It's called a what?

A friend of mine, who is just discovering cooking, was the inspiration for this post. We all have specific names for the ingredients that we buy; however, very often a recipe book will have a different name for a specific fruit of vegetable. I’m going to list the names and their alternatives here. This is a very incomplete list, however as I find new ones I’ll add to this.

Brinjal; Eggplant
Zucchini; Marrow; Courgette
Biltong; Jerky
Red, Green or Yellow Pepper; Capsicum

Camembert

I have to take a moment out to mention my favourite cheese… Camembert

This gorgeous, creamy cheese dates back to the 18th century. I found a legend online about this delicious cheese that goes like so…

An inhabitant of Camembert, Marie Harel, invented the cheese which bears the
village's name. She was reportedly given the "secret" of its manufacture by a
priest. During the French Revolution (beginning in 1789), all Roman Catholic
priests in France were required to swear allegiance to the newborn republic.
Those prelates who refused were executed or forced into exile. Some chose to
hide in the countryside while waiting for better days. In 1790, during the month
of October, the Abbé Charles-Jean Bonvoust supposedly sought refuge with Marie
at her farm, Beaumoncel. He came from the Brie, a region near Paris famous for
its cheeses. In return for the shelter she offered him, he gave to Marie the
"secret" of making Camembert cheese.

However it was invented is irrelevant to me, what is relevant is the taste, the texture and the versatility of this beautiful cheese. Camembert is made from pasteurised cow's milk. At the beginning of its ripening, Camembert is crumbly and soft and gets creamier over time (usually 2-3 weeks). Camembert has a delicate salty taste, and its paste should have a clear yellow appearance.

For a fantastic meal toast slices of French bread, then layer with roasted onion rings, camembert slices, baby spinach (washed and dried) and a slice of sun dried tomato that has been soaked in olive oil and is soft. Grill for a few seconds until the cheese starts to turn soft. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and serve.

You can also go for a sweet / savoury option. Add slices of camembert to French bread toasts, then place pieces of fresh figs or strawberries ontop, drizzle with honey and grill for a minute or two until the cheese just starts to soften.

Popovers!

This was one of my grans favourite recipes. She loved Popovers almost as much as I do! These are basically Yorkshire Puddings, but you can cut the tops off and spread jam or syrup on the inside for a tea time treat.

The secret to getting this right is this: The muffin pans that you bake them in have to be boiling hot before you drop the dough into them. If you can do that, you will get perfect popovers.

1 cup of flour (250ml)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of butter or stork baking margarine, melted
1 cup milk (250ml)

Sift the flour and the salt together. Make a well in the flour and break the eggs into the well and then add the melted margarine and milk and stir until smooth. Pour into hot, greased gem pans and put into a preheated, hot oven at 230°C for 30 minutes. Then decrease the heat to 180°C and bake for a further 15 minutes. This should make around 6 Popovers.

For a lovely lunch variation you can fill your Popovers with chicken mayonnaise, and serve with a crunchy Greek or green salad.

Luncheon Rolls

My gran had this recipe book that my uncle, who died many years ago, got ahold of when he was very little. He basically mutilated the poor book, ripping the cover off it and scribbling over some of the pages with a pen. My gran managed to salvage most of the book and to this day it holds a lot of sentimental value for me.

This recipe is technically a type of scone recipe, although the dough is rolled out into hot dog rolls.

Your ingredients are:

4 cups of Snowflake cake flour
1 teaspoon of salt
6 teaspoons of Royal Baking Powder
1 tablespoon of "shortening" (the recipe actually says shortening) Use stork baking margarine, or butter
1½ cups of milk

Sift the dry ingredients together; rub in the margarine (be careful not to over-work it); add the milk and mix to a smooth dough that is easy to handle on a floured board. Knead the dough quickly a few times to impart smoothness, again do not overwork the dough. Divide the dough into small pieces and form each piece by hand into rather thick, tapering rolls. Place on greased pans and allow to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes. Brush with milk and bake in a hot oven at 220°C for about 20 minutes. When they're almost baked, brush with melted butter then bake for 10 minutes more and serve hot!

I love them just the way they are when they come out of the oven, however you can add butter, lettuce, tomato, chicken and any other filling you would like.

