Vegetables
As Promised - Some Simple Summer Salads and A Crackling Good Pork Belly
OK. If I loathe one thing, it must be a promise made and not kept. I can remember Butch’s mom Bets’ disappointment when a lady at her bible study (nogal) PROMISED to visit and never did. She was profoundly hurt. The person who made the glib promise (as we so often do.. “Oh we must get...
The Final Whispers of Winter – Recipes to charm
I can feel it in my bones; spring is in the air. I hadn’t forgotten the recipes for our warm get together with friends last week. I’m in a reflective mood today, reminiscing good times around the island in the kitchen. The cookery classes I attended and the meals my children and I had at home...
Fully Vaxxed We Celebrate Family, Friends and Firstborns
I've raged against injustice, prayed with prayer sisters for healing, we’ve wept for the grieving and consoled friends, colleagues and acquaintances in mourning; we’ve given thanks for healing and been enthralled by those who’ve recovered, often miraculously. While we wait for these...
Winning Winter Warmers When It's Welly Cold
Recipes to warm your heart – Cinnamon Pancakes, Beetroot Risotto and Lamb necks on the braai. This quotation inspires today’s blog “Don’t think about making art, get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even...
Rainy Days And Sundays - Butternut Relish
Inclement weather is expected to ease in October. The rain running in rivulets down the window panes as I type surprises me. Shouldn’t be, you’d think, but we’ve had such good weather for eight straight weeks that I was ready to rip out the old bather to wallow in the shallows with my...
Wandering Closer To Home - Slanghoek - Kraalkloof Camp
Butch and his colleagues meet in their library every morning for coffee. He says, “Sometimes we talk law, but mostly we just catch up and chat.” His description was spicier. Everyone knows our story by now, and we often share good travel ideas. Last week, he was tipped off about a secluded,...
Rooting For Beets
My farm-to-table produce box from Groenstoor included, among many delicious offerings, a bushel of beetroot, a bunch of carrots, and root vegetables, including sweet and bitter salad leaves. This morning, while I was grating an apple and pear for my breakfast Bircher, I remembered how, as...
Sunday's Roast With Sweet Onion Tarte Tatin
Using staples from our store cupboard is always a bargain, especially at weekends when you don’t want to put a foot wrong or go into a shop. Explaining why this is helpful can inspire readers to feel more confident in their pantries and enjoy stress-free cooking. On most Sundays, we like to take...
Quiche Me Quick
When it’s sunny and days can be spent on the beach with a book, there’s no time to linger in the kitchen. Quick, easy meals like these help you enjoy your day without stress. Having a few vegetarian recipes in your arsenal is always a good idea, especially when on holiday. I find we need...
Safari On Super Suppers And Snacks
Gosh, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that spring in my step. A new shop opened in town: Nibbly Bits. As the name suggests, they stock many delicious nibbly bits. I went all out and got us some treats. After my spree, I met up with friends en route to Prince Albert in the Karoo, and we...
12 Fun Things To Do During A Wet Spell And Beetroot Risotto
Here are my 12 fun things to do during a wet spell. Bragging rights in the car industry are earned when your new VW outruns the competition and goes from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds. Our summer went from balmy sunshine days to cloudy and wet overnight, and Autumn kept it up for 7 days. Suddenly, we...
Comfort Food Prince Albert Style
Whenever I think of the Karoo and food, only one thing comes to mind. It has to be lamb. Karoo lamb with lots of rosemary. Of course, at this time of year you might imagine a roast leg of Springbok; that’ll do too. Treat it like lamb, and the results are spectacular. Like the French, I...
Keep Korma And Curry On - Curry Recipes
My new favourite quote, especially when my tiara slips a fraction. Yes! Sometimes it takes a change of heart, a change of attitude, and the courage to control our minds and emotions. It’s unlikely we all wake up each morning feeling on top of the world. Years ago, someone said, “The woman of...
