QUINOA AND BANANA HEALTH MUFFINS.

I know that people are all, "Muffins are just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast" at the moment but seriously, they don't have to be. Although these are are not the most glamorous muffins you ever cracked eyeballs on, they are simple and delicious and more importantly, they are packed full of nutritious bits and pieces that won't go to your ass, so give them a break or just give them a bash next time you have some left over Quinoa taking up space in your fridge. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
2 medium bananas, peeled and mooshed
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup raisins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Butter and flour one 12- muffin pan
2. Grab a large bowl and chuck together the mooshed bananas, eggs, yogurt, honey and vanilla essence. Mix to combine.  Add in the quinoa, raisins, pecan nuts (if you have any other seeds like sunflower seeds, linseed, whatever seeds you would like to add, go ahead, there aren't really any rules here).Combine all the ingredients and put to the side.
3. Sieve the dry ingredients over the quinoa mixture and fold together until everything is just combined.
4. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

SUN KISSED NECTARINE TARTE TATIN

7 Ripe and juicy nectarines

150g Brown sugar

Teaspoon of cinnamon

puff pastry
 

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Grab a 25cm tart tin and cut out a piece of grease proof paper (not wax paper) into a circle that fits into the base of the tart tin. Smother it in butter- don't be stingy.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a little bowl and sprinkle the lot it into the base of the tart tin.

Cut the nectarines into more or less 1cm thick wedges and pack them side by side in a tight spiral until the whole tart tin is filled with a beautiful juicy nectarine spiral. Just remember that fruit shrinks when you cook it so don't be scared to really pack those juicy wedges in.

Unroll the puff pastry (I just used store bought woolies one) measure it and make sure it is big enough to drape over your nectarine spiral. If it is a little small gently roll it out. Using a sharp knife cut out a circle the size of the tart tin and drape the pastry over the fruit. Put it in the fridge for about 30 min to chill. 

Once your Tarte Tatin is chilled put in in the oven on the centre rack and bake for about 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffy and gorgeous. Take the pud out the oven and leave it to cool. 

When the tart tin is cool enough to handle put a plate over the top and flip your tart right over onto the plate. Remove the tart tin and serve with some vanilla bean ice cream.

BANANA LOAF

 I can say with one hundred percent certainty that this is the best flippen banana bread recipe on the planet- ever! It is mandatory that you serve it straight out of the oven, slices must be thick as door stops and smothered in cold butter, you could eat it some other way but I'm not quite sure on how to top my serving suggestion it really is the only way.

 




2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
120 g butter
2 eggs
3 big ripe bananas (the browner the better- bananas
that look the worst often make the best banana loaf)
65ml water
a splash of vanilla essence
7 ml baking powder
5 ml bicarb
some salt

1. Beat together the butter and sugar until you get a light fluffy mixture that's baby yellow in colour.

2. Shmoosh the bananas in with the butter mixture (your mixture might look like it has split but ignore this all will be made right later)

3. Beat in the eggs until the mixture is nice and smooth, then, chuck in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to blend.

4. Dissolve the bicarb into the water and chuck in the vanilla essence then beat the liquid into the batter.

5. Grab a bread tin, I personally like to line it with baking paper but f you don't feel like the luss its not an issue just grease it up, pour the banana mixture into the tin and chuck it in the oven at 180 degrees C for about 45 minutes or until your kitchen smells like a cloud of banana heaven.

SUNDAY SUPPERS: MOM'S CHICKEN SOUP

Last night I witnessed a degree of bar abuse that is probably being entered into the Guinness book as we speak. The final try in the Sharks rock star performance was like the little hammer in that mouse trap game that sets the ball rolling on down its path of destruction and self destruct we did!. I saw behavior (and hair styles I might add) at Rovers that Russel Brandt would be scared of. There is pretty much eff all that will help you after a night like last night except my mom's Chicken Soup. That cheap ass gas station Pie you are thinking about is not the solution. Home made chicken soup is a super delicious, healthy way to say sorry to your body for last night its also fab for lunch at work on Monday with a buttery piece of toast. yum.

 

1 whole skinned chicken

5 big leeks chopped

2 stalks of celery chopped finely

5 big carrots grated

a punnet of button mushrooms diced

10 baby melies chopped 

3 Bay leaves

2 chicken stock cubes

some salt

some black pepper

Start by skinning the chicken and trimming it of any excess fat. Grab a big pot and chuck in all the ingredients, except the melies, and fill the pot up with water until the chicken is covered. Bring the soup up to the boil and then turn the heat down until the water is bubbling lightly. Leave the soup to boil for about an hour or until the chicken is literally falling off the bone. Using a big spatula, fish the chicken out, pull all the meat off the bone and return it to the pot. Chuck in the baby melies return the pot to the stove for 5 minutes or until they are cooked. Serve with a big chunk of crusty bread.

