ICED TEA or A.K.A. JUICE TEA

Cherry & Apple rooibos Ice Tea

My daughter loves to drink a fruit ice tea made from rooibos (afrikaans for Red Bush) tea and whatever flavour fruit juice we mix with it to make a delicious cool drink/ ice tea. In the hot summer weather we are having this is a great healthy drink for the kids and family :) and for the adults in the party mood for new years eve this can easily made into an "adult" drink for a party.

INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 teabags (rooibos or tea of choice)
1 litre of fruit juice of your choice
some berries or lemon to garnish
alcohol (if making the adult version)

INSTRUCTIONS
take a 2 litre jug or pot that can handle boiling water. Boil roughly 750ml of water and add to the jug with the tea bags and leave to seep/draw and cool down. When the tea is luke warm add the full litre of fruit juice.
Place in the fridge and once ice cold then add some sliced lemon or berries.
serve in glasses with ice.

if making an alcoholic version add a nice tasting alcohol that blends nicely with fruit juice - southern comfort or peach schnapps, or any fruit flavoured liquer  roughly 100ml or to taste.

merry christmas and ALL that Jazz!..........

I tried my hardest to put a post up on christmas day but no matter how hard i tried blogger would not let me post it!!! so to all of you out there that read this blog - MERRY CHRISTMAS :) hope you had lekker (south african word for great) food- i definately did :) mmm i wish i had some now.
We had family functions to attend on christmas eve and family to go to on christmas day, so lots of eating was what we did and boy was it goooooood! My mom made such delicious food this year!

anyway hope you all had a good one.
New year is around the corner :)

Peace out!! he he he

Betty Bake

LAMB SHANKS ON A BED OF MASH WITH A GARDEN SIDE SALAD

So when making plans for my husbands birthday weekend one of the things he requested was a 3 course meal with 2 of our friends - And i was happy to oblige :)
So the meal he requested was:
Starters - Roasted butternut soup with cream and pumpkin seeds
Main course - Lamb shank on a bed of mash potatoes with a side of garden salad
Dessert - Decadent Chocolate Mousse with a Vanilla Marscapone and cream topping

He didn't quite ask for the vanilla marscapone and cream topping - that i added myself but he did ask for the chocolate mousse :) and the soup and lamb shanks with mash and salad. My man has such good taste :)

So I proceeded to cook my day away Friday to complete all the food for Friday night. This sounds so much more dramatic than it really is. It wasn't that hectic and I did manage to pop down to the market in the afternoon and come home and bath, wash my hair, and blow dry it. So you see it didn't take me to long to cook otherwise i wouldn't have had time to do all those other things :) Our lovely guests were  fellow blogger Janine from Being Brazen and her boyfriend - take a look at her blog here.

Recipe post for the Lamb Shank.
Recipe for the butternut soup is from awhile back and can be found here

LAMB SHANKS ON A BED OF MASH WITH A GARDEN SIDE SALAD

yes i really did make this myself :)

INGREDIENTS

4 lamb shanks (i used free range lamb)

2 onions finely diced

2 tins of peeled italian organic tomatoes or 8 large fresh tomatoes cubed

1 glass good quality red wine

1 cup beef or roast onion stock

3 medium sprigs of fresh rosemary

half an organic lemon cut in 3 chunks

salt and pepper

sugar

METHOD

1) Season shanks with lots of salt and black pepper to taste then fry shanks in batches in a HOT frying pan with some olive or sunflower oil. Brown on all sides and then set aside in an oven dish that all 4 shanks will fit in together. 

2) in the same pan that you browned the shanks cook the finely diced onion until soft and light brown -use more oil if needed then place on top of the shanks.

3) then add to the dish of shanks and onion the tomato, wine and stock with the rosemary and lemon nestled in between - lightly sprinkle with a tiny bit of sugar and cover and place in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for roughly 2 hours - check randomly and turn.

