ASIAN LAMB RIB NOODLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS
2 Large Onions
500- 800g lamb ribs (cut into ribbetjies - cut into strips)
a few tiny pieces star anise
fresh celeriac stems (about half a handful)
1 bunch organic carrots

fresh sage (half a handful of the baby leaves)
fresh chives (about 5 leaves)

fresh rosemary (1 sprig- end of a stick)
fresh oregano (half a handful)
dried basil (2 Tablespoons)
dried origanum (1 Tablespoon)
1 medium to large butternut
2 large fresh mielies/corn
2 handfuls of rice noodles
olive oil
Salt 
Black pepper
1 clove of garlic crushed

METHOD
Take your lamb ribs and place them in an oven dish  sprinkle with olive oil, salt and black pepper and half of an onion roughly chopped. Add a little fresh rosemary and a sprig of fresh oregano. Place in the oven and bake at 190- 200 degrees Celsius. While the lamb is cooking in the oven in a Large pot chop up the remaining 1 and a half onions and fry in some olive oil with a tiny bit star anise until lightly browned. Add a little salt. Cut the corn off the cob and place in the browning onions and stir for a few minutes. Now add the celeriac stems and leaves chopped up medium fine. Stir for a little bit and then fill your pot with water until just above three quarters of the pot. Bring to the boil. While you are waiting for the watery soup to come to the boil peel and chop up your carrots into rounds and place in the soup. Add the fresh and dried spices (except the rosemary). Take out the floating star anise, if you can see any. Peel and cube the butternut and add to the lamb ribs which should be starting to brown - Cover the ribs with the butter nut and add some garlic and season with salt. Continue to bake the butternut and lamb ribs until the butternut is tender and the ribs are well cooked. At the same time the soup should be boiling, turn down to a simmer and allow to reduce for about an hour. Then place the butternut and lamb and all the juices etc from the lamb dish into the soup pot and continue to simmer - cover the soup and taste. Add salt and skim off the oils on top with a large spoon. Add the rice noodles 10 minutes before serving. Stir and season then serve in Large soup bowls


Enjoy

FOOD FOOD FOOD

FOOD - what can I say? I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame. And what a good hot flame this weekend is going to be. If you are in Cape Town this weekend you know why... Don't you!? You have the opportunity to visit The Good Food and Wine Show. If you haven't already heard about it, it is this huge food event that has loads of cool food related stalls and events going on - the WHOLE weekend :)

There is food to try and food to buy and food so see and food being made and food everything!  Of course I will be going!

Of all the things happening at the Good Food and wine show they have this one idea that I am particularly drawn to - They have these cooking theaters were you can watch food being prepared. One of them being Lindt (drool) and you know me and chocolate :) whats not to love right?

But there is more than just Lindt  *gasp (why who knows? -the world should revolve around chocolate) But they do have several theaters all with very interesting chefs lined up in each.
But one in particular caught my eye.... what for it.... strained silence *crickets chirping They are having Heston Blummenthal from the michelin starred Fat Duck restaurant. He is acclaimed as the coolest chef in the world - so of course I need to go see for myself- (compliments of the Good Food and Wine Show) I'll be sure to report back with my findings and tastings.



So with the Good Food and Wine Show starting tomorrow there is no excuse not to start the weekend off early and go give your taste buds a really good time out :) I'm sure going to

CREAM OF ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

 INGREDIENTS
a bag or 2 of tomatoes (1kg or more)
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1 large onion (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
pinch or 2 of Salt
olive oil
a dash of balsamic vinegar (if you like)
1 tub (250ml) fresh cream

METHOD

Wash your tomatoes and then slice in half or if very large in quarters. Place them in a large roasting dish/ one they can comfortably fit in. Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle over your chopped up onion, basil and then your sugar and salt. Place in the oven on the middle rack and roast at 180 degrees Celsius stirring occasionally until nicely soft and roasted through and your roasting dish is brown and sticky.
Place all of the contents of the roasting dish in a nice sized pot and blend with a blender stick adding a little hot water to the dish from the oven and then pouring it into the pot. Blend some more until smooth. Add almost the whole tub of cream (keep a tiny bit for garnishing). Stir in the cream and warm on the stove top until hot and steaming. Pour into bowls and accompany with toast or fresh bread.

