Reflections in, on and round about…with a lot of cooking on the side
The heart of it all: food is essential for life and the centre of many things. One of my favourite things is to cook and share food. Join me for a virtual breaking of bread…..
My basic cooking and food choices are largely influenced by my English and Scottish background and living in South Africa. Over the last 20 or so years, as ethnic foods have become both more fashionable and available, it has become easier to experiment with flavours and different ingredients. My mother cooked "English" food and through a woman who … Continue reading Veld Kos
I have mentioned that I have a love-hate relationship with brassicas, but I think that, at last, I'm growing up. I've had to because we grow them - a lot - and I've had to think of creative ways of dishing them up. In the last three or so months, we've had more broccoli, cauliflower and … Continue reading Getting brave with Brassicas
I love edible flowers. Nasturtiums are just another gift we get from our garden. Like gooseberries, they are indigenous to South America. Before I moved to the Western Cape, I tried - in vain - to grow nasturtiums. Now they simply just grow... like in the picture, which are in the corner of our plot that we … Continue reading Noble Nasturtiums so versatile in the kitchen
A couple of weeks ago, the new season of Master Chef SA started, and I was watching with half an eye, as I was preparing our supper - angel fish. Imagine my surprise when the first episode concluded with a boot camp - on a wharf in the Cape Town harbour - with the contestants having to … Continue reading Angel fish – astonishingly versatile
I have always loved eggs. As a little girl, I loved eating Dad's scrambled eggs; of course I had had my own, but they were much nicer when I perched on his knee, eating them off his plate. He loved his eggs on buttery toast and topped with a good sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. Another … Continue reading Anyone for eggs?
I have flirted with vegetarianism on and off for about thirty years, particularly when I lived alone - which I have done, not unhappily, on and off, until I finally settled down with Tom. One of the first, if not the first, recipe book I bought, was the A - Z of Vegetarian Cooking in … Continue reading Veg-ing out
We are very lucky to live in a beautiful valley that produces wonderful wine and creates fabulous opportunities for celebrating not just wine, but its talented cellar masters and wine makers. The Robertson Slow Festival is unique. It is a genteel, intimate and relaxed festival that spreads itself through the valley. People come together in … Continue reading Long, leisurely, Lord’s
In Afrikaans, they are called "appelliefies", and the direct translation is "little apple loves". Cape Gooseberries are endemic and we haven't planted any in our garden. They just grow, and are one of the many gifts we receive from our garden. As a small child, not long after we moved from East London, we would travel … Continue reading Glorious Gooseberries
It was cold this weekend - perfect weather for a slow cooked stew. Stews are a fantastic, nutritious way to use inexpensive cuts of meat - and they are usually the most flavoursome. On Saturday, after the market, I decided to make a traditional South African bredie. A bredie is, essentially, a stew that was made … Continue reading African Slow Cooking: North and South
A few weeks ago, we joined our neighbours for breakfast at a local establishment – a favourite spot for all four of us. As breakfasts do, they come with the ubiquitous toast and preserves but, as we all went on to note, not always with the appropriate cutlery. Consequently, one ends up having to spread butter … Continue reading Turning the tables….