4) uncover for the last half an hour and spoon the tomato sauce over the shanks and let the sauce thicken while cooking. If you are preparing the shanks in advance then take them out at this stage before the sauce thickens to much and leave covered in the fridge until half an hour to 45 minuted before serving place in a pre-warmed oven of 180 degrees Celsius and serve on a bed of mash potatoes and a side salad or veg of your choice

Bon apetit 

The Life and times of the Crazy Betty

so i'm busy working at the moment on my computer - editing wedding photos of the beautiful Claire :)
hence no cooking posts or recipe posts. But it is the husbands birthday this weekend and he has requested a 3 course meal. So i shall try to put those up after the weekend :)

Happy times

count down to Christmas

CHRISTMAS BAUBLES

So i added this cool new little count down thingy to my blog yesterday :) look to the right .... there we go - it's big and green and has lots of numbers :) i check it every now and then when my daughter says "mom how many sleeps is it till Christmas?"  and i can confidently say how many it is. It also reminds me how many days i have until all the presents need to be wrapped!! and that i must start thinking about putting up a tree! and that i must bake a christmas cake!!!! [breath i tell myself, breath] but then i also realise it is also how many days until i can look forward to having my husband home and how many days till i can relax and spend time quality with my family, eat lovely food and do fun relaxing stuff with them and then i realise my breathing isn't so hard any more and i have a faint smile on my face. I really do love Christmas

tuesday and sick - yuk yuk

So i have been running around and have lots to do until Dec 12 - but today i can't get what i need to get done as i'm sick [cough, cough]. If blogs were audible things then i'd have no voice as my is slowly disappearing into nothingness :( so sad... but it does give me a moment to write on my blog - so happy YAY! i'm not supposed to be in today but out getting stuff and sorting stuff - it will need to be added to tomorrows list [mental note add todays things to tomorrows things and the next days things] anyway enough about me and my wimping.

I can use this time to gather my thoughts eg: Xmas is around the corner with December less than a week away. WOW! and i'm Thinking how i can achieve or make a wheat-free xmas cake. I can see it in my head now, gooey, stickey, moist and fruity... well lets hope it comes out as good :) raisins, cherries, sultanas..... cherries. I LOVE CHERRIES. sorry just got stuck there a moment. [drool]  some rice flour and butter, sugar and spices and we should be sorted. So adding that to my recipe index to try - probably a week before christmas.

what is the rest of the world upto? you are probably all working.... good luck with that :)


so anyways - i should go recover. But what to make for dinner with this little energy? - i think baked potatoes, I saw them as an idea on a bloggers page yesterday. Just wash them and grind salt over them and place in the oven at 200 degrees celcius for an hour or soo mmmm don't forget to turn half way. easy as pie - no even easier. please excuse the silly puns i think it maybe my medication [winks]

[cough cough] my throat hurts


Betty Bake

It's Friday - time for Weekend food :) BURGERS mmmmm

So I am finally finished with my major deadlines and my daughters show is over :) YAY! [jumping up and down]. She was a beautiful flower in a ballet piece in a dance show. She loved every minute of being on stage and every night it finished she wanted to be back on stage to dance some more (it ran for 3 nights). Which sounds so lovely and glamorous but running around doing hair (scraped back with gel) and making sure her costume is clean and being on time back stage. took it's toll on bed times and supper routines and with my deadlines i am so happy it is over. Thats not saying i didn't enjoy watching her perform - she was beautiful :)
So I now feel like i'm on holiday, the sun is shining and i still have lots of odds and ends to tie up but it's friday and i just can't shake this amazing feeling of summer and braai and fun :) I think i will make some super delicious lamb burgers tonight with chips - I made them a while back but had no chance to post the recipe... so here it is.
Hope you have a super fun weekend.

