Places

The Red Kitchen

A year ago I’ve discovered the multi-talented and dynamic Andrea on the internet. A first for me… painting on biscuits?! I started following her on social media, and saw her ‘Alice in wonderland’ collection. It literally took my breathe away! I’ve decided, we need to know more about The Red Kitchen. I ordered the ‘Rock a Roll’ Biscuits for my husband’s birthday and not only was it so beautiful, but also brilliantly delicious!!!!!

Andrea was kind enough to let me into her space to document her process. What an amazing experience. Thank you Andrea! Do yourself a favour and follow her on facebook. You will be simply loving it!!

https://www.facebook.com/intheredkitchen/

Q: Where did it all began?

A: I started baking from a very early age- I have a sweet tooth and my mom wasn’t the greatest baker then so I took over. 6 years ago a friend of mine gave me 2 cookie cutters from England (teacup and a teapot) That was when I started baking cookies and teaching myself how to ice and decorate them.

Q: Who inspired you to create and follow your ambitions?

A: I first watched a YouTube tutorial by SweetAmbs and was hooked but her style is very elegant and I wanted something else, I then found a cookier also from America called Arty McGoo, she changed everything for me as she paints on cookies. When I discovered I could use my art background together with my Chef’s diploma, my cookie world suddenly seemed endless.

My mom, Vicki Thomas, is an award winning internationally known botanical artist and she gave me a book about Chinese brush painting techniques. This style works incredibly well for cookies as it’s all about simple brush strokes and water colours. My mom definitely inspired my early cookie designs. My designs now are influence predominantly from nature, artworks and textile design.

Q: What did you do before you started with ‘The Red Kitchen’?

A: I worked in the beauty industry as a rep for a cosmetic company.

Q: Tell us more about your chickens….?

A: Ah, my really silly pleasure! I got my first 3 bantam chickens last year (Poached, Scrambled and Fried. Scrambled turned out to be a rooster so he became Roast and was roasted for dinner one night ) I now have another very beautiful rooster, Roosten Bieber and bossy boots Cupcake as well as a new chick (who gets a name once we know gender) I love my chickens, they follow me round the garden and eat from my hand and don’t mind if I pick them up for a cuddle.

Q: Are you the first person,…or only, in Cape Town painting on biscuits?

A: No, there are a few others I know of- Roxanne Floquet was probably the first, then me and Nessie Peevie (the Cake Witch) and the owner of Creative Cakepops. But I have no facts to prove this, only what I have seen on social media. I am pretty sure that they only do it occasionally as accompaniments to their cake orders whereas I tend to do it more often and with a far greater variety.

Q: The most challenging request by a client?

A: 3 spring to mind… The first time I was asked to do the Blue Willow pattern made me really excited and rather terrified as Blue Willow is intricate, precise and iconic.

Another was a set for a client’s best friend’s 40’th birthday. I painted each family member and their pets on cookies as well as a vintage bike, handbag, etc. Portrait painting is tough but on a 6cm edible canvass…

The other was a set for a North African hip hop DJ- the brief was complex as the client wanted me to incorporate a lot of ideas into the set and I had to find ways to make it all work together. I used Vintage Hip Hop posters as inspiration to make the set become a cohesive design. I was thrilled with the end result.

Q: Your 2 most popular requests?

A: Blue Willow and Star Wars.

Q: What is your secret for for a good shortbread?

A: The trick with cookies and baking actually is to start with great ingredients, a good recipe and control to stick to the recipe. Once you have mastered the basic techniques then by all means experiment. Baking is a science. My sugar cookie dough is same quantities butter and sugar with double the quantity flour; it makes stiff pliable dough that doesn’t spread when baking.

Q: Are there any new things you would like to explore in the world of baking? Or any new ventures for ‘The Red Kitchen’ in the future?

