There’s a mouse in the house…

23 July 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

Both our cats are huntresses of note, and give a whole new meaning to food-on-the-run!

Our week started in the wee hours of Monday morning. Simultaneous with a scrabbling around behind the headboard, a cat launched herself off a rather soft spot on my abdomen and into mid-air.

Tom could sleep on a washing line, so needless to say, he was dead to the world.

“Humph!” he responded to my, “there’s a mouse in the house!” and turned over…

I went to investigate.

Ginger Melon MP had caught a mouse and brought it upstairs: no doubt, and hopelessly, expecting coos of delight and pride from her humans. I discovered that she and Tiger Pearl were both trying to corner Mouse: both were staring longingly into the too-small-for-them-space under the bed. Having considered whether, realistically, there was anything I could do to corner and rescue Mouse, and bearing in mind that cats are far more effective hunters than I could ever be, particularly at 2.30 am, I got back into bed, bracing myself for the frenzy that would, inevitably, come.

Mercifully, for both the wee timorous beastie, and the somnolent humans, I soon heard a growling, a squeak and, aargh, a crunch! A sure sign that one of the cats had caught Mouse.

Melon had, and was telling Pearli, in no uncertain terms, that it was hers!

Then began the process of herding Melon, hopefully, out of the bedroom, down the stairs and into the garden where she might eat her early breakfast, allowing me to crawl back into my warm med bed for some fitful seep before the real beginning to the week….

Eating to Live

19 July 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

Friday, 18 July 2014, in McGregor dawned: a cold, blustery morning. It was also the first Mandela Day since his death in December 2013; he would have been 95. Later that day I was heading down to our local community service centre (aka the police station) to join a sandwich drive.

This, juxtaposed with my my rant, the previous evening, about dieting fads and food foibles, got me thinking about how privileged I am, to be able not just to have the pleasure of cooking, but of food, in all its glory, when there are people, literally down the road, who do eat to live – when they can.

For the last two years, a young McGregorite has organised this initiative. This must have taken Mira much more than just the 67 minutes she asked of us to give, to organise.

So, a bunch of us, of all colours and creeds, from all walks of life, gathered at around 11h00, to make sandwiches.

By about 11h45, this happy band of volunteers had made this huge mound of sandwiches to go with the soup that came from Lord’s Guest Lodge.

I didn’t just join the sandwich drive, I also joined the convoy to deliver the sandwiches and soup. First, to the Breede Centre which runs a holiday programme of for local children, then on to the informal settlement and the poorest parts of our village.

The sandwiches and hot soup, along with the treats made a difference – at least for a short while.

For me, there was also a weird moment. There was a time that it would have been inconceivable that I would set foot in a police station to be part of a community initiative: the police represented the oppressors and meted out their orders. These orders were usually punitive and harsh; they certainly did not include feeding people in informal settlements.

Much remains to be done in our country and village of poor and plenty, but that I, and my fellow sandwich-makers were able to comfortably join this initiative, is a consequence of Nelson Mandela who gave 67 years of selfless service. Halala, Tata.

A lovely bunch of….

13 July 201414 April 2020 ~ Fiona ~ 13 Comments

….parsley!

I love parsley. I’m not happy until my garden grows herbs, especially parsley. And the challenge of parsley is that it’s a slow grower and it can be temperamental. My mum also always had parsley in her garden – some of my earliest culinary memories are of being sent to pick parsley – usually just as she was about to serve dinner. She, however, only grew the curly parsley and used it mostly as a garnish and for parsley sauce. I, on the other hand, prefer to grow the flat leaf, Italian parsley – it has a stronger flavour. Parsley is also a fabulous flavour enhancer, so if you are short of a particular herb, add parsley!

The Prima Donna

Given parsley’s prima donna status (in my experience, anyway), when it just grows, one just let’s it grow as it’s likely to thrive while one’s seedlings, carefully nurtured, and planted in the optimum position just do ok. So, we have self-sewn parsley all over the garden and when our red onion seedlings needed to be planted out, The Husband had to negotiate a parsley plant – in more ways than one!

Pesto al limone e prezzemolo

It seemed such a waste to hoick out such a beautiful plant and not do anything with it (…the Scottish blood and all that jazz…), so I decided to make Pesto al limone e prezzemolo (aka parsley and lemon pesto). This is a divine, fresh and versatile pesto, and which has just deepened my love affair with parsley. I now try to have a permanent stock of this in the fridge. We use it as the foundation for basting sauces for fish (we braai* fish regularly); when we roast a chicken (on the Weber, of course), I usually make a stuffing to go under the skin of the breast, and Pesto al limone e prezzemolo is now the base on which I build this stuffing. It’s also divine on warm bread…..

The recipe comes from Katie Caldesi’s The Italian Cookery Course which was a gift for my 50th birthday from good friend and graphic designer, Jaynie Lea. This is also the book from which I have learned important tips that have improved my home-made pasta and inspired me to start making pizza dough and bread. But more of those, anon….

