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Tangy Lemon Loaf….. Linga Longa Cape Point….. Part 3 of 4

A simple luke warm tangy lemon loaf, just what the kids needs after a swim in the icy cold Cape Point sea…..the ideal holiday bake, we’ve baked this loaf in a gas oven, with a door that did not want to close, mixed by hand as we did not have electricity….easy easy…

Freezing waters of Cape Point Nature Reserve….

For the Lemon Loaf you will need:
340g cake flour
pinch of salt
1t baking powder
180g very soft butter
500g castor sugar
1t vanilla
3 eggs
rind of 2 lemons (finely grated)
juice of 1 lemon

For the syrup:
100g sugar
peel and juice of 3 lemons
380ml water

For the lemon icing…
125ml icing sugar
lemon juice and water about 5 tablespoons…

Mixing by hand…

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and grease a loaf tin. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. In a different bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, I mixed it by hand as we did not have electricity…. it came out perfect, just make sure your butter is very soft.

Add the eggs one at at time to the buttery mixture, add the vanilla and lemon rind. Stir in the milk, lemon juice and flour alternatively until just mixed.

Pauline giving me a helping hand …

Bake for about one hour until a skewer comes out clean and the loaf is nice and brown on top.

While baking make the syrup, simmer together the sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice and water for at least 15 minutes. I’ve peeled the lemons with my potato peeler, try not to get too much of the white bits under the skin…. Spoon the hot syrup and lemon peels over the WARM turned out cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, and let it cool a little bit.

The smell drawing the kids into the kitchen, note the “plan” we had to make to close the gas oven’s door…

At this stage I heard lots of screams of laughter outside the kitchen window, Ben and Emma, the two little ones…. I just had to go and look…

Ben and Emma having fun…

Quickly make the icing to drizzle over the cooled cake … stir together the icing sugar and lemon and water mixture by adding the liquid spoon by spoon to the icing sugar. One spoon at a time until you reach a thick runny consistency… drizzle the lemony icing sugar over the cake.

TEA TIME !!

It took us 5 minutes to polish this little tangy sweet number with some hot tea…

You can keep this lemon loaf for up to 3 days in an airtight container, IF you can keep your fingers out of it…

And tonight, we will be making a quick mushroom and thyme risotto….

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Creamy Fish Pie….. at Linga Longa Cape Point ….Part 2 of 4

I’ve always wanted to make a fish pie, not too sure why I have not made one before…..

When inviting us to Linga Longa, Bruce asked me to make a Creamy Fish Pie, after several discussions with my “cheffy” friend Shannon we’ve decided that I need to combine two recipes….. out of experience I know that when it comes to food, Shannon knows best… so here we go.

For the Creamy Fish Pie you will need:

10 Medium size peeled and quartered potatoes – for the mash
100g butter – for the mash
125 ml warm milk – for the mash
1 pinch of salt – for the mash

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 finely sliced leeks
1 finely sliced clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of sugar
5 peeled and pips removed medium red tomatoes
1 shake of nutmeg
3 shakes of white pepper

1 cup white or bechemel sauce – not thick
1 tub cream
1 box frozen or fresh hake (about 4- 5 pieces)
1 box frozen or fresh salmon (about 4 – 5 pieces)
1 box frozen or fresh haddock (about 4 – 5 pieces)
1 punnet peeled and deveined prawns (about 1 1/2 cups full)
1 punnet calamari rings (not crumbed and optional)
6 – 8 SOFT boiled peeled eggs
1 handfull of finely chopped dill
2 handfulls of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 x LARGE oven proof dish

To make the mash, boil the quartered potatoes until soft, add the butter, warm milk and salt and mash until a creamy consistancy, don’t make the mash too long in advance as it will become “stodgy” if it cools down too much before you pipe it onto the pie.

