Guess what I have!?!?! 2 Tickets to get into the Good Food and Wine show this Saturday at the CTICC thanks to our friends at computicket.

Want 1?

Tell me, in your best Food Network lingo, what you had for breakfast or lunch or supper. You have till tomorrow 5pm so make it good.

Want extra entries?
Post a picture of said meal with the discription on our facebook page for 1 extra entry
Instagram/ Tweet said meal and include myself (@addtotaste), @Computicket and #ComputicketGFW in the tweet for a 2nd extra entry.

Good luck!

The Winner Are…..

This particular recipe started off with 2L of almond milk that my sister really didn’t want to drink neat. Followed by a tin of coconut milk that was decanted and needed to be used urgently. Some apples that were craving to be attention and the almond meal left over from making the aforementioned almond milk.

This was followed by overcooking of previously listed apples and a bright idea, some risky maneuvers and blind faith in me (from my family). All these came together to create a fresh, slightly tart, not too sweet and surprisingly light dessert. All the while fitting 100% into the reboot mold and making my sister super happy.

Images taken by my mom

Almond milk

Ingredients:
2 cups almonds
enough water to cover
2.5 cups water

Method:
Soak the almonds over night. Toss the soaking water and put the almonds in a blender with the 2.5 cups of water. Blend. Pass the milk through a cheese cloth. Put the meal aside to allow to dry.

Images taken by my mom

Almond crust

Ingredients:
3 cups almond meal
2 tbs coconut oil
6 dates (soaked. More if you want it sweeter)

Method:
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse till they come together. Press into a greased pie tin and bake blind on 160°C for about 20 minutes or until it starts going golden. Take out and set aside while you finish the custard.

Images taken by my mom

Apple Custard

Ingredients:
4 Grannysmith Apples (cored and scored)
1 Tin coconut milk
Enough almond milk so the apples float freely
2 cinnamon sticks
2 vanilla pods (slit)
6 dates (more if you want it the custard sweeter)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Method:
Put the apples, coconut milk, almond milk, cinnamon, vanilla and dates in a pot and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook until apples are mushy. Pick out apples and scoop the insides into a food processor with dates and pulse till smooth. Add cooking liquid a little at a time pulsing each time till you get a smooth, almost custard like consistency. Allow to cool and add eggs and nutmeg. Pour into almond crust. Bake at 160°C for about 30-40 min or until set.

My very good friends have a story of when they decided to clean their flat properly because the bug infestation was getting out of hand (as students this took a while). In the fridge they found a black Styrofoam tray with something black and slimy inside. M asked D if she could throw it away and he replied “No! It’s fresh lettuce, it says so on the label see?”

It seems a lot of people had a similar story at some point as lettuce is on of those things you need to use quickly before it wilts, rusts or rots. There is something so frustrating having to cut rusty, bitter parts of lettuce you only bought a few days ago.

Checker, though, is here to save the day with lettuce that will stay fresh for much longer. I got this baby over a month go and I just finished the last few leaves. Here is an exert from their press release:

“Living Leaves Lettuce, hydroponically grown lettuce is cultivated under cover in long “channel-like” structures, with its roots growing in running water, never soil. The water in which it is grown contains an optimal supply of natural nutrients essential to healthy plant development. This means that Living Leaves Lettuce has on-tap access to nutrients which are carefully managed for maximum absorption. The result is healthier plants that taste better and last longer.

Surprisingly, hydroponic farming actually requires less water than traditional farming methods as the water is recycled– and a single hectare of hydroponically grown lettuce yields the same as 20 hectares of traditionally grown plants. The reason is that all that water is recycled.”

So if you are on a salad binge to lose those extra festive season kilos or just love something fresh and crispy, give it a try and tell me what you think

Lined up and ready for tasting

Wine pairings are always fun. What could be bad about them? You get to drink wine and eat. I have had lots of fun at events like Chick24′s pairing where you were put at a table with a bunch of foodies, fed excellent food and given a whole lot of wines to taste at the same time to find the perfect match.

Tania taking a sip to compare

I had equally as much fun with my neighbours as I treated them to an evening of wine and pairing…with crisps. Now before you judge you need to try it. Two Oceans sent me two bottles of wine and a couple of bags of chips, I bought a few more flavours as well. I set up a blind pairing and watched as they hmm and aah’d and pulled funny faces.

Maryke thinking hard

The results were interesting and the comments throughout even more so but one thing it showed me is which chips should never be on the table when we have wine flowing. Two Oceans proved that wine pairing can be light and fun and not just a serious foodie event. My neighbours and I continue to enjoy the wines while the husbands and kids polished off the rest of the chips (they were in the shadows ready to pounce as soon as the pairing was complete.

