Rawlicious Challenge

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Tandy

This is a topsy turvy week, with 29 days in the month! So, we are all going to pretend this is the first Wednesday of the month (ie March) so that you all have a full month to get your challenge completed. This challenge is open to people all over the world, but the prizes on offer are only open to South African residents. Beryn from Rawlicious is going to be judging the best three recipes that use raw food, and her decision will be final. Please be adventurous and show her just how amazing food bloggers are, and what we can come up with. The prizes are as follows (and may not be exchanged):

1st: Spot on one day seminar
2nd: DVD course
3rd: Recipe book

In order for your recipe to be judged you need to include the following:

a link back to this post
insert this photo

the following linky code:

Code n.1 - This script works fine on all sites that accept the <script> tag

<!– start InLinkz script –>
<script type=”text/javascript”>
document.write(‘<script type=”text/javascript” src=http://www.inlinkz.com/cs.php?id=131468&’ + new Date().getTime() + ‘”><\/script>’);</script>
<!– end InLinkz script –>

Code n.2 - If you are on a wordpress.com blog or any system that does not permit script tags, copy the following code

<!– start InLinkz script –>
<a href=”http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=131468″><img style=”border:0px” src=”http://www.inlinkz.com/wpImg.php?id=131468″></a>
<!– end InLinkz script –>

you need to email me the link to your blog post so that I can forward the email to Beryn – my email address is lavenderandlimeblog (AT) gmail (DOT) com

Good luck, and have fun.

ps for a raw food diet, the temperature food is exposed to should not be more than 47°C / 116°F

The recipe book challenge recipes:

Ravioli stuffed with Mussels & Homemade Tomato Sauce

Lemon Cupcakes

Tandy

For more food challenges please see The Food Blog Diary.

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Chai Inspired Karha Ice Cream

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Tandy

I think the most important thing for me is that I continue to learn and exercise my mind. I want to emulate my mother-in-law and still be educating myself in my 90′s. She is 92 and is reading up on quantum astronomy. Don’t let me kid you, I have no clue what that all entails. Dave tells me that when he was studying mechanical engineering that Marguerite read more of his text books than he did. She has encyclopedia’s on mathematics and if she had been born 10 years later I am sure she would have been a Nobel prize nominee.

So, I have learnt that chai means tea and using the karha masala that goes into chai, I came up with an ice cream recipe. For the ice cream you can reduce the amount of masala you add, but as I made it very spicy, I sweetened it up with maple syrup – a perfect offset for the fiery ginger and warm cinnamon notes. This was enjoyed in milkshakes during our very hot summer days.

KARHA ICE CREAM

ingredients:

290mls milk

4 egg yolks

110g castor sugar – I used fructose

30mls karha masala

290mls cream

method:

place the milk into a sauce pan and heat until just starting to boil

while you are waiting for the milk to boil, beat the egg yolks and the sugar until you get to the ribbon stage

pour half the milk onto the eggs, whisking all the time

then pour the egg mix back into the milk and return to the stove

stir continuously over a moderate heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon

mix in the masala and then pour through a sieve into a bowl

mix in the cream and then churn in your ice cream maker

KARHA ICE CREAM PRINTABLE VERSION

I am linking this post to Kavey Eat’s challenge IceCreamChallenge

Tandy

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Karha Masala

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Tandy

I wanted to make chai ice cream, but in my search for what actually goes into chai, I discovered that the word chai means tea! Which means that the term chai tea is redundant. In fact, chai is made with a masala – a mix of spices, known as karha masala. I could not find an exact recipe but I did find a long list of ingredients, some vital and others optional and so I decided to make my own masala for this ice cream. This masala uses all the warm spices, and as this was made in time for Christmas, it was just perfect. It has a strong emphasis on ginger so if you are not partial to the heat in ginger, reduce the amount you use. If you want it sweet, add some sugar.

KARHA MASALA

ingredients:

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon green cardamom pods

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 star anise

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole cloves

¼ teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

method:

place all the ingredients into a spice blender and blend until smooth

KARHA MASALA PRINTABLE VERSION

Tandy

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Review: Liam Tomlin Food at Leopard’s Leap

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Tandy

The blog world is going to be buzzing with reviews on this amazing evening, and I am sure that the print media will soon follow. I received an email with a save the date request and was then asked which day suited me. I chose the Thursday, expecting an invitation to a lunch time affair and was most surprised to be invited to an evening function – dress code cocktail, and with a partner. It was fantastic that Dave was extended this invitation as I would not have gone without him. Being the ever practical person he is, Dave booked us in to a guest house one kilometer away. I was so glad he did, as we could enjoy every moment of this evening late into the night.