For a sweeter alternative, add 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar into the mixture and serve with jam or marmalade.

Baby Spinach, Bacon and Egg Salad

It's summer time, and that means healthy eating, light meals and loads and loads of salads! You can also serve this salad with feta cheese and baby tomatoes if you'd like to add a bit more substance to it.

This serves around 6 people.

2 packets of baby spinach, washed and dried
Bottled Greek or Italian dressing
8 rashers of lean bacon, fried to a crisp
6 hard-boiled eggs peeled and sliced lengthways
5 spring onions chopped into long slices
15ml lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garlic or regular croutons

Remove any stalks from the baby spinach and arrange on a platter. Season with salt and pepper and pour over enough dressing to coat the leaves. Use your hands to gently fold the leaves in the dressing. The leaves should be glistening, not limp and submerged in dressing. Arrange the chopped egg, and torn rashers of bacon on top. Garnish with the spring onions and garlic croutons. As a final touch, pour the lemon juice onto the salad and serve immediately.

Super Easy Quiche

I'm not really one for quiche really, however these small, crustless, individual quiches are definitely my thing. For this quiche you can pretty much put whatever filling in you want. My favourite, however, is bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes.

You will need:

250ml milk
15ml Stork baking margarine
2 slices of crustless white bread
250ml of grated cheddar cheese
5ml of grated (yes, I mean grated) onion
2 eggs

Fillings:

You can select pretty much any filling that blows your hair back, however, if you're not sure what to add have a look at the ingredients below and select one or two of them for your quiche...

Chicken, cooked mushrooms, bacon, cooked chicken, asparagus (must be honest, not my favourite, but some people like it), ham, tuna, salmon, etc...

Now let's put it all together...

Warm the milk and the margarine and then soak the bread in this mixture. Mash the bread and add your chosen filling(s), as well as the cheese and onion. Stir this all together.
Next up, you have to beat the eggs well and season with salt and pepper. Add to the mash, mix it all together and then pour it into greased muffin trays, until each each hole is 3/4 full. Sprinkle each quiche mixture with cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes at 180°C.

Serve the quiches with a crisp green salad and a light and creamy dressing.

You can make one large quiche with this mixture. Simply pour the mixture into a greased pie dish, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 180°C.

Caramel Coconut Slices

My gran used to make these and whenever I think about them I instantly think about her. These biscuits are crunchy and gooey and hard and soft all at the same time. They're just too yummy for words. I unfortunately don't have a picture for them, so I suppose I should make them so that I can actually take a photo!

To make these yummier than yummy biscuits you will need:

For the Base:
80g butter or stork margarine for baking
125ml brown sugar (100g)
250ml Snowflake cake flour (140g)
15ml milk

For the Topping:
2 extra large eggs
5ml vanilla essence, or if you have it vanilla extract
160ml brown sugar (125g)
30ml Snowflake cake flour
250ml desiccated coconut (80g)
125ml pecan nuts, chopped (50g) - don't chop them until there's nothing left but mush!

Alright, let's get baking...

For the Base:
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the flour (don't forget to sift it) and the milk and mix it well. Press into a greased 16cm x 26cm lamington tin.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes.

For the Topping:
Whisk the eggs and essence and gradually add the sugar. Beat this all up until it's light and creamy. Then sift in the flour and add the coconut and the nuts. Mix this all together quite well and spread over the top of the base.
Bake for a further 20 minutes until it's set. Allow it to cool slightly and then cut into bars.

This will make around 24 biscuits.

Enjoy them! They're great to serve for tea and biscuits.

Cherry Chocolate Triangles

My gran used to make these soft, biscuit type cookies for us around Christmas and birthday times. They were “special occasion” biscuits, and thankfully they were, or we’d all look like cherry chocolate triangles from eating so many!