To make this pesto, you need equal quantities of dry bread crumbs (stale ciabatta is best) and parsley, zest and juice of a lemon, a clove of garlic as well as olive oil. Whizz all of this together until you have a paste and then either use immediately or store. The olive oil and the vitamin C content of both the parsley and the lemon add to the shelf life, so this keeps well.

Tips:

If you are short of parsley leaves, do use the stalks (the whole parsley plant is parsley-flavoured), but before adding them to your food processor, chop them a bit otherwise you’ll be left with pesto with parsley stalks!
To make breadcrumbs, put slices of bread into a cool oven (about 40°C) for an hour or so, or until it’s dry, and then whizz in a food processor. If the crumbs are still “damp” put them on a baking tray and back into the oven for a little longer.
And pesto is a great way to use up herbs towards the end of summer to use through the winter – if you make sure that peso is always “sealed” with a good layer of olive oil, they keep much longer than one expects – just another Katie Caldesi tip!

And Jayne, thank you for the gift that keeps on giving – I still get a thrill when my produce looks like the picture in the book – and the passata, below, was my first attempt – last year!

…and you see that “Fiona’s Favourites” was already “branding” my produce…

* this is the Afrikaans and South African word for “barbecue”

Waste not, want not – I

10 July 2014 ~ Fiona ~ 7 Comments

Both my parents grew up in the UK in the Second World War: Mum in Oxford, where her mother took in evacuees and then later also billeted soldiers. Dad grew up in Glasgow, and with his sister, Belle, evacuated to a poultry farm . Consequently, we grew up constantly hearing, “waste not, want not”. Little was thrown away.

So, last Friday, I was making quiches. One of the fillings was broccoli and blue cheese. Having cut off the florets, I was left with this beautiful, thick broccoli stem.

Too good to put into the compost bucket, I thought; and it was a cold, cold day.

Soup is always a good lunch during winter, and a vegetable soup relatively quick to make. So, why not turn the stem into broccoli soup?

Here’s what I did: chopped an onion and sautéd it in a little butter, and then added about a table spoon of flour (you want the soup to have a bit of body). Covered the chopped stalk with vegetable stock and allowed it to boil. Simmer until the vegetables are soft; liquidise and then add some cheese (because I had some, I used Camembert) and liquidise again to ensure the cheese is well distributed. Re-heat and serve with sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.

Tips:

I use Ina Paarman’s vegetable stock powder – it’s a useful standby, and is neither too salty, nor has too many preservatives
Save some of the broccoli florets – steam them and add them to the soup when you serve it.
Of course, you can also add a swirl of cream or a dollop of Greek yoghurt to serve…

The beginning – revisited

5 July 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

When I started this blog, it was on a whim: the initial thought had been to share ideas about what I cook and/or how we entertain and how, we’re in the process of developing our home and garden in McGregor.

Over the last six or so months, I have realised that Fiona’s Favourites is allowing me to “marry” so much of what it love doing: cooking, gardening, sharing stories and, most of all, writing. I’m enjoying this much more than I ever imagined. I think and write for a living. And I enjoy my work – with all its inevitable frustrations. However, I had never thought, or allowed myself to think of myself as creative, even though, as a school girl, I wanted to write. It was a notion that I had long relegated to some far recess of my mind. What would I, an ordinary woman, in her fabulous fifties write about? I do not live an extraordinary life.

So, still growing up and learning, from my kitchen, the garden, our furry and feathered friends, as well as from people, and most especially, those of you who have joined me on this journey, I realise that I can write about my life. I write about my life that is filled with extraordinary people who teach me that life is not ordinary, and should not be taken for granted. No matter how small or mundane, so many experiences add to the rich, colourful, faboulous fabric of life – probably a mishmash tartan of Cameron, Lamont and African.

Since I started this part of my journey, people have been telling me that they enjoy my stories. Telling stories was not the original intention. Most of my favourite and fun things are because of people, so it just seems right that they are central to what I write. Some of you are both the encouragement and inspiration behind what I write and you may recognise yourselves, even if you’re not mentioned by name.

So, Fiona’s Favourites, as I said in my first ever post, is evolving and it seems to be becoming a way of figuratively breaking bread with you, and sharing stories about the extraordinary people who move into, and out of, the circles of my life.

Beetroot: it’s beautiful – and delicious

4 May 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

We have a bumper beetroot crop at the moment and although it’s easy to bottle, it’s also great doing new things with it. Freshly pulled, beetroot cooks more quickly than when shop bought, and is beautifully tender and sweet – another reason not to just pickle it. Besides being delicious roasted or simply added to a leafy green salad, here are two salads that have become firm favourites with us.

This first one is often requested by our friends, so I suppose it has become one of my “signature” dishes. The other is a new addition to the repertoire. More of that in a mo….

Beetroot and plum salad

The original recipe for this salad comes from Fruit & Veg City’s range of recipe books which I have adapted (Not that there’s an outlet anywhere near McGregor…). I’ve served it on a large platter for a buffet meal, and this Christmas, served it plated, as a starter – either way, the presentation is the same, just the scale varies – and it’s very attractive.

