Down town Joburg with mom

My mom and I visited the final Neighbourgoods market for the year two weekends ago. I knew it would be interesting because that ol' lady is one fussy eater. Her food can't be too oily, too cold, too sweet, too pink, too blue.... I could go on for days.
Our first stop was at the Ethiopian food stand. She was very curious and asked PLENTY questions and I just stood back and watched because I knew how it would all end... :-) So, after she interrogated one of the assistants for what seemed like a very very long time, she decided she didn't like the look of the food and wanted us to move on. I wished I had taken  a video of it all and how she turned her nose up and walked away. It's what really good comedy is made of. LOVE IT!

The rooftop of the market has a large seating area, bar and a few interesting clothing vendors. They even had a live band playing which was quite cool.

Anyway, after exploring the market, we decided to sample some of the food. We had the chicken and chorizo paella which was...ok. Now, if I didn't like it, I knew for sure that mom really wouldn't like it. I was right :-) I also had a bit of Belgian waffle with sugar which was a little salty for my liking. I decided to take the rest of it home and smothered it in honey - much better. The texture was great and the portion size was very generous.

I'll definitely make my way back there again in the new year to sample more of their food...with a less fussy foodie of course. :-) Love you mom...

Physical location

73 Juta Street

Braamfontein, Joburg

7 days in Thailand

I was in Thailand a couple of weeks ago and had an absolute blast.

Wednesday, 7 Dec

We landed in Bangkok late afternoon, checked in our bags at the hotel in Sukhumvit and hit the streets. One of the coolest things we did in Bangkok was to have drinks at the mobile bar parked along the street we stayed in. The vehicle was converted into a very stylish bar and the owner even had fold up chairs and tables lined along the street for all his patrons. He also played some really good hip hop and R&B that kept us entertained for hours - an awesome way to kick off our stay

Thursday, 8 Dec

We went shopping at the 7-floor MBK mall and got some really good bargains there. We also spent some time checking out the street vendors and even visited the famous Phat pong disctrict [don't judge]. I'm sure you'll appreciate why we didn't take any photos there.

Friday, 9 Dec

We flew to Surat thani airport [a real dump of a place with a nasty lingering odour that I couldn't understand] - we needed to get to one of the islands, Koh Tao, for a wedding. From the aiport, we took a taxi to the harbour where we caught 2 ferries, and covered a distance of about 70kms before finally reaching our distination. We stayed at the Sensi resort and spa which was really quite cute.
We decided to do as the locals do and rented a scooter which cost next to nothing. This was the best way to explore and really experience the place - what a pleasure.

Saturday, 10 Dec

The wedding was intimate and sweet and the food at the reception was to die for! I had smoked salmon with snow peas, spaghetti and parmasan shavings - culinary heaven

We went to a cabaret show after the wedding and watched the lady-boys do their thing - they sang, danced and looked absolutely fabulous.

Sunday, 11 Dec

We headed off to the island of Koh Samui which is approximately 2 hours away from where we were. We stayed at the Nora Buri resort which I'd recommend to anyone visiting the area - absolutely stunning.
We shopped some more, ate some more, got stared at some more [we soon discovered that not many chocolate coloured individuals make it to the islands which made us exotic - very funny]. We even managed to fit in a full body oil massage that was worth every cent spent.

Monday, 12 Dec

We missed our flight back to Bangkok and were stuck at that smelly airport for a while [sigh].
It was super late by the time we got back to the big city. We decided we weren't going to sleep and to explore Bangkok for the last time before heading out back to Jozi the following morning.

Tuesday, 13 Dec

Flight back to Jozi plus a 12 hour stop over in Doha [very sad]

MY THAI FOOD HIGHLIGHTS

Fried rice with chicken and bacon - super tasty
Banana lassi - this drink apparently originated in India and is usually mady up of yoghurt, cream, honey and fruit.
Chicken and bacon dim sum with sweet chilli sauce - one of my favourite things to eat, even in Jozi
Chocolate doughnut - not very Thai, I know. It was sweet and surprisingly not as oily as I expected it to be - really good
Green Thai curry - I had it a few times during our stay
Sweet sticky rice with mango - this is a classic Thai dessert that took me a while to get used to. Very enjoyable

I'll definitely make my way back there again...

