Pink Champagne Jelly

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Tandy

Some wine estates have had our support since we moved to the Helderberg in 2001. Eikendal has been one of them. I just love their Brut Rosé and bought cases at a time. Then, at the beginning of 2010 I went to top up and was told “sorry, we no longer make this”. The lady who I always get my stock from told me she would call me if they got any in. So, I waited – and shopped elsewhere for the pink bubbly I love. In October of 2010 my friend Chantelle told me that Eikendal were having a competition for the Helderberg Wine Festival. Everyone who purchased a bottle of wine / bubbly would be entitled to enter their competition to win a night at the lodge. The Saturday of the festival, Chantelle called to tell me she had a case of pink bubbly for me They had ‘found’ some. Not to miss out on all the stock they have on the Sunday we made a stop at Eikendal. We entered the competition to win a night at the lodge and tasted some wine. While trying to make a purchase, we were ‘pushed aside’ while 3 other people were dealt with. I waited patiently for what should have been my turn first in order to ask whether there was anymore pink bubbly to be told “sorry, your friend took the last ones”. How on earth she knew Chantelle was my friend is beyond me. She did however offer to call me if anymore came in, and so I left her my details. There was another competition running – spend R550 and stand a chance to win 6 bottles of their flagship wines. So, I spent over R550 and put my name in the draw.

The following Monday an email arrived in my inbox

congratulations Andy ~ Your name was drawn in our competition

taking this to be a typo: Andy instead of Tandy, I drove back to Eikendal on Wednesday to collect my winnings. The same lady told me no, this email does not mean you won it was sent to all the entries – WTF? (sorry, I need to use this type of language here). How can you send a group email of this nature?

So, to say sorry for the inconvenience I was given a bottle of …..

yup, you guessed it right! Brut Rosé. The same item they supposedly had none left of.

Now, my first disappointment is obviously not winning the competition, but the second disappointment is that I was told an untruth (lie being such a strong word). There is more of the Brut Rosé – and I would have bought all of it given the opportunity.

I have been saving this bubbly for special occasions and a few weeks ago, the occasion arose. I opened the bottle, and it was flat. I was so disappointed but in order to make sure it was not wasted I capped the bottle and set it aside to use in my kitchen. I remember seeing a recipe for jelly that used pink champagne in the Taste magazine, and so I decided to use it for that.

PINK CHAMPAGNE JELLY

Adapted from Taste magazine page 118 October 2011 issue 66

Ingredients:

2 damask rose herbal tea buds

¼ cup water

1 ¼ cups rosé champagne

1/3 cup sugar – I used fructose

1 cinnamon quill

3 gelatine leaves

Method:

Bring the water to the boil

Add the rose buds and reduce to a simmer

Simmer for 5 minutes before adding the champagne

Add the sugar and stir until dissolved

Simmer while you prepare the gelatine by covering with cold water and leaving for 5 minutes

Remove the champagne from the heat

Squeeze the excess water from the gelatine and add to the champagne

Stir well until the gelatine dissolves

Pour the jelly into glasses and refrigerate overnight to set

PINK CHAMPAGNE JELLY PRINTABLE VERSION

If you are still finding your inbox inundated with comments, or want to know how to turn off the option, please click here to read Sharp Little Pencil’s solution.

Tandy

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Date Bars

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Tandy

A small little part of me is not feeling the blog love this month. It is the part that issued a challenge with prizes that has been totally ignored that has made me feel just a little bit sad this month. I seem to not be succeeding with some ventures I am trying, and I am feeling slightly underwhelmed by everything. I know this sounds like a pity party but I am not that type of person. I really do try to find something positive in all the things that happen on a day to basis, even when they are VERY bad. I even have a daily gratitude to remind me I have so many things to be grateful for. And today, I am going to have to concentrate on that a lot. Last night while we were at the Harvest Dinner at Vergenoegd the charm bracelet Dave gave me, with a charm for each year we have been married came off my arm! I am very tearful this morning about losing something so precious to me. So, here is a whole post dedicated to some of the things I am grateful for.

