Category Archives: Special feasts…

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Ginger and Coconut prawns served with Italian black rice ….. part 3 of 5 at Nieuview, Paternoster

Lunchtime!

But before lunch, it was “gift time”, and this time i was ready for them, with a packed “gift box” per couple, see Shannon and Evie “tucking” into their giftboxes ….. never a dull moment, and i cannot tell you how much fun I’ve had during the months leading up to this weekend, planning and searching for little things to add the their “surprise” boxes….

Shannon tucking into her goodie box…

And Evie, it is nearly lunchtime, put that box away now…

Evie and her gift box… sorry Evie i would have loved to add a lens or 2, but the budget did not allow it…

Lunch was on Evie , they served Ginger and Coconut Prawns with Italian Black rice and a green salad….

For the Ginger and Coconut Prawns you will need:
1 box of prawns, medium size
2 tbs Coconut oil (available at health shops, Spar or Pick & Pay)
2 tbs Chilly Jam or Hot Sweet Chilly
1 medium root of fresh ginger
125 ml soya sauce
a couple of spring onions

Chop spring onions and fry lightly, add grated ginger, chilly jam and soya sauce. Fry the prawns in the coconut oil until pink and add the sauce, stir through….

For the Italian Black Rice (riso Venere) you will need.
1 cup black rice (carried in Evie’s backpack all the way from Italy)
3 discs feta cheese
spring onions
1 punnet baby tomatoes
100g capers
extra virgin olive oil

Cook the black rice in rapid boiling water for 30 – 40 minutes. Drain and add the chopped tomatoes, cubed feta, spring onions, and capers. Drizzle generously with olive oil and add Maldon salt and black pepper…

riso Venere….

Time for a quick swim before lunch…

Our “chef” of the day….

She added a quick green salad with rocket, shavings of parmesan and olive oil and lunch was served….

A quick green salad…

And after lunch it was time for us to start playing with our cameras…

Thanks for lunch Evie…

Magic on the beach…

And the camera fun did not end, it continued with the “wide angle long leg lens” in the panty bar later the evening….

Albert, the new barman at the panty bar in Paternoster …

Time to go to bed as tomorrow I will be 40!… and I have lots planned including an early morning “surprise outing” to sea….

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A 40’th girly breakfast feast….

I’ve decided earlier this year NOT to have a big 40th Birthday party, but to rather go away for a long weekend (Paternoster Birthday weekend to follow on the blog a bit later).

Shannon on the otherhand had other ideas, as you will see in the pics to follow, not a lot of words needed here, i will let the pics speak for themselves.

Me and my “mystery” speaker…

I know my limitations and asked a friend to make my speach….. the best decision ever, I wrote it and Lee did a brilliant job of making the speach on my behalf, with all the emotion and laughs added…. thanks Lee, listening to my own speach was one of several highlights of the day, so glad I’ve managed to convince you to do it.

Table decor by “the princess” ….

The table set for a real girly breakfast feast..

Beautifull pic by “Carol Bradley”

I am lucky enough to have 3 friends that’s as happy snappy crazy about photography as myself, thanks for all the pics girls, I had 2000 pictures of this special day in my life, I knew I could completely relax as every moment would be captured for me, ….. that by itself was a huge gift..

The start of the breakfast starter… by my fellow blog partner… Shannon… or sometimes referred to as “the princess”

The princess at work…. doing what she does best….

I think Shannon aged a couple of years in the days building up to the breakfast, she is such a special friend, i know she wanted it to be perfect, and i know that is very stressful, Shannon, you know how much this meant to me, you are a truly special friend….

The Breakfast starter…

Thanks Evie…

Gifts galore, feeling VERY spoilt…

Carol you know what makes me happy…

VERY spoilt…

I had to think twice about posting this one, but i think it really captures the true emotion of the day…

The surprises just never stopped, a beautifull birthday cake by “Janis Viljoen”, thanks Shannon, Issie and Evie…..

These cakes by “Janis” don’t only look pretty, they tastes like heaven..

The biggest and nicest birthday cake I’ve ever had…

My speach, thanks Lee….

Me, enjoying my own speach, thanks to Lee

Lots and lots and lots of bubbles consumed…

My very special friend, how do i thank you ….

Shannon, this is what makes life extra special, ….. to have friends that gives their ALL and more for you…..

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Chocolate mousse kisses from the deep Overberg….

Celebrating a 60th Birthday on a farm in the deep Overberg with friends and family ……. and then they bowl you over with mindblowing ideas like these decadent chocolate mousse and oreo kisses……

Visuals of an Overberg Farm…

According to Liesel, this is actually Christine’s creation, i did not ask for the recipe but am sure that Christine will let me know if i go wrong….