Betty Bake

LAMB OR BEEF BURGER AND CHIPS

500g Beef or Lamb ground mince
1 medium onion (peeled)
1 clove of garlic (peeled) OPTIONAL
1 - 2 Tablespoons chutney
1 teaspoon worcester sauce
1 free range egg
salt
pepper
fresh basil leaves (2 or 3) or parsley
a sprinkle of sugar


In a medium bowl add the mince then grate in the onion on the fine side of the grater. Then finely chop or crush the garlic and add - i didn't bother this time - i only use when i really feel like garlic. Then add ample salt and some black pepper. Mix and add the egg, chutney and worcester sauce. Then add the basil or parsley leaves roughly chopped. Mix all together with your hands and shape into 8 to 10 burger patties. Fry a little piece and test for saltiness - add more if needed and a sprinkle of sugar. Then Fry up your Patties.
Serve your hamburger patties on a nice fresh wholewheat roll and top with a homemade tomato and  onion relish.
*this mixture can also be rolled into small balls and fried for cocktail snacks - serve with a nice sweet and tangy dipping sauce*




RELISH
4/5 tomatoes peeled (place in boiling water then peel). Finely chop 1 to 2 onions then fry in some sunflower oil until lightly golden and add the peeled and chopped tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, basil and oregano and some sugar. Keep adding sugar until the sourness of the tomatoes has been balanced out. lightly simmer for roughly 20 min. And serve on your burgers.
*Goes nicely on boerewors rolls too.*

a personal post

So I am stuck infront if the computer until my eyes turn square. I have a gazillion photos to still edit and my right shoulder is sore from clicking with the mouse plus i have run out of milk so I can't make tea. What is a girl to do? I am not allowed to do anything until all these photos are done besides take my daughter to and from school and ballet rehearsals and go to the loo. I am so craving a creamy grilled chicken of some sort and some nicely cooked home veggies or home made food. But i am not allowed to spent time on such things as i will then miss my 2 deadlines!!!! oh darn ..... i guess it back to the rice cakes for me.

I really should get back to work

 

life at the moment

Things i dream of making and then sitting down with a cup of tea

Life is really busy right now and i haven't had a moment to even think let alone bake or cook much - except for the quick pasta or scrambled egg. So please be understanding of the lack of recipes being posted up right now. Running from rehearsal to rehearsal with my daughter while also working on 2 deadlines also doesn't help the time in the kitchen right now.... alas I dream of the rush being over and sitting down to a good cup of tea and nicely baked new invention [sigh]. Well atleast I have something to look forward to - peace and quiet from mid december :) yay! roll on December 14th.
At the moment i think of concoting things like a wheat-free sticky fruit christmas cake and perhaps a date and chocolate wheat-free brownie. I hope to work on these come December 15th. Also will need to look into coming up with a new kind of trifle for Chritmas with either no cake in it or a wheat free cake version. I'm sure the official sampler (the husband) is going to be happy to try all these out.

*TIP* If you get tired of checking back here for new recipes only to find the same old ones from before - then subscribe- put your email address in the box to the right and then whenever i put a recipe up you'll get it sent straight to your email inbox :) fancy hey. I love the internet.

BISCUITS: Romany Cream like Biscuits but way Better ....

Yum Yum Yum

I stumbled across this recipe and decided to make up my own version - while using some of the basic measurements as a guideline i concocted some very yummy choc biscuits that i must say are soo good.

INGREDIENTS

200 grams Real Butter

1/3 Cup Sugar or Xylitol

1 & Half Cups rice Flour or Wheat flour

1 & Half Tablespoons Cocoa or Carob Powder

1 generous Cup Rice Krispies

1/4 Cup Coconut

a little extra castor sugar if you wish to make it sweeter

50 grams Dark Choc for melting on Top

1) Lightly grill the coconut in the oven until light brown - WATCH IT DOESN'T BURN!!! and leave it to cool.

2) Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3) Stir in sifted flour and cocoa then the slightly crushed Rice Krispies and the toasted coconut

4) Roll into smallish balls and flatten slightly - mixture can be crumbly so press tigether hard inbetween the palms of your hands and then shape

5) Place on greased oven/ baking trays and allow a little space inbetween each biscuit

6) Bake at 150 degrees celcius for +/- 25 min

7) Allow biscuits to cool then drizzle with melted dark chocolate and leave to set

8) serve with tea or Just Eat!

