Lavender and Lime

Product Review: Joseph Joseph Index Plus Chopping Boards with Knives

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Tandy

I recently participated in the YuppieChef Community Cookathon and as a thank you I was sent this amazing knife and chopping board set:

It found a home straight away on the bottom shelf of the butcher’s block I designed which is half way complete And I had to use it straight away. I was not 100% sure about the knives as I am addicted to my Wusthof knives, but I made sure I used each and every one. The knives are light and easy to use and very comfortable. As with any knife, the trick is to keep it sharp. Dave is now even asking for the boards – white for cooked items, red for raw meat and chicken, blue for raw seafood and green for veggies. They are firm and a good size for every day cutting and prepping. They fit into the top shelf of my dishwasher which is great. I really believe in the importance of not cross contaminating and so will always wash my hands after cutting one thing, before moving on to the next. I even have an automatic soap dispenser and smart bin so that my hands don’t touch anything. This is very important with raw chicken and as one should not cut anything with the same knife after cutting chicken, or use the tongs that have touched raw chicken I am well pleased that the one board can go straight into the sink after cutting my chicken, and I have three more to choose from. They will mark when you cut into them but do not let that stop you using these fantastic boards. They slot amazingly well into the holder and will make a great addition to any kitchen.

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to write this review

Tandy

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Friday’s Food Quiz Number 41

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Tandy

PinkPolkaDot has posted her food quiz and here are my answers:

1. What does the term “chiffonade” means?

shredding green leaves

2. What is an escalope?

a thin slice of white meat

3. What is the Mexican staple food “frijoles” more commonly known as?

refried beans

4. What does “score” means in culinary terms?

make a shallow incision

5. What is Bugne?

a large fritter traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday

6. What ingredient gives pumpernickel bread its dark colour?

pure rye is the ingredient, but the colour is due to the long baking period

7. What type of milk is used to make Roquefort cheese?

ewes milk

8. What should you do with saffron, before crushing it, to get its full flavour?

soak it in hot water

9. What can you sprinkle, in your frying pan before cooking, to prevent oil from splattering?

guess work here – flour

10. What is couscous?

a hard wheat semolina

Tandy

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Berry Bars

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Tandy

I have posted this recipe on my food24 blog and it does not work if you tweak it too much, as my friend Zabwan discovered. I was not going to use this recipe again for the challenge, as the aim is to make something new. But, yesterday I tried a recipe from the Vital Club Magazine. The recipe was submitted by Madre van Zyl and appeared in the First Quarter 2007 edition. The salt is so overpowering in the recipe that my stomach would turn if I had to eat the dried fruit oak cookies for breakfast. I was tempted to do a reposting of my granola recipe as it is great, but as I know these berry bars work I am giving you the recipe. I usually use sour cherries, but cranberries will work just as well.

Berry Bars

Ingredients:

250g butter
5 tablespoons honey
150g castor sugar - I used fructose
250g oats
100g dried berries
50g pumpkin seeds
4 tablespoons desiccated coconut
6 tablespoons raisins

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C
Line a Swiss roll tin with baking paper.
Melt the butter with the honey and castor sugar in a saucepan
add this to the dry ingredients
Mix well, spoon into the tray and level the surface
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes
Leave to cool right down before cutting
Store in an airtight container

http://tandysinclair.com/berry-bars/

Tandy

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Chicken and Corn, Hunter Style

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Tandy

I wanted to make Chicken Cacciatore but decided when I got home to use this as the inspiration for a meal that would include corn, as I also had a craving for chicken noodle soup!

