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.

Take Time for Lunch

Courgette and Ricotta Toasts

 Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You've heard that from your doctor, your health guru, your Patrick Holford books, your friends (the fat and the skinny ones) and of course even your Mother. I always have breakfast, but I certainly don't have time to put much thought into it.

Unless you idly rich, unfortunately unemployed, live with your mother or in an institution like prison, it's highly unlikely you have time to make a cooked breakfast on a weekday morning - unlike every family on American TV that has pancakes every morning (which no one ever eats). For me it's either a tub of yoghurt, cereal, some fruit or if I'm really thinking out the box a slice of toast (on weekends only).

Now lunch, this is a meal I can selfishly enjoy. It's the one meal that I can make and not consider any family dietary requirements, tastes or moods. I work ½ day (collective sigh here) and when I get home at lunch time, I love the freedom of having whatever I feel like eating. This is me time. I prefer to eat a larger lunch and a smaller supper - that's just me, and I know it's because I work ½ day (another collective sigh).

Here is my lunch from Friday - I know I would be the only one in my family to eat a combination like this, but it was so good. I ate it so fast I got hiccups! 

Courgette and Ricotta Toasts
Serves 1 (Me, Me and only Me)

3 slices Ciabatta Bread 
2 Courgettes thinly sliced lengthwise
4 Tablespoons Fresh Ricotta
6 Capers
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Heat your griddle pan to hot.
Rub the bread and courgettes with oil
Toast the bread in the pan and grill the courgettes until marked and slightly soft.
Place a generous amount of ricotta on each slice of toast.
Place the sliced courgettes on the ricotta.
Place 2 Capers on each slice.
Season to taste.
Drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
Enjoy alone if possible. 

Figs in a Basket

During my last trip to Johannesburg I lost my camera. I left it behind in the Wimpy after a wonderful breakfast and a Wimpy coffee.

I was so devastated by my stupidity that I didn't blog for a whole week. I just don't have the money to replace it now and while I am looking around for a good deal, I do not want to settle for the first good buy I find.

I was convinced that I would not be able to blog, as I have this feeling that without the food porn, my blog will just be so boring, due to my lack of creative writing. My words certainly don't paint a picture.

Keith suggested I use my phone, I laughed at him. Please, did he not know the quality of pictures that were required for a food blog? But alas, between I rock and hard place, I just couldn't let my blog sit idle for months on end until I could decided and afford a decent camera.

So I settled with the phone camera, and while I am sure the critics out there will notice, I am quite impressed by the quality.

I made this simple starter with the bounty of purple figs I am getting from my own tree.

Phyllo Baskets With Figs and Blue Cheese
Makes 4 baskets

1 Sheet of Phyllo Pastry cut into 16 squares
4 Fresh Figs cut in quarters
60g Blue Cheese
Balsamic glaze for garnish
Rocket leaves for serving
Butter for the pastry

Preheat your oven to 190ºC
Grease a muffin pan with butter (only 4 holes need greasing)
Brush the Phyllo squares with soft butter and line each muffin cup with 4 squares.
Place the figs in the pastry cups and bake for 15 minutes.
Crumble the cheese over the baked figs and bake until pastry is golden and cheese is melted.
Drizzle some balsamic glaze on the plate, make a small bed of rocket and place the fig baskets on the rocket.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Simple and elegant.

Tomato Tarte Tatin

I introduced this years blogging by bragging about my garden, especially my tomatoes and chillies. This is all good and well, but who would have thought that 6 tomato trees could yeild enough tomatoes to keep a small Italian village in stock for a month? Not to mention the little chilli tree which is thriving and producing the largest green chillies I have ever seen!

I'm not the only blogger out there producing bounty in her garden. My friend Tandy at Lavender and Lime also has some great vegetables in her garden. This weeks challenge from Tandy was to feature chillies in a dish.

I decided to spread my creative wings and make a dish which not only showcased my creativity (and humility) but mostly my beautifully semi-organic tomatoes.