Cut a cross at the top end of each tomato and pour boiling water over to cover completely, let it rest for about 2 minutes, pour the water off and peel the tomatoes, the peels should slide off…. slice each tomato in 4 and spoon the pips out. It is important to de-pip the tomatoes as it will make the pie too liquid if not removed…

Add the olive oil, butter, garlic and leeks to a hot pan and fry until soft, don’t brown the leeks, add the peeled tomatoes and sugar and saute for about 4 minutes over a medium heat. Add one shake of nutmeg and three shakes of white pepper to the tomatoes.

Then add the tub of cream to the tomatoes and bubble for 2 minutes, add the cup of runny white sauce and mix well, this should give you quite a runny liquid that will be poured over the fish.

Arranging the fish and seafood…

Arrange the raw fish in the oven dish (i’ve cut the fish into +/- 4cm x 4cm blocks and remove all skin if any, then add the prawns and calamari on top of the fish. Slice the SOFT boiled eggs in half and arrange evenly inbetween the fish. Add the dill and parsley. Pour the hot creamy tomato mixture over the fish….

Cover the fish with the warm mash, I’ve piped the mash with my “icing tube” but that is really not necessary as the liquid of the fish “flattened out” the mash into an even layer, so just spoon it on and even out….

We baked the fish pie for +/- 45 – 50 minutes on 180 degrees until golden brown…

This pic should tell you why I love this place so much, the view, the kids and adults playing cards in front of the fire, the smell of the creamy fish pie bubbling in the gas oven…. I just love it…

I served the Creamy Fish Pie with a green salad made from, shredded lettuce, cucumber, feta, 2 x soft avo’s, shavings of parmasan and toasted pine nuts…. and drizzled over a red wine vinegar sweet syrup. There’s something about the smell of bubbling red wine vinegar that takes your breath away… I am a bit addicted to it…

For the Red Wine Vinegar salad dressing:
Bubble together half a cup of red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar for at least 10 minutes, let it cool.

It should form a syrupy sweet / sour yummy salad dressing…

And loooong after dinner, when everyone sits in front of the fire, and just before SOME of us wants to go to bed, I quickly made them hot chocolate….. for 6, bubble together 2 x 90g slabs of chopped DARK chocolate, one cinnamon stick, 150ml cream and 4 cups of milk…..

Homemade HOT chocolate… serve in smallll espresso cups…

Time for some of us to go to bed now…..

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Chicken for a crowd ….. at Linga Longa Cape Point ….named “Puttenesca alla Mandy”…. Part 1 of 4

Cape Point Nature Reserve is a beautiful, narrow finger of land, covered in fynbos and home to picturesque beaches, bays and rolling green hills filled with an abundance of wildlife including the Cape Mountain Zebra.

I call this place a “little piece of heaven on earth” so if and when we get an invitation to go to Linga Longa in the Cape Point Nature Reserve, we cancel everything and just go……

Arriving late afternoon at Linga Longa..

Cooking up a storm is usually part of a weekend at Linga Longa, it needs a bit of planning as the shops are quite far away and the gates close at sunset…. we therefore divided the weekend into “family cooking slots”, and the first recipe I want to share with you is Mandy’s chicken for a crowd, “Puttenesca alla Mandy”….. one of those easy but impressive make in advance and no hassle one pot wonders…

For the “Puttenesca alla Mandy” chicken dish you will need:
16 pieces of good quality free range chicken
a little bit of canola or olive oil
1 x tin of whole italian tomatoes
1 x jar of puttenesca pasta sauce from Woolworths (about one and a half cup) *
1 x tub of creme fraiche
1 x cup of black pitted olives
1 x bag of chopped spinach
10 x large brown mushrooms
* to make your own Puttenesca sauce prepare a tomatoe based sauce with, tinned italian tomatoes, capers, olives, mixed herbs and anchovies…

Fry the chicken pieces in a hot pan until crispy but not completely cooked. Layer them in a deep oven dish, add salt and black pepper.

The sauce..