NUM NUM

*TIP* i try to use as little sugar or Xylitol as possible so these biscuits are not to sweet - if you have a sweet tooth add more sugar, prehaps 3 more tablespoons of it!

shortbread cookie shaped biscuits

this is trial batch number 1 - quite a few of the biscuits broke so i ended up making stars

Today i had the pleasure of baking biscuits for my daughters class as tomorrow it will be her turn to be baker-lady for her class. this means she get to dress up and pretend to "sell" her baked goods to her friends in her class for a class fund raiser -which she is ever so chuffed to do. Easy peesy for my little one of 5 years old but not so easy peesy for mommy, as i am the one who has to produce the goods to sell.
Well you see my daughter is Gluten intolerent which means she can't have wheat flour or oats and 1 or 2 other things. So i had to bake something wheat-free which most baked things containing flour and are made out of ... - Wheat! So having done this wheat free thing for a while now (nearly a year). I whipped out my recipes and a packed of rice flour and started trying and testing and concocting biscuits recipes - 3 biscuit batched later.... here is my soft short bread biscuit recipe: Tip use a good quality rice flour that doesn't smell.( I used the brand Entice self raising Rice Flour. but still on the look out for a better brand as they use fructose in the self raising bag that i bought.)

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons Xylitol or Sugar
90 grams Butter (real butter and NOT margerine)
2 teaspoons caramel ess or Vanilla ess (which ever you prefer)
3 Tablespoons Corn Flour
2/3 Cup Rice flour or Wheat flour (if you can have wheat)

METHOD

1) Beat together Xylitol, butter and Essence until smooth and fluffy.
2) Mix in corn flour amd rice flour and make into a ball
3) Roll out between 2 sheets of wax paper until 5 - 7 mm thick.
4) Cut into cookie shapes of your choice or roll into small balls and flatten with a fork
5) Place on a greased and lined baking tray and bake @ 150 degrees celcius for +/- 8 min or until light brown
WATCH AS THEY BURN VERY QUICKLY!
6) take out and leave to cool before using with your choice of coloured icing

Enjoy with a good cup of tea or for a nice treat for the kids

Spaghetti Bolognese (my version)

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

1 x  500g pack of free range beef mince
2 x medium onions
1 x 125g button mushrooms
2 x garlic cloves
1 x tin of tomatoe paste concentrate
1 x large jar of organic tomatoe puree or 2 x tins of whole italian organic tomatoes
6 - 10 tablespoons sugar 
basil dried or fresh
oregano dried or fresh
salt
pepper
Spaghetti pasta ( i use wheat free - king soba noodles)



1) Place the mince in a large frying pan and over low heat fry (stirring occasionally) until cooked and changed colour to brown
2) while mince is browning finely dice the onions, thinly slice the muchrooms and peel and crush the garlic
3) when the mince is brown add the onions and cook until onion is translucent
4) add mushrooms and garlic and stir, cook until mushrooms start to soften
5) add the tin of tomatoe concentrate, stir in
6) add the jar of tomatoe puree (if using the whole tinned tomatoes push them through a sieve mashing until all juices are extracted and add to mince mixture)
7) add a little salt and pepper
8) add roughly a teaspoon of basil and a teaspoon of oregano (dried) or a half a hand ful of each chopped (if using fresh)
9) add 2- 3 tablespoons sugar
10) stir and let simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes
11) taste, add more sugar if the mix is still to sour and a little salt of it needs
12) simmer until nice and thick and not to runny then add a bit more oregano and basil to taste
13) cook pasta as instructed on the packet
14) drain pasta and put into bowls - dollop mince on top and grate over a good parmesan cheese

serve warm with some nice soft fresh bread and a salad - or enjoy on its own

Enjoy

Roast Chicken

MMMM the smell of roast chicken is sooo good. It has this nice homely smell that is just so comforting.
So for a Dinner or lunch that takes very little prepartion but a bit of waiting - here is the easy roast chicken and little potatoes.

