the first time I tasted their Persian Pomegranate Concentrate, I knew that this was something my kitchen would never be without. After attending the Cape Town Food Bloggers Conference, I received a free bottle of Infused Balsamic Reduction with  Preserved Cranberries and fell in love all over again.

So when Verlaque  announced a competition open to bloggers and requested a recipe using one of their products, I was in recipe creation over-drive! Lucky for me I have my step-son staying with us and his love for food creation is as enthusiastic as mine, so I had a unfair advantage of "two heads being better than one".

Together we came up with this scrumptious Dukkha Encrusted Salmon with a Cucumber Spaghetti Salad

 Dukkha Encrusted Salmon
Serves 2

2 Salmon Fillets (skin on and bones removed)
60ml Infused Balsamic Reduction with Sundried Mango & Chili
Zest and Juice of 1 Lime
1" Piece of Peeled Ginger Grated
100ml of Dukkha (I used a dukkha with a chilli, sesame seeds, almonds and hazelnuts)

Marinade the salmon in the Infused Balsamic Reduction with Sundried Mango & Chilli, the zest, lime juice and ginger for about 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 200°C.
Remove the salmon from the marinade, and shake off the excess and wipe the skin.
Lay the fillet, flesh side down in the dukkha and cover with dukkha - pressing gently into the flesh.
Using a pan which is oven proof, heat a little olive oil.
Place the salmon in the oil, skin side down and fry for about 2 minutes, until it starts to caramelize.
Place in a hot oven and roast for a further 7-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish.
Leave to rest for 2 minutes and serve with the salad below and extra dukkha pounded fine.

Cucumber Spaghetti Salad with Infused Balsamic Reduction with  Preserved Cranberries

½  Cucumber (cut into julienne - I have this gadget )
¼ Red Onion, sliced very thin
1 Green Chilli, cut into very thin slices (optional)
6 Baby Tomatoes cut into ¼'s (I use 3 red and 3 yellow)

30ml Fresh Coriander leaves
30ml Infused Balsamic Reduction with  Preserved Cranberries

Mix all the the ingredients together just before serving.
Make sure you place the chilli on top for those who might want to pick them out.

Home for Lunch

I only work half day, well perhaps I should say I only get paid to work for half the day - the rest of the day's duties, are all done free. I am not complaining, both my paid and unpaid "jobs" involve things I love.

One of the really great things about coming home early is I sometimes get to spoil myself with a wonderful lunch, like this Moroccan Roasted Chicken with Deep Fried Camembert.

The chicken was prepared at the Cooksplayground on Monday with Jenny. This chicken was smothered with a combination of Moroccan spices, preserved lemon and fresh coriander and then roasted, but you can use any left over cold chicken.

Deep frying camerbert is really easy. Slice a round of Camembert into eight, dip the pieces into beaten egg and then roll in breadcrumbs, fry in hot oil, turning until golden on all sides.

To assemble the salad, place the sliced chicken and fried Camembert cheese on a bed of rocket and dress with your favourite dressing, which for me is Verlaque Fruit infused White Balsamic Reduction.

Be My Guest

">I am so excited to share my latest find with you – a beautiful find, and something to be treasured for years to come.

With Christmas wish lists growing daily, I have the perfect gift to add. If you are a lover of food and enjoy entertaining, then this book is a must have.

Be my Guest, by Fay Lewis is the ultimate entertaining guide. Not only will you have the know how to make beautiful food, which will leave your guests in awe, you will also have simple and fun ideas on how to create the perfect setting for any occasion.

The recipes are very simple to follow, using ingredients which are readily available. There are great tips relative to forward planning, ways to stay ahead of the last minute scramble. It is always good to have parts of the menu ready ahead of time, so that you don't have to stress over things once your guests start to arrive. There is not much that is better than looking your best when the guests arrive, makeup in place, and then being able to confidently serve a meal which looks like you have spent all day slaving over. I love being able to say “Oh this, only took a few minutes to prepare - no hassle at all", and with this book you can say it with honesty!

In my book shelves, I have many, many recipe and cook books and Fay seems to have combined the best aspects of each of my books, and has produced an absolute masterpiece. The book is broken into chapters, starting with brunch and working through to formal winter dinners, picnics, pool parties, even a retro party, simple midweek family dinners plus many other party themes and ideas.