Garnish with a drizzle of cream and a fresh basil leaf or some grated cheese. Serve and enjoy.

CHEESE CAKE AND CHERRY, COCONUT TRUFFLES AND SPAR CAPE QUARTER

The SPAR challenge - So I was contacted by SPAR Cape Quarter and they asked me if I would like to do a recipe bake-off of some kind. All I had to do was come up with a recipe or two and they would supply the ingredients. Mmmm now this could be interesting...
The deal was I had to get ALL the ingredients from the Cape Quarter SPAR. Darn it! - there goes Peruvian dark chocolate truffles and any other exotic thing I could think of. Well boy was I wrong! The owners of this particular SPAR decided they needed to have a large variety of imported chocolates *drool* and I decided my husband had to see all this deliciousness with me ;)

So I had to take (drag) him along on a Saturday when he and our daughter could both accompany me. Also I wanted to bounce recipe ideas off the husband (as the recipes were driving me crazy running around my head). Much to his delight - NOT! He kept asking me on the drive there - why is that you need me with again? Its a Saturday you know... Can't you shop on another day? like by yourself? I politely told him I needed him to be with and I just got back blank stares.

AT CAPE QUARTER SPAR....
Walking up and down the many aisles I reached the chocolate aisle - or should I say area. and that was the end of me - blank stare, *drool*.
Husband: Are you talking to yourself?
Me: ignoring husband - you are a pretty chocolate...mmm.
Eventually the husband literally dragged me to another aisle filled with wine and olive oil and shook me...
Me: Yes babe?
Husband: you can't invent a whole recipe out of chocolate you know.
Me: Oh really? watch me!
Husband: you need other things too - like this, this... randomly looking for things, um olive oil!!! (ok he didn't pick olive oil - but he did seem to look at me in a crazy way)


More shopping and aisle walking - clip clop, clip clop..
Husband: why am I here again?
Me: to help me - remember... what do you think? this awesomely huge chocolate - where I take these slabs and just melt them into this giant chocolate so it will "seem" like a recipe? or this other silly recipe of... um milk tart (trying to make it sound yuk and uninteresting)?

The poor man, if you have seen the variety of interesting things they stock - like marmalades from Great Britain and olive oils from various places in the world - you understand how I drove him crazy that day. and so the shopping proceeded:
Me: look babe at the this Marmalade it's from Great Britain.
Husband: Yes honey
Me: and this olive oil it's from Spain
and so the shopping trip went...
Me: look at this.. and that ..and this..
Husband: Yes sweetie (blank stare)
But near the end of the shopping trip when I had eventually talked myself (with the husbands help) out of getting 10 slabs of imported chocolate at R37 a slab -the husband just couldn't understand that spending R370 on 600grams of chocolate (yes they are only 60grams a slab) wasn't decadent AT ALL!!!
I did buy him a cheese cake from the bakery and some camembert cheese and biscuits. He walked out of there a happy man - and my shopping was complete. And Yes I did get some chocolate ;)

*And just so you know - they do stock local ingredients too but clearly I LOVE chocolate!

Lemon Zest Baked Cheese Cake

 

I got the base from the Planet Organic Cookbook by Renee Elliott and Eric Treuille. Cheese cake filling is all mine :)


INGREDIENTS FOR BASE:
150grams Almonds (blend in a processor/electric blender until fine-ish like course sugar)
4 rounded Tablespoons butter at room Temperature
4 Tablespoons Brown organic Sugar (you can use whatever sugar you have - just not icing sugar)
tiny bit of salt

METHOD FOR BASE:
Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric mixer (or by hand) until nicely combined.  Press into a buttered and double lined cake tin and bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 10 -15 minutes. Or until very pale brown. Take out and let stand while you prepare the filling.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHEESE CAKE FILLING:
2 x 250gram cream cheese
250ml cream
4 eggs
1-2 Lemons = of which you will need 4 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Bulgarian Yoghurt