For the Quickest Roast chicken and potatoes

Ingredients
1 x medium/large freerange, hormone free chicken
5 x medium carrots or parsnips
1 x packet of whole baby potatoes with garlic butter
 a little butter
salt

Method
1) Turn you oven to 180 degrees celcius
2) Wash your chicken inside and out under running cold water and then shack off to dry.
3) place in a oven proof large dish or roaster and season with lots of salt all over the skin
4) open the bag of baby potatoes and place all around the chicken and put a few in the body cavity
5) Brake the garlic butter that came with the potoes in half and place a piece on either end of the dish on top of the potatoes
6) Dot blobs of butter all around the dish
7) scrub and wash the carrots and then cut into long sticks and place on top of the chicken and potatoes
8) Spoon the butter back over the potatoes from the dish at 15 to 20 minutes intervals 
9) Place dish in the middle of the oven and roast for roughly an hour - check on the chicken at 40min and adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Chicken is cooked when crispy and brown on the outside and clear juices run out when inserting a knife into the thick part of the meat.

Serve you chicken, potatoes and carrots with a nice crisp salad for a nice lunch or dinner

enjoy
Betty Bake

 

Butternut Soup for the soul

Good for summer or winter as a nice pick me up.

BUTTERNUT SOUP

Ingredients

2 medium butternuts

2 medium onions

2 garlic cloves

a glug of olive oil

chicken or vegetable liquid stock or stock cubes/powder

Boiling water

Method

Peel and cube the butternut and place in a large oven roasting pan.

Peel and dice the onion and mix in with the butternut.

Peel the 2 garlic cloves and place whole in amongst the butternut and onion.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil or sun flower oil over the butternut mix and place in the middle of the oven to roast at 190 celcius

Leave to roast for approx. 40 min to an hour or more if needed- checking more frequently near the end and stir a little so browning occurs all around.

Take out when nicely browned

Put the Butternut and liquid stock (or boiling water and stock cubes/powder) in a blender in batches and blend until smooth.

Keep repeating the above step until all is done

Put into a medium pot

Add more stock or boiling water until you have the desired thickness.Make sure if doesn't get to salty with to much stock then rather just add boiling water at the end.

Season with a little salt and pepper to taste

Pour in a little cream - roughly 50 - 100ml and stir.

Keep warm on a very low heat and stir frequently.

Spoon into bowls and pour a little cream on top in a swirling pattern

Add roasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish if desired

Serve with Cripsy fresh bread or toast

Enjoy :) Betty Bake

 

 

POTATO BAKE :) the humble potatoe

Potato is my favorite vegetable! Butternut comes a close second, but potatoe smothered in butter cooked in all sorts of ways there is no beating it! Roast potato, baked potato, mashed potato, potato salad, potato bake, potato chips... potato, potato, potato :)

Ingredients
6 to 8 medium potatoes
half a tub (125ml) cream
half a medium onion (very thinly sliced in half rings)
6 button mushrooms
butter (roughly 5 tablespoons)
garlic & herb spice
half a round of feta
a little bit of cheddar or parmesan
salt

Method

Peel and very thinly slice the potatoes.
Butter the bottom of an oven proof dish and line the dish with some of the potato until you have just covered the base.

Dot the layer of potatoes with small blobs of butter and then add some very thinly sliced onion pieces.
Sprinkle with garlic & herb spice and some sliced mushrooms.
Layer with another layer of potatoes until all is covered over and repeat the butter, onion, spices, mushroom layers.
Keep layering until you finish up with potatoes.
On the top layer add blobs of butter, some garlic & herb spice and then crumble parmesan cheese and grated parmesan or cheddar.
Pour cream over the whole dish and season well with salt and garlic & herb spice.

Place in the oven at 190 degrees celcius and bake until soft in the middle (test with a knife inserted into it) and crispy and golden on the top.

:) enjoy
Goes nicely with a garden salad and meat of your choice.

chicken noodle sproodle soup

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

2 x medium onions (roughly chopped)
3 or 4 x celery stalks/sticks with leaves
4 x chicken thighs (i use woolworths free range/hormone free)
5 x medium/large carrots - peeled and chopped
half a small butternut - peeled and cubed
1 garlic clove (optional)
3 fresh basil leaves
chicken liquid stock or stock cubes/powder
10 small cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
100g noodles
salt and pepper to taste
water

