Basic Humus

 Making humus is actually so easy, I promise you once you made this you will find it very hard to buy humus from the store again.

My favourite way of eating humus is with celery sticks or on a toasted ciabata - it is as if humus was made to go with celery.  This can be made an kept in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.

What you need: 
1/4 cup Tahini paste
a tin (425 g) Chickpeas
1 tbs Lemon juice
1 clove of Garlic crushed
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Paprika

Tahini (you can also buy it in a jar from the store)
1/2 cup sesame seeds (not hulled)
1 tbs oilve oil

Roast the sesame seeds on a medium heat in a saucepan on the stove top until seeds starts turning a golden colour.  Just be careful not to burn the seeds - it will take about 10 min to roast them. Allow for the seeds to cool down.
In a mortar and pestle add the seeds and the oil and work it until it is a smooth paste. If you would like it runnier you can add a bit of extra olive oil.

Humus
To start the humus put the Tahini paste and the lemon juice in a food processor and blend for about a minute.

Then add the Chickpease and blend until smooth.

Add the garlic, olive oil, salt, ground cumin and paprika and blend for about a minute after each addition.

Once you have a smooth texture your humus is done.

Put it in an airtight container if you would like to store it in the fridge until you need it.

Porcini Mushroom and Leek Pappardelle

During this years Food Bloggers Indaba in Cape Town, we each received a packet of dried porcini mushrooms from novelle mushrooms. We were asked to blog our own recipe with the packet of mushrooms.

To be honest, I have never worked with dried mushrooms before, so this was a challenge for me.  I soon found out, that these dried mushrooms are very similar to the fresh ones, and no need worry.  A packet of dried mushrooms has now become one of the have-to-haves in the pantry.

Because porcini mushrooms are nice and fleshy mushrooms, I decided to go for a meat-free dish, which might but not be the healthiest pasta you have had but surely very tasty and a perfect dish for meat free Monday's.

I made my own pasta, but you can used store bought fresh pasta, and if you really can 't find that, you can probably use the dried pasta. But don't be intimidated by making your own pasta, it is so worth the while.  If you don't have a pasta machine, you can use a rolling pin to roll out the dough nice and thin (it just takes a bit more time) and then as in the recipe below, cut them into strips.

What you need:
For the pasta:
2 cups of Cake Flour
3 Large Eggs
Half a tsp salt
Half a tsp olive oil

For the sauce:
20g Cake Flour
20g Butter
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
50g Novelle Dried Porcini Mushrooms (2 Packets)
4 Leeks
1 clove of Garlic
3 Thyme
1 cup Cream

Fresh Parmesan and ground black pepper for serving

What to do:
Pasta:
On a clean and smooth surface place the flour, making a well in the middle of the flour with steep edges.

Break the eggs in the middle of the well, and add the salt and the olive oil tot he eggs in the middle of the well.

Using a fork, start mixing the eggs with the flour slowly until most of the egg is mixed with the flour.  If the dough is too sticky, add a bit of extra flour.  If it is too dry add a few drops of water.  Then start using your hands and work the dough for about 10 minutes.  You will see that the texture of the dough starts becoming more pliable.

Once you have worked the dough through, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for about 30 min.

Remove from the fridge and allow to reach room temperature again.

Divide the dough in four equal parts, and dust lightly with some flour (not too much) and start rolling out the dough.  I made pappardelle which is the name for a flat, broad (2 - 3 cemtimeters) pasta.

So once the pasta is rolled out in flat sheets, you simply cut the sheet into wide strips.

Into a pot with boiling water, half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil, you drop these wide strips in and boil until al dente (about 2 minutes), strain and drizzle with olive oil.

Sauce:
The basis of the sauce is a veloute, which is basically a mixture of equal butter and flour with some stock.
To start off with the veloute we first make a roux, which is a mixture of the butter and flour that is cooked before the stock is added, but not browned, thus over a medium heat.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, until it becomes foamy, then add the flour you will see that it makes a beautiful paste that you stir to cook the flour.  Then add the stock and mix it until you have a smooth sauce.

In the meantime you need to soak the dried mushrooms in a bit of boiling water for about 30 min, until soft.

