If you don't live in cape Town Block your eyes...

 A while ago I posted about &Union's sexy beers, remember there was that one with the glorious sunshine yellow label? Here I will show you again..

Totally sexy beer. Anyway, The guys at &Union and Jack Black beer have teemed up with The greatest market on earth and maybe in the world- The Neighbourgoods Market- to bring you The Craft Beer Festival (The first of its kind in South Africa I might add so very prestigious) giving you the opportunity  to get up close and maybe even put your mouth onto one of these ice cold ones. This fab day out is not only for beer lovers, the line up includes "Real Beer producers, foodie enthusiast and those that appreciate the art of craft brewing." I think its going to be rad. 

Hey Abi

Ages ago I posted about my dreams to Paint this picture and hang it up on my wall where  
I could gaze at it every day and feel all artsy. Well, my dreams have come true:) My very clever friend Abi took things into her own hands and got creative on us and look at the beautiful result.

Before...

After...

Abi has recently freed herself of the shackles of employment and has set sail on the fabulous voyage that is freelance illustrating- I must tell you she is very good:) Abi also has a really lovely blog called Abihey that is filled with gorgeous treats for your eyeballs go have a look now. 

A GIRL CAN DREAM

Local online store Shop-Label.com is having a ginormous sale. So, before you go spending your pay check on silly stuff like food you might want to go and have a look here. They stock awesome international labels such as Antik Batik, J Brand jeans, Paul and Jo sister, Sass and Bide and many others. You should go and check it out, I spend many hours making dream purchases when I should be working, these items are on my list.

 

These two are just destined to be together on a beach somewhere...

SUNDAY SUPPERS: TOM YUM SOUP

Tom Yum soup is the bomb, here is why:

1. It is super delicious, fragrant and tastes like a holiday in Thailand

2. When you make it for a dinner party people will think you have slaved away for the whole day and you will look like a domestic goddess.

3. You can use all the sad veggies that have been moping in your veggie drawer all week and are about to go off.

3. It takes 15 minutes to cook so you can make it for dinner and be on the couch before private practice starts (This is its most endearing trait I think)

RECIPE

(makes enough for 4)

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts chopped or 

5 prawns per person (I usually just use a punnet of those woolies pre-cooked ones much easier)

2 cups of diced veggies (ie baby marrows, baby jem squash, asparagus, baby corn, long stem broccoli, 

I have even thrown in english spinach you really can chuck in what ever is in your fridge)

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 cup baby tomatoes

1 Litre of water

Tom Yum Paste - You can get a bottle of this at most supermarkets. I buy mine from Everfresh.

1.5 chicken stock cubes

1 teaspoon Fish Sauce

A handful of fresh corriander

Noodles

Method:

1. Brown the chopped Chicken breasts and set aside. If you are going with the prawn option you can skip this step as they are pre cooked so you can just chuck them into each bowl when the soup is done.

2. In a medium sized pot, bring your liter of water to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add your stock cubes, let them dissolve. 

3. TOM YUM PASTE IS BLOODY HOT, so use it with caution. Add one tablespoon of paste to the water and stir it in. Taste the soup and keep adding tom yum paste until you reach a heat level that your taste buds are comfortable with. Chuck in the Fish Sauce.

4. In another pot, start cooking your noodles.

5. Chuck the remaining ingredients except the corriander- into the pot and let them simmer until they are done to your desired likeness. When they are done take the soup off the heat and throw in the corriander.

6. Get your serving bowls out. Put some noodles in the bottom, divide the prawns/ browned chicken between each bowl and fill them up with soup. 

7. If you spill some on your couch or top use clean green to get it off- it is the only solution believe me I have tried.

* Why not serve little mouthfuls of tom yum at your next dinner party, if you don't have spoons you can also use shot glasses.

GET OFF YOUR ASS

and come do the SPAR WOMENS 10 KM CHALLENGE.

This time last year I was gearing up to run my first ever 10km run. Before that, the most I had done was 6km and I thought I was going to die but I entered and I did it and I lived- who knew! The year has now come full circle and the Spar Ladies 5 and 10 km races are upon us again.This weekend- well the durban leg anyway. I am about to turn 100 25 and figured I will be using a zimmerframe soon so I might as well use my youth before it slips out of my wrinkled granny hands-sob and get off my ass. So get off your ass, bring your mates and reach a goal. It is loads of fun for walkers and runners. Go to www.spar.co.za for the details.