Tis the season to be jolly

A few of my girlfriends and I got together and cooked up a storm recently. We had an amazing and sumptuous 3 course meal fit for a king – and we made it all from scratch! Here are a few of the winning recipes.

STARTERS

Cheese meatballs

Ingredients

·         3 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese

·         1 cup bread crumbs

·         salt

·         black pepper

·         1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1 kg lean beef mince

Method

·         In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into balls. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan.

·         Bake at 190° for 12-15 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink

Recipe from keyingredient.com

Grilled flat bread

Ingredients

•      1/2 cup warm water

•      1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

•      1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing

•      1 1/3 cups white bread flour, plus more for dusting

•      3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Method

·         Heat a grill or grill pan until hot. Place water in a medium bowl, and sprinkle yeast on top; stir to dissolve. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.

·         Add olive oil, flour, and salt; combine. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 1 to 2 minutes.

·         Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place for 30 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four equal pieces, and roll out each into a 1/8-inch-thick round.

·         Lightly brush both sides of each portion with olive oil, and place directly on the hot grill. Grill the flatbread until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from grill, and season with salt.

Recipe from keyingredient.com

 

MAIN COURSE

Grilled salmon

Ingredients

·         Salmon steaks

·         Chillies

·         Garlic

·         Fennel

·         Olive oil, salt and pepper

Method

·         Preheat oven to 190°

·         Finely chop the chillies, garlic and fennel and place in bowl

·         Add olive oil and some salt and pepper to taste and mix well

·         Lightly dip the salmon in the olive oil mix and place on a greased oven tray

·         Bake for approximately 15 minutes

DESSERT

Tiramisu

Ingredients

·         1 packet of Lady fingers (approximately 400g)

·         2 eggs

·         500g mascarpone cheese

·         4 cups brewed strong coffee, cooled

·         120g sugar

·         Cocoa powder

·         Coffee liqueur

Method

·         Separate eggs in a medium sized bowl. Mix egg yolks with sugar and beat until smooth. Gently mix yolks with mascarpone cheese until smooth

·          In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into cheese

·         Dip Lady fingers in the coffee and line the bottom of a large glass bowl. This needs to be done quickly as they absorb moisture very quickly and become soggy

·         Spoon half of the filling over the lady fingers until completely covered

·         Add another layer of lady fingers on top of that

·         Top up with the rest of the mascarpone cheese filling

·         Dust with cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 4 hours



             

Gone fishing

The Lightly salted crew is out of town for 2 weeks. We promise to bring more juicy and interesting stories for you soon

Art

Food really is exciting. I feel this way about it every time I get to sample something made a little differently.  I mean, there must be a million and one different ways to cook just about anything you think of.  So much so that I think it’s quite possible to have a new culinary experience with every single meal you have…No repeats. No favourites. Imagine...

Anyway, last week I had the pleasure of experiencing something different.

The chef went from this…

…to this

East African coffee spiced beef fillet medallions with pickled courgettes, edamame beans [immature soybeans in the pod commonly found in Japan, China, and Hawaii. The pods are boiled in water together with condiments such as salt, and served whole.]  with roasted red pepper dressing. The medallions were cooked to perfection and just melted in the mouth. The beans and pepper dressing added a different dimension to the dish – magic. I wanted to clap in appreciation.

I would share the details of the restaurant but it would be pointless as it doesn’t have a name and isn’t open to the public. Unless you’re friends with me and get invited to lunch one fine afternoon…  J

Sooo profound :-)

Berrylicious

It feels like a typical day in London today – wet and cold. Love love love it! The problem though is that this weather always inspires an unhealthy activity in the kitchen.