 

Tomato Tarte Tatin

200g Puff Pastry (Shop bought is fine)

8 medium sized Tomatoes, cut in half

1 Green Chilli
1 Clove of Garlic chopped (optional)
Olive Oil
5ml Sugar
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Egg wash for pastry
Thyme flowers for garnish (optional)

Pre- heat the oven to 220ºC
In a oven proof pan, place the tomatoes with a little oil flesh side down.
Fry on a gentle heat for 2 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and turn off the heat.
Leave to rest in the pan until room temperature.
Roll out the pastry to fit as a lid on the tomatoes.
Place the pastry on the tomatoes, tucking in the sides and brush with egg.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden.
Invert on a serving plate, leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Sprinkle with some thyme flowers (optional garnish)

Growing into 2011

Welcome back to Homemade Heaven. I've just returned from a wonderful summer holiday. I had a great rest and am back fully inspired to make wonderful food and share great out door experiences with you.

So to start off the year I want to give you something special from my garden.

A few years ago I was known as the Grim Reaper of the plant world. When I walked through garden centres and nurseries you could almost hear the plants screaming out in pain - trying not to get picked up by me.

I was never put off by the fact that everything I bought died a painful death. I continued to persevere in buying plants full of energy, taking them home and then I'd fane surprise that after 2 weeks of neglect they would be dead. I blamed the weather, the nursery that sold defective plants, not having the perfect place to plant things....the list just goes on and on. I have never been one short of excuses!

This all changed about 3 years ago when I started to investigate what exactly I was doing (or in my case not doing) which resulted in everything dying. Turns out that plants need love, water, weeding and a lot more work than I ever realised.

I turned over a new leaf (okay you can laugh now) and started focusing on planting things that I can eat. The excitement of planting a baby tomato tree and then 2 months later, picking the beautiful red gems of goodness and the feeling of creation in your hands just can't be beaten.

I really need to give special thanks to Keith for installing the automatic sprinkler system this year - without which my babies wouldn't have lived through the Cape Town heatwave while I was away on holiday .

Last night, Meatless Monday, was a feast of home grown goodness. Freshly picked tomatoes, chillies, oregano and thyme.

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.

Sundried Tomato Pesto

Commitments are always easier to make than keep. A real commitment takes lots of effort, especially when the stakes are high. If you think of being married, that's a commitment that needs a 100% from both parties, 50/50 is just not going to work. Anyone who has been married longer than their honeymoon will know exactly what I am talking about.

As a married woman, with a few years experience, I know that my husband in the most wonderful man on the planet - especially when he's doing exactly what I want. But from what I've heard, I'm no ice-cream sundae to live with either (who would have guessed that)!

If you have children you'll also know how hard commitments can be. You have to get through teething, the terrible twos (which can last anything up to 5 years), school projects, the wonderfully trying tween years which are followed by the the best years of any parent's life - the teenage years.

So, I suppose you all think I'm having a hard life - being both married and having a teenager, but it's not that bad. I have a great life, except I make other commitments to things which I find difficult to juggle in normal life. One such example is Meatless Monday!

Staying dedicated to Meatless Monday would be a breeze if I was only cooking for myself, but I'm not. I live in a house with carnivores and serving roasted butternut with quinoa and peppers is just not going to meet the dietary requirements of 2 hungry lions. I envy you ladies out there who have managed to train your pack to smile when served sesame crusted tofu and steamed bok choy. I won't even tell you what my boys call bok choy behind my back!

I did however manage to make something last night that would make most meat eaters very happy and perhaps let them forgo just one night of flesh feasting without feeling hard done by.

Sun dried Tomato Pesto
Serves 4

1/4 cup of Sun dried Tomatoes, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes.
50g Toasted Walnuts
2-4 Whole Garlic Cloves (roasted until soft) - add to your preference
1-2 Whole Red Chillies (roasted until soft and charred) - add to your preference.
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
Salt and Black Pepper
10ml Sugar
Olive Oil (Extra Virgin if possible)

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor slowly adding enough olive oil
until you have the right consistency.
Check the taste and adjust to your preference - lemon juice, salt, garlic chilli.
Serve stirred through a pasta of your choice - either spaghetti or tagliatelle work well.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and edible flowers (optional).