SPOTTED!

Litchies!!! Spotted recently on one of my visits to the greatest shop in the world aka woolies. These here Litchies are in fact not from around here- woolies flew them in just for us- from some far and remote place. I find the mystery makes them even more delicious, like that equally as juicy as the first Litchies of summer french guy who has swept Sarah from Brothers and Sisters off her feet- YUM.

His name is Gilles Marni- google it TRUST ME!

IM BACK

Bonjourno! No I am not dead, nor have I forgotten about you. Last week I had my first Flu in 2 years and it was horrible, The Bird was away on his manly week with the bugga's so I decided to eff it and go on a sympathy and wellness seeking getaway with my most glorious girlfriend (MGGF) and the engaged ones up in Joburg.


I landed on Friday evening, MGGF Picked me up from the Gautrain station- very Civilised I must tell you, and whisked me off to Tashas- the home of the biggest wine glasses in the world- where we proceeded to floor a bottle of wine (I figured if medicine wouldnt work I should try drinking) we might also have devoured a magnificent slice of pecan pie but its all hearsay. MGGF's Hubby then came and met up with us and steered us in the direction of Meze Poly where we continued to devour another bottle of wine and some rIdiculously tasty greek tapas. 

* The pic in the top left is the treat table at Tasha's. I wanted to show you now so that when you go there you will know how to identify it an look away before its too late.


Let me just tell you that any doctor who says anti-biotics will cure you has clearly never tried drinking his problems away. After 7 days of lying in bed taking medicine keeping myself hydrated eating chicken soup and pretty much following the textbook guidelines to recovery all I got was sicker. 2 bottles of wine in 1 go- BAM cured! 

WHAT DO YOU C?

I love how intellectual creatives can get when they are fighting for their cause. Cell C is busy trying to persuade the Registrar of Trademarks and legal experts that they have not stollen the Copyright Company's logo. Personally I see no difference between the two symbols, but Cell C claims that theirs isn't just a little circle with a C inside. Infact they say


 "the new logo reflects Cell C's vision of understanding its customers and tailoring solutions around them. The white space between the black "C" and solid circle is symbolic of the customer. There is no significance in the Cell C Logo resembling the copyright symbol. Primarily, the "C" in the centre represents Cell C putting the customer at the centre of everything it does." via Moneyweb


I actually laughed out loud when I read that. Do they really think people will see that?
Do you see all that emotional stuff? 

H&M Fall 2010 Campaign

Why has SA been left out from the wonder that is H&M i feel like we are being punished. Here is what we are missing out on- lovely isn't it-sob. 

SA BLOG AWARDS 2010

Morning ya'll! I am happy to report that I am feeling a little more human today yay so you can stop worrying I am going to live:) First order of business for the day is The SA Blog Awards. What is this you ask? 


"The SA blog awards is a showcase of the very best of South African blogs. We will endeavour to bring South African bloggers to the forefront of peoples attention, both locally and internationally, increasing exposure for South Africa's great bloggers; and in the end reach out and touch people who are outside the realm of blogging and have them discover what they are missing. "

That should give you a pretty good understanding of what is going on now. In order for DurbanCentral to reach out and touch people outside of the realm I am going to have to kindly ask that you lovelies take a moment out of your day and click on the the SA Blog Awards banner situated on the right hand side of my blog (same as the one pictured in this post) and give DC a little green thumbs up in the Best new blog category (it would also be nice of you to support some of the other local bloggers out there too). Now listen close because this part is important- once you have clicked on nominate and selected your category and danced through a hoop of fire you will be prompted to fill in your email address. A mail will then be sent to you MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON THE LINK IN THE MAIL TO VERIFY THE VOTE  if you don't follow through your vote will be lost and my dreams of reaching out and touching people will be dashed and millions will lose out.