For the chocolate mousse and oreo kisses you will need:
Oreo biscuits or any similar small chocolate biscuits
Firm chocolate mouse
Whisper balls
Piping bag and a firm hand….

Emma waiting in anticipation…

Make a firm chocolate mousse, the “homemade readymix type” will work perfectly as you can use a bit less liquid in order to get a firmer mousse.

Apparently the only difficult part is to get the oreo biscuits split in two halves, apparently a bit of trial and error, i assume they should not be too cold so that the icing in the middle is soft enough to be able to split the biscuit open, if i recall, Liesel mentioned that the method of firm but gently twist in opposite directions worked the best…..and that a knife pushed inbetween the two halves did not work very well, I would suggest that you buy some “extra” just for in case you take a while to find the best way to split them open.

Split the biscuits open in advance and keep in airtight container to prevent them from going soft.

Overberg farm house visuals…

Just before serving, pipe the mousse with a piping bag onto the halved biscuits, top with a whisper ball.

It will help if someone can hold the biscuit while you pipe as it might dance around….

Serve with heaps of beautifull red strawberries and good coffee….

How pretty is this….

Thank you Liesel and Jan for inviting us to your beautifull home, Liesel, you are one of those truly creative inspirational people in my life, ….

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Tomato Tart at the House of Eels, Vermaaklikheid Part 1 of 2

I will start this post by saying that THIS is my favourite recipe of all times (for now), and that should tell you all you need to know….

When Catherine invite you for a weekend away, you cancel all plans and you go…. mmm quite a statement, but Catherine has a way of choosing those special little gems…. Talking of gems, this weekend was in celebration of Gemma’s birthday and what better way to celebrate a birthday than with making a weekend of it.

The House of Eels… Vermaaklikheid…

House of Eels

The House of Eels on the banks of the Duiwenhoks river, 3 large bedrooms and one kiddies bunk room with 4 single beds, a very well equipped kitchen with open plan diningroom / livingroom, inside braai area and stunning outside stoep overlooking the Eel ponds below.

Our room…

Apparently the Eels used to come over the dry land from the river, into the ponds and be fed in the special “underground” room … we had endless conversations about how this actually worked….

I made this tart as our Starter for lunch on the Saturday.

For the tomato tart you will need:

1 roll of puff pastry
about 8 large leeks cut into very thin rings
cayenne pepper
3 or 4 tablespoons of cream
some mayo
one block of creamy blue cheese
small cherry tomatoes
a handfull of pine nuts
Thick reduced balsamic for serving
2 x loose bottom tart pans…

You can make the following in advance if time is a problem.

Saute the leeks in a bit of butter and olive oil until soft, stir often and don’t let them turn too brown.
Add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper (that MUST do ingredient to make or break this tart, don’t leave this out).
Stir in 3 – 4 tablespoons of cream.
The cream should just be enough to “wet” the leeks, it must not be runny, just moist and wet with cream.
Put aside till needed, it can cool down completely, but also can be used immediately if not made in advance.

For the pastry I used one roll of puff pastry cut lenghways in half, rolled out slightly.
Fit pastry into the pans, and put in fridge until needed.

Roast the pine nuts in a dry pan until they’ve slightly browned, stir continiously with a wooden spoon and remove the pine nuts from the pan as soon as they start to turn brown.

Gemma the birthday girl…

About one hour before lunch start packing the tart, you don’t want to do this earlier as the pastry will go soggy.

Spoon the leeks into the pans and even out, there should be no runny liquid on the pastry, the bottom of the pastry will still be semi visable, so not a too thick layer of leeks, see pic below.

Cover leeks with thin slices of blue cheese (i like the creamy blue one from spar in the gold and blue wrapping). And add small dollops of mayo over the blue cheese, see pic below for how much, as you don’t want the tart to become too “wet”.

Now for the fun part, cut the tomato’s into halves and pack on the blue cheese in neat rows.

Bake at 180 degrees in a pre-heated oven, make sure the pastry is properly cooked, golden and brown, rather too brown than too soft. This can take up to 35 minutes. Once baked, remove from the oven and let the tart rest in the pan for about 15 minutes to “settle”.

Remove the tarts from the tart pans, (Shannon will firmly but gently slide a big knife between the pastry and loose metal bottom of the tart pan to loosen the tart and in one swift movement push it off and onto a wooden board), ready for serving…

Drizzle with thick reduced balsamic reduction and sprinkle with the pine nuts.

We served these tarts on a rough piece of wood with a long sheet of baking paper underneath….. very visual…

Serve with a “green only” salad….