BAREFOOT IN THE KITCHEN

Whenever I go home to Cape Town for the weekend time is usually spent in the kitchen. Either trying to get a taste of what ever my mom is whipping up, or swatting The Small Ones cheeky fingers out of my cookie dough. The tables have now turned and my Small counter part is now the one whacking my fingers with the spatula as she fiercely defends the raising in the crunchy dough. This is her recipe and it is flipping delicious. Give it a bash and tell me what you think.

Birthday Cake for the Bird

If there is on thing that you take away from Durban Central please, please, let it be the Chocolate Chiffon Cake Recipe. This isn't the kind of cake you serve at a well mannered tea party next to the strawberry macaroons and a pot of herbal tea, oh no. This Cake is for night time and is best enjoyed in the company of chilled bubbles and sexy sexy heels. Please don't judge me because of my pictures, I murdered my camera so I am currently trying to make do with my cell phone - this is not really working out well for me as you can see!

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup hot water mixed 

with 1/2 cup of cocoa powder

1 3/4 cup Self raining flour

1 3/4 cup sugar

7.5 ml Bicarb

a pinch of salt

1/2 cup oil

7 egg yolks

7 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tar tar

Pre-heat the oven to 160 C

Before you get going on the sieving and bowl licking, chuck the egg whites into a clean bowl and whip them up until they get foamy then chuck in the cream of tar tar and continue to beat them until you can hold the bowl up side down without the whites falling out. Put them aside.

Grab your bowl with the cocoa and hot water mixture in it, add the oil and beat it with a hand beater. Once the mixture is smooth beat in the 7 egg yolks one by one until you have a smooth liquid. Set aside for just now.

Sieve together the remaining dry ingredients into a big bowl and stir them together until the flour and sugar is nicely incorporated. Using a hand beater or Kitchen aid (with the paddle attachment) slowly beat the cocoa and oil mix into the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. You want your mixture to have the same consistency as a double thick milkshake, it mustn't be stiff and dry. You can add a little water to thin it out if necessary. 

Now pay attention because this next step will either make or break your day. Divide the egg whites in half and pour half the whipped whites into the cake mixture. Use a big spoon or a whisk and slowly fold in the whites. You don't want to stir them in completely, the idea is to fold them in just enough that the bubbles are still intact but you don't have huge chunks of egg white clouds floating around. Once the first half are done fold in the second half. You will see in my pic that my whites are not 100% mixed in they are stirred in just enough so try not to over do it! Pour the mixture into a greased Chiffon Cake tin and bang it into the oven for 50 minutes or until your kitchen smells like cake and a knife stuck into the cake comes out clean.

Now you have probably been wondering why your cake tin has funny legs on the top- here is why. When you take your cake out the oven, flip it up side down ,balance it on its little legs - don't worry, it won't fall out - and leave it to cool. This step gives the chiffon Cake its impressive height. If you don't let the cake cool up side down, it slowly slouches down to something resembling a stodgy flop- we don't want this. When the cake is cool, take it out of the Cake tin, stop to marvel, and then smother it in Chocolate ganache and chuckles:)

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.

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

ILE DE PAIN

On my recent trip to Knysna I made a terrible discovery, a small bread shop called Ile De Pain that has haunted my dreams and taste buds ever since. Why so terrible you ask? well it's because I am now back in Durban thousands of miles away, tomorrow is Saturday and there is no one here who makes anything close to their chocolate croissant and let's be serious- what is Saturday morning without a chocolate croissant. I heard about this little gem a while ago Ile De Pain has been in my top 5 restaurants to test drive for ages and ages but my geographical impediment has left me blissfully unaware and in the dark. When the Knysna Forest marathon came along I decided it was time to cash in those air miles and make the pilgrimage and maybe do some running too.