For the biscuits you will need:
180g soft butter or stork baking margarine

200ml (150g) light brown sugar

1 extra large egg

500ml Snowflake cake flour

125g chocolate chips or you can just break up chocolate until you have the correct amount

125ml glace cherries, chopped (I have to be honest and say that I love them whole or just chopped in half, not into smaller pieces)

Now let’s get cooking…
Cream the butter and the sugar together, then add the egg and beat until your mixture is light and fluffy. Sift your flour two or three times, and then add it along with your chocolate and cherries into the mixture. Press the mixture is a greased 16cm x 26cm lamington tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 – 35 minutes. Cool in the pan before cutting into triangles. To finish off you can dust them very lightly with sifted icing sugar.

For a slightly different flavour and texture add 125ml of chopped pecan or walnuts.

Enjoy

Hot Toddy

At the moment I've got a dose of the flu which doesn't seem to want to leave me, no matter what meds I end up taking. I think I'm going to make myself a delicious Hot Toddy and head to bed. Please note that this is not a recipe for children!

For this alternate flu remedy you will need:

1 tablespoon honey
3/4 glass of rooibos tea
2 shots brandy
1 slice lemon
A dash of cinnamon (optional)

Brew the tea and fill a tall glass 3/4 full. Mix in the honey, cinnamon and the brandy shots. Add lemon slice and enjoy. Best served in a warm bed.

Fantastic Tastic

The idea for this post came from my darling boyfriend, asking me how he should spice the rice he was cooking. I love my boyfriend, so I smiled and answered him nicely, thinking that he was an adorable, yet silly thing.

Rice is one of those magical vegetables that double in size when you cook it, and is great with just about any meal. The only rice that I buy, and will ever buy is Tastic. Their slogan “cooks perfectly every time” has got to be the truest statement ever made.

So here is a recipe for straight forward, lovely tasting rice, to be served with whatever meal you’re having. A rule of thumb is one cup of uncooked rice is enough to serve two people if eating as part of a main meal, ie: Paella or Chicken a la King

1 cup (250ml) original Tastic rice
1 litre of boiling water
1 flat teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of turmeric (optional, to colour your rice)

First things first, wash your rice thoroughly in clean, cold water. Many people don’t do this which results in your rice being too starchy. Rinse your rice a couple of times to make sure that you have rinsed off all of the excess starch.

Add 500ml of your boiling water to a pot and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Add your rinsed rice, salt and turmeric, and then stir to ensure that none of your rice sticks to the bottom of the pot. Cook your rice for 20 – 30 minutes, checking in between to ensure that your rice is still covered in water. If not, add the additional water. Keep an eye on your rice and ensure that you stir it from time to time.

Your rice will be done when it is no longer crunchy, but has not reached the porridge stage. Drain in a colander and serve.

For an extra kick you can add additional spices such as dried parsley, cumin (use sparingly) and finely chopped chillies into your rice as you are cooking it.

Enjoy

Sumptuous Saffron

Oh, what an expensive little ingredient this is. Saffron is made up of the three stigmas, which are hand picked from the Saffron Crocus flower. It takes 75,000 flowers, or 225,000 stigmas (did I mention that these were hand picked) to make up just 453.59 grams. No wonder it is the most expensive spice in the world. The wonderful thing about this little spice is that due to its intense flavour and natural colouring abilities it can be used in tiny quantities, and in just about any dish from paella to fruit cake.

If you’re going to buy Saffron you need to store it in a cool, dry place and out of the sun. Also, remember to use it sparingly. A pinch of Saffron, soaked in a cup of water is sufficient to colour and flavour 500 grams of rice.

Garlic and Cheese Mussels

Few things in life are better than sitting down to a plate of warm mussels in the half-shell, covered in garlic and cheese and grilled until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

One of my favourite quick and easy meals is garlic and cheese mussels.

1kg of mussels in their closed shells, scrubbed
1 large pot of water (large enough to cover the mussels)
400ml grated cheddar cheese
5 cloves of garlic crushed or finely chopped

Bring the pot of water to the boil and add about 2 teaspoons of salt. Add your mussels to the pot and boil for about 10-15 minutes, then remove from the pan and drain in a colander. Discard any unopened mussels. Break off the top part of the shells on each mussel and then lay the mussels on a baking tray, with their inside facing you, ensuring that each shell has a mussel inside. Add about a quarter of a teaspoon of garlic into each mussel shell, spread evenly. For a spicey kick you can add a sprinkle of fresh, chopped chillies into each shell. Then add enough grated cheese to each one to cover it well. Put your oven on grill and place your mussels under the grill. Remove when the cheese has completely melted and is bubbly and starting to brown.