Sweetcorn and Chickpea Fritters

It is just me or is the cost of food, meat especially, just spiralling out of control? I find myself standing dazed at the the meat counter at my local super market weighing up the cost of a meal. Sure you can buy "cheaper" cuts, but you really can only serve mince and sausages so many times a week before your family start to complain. Chicken used to be great value meal, but even that has now become a treat in some cases.

Thank goodness for Meat-Free-Monday, a wonderful excuse to leave the meat out, feel good about saving the planet and save a few pennies for the rest of the weakly weekly food budget.

I also have more and more friends who now have teenagers that have decided to "go vegetarian", which is great - except it seems to be the moms who now have to come up with a different meal for an already fussy eater.

I came up with this fritter idea simply by combining 2 of my favourite tinned foods - creamed sweetcorn and chickpeas.

Chickpeas provide an excellent source of molybdenum. They are a very good source of folic acid, fibre and manganese. They are a great source of protein as well as minerals such as iron, copper, zinc and magnesium.

Sweet corn has vitamin B1, vitamin B5, vitamin C, folate, phosphorus, dietary fibre, and manganese. As an add-on to the sweet corn nutrients already stated, it also has a full array of other nutrients such as sugar, carbohydrates, soluble and insoluble fibre, vitamins, minerals, sodium, amino acids and more. 

So these fritter are an all around winner and will satisfy even the fussy teenagers and I am sure even tempt the carnivores to tuck in with gusto.

 Sweetcorn and Chickpea Fritters

1 Tin Creamed Sweetcorn

1 Tin Chickpeas

1½ cups Self Raising Flour

10ml sugar (optional)

Salt and White Pepper

1 Large Handful of Fresh Parsley roughly Chopped

1 Egg

15-30ml Plain Yoghurt

Oil for Frying

Bean Sprouts to serve (optional)

In a bowl, mash half the chickpeas and then add all the rest whole.

Add the sweetcorn and the rest of the ingredients mixing and adding enough yoghurt to get a thick batter,

Heat your oil in a non-stick pan and fry the fritters until golden brown and cooked through.

Keep warm until ready to serve, with sprouts if available.

Gazpacho with Brie and Olive Focaccia

Stephen Stills, of Crosby Stills Nash and Young fame, wrote the song : "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you with." It's rather mercenary for a love song, and certainly not the words I would want my lover to proclaim, should we be separated for any length of time.

It does however play well when it comes to a holiday in Spain I would love to have. Since I can't be in Spain for the holiday I want, I'll still love their food in place I'm in.

My inspiration for a Spanish meal came from Jeanne at Cook Sister, who just had a holiday in Spain. Be sure to click the links to her blog to see the beautiful photographs she took while enjoying the Spanish sunshine.

Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighbouring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its cold temperature and acidic bite.

   Gazpacho
Serves 2

1 Tin chopped peeled Tomatoes
½ Cucumber peeled and seeded
1 Green Chili
1 Slice of White Bread Moistened
3 Garlic cloves
15ml Olive Oil
1 Red Pepper, grilled and skin removed
Juice of ½ a lemon
10 Fresh Basil leaves
4 Ice Cubes
10ml Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Place in a bowl and chill for at least 2 hours.
Serve cold. garnished with small dice of cucumber, cherry tomatoes and fried basil leaves.

I made this Brie and Olive Focaccia to have with our soup.

Brie and Olive Focaccia

500g White bread dough (shop bought is fine)
10 Olives pitted and torn in half
3 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped
100g Brie Cheese, sliced thickly
Sea Salt
Olive Oil

Pre-heat your oven with a pizza stone to 250ºC
Roll out your dough to about ½cm thick
Once the stone is hot, place dough on the stone and top with garlic, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Return to oven until cooked and starting to brown.
Place the olives and brie on the focaccia and bake until cheese has melted.
Serve warm.

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.