Place the chopped onions in a large pot and fry in some olive oil until light brown. season with a little salt. Add the chopped celery and fry until soft. Now season the chicken with salt &  pepper all over the skin of the thigh and place in the pot, skin side facing down. Fry until brown. Then turn chicken over and brown the underneath.Fill the pot up with cold water and add the peeled and chopped carrots, garlic and basil. Bring the water to a boil. turn down the temp and leave to boil slowly for roughly 15 - 20 min. Add the butternut and chicken stock and season to taste. Carefully take the chicken out and discard the skin and bones and break up the meat and return it to the pot. Add the cherry tomatoes and noodles. Simmer the soup for 10 min and season with more stock and salt until you reach the desired flavor. You can boil the soup for longer to make the flavor stronger and to let some of the water evaporate. Simmer for upto 40 min.

Serve with toast in nice big bowls

:) Betty Bake

CREAMY BUTTERNUT, FETA AND WALNUT PASTA - WEEKEND FOOD

CREAMY BUTTERNUT, FETA AND WALNUT PASTA

so it isn't only weekend  food but anyday of the week food - pasta is one of those great staples that you can dish into a bowl and just spoon into your mouth while watching a movie or reading a book - you don't have to think about it - it just tastes good :)

Ingredients
1 x packet of pasta - preferably the spaghetti or tagliatelle kind- i used King Soba Brown Rice noodles but regular noodles will do too
1 x medium butternut
1 x tub(250ml) cream
1 x round of feta
1 x medium onion roughly diced
1 or 2 cloves fresh garlic peeled (kept whole)
1 x handful of walnuts or cashew nuts
some olive oil

Method

1) Peel and dice the butternut into medium to small cubes then put in a roasting pan with diced onion and the garlic and drizze with olive oil.
2) Roast in the oven at 190 degrees celcius until soft and and lightly browned.
3) Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook your pasta according to the packets instructions.
4) In a large frying pan or pot place the roasted butternut and onion, add the tub of cream and bring to a simmer.

5) Crumble in half the feta and season with salt.
6) Once the pasta is boiled rinse and mix in with the butternut cream mixture and crumble feta on top and stir on most of the nuts.

Dish into bowls and sprinkle a few extra nuts on top

:)

the actual recipe for the creme brulee

One of my all time favorite desserts is creme brulee :) it makes me happy just thinking about it!!

so i defineatly need to put the recipe on this blog

ingredients
1 tub/cup (250ml) cream
1 cup (250ml) milk (full cream)

4 eggs (3 whole and 1 egg yolk)
60 ml (4 tablespoons) sugar or xylitol
2 teaspoons vanilla ess or 1 vanilla pod

Method
1) in a small saucepan put the milk, cream and vanilla ess or pod and slowly bring to the boil - just before it boils over is bubbling remove from stove top.
2) in a bowl/jug mix together the 3 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk and the xylitol/sugar.
3) pour the boiled milk/cream into the egg mixture while stirring quickly the entire time
4) pour into ramekins or tea cups.
5) place the cups in an oven proof dish with boiling water half way up the outsides of the cups/ramekins and place in the oven of 160 degrees celcuis
6) bake for 15 - 20 min and remove from oven when there is a set layer on top of the mixture when you tilt  the custard -it ripples or moves abit from underneath the milk skin

let it cool then place in the fridge for a minimum of 2-3 hours
they can be kept in the fridge covered for 3 or 4 days

take out and sprinkle castor sugar on top and caramelise with a chefs blow torch or put inder the grill of the oven but watch CAREFULLY as it will burn very easily

my list of cooking and wants

i really need to write more often :)

so what have i been cooking lately you may ask and what has been on my mind? well.....

1) i made homemade burgers last night with free-range beef (hormone free)
2) i've made homemade chicken and vegetable soup during the week and thinking about making it again tonight
3) i also made cream brulee with xylitol inplace of sugar
4) i made homemade vegetable crips again and tried some different flavours- butternut, beetroot, carrot and potatoe
5) i'm longing to bake cookies that are gluten free and sugar free but taste good - busy trying out recipes. When i find one that works i'll be sure to post it
6) i really want a juicer to start juicing my own healthy veggie and fruit drinks - but sadly they cost a fortune
7) i also want a water filter for my tap or an R.O (reverse osmosis) water unit to make my water more safe for drinking.

