My easy cooking by Nina Timm.

Countdown to Christmas Menu - Ice Cream Desserts

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:30:00 +0000

In our Countdown to Christmas, I could not resist adding another dessert to our already packed dessert buffet for Christmas. We already have mom's trifle, a Festive Meringue Roulade, Christmas Pudding complete with pennies, but we almost forgot the ice cream. Fatal mistake, I know, but luckily I thought about it just in time. The children will most definitely pass on the Christmas Pudding (maybe they will look for the pennies), so there has to be some delicious ice-cream for them to enjoy.
Let the truth be known, what actually made me think of the flavor combinations of these ice cream desserts, was my recent trip to my hairdresser. Strange but true. You see, Nina ( that's moi) is fortunate to now have a personal hairdresser. Yes, Maverick Hair in Sea Point came on board the My Easy Cooking team and they will in future keep me in tip-top shape. Fancy schmancy, yeah! Well, what does all this have to do with ice cream? When the very talented Ciske asked me about hair colors, she knew exactly which buttons to push....caramel, ginger, chocolate, nutty..... Let me be honest with you, hair color was the furthermost from my mind, ice cream was!

If you are adventurous enough this time of the year, you are most welcome to try making your own ice cream with this easy recipe, but if I have to choose between churning my own ice-cream or walking on the beach, it is a no brainer which one I will chose.
What would you say if I told you with only three ingredients, you can make 2 lovely ice cream desserts for your Christmas day or if it seems a little too over the top, try at least one of them. Easy peasy, trust me! Time is running out, let's make it quick!

You will need: ( for one of the recipes, so if you make both, double up)

1 packets of ginger nut biscuits
1 tin of dulce de leche or Nestle Caramel
1 liter good quality vanilla ice-cream

Ice Cream Pies

Soften the ice cream in a big bowl and mix the tin of caramel in with the ice cream. Now make sandwiches with the biscuits using two biscuits on either end. Freeze until ready to eat.

Ginger and Caramel Ice Cream Loaf

Crush ½ the packet of biscuits and mix in with ½ of the ice-cream. Place back in the freezer. Take the caramel from the tin and spoon about 3/4 onto a layer of foil. Shape into a thin log and roll up. Place in freezer. Spoon the ice cream with the biscuits into a loaf tin that is lined with plastic film. Place the caramel log in the middle and then spoon the other ½ (plain) of the ice cream on top. Flatten with a spatula and place in freezer until you are ready to serve. When you want to plate up, simply place a warm cloth over the bottom of the loaf tin and wait for ice-cream to release. Drizzle with more caramel and serve in slices!

For a personal consultation and a head massage of note, contact Mavericks Hair

Tesna Engelbrecht

Tel: 021 434 5163

301 Main Road

Sea Point

Paprika Pork and Bean Potjie for campfire nights!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:18:00 +0000

This easy Paprika Pork and Bean Potjie(stew) is definitely going to feature on our menu this holiday. I don't know about you, but my favorite time of the day while we are on holiday, is when we settle down for the evening. When all the swimming, shopping and sightseeing is done and we can just sit back and relax with our families. My father normally lights a fire around 5pm, regardless of what we will cook for supper.
Sometimes we have a full on braai, sometimes we opt for something lighter like a Boerewors Roll, but after about a week of eating easy meals, we all crave for something hearty and substantial like a good old South African Potjie.
We eat a lot of mutton whilst on holiday, mostly in the form of chops or my mom would make her famous Lamb Curry, so sometimes it is necessary to ring the changes and use a little pork for our potjie. Pork normally cooks faster so it is a good alternative when you are having to deal with ravenous children. You can make this stew on the stove top or in the oven too, but like I have said, few things in this world can compete with a campfire meal.
Using smoked paprika in this dish is essential, it not only adds a little bit of heat, but the smokiness of the paprika with the pork and beans is just too delicious. Invest in a small tin of smoked paprika, it is a tad pricey but it lasts for a long time.