I am grateful for:

a loving husband who cares about me all the time
a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in and food to eat and share
a car so that I can get to work and back
a job that allows me to employ other people
friends who love me and phone just at the right time
blog friends who leave me amazing comments
family who count every moment

Actually, I could go on and on – but I won’t. I will share one more thing I am grateful for. I have a friend who has been a part of my life for 30 years! She lives on the other side of the world and we stay in touch via email and phone. She has been a constant in my life, and we have been through a lot together. When she heard I was going to make a raw dessert she sent me an email straight away with a recipe. I am grateful to her for that, as I can share it with all of you. These date bars are fantastic and make a really healthy alternative snack. Now, I only wish I had bought them to work as I am starving!

DATE BARS with thanks to Kim

Ingredients:

130g Raw Almonds

75g Raw Cashews

250g Dried Dates, pitted

65g Desiccated (dried) Coconut

25g Organic Cocoa

¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes

1 tablespoon Raw Honey

6 tablespoons Raw Coconut Oil

Method:

Grease and line a square biscuit tin with baking paper

Add the nuts to a food processor and chop for 8 seconds

Set aside

Add the dates, coconut, cocoa, salt and honey and chop for 30 seconds

Return the nuts to the bowl, add the coconut oil and mix for 20 seconds or until mixture has a shiny appearance

Empty the mixture into the prepared tin and press down with the back of a spoon to create a flat surface

Using a knife, mark lines one way and then the other, to create squares

Refrigerate until solid

When solid remove from the tin and break into squares

Store refrigerated and as Kim says “Absolutely Delicious!”

DATE BARS PRINTABLE VERSION

Tandy

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Lemon Myrtle Panna Cotta

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Tandy

I have never made panna cotta before and now that I have it is going to become my secret weapon! It is so easy to make and takes very little preparation time. As soon as I opened my lemon myrtle gift from Yvette, I knew that it was going to be used in a panna cotta. It has the most amazing scent of strong lemon, nothing like I have ever smelt before. I am not familiar at all with myrtle, so this is going to be a fun herb to experiment with. Once I had chosen the dessert, I started by looking in Jamie’s Italy for a recipe. I am not sure why one was not included, but then I remembered Claire having made a panna cotta on MasterChef – and luckily for me, her recipe is in the book I purchased. I am well pleased about that, as the book cost me R500 – and not even a month after I bought it I discovered I could have got it for R380! I really do not like being ripped off, and as long as I use the book, I will think it is worth the expense. It was sort of my Christmas present to myself and it is signed by Alvin – so all pluses so far.

LEMON MYRTLE PANNA COTTA

Adapted from MasterChef Australia Volume Two page 242

ingredients:

3½ leaves gelatine

200mls milk

55g castor sugar – I used fructose

1 teaspoon lemon myrtle

200mls cream

method:

cover the gelatine leaves with cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes

while you are waiting heat the milk, the castor sugar and the lemon myrtle in a saucepan

stir over a low heat while the sugar dissolves

squeeze out the gelatine and add it to the milk

stir while it dissolves – this should not take long

pour the milk through a sieve into the cream

mix well and pour into your moulds or even a glass bowl for serving

leave to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours

LEMON MYRTLE PANNA COTTA PRINTABLE VERSION

Tandy

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Rooibos and Lavender Tea Sorbet

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Tandy

When we were younger my parents would often treat us to a silver service dinner. This was always at the top of the Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg, and always to celebrate something special. I can remember that between the starters and the main course, we were given a spoonful of sorbet, to cleanse the palate. This sorbet cleanser has been served on many occasions, not only at silver service dinners. It somehow makes me feel ‘grown up’. A few year’s ago we went to Waterkloof for dinner and we got an amuse dessert to whet our appetites for the course we had ordered. It got me thinking, why not a sweet sorbet to cleanse the palate between the main course and dessert? This sorbet has a unique flavour of our local red bush tea, and whereas I could really taste the tea, Dave could really taste the honey. You can substitute any tea of your choice to make this sorbet – and you really only need a few spoonfuls as an amuse, or have a huge bowl for dessert itself.

