Lemon Loaf Cake with Saffron Syrup

A few weeks ago I was given a pack of gorgeous saffron to try out at home. I have only ever used saffron in savoury dishes in the past (this saffron chicken dish is one of my favourites) and wanted to try it in a sweet recipe this time around.

Spring Vegetable and Red Pesto Tart

I do enjoy a cooking challenge, and when I was contacted by the team at Faithful to Nature and invited to participate in their recent blogger competition I was immediately interested. The challenge was this - to create one seasonal, organic, vegetarian family meal using pantry products from Faithful to Nature as well as fresh organic produce. Each blogger received a voucher to purchase their choice of products from the thousands and thousands of products on the Faithful to Nature website, ordered their goodies online and then used them to create a delicious dish.

Iced Cappuccino Crunch Brownies

Earlier this month I attended the Good Housekeeping Celebrity Bake Stars event at D'Aria in Durbanville. There were bubbles and nibbles and foodies galore, and the audience was treated to a demonstration by Zola Nene and Clement Pedro who shared loads of fun recipe tips and tricks.

Roasted Garlic & Mustard Pork Chops with Creamy Mash

Can flavours determine love? This was the subject of an email that landed in my inbox recently and I was instantly intrigued! New research conducted by Knorr which spoke to 12,000 people in 12 countries has shown that a whopping 78% of people say that they are more attracted to people who enjoy the same flavours as them. I can relate to this - there are very few things that I do not eat (I could probably count my food dislikes on one hand) and living with an extremely picky eater is not my idea of a good time.

Milk Tart Phyllo Cups

I am delighted to be teaming up with Mediterranean Delicacies today for a special, #AfroChic recipe that I am sure will entice your tastebuds. I am no stranger to this brand and their products are usually always found in our family picnic basket when we are out and about. But there is so much more to the Mediterranean Delicacies product range than just delicious dips and spreads. Did you know that their product line also includes olives, cheeses, seafood and pastries?

PEPPADEW® HOT WINGS with BLUE CHEESE DIP

Seeing as we are in Heritage month with National Heritage Day, also popularly known as Braai Day, coming up on Thursday, I thought it would be appropriate to share a recipe that can be whipped up on the old barbie! These hot wings are perfect for spring and summer entertaining - enjoy them around the braai with friends, serve them up at your next party or munch on them while you cheer on the Springboks (she said optimistically)!

PEPPADEW® TORTILLA PIZZA

I have so enjoyed putting today's post together, and I am not going to tell you how many of these tortilla pizzas I have baked and tasted over the last two weeks. (Clue: a good few!) All in the name of research of course, and to make very, very sure that this recipe is just right for you, dear readers.

NUTELLA & PEACH BRAID

I may have overdone it this time... dieters, look away now! I was recently invited to participate in a Mystery Box Challenge, and last week when I received my hamper full of tempting ingredients from the lovely folks at Today I just had to squeeze them all into my dish.

Mielie Bread with Sundried Tomatoes

Today's recipe is going against the current trend somewhat. It seems that every other restaurant I visit has a new banting section on their menu, or is advertising dishes that would make Tim Noakes proud. While I applaud anyone making an effort to eat less sugar and more cauliflower (if you can get your hands on one that is!) I for one will not be cutting out my grains anytime soon. And I am sure that there are many readers out there who feel the same. 

The Knorr Flavourful Goodness Experience

Last Thursday I was invited to attend the Knorr Flavourful Goodness Experience at the SA Chef's Training Academy in Observatory. Food bloggers, nutritionists and members of the media were invited to "rediscover the joy of simple family cooking" along with familiar face Chef Wendy and the Unilever team. 

Sweet and Savoury Canapés

My friends and family will tell you that I love receiving foodie gifts, particularly new and interesting products that I have not seen before, and a few weeks ago my parents returned from a weekend away with two such items - large tortilla baskets and smaller canapé shells from a local company called Kari Foods. Today I am going to show you how to make happiness in a mouthful with two recipes that I created using the canapé shells.

Freshpak Media Event & Rooibos Iced Tea Two Ways

Image courtesy of Freshpak.

Let us start this post with some fun facts about me. Fact #1: 99.99% of my days start the same way - with a cup of rooibos tea. They have done for around about the last 7 or 8 years. It is fair to say that I am a fan! Fact #2: I used to make iced tea (including a rooibos flavour) for a living, before my travelling years. I was thrilled then to receive an invitation from Freshpak to a creative afternoon with chef, Kirsty Rowett.