We arrived promptly at 7pm, me in a little black and white number and Dave dressed up (read long pants and a long sleeved shirt). The majestic building greeted us, together with staff offering us a cocktail. I am not sure how many waitrons were in attendance but each person we came across was well groomed, polite and efficient. If you put your plate down, it was whisked away seconds later. And I never had an empty glass!

While sipping on our cocktails we walked around the impressive dining hall, reading lounge and the shop. Cooking heaven! The shop has kitchen gadgets, spices and books, loads and loads of books. The wine is displayed on racks and there is even an old fashioned step ladder on castors so that you don’t have to go on your tip toes to reach what you are looking for. We then found the chef’s table dining room, and I cannot wait to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon enjoying the experience.

We exchanged our cocktail glasses for wine glasses and headed out to the lovely appointed balcony to sit comfortably watching the sunset. The sun dipped behind the mountains, and as twilight disappeared, the grape vines were lit up by subtle green lighting. These vines were planted by Hein’s father 12 years ago, and the wine is fantastic. We tried the Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Merlot.

Dinner was not expected – a cocktail party made me think we would get canapés but we were treated to 8 mostly wonderful courses. The well appointed kitchen had been set up in 8 sections, with two chefs at each section preparing and plating the dishes. At no stage was there a mess anywhere – the chefs were constantly wiping down their surfaces, a compliment I passed on to Liam himself. As he said, “they are good chefs”, but it is their training and leadership that makes them such.

We started with a sweetcorn and basil velouté and I loved it. I could have had a dozen more, and I was so impressed by the silky smooth texture, that I tried to recreate this at home the weekend afterwards. I will share my version with you next month.

The soup course was followed by raclette and prosciutto with baby potatoes. Half a wheel of cheese was placed under the heat, and then the melted top was scooped onto the potatoes and reminded me so much of our trip to Germany last year. It was served with baby pickled onions and gherkins.

Our next course was a rotisserie szechaun chicken and we could see the chickens being cooked and then carved up and lovingly plated. This dish was judged by Dave and I as the best savoury dish of the evening and we had second helpings after dessert.

We then moved on to what was the first of two disappointing seafood courses. The steamed sea bass with vermicelli noodles had bones in it. We had to do a fair amount of extraction. Also, I am not a big fan of sea bass, it is an imported fish with not much taste, and I would so much prefer our local fish being showcased.

Our next delightful dish was a spring onion pancake with roast belly of pork. I could have had a plateful of them, all nicely rolled up ready to pop into my mouth. I however stopped at one.

This was followed by seared salmon with avocado togarashi dressing, which was overpowered by the sesame. It was such a pity, as salmon and avocado have such gentle flavours, and they are a great combination.

Our last meat course was a duck saucisson which took Dave and I right back to our trip to France where we were in duck country. This was reminiscent of the rough duck pâté’s we enjoyed. The saucisson was prepared in the skin from the neck of the duck.

Now, dessert time! And not one, or two, but three sweet tastes to follow. I had my first taste of a recipe I have been wanting to try for some time, and now I have no reason not to. The lemon posset with raspberries and pistachio was sublime. I could have (should have) had the whole tray!

© lemon posset with raspberries and pistachio

This dessert was followed by Bailey’s Irish cream parfait with cocoa crunch. It was not as sublime as the posset and it was boozy! Some people were clambering for more chocolate, but were told that there was not enough.

Dave and I decided to get a plateful more of the chicken before heading off to sample the truffles. Dave chose one each – we have no idea what they were as no-one could tell us the flavours. But, they were made on site and were divine. I had one that was especially good and so stopped there with the food for the evening.

After we had enjoyed our food, our wine, and our coffee, we were offered cigars (no thanks) and Cognac (yes please). The staff just mingled among the guests, silently offering the humidor and the Cognac without intruding.

A bit of confusion reigns about which door leads to the men’s and which to the ladies. We had a great debate about this, and Liam has suggested some earrings for the lady. Needles to say, there were men and women using both rooms! The wire whisk chandeliers caught my eye on so many occasions and when I downloaded my 137 photographs, most were of them. That and the center chandelier of grape leaves, over the wine tasting station will leave a lasting impression, together with the tables that teach you about meat, cheese and knives.

I cannot get too effusive or enthusiastic about how awesome this venue is. I am already planning on doing a few of the cooking courses and Dave will join me for those. There has been a serious investment here, and you will love your visit. Click the link for more information on Liam Tomlin Food and if you would like to see a video of the opening, click here.