Mix the sauce: the tin of whole italian tomatoes, the jar of puttenesca sauce, the olives and the creme fraiche…

Cover the chicken with the chopped spinach, and layer with the sliced brown mushrooms….. cover with the tomato based sauce and bake in a preheated oven for about 1 hour untill well cooked.

The layering proces…

With lunch safely tucked into the “gas oven – a bit of a scary thought for me” we could relax and enjoy a cup of tea with a slice of Chocolate Fudge Tart – recipe under Sweet Yummyness.

Chocolate Fudge Tart..

After a quick walk on the beach, the flavours of warm tomatoes and olives called us to the lunch table…

Mandy served the Puttenesca alla Mandy with cous-cous and a lovely spinach and cabbage salad.

Lunch time…

The “green salad” was a combination of shredded spinach, cabbage, feta, and a sauce made of mayo thinned with a bit of milk and a spoon or two of pesto, served with a handfull of wallnuts…

We loved the salad, not sure if Emma did…

Lunchtime at Linga Longa is a “Linga Longa affair”…. it goes on and on, and at around 4 o’clock Abby and Elzaan made us SMORES…. as you always needs a bit of sweetness after a good meal…

Marie Biscuits and Marshmallow “smores”, no microwave so the gas oven had to do it’s thing again… thanks for the helping hand Elzaan…

Walking in the beautiful Cape Point Nature reserve is a visual feast of greens and greys…. to follow is a couple of shots from our late afternoon walk…. a short walk, as I need to start prepping the Fish pie, as tonight, it is my turn in front of the “gas stove”…. a new recipe, super excited about how it will turn out…

Enjoy the Fynbos…..

Time to get back to the kitchen, there’s a Fish pie waiting to happen…..

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Decadent chocolate tart……. part 5 of 5, Nieuview Paternoster

Let me start by saying, this is one of those recipes that will haunt me at night, and my mind will not rest until I taste it again and again…..

We found this “new version” of the Chocolate Tart on The Pretty Blog about two weeks before our weekend away, we did amend it slightly but it introduced us to one magical ingredient….. I think that this tart ended the weekend with a BIG smile on my face, and the secret ingredient, the very simple “nutti crust biscuit base”.

For the Chocolate Tart you will need:
1 x loose bottom fluited quiche / tart tin, preferably one that is about 4 cm high…
400g very fine nutti crust biscuits (a caramel flavoured dry biscuit)
120 g melted butter
200g dark chocolate, chopped finely
300g normal milk chocolate, chopped finely
500ml cream
butter for greasing the tin
A little bit of whipped cream for serving

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Grease the tin well with butter. Mix together the fine nutti crust biscuits and melted butter, line the base and the sides of the tin with the biscuit mixture, we used our fingers and a flat bottomed glass to firmly even out the biscuit base, it is quite important to seal the whole bottom and the sides with the mixture as the filling is very liquid and will seep through if the base is not properly lined with the buttery biscuit mixture….

Bake the biscuit base for about 15 minutes, make sure the biscuits don’t turn too brown, all the ingredients are already cooked, but the butter and biscuit mixture needs to “seal” during the baking process…

In a small saucepan, heat the cream until just before boiling point, add the chopped chocolate and stir through, keep on stirring slowly until all the chocolate has melted. Initially it will look as if it won’t melt, but just keep on stirring. It should turn into a glossy chocolate liquid….. If the warm cream don’t melt the chocolate completely, hang the mixing bowl over a pot with hot water, make sure the water in the pot don’t touch the bottom of your bowl… but this should not be necessary… the melting process can take up to 5 minutes so don’t rush it.

Pour this glossy chocolate mixture onto the biscuit base and refrigerate of at least 6 hours….. It should set firmly….

Once set, and ready to serve, remove the side of the loose bottom tin, and with one firm but gentle movement slide the tart off the base of the thin onto a serving platter. Decorate with fresh berries and dust with icing surgar. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Nieuview in the evening light

We closed off this festive weekend with writing messages on sky lanterns and sending them up in the air….