:) betty bake

candles and cake and happy happy

Tuesday and it's my brothers Birthday :) yay !! So I didn't have to cook supper tonight as my mom did it for all us family for my bro's Birthday - YAY for a night off of cooking! cause as much as i enjoy it, it's nice to take a break and taste other people's creations and get inspired by other people's flavour/s :) I'm sure everyone enjoys some time off from things they do, even if they love what they do - stepping back and taking a look most times brings new perpective and ideas.

so thanks mom and family!

Betty Bake

camping and the weekend away

Well it wasn't exactly camping - more like a chalet on the Goukou river but it was braaing. Located on an organic veggie farm we were allowed to pick vegetables of our choice for ourselves to braai or cook with. Fresh veggies are so delicious and i think that we don't know what we are missing having bought store bought vegatables most of our lives - they are just not as tasty and good. My husband and daughter just loved them (me too) and the flavours so diverse and immense it has urged me to plant more vegetables of my own. (i occasionally grow my own baby tomatoes). Looking for easy vegatables to grow i have opted for peas, broccoli, potaoes, sweet potaoes and .... mmmm maybe green beans. Lets hope they grow easily enough.

so from those really cool and delicious vegetables on the farm i made veggie parcels out of foil - inside them i  put the veggie combos of my choice with olive oil, salt and pepper and herbs :)
Put on the hot coals of the braai and turn often - enjoy with your meat of choice on the braai.
And of course don't forget a good salad and a glass of wine for the hubby :)

Healthy crispy butternut chips

These take a little bit of effort and time but are well worth it! i love how nummy they taste and you can try different root vegetables for different flavours and tastes. I used a butternut this time.


Simply take a butternut and peel off the skin then using a vegetable peeler or a very sharp knife peel longish thin flat chips to make crisps.

Heat up a pot of oil (i used sun flower oil) on the stove and fry the butternut in batches. *Watch that it doesn't burn* as it can be orange the one minute and brown/black the next.






Take out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel lined in a bowl.

season with salt and serve - THEY WON'T LAST LONG!

mushy spoonfuls of warm, comforting soul food with cheese

Creamy mushroom pasta - that just says it ALL! i love pasta and mushrooms and cheese and cream. so i decided to combine them all to make something that really makes me happy and comforted. so here goes:

1) boil taglietelle until tender ( i use rice pasta - on an anti wheat eating plan)
2) while pasta is boiling, finely chop 2 onions and fry till light brown in a large frying pan or wok
3) add chopped up mushrooms (+/- 250g or punnet)
4) cook mushrooms through then add a tub of cream (250ml) and stir
5) add some nice cheddar or parmesan to taste and lightly simmer
6) add 1/3 to half a packet instant mushroom soup powder or some spices of your choice and some salt
7) simmer and stir to let flavours develop
8) slowly spoon pasta into pan and mix in thoroughly till pasta is well coated
9) serve in deep bowls seasoned with salt and pepper and some grated parmesan or cheese of choice

enjoy - you'll want seconds :)

quick suppers - the story of my life, well at the moment...

So life is busy busy busy... Today i had my usual walk on the beach to start the day :) yippee for me being healthy then i rushed home after a quick cup with my mom and dad at the local coffee joint. changed from Walking shoes and gear into clothes that are decent to be seeing out for non-athletic activities. Rushed over to a coffee appointment at friends then straight off to fetch my daughter from school. Off to the local mall to pick up wrapping paper for the party my daughter is attending. Home to wrap party present and get daughter dressed for dress-up party. she went as a lady-bird. then sit at party for roughly 1 and a half to 2 hours talking to other moms. rush home get changed into prettier clothes and wash hair to go out with the husband to watch GI JOE and then come straight back to relieve babysitting granny and make supper for my husband and me.... by now it is 8 - 8.30 pm and i really don't want to do something long and hard when i am tired so todays quick meal was:

Creamy scrambled eggs with mushrooms and fried baby tomatoes
1) Start off by putting 8 - 10 small cocktail tomatoes into a heated and oiled pan and fry on low heat with a little salt and a tiny amount of sugar until tender and the skin is braking and half coming off then put then in a bowl
2) now chop mushrooms and put in the same pan and fry lightly with salt and garlic and herb spice then add them to the tomatoes in the bowl to sit
3) break 4 eggs in a jug add a little bit of milk and some salt and mix with a fork until the whole mixture is yellow then put in pan and randomly stor on low heat every few minutes.
once cooked through.
Serve Egg on plates with mushrooms and tomatoes and some sliced avo and toast

enjoy!

