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Summer Memories

Pasta Alchemy

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Food Fanatic - Memories, good food and beautiful places in Africa...

Boerekos bizarre or bazaar?

May 2nd 2012 20:38

So it turns out I was a little harsh on Matjiesfontein. Having spent a looong weekend in Parys we realised that some places just haven’t left the old boerekos ways behind them. I am all for a good melktert or some koeksisters and there is nothing like a braai but really…?

Do people really still use sugar on just about every vegetable after they have boiled the flavour out of them? Is every form of meat still cooked to "well done" with lots of brown sauce to try and bring back some moisture?

Am I really such a snob? So the food needed work and the biggest frustration was that we had no self-catering options but we survived and put on a kilo or two just because of the sheer quantity of food we were served and the people were so darn nice we couldn’t say no.

On the upside we saw some beautiful game, enjoyed the bush sounds (even the rhino snorting outside our tent in the early hours of the morning) and explored another beautiful part of our country. Just an hour from Joburg and we were in the bush, close to the river and relaxing with a chilled glass of wine so we had a wonderful time anyway.

We also did some homework and we know where we will be eating next time we head that way. I have posted my favourite pic from the weekend to inspire you as there wasn’t much we wanted to take pictures of in the food department. It was an amazing moment with the giraffe family and well worth experiencing.

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Posted By: Keli Wakfer Smith - Category: No Category

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Taking Our Taste Buds Down Memory Lane

April 15th 2012 17:28

Outside the Lord Milner Hotel in Matjiesfontein

In a recent road trip between Cape Town and Johannesburg we stopped for lunch in Matjiesfontein – a whole town that has been declared a National Monument. It was like stepping back in time as we wandered around and explored the Lord Nelson Hotel to see where royalty has sat, soldiers had been nursed and the ghost story that made the kids a little nervous.

The fact that this little town in the middle of the Karoo was lost in time was most evident when lunch arrived. The cold meat and salad platter brought a flood of memories as the fare was prepared and served exactly as my Gran would have done 30 years ago.

The cold meat was a slice of cold gammon just like we would have had on Boxing Day all those years ago, the carrot salad complete with chunks of pineapple and raisins, the green salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber also had pineapple and of course a classic bean salad with a curried dressing. Not a slick of olive oil anywhere!

It made me so conscious of how our cooking and tastes in this country have moved on, become more global and refined in their simplicity. It inspired me to do more with veggies when I got home and I have been experimenting with old and new favourites. I have also been trawling vegan and vegetarian recipe books for new inspiration and it has opened a whole new window on what we can do with vegetables. We now enjoy all types of beans and pulses that were in the past relegated to curries and stews.

Expect to see more posts about these and other wonderful vegetarian ideas that anyone will enjoy…

For more info on the historical splendour of Matjiesfontein visit http://www.matjiesfontein.com

Roast tomatoes, grilled marrows, bean salad

Some of the veggies we enjoy at home

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Posted By: Keli Wakfer Smith - Category: No Category

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Summer Memories

April 9th 2012 13:12

Vanilla Love and Chocolate Dreams

The summer holidays are over and we are well into the year. The evenings are becoming slightly cooler and we are hanging on to our last hot summer weekends making the most of the pool and the garden.

There is no better way to hold onto the long warm days of summer than sharing the ultimate best chocolate ice cream in the sunshine.

Making ice cream is an art and once you have gone through the process a few times you quickly learn that the best ice cream comes from the smoothest, creamiest Crème Anglaise or custard.

The eggs are the tricky part, making sure they don’t scramble when you add the hot milk to the egg and sugar mix or that they cook sufficiently in the custard stage or the ice cream will be brittle instead of smooth and creamy. I have also learnt that the milk should never boil and should only warm to the point of frothing without simmering or boiling – believe it or not this has a big impact on the smoothness and the flavour of the ice cream.

My latest discovery is the use of 100% cocoa that comes in a solid block and 70% dark chocolate to get the best chocolate flavour.

Ice cream has become a labour of love but those moments in the warm sunshine savouring the memories of a summer well spent with the smooth richness of chocolate ice cream are worth it.

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Posted By: Keli Wakfer Smith - Category: No Category

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The Quintessential Roast Lamb

February 26th 2012 17:58

Whilst Sven’s food passion extends to many different meals, anyone who has eaten at his house, is most likely to have shared a roast leg of lamb at some point.

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Posted By: Keli Wakfer Smith - Category: No Category

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Padkos Paradise

December 18th 2011 16:57

Padkos - an Afrikaans word which literally means "road food"...

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Lion Hide and Seek and Rice Pilaf

December 12th 2011 12:54

Leadwood Sunset

One Friday afternoon we arrived in Hoedspruit to be told that lions had just been spotted at one of the watering holes on Leadwood. We were right next door so we piled into the game drive vehicle and set off to find the lion. But search as much as we could, we didn’t find those cats. We still enjoyed a spectacular sunset and enjoyed a different kind of rush hour traffic, sharing the road with the guinea fowl.

Rush hour on Leadwood Estate

As the inky darkness of the bush drew in around us we arrived at Wild Rivers and started the work of unpacking and sorting out dinner. It’s on nights like these when we have spent our time enjoying the moment, when sunset and the thrill of the bush over shadows the need to trawl the supermarket aisles for supper. These are rice pilaf nights – its quick and easy, all the ingredients are in the freezer or in the cupboard and the kids love it

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Pasta Alchemy

November 20th 2011 17:31

Pasta dinner at home

Given a chance I think we could eat pasta just about every night. One lazy weekend at home in Jozi we pulled out my pasta machine (which was still in the box and never used) so that Sven could show me the technique and joy of freshly made pasta.

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Posted By: Keli Wakfer Smith - Category: No Category

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Croc Hunting

October 29th 2011 12:24

Our path upstream to find the Croc

It’s been hot, hot, HOT in Hoedspruit and we are not even in November yet. Last weekend we decided to go exploring up the river while the water levels are still relatively low. Once the rains come the river will be a torrent and we won’t be able to go near it. So we put on our caps and cozzies and went clambering over the rocks and cooled off in the shallow pools. A friend had seen a croc in the large pool just up river from the house the day before so we were hoping to spot him and but also hoping we weren’t sharing a pool with him.

Rock pools perfectly shaped by the water

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Lazy Sunday Mornings

October 4th 2011 08:25

Waking up on a lazy Sunday to the sound of the Fish Eagle soaring above the river and the baboons barking as they bound across the rocks. As the first rays of sunlight reflect on the rocks and the water, the scene is set for a slow amble to the kitchen for breakfast

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Bush Food

September 12th 2011 08:59

Having created this blog profile a few years ago based on my love for food and cooking, I somehow was never inspired enough to write about the food and the experiences. Life became busy and sharing the rush didn't seem right.

But things change and as I have consciously slowed down and stopped to enjoy the moments and passion for food, I have spent time with people who share that love for food. Finally I am inspired to write about the flavours and experiences that have grown out of living slower and savouring the moment

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May 2012

1 Posts

April 2012

2 Posts

February 2012

1 Posts