In a difference saucepan, fry the leaks and garlic. Add a bit of olive oil and slowly fry the garlic and the leaks until it is cooked.

To the veloute, add the leaks, mushrooms, thyme and the cream.

Over a low heat simmer the sauce for about 20 min until all the flavour have combined.

Pour the sauce over the pasta.

Dish up and service with parmesan shavings, and black pepper.

Sago Pudding

Sago pudding is one of the winter comfort puddings that I make a lot in the winter, and everyone loves it.  I have however noticed that the sago itself is much more popular than the meringue part.  What I have dome is fold the meringue into the sago mixture and bake it like that. It looks prettier with the meringue at the top though and who cares if nobody has the meringue, sure you will have the takers for the meringue. I sometimes I even have it for dinner, milk, egg, jam why not ;-)

What you need:
4k Milk
1k Sago
2 Tbsp Butter
3/4k Sugar
4 Large Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
A few Tablespoons apricot jam

What to do:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

In a Saucepan simmer together the milk, sugar, salt, and sago until the sago is see through. (Be carefully not the burn the milk - if you are scared of this you can do this in the microwave in a microwave friendly bowl).

Allow this mixture to cool slightly.

Then add the butter.

Beat the egg yolks and the extract and add to the sago mixture.

Spoon into an oven safe dish.

Spoon some apricot jam on top of the sago mixture.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually adding 6 tablespoons of sugar.

Spoon the egg whites on top of the apricot jam.

Bake in the pre-heated oven until the egg whites are light brown.

Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Hertzoggies

Apparently these little tartlets were named after an Old president of South-Africa J B M Hertzog.  They look complicated to make, but they really are not.  They are usually made in a muffin tin or patty pan tin that is not that deep (this recipe makes about 30) but I like it bite size so I make it in a mini muffin pan. This recipe is from the You winning recipe book, a lovely book to have with wonderful recipe's in it.

What you need:
Crust:
250g Flour
25g   Castor Sugar
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
125g Butter (room temperature)
3 large Egg Yolks
15 ml Water
Filling:
6 Tbs fine Apricot Jam
3 large Egg Whites
250g Castor Sugar
500ml desiccated coconut (not sweetened)

Heat the oven to 180C

Sift together the flour, castor sugar, baking powder and salt.

Rib the butter into the flour mixture, until mixed and has a crumb texture.

Beat the egg yolks, mix with the water and add to the flour mixture.

Mix until a soft but manageable dough forms.

Add a few drops more water if needed.

Cover and set aside for a few moments.

Spray the muffin tins.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface.

Cut circles large enough for the hole of the muffin tin.  Remember not to measure the size of the hole the dough must go inside, so you will need something a bit bigger.

Now place these circles in the hollows and lightly press down to take the shape of the hollow.

Put about a half teaspoon of jam in the hollow.

Now beat the egg whites until stiff.

Slowly add the sugar bit by bit, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the coconut.

Put a spoon full on each tartlet to make a pretty dome on top.

Bake for 20 - 25 min in the centre of the oven.

Allow to cool on cooling rack once cooked.

Serve as is with tea.

Tomato Tart

This is one of my mothers favourites to make for a quick and fuss free lunch with a salad.  It's a recipe inspired by Marita van der Vyver's book "summer in Provence". I love easy fuss free recipes like these and the best is that you can play around with the ingredients.  It's like a pizza, just easier.

What you need:
A roll of puff pastry
Basil pesto - a good half a cup at least
Half a cup of parmesan/gruyere {and a few shavings for serving}
Sliced ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
Thinly sliced mozzarella - about 12 slices {you can use more or less depending on how much you like cheese}
Fresh basil leaves

Roll out the puff pastry, and just fold up to make an edge around the outside of the pizza.  You can also make it in a tart dish, it does look a little more rounded off.

Spread with the pesto.

Sprinkle with the parmesan.

Place the tomatoes on the tart in an ordered way to make it look pretty.

Then pack the mozzarella on the top, this is optional.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 20min

Serve with a few parmesan shavings and basil leaves, and a big fresh garden salad on the side.