Meatless Commitment Continues

Sometimes when I make a commitment to something, I go hell bent for leather and then cool off  into a steady rhythm of nothingness. This is true with numerous diets, exercise regimes, gym contracts and promising to cook every meal from scratch. I can be a bit of a fader, I bore easily and need consistent motivation to keep my focus on a repetitive task.

Last month I decided to join the City of Cape Town's call for a once a week meatless meal program and I'm happy to proclaim that I have remained fully committed to this. This has not been a difficult task to remain focused on, because every week is a new experience in creativity.

This week I took what is essentially a puttanesca sauce, with a twist to accommodate family tastes.You will notice that I have used a large quantity of parsley (Jamie Oliver would use basil), I love the fresh flavour, but if you're not a big fan you can either substitute torn basil or reduce the quantity.

Pasta Puttanesca Rose (and yes I know what puttanesca means!)

3 Ripe Tomatoes (skinned and chopped into dice)
2 Onions Chopped finely
2 Green Chillies chopped
3 Garlic Cloves Chopped
1 410g Tin Chopped peeled Tomatoes
7 bottled Anchovies (7 fillets not 7 bottles!)
1 Sachet Tomato paste (50g)
10ml Sugar
2 Bay Leaves
10ml chopped fresh Oregano
2 large handfuls of Fresh Parsley
400g Penne Pasta (cooked to instructions)

Fry the onions and the anchovies until the anchovies have melted and the onions are soft.
Add the the rest of the ingredients, except the parsley (and the pasta).
Add enough water to allow a simmer, without drying out.
Simmer on a low heat for at least 60 minutes.
Cook the pasta as per instructions on the box / packet.
Drain the pasta and stir the sauce into the pasta and leave in the hot pot with the lid on for 5-7 minutes - This allows the pasta to absorb the flavours of the sauce better.
Stir in the parsley (if using) and serve.

Pasta Challenge : Lavender and Lime

This week's meatless meal is part of Lavender and Limes weekly challenge.

The challenge for this week is to make a pasta dish using 5 ingredients. These 5 ingredients do not include the pasta, olive oil or seasoning but you have to use 5.

This is a perfect vegetarian meal or a simple light meal for days when you've overindulged on meat for too long.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Verjuice
Per person
250g Vegetables ( I used butternut, onion, red pepper and courgettes)
10ml of Verjuice per serving
A big handful of fresh Parsley, roughly chopped.
Olive Oil
150g Penne Pasta per serving

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Roast the vegetables with verjuice and olive oil until soft.
Cook the pasta as per packet instructions.
Combine the pasta and the roasted vegetables, and include the oil and juices in the roasting pan too.
Stir in the parsley and serve with a good grinding of black pepper.

Little Treasures : Onions and Verlaque

Yesterday as I was browsing the aisles in Woolworths, feeling completely uninspired and freezing cold I found these little gems.

  They are called Italian cipollini. Small flat shaped onions with a thin papery skins, which looked perfect for roasting.I was so excited I bought 2 bags.

I roasted them with some small Mediterranean potatoes, whole garlic cloves and olive oil. They are wonderfully sweet and made a perfect accompaniment to the roasted chicken.

The potatoes I roasted until they were soft and then squashed them with the skin on (not mashed), added some of the roasted garlic and a splash of Verlaque Pomegranate Moroccan Glaze. Homemade Heaven at it's best.

The tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”. The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 

 Tree of Knowledge, painting by Lucas Cranach

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has been artistically portrayed for centuries as being an apple tree, with big red apples, perfectly ripe and juicy. I have come to believe that it was not an apple tree, but a lemon tree. I base this not on anything theological but my culinary knowledge only.

To me the lemon is the perfect fruit - it has the power of both good and evil. It can hurt and heal, it can add to a dish and over power with just a simple squeeze. It is medicine to the doctor and poison in the wrong hands. You can have it in a desert, a savoury dish, an ice cold lemonade or a hot toddy and you certainly can't live without it in your kitchen.

After my first evening at The Cooksplayground,  I learnt to make preserved lemons. It is so simple to make and after a month of waiting patiently, my lemons are now ready for me to use and well worth the wait.

