Sweet Sunday Nights

For some reason Sunday nights beg for something sweet and delicious. I'm not sure if its that last tip of the hat to the weekend, the end of all things wonderful before entering the week filled with the mundane. As a child, cinnamon pancakes were a staple in our house on a Sunday evening and I know many of my childhood friends would bake cakes on a Sunday after lunch for afternoon tea. It may be something cultural that has wound its way down in our DNA, from where, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to accurately pinpoint.

We quite enjoy the odd cinnamon pancake-filled Sunday night but we're not quite as loyal to the tradition. Danish pastry is by far my favourite of all time so I've decided, after a very long time, to attempt custard danish pastries to mark the end of this weekend. I started the pastry a few days ago, which you can based on several recipes I've researched. I used the Nigella Lawson recipe for the danish pastry from the "How to be a Domestic Goddess" book. Nigella has a way of making the complicated simple.

I have, cooling on the table cooling next to me, six custard danish pastries which may or may not be delicious. They don't look too bad. A cappuccino is what this weekend send-off calls for.

Scrape vanilla seeds from pod

Mix eggs yolks & sugar 

Add cornflour and mix until light

After adding hot milk & thickening, sieve

Fold into 3rds and roll again

Roll pastry to 50cm x 50cm square

Watch the magic!

Refer to "How to be a Domestic Goddess" for the pastry recipe and use your favourite custard recipe with the addition of some cornflour (a.k.a Maizena) to thicken it to get your Sunday night danish fix.

Enjoy!

There's Black Truffle in them thar Mpumalanga!!!!

I must admit that the news of the black truffle in Mpumalanga has got my tastebuds all a flutter. The news yesterday left me dreaming, all night, of all kinds of delicious and delectable fungi of the variety not common to our local supermarkets and veggie shops. To have been successfully grown on South African soil almost makes it feel like something we should all be eating, more attainable, more normal and for the people. Not this luxurious indulgence reserved for the rich and famous, dressed in tweed and foraging for truffles with their genius pigs in faraway forests. Though I have no doubt that the price per gram is not likely to change.

I feel like Cameron Anderson should be knighted or given whatever honour it is local royals from Mpumalanga give for his foresight, bravery and damn ingenuity!!! 

In honour of this feat, tonight's dinner is dedicated to the black truffle. I pay homage in this very tiny way, with a little drizzle (of not quite the same thing) black truffle "flavoured" oil.

Pork Fillet with Roast Tomatoes, Broccoli and Chickpeas

Mixed Tomatoes ready for roasting!

Roasted mixed tomatoes

Mixed tomatoes (cut according to size)
Garlic cut into slivers
Smoked chilli flakes (to taste)
Salt & pepper
Two pinches of french tarragon
Place everything in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil before placing in an oven preheated to 220 degrees celcius for 25 minutes.

Pork Fillet
Rub the fillets with olive oil and season with salt & pepper to taste. Seal all sides at high temperature in an oven-proof pan before placing in the same oven for 20 minutes.

Broccoli & Chickpeas

Lightly sauté steamed broccoli in olive oil flavoured with garlic (single smashed whole clove which has just been warmed in olive oil). Add a can of chickpeas and season.

This simple, light summer meal is elevated to something special by drizzling with a few drops of black truffle flavoured oil over the finished dish.

Hopefully we'll all be able to benefit from Mr Anderson's endeavours in the near future and may our South African Black Truffles not succumb to the same fate as our calamari which never finds its way to South African plates.

Eat Well!!!   

Outside Inspiration

Tonight's green beans are inspired by the most delicious version I ate at The Local Grill in Parktown North on Friday night. Bright green, crunchy and beautifully flavoured.

This evening's version:

Steam your trimmed green beans in a bamboo steamer until just starting to soften, plunge into a bowl of ice blocks and water to stop the cooking and retain the bright green colour. Allow to drain before adding to a frying pan and sautéing in a little olive oil and crushed clove of garlic (or two, depending on your preference). Salt and pepper to taste. I sprinkled some toasted sesame seeds to add another dimension of crunch.

This was simple enough to somewhat replicate, albeit not identical. Another element of my particular dish, the Pork belly roll with curried quince sauce and poached apple, I fear I will not be as adept at. The curried quince sauce was a combination of flavours that both taunted and mesmerised me. I couldn't figure out what all the ingredients were but I didn't care, not at that moment at least. Now, however, I need to have it again and without a trip to a restaurant. I'm desperate to experience the joyful experience of that little mountain of heaven.