Tandy
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Baked Apples

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Tandy

This month, my friend Hila is the host for Meeta’s Monthly Mingle. She challenged us with a Heart Healthy theme and even though this is part of my every day eating, I was not sure what to share with you. Dave and I have eaten a heart healthy diet for many years. I do not want him to die of heart failure or some such ill, and I come from a family where both my parents have high cholesterol. It has not skipped a generation for some time, and my sister suffers from this as well. I however am lucky, and can eat what I want when it comes to fat and butter and all the good things. I look after our hearts by making sure we eat healthy food, we exercise often, and we watch our alcohol intake. What I cannot do, is protect our hearts from sadness. Today my heart is heavy. I woke up to sad news, and this is news I cannot share, so the burden of sadness is mine alone. And worry – I am worried about the person who shared the sad news. I am worried, because there is nothing I can do. My heart is heavy because I fear that the person who is hurt, has been hurt beyond repair. I am sad because they cannot move away from what is hurting them as they are the one inflicting the hurt. I cannot mend the broken heart.

The saying “an apple a day keeps the Doctor away” could be the perfect heart mending advert. Apples help reduce heart disease and help with controlling cholesterol. So, where I will have to leave my friend’s heart mending to those that can help, I will share my simple recipe to keep your hearts healthy.

BAKED APPLES

Ingredients:

30g pistachios

30g cranberries

½ teaspoon rose water

15g butter, melted

1 apple per person

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius

Roughly chop the pistachios and the cranberries

Add to a bowl with the rose water and the butter

Core the apples and then cut off the bottom of the cored bit and plug it back into the bottom of the apple to make a stopper

Fill to the top with the pistachio and cranberry mix

Bake for 12 minutes

If you are serving this as a dessert, add a spoonful of crème fraîche to the bowl when dishing up

BAKED APPLES PRINTABLE VERSION

I used really small apples, but if you are going to use larger ones, please see Misk Cook’s post for a few more instructions on how to bake them.

Tandy

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Grape And Blueberry Flaugnarde

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Tandy

In December I was asked by Woolworths to do a blog post for their chopping board chit chat on grapes. I was in a baking mood and so I decided to use a clafoutis recipe to highlight the grapes. Clafoutis is usually made with cherries and as soon as I had one bite, I was taken right back to Brittany where we had our first taste of Far Breton. This traditional dessert is often made with grapes, so I was right on the money so to speak. I used green seedless grapes known as Prime and they are not very sweet and have a firm skin. It may have been better to cut them in half before I started baking, but either way, the taste it wonderful. You may be wondering what a flaugnarde is? I could not call this a flan so I turned to wikipedia for some help: This is a flan-like baked French dessert with fruit arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. Similar to a clafoutis which is made with black cherries, a flaugnarde is made with apples, peaches, pears, plums, prunes or other fruits. Resembling a large pancake, the dish is dusted with confectioner’s sugar and can be served either warm or cold.

GRAPE AND BLUEBERRY FLAUGNARDE

ingredients:

400g green seedless grapes

100g blueberries

100g castor sugar – I used fructose

125g flour

pinch of salt

3 eggs

300mls milk

icing sugar for dusting

butter for your baking pan

method:

place the fruit into a bowl and dust with 50g castor sugar

leave to stand for 30 minutes

preheat the oven to 180° Degrees Celsius

butter a flan dish – I used my tatin dish

sieve together the flour, salt and the remainder of the castor sugar

beat the eggs well and them mix into the flour

mix in the milk thoroughly

pour over the fruit

bake for 35 minutes

cool until lukewarm and then dust with icing sugar

GRAPE AND BLUEBERRY FLAUGNARDE PRINTABLE VERSION

Tandy

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Best Local Food Blog Nominee Takes A Day Off

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Tandy

I have had an emotional 26 hours, a myriad of things have happened since 6am yesterday morning, and I just don’t have the energy to type up my blog post. I did not have time to do it yesterday due to back to back meetings. I also have not been around reading many blogs, and if I have missed yours out then please accept my apologies. My wordpress reader is overwhelmed with blog love. I have just installed RSS Popper and will slowly start setting it up. I tried to do google reader but that was not working for me. So, please be patient with me, I will be back tomorrow

I have been nominated, together with 9 other amazing bloggers, for an award and I would so appreciate your vote. Follow the link – no registration is necessary.

http://www.eat-in.co.za/Awards/Blogger-Awards

Best Local Food Blog

No matter where I end up, to be counted as one of the top 10 is an honour. And the people who stand alongside me are all great bloggers (and great friends)!