A: I want to experiment more with 3D cookies and eventually move into 3d cookie sculptures. My dream is to open up a cookie boutique with facilities for teaching and parties. A how to Cookie decorating book for South Africans, is also something I want to embark on.

C is for cookie and cookie is for me – the cookie monster

There is only one real happiness in life, and that is the happiness of creating – Frederick Delius

Food, Recipes

The Daily

Time to kick 2016 off with an Epic BBQ Pulled Pork wrap

Last year smoking of meat and vegetables, smoked flavours, home brewed beer and sriracha sauce took the world by storm…this year it is even going to get bigger and wilder!

BBQ sauce ingredients:

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 tbsp Fennel seeds

2 tbsp Smoked paprika

200g Brown sugar

200g Tomato sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Lemon juice

100ml Chutney

1 tsp Lemon zest

2 cloves Garlic, chopped fine

Method:

Heat olive oil and fry cumin seeds, fennel seeds and smoked paprika for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. When you see the bbq sauce going all sticky and dark brown in colour – you know you are on the right track.

To prepare the Pulled Pork: Rub pork shoulder (bone in) with salt, pepper and paprika. Roast for 1 hour at 250°C until it forms a black ‘’bark’’ (this is the pork rind that is almost burnt). Don’t be afraid or panic. Your dinner is not spoiled! The ‘’bark’’ is what keeps all the love juices from the pork inside and makes the meat succcccculent. Reduce your heat to 90°C and roast for another 6 hours. Remove from oven and pour 1 cider over and roast for another 2 hours. Remove the ‘’bark’’ and pull your pork apart with a fork. Yes a fork – that’s how soft and succulent it will be. When it is cooled down – mix in some bbq sauce

To assemble the bbq pork wrap: Top with coleslaw, pulled pork and mayonnaise mixed with Sriracha sauce.

Sriracha – type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from paste of chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt

Another few trends to take 2016 by storm……

Artisan ice cream

Seaweed

Fermented….everything

Watch this space – there is much more coming your way!

Food, Recipes

Sweet Spring

This very energetic couple met years ago when Jana’s ‘’volla’’ decided not to start on a rainy day in Cape town. The pound was calling and they decided to move to London to explore the flip side. After living in London for 8 years it was time to say goodbye to the underground, rides on the red bus, have their last sip of Starbucks coffee, last stroll along the Thames River, wave their last wave to the Queen and return to sunny South Africa.

When you enter their beautiful farm cottage you walk into a wall of memories with photographs of all their travels over the world. Antique furniture welcomes you into their home and the smell of freshly brewed coffee which is right up my ally.

Jana’s style is simple yet sophisticated with a fun flair here and there. Her passion for good food and produce are quickly noted and you can see…this girl loves cooking and entertaining…and she does not hold back!

The picturesque of blossoming trees, dust roads and perfect blue sky screams the start of spring! We could not have asked for a better setting.

It Must Be Spring

Hush, Can you hear it?

The rustling in the grass,

Bringing you the welcome news Winter’s day is past.

Soft, Can you feel it?

The warm caressing breeze, Telling you the sticky buds Are bursting on the trees.

Look, Can you see them?

The primrose in the lane, Now you must believe it – Spring is here again.

Beetroot & Mint juice

For all my vegetable juices, I use a Masticating juicer to get the most vitamins and minerals out of the vegetables

Ingredients:

6 -7 Fresh Raw Beetroots (washed and peeled)

Fresh Ginger (about a 2cm piece)

Handfull Fresh Mint

1 Ripe Pear

1 Whole lemon (skin and all)

Method:

Simply cut all the ingredients into chucks and juice…. The great thing about any juice is you don’t have to follow a recipe. You can add as many or as little fresh ginger and fresh mint according to taste. The sweetness of the beetroot and the tanginess of the fresh lemon is the best combination.

Try to serve immediately and enjoy!

If your hands become stained during preparation and cooking beetroot, rub some lemon juice over them to help remove the colour

Beetroot’s deep, overpoweringly red juice has earned it the reputation as the most bossy of vegetables…..