If you don't do much entertaining, this book is still ideal for help and ideas in preparing regular meals for the family. If you don't cook at all, you can use it as a coffee table book. The photography, which is done by Neil Corder, is exceptional. You will find yourself drooling over the pictures.

The recipes are all triple tested (which is important). I decided to test 3 of the recipes for myself – and I can assure you that they work, tasting just as good as they look in the book. Looking good and tasting good is very different in the life of a Foodie!

I share a quote from the cover, which clearly shows what this book is about :
" Whether you're a beginner when it comes to entertaining guests, or an
old hand, you'll find inspiration in Be My Guest.
Best of all, your guests will leave with nothing but admiration for your
professional and stylish hosting skills.
..... Be My Guest is your indispensable guide to entertaining"

A must have on your Christmas wish list, and, if you do not celebrate Christmas, get it anyway - you deserve to spoil yourself, and your guests



Old Fashioned Granadilla Lemonade
This can be made up to 2 day ahead

Juice of 10 Lemons, strained
Pulp from 3 Granadillas or 60ml canned pulp
1.5l Water
200g White Sugar
Ice Cubes, for serving
Slices of Lemon
Maraschino Cherries

Combine the lemon juice, grandadilla pulp, water and sugar in bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To Serve: Serve well chilled over ice and decorate with lemon slices and cherries.
My alternative serving : Place the lemonade in the freezer until frozen to a slush and serve in a salt rimmed martini glass.


Mustard and Potato Salad
Serves 6

700g New Potatoes
2 sprigs of rosemary
80ml Dry White Wine
1 Red Onion, Chopped
5ml Salt Crystals
250ml Mayonnaise
15ml Dijon Mustard
15ml Wholegrain Mustard
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
30ml Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

Boil the potatoes and the rosemary in a large heavy-based saucepan of salted boiling water until tender.
Drain, cut in half and transfer to a mixing bowl.
While still hot, pour over the wine.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix throughly.

To serve : Transfer to a platter and serve.


Poached Salmon
Make Ahead : The broth can be made 1 day ahead and refridgerated.
Serves 6

6 x 200g Salmon Fillets (Norweigian or Scottish)
3 Limes, halved for serving

Broth
1 Onion, sliced
3 Fresh Bay leaves
2ml Salt Crystals
5 whole Peppercorns
250ml white Wine
500ml Water

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Coat an oven proof dish with cooking spray.
Place the fillets in the prepared dish.
Pour over the broth and poach, uncovered for 20 mins or until cooked.
Remove from the oven and cool in the broth for 20 minutes.
Using a spatula, remove the fillets from the broth and set aside until ready to use.

To make the broth
Combine all the ingredients in a large, heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat, strain and refridgerate until ready to use.

To serve : Transfer the salmon to a serving platter and serve toped with cucumber and dill salad, and the limes on the side.

Cucumber and Dill Salad

2 English cucumbers, peeled, halved and sliced
100ml White Wine vinegar
15ml Chopped fresh dill
30ml Castor Sugar

Place the cucumber in a serving dish.
Combine the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the cucumber.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sexy Turnips?

Some vegetables are really sexy, others are not. Asparagus is sexy and so are artichokes but brussel sprouts and turnips ? Nope!

So what makes a vegetable (or fruit) sexy? Colour? Taste? Texture? Marketing? I think it's a combination. It's highly unlikely calling your love one "My little turnip" is ever going to score big in the romance department. You won't find people saying "She's the turnip of my eye"!

Labels can be a sad thing, whether it is vegetable or person. Once you stuck with it, it's almost impossible to get rid of it.

So why are turnips dull and radish not? They are part of the same family and have a very similar taste and texture. Why have turnips been relegated to hearty winter soups and radish to sexy summer salads?

This weekend I picked 3 beautiful turnips from my father's garden. I certainly was not going to be making hearty winter soup with the weather we are having now - so I made this wonderful turnip salad. If you only try one recipe from this blog - this should be it. It will blow your mind just how good it is - and super easy to make.


Turnip Salad

3 small Turnips cut into julienne ( the bigger ones can be a little "woody")
10ml - 15ml good quality Mayonnaise (not salad cream)
A pinch or two of sugar
5ml Lime juice
Salt and WHITE pepper (I like lots of white pepper)

Combine all the ingredients - and check the seasoning, and adjust according to taste.
Keep chilled until you are ready to serve.
I found this really good with fish.

Salad the Holford Way

I have been reading The Holford Low GL Diet this last week and was really inspired to try some of his weight loss and health improvement tips. He says this is "the only diet that will seriously undamage your health" - which sounds great to me.