Fish & Chips, fast mash and Salad

so life has been really busy and when life is busy i tend to look for quick easy food - things that i can just grab and go :) one little place i found awhile back and have since been visiting when i'm in a rush for food is a cute little fish and chip shop at kalk bay harbour called lucky fish and chip. They have the freshest fish (for my husband and daughter) that has just come off the boats and lovely big portions of nice crispy chips yum yum, i'm drooling just thinking about it.

So now you now why there haven't been any posts for recipes and food cause not much cooking has been happening in our house - but we haven't only been eat fish and chips. I've been grabbing quick stuff like mashed potatoes and salad. peel potatoes, cut into chunks and place in pot with water and salt to boil away while i chop up some cucumber, tomatoes, feta and avo. then drain off potatoes which should be soft and mash with milk and some grated cheese :) and waalaa you have some healthy relativly quick food :)

it's the little extras that count - pumpkin seeds

Have you ever noticed those extra flavors that just seem to turn a dish from OK to wow! or from nice to pure comfort food and you can't seem to stop eating!!!

Well i decided to do a write up on one of the little bits of greatness that just adds that little something extra to my dishes :) what is it you may ask??? it is a very small thing and often over looked called the pumpkin seed. Most people are probably thinking please and rolling their eyes... you probably think it should be something great like garlic or Parmesan cheese or olives - you know something great!

But in all seriousness the pumpkin seed is very healthy for you and has mounds of flavour once toasted in the oven. Although you can eat them raw the flavour turns nutty once toasted. and just adds that punch.
My favorite thing to do is toast them in the oven with a spoon full of honey - stirring occasionally and watching like a hawk that they don't burn.

Add to salads or Garnish soups. Especially good added to biscuit mixes or health bars and lovely mixed with dried raisins and eaten as a snack.

CRUNCHIES / HEALTH BARS: Raisins, cherries and all things nummy

Healthy Crunchies - or health Bars
generally i use gluten/wheat free flour in all my recipes but feel free to put normal baking flour (wheat) if you prefer

1 Cup Flour
1 Cup rolled oats
2 thirds of a cup desiccated coconut
2 thirds of a cup brown sugar
125g butter
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup sunflower seeds toasted
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds toasted
10 glace cherries roughly chopped
2/3 cup of raisins
1/3 to 1/2 cup almonds chopped up roughly

Turn on oven to 150/160 celcius. Mix together the oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. In a small saucepan put the butter, honey and water and heat slowly until all melted but not bubbling to much. Take off the heat and add the bicarb to the saucepan. stir and mix in till it is frothy then add to the flour and oat mixture. Mix thoroughly and then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix and push into a well greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 - 30 min.
keep checking after 20 min and take put when it is nicely browned and slightly firm when pressed on top.

let cool till luke warm then cut and remove from tray. Let cool totally before putting in a sealed container.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or pop in your childs lunch box for a nice healthy treat or snack. They won't last long :) you'll be putting on the oven to bake somemore again soon

my new foodie blog :)

so i decided to start a food blog - with ideas, recipes and restaurants and all things food related.
so some info about my food tastes and life style: i try to cook from scratch and use natural or organic ingredients. doesn't mean you have to, you can just buy whatever takes your fancy and replace organic for everyday grocery store items.

I hate seafood and so fish and there friends are a BIG no no. they make me ill when i eat them so the chances of you finding a fishy dish on here is very slim.

But my husband loves fish and sushi so there maybe a mention of it.

what else i have a little girl so things tend to be pretty and pink when somethings are baked - but not always :)

ok so hope that explains a little

Betty Bake