Reflections in, on and round about…with a lot of cooking on the side
I started revising this 2014 post as we entered month two of lockdown in South Africa. Although we moved from level 5 to level 4 on the first of May, for many, there was no material change to our lives. Speaking for myself: the novelty has worn off. Reserves - of all types - are … Continue reading Comfort food in a time of Covid-19 – I
Not only is the weather turning, but because we're locked in thanks to Covid-19, we're looking for comfort food. I shared these ideas way back in 2014. I was reminded about them the other day, when there was a "debate" on the merits (or otherwise) of macaroni cheese. There's an even split between love and … Continue reading Variations on a theme: mac & cheese three ways
This year we grew peas. So what? There is something almost magical about peas that you pick and shell - to pop into your mouth - in the pea patch. Little can beat the flavour of those little round orbs as they pop with their unique sweetness. Peas are "up there" as my favourite vegetable. I remember … Continue reading Sweet peas…Tiger’s chilled minted pea soup
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 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
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 … Continue reading Waste not, want not – I
We have always loved courgettes and eat them in a host of different ways. Tom will even eat them raw, like an apple. So, this year, we have successfully grown them, and when Sannie (pronounced "sunny - because she is) Boervrou, a farmer friend of ours dropped off a box of them, I had such fun making … Continue reading Crazy about Courgettes
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, … Continue reading A twisted Vicheysoisse, among other things…