Grand opening of the new Pick 'n Pay, V&A Waterfront

Images courtesy of Pick 'n Pay

It's not every day that I get to escape the regular morning routine and attend a grand event. This past Thursday was that day as I was invited to be a guest at the much anticipated opening of Pick 'n Pay's brand new store at the V&A Waterfront (insert "oooooooh" sound here). I arrived at the new store, situated on the lower level of Victoria Wharf, shortly after 8am. The doors were closed, but outside the excited guests were given a welcome drink, delicious snacks (handy, if like me you had rushed out of the door without any breakfast), coffee and cookies. It was lovely to have some time to mingle and catch up with some of my fellow bloggers who were also in attendance.

Out & About: City Bowl Market

For a while there I thought this post was never going to make it out! It's scary how accustomed we are to having access to the whole world at our fingertips - and how out of touch we feel when that connection is no longer there. So the short story is that my wireless internet connection decided to take the weekend off... and, err.. never came back. My IT-whizz hubby has managed to make an interim plan so I am kind-of sort-of back again, enough so for me to tell you about my recent visit to the City Bowl Market.

National Cookie Swap 2013 & Spiced Dark Chocolate Cookies

Well readers, I can't wait to tell you about an exciting event that I attended over the weekend. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter then you'll no doubt know what I'm talking about - the 3rd annual Cape Town Cookie Swap! This year it was a national event with cookie swaps also taking place in Johannesburg and Durban on the same day (Saturday). Proceeds from the event went to Khayelitsha Cookies, and I'll be telling you a bit more about this fantastic company in a little bit... 

Pan Fried Pilchards with Veggie Timbales and Brown Rice Salad

Week 4 of the Freshly Blogged challenge saw us presented with a rather interesting, and I'll admit, challenging list of ingredients. The shopping list looked a little something like this: cabbage, tinned pilchards, feta cheese, green beans and brown rice. We were not allowed to omit anything on the list and the dish had to be cooked on the stove top, so grilled pilchards was not an option! We were also not allowed to include any grocery items - just 2 fresh ingredients (fruit, veg or herbs) as well as the approved pantry items. 

This was not going to be easy! I considered various options including cabbage rolls and paella... but with so many different and dominant flavours on the ingredients list I decided that throwing them all together and hoping for the best was not the best way forward. Instead, I opted to keep things simple - combining the flavours that worked well together. 

I chose to add cherry tomatoes and carrots as my fresh ingredients. Tomatoes to add flavour to and compliment the feta in the brown rice salad. Carrots to add colour contrast and a touch of sweetness to the vegetable timbales. Added to that a selection of aromatic spices and suddenly a seemingly odd collection of ingredients became an incredibly tasty meal! 

There was yet another first for me this week. I love a fresh piece of fish but have never cooked with tinned pilchards before. I was pleasantly surprised and urge you to try them if you haven't done so. 

This is not a traditional timbale recipe, which usually includes cream. I wasn't able to include this so had to improvise a little and decided to add a basic white sauce instead - luckily it worked out! You don't have to stick to the same vegetables as me when it comes to making the timbales. Try butternut, chickpeas and red peppers - the more colourful the better!

To vote simply click HERE, it only take a few seconds.

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PAN FRIED PILCHARDS WITH VEGGIE TIMBALES & BROWN RICE SALAD

Serves 4

For the vegetable timbales:

250g peeled carrots, thinly sliced

220g cabbage leaves, shredded

250g green beans

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup milk

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 egg yolks

For the brown rice salad:

pinch of saffron

1 tablespoon warm water

1 cup brown rice

1 tablespoon olive oil + 2 tablespoons for dressing

pinch of salt
3 cups water

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

pepper

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

120g plain feta

For the pilchards:

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1/4 teaspoon medium curry powder

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 x 400g tin Lucky Star pilchards in tomato sauce

salt and pepper

To prepare the vegetable timbales:

Step 1.) Steam the carrot slices and cabbage until tender.

Step 2.) Top, tail and slice the green beans. Boil in salted water for 6 minutes or until soft.

Step 3.) Use a food processor or stick blender to purée the vegetable seperately. Set them aside while you make the white sauce.

Step 4.) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.

Step 5.) Take the saucepan off the heat and gradually whisk in the milk. Add a pinch of a salt and the nutmeg. Whisk over a medium heat until the sauce bubbles and thickens.