To Google I will go as I start my search. I've just remembered that Prickly Pears and Pomegranates has several recipes using quince but alas, non curried. This will at least give me some insight into the preparation of the fruit that I must admit has not graced my kitchen before. 

Wish me luck!

Waste Not, Want Not!

Will human ineptitude, in the end, lead to our demise as a species! I fear so.

How is it possible, in 2014, that businesses still have not migrated to electronic mail? I'm sitting, staring at a mountain of statements, newsletters, notifications and the like. Feeling very dismayed and terribly annoyed at the lack of urgency to implement a simple system change.

SANRAL!!! Offender number ONE! Envelopes stuffed with over five sheets of paper repeating themselves incessantly. Surely these can be delivered by email from a company that is able to electronically monitor your vehicle's every move remotely?

Truworths!!!! Really??? 2014 guys!!!! Never mind the zero balance statement I receive every month, Truworths is unable to send statements electronically. So don't bother calling and begging them to convert you, they simply  can't.

I would love to engage the services of anyone mathematically inclined or just available to do a cost analysis of this wasteful exercise called postage! Just to calculate how much food I could purchase instead. I do believe that the post office still might have a place in society - you'd have to give me a minute to think something up though - but for the most part, unless the law requires it for some insane reason, all correspondence could and should be electronic.

I am perplexed and overwhelmed with guilt at this pile paper destined for the trash. Even the thought that it will be recycled does not comfort me.

Come on people! Catch a wake up and get this sorted!

Sounds of the sea!

It's quiet in the house for the first time today. With a party of 8, stillness is hard to come by. Not that I want it. I'm used to noise. Especially considering that 5 of the eight are always in our own house. The laughter, banter and friendly combat is what makes a home feel joyful and me happy.

I think I'm the only one still awake, with only the waves crashing on the rocks outside in De Kelders, Western Cape to keep me company. 

A pleasant flight to Cape Town and a beautifully scenic drive brought us to Gansbaai earlier today for our much anticipated visit to enjoy Great White Sharks in their natural habitat. A wonderful lunch at Café Jacks cannot be left unmentioned - the lamb burgers and Angel fish both accompanied by delicious potato wedges prepared by this unpretentious establishment in Betty's Bay (who make their own pasta) deserve some airtime.

That said, I can't help pondering on the fact that I feel absolutely no fear for our adventure that awaits tomorrow morning. I cannot explain it. Maybe the reality is yet to dawn on me, for surely hanging out with sharks is meant only for dreams.....

Sounds of the sea!

It's quiet in the house for the first time today. With a party of 8, stillness is hard to come by. Not that I want it. I'm used to noise. Especially considering that 5 of the eight are always in our own house. The laughter, banter and friendly combat is what makes a home feel joyful and me happy.

I think I'm the only one still awake, with only the waves crashing on the rocks outside in De Kelders, Western Cape to keep me company. 

A pleasant flight to Cape Town and a beautifully scenic drive brought us to Gansbaai earlier today for our much anticipated visit to enjoy Great White Sharks in their natural habitat. A wonderful lunch at Café Jacks cannot be left unmentioned - the lamb burgers and Angel fish both accompanied by delicious potato wedges prepared by this unpretentious establishment in Betty's Bay (who make their own pasta) deserve some airtime.

That said, I can't help pondering on the fact that I feel absolutely no fear for our adventure that awaits tomorrow morning. I cannot explain it. Maybe the reality is yet to dawn on me, for surely hanging out with sharks is meant only for dreams.....

Slow down!!!

It's too easy to get caught up in the rush and fuss of everyday life and forget about the little things that give life purpose and joy.

I've gotten seriously caught up recently but I'm glad that as the holidays creep up on the horizon I'm taking stock and doing more of what makes me happy. My bread is in the oven having fermented for the mandatory 9 hours. A slow, beautiful process that never disappoints with the amazing smell wafting from the kitchen and that wonderful texture and real flavour.

I was also reminded that we've been too absorbed to commit ourselves to meat free Mondays. Last nights vegetable tikka masala went down beautifully!!! Spicy and flavourful with fluffy basmati rice, perfect for our cold nights to warm the soul. Compliments all around without a piece of meat in sight. I hope we'll stick by this going forward and not allow ourselves to stop thinking and putting an effort into what we eat.

I used a recipe (very loosely) from the latest edition of House and Leisure - I'm not known for following recipes but they do guide my thoughts and ideas. This is a really easy meal, especially if you use the bought tikka masala paste - Woolworths does a really good one - but making your own hardly takes much time. Tons of recipes for this on google or read the ingredients on the Woolworths packet.

And there's the timer! Bread's done!