PLEASE SEND HELP- OR JOSH

It would appear that last weekend I not only drank away any sense of dignity I might have possessed but  also murdered my immune system. I drowned it and now I am paying the price. When monday arrived I awoke to find myself trapped in the lifeboat that was my bed, surrounded by a hazy ocean of ghastly flu and hangover with no sunrise or sailor-The bird is off on a hunting trip come rugby extravaganza with the 'bugga's' - to keep me warm. It is now day 3 and there is still no sign of my immune system or the bird's return,  so posts might be few and far between for a day or two sorry kids x

SUMMER VIBES

You know in the Liqui Fruit ads there is always some hot chick lost in the dessert about to die of dehydration (but without chapped lips) then she magically stumbles upon a huge crate of fresh colorful bruise free fruit which she proceeds to crush allowing the nectar to run in a perfect, colourful, arc into her chapped free mouth without getting so much as a splash on her vintage t-shirt. These pictures look to me how that fruit must taste to that thirsty lady. These summer vibes are courtesy of Alannah Hill

THE LOVE SHOP

VIA THE LOVE SHOP

SUNDAY SUPPERS

Hi my lovelies
How were all your weekend's? Mine was completely spectacular, outrageous even but more of that later. I wanted to ask a favor, I am shooting some more food for my Sunday Suppers Posts and I wanted to find out from you what kind of recipes you would like to see. If you have a recipe you are not sure about or something you would like to see up on Sunday Suppers please email me at lexibechet(at)gmail(dot)com and who knows maybe your recipe will feature up on the walls of DC:)

Delicious fodder for your eyes

The new Lonny mag is out! Now you can browse its pretty pages and spend the rest of the week re designing your home while you pretend to work...

Local is Lekker

Local Durbanite Sam Laskey (Ice Models)  has been kicking up a storm on the pages of many an international glossy this year.  She also recently shot for Elle Turkey- watch this pretty face girls and boys it is going to be strutting around next to Candice Swanepoel soon.

Sam Laskey by Koray Birand for All Magazine July 2010

WIN WIN WIN!

GHD along with Kim Gray are giving away a Blue Serenity Styler valued at R2250! All you need to do is be a FACE BOOK FAN of BOTH KIM GRAY and GHD SOUTH AFRICA and tell Kim Gray here. You can also re tweet the competition to up your chances.

SUNDAY SUPPER'S

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Mushroom Risotto is the scrummiest thing to eat on a chilly night. Many people avoid risotto at all costs because they see the slightly fancy looking name and they assume that it must be impossible to make. This is absolute rubbish- all that risotto is at the end of the day is rice with a fancy outfit on. Risotto is a very simple and versatile dish that can be flavored with literally anything you have left in your fridge at the end of the month. 

Woolies often have these gorgeous little punnets of wild mushrooms that look like something from Alice in Wonderland. They are extremely delicious but also very daunting due to their fanciful shapes and very snobbish appearence. I have seen many people looking at these little beauties puzzlingly, then putting them back on the shelves because they can't think what on earth to do with them- besides maybe putting them under a bell jar and using them as some kind of strange organic living-room instillation. This recipe provides the perfect opportunity for you to get to know these interesting fellows, you will never eat a button mushroom ever again! 

Another terrifying ingredient used in this dish is the dried porcini mushroom. These little guys will not give you a high or a psychedelic out of body experience like the other dried mushroom variety so relax. All they will do is add a subtle nutty mushroomy flavor that will make you close your eyes when you chew and make a mmmmm noise.


Ingredients


• 1.5 litres chicken stock

• a handful of dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
• 400g risotto rice (also called Arborio rice)
• 150ml white wine
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 punnets of Woolies wild mushrooms 

  (they often do a special where you can get 2 for R20)
• a few sprigs of parsley
• juice of 1 lemon
• 25g butter
• 2 nice handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• extra virgin olive oil

Method
Before you get going, chuck your dried mushrooms into a glass and pour in enough hot (not boiling) stock to cover them. Leave them to soak for a few minutes, lets make it 5, then fish them out and chop them up. Keep the liquid they soaked in. In a separate jug mix 1.5 L of chicken stock and put it next to the stove with a ladle- you will need this later.


In a medium pan, heat up some butter and chuck in those wild mushrooms- not the dried ones- the fancy ones in the punnet. Flash fry these guys until they smell delicious and are shiny and soft. Fish them out and put them in a bowl. Squeeze your lemon juice in with the mushrooms, chuck in the chopped parsley as well as a pinch of salt and mix it all together.


