tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42408394504138386042026-10-13T22:23:56.551+02:00A set of personal reflections on what I am cooking, eating and musing about.Maraleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128819784276454627noreply@blogger.comBlogger289125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-88724528161914419492014-09-30T11:21:00.001+02:002014-10-01T08:19:26.450+02:00

I have migrated my blog over to wordpress and my blog has also evolved to include a yoga section. So, if you are curious, click here to check it out.

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-68938653343897520222014-01-28T11:06:00.000+02:002014-01-28T15:44:15.082+02:00

Last year we spent Christmas with my in-laws up in Pretoria. I offered to cook us a Christmas eve dinner at Grandpa Joe's house. I decided to go all out - downloaded loads of cheesy Christmas carols, printed out carol booklets for us to do our own signing, got bible verses ready to be read, dug out all grandpa's 'good' tableware, lit candles everywhere, prepared a center piece and the whole

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-83065899960204409202014-01-20T17:25:00.000+02:002014-01-28T09:28:41.764+02:00

Ages ago I put aside a recipe I wanted to try but (as these things always happen) never got around to it. I stumbled upon it the other day and gave it whirl...it was magnificent!  The inspiration recipe was the cover dish on the November 2008 issue of TASTE magazine. My recipe is different in many ways but the essence is much the same.  The fresh zesty sauce makes a

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-85724108516324928882013-11-21T11:24:00.000+02:002013-11-21T11:46:34.935+02:00

What do (did) we, as employees, expect from our employers? For those of us luckily enough to be able to afford a housekeeper, maid, char, nanny, cleaner, helper or whatever name we use for the wonderful women (and men) who help us in our homes; let us remember that they are our employees. They have the same expectations we have from our bosses. They wait in hope ever year for their

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-3005872806966337732013-11-05T16:07:00.000+02:002013-11-05T16:59:13.738+02:00

I have never been a natural salad eater. I have had to work hard at becoming one. Some of the keys to my enjoying a salad are that they need to have more than just leaves and few salad veggies in them. I like them to have crunch and softness. Tangy, tart and sweet notes. Proteins, diary, nuts and or seeds and a wide variety of veggies and leaves. I don't like them to be drenched in mayo or oil

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-22350342728197653992013-11-04T12:44:00.000+02:002013-11-04T13:19:53.633+02:00

This is not a new recipe. I blogged about it about three years ago first but I have so many new followers now and it is such a winner of a recipe I felt I just had to share it again. I have taught this recipe in my classes so many times and it is such a success every time.  I have refined the recipe a little since then and created a flour free version of it too which it just as tasty. So I

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-51945327288105544032013-11-01T16:49:00.000+02:002013-11-01T17:15:15.237+02:00

I was craving grilled fish yesterday and spotted some lovely fresh kingklip. I had my nieces coming over for a quick lunch before their extra maths class; so I thought I'd throw together something fresh, quick and light for us. It turned out so well.  This is a perfect one pot wonder for a quick meal but you can also add a starch and salad on the side to bulk it out. We ate it

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-25380632730993063802013-10-29T16:01:00.000+02:002013-10-29T16:14:18.909+02:00

It must be at least 20 years since I first discovered Thai salad parcels at Wang Thai. Our family quickly made up their own version of the dish and have been making it with relish ever since. About two weeks ago for date night I rustled this one up for Adam and I.  I bought three heads of iceberg lettuce and stripped the outer leaves away leaving just the smaller bowl shaped tender

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-11517209329731489682013-10-11T14:46:00.002+02:002013-10-11T15:23:31.031+02:00

I love to snack. I need to snack. I'm not a carrots or apple kind of snacker either, so now that I am trying to be all low-fat, low-carb its making it pretty hard to find satisfying snacks.  These two have really hit the spot though. The first one is fat free cottage cheese mixed up with my spicy seed mix, scooped up with crunchy veggie sticks. Totally addictive and you don't feel like

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-26280395431011851342013-10-07T14:34:00.000+02:002013-10-07T15:32:47.129+02:00

I'm on a health kick and will be till I shed these 4kgs which sneaked up on me. I like eating too much to restrict myself to small portions of boring bland food. So I have been trying really hard to get as creative as possible around low-carb, high-protein, high raw-veg food and yesterday I totally nailed it.  I read about these cauliflower wraps on Roost, a favourite blog of

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-72514663852549827592013-09-30T10:14:00.000+02:002013-10-01T08:33:35.840+02:00

I am trying to collect as many low carb, high veg, high protein recipes as I can and last week I picked up an old Food & Home magazine (September 2007) and found a recipe I simply had to make - thai chicken meat ball salad.  I made a few minor changes, like baking the meat balls and not frying them and tweaking the ingredients here and there due to what I had

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-34981882322924991852013-09-20T16:53:00.001+02:002013-09-20T17:24:05.039+02:00

Perfecting the chocolate fondant to serve effortlessly at dinner parties is far easier than you might imagine and likely to impress the most hardened food snobs.  The recipe and method is pretty straight forward. But getting it perfect every time is all about planning and timing. So I am going to babble on a bit about all the variables and how to overcome unforeseen obstacles. The

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-40276063702947003122013-09-17T17:05:00.001+02:002013-09-17T17:35:56.629+02:00