I made these two salads, which not only tasted great but are packed full of good things for my over indulged on nougat and Turkish delight body! (more about the Turkish delight on Monday).

Firstly I made a Quinoa and Kidney Bean Salad

1 Cup of Cooked Quinoa ( still warm)
½ cup of cooked Kidney beans (from a tin)
Chopped cucumber
Chopped Red Pepper
1 Small Avocado (slice and drizzeld with lemon juice)
Salt and Black pepper
Hummus
Lemon juice

Mix the ingredients into a bowl, and add enough hummus to coat and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.

The second salad is even easier - no cooking involved.


Tuna and Chickpea Salad

½ cup Cooked chickpeas (from a tin again)
85g of Tuna in Brine (this is enough for one serving, about ½ a tin)
½ an Apple chopped
Red Pepper chopped
Cucumber Chopped
Lemon juice to taste
Fat Free (or low fat) smooth Cottage Cheese (enough to coat the ingredients)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and ENJOY!

Tomato Joy

I recently did a blog interview where I was asked what food I did not eat as a child. The answer was very easy, as it is still not a favourite if mine - raw tomatoes. I love them cooked, souped, tinned and especially sun-dried but never raw. I have matured slightly and now I do eat them so long as they are not the main event in a dish.

A real treat for me are marinated sun-dried tomatoes, especially the ones from Ina Paarmen, but they are very pricey and once I have opened a pack there is no stopping me. I decided to try marinade my own, to try save a little. Buying them dried they are really cheap and the marinading is so easy, I don't think Auntie Ina will have much more business from me!


Marinaded Sun Dried Tomatoes

Sun Dried Tomatoes
1 Part Red Wine Vinegar
1 Part Boiling Water
Sugar (to taste)
Fresh Thyme Leaves
Dried Garlic Powder (to taste)
½ Part Olive Oil

Place all the ingredients in a sterilized jar.
Shake to dissolve the sugar.
Allow to stand at room temperature for 12-24 hours (if you can wait that long).
The longer you let it stand the softer the tomatoes become.
I love these on pizza, stir-fried with mushrooms and especially just on their own straight out the jar!

In a Pickle

There was a time when people had to pickle and preserve fruit and vegetables. When you couldn't buy peaches and cucumbers all year round. Now days you can buy anything you like, no matter what the season and buying pickled cucumbers is as easy as buying milk.

While making your own pickles might not be as convenient as buying them, it is very simple and you can adjust the flavours to suit you own tastes - not to mention the "WOW factor" of taking out a bottle of your own homemade pickles !

There are many complicated pickling recipes out there - which require days of preparing and waiting, but this only takes about 10 minutes to prepare (just long enough to sterilize your bottles and lids in boiling water) and only 2 days in the fridge

Easy Vegetable Pickle

1 fresh Cucumber sliced into ½ inch batons (the same length as the height of your bottle)
and or
5 or 6 Large Carrots sliced into ½ inch batons (the same length as the height of your bottle)
Slices of fresh Garlic
a few Bay Leaves
Whole fresh chillies (I used this with the carrots)

For the pickle mixture (the amounts can be changed to suit your taste)
2 Cups of Water
1¼ Cup of Vinegar (White wine vinegar works best for me)
¾ cup of Sugar
3 teaspoons of Salt
10 black peppercorns (or more if you lazy to count them)

Place all pickle ingredients the in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer until the sugar has melted.
Leave the liquid to cool - check the taste and adjust to your liking - you might want it slightly sweeter or more tart.
Sterilize your bottles and the lids in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.
Place the vegetables and spices in your hot bottles, cutting them to fit the bottle.
Pour over the cooled pickle liquid and seal the jars.
Place in the fridge for 2 days and then enjoy!
Try experimenting with the flavours, by using sliced onion, green beans, radish or anything that takes your fancy.

Not that Bad

Well yesterday I had what would be considered a blog melt down - I had a good does of worm eating. That was until last night when I met a couple who, together with their 3 small children are facing eviction from their apartment on Friday.

Now whatever the reasons building up to them not paying their rent for 2 months, some of it just plain stupidity, it brought home to me exactly how self absorbed I can be. I went home last night and thanked God for every good thing which I have, including my housekeeper's menopause!

I still can not face cooking any big meals and salads are still on the menu. This simple steak and butternut salad with a balsamic reduction is both filling and light at the same time.