Chicken and Corn, Hunter Style

Ingredients:

2 chicken thighs
2 chicken drumsticks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, finely sliced
125g button mushrooms, sliced
1 sweetcorn, corn off the cob
½ cup white wine
1 teaspoon arrow root
1 bundle glass noodles

Method:

brown the chicken pieces in a casserole dish and remove
heat the olive oil and fry the leek until it is soft
add the mushrooms and the corn
heat and then add the chicken and the wine
cover with water and leave to simmer with the lid on for 40 minutes
add the arrow root and reduce the sauce until it is thick
boil the noodles for 3 minutes
serve and enjoy!

http://tandysinclair.com/chicken-and-corn-hunter-style/

Tandy

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10 Foodie Questions

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Tandy

Spotlighter has posted the following quiz – and we all know I cannot resist a good quiz!

What is your favourite comfort food (the dish you turn to after a really bad day)?
when I was living alone this would have been pancakes. Now, just the art of cooking lifts my mood.
What would be the contents of your perfect picnic basket, and where would you have the picnic?
the basket would contain cheese and biscuits, pates and good home made bread as well as my new found adoration Adoro Mourvèdre
What is your favourite summer fruit?
where to start? cherries would be the top of the list, followed closely by mangoes
What would be your ultimate foodie holiday destination?
I love Italy, and have spent so much time shopping in the markets and cooking food there. The markets in France are also great. But, I am looking forward to eating at Le Manoir the next time we are in the UK
What is your favourite restaurant?
Locally it depends on my mood but my all time favourite will always be 96 Winery Road as we ate at Gatrilles from when we were very young. In the UK Fifteen is the top of the list, followed by The Apprentice. Both because they are involved in training chefs who need the ‘hand up’.
Name your ultimate sunny day “super quaffer” wine or drink.
Pink Bubbly tops the list – must be dry! Then Vodka and Pomegranate juice, or the good old favourite G&T
What is your favourite cheese?
Gorgonzola
Foie Gras – delicious delicacy or animal cruelty?
I know my answer should be animal cruelty, but it isn’t
Is risotto too much of a mission to make, or worth every minute spent stirring?
worth every minute
Who is your favourite celebrity chef?
Gordon Ramsay – despite his foul language!

Tandy

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I adore Adoro

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Tandy

Last night I had the pleasure of having a wonderful guest over for dinner. Erica came laden with a box containing a lovely Adoro Sauvignon Blanc wine that paired fantastically well with my starter of chilli crumpets served with crayfish and caviar. Erica stuck with the white and Dave and I moved on to a red for the main course and then the cheeses came out. We had left them sitting pretty on the kitchen counter while we ate so that they were at room temperature when we started our journey with the Adoro Mourvèdre.

The first nose of this wine for me is of raisins – beautiful and rich and already had me wondering how it would pair with the cheese. We started the tasting with a Tomme Obiqua cheese from Natal. This unpasteurized jersey milk cheese is made in a brushed rind style and has a mild but complex taste and creamy texture. Frankly, the wine did nothing for the cheese, other than making it chalky. We moved on to a Camembert from France – it was young and oozing flavour, and here the wine started its magic. Our next taster was a blue Brie from Fairview and again, the wine complimented this cheese. Then, we tasted an Italian Gorgonzola and the wine was awesome. It made the cheese taste better and creamier and I was thinking, could this get better? Our last cheese was a very strong South African Gorgonzola and here our taste buds started to differ. I loved it, but Dave was not super impressed.

Then, my mind started on a journey – if the wine worked so well with cheese, how would it pair with chocolate. The press release states that the off-sweet profile will also work with a sweet dessert. I hauled out a bar of Lindt Chocolate – with a liquid blueberry and lavender centre and my taste buds started singing – this really works. Not stopping there, I got the preserved figs Gaby had given me as a gift and both Dave and Erica tried these with the cheese – this however did not work. The next taste journey was the Gorgonzola with a gooseberry jam – home made from Houw Hoek farm stall and the resounding answer to the question is YES, this is a fantastic pairing. The wine lifts the taste of the cheese and the jam, without being over shadowed. This beautiful wine will be adorning my table for many a different meal – gnocchi served with a Gorgonzola sauce comes straight to mind as well as a rich chocolate mousse. The pairings in my mind are endless but make sure you have a cheese that can stand up to the beautiful notes of this wine.

from the news release:

Ian Naudé (the wine maker) chose Mourvèdre for its flavourful, elegant fruit, robust enough to retain its flavour irrespective of harvest date; with ripeness resulting in a “huge concentration” of berry and cherry notes. He chose the Swartland area whose climate, he says, is the twin to Spain – the cultivar’s point of origin.