Health bread

Freshly baked bread is an absolute treat for me. What is better for a summer lunch time than freshly baked bread with cold meats, salads and cheeses.  So wow your guests with this easy health bread.  This bread is a 'stir' bread, so no time needed for rising or kneading, from start to finish should take you about a hour.  You simply mix the dry ingredients add the rest of the ingredients and bake.  This recipe makes two loafs.

7 cups Nutty Wheat
4 cups Digestive Bran
2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar 
1/2 cup Sesame Seeds
1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
2 cups Hot Water
1/2 cup Oil
4 Eggs
2 cups Amasi (or buttermilk)
4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Pre-heat the oven at 200 C.  

Spray two bread tins with non-stick cooking spray.  

Mix all the dry ingredients and the seeds (keep a few for on top of the loaf). Remember that if you add more seeds to the bread you will need more moisture.

Beat together the water, oil and the eggs until well mixed, and add to the dry ingredients.

  

Add the Bicarb to the Amasi and mix.  Add to the bread mixture and mix everything well.

Spoon into the bread tins and sprinkle with remaining seeds over the top of the bread. You will see that it is a moist mixture and not a dough.

Bake for about 40 min or until done.

Allow the bread to cool for about 5 min before  cutting it.

Milkshakes {Steri Stumpie}

Steri Stumpie, my favourite flavoured milk!

It's a great post exercise drink... apparently the ratio of protein and carbs is just right for recovery.

But even better, today I'm making some milkshakes with the steri stumpies.  It's a great idea... and everyone can choose what flavour they want {anything from strawberry, chocolate, bubblegum, vanilla, cream soda and much more}... easy and seriously yummy!

What you need: {per serving}
1/2 steri stumpie
2 scoops vanilla ice-cream

In a blender, combine the steri stumpie and ice-cream, and blend till smooth.

Pour into glasses and serve.

That easy, and the best milkshake!

Styling and recipe: Denise {ilovethisandthat}
Photography: Angelique Smith

Potato Salad

I'm a bit of a food snob, and one of the things I can't handle is mayonnaisey salads, specially when they are not fresh! So I don't like mayonnaisey potato salad either, and today I'm sharing my potato salad with you.

What you need:
150g Streaky Bacon {cut into pieces}
about 500g Baby Potatoes
a medium Onion {sliced}
half a cup of Spring onions {chopped}

Dressing:
3 tablespoon Wholegrain mustard
1/4 cup Olive oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
2 tablespoon Honey

Boil the potatoes until soft {if you like, you can serve them cut in half in the salad then they absorb the dressing nicely}.
On a medium heat fry the onions in a frying pan until golden brown, then add to the potatoes.
Cut the bacon in to pieces and fry until brown and crispy, drain on a piece of towelling for a few minutes, then add to the potatoes.

Mix the dressing ingredients well, pour over the potatoes and mix in.

Cover and leave to stand until ready to serve.  Then chop some spring onions over the salad and mix through before serving.

I love this with a braai {barbeque} in the summer.

Bran muffins

I got this muffin recipe from my mother {it's out of the "You winning recipe" book}.  I remember she always made them. They are delicious and they great for a lunch boxes or picnics.  Only 20min to bake {just the time you take to make a great cuppa} and the best part if you don't need the whole mixture you can keep it in the fridge for up to a month.

So freshly baked muffins for a month... sound good!

What you need:
6 cups of Bran
2 cups Boiling water
1 cup of Butter {melted}
3 cups of Brown sugar
4 Eggs
4 cups of Buttermilk
1 Tbsp Bicarbonate of soda
2 1/2 cups Cake Four {sifted}
2 1/2 cups Wholewheat Meal
2 tsp Salt
{Optional: 1 cup of Raisons and/or 1/2 cup coconut}

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven at 220 C.

Step 2: Grease the muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.  {Alternatively you can use the cupcake cups, then pack them out on a baking sheet.}

Step 3: Mix the bran and the boiling water in a large mixing bowl.

Step 4: Add the melted butter, stir and allow to cool slightly.

Step 5: Add the sugar, eggs, and half of the buttermilk.