Grab a large pan out of your cupboard (preferably one with high sides so you don't hurl rice all over your stove) chuck in a splash of olive oil along with your chopped celery and onion and leave these to fry for 10 minutes until they are soft. If they start to get all brown chuck in a little water this should stop them burning before they soften- this is a big no no in the cooking world but I don't care. Once these are done, turn up the heat, chuck in your rice and then add your wine. You might want to step back when you do this because a cloud of delicious will billow out and make your face all sweaty- very un sexy. Keep stirring until all that wine has been soaked up by the rice then add in the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms,the chopped porcini's and a ladle full of chicken stock. Turn down the heat to a simmer- the rice should be slightly bubbling not boiling wildly out of control. Wait until all that liquid is just about absorbed before you add your next ladle full of stock. Keep doing this until all your stock has been drunk by the rice, this will take upwards of 20 minutes- be patient with this process if you pour all your stock in at once and pump up the heat because you are in some kind of mad hurry, you will be left with a stodgy pot full of terrible tasting mush and mush never impressed anybody.  Once your are done with the rice, have a little taste and make sure you are happy with the seasoning. Take your risotto off the heat and stir in a large knob of butter, if your risotto is a bit stiff, add a splash of stock. Now for the best part, take those handfuls of parmesan and stir them in with the risotto until it becomes creamy and oozy and irresistible .


When you are ready to serve, spoon a dollop of risotto into a warmed bowl, cover it with a heap of grilled wild mushrooms and a veil of parmesan shavings. While you are doing this get your man to pour you each a big glass of chilled white, set the table like a good man should turn off the TV and light a candle because this meal deserves every bit of your attention.


LEFTOVERS 101

If you are cooking for just one or two, you will have left overs. And you will be left wondering what on earth you are going to do with all this risotto. You have one of two options well you can use both options actually.

The first is perfect for lunch boxes, desk lunches and picnic baskets. Grab an old jam jar or one of those lovely Consol glass ones with the wire hinge and put a bed of rocket in the bottom. Chuck in afew dollops of Risotto along with some of the grilled wild mushrooms sprinkle in some parmesan and there you have it.

RISOTTO BALLS

1. Take a spoon full of risotto and roll it into a ball.

2. Roll the risotto ball into some cake flour spiked with salt and pepper. 

3. Dip the ball into a bit of egg

4. Roll again in the spiked flour.

5. Repeat the above steps over and over again.

5. Put some olive oil into a pan, heat it up, drop the risotto balls into the hot pan and fry in batches until they are all golden brown and crunchy.

6. Serve piping hot risotto balls with a bit of mayo for dipping.

7. Say yes when he proposes and live happily ever after.

Option number two is a little more complex and might take a little more time but hell, it is worth the effort. Why not freeze some of your left overs from above and then put these steps into play when an unexpected dinner party springs on you and you have no fancy nibbles to serve. Risotto balls are the perfect canape, snack, delicious bite sized food there is. They also look fancy so your guests will all be secretly jealous of your culinary finesse.

* The above images are property of Durban Central. Should you wish to use them in any way, shape or form I would love you to just drop me an email and ask me first, I am very nice- I don't bite:)

Photographer: Jono Nienaber Stylist: Lexi Bechet

Oh No!

Look what just landed in my inbox. I smell the smoke coming from my debit card already. 

I am particularly loving these little flats

Matchy matchy:)

for more punishment browsing go over to the Trenery website

WHATS COOKIN GOOD LOOKIN?

On the subject of appetites I am happy to announce that I will be adding a weekly recipe to the blog. So often you eat the same thing week in and week out and you end up with a very bored tummy. I have decided to tackle recipes that are both delicious and exciting but also simple and easy to follow. My aim is to show you lovelies that you don't have to have 5 Michelain stars in order to make scrumptious meals. All you need is to follow the steps one by one whilst you sip some wine,  listen to italian music and put out all your goddess vibes and you and that spatula will be tight like tigers in no time. 

Results are in!

Ah, you have to laugh. After all that voting and polling and patriotism you all put in over the last 2 weeks the results are finally in and typical of a voting system where by you can choose more than one answer, all the results were totally equal. (you were supposed to choose like 1 or 2 options dorks not all the options ha ha) so it looks like you are going to be getting a top up on everything from rantings and ravings to recipes to what ever else I find in the bottom of my handbag.  I have decided to tackle each of these little categories one by one instead of showering you all in a glorious smorgasbord of topic diversity at once and ruining your appetites.

HOORAY!