ROOIBOS AND LAVENDER TEA SORBET

Adapted from Krups Ice Cream Maker Recipe Book page 29

ingredients:

500mls water

3 tablespoons rooibos and lavender tea

50g honey

150g caster sugar – I used fructose

method:

bring the water to the boil and allow the tea to infuse for 3 hours

add the honey and the sugar

chill the mixture in the fridge overnight

churn in your ice cream maker

ROOIBOS AND LAVENDER TEA SORBET PRINTABLE VERSION

Tandy
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Turnip and Spinach Soup, Mushrooms With Spinach and Gruyere, Quinoa Coated Hake Gougons & Chocolate and Berry Swiss Roll For Ready Steady Cook

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Tandy

I want to thank all the bloggers who took part in this challenge. I was not going to take part, but Paula was going to have her ingredient list ‘orphaned’ so I decided to participate. I love making food with a random set of ingredients and so this challenge is a pleasure for me. Paula challenged me to use the following 7 ingredients:

fresh spinach
fish – fresh or frozen, freshwater or saltwater
berries – fresh or frozen
cheese – Gruyere or Emmentaler
portabello mushrooms
quinoa
turnips, parsnips or rutabaga – or any combination of the three

Together with the 7 ingredients, I had devised quite an extensive pantry list of ingredients the participants could use – based on the original challenge I did, and I asked each blogger to add an ingredient. These were as follows:

Milk/Cream
Eggs
Flour (or a flour substitute)
Lemons
Garlic
Ginger
Chillies
Fresh Herbs
Dried Herbs
Dried Spices
Sugar (or a sugar substitute)
Butter/margarine
Salt
Pepper
Oil – any of your choice
Vinegar
Pasta / Noodles / Rice
Tinned Tomatoes
Tinned Chickpeas
Chocolate / Cacao
Stock

For starters I decided to do a turnip and spinach soup. This was easy, and perfect for the night I decided to make my ready steady cook meal, as the heatwave had broken and it was raining.

TURNIP AND SPINACH SOUP

ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 large turnip cut up into a large dice

1 cup stock

1 cup water

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

80g baby spinach

method:

heat the oil over a medium heat in a soup pot

add the turnips and stir well, until they are starting to cook

add the stock, the water, the nutmeg and the seasoning

bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cover and simmer for 30 minutes

blend until smooth

add the spinach and bring back to the boil

blend again, adjust the seasoning and serve

TURNIP AND SPINACH SOUP PRINTABLE VERSION

My side dish for the main course was easy to prepare. I chose the biggest portabello mushrooms I could find and I chose a locally manufactured Gruyere cheese. The cheesery is less than 100km’s from us and they make a really nice selection of cheeses. I added the rest of my spinach to these and came up with a really good side dish, which could be served as a starter.

MUSHROOMS WITH SPINACH AND GRUYERE

ingredients:

2 portabello mushrooms, stalks removed

100g baby spinach

2 cloves garlic, crushed

salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

a pinch of nutmeg

30g Gruyere, grated

10g butter

olive oil for drizzling

method:

preheat the oven to 180° Celsius

wilt the spinach with the garlic and season

set aside to cool

squeeze out the excess liquid and add the nutmeg

chop finely and mix in the cheese

place the butter into a frying pan and cook the top of the mushroom

drizzle the bottom (ribbed side) with olive oil and season

distribute the spinach mix into each mushroom

bake for 10 minutes

MUSHROOMS WITH SPINACH AND GRUYERE PRINTABLE VERSION

For my main course I chose hake – a soft white fish that is fished for off the coast in False Bay. These come directly from the company that fishes for them. I have never used quinoa before and so the night before, I made up some to go with our meal. This is a low GI grain with an unusual taste and texture – and Dave loves it. We are quite addicted to Chopped and so I used the the program for my inspiration here. I took the quinoa and ground it up to ‘bread’ the fish with. It added a great texture to this soft fish, and I am going to do this again.

QUINOA COATED HAKE GOUJONS

ingredients:

¼ cup flour

salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup quinoa

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon salt

1 hake fillet, sliced into goujons

15g butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

method:

season the flour

grind the quinoa together with the coriander seeds and the ½ teaspoon salt

pat dry your fish

set up a breading station and place the fish first into the flour, then into the egg and finally into the quinoa

heat the butter and the oil in a large frying pan

cook the fish one minute per side, skin side down first

QUINOA COATED HAKE GOUJONS PRINTABLE VERSION

After such a healthy starter and main course, a decadent dessert was in order. I made a Swiss roll that has me thinking about other options with the base. Raspberries and blackberries were on special and so I bought a punnet of each, knowing the colours would be great in contrast to the chocolate base, and whipped cream centre.

