get stuck in, don’t be shy

 

bbq sticky boneless pork ribs – spicy steak strips – red pepper hummus – salami sticks – extra mature cheddar – ripe brie – pepper cream cheese – blue cheese – sweet and sour gherkins – toasted pita – yum

go on, have a lil nosh

 

So I’m watching Jamie’s Great Britain and he really is so freaking cool. He has surpassed so many chefs in my eyes purely because of his honesty. He has made it up there next to Rick Stein for me. When he cooks he just makes me feel like anything’s possible and you can be exactly what you want, no fuss!

Another guy that’s got me feeling that way is Deena from Masterchef South Africa. What an inspiration! You know, South Africans are so governed by stereotypes but Deena is breaking those down. Simple Indian man with a worldly food dream and telling the world that he is here, multifaceted and talented.

Well, no more wasting the dream for me – that’s the moral of my story!

There was no real point to this post other than to say that, but here’s some inspirational nosh to just top all of this off:

 bacon cheese grillers with melted emmental

blogging on location

 

so this is a new one. i’ve always wanted to do this but i’ve never had the time to and if i’m honest, i’ve never had the guts to.

presently, i’m at mugg & bean, gateway in a quiet corner amongst a bustling restaurant enjoying a cup of decaf cappuccino and waiting for my delicious roasted tomato and basil soup. i actually came here for the green pea and bacon soup but it seems they’ve taken that off the menu :( this has very seriously upset me but hey, i’ll just have to settle for second best.

the thing i like about mugg & bean and their soups, is that it just feels incredibly homey. actually the whole atmosphere of mugg & bean is rather homey. i’m not exactly a self conscious person but sometimes you just feel a bit weird whipping out your laptop in public. at mugg & bean, it’s a norm. especially with the free wifi :)

wow

 

i actually did not realise that that was my first post for 2012. how intense. this blog definitely needs more love and attention!!

happy half new year i guess?

delicious

 

so everyone has been telling me that i need to blog more. it’s not that i don’t want to, it’s that it’s always third on the list of things to do, and the list just gets ever increasingly full. well i will try to excuse myself no more. and with that - there’s too many delicious things to be happy about in this world – like my chicken besto pasta :) no that was not a typo. i call it besto because it REALLY IS the BEST pesto recipe ever!  yeah, i’m a little lame-o but that’s ok, cos this recipe is so delicious i could just die! i made it up pretty much but obviously i was influenced by a lot of recipes, particularly jamie olivers and that’s just cos i love how he’s a no nonsense kinda guy when it comes to food.

recipe:

for the besto:

• fresh basil (like 3 handfuls or so)
• 1 and half cloves of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• like a handful of pecorino cheese
• a handful of walnuts
• salt
• black pepper
• a squeeze of lemon juice

i wish i could give you quantities but i would be lying if i did because i literally taste as i go and i really think you should do. a decent pesto should be fine enough that it winds itself through the pasta easily and course enough that it adds some character and you can actually taste what you’re eating. i like slightly extra garlic and pecorino but feel free to cut it down if you’re not keen on it. i use walnuts purely because it costs less than pine nuts and it tastes just as good. and i use pecorino cos i like the flavour better than parmasan, nothing more than that. if you prefer parmagiano then go right ahead and substitute it.

i literally smashed this up and put on some penne to boil. had some chicken that my gran made so i tossed that in with some finely chopped green chilli (cos i like it hot :)) and voila – deliciousness in my belleh!

hope it’s just as delicious for you :)

may x

50 years, and still going strong

 

my grandmother’s kitchen has green linoleum tops and cupboards, the oldest stove and microwave you could ever imagine and cotton swing curtains – but it’s probably the most well-kept 50-year-old kitchen you’ve ever seen. everything is spotless and in its place, which matches my grandmother completely. you see this kitchen is as old as my father. my grandparents moved into this house in 1961, the year my father was born and almost everything is in its original condition. it has a certain charm about it, and it kinda makes me smile sometimes because it’s just so seeped in history.

for that exact reason, and to thank my grandmother and my grandfather for this beautiful home they built from the ground up, i decided to dedicate this post to my grandmother’s kitchen.

when my parents moved to johannesburg at the start of this year i moved into my grandparents’ house in merebank. it was quite a big move for me – coming from the comfort of my parents house with my own space and all the things i’m used to – but i did it.

at first it was difficult to settle into my new room. but with all my stuff in it, it slowly became more homely and more me. after unpacking my things and setting up my furniture, the only other thing to get used to my grandmother’s kitchen.

growing up, this kitchen wasn’t a place i spent all that much time in. i mean, my grandmother was the boss of that kitchen and we always just let her do her thing! we hung out there, did some gossiping and helped cut stuff up but i never really used her stove and got into it.

check out how retro it is!

wall tiles

    

old school stove

 

tea towl hanger

 

microwave

 

it’s been kinda awesome using all this vintage stuff. some of the plates on the stove don’t work perfectly and the microwave needs a little pull in the right direction in order to start it up sometimes, but it’s interesting and makes me think of my dad, aunt and uncle growing up here. isn’t that pretty amazing?

yeah, i think it’s pretty damn amazing :)

may

xo

happiness lives in…

 

…a mugg & bean muffin!

i’m a fully fledged mugg & bean addict and a few weeks ago when mekarl and i went road tripping to the city of gold, one of my goals was to stop off at one of these mugg & bean minis that have opened up on the N3 toll route. i eventually got my wish (not a mini though, we stopped at a real m&b) and it just ended our road trip on such a high. funnest trip everrr!

it was the first time in our five years together that we road tripped such a distance by ourselves. it was such an exciting journey. leaving at 12:30pm on friday afternoon, armed with sausage rolls and tons of water, we set out to gauteng province. we only stopped a few times and actually never made any food stops (THE HORROR) – just one in escourt to get some cabanossi from the butchery at the ultra city – because we knew my mum was preparing amazing home-cooked loveliness. arriving in johannesburg at around 10pm (crazy traffic!) we sat down to sticky rice, creamy prawn chutney, grilled fish and crumbed chicken. what a way to go to bed – with a full belleh :)

the weekend was fantastic! being with the parents and my brother just before his matric exams was so fulfilling. thinking about it – it’s weird how every second of the day is defined by what food we will eat when planning something. i think it comes from the basic act of sharing. i think we, as a family (whether it be grandparents, parents, aunts uncles or cousins) show our love, gratitude, wealth and happiness through preparing, providing and sharing a meal together, and this trip was much the same as every outing was centred around which place we were gonna stop to have a nibble!

awesome food memories include:

• the best dim sum i’ve ever had, delicious angry duck with rice and sweet & sour pork from kong roast;
• the most mouth-watering lunch from tasha’s melrose arch – succulent steak, with baby potatoes in a tomato sort-of-stew topped with rocket; and
• sunday brunch including mince curry, eggs, steak and gravy and bacon which toasty french bread and danishes for desert.

on our way back home, we stopped off at mugg & bean just outside harrismith and got ourselves a rib and buffalo wing combo, a burger and a m&b spectacular giant choc-chip muffin. mugg & bean muffins are the heartiest things on earth, i swear! just so generous and heart warming that getting caught in the storm from howick to durban was manageable with a little choc-chip scrumptiousness!

here’s some photos from the trip :)  

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