Now for the red

Do your own pairing and let me know what you found, below is what we found:

The results

Red was clearly devided

I don’t really believe in New Years resolutions. Promises we make when we have no idea what will happen in the year ahead. Vague dreams with no real goal in mind. “I will lose weight this year” “I won’t drink so much this year” “This year will be a happy one”.

I believe in setting goals and trying to achieve them. Goal setting is different. There is no “I will” but there is an “I aim”. So I have 1 major goal for this year. I aim to lose 30kgs (From where I was at the beginning of the year) by my 30th birthday (14 November 13). Not only is it possible if I keep my head right, it is also a healthy goal.

I have chosen to do this by following the High Fat Low Carb diet, taking riffs from Primal Blueprint along the way. However, having given in to foods I know harm me for the last few months I felt I need to “switch it on and off again” and reboot my body into finding pleasure in anything but white bread and chocolate. So I have decided to give the Sleekgeek Reboot (inspired by the Whole30) a go as a sort of launch pad.

For some reason I decided that Valentine’s Day was the perfect day to start, silly woman. All around me people were talking about chocolate, pictures of chocolate, ads about chocolate, stores were full of chocolate. I had to fight the temptation and in the end decided to fight fire with fire.

So, these babies were born. They tick all the boxes I needed to stay on track and kick ass on my first day. They say necessity is the mother of all inventions and I look forward to the other delights my insistent palette inspires.

Reboot “Ferrero Rocher”

Ingredients:

Hazelnuts – 500g
Olive oil – 1 tsp
pitted dates – 500g
cocoa – 4 tbs (more or less)
Water – less than 1/2 cup
Crushed almonds – to coat

Instructions:

In a food processor, blend the nuts and olive oil for about 10 minutes until they form a paste, you will need to push it down every so often so watch it.
Once the paste is smooth add the dates and blend some more, adding a bit of water to loosen it up.
Add the cocoa to taste and blend till smooth, again using a little bit of water if needed.
Roll into balls and then roll in the almonds

*waves frantically* Hello!

I wonder if you remember me, I sure remember you guys and I missed you. I am struggling to get into a routine with this full time job that has no internet access and a very very busy little boy. Trying to lose weight, 30kg before my 30th birthday so been on a wild ride of low carb, high fat, primal v.s. paleo and sleek geeking.

This doesn’t mean my cooking has been boring. In fact, it has been more creative that ever before, only that it happens at a late hour and I never really get good light for a photo. My one camera’s battery is dead and I have no clue where the charger is and the other fell and makes funny pictures.

This lovely shot up there was taking with my dad’s camera, the kisses baked in my mom’s oven. They were made for the kick-ass, now officially annual, Cookie n Cheer cookie swap. It is inspired by my new  way of eating. What kind of cookie I could make that would be delicious and easy for someone to replicate.

As sugar isn’t really an option I had to come up with a substitute. Normally I would use but this time I wanted to try something else, so I made my own date syrup. This is something that is used a lot in the middle east but the shop bought stuff is full of sugar as well so I made my own. So easy too.

The kisses are a lot like macaroons so light and fluffy and the longer you keep them the softer they get.

Almond Kisses

slice of lemon
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
130g almond flour
3 tbs date syrup or honey

Preheat oven to 150 degrees
Wipe a clean, dry bowl and whisk with the lemon.
Whip the egg whites till they start to bubble and add the Cream of Tartar.
Whip till stiff peak.
Add the almond flour in slowly, folding it in.
Add the syrup or honey and fold till mixed through.
Use a spoon to place blobs onto a prepared cookie tray and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Date Syrup

1 cup pitted dates
1 tbs lemon juice
Water.

Soak the dates over night. Taken them out keeping the water, process them till sooth and add back to the water with the lemon juice. Heat over a medium to low flame until syrupy. Cool

When I was offered the opportunity to try out Findus’s range of frozen veggies I was ready to give an oriental recipe to knock some socks off, but something inside me said nah. Then my sister said she really wanted some curry.

Hmm, curry with water chestnuts and lotus root…why not?

It was an exercise in using what was available. There was mince that was quick to defrost, the delicious looking and interesting sounding packet of Findus “Chinese” veggies and a drawer full of curry ingredients. I went to town.

I made some ghee and used that as my base but feel free to use olive oil or canola oil.