Our “chef” and her hubby…

You cannot turn 40 without a couple of friends dancing for you, this was quite funny and very late…

And this is me, ending my day doing what i love… on the beach, late at night taking pictures of Nieuview….

I could not have asked for a better weekend or a nicer 40th Birthday. Surprising my friends with an early morning kayak trip, a lovely breakfast at a different guest house, a lazy afternoon at the pool and Shannon cooking up a storm for my 40th dinner, sending sky lanterns with messages and taking pictures on the beach at midnight….

If i can have my 40th over again, I will do everything exactly the same…

Just a pity that tomorrow morning we all need to go back home, but Nieuview had a special extra surprise waiting for us…

Nieuview saying “goodbye” … pic taken from the veranda at Nieuview…

Thanks to a very special group of friends for making my birthday a weekend I will remember for the rest of my life..

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Peach and tomato summer salad………. part 4 of 5 at Nieuview, Paternoster

As part of the Main Birthday dinner at Nieuview, we made this lovely zingy Peach and Tomato salad, i will be making this a lot this coming summer, there’s something brave about the combination of a sweet peach and a zingy red wine vinegar soaked, salty tomato…. one of those taste combinations that takes your breath away, mmm or it might be the red wine vinegar that took my breath away…

For the Peach and tomato summer salad you will need:
4 Firm but sweet and ripe peaches, preferably the soft fleshy ones, don’t use yellow cling peaches…sliced with skin on.
2 cups of tomatoes, use small rosa tomatoes chopped in half
1 red chilli, finely chopped
Juice of one lemon
a handfull of finely chopped parsley
one red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
olive oil
Maldon sea salt and black pepper

Prepare all the ingredients, try to cut the peaches over a bowl in order to catch all the juices running off, add the peach juice, if any, to the salad.

Mix all the ingredients together and serve at room temperature……

The only rule of the weekend was, “on Sunday morning, the day of my Birthday, everyone had to be on the beach at 6:30, in their costumes”, no questions asked, no matter what time we got to bed the night before, BE ON THE BEACH AT 6:30…………

I’ve arranged with Dianne Heesomgreen to take us paddling early Sunday morning as a surprise to my guests on my Birthday, it was a perfect morning and when Dianne “told” me to go and put my camera away, I told her that my camera goes where I go, and so we went off on the kayak’s with our camera’s in zip lock bags….

Surprise Kayak trip for my friends on my birthday…

Some of us have done this before…

I cannot think of a better way to start my birthday, this was truly beautifull….

And back at Nieuview, after a couple of “kayak rolls” coming back to the beach, we had a lazy sun filled day, full of laughs and yet more gifts….

Shannon, time to go and play in the kitchen…..

We’ve decided that we will be cooking a late afternoon Birthday dinner, this is what we do, we love cooking, and this house was so perfect for just that, all open plan with 360 degree sea views. I am not tooo sure how this happened, but between Evie and myself, we somehow missed capturing the prepping of the main birthday dinner as well as the meal itself, BUT I did capture the finale to this special weekend, THE chocolate tart….. to follow a bit later….

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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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Mango and Raspberry skewers….. part 2 of 5 at Nieuview, Paternoster

Waking up on Saturday morning, hearing someone busy in the kitchen, and this is the view from the front stoep……

The view from our stoep at Nieuview, Paternoster…

How decadent to have a “starter” to our Breakfast…

For the Mango and Raspberry skewers you will need:

Firm but ripe Mango’s
Raspberries
Medium length sosatie sticks
A little bit of lemon juice

Skewer cubes of mango and raspberries, drizzle with a little bit of lemon juice.

The breakfast table…. thanks Shannon, Evie and Issie

Serve with ICE COLD Genevieve MCC, a match made in heaven…

ICE COLD Genevieve MCC…

And then, being surprised by some “early morning” gifts before Breakfast, and it is not even my Birthday yet…

Very special “one day in advance” gifts, feeling very spoil by my friends…matching PJ’s, thanks EVIE

And now it is BREAKFAST time, and guess what’s on the menu, obviously Eggs Benedict “with bacon”…. this recipe will follow at a later stage, it deserves a “special” spot on the blog….

