Thyme on Nicol

The weather in Jozi has improved dramatically. I went from wearing thick black stockings and a turtle neck to a summer dress and sandals in just one week - love it! So my Saturday morning started at Thyme on Nicol - an awesome eatery inside Pick 'n Pay's new flagship store on William Nicol drive. They had an awesome selection of cakes [which I surprisingly didn't have], sushi and breakfast menu.

I had medium poached eggs, salmon and rocket on toasted ciabatta - heaven on a plate and just what the doctor ordered. I washed it down with fresh strawberry juice. Bliss...

The zoo

I recently went to the Pretoria zoo with my date-for-hire. [don't judge me] It was actually a lot of fun. I was meant to be looking at the animals but found myself musing at all the interesting food-related paraphernalia. I had to share some of it...

Sometimes it feels like my innards are saying exactly this to me [every hour!!]

This would be a great name for a bar...don't you think?



I know some people who bite...even when you're trying to feed them...

Thought this was funny...

So, after a long day, we decided to go here...



And this is what we had...



Not exactly a gourmet meal but definitely hit the spot

These are a few of my favourite things


Baking sweet treats is a favourite past time. These are some of my favourite. Email me for futher info or to place orders at info@lightlysalted.co.za



Chocolate cake with cream cheese icing



Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese icing




Moist dark chocolate cake with chocolate sauce




Chocolate swiss roll with cream and caramel filling with chocolate balls



Swiss roll with caramel filling



Mi cocina

My first real taste of the globe and all things international was when I lived in London a few years ago.  This was the longest I’d ever been away from home and the first time I’d ever had to truly fend for myself. I came into my own and learned some really valuable lessons – like how fat I really could get if I continued to eat and drink as I wished. [I would share some some photos with you but I wouldn't want to put you through that]

Anyway, one of the many highlights of that time was the people I met there. I moved into a house with a South African girl from Cape Town, a Colombian chica and another from Spain. Our time together was interesting – we fought, bonded, drank and ate plenty together. And I have a few of those moments captured in pictures which always bring a smile to my face. Like the time we decided to bake chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce in our little kitchen. Bibi, the Colombian, decided to name our experiment ‘mi cocina’ which means ‘my kitchen’ in Spanish. The pudding was all sugar and butter and tasted just right.

I still make that kind of stuff in mi cocina…

Bibi



Poison in the making

Zana and Bibi

And the final product

O sole mio

O sole mio…I felt like singing this song after my first taste of the Tiramisu from Pomodoro (Morningside shopping centre). This Italian dessert was decadent, balanced in taste and form and oh so sexy…

I don’t know much about cars but I suspect that that’s what it feels like to drive a Ferrari. It must be…



Spud

I watched an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen nightmare a few weeks ago where he was trying to help resuscitate a restaurant that specializes in potato dishes. It reminded me of my love affair with the root. It’s a little more than serious and has been carrying on for quite some time.

I.LO.V.E. P.O.T.A.T.O.E.S.

I love them fried, baked, mashed, wedged, sliced, stripped [ok I made that one up]. Whatever, however. There. I said it!

So,  I’m gonna share one of my favourite potato recipes.

RECIPE

You’ll need the following:

·         5 large potatoes

·         2 spring onions

·         A handful of freshly chopped parsley

·         250ml of white wine

·         250ml of fresh cream

·         Olive oil

·         3 tbs butter

·         Salt and pepper

METHOD

·         Preheat oven to 180̊  ̊C

·         Peel and slice the potatoes and place in a pot of boiling water – cook until al dente

·         Heat olive oil and butter in a deep frying pan

·         Add spring onions and fry for approximately 3 minutes

·         Add wine, cream and half of the parsley and stir well

·         Drain potatoes and add to the sauce

·         Place cooked potatoes into a baking dish, pour all excess sauce over potatoes and bake in the oven for about 45minutes

·         Sprinkle the rest of the parsley over the potatoes shortly before serving

You can add bacon, chicken or both which will turn this from a side dish into a meal.

This is what mine usually looks like

Chocolate Swiss roll

I had the pleasure of baking for a colleague this past weekend. He just gave me the money and asked me to surprise him. Love it!

I decided to make a Swiss roll with a twist.

RECIPE

You’ll need the following:

·         100g flour

·         3 tbsp cocoa

·         100g castor sugar

·         3 eggs

·         ¼ tsp salt

·         250 ml whipping cream

·         100 ml caramel

·         +- 15 chocolate balls 

·         2 tbsp icing sugar

Method

·         Sift dry ingredients in a mixing bowl

·         Separate eggs and beat egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff

·         Gently fold egg yolks into egg whites

·         Gently fold dry ingredients into the eggs

·         Pour batter into a lined and greased baking tray, ensuring that the mix is evenly spread

·         Bake for 10 minutes at 200  ̊C

·         Once baked, place cake on clean kitchen towel, remove the baking sheet and allow to cool

·         Spread caramel evenly on the cake

·         Whip the cream and icing sugar together and spread evenly on the cake

·         Chop chocolate balls in half (as evenly as you can get them) and place on the cream spread

·         Roll the cake up carefully, slice and enjoy

NOT-SO-FINE PRINT: THIS COULD HAVE SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS FOR THOSE TRYING TO SHED SOME WEIGHT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.