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The recipe is originally made with strawberries from one of my cook books - I just substituted the strawberries with Oreos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

All of my children

I went shopping for tools for my new mini garden yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I got a mini spade, gardening gloves and various herbs and roots to grow. It was almost as exciting as buying a new pair of sexy heels – strange I know.

I decided some time ago that I wanted to grow my own veggies and herbs and prepare dishes from that. [I think Jamie Oliver was the inspiration for this but he did  it on a more grand scale, of course - I live on the 1^st floor and don’t have a garden so they’ll have to grow in pots.] I got lettuce, chilies, carrots, spring onion, spinach, basil, parsley and thyme. They need to be watered everyday and need to be fertilized every 4 to 6 weeks. I don’t have children but I think this task is very similar to raising little ones. On that note, here they are...all of my children...

May they grow big and strong...

Life is too short to make your own puff pastry

This past Thursday night was spent in Auckland park at Zietsies supper club. The property is located at the top of the mountain overlooking the gorgeous Jozi skyline. We were ushered to the balcony upon our arrival and served wine while taking in the amazing view. [I realized when we were half way to the supper club that I’d forgotten my camera and had to rely on my phone for images so the quality isn’t so great – I do apologise yet again]

The owner, Elzabe Zietsman, is an actress and singer by profession and cooks and entertains guests at her home as a hobbie. She only cooks whatever is seasonal and available at the time and making reservations well in advance is essential as only a small number of guests can be accommodated at a time.

The first course was asparagus served with home-made mayonnaise and pesto. She added Japanese mirin to the mayo which gave it a slightly sweet taste – simple yet very good.

The main course was home-made pie served with vegetables. The vegetables were fried in olive oil and butter and mixed with ricotta cheese. She served us chicken pie that was seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper and had mustard sauce and cream added to it. She grows her own peas which were added to the chicken as well. The table next to ours was served sirloin steak pie so we swapped pies halfway through the meal.  Both were heavenly but the chicken pie tasted way better – hearty, well-seasoned and filling. She did admit, however, that the pastry was store-bought and added that ‘life is too short to make your own f’ng puff pastry’. And we all agreed!

Dessert was a simple tart with a butter biscuit base. The filling was double cream Greek yoghurt mixed with honey. It was topped with fresh berries that were cooked to perfection in champagne and sugar – a perfect ending to an amazing meal.

Our gracious host told interesting stories about the food, her background and how Zietsies came to life in between serving our meals and topping up our wine glasses.

It was an interesting and different dining experience and my food buddy and I left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside – inspired, content and satisfied...

 http://www.elzabezietsman.co.za/

Joosy froot

I turned the big 3.0. yesterday and am starting to worry about my body. I was told that this is the beginning of its involuntary expansion and gravity defiance. So I figured I’d be proactive and do the necessary to delay this eventuality for as long as possible.[I may be a few years too late but I’ll give it a go regardless] So I bought my very first pair of running shoes today and drove [yes, drove] to the park near my place. I ran/jogged/skipped and walked for all of 45 minutes – big achievement considering my exercise regime for the past decade consisted of walking from the fridge to the couch…and then back again.

Anyway, I’ve also started drinking home-made juices before meals to help my cause. [A dear friend bought me a juicer for my birthday which is awesome!] I bought a book some time ago titled ‘Raw juices can save your life’ by Sandra Cabot and put it to good use this weekend. The good doctor has recipes for ailments such as acne, cellulite and stomach ulcers and claims that they really work. The combinations are quite something though[there’s one for depression where she includes strawberries, carrots, broccoli, string beans and lettuce leaves. Hmmm…] She also lists the healing properties of each fruit and vegetable in the book which is quite handy when making up your own recipes. And that’s exactly what I did today and it tasted great. I shall call it Joosy froot – just because…

Ingredients:

·         2 medium sized carrots

[improves skin, eye-sight, vitality and vigor]

·         A handful of strawberries

[skin cleanser, mild laxative and good for those suffering with high blood pressure and gout]

·         1 nectarine

[aids digestion, useful in bronchitis, asthma and high blood pressure]

·         1 medium sized banana

[aids digestion and improves energy levels]

And the result…