Other ideas for fresh beetroot apart from roasting, baking & juicing:

Beetroot greens can be used in salads in place of lettuce or spinach leaves…

Beetroot loves strong and salty partners – think smoked fish, goats cheese and capers…

Beetroot & Chocolate cake…

Beetroot with melted brie on toast

Drinking Coffee can help you burn fat!! Studies have shown that drinking caffeine can increase your metabolism 3 to 11%. It’s one of the few chemicals that can actually help with fat burning, so might as well drink up! Once a coffee-lover made a world record of consuming coffee. He drank 82 cups of coffee in 7 consecutive hours. WOW!!

Homemade Granola

I like to make a big batch at a time, as you can keep it for long and you will see, it is so much nicer than normal store-bought granola that before you know it, it will be all gone.

Ingredients:

8 cups Raw rolled oats

½ cup Wheat germ

1 ½ cup Sunflower seeds

½ cup Flaxseed

2 cups Desiccated coconut

2 teaspoons Fine Cinnamon

1 Handfull Mixed raw nuts

¾ cup Honey

2 tps Vanilla

3 tbsp Canola oil

1 tbsp Water

1 Handful Dried cranberries/raisins

Method:

Mix all the dry ingredients together (apart from the raisins/cranberries). Heat the honey, vanilla, oil and water until it boiling hot and drizzle over the dry ingredients. I always add extra honey as this recipe doesn’t contain any sugar. Bake at about 180 degrees C in a shallow baking dish until the colour change and the oats becomes crispy. Remember to stir every now and then ensuring that the whole batch gets light brown and crispy.Once you think the granola is nearly ready add the raisins or cranberries for the last 15 minutes.

The first day of spring in the Southern Hemisphere is the first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere

Children actually grow faster in the spring than during other times of the year.ⁱ According to a Facebook study, couples are most likely to break up in the spring and two weeks before Christmas. The lowest breakup time was Christmas Day and from August through October

Savoury French Toast with feta & thyme

Ingredients:

1 Stale French loaf – sliced

3 Eggs

100g Crumbed feta

Fresh Thyme

Freshly ground salt & pepper

1 knob Butter

Method:

Simply whisk the egg, add some thyme leaves, salt and pepper and soak the bread on both sizes for a few minutes until nice and soggy. In the meantime, get your pan nice and hot with some melted butter.

Pan-fry the toast until lightly browned on both sides for about 3 minutes on each side.

Once the French toast is ready, scatter with lots of feta and some more thyme leaves. The cold feta cheese will start to melt on the warm French toast making it soft and adding a salty savoury flavour to the hot French toast. To make the French toast even more Moorish, scatter with chopped olives and sundried tomatoes.

In France, French Toast is often called pain perdu, or “lost bread.” French bread goes stale and hard, or is “lost” quite quickly, but a few hundred years ago, poor French families had to use it up anyway. They soaked their stale bread in eggs and milk before frying, making it easier to chew.

Bread is probably the one food eaten by people of every race, culture and religion….

Murphy’s Law dictates that buttered bread will always land buttered-side down….

Breaking bread is a universal sign of peace….

During the spring, birds are more vocal as they sing to attract mates and warn away rivals

Jana & Jaco Lategan

Food, Places

Changing lanes…

Johannes Cornelis Goosen’s renaming of his farm, Wagenbooms Rivier to Prince Alfred Hamlet in 1861, after Queen Victoria’s son, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was surely an honourable idea. He did not exactly think that one day a Scotsman will be its most popular ambassador… a classic case of ‘boereverneukery’?!

Peter Mitchell is a thinking man, songwriter, and comedian…a well respected artist among his alternative and commercial colleagues in the South African music industry. The lyrical content of his songs is intelligent, emotional and purposefully written… a read between the lines. If you listen to his songs and his vocal deliverance, you will find yourself gazing in a melodically hypnotic state of meditation and beauty simultaneously. The best parts of his live shows, is when he is changing lanes, and entertains masterfully between his tongue in the cheek stories and his beautiful songs. Like a true craftsman he knows when and how to do it.