With thanks and blog love

Tandy

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Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake for The Secret Recipe Club

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Tandy

This month I have been assigned Plain Chicken for The Secret Recipe Club. I am in a new group as I wanted a later posting date, and so I am about to meet a whole lot of new bloggers, Steph being the first. Steph is from Alabama – a place I remember well from my trip to the South. Her one love is travelling, and we have that in common for sure. She loves New York City and it still ranks as one of my top cities in the world, even though I have not been there for over 20 years. Steph is hoping to visit Italy soon, and as you may know, Italy is my home away from home, il mio cuore vi appartiene Italia. For my recipe I chose a pasta dish – this is one meal we eat once a week, with Tandy Tuesday the inspiration behind this.

I did not read the ingredient list before choosing this dish, so I have changed it a bit due to the fact that I cannot buy ready made sauces. They all contain sucrose which I cannot eat. I changed the premade sauce for my own béchamel sauce and Dave gave this dish a resounding thumbs up. I made two dishes from the ingredients, and we shared one!

THREE CHEESE CHICKEN ALFREDO BAKE

ingredients:

200g pasta of your choice – I used gnocchi

1l béchamel sauce

15mls olive oil

2 chicken breasts, skinned and boned

salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

100g mushrooms, sliced

260g ricotta cheese

½ cup grated hard cheddar cheese

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

mozzarella cheese for topping

method:

preheat the oven to 180° Celsius

cook the pasta according to the packet instructions

make the béchamel sauce – this should take as long as your pasta

while your béchamel sauce is cooking heat the olive oil in a pan

season and cook the chicken and the mushrooms

let the chicken breasts rest once they are cooked

drain the pasta and put back into the pot

cover with the béchamel sauce – mix in well

add the ricotta, the cheese, the garlic, the parsley and the mushrooms

slice the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces

add to the mix, together with any juices and mix well

adjust the seasoning

place the pasta into lightly buttered baking dishes

cut thin slices of mozzarella cheese and place on top

bake for 20 minutes until nice and golden brown on top

THREE CHEESE CHICKEN ALFREDO BAKE PRINTABLE VERSION

I am submitting this recipe to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted this week by Ruth, the founder of this amazing food challenge! And, it is the fifth year anniversary WOW

Tandy

To see other recipes from the click the linky below:

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Restaurant Review: The Restaurant at Waterkloof Wines

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Tandy

The Restaurant at Waterkloof Wines is situated on Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, Somerset West and they can be contacted on 021 858 1491. They serve lunch and dinner, from Mondays to Saturdays and lunch only on Sundays. If for nothing else, take a drive (2.1km off the road) up to the estate, just for the view.

in this picture you can see the view over False Bay with the mountains we live on top left. Middle right are the candles I kicked when leaving, and now I have wax all over my skirt! The fire place is lit every night making the ambiance amazing, and an after dinner port a welcome choice. Bottom left is Grégory Czarnecki (on the right) hard at work with his staff.

I would highly recommend the six course degustation menu at R385/R490 wine pairing included. If this does not suit you, then on offer is a good selection of starters and main courses and the desserts include a cheese option for those watching their weight. If I have one nitpick complaint about the meal, then it is that if someone does not order a dessert, the chef does not send a pre dessert for that person to the table. Given that the restaurant is not cheap, this is something they should do for all diners, regardless of how many people are having dessert.

Dave and I went for a 6 course meal for Valentines Day and we chose the wine pairing option. We were greeted at the car by an attentive staff member, and were ushered into the venue where we were given a glass of champagne. We could stroll around, enjoying the strains of the violin before being seated at our table, which had an impressive view of the vineyards. The amuse bouche was an asparagus veloute with an almond foam. This was followed by a goats cheese mousse which was served with pickled beetroot and a walnut crisp. The wine paired with this course was the Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc 2007. The mousse was really light and tasty and Dave enjoyed the beetroot (not his favourite vegetable)

This was followed by rainbow trout gravlax with a watercress mayonnaise, vodka and dill crème fraîche and accompanied by a glass of Circumstance Chenin Blanc 2009. I loved the fact that the trout was less oily than the salmon we use at home and the vodka and dill crème fraîche complemented the dish perfectly.

Our next course was monkfish served with a crispy prawn, and ginger beer compressed apple and a smidgen of curry. The monkfish was a little bland for our palate but the apple helped sort that out. Dave and I loved the prawn and we are going to try and make something similar. We enjoyed the Circumstance Viognier 2010 with this course.