Eggs Benedict, as Shannon knows, this was just one of several things that made this weekend extra special…

Wonder what’s for lunch Evie??

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Purple figs wrapped in prosciutto with creamy Gorgonzola …. part 1 of 5 at Nieuview, Paternoster

The decision, a party or a weekend away with my friends for a special “you only turn 40 once” birthday celebration….

I chose a weekend away with friends, I supplied the accommodation and they cooked for me…. 4 blissful days at Nieuview, Paternoster.

These yummy soft warm figs were served by Shannon as snacks at the pool, overlooking the Paternoster beach…

For the Purple figs wrapped in prosciutto with creamy gorgonzola you will need:

8 soft purple figs
one small block of gorgonzola cheese
8 slices of prosciutto or parma ham

Cut the figs open, only halfway in a cross shape.
Place 2 x small pieces of gorgonzola inside each fig.
Gently wrap with prosciutto.
Bake at 180 degrees for about 10 – 15 minutes until the prosciutto is crispy and the soft gorgonzola oozes out….

Serve immediately….

Issie was in charge of the blueberry mojitos…

More “pool snacks” by Shannon…

Melon, Parma Ham and sweet white balsamic sauce, see recipe already on the blog…

NOW, let me show you Nieuview…. the secret destination… no one knew where we were going….

From the moment that i walked into Nieuview, i knew that i’ve made the right choice, this was the spot, EVERYTHING i wanted and soooo much more than expected….

Nieuview, situated on South Africa’s West Coast in the coastal town of Paternoster, the last house on the right…. it consists out of three units, sleeping 8, (adults only)… the units can be booked individually or as one large house, linked together with a covered entertainment area and small private pool overlooking the beach… as fully equipped as you can get… with a nearly 360 degree see view…

Nieuview… last house on the right, Paternoster, West Coast of South Africa…

Our bedroom, with a view…

A kitchen WITH A VIEW, …… the main cottage…

Main Cottage open plan kitchen and living area…

The “interleading area” between the three cottages overlooking the small splash pool and beach…

Pure relaxation with Shannon’s “pool snacks” on hand…

Over the next 4 posts I will show you more of “Nieuview”, i can really recommend this house for a “special weekend away” you need at least 3 days to fully enjoy this house, let your hair down and breathe in some fresh sea air…..

THIS is going to be one fun filled pure relaxation weekend…. i could not have asked for more….

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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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Pumpkin fritters – kebab style…

When we say “Ouma Babsie”, Emma say “pampoenkoekies”…….

Emma don’t like any kind of salad, and “Ouma Babsie” decided that Emma needs to double up on the veg to balance out the lack of salad….

For the Pumpkin Fritters you will need:
2 cups of mashed cooked and drained pumpkin (i prefer to steam the pumpkin)
1 cup cake flour
1 egg
10 ml baking powder
pinch of salt
Canola or sunflower oil for shallow frying

Steam the pumpkin, drain excess water.
Mash the cooked pumpkin.
Add the flour, egg and salt, and mix well.

Fry the pumpkin fritters in a non stick frying pan in a little bit of canola oil on a medium heat. Fry them until well cooked and crispy. If you don’t fry them long enough they will become soggy in the sauce. Once cooked, drain on a paper plate.

For the sauce you will need:
15 ml butter
200 ml sugar
200ml milk
15 ml maizena (corn flour)
175 ml cold water

Melt butter, add the sugar and milk and bring to a rolling boil.
Mix the maizena and cold water in a cup until dissolved completely and add slowly to the boiling milk mixture.
Bring to the boil again and cook for about 2 minutes.

Some like them with sauce and some like them with cinnamon sugar

I serve them “kebab style” on a stick, so try and keep them as small as possible, a bit more hassle to fry but so worth the “look”…..