Step 6: Combine the bicarb, and the rest of the buttermilk and add to the bran mixture.

Step 7: Combine the cake flour, wholewheat and the salt {and raisons/coconut if you wish to add it}

Step 8: Add the flour mixture to the bran mixture and blend to form a soft dough.

Step 9: Spoon the mixture into the muffin pan {or cupcake cups} until two-thirds full.

Step 10: Bake the muffins in the middle shelf for 20 min.

Step 11: Remove muffins from the pan {if you baked them directly in the pan} and allow to cool.

Serve with butter.

Italian toast recipe

This is a recipe for italian toast, or at least Italian toast is what we call it.  I think probably because it's a mix between a french toast and a pizza.  They are liked by young and old, my mother use to make them on Sunday evenings after a heavy Sunday lunch, or as a snack to fill the gap.

What you need:
3 large Eggs
1 packet of Streaky Bacon {cut into pieces}
1 cup Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1 teaspoon Italian Herbs
Marmite and Butter for spreading
a French loaf or Ciabatta {cut into slices}

Put the oven on grill.

Spread the slices of bread on a baking sheet, and grill the one side until it starts going a golden colour.  Then turn around and toast the other side.

Spread the toast with butter and marmite, and put back onto the baking sheet.

Beat the eggs.

Then mix in the cheese, and the bacon and mix well.

Spoon the egg mixture onto the marmite.

Place back under the grill until the mixture is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and grind some black pepper on to taste.

Enjoy!

Photographer: Angelique Smith
Recipe and Styling: Denise Derbyshire

Homemade Lemonade

When life hands you some lemons... make homemade lemonade! :-) That's what they say, so that's what we'll do!

Spring has finally arrived in Cape Town, and the last few days have just been absolutely beautiful here!

I have a bowl full of lemons, and thought it was time to make some homemade lemonade! Nothing better on a hot day than an ice cold homemade lemonade to keep in the fridge.

This is quick to make but takes a bit of time to cool down.

A little tip for squeezing out the lemons.  Before cutting them, roll them between the palms of your hands so that they soften a bit, this makes squeezing so much easier!

What you need:
1 cup Freshly squeezed Lemon juice {about 5 lemons}
1 cup Water
1 cup Sugar

Heat the water and sugar on the stove top at a medium temperature and stir until the sugar has dissolved, to form the syrup.

Allow this syrup to cool completely.

Then add the freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Voila, that is you lemonade syrup.

For serving mix with water {about one to 5 or to taste}, ice and a few mint leaves and chunks of lemon.

It's a great drink for a party to serve in bottles with beautiful straws in, or as a non-alcoholic cocktail at a baby shower.

Hot chocolate cups

With winter still in Cape Town, and snow on the mountains, here is a bit of comfort drinking until somer does arrive. This is not for the skinny hot chocolate lovers, but if you have a serious chocolate craving this will sort that out! 

What you need: {Makes 4 cups}
180g good quality dark chocolate
1/2 cup of cream
pinch of salt
teaspoon of vanilla essence
4 small cup cake cups
4 wood spoons

Break the chocolates into small pieces and put in a double boiler.  {Use a glass mixing bowl that fits onto a pot, then boil water in the pot over a medium heat, the heat of the water then melts the chocolate, do not let the water touch the top glass bowl}

When melted, add the cream, salt and vanilla essence, and keep on stirring the mixture {keep stirring, you'll see that it becomes a smooth mixture}

Once everything is melted and well mixed, remove from the heat.

Pour the mixture into the cupcake cups, and allow to cool slightly, then put the spoon into the chocolate mixture.   

Store in the freezer until serving {can be stored for weeks}.

Serve with a steaming mug of hot milk!

Photographer: Angelique Smith
Recipe and Styling: Denise @ ilovethisandthat

Find these in my online store

Chicken Korma {Easy}

It is freezing cold in Cape Town, South-Africa... with beautiful snow capped mountains! Before even getting out of bed this morning I already decided what was for dinner... Curry or more specific Chicken Korma! This recipe is not that hot, so if you like it hot, add extra chilli powder.

I have adapted this recipe from one of All Recipes's recipes, it's easy to make and delicious.