Lens & Ladle checked in for a rehearsal… & lunch cooked by Peter Mitchell a.k.a. ‘Pietman die Skot’ and his partner, Arnè.

“Heid doon arse up!”

‘Have you ever been experienced? Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful.‘

– Jimi Hendrix

Pietman & Schalk

Arnè

Espresso & Rum Mousse

Ingredients:

4 tsp Espresso

4 tsp Butter, cut into blocks

4tbsp Rum

4 Egg Yolks

8tbsp White sugar

375ml Cream

Method:

Heat espresso and butter together and take off heat when butter is just melted. In another pot – heat rum, egg yolks and white sugar over a pot of boiling water and whisk until light and fluffy. Ensure your heat is very low. Mix butter and espresso mix together with the egg mixture. Add the cream and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Nicole

Vernon

Rust Familie Wyne

https://www.facebook.com/RustFamilieWyne

The flavonoids in onion tend to be more concentrated in the outer layers of the flesh. To maximize your health benefits, peel off as little of the fleshy, edible portion as possible when removing the onion’s outermost paper layer. Even a small amount of “overpeeling” can result in unwanted loss of flavonoids. For example, a red onion can lose about 20% of its quercetin and almost 75% of its anthocyanins if it is “overpeeled.”

Puma

Tomato, Port & Thyme pasta sauce

Ingredients:

20ml Olive oil

1tbsp Butter

1 small Onion, chopped

10ml Chopped garlic

2 Carrots, grated fine

½ cup Port

1 can Cherry tomatoes

1 can Chopped tomatoes

1 can Tomato & onion ‘’smoor’’

2tbsp Tomato chili jam

4 sprigs Thyme

Salt and Black pepper to taste

Method:

In a pan, heat olive oil and butter and fry onions until soft and caramelized. Add the chopped garlic and carrots and fry until the carrot starts to get a slight colour. Add the Port and reduce for 10 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, tomato & onion smoor, tomato chili jam, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes on very low heat. Serve with homemade Pasta. Garnish with TONS of Parmesan cheese

It was a real experience with real living legends! Lens & Ladle say a big thank you to everyone, you were awesome!

Have a look @ some of our favourite links!

Peter Mitchell – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mud266TRyiw

Nicole Holm – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9nIPl15s-I

Schalk Joubert – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h–FGc1QWr8

www.vernonswart.co.za

Ciao,

Jorina & Olivea x

Uncategorized

A cut above a dancing coal

‘You know that it would be untrue

You know that I would be a liar

If I was to say to you

Girl, we couldn’t get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire’

The Doors

There is something about a fire, and the atmosphere it gives to a party…with braai day around the corner and the Springboks ready for the field…it is time to get the fire started.

One can talk for hours about how to build the perfect fire, how to choose the perfect wood, what the perfect temperature is to ‘’braai’’, on and and and…

For me it comes down to choosing a fun crowd, good food and don’t forget the ice! It takes about 2 hours for a tray of ice to freeze – SO BE PREPARED!!

The days of putting out an oily packet of chips in a plastic container are gone. It’s time to try something new and wow your guests. Bruschetta with fried tomatoes, basil and feta or anchovies, olives and origanum. Make your own dips or make a nice flavoured salt for roasted cashew or almond nuts. Even the old famous ‘’braai broodjie’’ can be made into a gourmet explosion. Use a whole ciabatta loaf and top with onion marmalade, tomato and mature cheddar cheese.

Always remember: don’t interfere with captain ‘’braaier’’. He (sometimes she) knows that you are hungry and that you don’t want a well cooked steak. Keep calm and have another cold beverage.

