In exactly one week my dearest younger sister will be boarding an airbus and making her way from Old Blighty down to Cape Town. It has been two and a half years since I last saw her and to say that I am excited could be the understatement of the year! The prospect of having the whole family together to celebrate Christmas fills me with glee and over the past few weeks I have been poring over my cookbooks looking for inspiration for the feast I will be preparing for everyone on Christmas Eve.
Continue reading “Chicken and sausage cassoulet: The I Made It Challenge”
September the 24th is a very special day in South Africa. It marks National Heritage Day, a holiday on which we as South Africans celebrate our rich, cultural diversity. More recently the day has also been termed (unofficially) as “National Braai Day” – a day for all of us to unite around the fire and indulge in a pastime we all enjoy, having a good old braai! On the eve of this wonderful celebration I could not think of a better time to share this recipe with you.
So what would you make with a bunch of fresh beetroot, brown lentils, puff pastry, cream cheese, cucumber and smoked salmon trout? This was my final challenge in the Freshly Blogged campaign.
Continue reading “Caramelised beetroot tartlets with salmon trout and lentil stacks”
Just over a week ago I received the details of the 8th challenge in the Freshly Blogged competition which I have been participating in since June. Each week the contestants are given a list of ingredients and a few days to create, cook and photograph a dish using these ingredients. The public have a chance to view the recipes online and vote for their favourites, and each week a panel of judges send a few of the contestants to the chopping block, as it were.
This week we got back to basics with a new challenge in the Freshly Blogged campaign. Round 7 saw us presented with a list of some of my favourite kitchen staples – butternut, leeks, tinned tomatoes, fresh thyme, rice and a baguette. I almost always have these ingredients on hand, they are the building blocks of many of my favourite meals. The challenge here would be to combine them in an interesting and creative way. And including rice, baguette and butternut in one delicious carbo-loaded dish was going to require some thought!
Cupcakes & Couscous 