Preserved Lemons

1 Sterilized preserving jar (The bigger the better)

As many perfectly ripe yellow lemons as you can fit in your jar

Sea Salt (not iodized or your lemons will  turn pink)

Boiling water

Slice the lemon in quarters lengthwise, but not the whole way through to the bottom.

Stuff as much salt into the lemon and place in your jar, pushing down to release some of the juice.

Add extra salt in the layers as you place the lemons tightly in your jar.

Once your jar is full of lemons, add boiling hot water all the way to the top, covering the lemons.

Seal the lid and store for at least 1 month before using.

You can add new lemons to your jar,  adding salt and water as necessary.

In Black and White

Last week when I blogged about 2 of my faults, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they were received. In the light of that success I thought I would go back to the confessional and tell you another fault, just to test how loyal my readers really are!

Again the fault revolves around food :  When I'm alone I hardly ever cook. I make absolutely no effort to eat healthily and could live on coffee, cereal , crisps and  cookies. My dear husband is usually the one getting the "You really should eat more healthily" lecture from me,  until he's out of town and then the tables are certainly turned.

If a group of behavioural psychologists where interpreting this behaviour, I am sure they could write a thesis on the fact that I only make an effort in order to show off  (me a show off? an absurd idea!) and when there is no one to appreciate me, I fall apart.  I think it's mostly got to do with the fact that cooking for one is like kissing your brother (or sister) - there's no surprise or romance, just pure function.

In the light of my latest chastisement from Keith about me not eating properly, I decided I would make a special effort last night - Baked Butternut filled with White Beans, Black Olives and melted Camembert cheese.

 Black and White Baked Butternut
Serves 2 (or in my case 1 plus 1 leftover)

1 Butternut, cut in half length ways and seeds removed
2 Sticks of Cinamon
Olive Oil
1 Tin White Beans (rinsed)
10 Black Olives Stoned and halved
4 Thick slices of Camembert Cheese

Roast the Butternut, for about 60 -80 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and with one stick of cinamon placed on each half .
Mix in a bowl the white beans and the olives, seasoned with salt.
Once the butternut are cooked through, add the bean and olive mix into the holes of the butternut, top with the cheese and another little drizzle of olive oil and bake until the cheese has melted and the beans are warmed through.
Serve and enjoy.

Winter Bean Soup

Dear Cape Town

After much debate, Hell would like to thank you for returning its weather.

Have an awesome day now.

Regards

Climate Controller in Hell

I laughed when I received this email, since it came at the end of what seemed to be the hottest 2 weeks I have ever experienced in my life. This was only 3 short weeks ago, and now I'm making bean soup for supper - what happened?

The days are so much shorter, the nights are colder and the sun no longer beats down like it's trying to melt the earth's crust. We've tilted along the axis, so watch out Northern Hemisphere, we sending summer your way!

Saturday we had rain, it was such a wonderful sound, even if it did only last 30 minutes, it was long enough for me to rustle up a comforting bean and lentil soup/stew.

Bean and Lentil Soup Stew

  Tin Tin Soup : I use the tomato tin as my measuring "cup"

1 Tin Chopped Peeled Tomatoes (keep the empty tin to measure out the rest of the ingredients)

1 "Tin" Dry Kidney Beans

1 "Tin" Dry Black Lentils

½ "Tin" Barley

1 Onion peeled and Sliced

1 Large handful Fresh Lemon Thyme (or a dessert spoon dried thyme)

3 Fresh Bay Leaves ( or dry)

1 chopped Green Chilli

2 Litres of Vegetable Stock (You can make this yourself or use a cube or concentrate)

½ Teaspoon ground Black Pepper

½ Teaspoon Ground Cumin

Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook for 6 hours, until everything is soft.

Add water if necessary.

Check the seasoning and adjust to taste. Do not add the salt at the beginning or your beans won't soften.

You can good this on the stove top, just leave it to simmer very slowly - stirring occasionally.