And after lunch, the kids went Eel hunting until it was time for dessert at 16:00…..

And guess what they nearly caught, right there where they’ve been playing the whole weekend…

Dessert to follow in part 2…

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French onion soup – come for dinner and dress FRENCH…

When Roxy’s invite say “come for dinner and dress French”, that is what we do. Inspired by a recent trip to France and Italy, Roxy wowed us with two elegant dinner parties, Dress French and Dress Italian…

This French onion soup recipe was the starter at the “Dress French” evening.

The “french maid” greeting her guests…

For the French Onion Soup you will need:

60g butter
1 kg onions, halved and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons castor sugar
300ml dry white wine
1.5 lit brown beef stock
bouquet garne (bay leaves, thyme and parsley stalks)
4 x 2.5cm thick slices of french loaf
225g grated gruyere cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper….
(serves 5)

The French inspired menu…

To make the soup:
Heat the butter in a large heavy bottom pan. Add the onions, garlic and sugar. Simmer over a LOW heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes until the onions are caramelized. This is a very important part to the ultimate flavour of this soup…..

A French inspired table…

Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, add the beef stock and bouquet garni, cover and simmer for another 30 – 40 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees and toast the bread on a baking tray till dried out but not browned.

Up to here can be prepared in the morning before your dinner party…

A French table….

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Place 1 slice of dried french loaf in the bottom of each ovenproof soup bowl, and ladle the soup onto the bread. Cover the soup thickly with the grated gruyere, place the bowls on an oven tray and bake for 30 minutes till golden and bubbly, don’t let the cheese burn… (the dried slice of french soup will float to the top of the soup and will be covered with the yummy melted gruyere.)

This flavour full rich winter soup should be served piping hot as it comes out of the oven……

Golden and bubbly French onion soup…

Roxy darling, thanks soooo much for a lovely evening, i will keep you company in your kitchen at any time…. thanks for sharing this lovely recipe with me and for “introducing me” to French Onion soup, i love it…

Bronze by Louis Chanu…. just beautifull….

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Creamy Lemon Tart, at Natanya, part 2 of 2

Continues from part 1 of 2, Natanya Birthday weekend…..

After a lovely lunch, featured in part one, we’ve moved on to the outside deck, overlooking the sea….

Natanya views…

This lovely tangy creamy lemon tart was the first item we’ve put on the menu during the weeks planning our weekend, as Shannon knows, this is my favourite dessert for any “special” meal…

The base was made the afternoon before.

For the Rich short-crust pastry you will need:

250g plain flour
175g butter
1 egg

Rub the flour and the butter together, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
If using a food processor, be careful not to over mix.
Beat the egg and add to the mixture. Mix till it forms a ball, and let the pastry rest for 20 minutes.

Waiting for the pastry to rest, Shannon enjoying one of several glasses of Genevieve MCC

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured cold surface. Line a greased 24cm loose bottom flan / quiche dish. Quiche dish works better as it is deeper. Let the pastry rest for another 30 minutes in the fridge, this helps that the pastry don’t shrink.

For the filling you will need:

6 extra large free range eggs (in Elgin we “free range” everything)
250ml castor sugar
120ml lemon juice
10ml finely grated lemon rind
160ml cream

Blind bake the pastry at 200 degrees centigrade for 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly brown.

Reduce the temp to 150 degrees.

Beat the eggs and sugar. You want a nice creamy mixture. An electric beater or processor makes it easier. Stir in the lemon juice and rind. Whip the cream until stiff and gently fold into the egg mixture.

Pour into the base. (bake tart on a solid baking tray… when adding the egg filling to the base leave tray and tin in the oven, pull out the shelf half way and pour in the filling, LESS MESSY)

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until set but still slightly wobbly.

Cool, and remove from tin. (so here i’ve asked Shannon, what do i call this tin, tart pan, quiche tin, and she answered “you call it ‘tin’, and if they don’t know what that is they should not be in the kitchen….)

Dust with icing sugar once cooled completely. (You can bake this tart up to 6 hours before you want to serve it, do not refrigerate, and serve at room temerature)

Lemon tart and our new favourite “wax paper” for serving

We’ve served this Creamy Lemon Tart on sheets of wax paper, with heaps of strawberries and marscapone… AND glasses full of Genevieve MCC, a match made in heaven…

Guests…

The guests stayed till late to watch the beautifull sunset…

Natanya sunset…

Natanya sunset…

And the next morning we could not wait to sit on the “stoep”, with mugs of coffee and the last little piece of CREAMY LEMON TART…looking at the pictures….