Serve on a large platter with a sprig of dhania or parsley in each shell.

Spanish Paella

My birthday is coming up in a week and a bit, and this year I’m inviting a few friends around for an evening of murder and mystery. I bought one of these murder games, where each person is given a character to play and we all have to either figure out who the murderer is, or try and avoid being found out. It’s going to be a lot of fun, but part of the game is dinner. I needed to figure out an easy meal that I could cook in one pot and that was big enough for 10 people. The answer was the Spanish Paella that I’ve made in the past. It’s a gorgeously fragrant and flavoursome dish, with lots of different ingredients in it to accommodate even the fussiest of eaters.

Paella’s originated in Spain, and the general idea of them was that they were made up of leftovers, added to rice to build up a substantial meal for poor families. My paella serves around 8 people and consists of the following ingredients

125ml olive oil
6 peeled cloves of garlic
100ml of fresh, chopped parsley
1 pinch of saffron (optional)
5ml of turmeric
8 chicken drumsticks or thighs
4 tomatoes that have been deseeded, peeled and chopped
15ml paprika
500g Tastic rice
1.5 litres of chicken stock
2 chorizo sausages, sliced (optional)
2 peppers (1 red & 1 green or yellow) deseeded and chopped
500g shelled mussels or 12 mussels in the half shell, scrubbed
250ml frozen peas
150g prawns, shelled and de-veined
2 lemons cut into wedges for decoration

Heat half the oil in a large pan and add half the garlic, then fry over a medium heat for 3 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on the garlic as it burns quickly. Remove the garlic from the pan and place in a mortar, along with the turmeric or saffron and pound together until you have a paste. Set aside for now.

Reserve about 15ml of the parsley, then add the remainder to the paella pan and fry for 10 seconds until crispy. Then remove it from the pan and add it to the garlic paste.

Heat 30ml of oil in the pan and stir-fry the chicken for around 15-20 minutes over a medium heat. Slice the remaining garlic and add to the pan together with the tomatoes and peppers. Cook for two to three minutes and then add in the paprika. Give it a bit of a mix to combine all the ingredients then remove everything from the pan.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the rice. Cook the rice for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add your garlic paste mixture, parsley mix and half of the stock. Bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for about 6-8 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed, then add the remaining stock to the pan and stir.

Add your chicken, tomato, pepper mixture and chorizo sausages to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add your remaining ingredients which are the mussels, peas and prawns, then cook for 10-20 minutes over a medium-low heat until the rice is tender. Add more stock if necessary.

To serve, place the paella in a large casserole dish, or serve it straight out of the pan if you’d prefer, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and decorate with the lemon wedges. Serve with crusty garlic bread.

Herbs & Spices

Finding the right ingredients is vital to any great dish, and an important part of finding the right ingredients is adding the right herbs and spices in the right quantities and combinations. Spices are pungent or aromatic substances of vegetable origin, such as pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and anise and herbs are flowering plants whose stems, above the ground, do not become woody. Some of my absolutely favourite herbs are dhania (coriander), parsley, rosemary and basil. Certain herbs like fennel and parsley have their own nutritional value. Parsley has a greater concentration of B-carotene than carrots, and fennel has relatively high levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and 16 free amino acids.

So it’s time to stock your kitchen with fragrant herbs and spices.

What is up with that heading?

Sawubona Inkhuku Pie translates to Hello Chicken Pie. A friend and colleague is teaching me "kitchen Zulu." It's the kind of Zulu that's used in everyday life, not in the corporate world. So why inkhuku pie? It's a general nickname that I have for my friends (the English version at least), so why not use it as my blog header? That, and I just love the way it sounds.

As for the recipes; it's taken me a long time to get to the point of writing these down. They're a collection of my mine and my gran's favourite recipes, and although she's not with me anymore, I know she'd appreciate anyone having a go at making one of her favourite dishes. Please be patient, like any good recipe, this blog will take time to put together.

Enjoy
x

(Suh-Woo-Boh-Nuh In-koo-koo Pie)