I Can Conclude I'm No (Food) Prude – Moroccan Lamb Shanks, Françoise’s Famous Brown Onion Soup, Orange Flavoured Oxtail, Malva Pudding
My beloved, who eats anything and everything, never complains and always says, “Thank you, that was a delicious meal” (even when, on the rare occasion, we have deli pies (or garage pies, as they’re colloquially known) with a good dose of salt for lunch), decided he had a weekend menu: comfort...
Easy Brinjal, Bacon Bake For Autumn Luncheons
Aubergine, brinjal, or eggplant must be the king of versatility. Nothing could be easier than this Brinjal bake, so perfect for long lunches on the veranda when leaves turn and days become shorter and cooler. No one wants to spend hours indoors now. I see beautiful mousebirds are very busy...
Tantalizing Tomato Teaser
Last week we treated ourselves to a Fine-Dining experience at the Conservatory, a pop-up restaurant, Lekkerlek by Likoke (Lick Okay), inspired by the renowned Belgian Michelin-starred chef Piet Huysentruyt, who is rounding off his world tour in Franschhoek. The taster menu, inspired by...
Celebrating Effortless Summer Fare
I am so inclined to repeat my menus that a luncheon with friends inspires me to delve into old recipe books, files, and faded food magazines I hoard. Sharing my personal tips often sparks new ideas and keeps the process fun. Our guests arrived dressed to the nines, their lavish hats befitting...
Bang! My Bubble Burst
Like a shot in the dark, 2017 caught us by surprise. Yet I feel hopeful about the future, embracing 'Put pressure aside' as my mantra to foster peace and resilience in the year ahead. Although Christmas and New Year are sad times for us as a family, we’re divided and scattered across...
Simple Summer Salads With A Twist Recipes
When the sun beats down on the top of my head, and I feel the need for a hat and sunnies, I know it’s time to dust off the platters and large salad bowls. I find pleasure in digging through the napery drawer, flinging out the florals, stripes, and coloured linens; the worn check napkins in...
Winning Winter Warmers–Soup, quiche, curried pickled onions
While we wallow in winter weather, we wish-wash with water, wet, when willowy wind whistles. When we wake, winter withholds wondrously, while we wish the weather would warm. Yes. I know. I'm trying my hand at alliteration. It reminds me of poetry slams with my son. This is the best I can do....
Around The World In A Coffee Cup With A Storm Brewing
A whirlwind weekend wandering is possible from home, one just needs to know how. When the seasons change as they do every Easter weekend we have four seasons in a day. It’s hard to pack considering the weather. The only certainty is that it’s time for comfort food. We travelled the world...
Hot Chick Spicing Up The Kitchen
Winter food to spice up your life: add heat to your menu with colourful spices, bring out the tartness of citrus with a saucy pudding, go tropical with a pod of vanilla, and pick up an exotic thread of saffron. These international recipes from around the world will spark curiosity and motivate...
Beach Bunnies Make Waves - North African Summer Salad Recipes
The sparkling wine on tap, just installed on Breë Street, is the one I like best. For some reason, I don’t fall for it, but this year I fell for a few April Fools' jokes hook, line, and sinker. Imagine the genius who could put DSTV out of business with his R99 subscriptions and a truckload...
Move Mundane to Make Magic
Easier said than done, you may say. It takes a mindset shift and willpower to turn something mundane into magic, but it’s not impossible. Look at the guy on stage—he uses a plain white handkerchief to produce a beautiful white dove. It's all in the magic we hold in our hands. Just read...
Hydrangeas, Hot Chicks, and Old Favourites – Easy Chicken for the barbecue, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Marinated Red and Yellow Bell Peppers, Sandi’s Oriental Cabbage Salad
Hydrangeas are blooming in cotton-candy pink and lacy blue. My pecan tree is shedding its flowers, and my garden is swarming with bees, dragonflies, and frogs. It’s the old summer magic, and there’s no time to waste experimenting with new menus, which suits me just fine. Last night, the Queen...