Paprika Pork and Bean Potjie
serves 8

Ingredients
2kg pork shoulder - cut into cubes
2 large onions - chopped
about 3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic - chopped
2 heaped teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons dry oregano
2 teaspoons dry thyme
1 handful of fresh sage - chopped
salt and pepper
1 small tin of tomato paste
2 x 410 gr tinned beans - rinse under cold water
330ml dry cider
1 cup stock or warm water

250ml sour cream of bulgarian yogurt

Method
Heat you cast iron pot (dutch oven) on the fire until it is very hot and add the vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, paprika and dry herbs. Keep stirring, keeping an eye on the garlic so that it does not burn. Once the onion is soft and translucent, add the pork and brown slightly. Add the cider and the stock or water and place the lid on the pot and sit back and relax while the meat cooks for about 30-40 minutes or until it is tender. If you need to add more stock or water, do so.Once the meat is tender, add the tomato paste as well as the drained and rinsed beans and check for seasoning. If your stew is too watery, make a roux with 1 tbsp of oil mixed with 1 tbsp of flour and stir into the stew. Alternatively remove the lid from the pot and allow the stew to reduce to the desired consistency. You can stir the yogurt into the stew or serve it separately so that each guest can add their own. Just before serving, add the chopped sage. Delicious with a pot of buttery mashed potatoes, some caramelized onions and deep-fried sage.

Cook's Notes

It is very difficult to give exact measures of the liquid as the intensity of fires vary as well as the meat cut that you use. Making a potjie is not an exact signs, relax and let your taste buds lead you!

Countdown to Christmas Menu - Fruity Leg of Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:55:00 +0000

One week has passed since I posted my last Countdown to Christmas Festive Roulade and now time is running out if you have not booked or ordered your favorite Christmas Roast.Although many families opt for the traditional roast turkey, my family has never liked that idea. We have just about every other roast meat on the table, so no one is missing the turkey!We go from game, pork, beef and yes, my favorite...lamb! I love it how my mom always says: "let's just make a leg of lamb for Justin....Just-in-case someone does not like beef or pork!
If however you eat leg of lamb on a regular Sundays, at Christmas time you have to pimp it a bit, you know, add something special, a little Christmas cheer. So, being in the spirit of Christmas and the excitement of opening a present and finding something special inside, made me think of this recipe. It is hardly a recipe, because it is so simple and to take the guess work out of the way, I have even included a video for you.

The secret here is to find really good lamb, I have written about this before, but find a good source for your meat. Nowadays everybody advertises Karoo Lamb (which is an part of South Africa know for sheep farming), but sadly this says nothing about the source and how the lamb was raised etc. As around or check you local newspaper for reliable suppliers of quality lamb, it is so worth it.
If you are adventurous enough to de-bone you own leg of lamb, be my guest, life is too short for that and if you bribe your butcher with a tin of Christmas cookies, he will do gladly do it for you. Once the de-boning is done, stuffing the meat is a breeze and all that is left for you to do is to chillax, take the load off.....while the oven roasts your lamb to perfection!

You can stuff the lamb with any flavor combination really, here are a few ideas.
- sun-dried tomatoes, feta and rosemary
- pear and Gorgonzola
- olives, garlic, bread and herbs
- apricot and walnuts
- basil and roasted garlic

I wanted to use something that was fruity because somehow I associate Christmas with preserved fruits like ginger, citrus peel, raisins, cherries and figs. Maybe it has something to do with the tradition of eating fruit cake at this time, I am not sure what my motives were, but when I saw this bottle of fig preserve, it was a done deal. I present you with.....

Leg of Lamb stuffed with Figs and Feta.
serves 6 - with leftovers for sandwiches

Ingredients
1 x 2kg leg of lamb - de-boned
4-5 preserved figs - drained
1 cup crumbed feta
sea salt and black pepper
butchers netting or butchers twine

Pre-heat oven to 180C.When you receive your lamb from the butcher, take a damp cloth or kitchen toweling and just wipe the meat to remove all bloodiness. There will be a long cut on the one side of the lamb where the butcher removed the bone, open the meat at the cut and season with salt and pepper. Now place the crumbed feta on the meat and place the figs on the feta in a line. Roll and close the meat and fasten with the butchers twine of use the butcher's netting to hold the meat together and the stuffing in. Place in a casserole and without covering the meat, roast in a pre-heated oven for about 2 hours or until the juice runs clear when a test pen is inserted. Rest the meat for at least 10-12 minutes. Carve and serve with roast potatoes, young green beans or whatever trimmings you like.