Low or no carbs seem to be all I hear about these days. But I am crazy for my carbs and shudder at the idea of cutting them out. I have however discovered a few recipes where I don't miss the pastry crust or mashed potato side at all.  For many clients I have designed carb free, high protein recipes, which is actually pretty easy when you're a meat eater. But now my husband (the

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-11836021327976222542013-09-12T09:17:00.000+02:002013-09-12T09:17:01.297+02:00

For someone who eats most things the one thing I am a bit picky with is fish. I love fish if it is fresh fresh fresh and prepared with care. If there is a hint of that been standing too long fishy smell, my stomach churns. It may not necessarily be off yet, but I most certainly will be off it.  My 100% love it, go to fish will always be good old tinned tuna. It may not be fashionable

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-5557317899412825352013-08-19T18:07:00.001+02:002013-08-20T10:34:26.101+02:00

I have been so busy lately, I just have not had the time to blog and I feel terrible about that. I love blogging but it certainly is time consuming. So today I decided not to dither about writing too much about the dish I posting today. In short, a client sent this recipe from Bill Granger to try. I did, it rocked.  I tweeked the ingredients a little to make it easier to make in South

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-43166961022376975962013-07-23T16:32:00.002+02:002013-07-23T16:33:58.059+02:00

I have been craving and eating a lot of fish recently, which is odd, cause I'm not the biggest fish or sea food fan. This Sunday I spent a lazy day at home doing a home spa and just chilling, so I didn't want to spend much time cooking. This old favorite of mine popped into my head and man did it hit the spot.  It's pretty light but has all the rich flavours of a comfort food pasta dish

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-9229043286401539632013-07-19T14:14:00.000+02:002013-07-19T14:25:34.387+02:00

I am teaching a lesson next week for a family with 4 kids. Each child and the parents have differing dietary preferences, hence the mom calling me in to train up her housekeepers to help with the cooking.  The one dish all the kids unanimously love are chicken schnitzel but I had never made them before. Today I experimented and think the below recipe is just delicious.

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-17444525387472157992013-07-16T15:32:00.000+02:002013-07-16T15:49:22.277+02:00

My husband has been travelling a lot recently, leaving me aaaall alooooone at home... poor me!  I try to make the best of it. I watch all the chick flicks and series I need to catch up on. I have girly suppers with lots of giggling and silliness. And I eat meat. Lots of meat! My husband is a full vegetarian so I only have meat in the house if I am catering or when he's away.  The

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-19150992483021620192013-07-01T16:57:00.000+02:002013-07-01T17:00:21.561+02:00

On Friday night I was invited to have dinner at the home of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Danielle Raubenheimer. She is an outstanding cook and hostess, so I knew I would be in for a treat. The meal she made blew my socks off so much I simply had to get her to share it with you. So over to Danielle.   "Given the plummeting temperatures and my lack of villa in Ibiza, I felt

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-60657124930998151232013-06-27T16:09:00.000+02:002013-06-27T16:16:48.033+02:00

Sugar as well as sugar substitutes are a thorny topic in health conscious circles. There is plenty of reading to be done with arguments, debates, scientific evidence, personal testimonies; all with differing opinions on whether they are good or bad for you and in what quantities.  So as with most things I follow my guiding principle of 'all things in moderation'.  I don't have a

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-14676836031890429392013-06-24T16:18:00.002+02:002013-06-24T16:28:41.570+02:00

I have recently been craving lamb chops. This is not normal for me. Most of my life I couldn't have cared less for lamb chops. But this, I realise, is because most of my life I have been exposed to appallingly cooked chops.  In my past most chops have either not been seasoned at all or been overly seasoned in some one size fits all braai marinade which over powers the

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-89098063090623664492013-05-30T15:00:00.000+02:002013-05-30T16:27:57.720+02:00

I love creamed spinach. It is the perfect creamy savory heavenly comfort food veg. It is both old fashioned and timeless. In South Africa if you order a meal which comes with hot veg of the day, you are more than likely going to get creamed spinach and butternut mash. It's something we have grown up with and love (or hate).  That said until a few months ago I had never made it at home. I

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-77317120217656672162013-05-28T13:33:00.001+02:002013-05-30T19:03:18.278+02:00

For quite some time now I have been erring towards organic products where it has been convenient and easy to do. But since last week, while being caught up in all the Monsanto protests, we have decided to go as organic as it is possible for us be. We get our weekly veggie box from Ethical Co-op and add selected products from their website to bulk up our order.  I get

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-71343006532834449582013-05-23T10:51:00.000+02:002013-05-23T11:37:46.721+02:00

When I say story, it's less of a 'once upon a time' and more of 'a Frenchman an Indian and a South African meet in a bar' kind of story. My favourite dish for my mom to make for me when I'm feeling the need for comfort food has always been a dish we called Eggs Milanese. I found out that it is actually called eggs Provencal and the way we've been

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4240839450413838604.post-22019232558650733402013-04-25T11:56:00.001+02:002013-04-25T11:56:58.080+02:00

I love eggs.  I love them for breakfast, lunch and supper. I'm not a huge breakfast eater, so my eggs are usually a lunch or supper thing. My favorite supper version for eggs is mashed potato topped with a tomato concasse or creamed spinach and poached eggs. Sooooo good. Today though, I felt like some super simple eggs for lunch. Two boiled eggs (a bit harder than I would have

Thekla Salmonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268382276378107876noreply@blogger.com0