Warm Steak and Butternut Salad
Qualities vary according to servings

Steak cooked medium rare (or as you like it)
1 Butternut roasted with a little sugar and olive oil and then cooled.
A tossed salad with any ingredients which take your fancy -
My salad included the following :

Onion
Tomato
Avocado
Lettuce
Carrot
Mushrooms
Olives
Cucumber

Place the salad on the plate and top with warm sliced steak and cooled butternut cut into chunks.
Drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

The Balsamic Reduction
½ Cup Balsamic Vinegar
45ml Sugar

Place both ingredients in a small saucepan and heat.
Boil gently until reduced by about ½.

I served this with a onion and garlic focaccia.

I had small piece of pizza dough left in the freezer, which I just defrosted, rolled out to about 1cm and then topped with onion slices, garlic and drizzled with olive oil and baked in a very hot oven for about 10-15 mins.
Drizzle with more olive oil before serving hot.

Summer Bliss

Time waits for no man or woman! And while I know (in theory) there are still 24 hours in a day, somehow I am loosing 3 or 4 of them every day.

The weather is unbearably hot, my computer has been on the blink on and off for 3 weeks, I've had house guests for a month, I have been without a car for 2 weeks, I'm involved in the launch of a new church in Sea Point, my housekeeper is going through menopause and did I mention it's unbearable hot? So you can see coming home and spending time in the kitchen is not a priority.

Never the less, my family still have to eat, no matter what the weather and because of the weather we eat later, so suppers are generally light with lots of salads.

I saw this salad in a deli last week, but at R85/Kg, it definitely didn't fit into my budget. Lucky for me I know the ladies at the deli and they shared the recipe with me.


Chinese Cabbage Salad

2 Cups Finely shredded white Cabbage (only use the outer leaves, not the hard white part)
4 Finely chopped Spring Onions (White and green parts)
1 Cup Hot Cooked Chinese Noodles ***
60ml Toasted Flaked Almonds
30ml Toasted Sesame Seeds (I used the black ones)
45ml Grape Seed Oil (or canola oil)
10ml Sesame Oil
Salt

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine - check the seasoning.
I cut the noodles slightly to make mixing and eating easier.
*** Make sure the noodles are hot when you add them to the salad, so it softens the cabbage slightly.
This salad is best served chilled.

Half our life is spent trying to find something
to do with the time
we have rushed through life trying to save

Super Salads

I love salad!The combinations are endless, you can put just about anything into a salad, so long as it is fresh. You never have to have the same thing twice and it is great way to use left overs too.

On Saturday, after our hike, to celebrate all the calories we burnt, we decided to have a braai (BBQ). The weather is absolutely glorious and it really would be a waste to spend too much time indoors.

I didn't have any lettuce and my spinach is growing wild, so it was time to improvise with a new salad. I also had one avocado (which cost me a fortune) and was very close to reaching it's sell by date.


Spinach Surprise Salad

2 Cups finely shredded Spinach (Swiss Chard)
10 Pitted Green Olives, cut in half
1 Avocado cut into bite size Chunks
4 finely chopped Anchovy fillets (optional)
10 finely sliced Mushrooms
1 Cup Cooked Pearl Barley
60ml Honey and Mustard Salad Dressing (I used Ina Paarman)
Juice of ½ a Lemon
5ml Black Pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and leave to rest for at least 15 - 30 minutes.

I also made some chicken kebabs, inspired by Nina. I did have to adapt this, as I didn't have all the ingredients and was far too tired to go shopping, they were okay, but next time I'll go to a little more effort to follow her recipe!

Simple and Light

After enduring what we felt was an incredibly harsh winter, which never seemed to end, summer is here and showing no remorse about being a little late. Yesterday the temperature in Paarl, which is about 40km outside Cape Town, was 44°C (111°F).

Needless to say, warm comfort food is out of the question. Just turning on the stove takes super-human courage.

I made this quick supper, an effortless meal that required minimum time in the kitchen.