METHOD FOR CHEESE CAKE FILLING

Beat together the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Scrap down the sides of the bowl every now and then to incorporate. Beating slowly add one egg at a time on slow. Add the Lemon juice and lemon zest and beat in. Add the sugar and beat again. Now add the yoghurt and beat in. Pour onto the prepared base and place on the center shelf of a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius. Bake for +/- 50 min until the edges have puffed up and started to golden and the center is still a little wobbly. Open the oven and take the cheese cake out and let some heat escape for a minute then place the cheese cake to cool in the oven with the door closed for 30 - 40min. Then place the cheese cake in the fridge for 3 hours or over night.
Garnish as you desire and serve. Best cut with a wet sharp knife.

Cherry and Coconut Truffles

INGREDIENTS
50grams Raw almonds
7 fresh Dates (pips removed)
a generous handful of Glace Cherries (roughly 17) +/- 100grams
50g 70% dark Chocolate (I used Lindt) (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup fine coconut
70- 100grams dark chocolate (or chocolate of your choice)
2 teaspoons sunflower oil
OPTIONAL a few marachino cherries on stalks

METHOD
Grind the almonds until fine in a blender and then take out and set aside.
Place dates in the blender and blend slightly and then add the glace cherries. Blend a bit more and then add the dark chocolate and blend until  very well mixed, chopped and kind of smooth. Add the ground almonds and mix again. Now add the coconut little by little until you reach a pliable consistency. Then roll into balls or mold around marachino cherries.
Melt the chocolate and oil in a baine marie or a glass bowl balanced on top of a pot with a little water boiling below (the glass bowl mustn't touch the water below). Stir until melted. Dip the rolled cherry and coconut balls in the chocolate and spoon over more melted chocolate with a spoon and then place on waxed paper to set. There will be a little melted chocolate left over but if you use less you wan't be able to spoon the chocolate over the balls - so spread the left over chocolate on a separate piece of wax paper and sprinkle with cherries, almonds or raisins or water you fancy in your chocolate and leave to set - break into pieces and enjoy.

Enjoy your lovely cherry and coconut truffles or wrap up and package in a pretty box to make a beautiful and delicious gift.

 
 
p.s placed in the Friday Link up at http://www.whipperberry.com/

FOLLOW YOUR HEART IN BLACK & WHITE

As requested the I'LL FOLLOW THE ROAD TILL I FIND YOUR HEART pic in Black and White :)

Hope you have had a fantastic week :) it seems to be going by so quickly, but I guess that is what happens when Monday this week was a public holiday. 4 day working weeks are lovely. But it does make me think that next week is going to feel super long.

Don't forget that it's Mother's Day on Sunday :) It's also my brothers birthday, I'll be sure not to confuse his present with my moms - hahaha can you imagine his face if I give him a bunch of flowers for his birthday instead of my mom - priceless ;) (not that I'm giving you flowers mom) -don't tell her OK.

So I'll be on the present hunt this weekend finding lots of bling for my mom ;) and something super gadgety for my brother. I hope I find the right stuff.

What are you getting for your mom this weekend? or doing for her?
Inspiration welcome.

hugs

LIFE

I always find that making a list of things I like and I'm privileged to have always makes me smile, lifts my spirit and makes me happy. So here goes - cause the rain outside and the pending chores are grating me the wrong way today....

• I love that it is school holidays and I get to sleep in when it is raining :) 
• Retail therapy is fun but not as fun as spending time with a friend and chatting the day away :) or being on the phone with one of them :)
• I was priviledged to be given the NEW Nomu hot chocolate by Paul Raphaeli himself to try out - Thanks Paul and Tracey
• I love that I was invited to Andiamo for breakfast last week (for FREE) to try out there new breakfast buffet and we were also treated to a goodie bag each - Thank you :)
• A beautiful drive with a great soundtrack is a must on a long weekend
• Beauty is all around us - we just tend to filter it away in our brains some days! Try take a FRESH look! Hello pretty mountains and fresh air.
• Live in the NOW- it is the only time we can take seriously :)
• Singing with abandon is GREAT for the soul ;)
• Drinking a good cup of coffee made to perfection is always nice

 So how have you been? Notice anything beautiful or do anything fun? DO TELL ME :)

HAPPY EASTER

May you have a blessed time with your family and friends :)
Hope you eat lots of chocolate and have a lovely rested time. Come back soon and tell me all about it -oKay :)
May we remember why we celebrate this holiday - not just for the chocolate but for so much more.