Tandy

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Bacon and Mushroom Pasta

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Tandy

I am really one for organization and routine and so blogging about my favourite meals once a week is great. I love the simplicity and ease of pasta for supper and this type of meal will never fail to satisfy.

Bacon and Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

2 rashers streaky bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 whole chilli
2 cloves garlic, crushed
125g mushrooms, sliced
125g cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon crème fraîche
50g Parmesan, grated

Method:

start by getting your pasta cooking
place the bacon into a hot, dry pan and cook until the fat has been rendered down
remove from the pan and add the oil, the chilli, the garlic and the mushrooms
slice the bacon and return to the pan with the tomatoes
remove the chilli
add the crème fraîche
toss through the pasta and add the Parmesan

http://tandysinclair.com/bacon-and-mushroom-pasta/

Tandy

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Ingredient Challenge To Use Cranberries, Ground Cinnamon And Oats

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Tandy

The challenge is to use the following ingredients:

cranberries

ground cinnamon

oats

plus anything else to create a dish of your choice

remember to leave a comment here for me to say you have done the challenge

PREVIOUS CHALLENGE ROUND UP

They say that great minds think alike – 40 minutes after I posted the challenge, Zabwan posted this awesome pasta recipe from Justin Bonello’s recipe book. Cindy has contributed a recipe which will also feature in Sasha’s Suppers. Libras Child pasta dish is a great Tandy Tuesday recipe – and there will be enough for left overs.

Tandy

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Strawberries with a Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Tandy

We have had the most amazing strawberry season this year and I have been buying punnets at a time. We have eaten them with double thick cream, with Angels Share and on their own. But this special dessert was a perfect use for some that had been left a day longer than planned.

Strawberries with a Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Ingredients:

strawberries, quartered
a sprinkling of sugar
a good glug of raspberry balsamic vinegar reduction

Method:

place the strawberries into a dry frying pan and sprinkle with sugar - not too much to make them sickly sweet
add a good glug of the vinegar - enough to make a nice sticky sauce
keep on the heat until the vinegar has reduced to a wonderful texture
serve immediately

http://tandysinclair.com/strawberries-with-a-raspberry-balsamic-vinegar-reduction/

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Open Mushroom Lasagna

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Tandy

I went to the farmers market this past weekend to get mushrooms. The usual people I get them from were not there, but I still got some lovely mushrooms even though I spent about R50 more than I normally would have. I love the earthy, meaty texture and taste of mushrooms and this dish is perfect for Meatless Mondays.

Open Mushroom Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
100g shitake mushrooms, sliced
100g button mushrooms, sliced
100g oyster mushrooms, shredded by hand
2 tablespoons roasted red pepper pesto
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
freshly ground black pepper and salt to season
2 fresh lasagna sheets per person
40g rocket
20g beech mushrooms

Method:

heat the olive oil in a large pan and bring a large pan of water to the boil
sweat off the onion until it is translucent
add the garlic
add the shitake mushrooms and cook
add the button mushrooms and cook
add the oyster mushrooms and cook
add the pesto and the crème fraîche
season
add salt to your pasta water and cook the lasagna sheets for 3 minutes
you may need to loosen the pasta sauce with some of the pasta water
wilt the rocket leaves in a separate pan
add the beech mushrooms to the rest of the mushrooms
construct your open lasagna by putting rocket on the plate, then a lasagna sheet, topped with some mushroom sauce, then another lasagna sheet and the rest of the mushroom sauce

http://tandysinclair.com/open-mushroom-lasagna/

Tandy

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