 "Everybody always talks about the weather, 

but no one ever does anything"

Real Men Eat Quiche

Do "real men" eat quiche? Not many I know, truthfully speaking most South African men view chicken as a vegetable!

So what's the deal with not eating quiche? It started with the tongue in cheek book by Bruce Feirstein : Real Men Don't Eat Quiche . It was followed by a few sequels which included : Real Men Don't Cook Quiche; Real Women Don't Pump Gas, Real Kids Don't Say Please, Real Women Never Pump Iron and Real Women Send Flowers. As you can see, it's these kinds of stereotypes that help us see just how silly we humans are - just like the Silver-back gorilla who beats his chest to show how strong he is.

This is another futile attempt to fight the confusion of contemporary men about how they ought to behave, after a decade of attacks by feminists on traditional male roles and beliefs. Poor guys, they really don't know what they are missing.

I suppose if it was called a pie, they would have taken to easier - but "quiche" doesn't sound like something which mixes well with too much testosterone!

As I am eating alone, I can make quiche and eat it without threatening my husband's masculinity. Although I am sure there are plenty of men out there who would gladly eat this and enjoy it - although not while watching a football or rugby match with their friends.

Spinach, Blue Cheese and Caramelized Pear Quiche

Pastry
250g Flour
120g Butter (Cold)
2-3 Egg Yolks

Pre- heat you oven to 200ºC
Blend the Flour and the butter in your processor (you can do this by hand my grating the butter and then rubbing in the butter to resemble bread crumbs).
Add the yolks one at a time until the mixture come together in a ball.
Flatten out the ball and wrap in in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out your cold dough and place in a quiche tin. Freeze for 10 minutes.
Blind bake for 20 minutes. (click link for instructions on blind baking)
Remove the baking beans and bake for a further 10 minutes until cooked and pale golden colour.



Filling
1 Bunch of Swiss Chard, thinly chopped
125g block of Blue cheese, roughly chopped
1 Pear (Cored and peeled and thinly sliced)
375ml Cream
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Butter
Salt and Black Pepper

Cook the pear in the butter until they are slightly soft and starting to colour.
Add the chard and cook until soft. Use a higher heat and stir continually to stop liquid forming.
In a separate bowl, mix all the other ingredients.
Place the pear and chard at the bottom of the prepared pie crust, evenly distributing the ingredients.
Carefully pour over the cream, egg and cheese mixture, also making sure to get even distribution of the cheese.
Bake in the oven for another 15 minutes, until golden brown, but still slightly soft to the touch in the middle.
Allow to cool slightly in the tin before removing and serving.
Best served warm but not hot.

Be who you are and say what you feel,

because those who mind don't matter 

and those who matter don't mind.  

~Dr. Seuss

Guacamole and Pomagrantes

Avocados are now in season, what a wonderful time of year, it makes up for the loss of the peaches and other delicious summer fruits. I do find the winter fare of oranges, apples and pears slightly boring after a month.

But Avocados I never get bored of, with the added bonus of now knowing someone who owns a great big tree - FULL of fruit, the blessing I have are countless.

This Sunday was the South African Food Bloggers Conference and as with all great conferences, we all left with bags full goodies from very generous sponsors.

As an added bonus, I got to sit the table with the owners of Verlaque Fine Foods. Wonderful people, with a wonderful product which they are really passionate about and rightly so.

I had bought their Persian Pomegranate Concentrate, from Woolworths. I've been "playing around" with it for a while, splashing it in tuna salad, adding it to vinaigrettes but never really getting the full value of the sublime tartness,  I then got this great tip from the owner - try in guacamole!

Guacamole with Persian Pomegranate Concentrate

1 Ripe Avocado (peeled and stone removed)
¼ Fresh Green chili chopped (optional)
1 Handful of Parsley (roughly chopped)
10ml Verlaque Fine Foods Persian Pomegranate Concentrate
Salt to taste

Mash the Avocado with a fork - don't over mash, you don't want puree.
Add the other ingredients and mix.
Drizzle a little extra concentrate over the top, it's really delicious.
Serve with biscuits, pita or as a vegetable dip.