I’m trying to fit into a bikini in 2 weeks but I just can’t seem to find the will power to stay away from my most favouritest thing in the world – dessert. L Damn you Stefano!

So today, I consulted one of my new acquisitions, flipped a few pages and came across something very sexy – the Cherry Clafoutis. It’s a baked French dessert made with cherries and batter. I didn’t have cherries in the fridge and sure as hell wasn’t going to drive out in the rain to find them so I improvised. I used blueberries and strawberries instead and it turned out just fine…mighty fine, in fact J

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

·         ¼ cup melted butter

·         1 cup strawberries

·         ½ cup blueberries

·         ½ cup self raising flour

·         3 eggs

·         Pinch of salt

·         ½ cup sugar

·         1 cup milk

Method

·         Preheat oven to 160 ̊c

·         Grease oven proof dish

·         Arrange berries evenly on the dish

·         In a bowl, sift flour, add sugar, salt, butter, eggs and mix well. Gradually add the milk until mixture is runny and mix well.

·         Gently pour the mixture over the berries and bake for approximately 35 minutes

·         I had mine with double cream Greek yoghurt (yes, healthy, I know) and it tasted like a dream



On a high

My Sunday was spent at Anika’s Deli in Nelson Mandela square with a bunch of really lovely people. It was a very intimate affair as only a handful of people were there. We had high tea [really posh] and I got to meet some really dynamic, powerful, yet down-to-earth individuals. The food was also lovely - salmon and cream topped scones, lovely moist chocolate brownies, quiche, camembert parcels…and more

Many profound things were mentioned but this one stood out the most:

To be valuable and sustainable, you need to add to your complexity. You need to be, know and experience more than just your reality. That’s how one becomes and remains relevant, indispensable and dynamic

                                               

The speaker was sitting in board meetings at age 26 and became one of our country's youngest CEOs at just 29. She clearly lives by these words as she is exactly that. The cherry on top is that she is indeed a warm, real individual with her feet set firmly in the ground.

After speaking to her, I realize that being a shooting star and maintaining that momentum is a daily, conscious effert. You have to want to be that person and really work at it constantly.

I'm working on being that person…

Chopsticks

Some of my girlfriends and I recently got together for dinner in Pretoria and had a fabulous bonding session.  We reminisced and had thigh-slapping giggles about everything – from how we met to the boys we fancied back in the day.

Koi in Lynwood was our meeting place and the food there was fabulous, as usual. We had dim sum for starters and I must say that it was quite comical watching some of them [no names mentioned] tackling their chopsticks. I decided to be very boring that night and had the tried and tested red Thai curry as my main.

Dessert, however, was a little more adventurous – chocolate and banana spring rolls with white chocolate sauce. The first couple of bites were a little strange but I soon grew to like it. Bananas and chocolate aren’t the best combo for me but this really worked well. I shall be trying that in mine own kitchen J

Our evening ended with plenty hugs and see-you-soon’s and as we all parted ways, I couldn’t help but feel grateful – grateful for loving, crazy girlfriends who are always ready to share a good laugh..and meal...

Photos are courtesy of a very talented young lady - Acanda. Her work is show cased here ourredroom.tumblr.com/

Manna from Mamsie

I met a very interesting lady recently at a friend's house. Quite a colourful character who told stories that would make one fall in love with African history, culture and heritage. She entertained us for a while with her childhood stories and experiences - I felt like I'd known her forever. The highlight of our conversation though was when she told us of her family bread recipe. As she gave a detailed account of the method, she would occasionally pause to describe how soft and tasty it is...she pulled a face and closed her eyes as if she had had a mouthful moments before. I had to try it out myself so I tried my best to memorize everything she said. I winged the rest and was quite delighted with the outcome.