Like legendary Koos Kombuis says: ‘’die hele lewe is ‘n bring en braai’’

Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again.

Passionfruit Lemonade

This is refreshing when served iced cold and can be a great ‘’ice breaker’’ to start a braai. I don’t like carbonated drinks – so I prefer lemonade made with still water. You can add mint or fresh raspberries if you want to be fancy, or gin in the summer if you want to add an extra kick. Sugar is a very sensitive topic of discussion these days – listen to your palate and adjust your sugar crave accordingly.

Ingredients:

1 cup White sugar

1 cup Water

1 cup Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

4 cups Water to dilute

40g Passionfruit

Method:

Bring white sugar and water to the boil until all sugar is dissolved and add lemon juice, water to dilute and passionfruit. Cool down and serve ice cold.

“ Gee daai bek jam’’

Chicken wings with Yuzu and Apricot glaze

Yuzu is a citrus fruit from east Asia. It is sour and salty in one! You can get it from any Chinese groceries shop. I don’t like to marinade the chicken wings in the sauce – but rather brush it over while it is cooking on the fire. This ensures a great colour and no bitter burnt taste.

Ingredients:

100ml Yuzu

4 tbsp Apricot Jam

1 tbsp Lemon juice

1 tbsp Soya sauce

1 tsp White sugar

Method:

Heat all the ingredients together in a pot until apricot jam is melted. If the glaze is too thick – add a little more lemon juice or yuzu. ‘’Braai’’ the chicken wings and brush with Yuzu and Apricot glaze. Season with salt and pepper – not too much as the yuzu is already salty.

Koekelekooo

Chimichurri

Chimichurri is lovely to serve with fish, chicken and lamb. If it was up to my husband, Nikki, he will eat this every day – on anything from sliced bread to baked potato…even in his porridge.

Ingredients:

1 bunch Parsley with stalks

2 cloves Garlic

½ teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Black pepper

½ cup Red wine vinegar

1 tbsp Wholegrain mustards

¾ cup Good quality Olive oil

½ Red chili

Method:

Blitz all the ingredients together – easy as 1,2,3,…

’Swartpot’’ Balsamic onions

IF there is any leftovers…slice it up and serve it with mature cheddar cheese on a toasted sandwich.

Ingredients:

45ml Oil

500g Baby onions – cut the top off and peel, but leave one layer of skin on. This will prevent the whole story of falling apart

5 Thyme stalks

Sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp White sugar

20ml Balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp Butter

Method:

Heat oil in ‘’swartpot’’ and add onions – flat side down. Brown the onion for about 5 minutes and then reduce the heat to very very low and put the lid on the pot. After 30 minutes the onion should be half-cooked. Add the thyme, salt, pepper, white sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook for another 30-40 minutes over very low heat, with the lid on. When the onion is soft – add the butter and serve.

Use sunglasses when peeling a onion or put onions in freezer 15 minutes before you use it to prevent those tears from running down your cheeks. If this does not do the trick – breathe through your mouth and stick your tongue out!!

Nectarine, Fennel & Goats cheese salad

Ingredients:

1 packet Micro leaves/ Rocket

1 log Goats cheese, broken into big chunks

Fennel bulb, thinly sliced

Nectarines, sliced into thin wedges

Method:

Layer your salad – starting with the micro leaves or rocket. Top with goats cheese chunks, fennel and nectarines. Repeat layers 3 times. This salad does not need a very potent dressing – drizzle with olive oil. I have some of the passionfruit left over from making the lemonade and I mixed that with a bit of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of black onion seeds. Plain, simple and delicious.

Sweet potato with sesame & ginger salt

Ingredients:

8 Whole sweet potatoes, wrapped in tinfoil

2 tbsp Salt

2 tbsp White and black sesame seeds

1 tbsp Finely chopped fresh ginger

1 sprig Rosemary, chopped fine

1 tbsp Black pepper

2 tbsp Butter

Method:

Place the tinfoil wrapped sweet potato into the fire and leave to cook – this will take about 40 minutes. When you are ready to eat: Open the tinfoil, make a cut in the sweet potato and put a dollop of butter on top and sprinkle with sesame & ginger salt.