I decided that the day before the race aka eat anything you want with a smile on your face day would be the perfect opportunity to head down to Thesen Island and see what the old Isle of Bread had to offer me. Every one knows that the trick to any kind of race over 5km is good carbo loading- so when I entered this place I call heaven and was hit with the smell of freshly baked bread and my eyes with a bustling hive of kneading, folding and rising I knew I was in good hands. I started off with a freezing cold glass of home made lemonaid  the dived straight into their vegetable terrine ( A sublime castle of veggies built high on a foundation of the softest most dreamy ciabatta and finished off with these slow roasted tomatoes that would literally melt your heart) and I finished it all off with a glorious cappuccino and a cellophane bag filled with these crazy cocoa crusted roasted almonds that were sweet and crunchy but also chocolaty but also aaaaaaaaaaaah. I felt that I was losing out by not sticking around until I had had a bite of everything on the menu but races had to be run and blog posts posted and lives lived so I folded my napkin and left but not without a copy of their Cafe food recipe book tucked neatly under my arm so I could try and recreate some of the glory I had just been bathed in. 

- their bread list just so you can get an idea of the level of bread love we are talking here

these guys don't stuff around.

I know you are probably reading this now thinking well thanks for nothing what am I going to do stuck here in Durban with no way of sharing in this delight that you talk of- well my lovelies I have good news, I know I cannot bring Ile De Pain to you so you are going to have to work with me here. The lovely folks over at Ile De Pain have very kindly allowed me to share one of their recipes with you so now you can get domestic on your Saturday, get your Martha Stewart on, make some brownies and sit outside in the sun with a big class of cold milk and a slab of heaven and bask in the glory that is Ile de Pain.

If you click on this Cafe Food link you can get a preview of the book as well as a downloadable pdf with some more recipes.

ALL BUTTONED UP

I think these gorgeous shortbread buttons from Forty-Sixth at Grace are such a lovely idea. I they would make the most beautiful favors for a baby shower:) Click right here  to print out the recipe illustration by Eva Juliet.  I am so excited to dust off the Kitchen-aid and give these bikkies a go. Yum

MINI PECAN PIES

THESE DELICIOUS LITTLE PIES ARE BEST EATEN STRAIGHT OUT OF THE OVEN WITH A DOLLOP OF VANILLA ICE-CREAM.

INGREDIENTS 

1 quantity pie-crust, unbaked

100 g caster sugar 

125 ml maple syrup 

¼ salt 

1 egg 

30 g unsalted butter, cubed 

¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

50 g shelled pecan nuts, chopped   

METHOD  

X Pre-heat the oven to 170 C  

X Find a clean work surface and dust it with some flour. Roll out your pastry until it is a few mm in thickness. Using a round cookie cutter cut out some pastry rounds and line the prepared mini pie tins. Trim the edges with a sharp knife.

X In a medium saucepan, combine the caster sugar, maple syrup and salt and bring to the boil. As soon as a rolling boil has been reached, switch off the heat and leave the syrup mixture to cool slightly (about 20 minutes.) 

X Put the egg in bowl and whisk for a few seconds until it is just mixed. Slowly pour the warm syrup mixture into the bowl containing the egg, stirring briskly all the time to avoid making scrambled eggs. 

X Add the butter and vanilla extract and mix it until all the butter has melted and all the ingredients are evenly dispersed. 

X Fill each pastry shell with a couple of pecan nuts and then pour the filling on top. Top each little pie with one whole pecan. 

X Bake the mini pies for about 20 minutes or until they are a dark caramel colour with a slightly crusty surface.

PIE-CRUST

125 g butter

1 teaspoon baking powder

250g flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons full cream milk

METHOD

X Crumb together the butter, baking powder, flour and sugar knead in the milk to form a smooth dough.

BABY PEA AND LEEK SOUP

IM GOING HOME TO CAPE TOWN TOMORROW, TRADING THE WARM AND BALMY CLIMATE OF DURBAN FOR THE COLD AND STORMY TEMPER OF CAPE TOWN. 
I FIGURED, IF IM GOING TO TAKE ON THE COLD, I MIGHT ASWEL DO IT WITH A DELICIOUS SOUP IN HAND. ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS

500g baby peas

2 small potatoes

5 medium leeks 

1 big onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

a knob of butter

2 cloves garlic crushed

850 ml chicken stock

METHOD

x Boil the potatoes until they are cooked, remove them from the heat and put them aside.

x Remove the outer skin of the leeks, give them a rinse and then chop them into approximately 

3cm thick chunks.

x Heat the butter and oil in a pot and add the onion, leeks and garlic cloves and sweat them untilthey become sweet and tender and the onions become translucent. Add the peas and potatoes and cook for about a minute add 2/3 of the stock and simmer for 10 minutes.

x when the simmering is done, blend the soup to the desired thickness and use the excess stock to adjust the consistency.