Monkfish wrapped in Sage and Bacon

Monkfish fillets
Streaky Bacon
Fresh Sage leaves

Season the fish with salt and pepper.
Wrap the fillets first with a few sage leaves and then in bacon.
Grill in a hot oven (220°C) for about 15 -25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage

½ head of White Cabbage very finely shredded
1 Large Carrot finely grated
1 Tbsp Jenny Morris Caraway Seeds
1 Tbsp Jenny Morris French tarragon
1 Tbsp Castor Sugar
½ Tbsp Salt (you might need more, depending on your tastes)
½ Tbsp Jenny Morris Lemon Pepper
¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Olive Oil (optional)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to stand for at least an hour before serving.
Check the seasoning, adding more sugar, vinegar or salt if needed.
Drizzle over some olive oil just before serving (I left this out).
It actually tastes even better the next day.
This salad goes perfectly with fish.

Weekend Bliss

I have so much to share about my weekend. I spent no time at all in the kitchen and lots of time having fun in the sun (and the dark) with two of the most special people in my life.

Friday night I decided to treat my boys to fish and chips from Catch of the Day. The owner Manny knows me by name, so when I call and say "Manny, 2 hake and a small chips, collection at 6.45pm please" my life is instantly easier. I learnt the lesson to call before you arrive, because Friday nights at Manny's is like Christmas Eve at Cavendish!

I decided to stick to my healthy eating plan, and not go the battered fish and chips and make these tasty bites, of fresh ciabata slices, topped with low fat cheese, tomato and fenugreek sprouts (home grown) - delicious.


Saturday night hubby and I went out dancing! Our friend, Leslie K. Smith was doing the release of his new album at Hanover Street, Grand West. We first had diner at Squire’s Grill and Chop House, where hubby pronounced the steak as, " The best I've had in a long time". I did make one mistake though, I wore my new shoes - yes I hear that groan! My baby toe no longer has skin on it.

Sunday morning after church, I took Markwin tobogganing and I had my first trip down. My legs were shaking when I eventually reached the bottom, it took all my strength to remain cool and save face in front of him!

After all this fun, I really didn't feel like cooking. So I decided to try this very simple "recipe" I had bookmarked ages ago. It is very simple and scored full marks with Markwin.

I bought a pack of roti paratha at the Spar last week.

You simply defrost them slightly (not all the the way otherwise they are too sticky).
Roll your sausage in the roti and make slashes on the top.
Brush with either milk or egg and top with sesame seeds.
Preheat your oven to 180°C and then bake them for 25 -30 minutes.
The result is a super easy sausage roll.


A thought for the day :

Change your thoughts and change your world.
Norman Peale

Working Girl's Lunch

Since I am back at work after the Christmas holidays, I have experienced 2 phenomena :

1. My waist line has grown
2. My bank balance has shrunk

As these two go hand in hand, I am trying to make adjustments on both sides.

And so I introduce the packed lunch.

Couscous Salad (enough for 3 lunches)

1 cup Couscous
1 cup Boiling water
1 cup cooked green beans
10 salted Almonds (chopped in small pieces)
3 sun dried tomatoes (reconstituted)
1 small piece of steak thinly sliced (you can use any left over meat)
Salt and Black pepper

Make up the couscous according to the instructions on the packet.
Toss all the other ingredients into the couscous.

This really is a healthy lunch, which is easy to throw together while making your evening meal.

Never frown, even when you are sad,

because you never know who is

falling in love with your smile.

Pretty Food

I often make coleslaw. It is one way I can get my family to eat cabbage without them thinking about it being what it is - Good for You!

I got a baby red cabbage in my Wild Organic box last week and knowing that making braised red cabbage was out of the question, I whipped up a bowl of coleslaw. I mixed it half and half with green cabbage and it was the prettiest coleslaw I have ever made.

Rose's Family Favorite Coleslaw

1 cup of very thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup of very thinly sliced green cabbage
½ cup of grated carrot
½ cup of Mayonnaise
30ml of Honey
15ml of Wholegrain Mustard
15ml Caraway seeds
Lots of black pepper

Mix the cabbages and carrot in a large enough bowl.
In a separate bowl make the sauce.
You can adjust the flavours to suit your own taste. Add more honey or if it is too sweet a little vinegar will cut through the sweetness.
Blend the sauce into the cabbage mix and leave for about an hour before serving.
This is a salad which will last very well in the fridge and is even better the next day.

As fashionistas are all claiming that pink is the new black, this salad will fit very fashionable on any table.

Some things you should know about Caraway. . . .

1. Caraway aids the digestion, good as a anti-flatulent. (Good reason to have it with cabbage).
   
2. It is a member of the parsley family.
3. It is thought to have been used longer than any other condiment in Europe.
4. It is used in Liqueurs, perfumes and mouthwashes.