When we sat down, the waiter asked us how we would like our beef – he recommended medium but we chose medium rare, which might explain why it was cold. The karan beef fillet was served with a shallot tart tatin and root vegetables which included purple carrots. This course was accompanied by Circle of Life Red 2009.

The next course was served with Circumstance Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 and we enjoyed two glasses of this with the lamb loin. The lamb itself was cold, but the braised leg pastille was hot and most appreciated. The aubergine sauce was more pleasant than it looks on the plate.

Before we could move on the dessert, the pre dessert was sent to the table with the chefs compliments. It was champagne heavy but a perfect break between the meat courses and the dessert course.

By far, the highlight of the texture of chocolate platter was the passion fruit sorbet. I even went to compliment the chef hoping he would send me home with a bucket. Sadly this was not so, but the Steenberg Brut Chardonnay made up for that.

The service from the wait staff and managers is impeccable, with our waiter being polite, and well spoken. He noticed the small details and could converse with us about the meal and the wine with ease. Dave ordered espresso and I skipped this part of the meal (I like my sleep) but I made sure I tucked in to the petit fours.

The ambiance here is serene, you have a view of the mountains and the sea and you are so high up, you feel like you are floating. This very modern building invites you to stay, just a little longer.

And … if you are not in the mood for a meal, pop in for a wine tasting. The staff are fantastic.

Tandy

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Friday Food Quiz Number 10

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Tandy

1. What is tortellini?

These are ring shaped pasta from the areas of Bologna and Modena and are usually stuffed with meat. The are served in a broth, or ragu (Bolognese sauce) or cream. I love this region of Italy – especially for the fact that both Ducati and Ferrari have their factories in this area.

2. What is the difference between a lassi and a smoothie?

Oh yay, a question relating to the food I have been cooking a lassi is a yoghurt based drink from the Punjab region. A lassi can be a savoury drink that has spices, salt and pepper mixed with the yoghurt, or blended with ground cumin, or a sweet drink made with sugar. A smoothie is a blend of fresh and frozen fruit or vegetables, either alone, or with ice, or with frozen yoghurt (or if you are my mom, icecream). Honey is added to the blend and it is mixed to a nice thick milkshake consistency. At the gym I go to they offer additives of whey powder or barley grass, but I like mine with my home made granola in it for a complete meal.

3. What does caramelised mean?

Like your wonderful onions – caramelization occurs when the natural sugars in food cooks out and colours what is being cooked. This can be helped along by adding sugar to the dish.

4. Give another name for lemongrass.

Citronella

5. What is a mirepoix?

A base for risotto, soups, stocks etc. made up of 2 parts onions, 1 part carrot and 1 part celery – all cut into even sized pieces.

6. The scientific name for cacao beans is theobroma cacao. What does it mean?

Have you been watching Willie’s Chocolate program on channel 180? From bean to bar – pity I did not know about it before we went to the UK this year as I would have got some pure cacao bars the answer is food of the gods if my memory is good

7. Mango is native to which country?

India

8. What will you get if your dish is served cordon bleu?

The literal translation is Blue Ribbon but I would prefer Michel Roux JNR!

9. What are the ingredients for Drambuie?

One of my favourites, heather honey and malt whisky with a blend of herbs and spices

10. What is molasses?

it is a by product of the process of turning sugar cane or sugar beets into sugar. it has a thick, honey like texture and is a sucrose based product (lesson learnt from a friend of mine who grew up on a sugar cane farm)

11. Name the method used to preserve food by salting, such as meat and fish.

if you use salt and water the method is pickling. if you use salt without water it is called curing. I just plain prefer biltong! (that is similar to beef jerky if you are American(

12. Name the four Indian breads.

There is Roti from the Rajasthan region; and Naan from the Delhi region (I got them confused when I started cooking from my curry book, and served the Naan with the first dish, and so used Roti with the Delhi dish); paratha. I have no clue about the fourth one.

13. What is arrowroot and what is it used for?

It is an edible starch that when made into a flour is gluten free. It can be used in the same way as corn flour (maizena) to thicken sauces. It will not colour the dish in the same way corn flour can make the sauce cloudy, so can be used to thicken gels (for terrines etc.) It has no flavour and you need less of it than corn flour or ordinary flour to thicken a sauce. It cannot be used with dairy products. In SA this is readily available at a good health shop but can be found as a common store item in the supermarkets in Australia.

14. Why do apples float when placed in water?

So you can bob for them. I suppose something floats in water when it is less dense than the water?

15. What is the key to making perfect muffins?

And now I want a blueberry muffin for breakfast to get a perfect muffin to not mix the mixture too much. it must still be lumpy and just mixed.

Tandy
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