In terms of quantity, I usually work on one beetroot (cooked and sliced) and plum per person and then work the leaves and other bits accordingly. Make sure that you select beetroot of similar sizes so that when you assemble your plate or platter, you don’t get all balled up because things don’t look right.

The salad consists of fresh plums, pitted and quartered, red onions, thinly sliced (or chopped spring onion leaves), all marinated, in a lemony vinaigrette for about an hour.

To assemble: if you’re using a platter, place a circle of overlapping slices of beetroot around the edge and then pile salad leaves in the centre (the original recipe says baby spinach), top with the plums, reserving some of the marinade, and sprinkle crumbled feta over these and then drizzle some of the remaining marinade over the plate.

Rocket, beetroot and goat’s cheese salad

We recently went to see the magnificent gardens at Babylonstoren. There is also a restaurant, Babel. The menu is based on seasonal fare with much of the produce from the garden and surrounding area. Although we didn’t eat there, we did get the book about the garden and its produce, and also some of the recipes they use. The approach is interesting, in that it talks about a particular vegetable, and what other ingredients compliment it. On the way home from our visit, we also passed Fairview and had bought some of their fabulous goat’s cheese.

So given both the glut of beetroot and my reluctance to use rocket (which, I think can be overpowering), I gave one of the combinations suggested a bash – beetroot, rocket and goat’s cheese. This is what I came up with: Beetroot on a bed of rocket, with slices of black pepper chevin, drizzled with lemon and parsley pesto.

It was delicious – the sweet beetroot is a fantastic counter to the peppery harshness of the rocket and the textures work beautifully.

And then, there’s more…

Remember that if you’re growing your own beetroot, the leaves are a wonderful addition to salads and stir fries. The flavour is rather earthy, like spinach, and young leaves add lovely colour variations.

Autumn – preparing for spring (and winter!)

17 March 201413 April 2020 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

Although the grape harvest in our valley seems to be later this year, autumn seems to have arrived early. Along with this, we have had a wonderful experience: a pair of swallows building a nest in preparation for the spring. Jack and Jill are Greater Striped Swallows, indigenous to Africa, and they summer south of Namibia, and winter in Northern Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They will leave us in two to three weeks’ time. Their nests are characterised by a tunnel which they will build when only when they return in the spring.

Clever little birds, planning for the future, I reflected as I made basil pesto on Sunday.

Basil pesto

You will need a very, very generous picking of sweet basil, leaves stripped from the stems and the damaged leaves discarded.

Rule of thumb: about two-thirds more basil than nuts and Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, coarsely grated.

About the nuts: traditional (and the best) pesto is made with pine nuts. They are expensive so I substitute them with cashews which also have a high oil content. To enhance the flavour, toast them in a dry pan, allowing them to cool before you crush and add them to the other ingredients.

One or two cloves of garlic. Be careful with the garlic: even if you like lots of garlic, remember that combining dairy with garlic makes the garlic flavour stronger. I’ve learned this the hard way…..

Then, of course, the ubiquitous pinch of salt which is optional if you’re not using a pestle and mortar (which does make the best pesto…), and because the salt does help with the maceration of the leaves and the garlic. Enough olive oil to make a thick paste. I usually add it as I go along.

Bung all the leaves into the food processor, with the garlic cloves and whiz for a few seconds – not too long; then add olive oil and the other ingredients and whiz or pulse until you have a good, thick paste, adding more olive oil as you need.

Bottle as you would other preserves, in sterilized jars and top with olive oil to keep it fresh.

Make a caprese salad, enjoy on pasta, sandwiches, as a dip with yoghurt for crudites or as an accompaniment to whatever you please!

A twisted Vicheysoisse, among other things…

24 February 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

For the last year or so, I have been making and selling seasonal soups at our local pop-up market. A soup that I made on a whim, and which we enjoyed, didn’t take off, so I didn’t make it again. In my recollection, there had been no sales. Then, imagine my surprise, two Saturdays’ ago, a regular, who has been stocking up on soup, said, “What about that one you made with spinach and sweet potato?”

So, at Jean’s request, I made it again – this time in the height of summer. Consequently, we tried it chilled: it was as delicious cold as it was hot. So, this is my twisted Vicheysoisse:

Roast the sweet potatoes – with onion and garlic if you like – for about 45 minutes. Add to a large soup pot and then add roughly shredded spinach (including all the stalks – why waste them when you’re going to puree the soup anyway?), followed by vegetable stock to cover the sweet potato. Bring to the boil and simmer for about half an hour, until all the vegetables are soft. Puree with a hand blender and season to taste. Serve with a swirl of plain yoghurt and a grating of nutmeg.

And, of course, the soup-making was accompanied by more seasonal quiche fillings – this time, with the addition of beautiful peppers from the garden. Two different fillings – first, leeks with red pepers and then roasted vegetables (butternut, sweet potato, garlic, baby tomatoes, onions and peppers).