The morning after the LUNCH before…

NATANYA, the food, the friends…………

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Asian Cabbage salad at Natanya, part 1 of 2

Natanya, a beautifully restored Beachhouse, on the rocks of Betty’s Bay, South Africa. Set against the fynbos rich Kogelberg Mountains. Closer to the sea you cannot get, with whales playing in the bay, this was the spot we chose for Bruce’s birthday weekend…. Me and Shannon, it is all about the food, and this setting was going to blow our socks off.

I think we’ve spend 2 months planning “the lunch menu”, (endless hours of fun over cups of tea and glasses of wine) as this house is close to our hometown, we’ve decided to invite some friends over on the Saturday to make it an extra special Birthday celebration for Bruce, well, we obviously played our hearts out, planning the menu, who to invite to stay, who to invite to come for the lunch, all very exciting…

Natanya lounge

We’ve planned to have a long table in the “dining room” overlooking the bay, but on arrival we soon realised that our space was quite limited as the lounge area did not lend itself to a long table. I told Shannon, we stick to the plan, i want a long table and we just need to make it happen. Well with Shannon, my foodie friend, we’ve managed to find this beautifull old wooden table outside and at the end we could not have asked for a more fitting visual display…. I loved the rough wood feel of the table and we presented some of the dishes straight on the table without any serving platters, just on sheets of wax paper.

Long rustic table

The recipes for our lunch that will feature in this blog post will be Sanmari’s Asian Cabbage salad. Cabbage, yes, i am not big fan of cabbage but this salad is a real crowd pleaser and got a lot of ooos and aaaaahs from the guests. In part 2 I will post the Creamy Lemon Tart …… And play we did play, in this beautifull open plan kitchen, also with a stunning view of the bay.

For the Asian Cabbage Salad you will need:

Salad:
2 Baby cabbages, finely shredded we’ve used green and purple cabbage
1 cup spring onions cut into fine rings
1 cup mange tout

Dressing:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tbsp soya sauce
Some flavouring, 1 tsp, in the form of chicken stock powder
1/4 cup of olive oil

Topping:
200ml sunflower seeds
200ml flaked almonds
1 packed of uncooked 2 minute noodles broken into small pieces

Start by making the dressing, boil all the ingredients together for 5 minutes, until all sugar is dissolved and the dressing slightly thickens.

Then, chop / shred the cabbage finely, add the spring onions and mange tout.

Roast in an oven tray the topping ingredients, don’t take your eyes off the tray while in the oven, the nuts and raw two minute noodles needs to lightly brown, be careful as once it starts to brown it can burn within seconds, you need a light brown colour.

The above 3 steps can be done well in advance.

One hour before serving mix the dressing with the cabbage mixture.

Just before serving, give the cabbage and dressing another good mix and top with the cooled roasted nuts and noodles…

Don’t mix the nuts and noodles into the salad, it should be on top of the salad to keep it’s crunch…

We’ve served an caprese salad with the Asian Cabbage Salad, made of half red ripe tomatoes, basil pesto and slices of moserella cheese…topped with more drizzles of basil pesto… visual, visual….

The menu further included a goats cheese tart, mini aubergine and feta meatballs (served in heaps straight onto the rough table on wax paper), Asian sticky pork neck cooked for 3 hours and beetroot roasted with red onions and garlic….

Natanya was everything we wanted and expected for this lunch, how do i describe the feeling when we (me and my foodie friend) look at each other at the end of the meal, and we just know we’ve knocked their socks off…. no words needed, a passion for good food we share…

TO FOLLOW: PART 2 OF 2 , THE NATANYA DESSERT…. A SEXY CREAMY LEMON TART SERVED WITH STRAWBERRIES AND MARSCAPONE CHEESE…

“the birthday boy and my foodie friend…”

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Harvest Dinner with an Olympic twist…

Elgin Orchards, where I’ve worked and lived for the last 16 years.

Elgin Orchards, a farm in the beautifull Elgin / Grabouw Valley in the Western Cape of South Africa, the farm produce Apples, Pears, Kiwis, Wine Grapes and pack apples, pears and Kiwi’s for various local and international markets.

Once a year, after the harvest and main packing season we celebrate the Harvest with our Annual Harvest Dinner, the guests usually includes core staff members, contract growers and consultants. This year the Harvest Dinner had an Olympic twist, as it was held during the 2012 Olympics, we’ve even switched on the “big screen” and cheered for our swimmers halfway through the dinner.

This year the 2012 Harvest Dinner was held at Bodemloos Kombuis, a super stunning small and personal function venue, where NOTHING is impossible…. thanks to Maryke.

I LOVE the fact that a “work related” function can bring me such joy….