Step 6.) Divide the white sauce between the three puréed vegetables and mix in. Mix an egg yolk into each purée.

Step 7.) Return the green bean purée to the stove and heat for a few minutes to thicken slightly.

Step 8.) Divide the cabbage purée between four well greased dariole moulds. Smooth the top with a teaspoon so you have an even layer.

Step 9.) Next add a layer of carrot purée, remembering to smooth the top.

Step 10.) Add the green bean purée next. Smooth the top so that the purée goes right to the edges of the mould.

Step 11.) Cover each mould with a piece of tin foil. Place the moulds in a deep saucepan and carefully add hot water to the pan. The water should come halfway up the sides of the moulds. Cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for an hour, or until the timbales have set.

Step 12.) To serve: invert a dariole mould onto a plate. Give the plate a good shake, carefully lift the mould and the timbale should come out easily.

To prepare the brown rice salad:

Step 1.) Soak the saffron in a tablespoon of warm water for a few minutes.

Step 2.) Put the rice, a tablespoon of olive oil, saffron and a pinch of salt in a pot. Add the water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 40 minutes or until cooked. 

Step 3.) Whisk the brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Step 4.) Stir the cherry tomatoes and olive oil dressing through the hot rice. Crumble in the feta.

To prepare the pilchards:

Step 1.) Heat the sunflower oil in a saucepan. Add the curry powder and paprika and cook for a minute.

Step 2.) Drain the pilchards, reserving the tomato sauce. Add the pilchards to the saucepan and cook for 3 minutes. Carefully turn them over and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Step 3.) Add the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce is heated through.

Favourite Products: Swirlz Collections

You only have to look at the name of my blog to see that I love cupcakes - baking, decorating and of course eating them! And I recently came across a beautiful cupcake-related product that I wanted to share with you.

Kerry Hetherington is the lovely lady behind Swirlz Collections. Her product range includes favour boxes, name placement cards and napkin rings (brides-to-be take note!). The product that really grabbed my attention though are these gorgeous cupcake wrappers.

The cupcake wrappers are available in a variety of designs. I still can't decide which is my favourite, they are all so pretty! Simply bake and decorate your cupcakes, then pop the wrapper on for a stunning finishing touch. Very swish!

Just some of the designs that are available

Swirlz Collections offer free nationwide delivery on orders and there is no minimum order quantity, which is fantastic! 

If you'd like to find out more you can email Kerry: info@swirlzcollections.co.za or call 079 117 4640. You can also check out the Swirlz Collections Facebook page. 

Decadent Chocolate Sauce

We are in the midst of a kitchen renovation at the moment, and while this is all very exciting the lack of kitchen for the last little while has limited me somewhat! So today's recipe is a super easy one. 

Earlier in the year we were visited by some friends from Norwich and, knowing my foodie background and in particular my chocolate experience, they brought me a rather unusual product. Perhaps some of my UK readers have seen this before?

Colman's Mustard Chocolate bar, yes you're reading that right! I've seen many chocolate variations in the past, but never this one, so I was intrigued to try it! According to the Colman's website the mustard actually brings out the flavour of the chocolate. Their website suggested a spiced chocolate cookie recipe, but I decided to try something else. You often see chocolate chilli sauce on menus, so why not a chocolate mustard sauce? Still not convinced? Keep reading...

I was a little nervous myself but was pleasantly surprised at the result - a rich, dark and intensely chocolatey sauce with a subtle spicy after taste.  Not quite the mustardy onslaught I was expecting! This sauce isn't sweet (the chocolate I used was 70% cocoa) but pairs beautifully with sugary treats like sundaes, pancakes and strawberries.....this is definitely one for the dark chocolate fans out there.

And you thought mustard was only good for your sammies! 

If you can't get your hands on one of these mustard chocolate bars, or you prefer a more traditional chocolate sauce, you can use ordinary dark (not baking) chocolate instead. 

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DECADENT CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Makes approximately 1/2 cup

85g slab Colman's mustard chocolate bar (or dark chocolate), roughly chopped

90ml double cream

Step 1.) Simply heat the chocolate and cream together in a heavy saucepan over a very low heat, stirring continuously until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is smooth.

Step 2.) Serve the warm sauce immediately with your favourite sweet treat. Any leftover sauce should be stored in the fridge. (Note: the sauce will harden in the fridge but can be softened easily by being heated in the microwave for a few seconds.)