Good quality sea salt contains many essential minerals for the body. The best type of sea salt should be slightly wet… from it’s original source. Did you know you can use tinfoil to polish your silver? Line a pan with tinfoil, fill it with cold water and add two teaspoons of salt. Drop your silverware into solution and let it sit for 3 minutes. Rinse off and dry.

Doughnut Marshmallow S’mores

This is heaven!!

Ingredients:

10 Ready made frosted doughnuts ( I got mine from woolies) – cut in half

1 Wholenut chocolate slab

20g Almonds and pistachio’s, chopped fine

20g Dried figs, chopped fine

5 Marshmallow’s – braaied over the coles

Method:

Mix almonds, pistachio and dried figs together. Melt wholenut slab and dip half of doughnut into chocolate and roll into nut mix. Set aside. Braai the marshmallows and stick it inbetween chocolate coated and frosted doughnut. You will want s……more

‘We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning. We didn’t start the fire. No we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it’ – Billy Joel

Food, Places, Recipes

Let there be wine

“24 August 2011”

On this date, winemaker Eric Saayman won the General Smuts trophy, South Africa’s most respected award for a young wine. It was also the first and only time a Viognier…slightly wooded…won this coveted trophy since 1952 when A.P. Conradie lifted this prestigious beauty for the first time.

The Riebeek Cellars talisman is all rock & roll, with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimmy Hendrix and CCR on his list of favourite bands. Looking at him, you will observe calmness when he is in focus while doing what he cares for. Eric is a straight shooter, a family man, a friend; and one of the most passionate winemakers in South Africa.

Walking into Eric’s home in Riebeek Kasteel, we heard Bob Seger from the kitchen, the sound was inviting…

“And I stood arrow straight

Unencumbered by the weight

Of all these hustlers and their schemes

I stood proud, I stood tall

High above it all

I still believed in my dreams”

This particular song, ‘Like a rock’, was something Lens & Ladle could identify in the winemaker of Riebeek Cellars, and was looking forward making lunch with him, @ home with his beautiful wife, Alta.

Pop! goes the cork… Pieter Cruythoff Brut, you beauty!

Let’s roll Eric!!

Eric

“You are doomed to make choices. This is life’s greatest paradox.”

Wayne Dyer

The Filling

A Ladle a day… keeps the hunger away…

Kasteelberg Shiraz is a lively rich wine, full bodied with a subdued smokiness on the nose and a palate of ripe fruit and interesting spice.

Well-balanced and smooth, the aftertaste lingers with the exciting flavours of Christmas pudding… lekker!!

Olivea

…our Lens & Ladle food guru

Cinnabuns makes my toes curl…,but when I saw this recipe in the ‘Taste Magazine’ I started to drool with excitement!!

Cinnamon and Cranberry ‘Pull – apart’ loaf ingredients:

2 cups Milk

2.5 teaspoons Instant yeast

100g Sugar

½ cup Canola oil

540g Cake flour

½ teaspoon Baking powder

½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons Salt

120g Melted butter

100g Dried cranberries

300g Sugar for spiced sugar mix

5 tablespoons Cinnamon

Cinnamon and Cranberry ‘Pull – apart’ loaf method:

Mix milk and instant yeast in a small bowl. Place the sugar, oil, flour, baking powder, ground nutmeg and salt in large mixing bowl and add the milk yeast mixture. Mix to form smooth dough (like you would make bread). Set aside to rise for 1 hour to double in size. Knock down the dough and roll out to make 50x25cm rectangle. Cut out 5 x 25cm long rectangles. Brush each rectangle with melted butter and scatter with cranberries. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and dust each layer with the spicy sugar mix. Place all the layers on top of each other and cut into 6 equal parts. Place them into a greased loaf tin, cut side up. Set aside to rise for another hour. Bake for 30 – 35 min at 180°C. Allow to cool slightly before removing from loaf tin.