Hugs

CHOCOLATE BEETROOT CAKE

This cake was originally inspired by Ross Burden's Beetroot Choc Cake - having seen it on the internet I gave it a look through and then proceeded to do a re-hash (kind doing my own thing) - Gluten-Free of course 

INGREDIENTS (BROKEN UP INTO 4 PARTS)

STEP 1:

50g dark chocolate (I used 70% lindt)
a tiny pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons of cream

 combine the 3 ingredients and melt in a baine marie - stir until smooth and put to one side.

STEP 2:

1 generous cup /200g/250ml Brown Organic Sugar
3 Free range eggs
180/190ml Sunflower Oil

Beat/mix together with a hand mixer in a large bowl until thickened slightly and the mixture has lightened a little

STEP 3:

1 cup /250ml cooked and pureed beetroot (roughly 450g when raw and peeled)

add to the egg/sugar mixture above and mix in then add the chocolate cream and mix in until totally incorporated.

STEP 4:

3 heaped dessert spoons of cocoa
1 teaspoon bicarb
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups/ 500ml Gluten Free flour mix

Gradually add each ingredient above one by one beating after each addition to the mixture.
Place mixture into 1 buttered and floured  ?? cm cake tin and place in the oven at 155 degrees for roughly 48 minutes - until the cake springs back to the touch and the knife inserted into the middle of the cake come out clean.

 
Ice as desired - I used a chocolate ganache :)

FLOPPED ICE CREAM *GASP*

click on pic to go to ice cream recipe

I learnt a valuable lesson on Sunday when trying to make ice cream for my sister in laws birthday lunch - DON'T use xylitol in ice cream cause it won't set! My sister in-law was looking for a sugar free option and I was happy to oblige. I mean who doesn't want to eat home made ice cream? Also I usually stay clear of sugar induced shop bought variety anyway. (I use very little sugar in my own recipe) So I have my usual recipe  (which always works) and made it the way I usually do (except the sugar was replaced with xylitol). Well well well.... ten million hours later and the ice cream machine was still churning but the mixture had not frozen! not even a little!! It had got VERY cold and a little thicker - like pouring cream/runny milkshake but definitely NOT ice cream :( Sorry sister in-law, I couldn't grant you your birthday lunch wish of ice cream... Now I know for next time...

MY BUCKET LIST

 

Today "My Bucket List"was posted on Being Brazen :) 

 If you would like to have a look at it you can go here.

FOLLOW YOUR HEART PICTURE

Look what I made :) yes the picture you are seeing above this writing - I had fun in photoshop elements and I think it came out ok.
This is a photo I took of a road near my house and I manipulated the yield painted road marking into a make-shift heart.
I have been enjoying messing about in photoshop elements lately and get absorbed for way too long.... so much so I get way to little other things done. - yeah like dishes, cooking, folding laundry, shopping for food.. ok I don't forget to shop for food but I do dash out the door at the very last minute.

If you would like to use this picture on your blog - please leave a comment in the comment section below with a link to your blog post that it is in and of course please link to me from the post that the pic is in and credit me for my work :) THANK YOU SWEETIE :)

 

BLOG LOVIN

 IM GOING TO TRY OUT BLOG LOVIN

Follow my blog with bloglovin

 THAT IS ALL!

Relax - Life Down the Rabbit Hole

Hello

Sorry for my absence. I have been doing too many things at once - and getting soooo distracted by the internet world. It's like the rabbit hole in Alice in wonderland - ooo that looks pretty and before you know it you've been to 300 websites, 10 flicker accounts, 15 facebook pages and a whole bunch of twitter followers and you've tweeted 20 things and it leads to another 300 websites!
Let's just say I'm trying to be a bit more disciplined online right now. Let's see how long it lasts.