What you need:
1tbs ghee/oil
500g lean mince
1 packet Findus Chinese frozen vegetables
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
Brown the mince and remove from the pan.
Add the veggies and stir fry until they start to warm through.
Add spices and stir fry
Add the mince back in and then add the water.
Simmer on a medium heat until veg are fork tender and the water has mostly evaporated.

Optional changes:  For a creamier curry add coconut milk. For a tangy curry add tinned tomatoes.

I served this with some wild rice. You can also use jeera rice, steamed rice or naan bread.

Friends, readers, fellow foodies, lend me your votes (link and pics to follow)

That, plus my commitment to helping people create food that is healthy over at EatClean and wanting to spend time with my little family (including 2 trips to ER in under a week) has left me with no time for you guys. I am so sorry.

So here is what I am going to do for you. You tell me what your first memory of Gordon Ramsay is and myself and Checkers will give you a signed copy of Gordon Ramsay’s cookbook, The Ultimate Cookery Course.

All you need to do is post your memory in the comment section then tweet the following:
I have shared my first memory of Gordon Ramsay with @Addtotaste and #RamsayRatesCheckers.  http://bit.ly/R7vCQG

For now, check out the TV slot and good luck!

Looking back, most of my “friends” only stuck around till they got in with the “popular” crowd and for the most part I was left behind. What changed my circumstances was Afrikaans camp. I met some really nice people there and we formed friendships that lasted all the way through to Matric, some even beyond. My idea of what was “cool” changed fast and I started training myself to be more out going.

Fast forward a few years and the nerdy worm is a beautiful social butterfly. I drive my husband mad with all the commitments I make in our free time but he knows, I thrive on good friends, good food and good wine. Entertaining people at my home is one of my favourite things to do, I don’t get to do it often in our tiny flat but when I do I take utmost pleasure in creating dishes that people ooo and aaa about.

So when I learned that Jane-Anne Hobbs had created a cookbook centered around entertaining and good food I had to get my hands on it. Paging through I giggled at the “nibbly bits” and marvelled at the droolworthy images. All you could here from my couch was pages turning and oooo this looks good and aaah I want to make this.

When it came down to actually deciding what to make, it took more time than I thought and the fact that my diet is currently limited didn’t make it easier. The final decision was Individual Beef Wellingtons. (I could make them and keep some of the stuff on the inside aside for myself)

A little prep goes a long way and most of the recipes in the book are designed to be made ahead of time so that you can entertain and socialise instead of spending the whole party in the kitchen. They are also great if you have, let’s imagine, a toddler who craves your attention and some time in the day while he naps prepare food for supper but still want things to be fresh and tasty.

I served my wellies with parsnip mash and a fresh salad. Everyone in my house, even the toddler, loved them and I will definitely make them again.

Do you want to make them too? Check out where to buy the book here

The west is a funny place. We take foods from all over the world, change them, tweak them, call them something new and then credit the country the orginal, very different, dish came from. Like, “inside out rolls” and “chop suey” and this vibrant dish, Chicken Tikka Masala.

Not that I am complaining, all the above and other dishes like them are firm favourites of mine and the only “food origin” argument I ever let myself get into is whether hummus is originally Middle Eastern or Greek (Hummus is the Arabic word for chick pea so decide for yourself).

What I really love about this particular dish is how easy it is for me to fit it into my current eating habits. Thanks to a recipe found here and with a little tweaking, the whole family loved the dish. Myself and my sister had it with garlicy sweet potato mash, while the rest of the family had it with rice. Even my 10 month old enjoyed it (He just had the tikka part without the masala sauce).

Primal Tikka Masala

For the tikka

6-8 boneless and trimmed chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces (As this method is gentle on the protien you can substitute with fish)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh corriander, finely chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 tin coconut milk
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 thumb size ginger grated
Small pinch cayenne pepper
Generous pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 200C
Mix everything together in your baking dish, cover and bake for 1 hour.

For the masala

2 tbs olive oil
2 onions, sliced thinly
65g tomato paste
1 tin peeled tomatoes in their juice
3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tin water (use the tomato tin)
Juice of half a lemon
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder (depends how hot you like it)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons garam masala (an Indian spice blend)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 can coconut milk
Salt & Pepper to taste

In the olive oil fry some the onions (use a bit of water to cook the onions a little before they fry)
Add the spices  and fry them a little.
Add the tomato paste and cook it out
Add the tinned tomatoes, the water and the lemon juice.
Cook for about a minute and add the coconut milk.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Then scoop out the chicken pieces and a bit of the cooking juices and add them to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve with your choice of starch, or just so in a bowl.