To serve: mix 130g icing sugar with 1 shot freshly brewed espresso. Drizzle over the cinnamon and cranberry loaf.

OOOO my goodness!! You will want to repeat this culinary explosion every day!

Eric’s toolbox

Eric made this beautiful Grenache Rose’ from the vineyard of, and for Morne du Plessis, former Springbok captain and Riebeek Kasteel habitant.

Just checking!

Clara & Schalk

Bacon and Walnut stuffed deboned chicken

Ingredients

20ml Oil

2 Onions, finely chopped

1 Packet streaky bacon, chopped into small blocks

2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

250g Brown mushrooms, sliced

150g Walnuts

4 Slices of white bread, toasted and cut into blocks

1 Egg

1 Large deboned chicken

Method:

Fry onions with oil until soft and starting to caramelize. Add bacon, garlic and mushrooms and fry until cooked. Add walnuts, bread blocks and egg.

Now to get your hands dirty….

Stuff the chicken and roll up and tie with string. Leave to rest and set for 1 hour.

Cook in Weber for 40 mins – 60 mins. I like a squeeze of lemon right at the end.

Based on a Ina Paarman recipe

Alta

“Woke up this morning I was all alone
Saw your picture by the telephone
I was missing you oh so bad
Wish I had you here to hold
All I’ve got is this touch-tone phone
So I guess I’ll give you a call
Operator help me please”

BB King – ‘Telephone Song’

The big tin left of the wine bottle candle stick is Carbonell olive oil and was founded in Spain in 1866. Its quality & tradition have made it the Nº1 Olive Oil Brand in Spain.

Riebeek Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2015 tank sample in a humble plastic container, crisp on the palate…

The art of wine paired with food, a chicken flesh moment…

Roast Vegetables

The cool thing about vegetables is that you can’t really mess it up!! The secret is to keep the sizes of the cut vegetables similar. This will ensure an even cooking time and roasting colour. Add fresh herbs for extra flavour or drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Ingredients:

50ml Olive oil

2 Onions (red or white), cut into slices

10ml Ground coriander

10ml Ground cumin

10ml Paprika

2 Garlic cloves, chopped fine

1 Butternut, cut into blocks

1 Yellow pepper, cut into strips

1 Red pepper, cut into strips

2 Babymarrows, cut into chunks

8 Brussel Sprouts

10ml Salt and black pepper

Method for roast vegetables:

In a frying pan, add olive oil and onions and fry for 5 minutes until the onions starts to caramelize. Add coriander, cumin, paprika and garlic and fry for a few minutes. Add the onion mix with the rest of the ingredients into a roasting pan and roast for 25-30min at 180°C until cooked. Garnish with char grilled rosa tomatoes on the vine.

Recipe by Eric Saayman

Autumn salad with citrus and poppy seed dressing

This is a whopping’ beaut’ of a salad. Fresh, funky and full of flavour and texture. You will knock the socks off your guests.

Autumn salad ingredients:

200g Parboiled baby beetroot and cut into blocks

200g Parboiled baby carrots, peeled with stem on

2 Salad springonions, thinly sliced

1 Handfull coriander

1 Handfull micro leaves

100g Feta cheese, cut into blocks

Autumn salad method:

Layer micro leaves and coriander in between baby beetroot and baby carrots. Top with feta cheese blocks and drizzle with citrus and poppy seed dressing

Citrus and poppy seed dressing ingredients:

250ml Orange juice / Mango & Orange juice

2tbsp Sugar

1tbsp Salt

1tbsp Mustard powder

2tbsp Poppy seeds

Citrus and poppy seed dressing method:

Add juice, sugar, salt and mustard powder to a pot and bring to the boil. Simmer until you have a ‘thick dressing’ consistency. Cool down and add poppy seeds. YUM

Sweet, white & red, and at the back, Ben… please to meet you!

