It’s not everyday that one gets to experiment with a recipe that’s over 200 years old. Last Saturday was such an occasion. Early morning saw me nursing my first cup of coffee on the front stoep. My neighbourhood’s resident guinea fowl came calling; territorial squirrels chased each other along the telephone line running from the street to my house; and [...]
It’s high summer and one of my greatest joys is eating in the dappled shade of the gigantic Cape Ash right outside my kitchen door. (That’s when the sodding Cape South-Easter is not howling, but let’s not go there.) Mussels are always a good idea, even more so when combined with plump, juicy red tomatoes at their summer peak. But [...]
Chocolate cake is hardly in tune with the January zeitgeist of post-Christmas-indulgence detox. But you have to be very careful with this clean living stuff, you could easily do yourself a terrific injury. Like dying of boredom what with all that salad and steamed fish. And that’s why chocolate cake to the rescue. Yes it would have been more appropriate [...]
The Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival 'The Magic of Bubbles' presented by Mastercard, 2 & 3 December 2017 Nothing but nothing says Time To Celebrate! quite like Champagne. Which is why it’s so nice to kick off the festive season celebrations with the annual Franschhoek Cap Classique and Champagne Festival. With the iconic Huguenot Monument providing a spectacular backdrop, you'll [...]
Beef stroganoff spaghetti meatballs – it sounds utterly nuts, but bear with me. If any one idiom describes what happens in my kitchen, it would be necessity is the mother of invention. I loathe throwing anything away. Even if there is only one tablespoon of cream left, it needs to be used. I guess the lessons from my gran – who [...]
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – the Paarl wine region is a favourite of mine. But it’s the modest wineries of the Agter-Paarl that are the real gem, the open secret you really should know about because in this area it’s not about the 300-year-old manor houses and perfectly manicured landscapes, it’s all about the wine. [...]