Ingredients

• 2 cups maize meal
• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 packet intant yeast
• Approximately 1 cup water

Method


You first need to make uphuthu with the maize meal. Add maize to approximately 1.5 cups of boiling water in a large pot and use a fork to mix. Add approximately ½ cup of water and continue mixing – it should make little balls or crumbs. Add more water but only a little at a time while mixing. Make sure that you don't add too much water. Reduce heat to low and cover with the lid on. The steam will cook it though
Keep checking it every 5 minutes or so. You only need to cook it for 30minutes as it still needs to be baked/steam. Put it in a bowl and allow to cool

• Add the flour,sugar, salt and yeast to the cooked maize meal and mix wel
• Add the oil and about 1/2 a cup of water and mix with your hands
• You need to keep adding water until the dough is stiff but easy enough to work with
• Kneed for approximately 30 minutes (I only managed about 7 minutes!)
• Form the dough into a bread-like shape, place in a greased pan, cover and place in a warm spot for it to rise for approximately 20 minutes
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 ̊c for about 45 minutes

Imagine that...

McHome-made

I have a new obsession. Oreo McFlurry. It's gotten so bad that I consumed 5 of them in just 1 weekend. I'd like to say that I'm ashamed and will never do that again but I'm not...and I doubt I can stop...so I decided to make my own - because I can... :-)

McHome-made

Ingredients

• 300ml full cream milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 egg yolks
• 4 Oreo cookies (be sure to scrape off the cream in the middle)
• 3/4 cup icing sugar
• 300ml double cream

Method

• Put the milk and vanilla into a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool
• Once cooled, add egg yolks and whisk. Return mixture to the stove and heat. Stir until custard thickens. Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film and allow to cool
• Meanwhile, crush Oreo cookies (I put mine in a blender because I wanted the ice cream to be smooth)
• In a separate bowl, whip cream until stiff, gently fold in the milk and egg mix and sugar
• Pour into a bowl and freeze (mine took more than an hour to set)
• I shaved some milk chocolate to make it look pwetty

The recipe is originally made with strawberries from one of my cook books - I just substituted the strawberries with Oreos

Cooking with sole

My good buddy Victor bought me an awesome set of cookbooks for my birthday and in there is an interesting phyllo pastry and trout recipe. Besides making prawns and mussels, I’m generally scared to make fish because I can never get it right. So I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try it out the other night. I substituted the trout with sole and it turned out…ok…I think...considering how I generally fair in that department. J

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

·         Butter

·         1 small onion

·         Handful of chopped parsley (this is from my very own little garden)

·         Grated rind of 1 lemon

·         1 medium sized trout/sole (the head bothered me a little so I chopped it off)

·         12 sheets of phyllo pastry

·         Salt and pepper

·         Lemon slices and parsley to garnish

Method

·         Preheat oven to 200 ̊c

·         Fry onion in butter until soft. Add parsley and lemon rind. Season fish and gently stuff the cavity

·         Melt butter. Cut phyllo pastry into strips and brush with butter. Wrap strips around the fish and place in greased baking tray

·         Bake for approximately 30 minutes

·         Serve garnished with lemon slices and parsley

I’ll be trying it again soon to make sure I get it right…and maybe with its head intact this time… J

Dirty dozen

Would you still eat them if they looked this horrified?? TOO funny!

Source: Cool hunting

Dessert for Carol

Sometimes the happiest moments are the simplest ones...like sharing a fuss-free, 5-minute sweet delight with a dear friend while watching my favourite soapie.

Recipe

• 2 ginger biscuits - crushed
• 1/2 cup of  double cream Greek yoghurt
• 2 table spoons of honey
• 2 table spoons of chocolate chips
• 1 table spoon of milk
• 1 Martini glass(because they are so sexy)

Method

• place crushed biscuits in the glass (you may mix them with some butter to form a more steady base but I I prefer them as they are)
• mix the honey and yoghurt and spoon carefully into the glass
• melt the choc chips and milk in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds
• pour melted chocolate over the yoghurt

This is how much she enjoyed it... J