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

Baker's block

I've had baker's block [writer's block for bakers] for the past few weeks and it has been rather painful. Today was the first time in a while that I've been really inspired to make something just for the hell of it. So I made cornbread :-)

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups self raising flour (you'll need more for kneading)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• teaspoon of herbs (I used oreganum and parsley)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup canned corn

Method

• Preheat oven to 160C
• In a large bowl, sift the flour and salt
• add the mixed herbs
• In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, corn and buttermilk together
• Add this to the flour and mix well (I kneaded the bread for a few minutes until the dough was a smooth texture
• Roll into a ball and place on a greased baking sheet
• Bake for approximately 40 minutes

I had mine with a chunky beef and veggie soup. I died and came to with a smile... :-)

Agreed

Oyster, food and wine festival

Something happened this past weekend. I fell in love... with oysters! :-) :-)

The festival took place in Randburg this past weekend and was a little overwhelming. There were just too many people all a little too excited to be enjoying the slimy delicassy. We soldiered on nonetheless.


I've had oysters a few times before and never took a liking to them. I kept consuming them though, hoping I'd acquire the taste but it never happened. Not until this weekend :-). A bit of salt, pepper, Tobasco sauce and vinegar did the trick.

I must say though that I didn't enjoy them quite as much Kea did. She was all giddy, jumping up and down - in oyster heaven for sure. It really was quite a site and so cute to watch.

Dessert, as always, was the highlight. The Cupcake Lady was one the of busiest people at the festival and we soon discovered why. She had these gorgeous profiteroles and berries in a gooey chocolate sauce.
 
 
 

 
We each had two. They were that good :-)