CHOCOLATE AND BERRY SWISS ROLL

adapted from James Martin BBC Hands On Workshop

ingredients:

for the Swiss roll:

2 eggs

55g caster sugar – I used fructose

50g self raising flour

5g cacao and more for dusting

for the filling:

125mls cream

24 assorted berries

method:

for the Swiss roll:

preheat the oven to 180° Celsius

line a small Swiss roll tin with baking paper

whisk together the eggs and the sugar until they are light, fluffy and thickened

sieve together the flour and the cacao

fold the flour into the eggs until well combined

pour the batter into the tin and smooth the top with a spatula

bake for 8 – 10 minutes – watch from 8 minutes as you want a skewer to come out clean and you don’t want the surface to crust

place a piece of baking paper on your work surface that is larger than the Swiss roll

dust lightly with cacao

turn the sponge out onto the baking paper and then peel the baking paper gently off the exposed side of the sponge

set aside to cool slightly

whisk the cream until stiff

spread the cream over the sponge, leaving a 2cm gap along one of the long sides

on the long side that has the cream to the bottom, place a row of berries

and then place a second row quite close to the first one

starting at this edge, use the baking paper to roll up the sponge to form the Swiss roll

make sure you press tightly to encase the filling

CHOCOLATE AND BERRY SWISS ROLL PRINTABLE VERSION

Tandy

To see what all the lovely challengers did, click the linky below

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Chocolate Mousse

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Tandy

Many years ago I was a waitress at the Longhorn Steakhouse in Birnam (Johannesburg). One Saturday night a middle aged couple came in and would not sit at the open table in my section as they were always served by Abe. After an half hour wait the husband convinced the wife to take the table and I must have done something right. When they left she told me they would be back on Monday with their son as they wanted to introduce me to him. Lo and behold, on the Monday night in they came, with a very good looking 30ish year old and their two grandchildren. Dov and I hit it off straight away and we ended up dating for quite some time. One night we had a mini dinner party, the two of us, my best friend at the time, and his best friend. My responsibility for the evening was chocolate mousse. It was a huge success. Funnily enough, I cannot remember what else we ate that night but we chatted, and laughed and drank loads of whisky and red wine. I still think of Dov and his boys and hope wherever life took them they are happy and loved.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

ingredients:

200g dark chocolate – I used Canderel sugar free chocolate

200g dairy milk chocolate – I used Canderel sugar free chocolate

one pinch salt

2 pinches Chinese 5 spice powder

8 drops peppermint essential oil – you can use a teaspoon of peppermint essence, or a 35g bar of peppermint crisp chocolate

6 eggs separated

6 teaspoons castor sugar – I used fructose

250mls cream

fresh mint to garnish

method:

melt the chocolate with the salt and the 5 spice over a bain marie

if you are using a peppermint crisp bar, melt it with the chocolate

remove from the heat and add the essential oil (or the essence)

beat the egg yolks until fluffy

beat the egg whites with the castor sugar until stiff

beat the cream until firm

fold the egg whites into the cream

add the melted chocolate to the egg yolks and stir in quickly

slowly fold in the cream and egg white mixture

place in the fridge to set and serve with the fresh mint as a garnish

Printable Version

ps – I served these with meringues that I blinged up with green glitter which was a gift from Cindy.

Tandy

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I Got The Berries Dessert

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Tandy

A summer dinner party was on the cards, and I wanted to make a simple dessert using the amazing fresh berries I had found at Woolworths. I had planned on buying little casings for them, but could not find any. And so, I went home and used my silicone cup cake holders to make a chocolate casing. As you can tell from the pictures, it was not too bad an effort. And they were simple to do. I just melted some sugar free chocolate in a bowl over some simmering water and then poured the chocolate into the mould. I twirled the chocolate all around and poured out the excess and then put the moulds into the freezer to set. We carefully removed the silicone from the chocolate casings (well, as carefully as one can after a few glasses of wine) and placed some berries that I had mixed with some cream into each casing. Taylor started singing ♪♪♪ I got the berries, ♪♪♪ I got the berries ♪♪♪ and so the name was decided upon. This is a winner as the casings can be done days ahead of your party!

