I’m not sure who loathes winter more, Merlot or me. I figure she gets the prize, what with having to dodge the Cape rain to go ‘do her business’ outside. (It’s amazing how quick a cat can be when she needs to.) Nonetheless, it’s a close call. A steaming bowl of thick split pea soup packed with smokey, meaty flavour [...]
There are few things I love more than a decent French apple tart, with the possible exception of a proper ’tarte au fromage blanc’ – a sophisticated little cheese tart number made with fromage blanc (a soft white French cheese), raisins and candied fruit. So I decided to recreate it, but give it a seriously South African twist. Instead of [...]
Men just don’t get it. A woman’s almost pathological need to taste what’s on everybody else’s plate that is. I guess that’s why I love the tapas and antipasto way of eating. A bite of this, a bit of that. Grab a huge platter. Olives, salami, ripe red cherry tomatoes, bottled artichokes all go on it along with a [...]
I have a thing for eating seasonally. The whole grow what you eat/ care for the planet/ hug bunny rabbits bit really resonates. But blimey, two-thirds through winter I just can’t face another apple or pear. When shops obligingly start selling strawberries, I rejoice. I don’t care if they’re hothouse numbers. I don’t particularly care if a million litres [...]
I feel about tomatoes the way I feel about chicken. Mostly disappointed. They just don’t live up to my childhood taste memories. I used to think it’s a trick of time – that maybe tomatoes were mediocre even back then. Then I visited Italy, and rediscovered the tomatoes of my youth. Sweet, juicy, ripe, red. I ate them diced and [...]