What you need:
1/4 cup cashew nuts {raw and unsalted}
1/4 cup boiling water
3 cloves garlic {peeled chopped finely}
1 piece {about 2 cm} fresh ginger root {peeled and chopped finely}
3 Tbs vegetable oil
3 Bay leaves
1 large onion {finely chopped}
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
4 chicken breasts {skinless, boneless and diced}
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbs cornstarch mixed with equal part water {the amount you put in depends on the desired thickness}




1. Place cashews in a cup and cover with the boiling water.  Set aside {about 15 min}.

2. Heat oil in wok over medium heat.  Cook the bay leaves in the hot oil for a few seconds.  Then stir in the onion and cook for about 5 min till soft.

3. Mix in the garlic and ginger, coriander, garam masala, cumin, tumeric and chilli powder.

4. Stir in the chicken and cook for about 5 min.

5. Add tomato paste and chicken broth and cover.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 min stirring occasionally.

6. Meanwhile, place the cashews {and water}, cream and yoghurt into the food processor and process until smooth.

7. Stir the cashew mixture into the chicken and onions in the wok and simmer for 15 min, stirring occasionally.

8. Stir in the cornstarch mixture in and continue cooking for about 2 min.

Serve with Basmati rice.

Curried Chicken salad

It is a gorgeous winters day in Cape Town today, it almost feels like spring is here.  

I've been craving salads for a while {yes, I do crave salads} so with this lovely weather I took the chance to make my chicken salad with apple's and walnuts. 

A great summer salad and perfect lunch time meal with homemade bread.

What you need: {for 4 people}

4 Chicken breasts

2 Granny Smith apples

100g Walnuts

3 tsp Mild curry

1 tsp Tumeric

half tsp Salt

Bag of mixed leaves to fill base of serving platter {rocket; watercress; baby spinach}

Rub the chicken breasts with the Mild curry powder.  Add the tumeric, left over curry and salt to about 750ml boiling water  in a sauce pan and bring to boil, and add the chicken {chicken should be covered with the water}.  Allow to simmer until chicken breasts are cooked.

Remove from the water and allow to drain while roasting the walnuts in a dry pan {if your walnuts are not yet roasted, if they are don't roast again} 

Half the apples and slice each half in thin slices {Removing the pips and the hard part in the middle}

Pull the Chicken apart with a fork.

Cover serving platter with mixed leaves.  Then add apples, chicken and nuts.

Serve immediately.  

{A creamy honey and mustard dressing is lovely with this salad. } 

Gluten-free Rusks

Finding Gluten-free rusks is so difficult and when you find them they are so very expensive.  This recipe has been adapted from a Gabi Steenkamp gluten-free rusk recipe.

It really is easy to make, and tasty!  I find that soya products have an after taste, so I have used a gluten-free flour mix {Health Connection Wholefoods} that contains a combonation of rice flour {26%}, potato flour {26%}, topioca flour {26%}, chickpea flour {13%} and xantham gum {9%}.

I have also added some seeds to the rusks,   a miracles plus plus {Nature's Choice} mix containing flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds.

What you need:
2 cups gluten-free self raising flour
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix
1/2 Tablespoon Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2/3 cup Margarine
2/3 cup Sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
hand full of seeds

Pre-heat oven to 160C

Prepare a bread pan, "cook n spray" the tin,  and line the base with baking paper.

Melt the margarine in a saucepan oven moderate heat and add sugar.

Sift the dry ingredients, except sugar and bicarb {self-raising flour, gluten free flour mix, baking powder, salt}

Add the bicarb to the buttermilk.

Add the margarine, buttermilk and egg to the flour mixture and mix together.

{At first I thought that the texture is not right, because it is very dry, but it turns out to be just right}

Place the mixture in the bread tin and sprinkle with seeds, and softly press the seeds into the mixture.

Bake for about an hour, or until cake tester comes out without batter.

Remove from the oven and allow to dry on a drying rack.

Gently cut into fingers.

Then pack in a baking tray with the oven on 120C for about 8 hours {easiest to leave it overnight}

Serve with coffee or tea.