Alta & Eric

Nikki sitting on the right, or shall we say ‘Johnny come lately’, he has played a more prominent role as a babysitter on the day.

The Saayman’s is special people and playing a big role in the community of Riebeek Kasteel. If you are passing by, pop in @ Riebeek Cellars and have a taste. You won’t be sorry, and probably gain a whole new respect for the dynamic role this cellar plays in promoting wine.

To be or not to be…..surely to be!

Hup hup! Riebeek Cellars!

www.riebeekcellars.com

Food, Places, Recipes

My Basaar

It’s 07h00, still dark, the city already buzzing…the smell of coffee… fresh croissants just out of the oven… it’s the last day on location, and Loop street is walking, full of memories…

Bernice van der Merwe started her career as a food & décor writer, and a stylist on various publications. In April 2012 she took on a dream and started her own business, My Basaar.

The name comes from her childhood years in Philipstown, where the annual church bazaar is one of the biggest events on the calendar. Philipstown is situated in Big Sky country, eastern Karoo area almost right in the middle of South Africa.

It is the last day for My Basaar as a restaurant and food shop. The off site part of the business were acquiring a lot more time from her, and today…will not be shy asking for the same attention. There is just too much to do, preparing, cooking, serving …if life could go down as a book, and this part of the journey with My Basaar could go down as a chapter … it will go down as one to remember and a bloody good one too!

Lens & Ladle were in town to capture beautiful Bernice and her team, always cooking for, and serving their customers as if it was in the comfort of their own home.

Leya, David, Bernice, Charmaine and Manie.

City -the last verse

“I can’t believe I’m here and that I don’t fear tomorrow anymore. I think we might be headed for a great time. So look at me, tell me what you see and give me a left cheek kiss. If this is not called happiness and don’t know what it is.
So take a deep breath, tell me what you smell. I smell a good time in my life.
If this is not called happiness and don’t know what it is. I think I like this city.”

– Billie the vision and the dancers

Princess Marie Antoinette came to France as a new bride when she was only 15. The young queen missed the simple cake in the shape of crescent, of her homeland, Austria. To honor their new queen, the bakers in Paris made some “kipferls” of their own. The only difference was that they called it by the French word for crescent, “croissant” and made it look more complex for the royal dining table.

Barista, an Italian word meaning bartender.

Manie, the perfect gentleman from the beginning till the end.

Bernice is a humble human being with a warm personality, and an inspiration for everyone around her.

With good reason this facts about Bernice van der Merwe will show you why…

her career started as an intern at ‘Huisgenoot’ and YOU magazine

assistant food editor at ‘Sarie’ magazine for 6 years

junior food editor at ‘Huisgenoot’ and YOU magazine for 6 years, stylist for décor & food, food writer

publications @ Caravan and Outdoor/Sarie/WEG/ / TV Plus/Huisgenoot/Drum Décor

Food styling on the latest ‘Kook en Geniet’, Wenresepte 500

Published cook book: One-Two-Three on the Table

Cook Book series (with Arina du Plessis): Party Magic 2, Party Magic 3 and Party Magic 4

Televison @ Expresso Morning Show/Dagbreek Kyknet/Nataniël Tafel

Food Stylist on Marita van der Vyver’s new movie ‘Dis Koue Kos, Skat’ – coming to the big screens 2016

The door closed at 16h00, it was a long day that went by quickly. Good times will be remembered! The sit down, the knowing that they came out to your creation, your ideas, your food, to enjoy, to relax, to come away from the busy life in the city for a minute or two…to My Basaar. A proud moment.

www.mybasaar.co.za

Photographs by Jorina: www.jorinakriel.com

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	Petro Hanekom on Sweet Spring
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Author Archives: jorinakriel

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My Basaar