Old school baby

The idea of a whistling kettle used to irritate me. Now that I've bought one of my own, I think it's kinda cute... :-)

Whoopie hearts

This American cake sandwich is so much fun to make and eat. It apparently has Amish roots which can be traced as far back as 1925.

Ingredients

• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 small eggs
• 125g self-raising flour
• 25g cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons milk

filling

• 125g white marshmallows
• 50ml milk
• 125g unsalted butter

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180C
• Brush your silicone moulds with vegetable oil
• In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy
• Add and mix well
• Add the flour, cocoa powder and milk and mix well
• Using 2 teaspoons, spoon the batter into the moulds and bake for 10 to 12 minutes
• Remove from moulds and allow to cool
• Melt marshmallows and milk in a pot. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
• Add the butter until you get a smooth consistency
• Allow to cool before filling the hearts
• Dust with icing sugar and enjoy :-)

Recipe courtesy of Baked and Delicious

Amaskopas

I bought a pack of amaskopas and thoroughly enjoyed them. In case you are wondering what these are, take a look at the pic below.

Every black person of colour over the age of 20 that I know has very fond memories of this township delicacy.

The best and most comprehensible way to describe them: a really inferior yet colorful derivative of popcorn. They also have a slight sweetness to them. And, they can be a little chewy, depending on their 'freshness'.

Not sure how these things are made (like most things, I probably wouldn't eat them again if I knew)

They're enjoyable nonetheless.

Jacobs Kronung pop-up restaurant

My buddy and I visited the new Jacobs Kronung pop-up restaurant in Parkhurst. What a super experience. Coffee, muffins and board games are free[yes, free] and the setting is just too cool. They even have a cute little garden with faux grass.

One of the waitresses said the property is actually an art gallery and that Jacobs will be using the spot until the end of August [their bit to keep the masses warm and entertained during winter]. Awesome :-)

We even managed to fit in a game of Jenga.

Definitely worth a visit

69 11th street
Parkhurst

Some kind of blue

After much deliberation and careful consideration, I finally took the plunge and purchased my very first Le Creuset pot. This is their new blue range called Marseille.


It's some kind of blue - not quite as dark as their Cobalt blue but also not as light as the Caribbean blue. It's somewhere in the middle and suits me just fine.

I got home, unpacked it, placed it on the stove and just stared at it for while...I think it's a similar feeling one gets after giving birth and bringing their new bundle of joy home for the first time. Pure joy! :-)

So I made a chicken paella. To be honest, I really didn't care much for the food but was more fascinated by the pot. My Marseille [Le big smile]

Ebony and ivory

Live together in perfect harmony :-)

I made a yummy chocolate and vanilla dessert today. It was so much work though so I really felt I earned ever mouthful in the end :-)

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of cocoa
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

• Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a saucepan for approximately 2 minutes

CAKE

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 80g margarine

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180C and lightly grease 2 pans
• Add butter and sugar in a bowl and mix well
• Add the flour, eggs, vanilla essence and milk and mix
• Pour half of the mix in one of the prepared baking pans
• Add the cocoa to the left over batter, mix well and pour into the second pan
• Bake for approximately 25 minutes
• Once cakes have cooled, take them out the pans and place on a chopping board
• Using a cooking cutter, cut out a few shapes (I got six out of each cake)
  

• I started with the vanilla first and then added a bit of the chocolate sauce and then did the same with the chocolate cake

• Another layer of vanilla cake and chocolate sauce
• I iced the entire thing with creamed cottage cheese and icing sugar and dusted with cocoa powder
  
  

Cauliflower mash

This recipe is a slight variation of the one I found on the Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower (cleaned and chopped)
• butter
• 2 medium sized potatoes (peeled and sliced)
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
• parsley (chopped finely)
• salt and pepper

Method

• Boil cauliflower and potatoes in a medium sized pot and cook until tender (it should take approximately 15 mins)
• Add the butter (I used quite bit to make it a little rich) and mash
• Add the parmesan, parsley and pepper
• Add salt if necessary

It went down well with my chicken stew