Tandy

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Tiramisu

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Tandy

I have never had to make this recipe before but when Gill from Le Creuset suggested I make this in my new rectangular cassis dish, I knew it was about time I set my hand to it. This was how I arrived at the theme for the challenge I set, asking people to bake something sweet they had never baked before. In my 20′s I spent a lot of time in restaurants. My usual supper was chocolate mousse but when I met Vasili my dinner choice changed from rich chocolate to the comfort food of tiramisu. This dish did more than just pick me up, it was a hint of something soothing to my soul. A lady made this dessert for the restaurant, and if there were any leftovers, they would be brought home for me to enjoy. If I entertained in the restaurant I felt guilty about ordering tiramisu as I was depriving a paying guest of the pleasures of this dessert. That relationship ended when I was 24, but my love for the dessert did not.

When Dave and I got married we went to Italy for our honeymoon. In a restaurant set in the ramped entrance to an old mansion I asked the very good looking Italian waiter for the dessert menu – this was before I learnt to speak Italian. He answered “for dessert you must look at me”! He dished up a heaped plate of nonna’s tiramisu and it must have been one of the best I had ever tasted. The recipe I have come up with is a combination of all the recipes I have come across. It needs a deep dish or you will end up with an overflowing cascade of the filling. If you do as I did and use the 26cm rectangular Le Creuset dish I would recommend you forgo the second layer of ladyfinger biscuits.

TIRAMISU

ingredients:

200mls espresso

4 eggs, separated

90g icing sugar (I used fructose)

250g mascarpone

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

20 ladyfinger biscuits

6 tablespoons Cointreau

20g dark chocolate *

cocoa powder for decorating

method:

make the coffee and allow to cool in a shallow dish

beat the egg whites with the icing sugar to soft peaks

beat the eggs yolks

add the mascarpone and beat until mixed

mix in the vanilla extract

fold in the egg whites

quickly dip the ladyfingers into the coffee and line the bottom of the dish

sprinkle over 3 tablespoons Cointreau

add half of the mascarpone mixture

grate the chocolate over the top

quickly dip the ladyfingers into the coffee and make a second layer

sprinkle over 3 tablespoons Cointreau

top with the remaining mascarpone mixture

refrigerate until set – preferably over night

just before serving sift cocoa powder over the top

* cooks notes: you can use more chocolate between the layers if you want

Printable Version

Tandy

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Lace Wrapped Lavender Infused Figs

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Tandy

As you will see from this photograph, I have the most beautiful lavender growing at the moment. I have not wanted the flowers to go to waste and so I have harvested them for lavender petals, lavender sugar, and my infused honey. When I recently found some Turkish figs at the shops, I decided to make a creative dessert using the honey, and my crumpet mixture. I keep this in my pantry and add the wet ingredients when I have the whim to make crumpets.

crumpet mixture

ingredients:

600g flour

50g baking powder

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon salt

50g castor sugar

method:

mix the dry ingredients together and keep in a container for when needed

for a batch of crumpets

ingredients

1 cup crumpet mixture

1 large egg

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon melted butter

method:

whisk together the egg and milk

add to the crumpet mixture

add the butter and whisk in

using a tablespoon measure, ladle the batter onto a flat griddle

turn once when bubbles appear

to make the lace effect:

use a squeeze bottle and draw the pattern in a crepe pan

for the figs:

ingredients:

1 fig per person, halved

1 teaspoon lavender infused honey per fig

method:

heat the figs gently in a pan with the honey

place the lace crumpet onto the plate

place the figs on the top half and fold the crumpet over them

Tandy

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Flambé Strawberries

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Tandy

When we moved to the Helderberg I noticed with joy the strawberry fields so close to our doorstep. Most of these farms are owned by one family, and they produce the lovely assortment of strawberries we can pick fresh or purchase from our local supermarkets and markets. Not to be outdone by the farms, I have planted my own strawberry fields. However, I am not that disciplined in picking them and my tortoise finds her way there first. I started with 20 cuttings and they have spread themselves alongside my herbs and offer pretty red jewels throughout the summer months. We have had the most bountiful strawberry season and so I have had plenty of opportunities to make different desserts. This one is easy and the hardest part of making this is cutting the strawberries in half.

all you need to do is put the strawberries in pan, add a tablespoon of brandy or calvados to a ladle, warm the ladle over a gas burner and then light it. Add the lit alcohol to the strawberries and remove from the pan when the flames go out.

Tandy

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