So that is why I haven't posted. I always check my comments and check on this blog everyday but posting takes time and I've been so easily distracted lately - sorry. *sheepish grin*

So how is life with you? I had a lovely night away at Welgelegen Guest House in Cape Town on the weekend compliments of them - So very kind!!! And what a lovely place. Comfy bed, lovely decor and delicious breakfast and very thoughtful staff :) what more could you ask for? It was oh so delightful :)
To check out the place go here

Hope you are well.
My cat is attacking my leg. Must go... oh but what is this pretty link... click click

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE

 

• Getting a package delivered containing delicious goodies like Nomu Hot choc and sweet rub...
• Having an understanding spouse who says go back to bed when you are really not feeling well.
• Buying a nice set of speakers that makes music sound like it should = happiness :)
• Having a very helpful petrol attendant who knows what he's doing and doesn't make you feel like an idiot for not knowing too much about which coolant I need for my car. Thank you kind sir.
• Having an encouraging sister-in-law who helped me get over my moaning and then helped to talk me into a positive mood.
• Just breathing fresh air
• Kindness of strangers - having cute twitter messages from people I don't really know :)
• Feeling important even though I'm a small fry - to somebody you matter :)

how is your week going?

happiness :)

BREAKFAST FRY UP - BIG AND TRADITIONAL

 

Having had this delicious breakfast this weekend just gone by-  I am now drooling over my computer screen just thinking about it. errr sorry. Everyone should make one of these kinds of breakfasts every now and then. And the better the produce eg organic and free range - the better for your body and the better it tastes!

INGREDIENTS
1 large potato per person
3- 4 rashers of bacon per person
half a handful of mushroom per person
1 or 2 eggs per person

EXTRAS 
1 onion
oil (olive or whatever kind you use)
salt
pepper

some freshly crushed garlic

I do this in stages to make sure everything is cooked and warm and ready to be served.

The potatoes will take the longest to cook so you need to start with them. 
Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and place in a baking dish. Peel and finely chop up an onion and sprinkle on top of the potato. Drizzle with olive oil and place a little crushed garlic on top. Season with salt and pepper and place in the oven at 180 degrees celcius. Stir every 5 - 10 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking you can now fry the bacon in a frying pan with a little oil until crispy. Then place to one side.
Next chop your mushrooms into quarters and cook in a small pot or pan with some salt and  a little garlic. When ready place to one side.
When the potatoes in the oven are cooked through (remember to keep stirring them every now 5 - 10 minutes) have a pan ready for the eggs to be fried and put the mushrooms and bacon on a low heat to keep warm until dishing up. Turn on the grill of the oven while the eggs are frying and take the potatoes out so they don't get burned. When eggs are almost ready place them under the grill to cook any egg white (slime) that is still wobbly on top of the eggs.

Dish up everything and eat with seasoning and sauces of your choice.




ps the bacon in the photo I get from Cure Charcuterie at The Earth Fair Market in Tokai. And it is so delicious. It is worth every cent as it is hormone-free and free range and double delicious, = how bacon should taste :) ** I was in no way compensated to tell you this and I buy the bacon every week with no kick back - I just like it!!! Just Saying

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE

 

• I am so glad it's Friday and Monday is a public holiday so YAY for long weekends
• Breakfast with a girlfriend is a great start to any weekend
• A clean house makes me happy - but the housework doesn't!
• I am loving listening to soulful and vibey Frank Sinatra - he always lifts my mood
• It is my wedding anniversary on Tuesday so I'm looking forward to presents!
• Some glorious weather and some relaxation is sure to make for some happy memories
• kids come up with the sweetest things 
• I'm looking forward to a long drive and some good music

 How is your weekend looking?

FASHION CUTENESS > CUTE PAPER DOLLS

 Look at these cute paper dolls myself and my daughter made this weekend.

I would love to say that I thought of this myself *sigh* but I can't. I found the inspiration from these cute pics below:

.

Aren't these paperdolls so cute? I wish I had thought of this!!

You can find the full tutorial here. Found on the b kids blog. I really need to start reading this blog more often :)

Happy Tuesday :) How was your weekend?

WHAT NEXT?

I've been going round and round in my head if I should write posts on this blog even if they are not food related. Now I don't mean about my family eg aww sweet my daughter lost her tooth posts. posts about stuff that interests me etc.... I know I write a post called "things that make me smile" every now and then and that is as far as i have gone to be un-foodie in a post.... You see I've have been trying not to fill my blog up with non food related matter as I feel I would make my blog change from a "foodie"blog to a "personal"blog.  And as much as I like reading other peoples personal blogs - I want my blog to be a niche blog. But turning out recipe posts is hard sometimes. Finding time to write out the recipes without missing anything out (or the recipe may flop!) and taking the pics and editing them ALL takes a lot of time and that means I post not as regularly as I would like. So I am hoping to have a mix of blogging stuff and see how it goes. I will post stuff and see the development... I like Pioneer Woman as she posts food, photography, home schooling, life on her ranch and other stuff but her website/blog is compartmentalized so if you like cooking you can just subscribe to cooking and if you like photography you can just subscribe to that. Not sure how to do that but I'm going to try posting various stuff and see.  So it may or may not contain things like: Food, Style & Decor, Photography, Health, Lists, Jewelry and Pretty things.

Thanks for understanding and I hope not to lose to many strict foodie recipe only blog followers (fingers crossed)


 Any thoughts about how I should do it? or what you would do??

CHOCOLATE CREAM / CHOC MOUSSE OR AWESOME HOT CHOCOLATE - you decide :)

Friday Inspiration

• buy a slab or 2 of chocolate (100g) and a tub of cream (250ml)
• make sure its good quality chocolate :) treat yourself 
• place half the tub of cream (125ml) in a double boiler - or in a bowl over a pot of boiling water and heat if up
• place in the slab/s of chocolate and stir every now and then until melted
• you should have a goopy mess of chocolate and cream - num
• try not to eat it
• now you can decide - to either 1) make chocolate mousse or 2) make an awesome hot chocolate
• for the choc mousse - take the choc cream off the heat and let cool slightly. While its cooling separate 3 eggs (whip the whites on there own until soft peaks form and then add 3 tablespoons of sugar to the egg whites and beat till medium to stiff peaks form). Whisk the yellows a little - stir these into the choc cream mixture. Now stir the beaten egg whites into the choc cream mixture. whip the remaining half a tub of cream until soft to medium stiffness and stir into the choc cream mixture - spoon into cups and place in the fridge for atleast 2 hours to set. you could eat right away but will be a bit runny.
• Awesome hot choc - take your choc cream mixture and add 1 and a quarter cups of milk and keep heating on the stove slowly until almost bubbling. Add some vanilla and a tiny sprinkling of salt (just a tiny pinch) pour into mugs and stir in some sugar to taste (if you wish). Whip the remaining half a tub of cream until medium peaks and spoon on top.

And there you have it - an awesome chocolate desert or drink :)


 I would do both :)





ps. I forgot to say you can make this into truffles to :) just take the choc cream mixture place in the fridge and leave till set then roll into bite sized balls and roll in cocoa. Place back in the fridge and eat as required - num

Monday Shmunday....

Rainbow Birthday cake - ooo I could do with some right now!!!

So its Monday again and I think life is just whirling by... Tomorrow is the 1st of March and I still haven't edited my daughter party photos since the 12th of Feb when it happened. (bad betty) but don't you find life gets that way some times? I keep meaning to edit some photos and type out some recipes but then I see some beautiful pictures of Italy on the internet and I daydream and click, click, click... and I look at the clock and oops I better run out the door to fetch my said daughter. And so life goes... cooking, cleaning, play dates, ballet, washing, eating, homework, internet - click click click... oops I must run again. It just seems to be that way at the moment. I am trying hard now to start prioritizing some things  1) how much cleaning I should do. 2) being on time for things. 3) using my computer time effectively 4)spending some time outside in the fresh air.


So I will try this for now and see how it goes. (even if I have to set a timer on my cellphone for myself)

So tell me - is there anything you are working on right now? Is life whirling by for you?



 

ps. And I'm going to drink more water
pps I must run so I am not late - early is the new black :)