Cook's Notes
- Normally I prefer my lamb to be a little pink, but with the fig and the feta stuffing I did not think pink was an option.
- I think roasted pine nuts will be really awesome with the figs and feta, but sadly I had none left so just used what I had available!

Bookkeeping and 2011 Bloggers on RSG

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:36:00 +0000

As 2011 is coming to its end, it is always a good thing to do some blog bookkeeping to determine if you are still on track with what your have planned for this year. Just to see if you are still in line with the goal you have set for yourself at the beginning of this year. This weekend, I had a long trip on the train and I had enough time to sit and think uninterrupted thoughts about when and where I am heading...
The on Sunday morning when I woke up, I saw the results of the the South African Blog Awards and it made this book keeping exercise quite easy, because you see my goal was to feature SA Bloggers on my radio slot on RSG every Thursday morning and I managed to pull it off. I am proud to say that one of my featured bloggers, Ishay from Food and the Fabulous, won the The Pick 'n Pay Best Food and Wine Blog and Sam from Drizzle and Dip was a finalist.
Ishay's achievement made me think about all the lovely bloggers I met while prepping for my show every week. It was such an amazing journey. So many of these featured bloggers have moved on to excel in what they are doing. This may sound like a goodbye, but it is not, I will be featuring many more talented bloggers in 2012, but for now allow me to just have a walk down memory lane. Coming with?

Kristy's Mexican Bean Crumble

The first every blogger I featured on RSG was, Marisa from the Creative Pot. We made a Coconut Iced Coffee, which was delicious, Marisa has in the meantime really moved on and gave birth to a baby girl earlier in this year. Whilst her routine involves nappy changes and bottles right now, I hope she will be returning to her blogging routine soon.

Next up was Jane-Anne from Scrumptious South Africa and because we were in the month of love, she made a lovely Valetine Panna Cotta. It was not only beautiful to look at, it was so smooth and silky, I could easily eat more than just one. Jane-Anne is one of our veteran bloggers and someone I really aspire to. Jane-Anne has had quite a few of her recipes published this year, so I reckon we will hear a whole lot more of her in 2012.

Rainbow Cooking's Chocolate-filled Shortbread

Alida Ryder from Simply Delicious featured next and I think she made one of her most popular dishes, Liguini with garlic and Mushrooms. Alida or Ally as we know her, has had a most fantastic year, not only did her Chocolate Cake win the Sarie Chocolate Cake Competition and appeared on the front cover of this popular Afrikaans Magazine, but she has just handed in the manuscript to her first book and it will be on the shelves in the latter half of 2012. Well done Ally.

Colleen Grove or Colly Wolly as she is known amongst the bloggers from Browniegirlblog is not only the Blogmama of many and the organizer of the annual Foodbloggers Indaba, but she is also a formidable cook and a super-gran. Colleen's Gluten-free Chocolate Cake took the world by storm and from all the emails I received, I just realized how many people live with allergies of some sort.

Robyn from the blog, Koek, is a journalist by profession so she started her blog as a self-indulgent platform to share her preoccupation with food(her words). She shared a deliciously light recipe with us, Pasta with lemon, ricotta and fresh garden peas. It was indeed delicious!

Cooking Foody's Asparagus and Parma Ham Gratin

The first male to feature in our RSG slot was Wynand or better known as the Kitchenboy in Taiwan. What a delight it was to meet this talented young man. Judged by his outgoing and friendly nature, I think the children in his classroom must have such a great time.(he teaches English in Taiwan) Wynand made Cookies and Cream Truffles and boy oh boy, the RSG listeners went crazy. Everyone wanted this recipe!
Rose from Homemade Heaven baked some Lemon Shortbread and I have to say, I haven't had something that addictive since this recipe featured. I think it best if I keep this for high days and holidays.
Cindy form The Only Cin sent me a recipe for Mother's Day Trifle and it was such an easy recipe that I left it on the kitchen cupboard the night before Valentine's in the hope that hubs and the children would make it for me for Mother's Day!
Fritz Brand was the second male participant in the program and I just love his blog Real Men Can Cook. I love his no-nonsense approach to food and he has a heart of gold. This year he hosted a Project Steak Braai in aid of the We Feed Back campaign and they managed to raise over R5000 for this worthy cause which is enough to feed 2752 hungry children. Fritz shared his easy recipe for Mielietert or Mealie Tart and again it was a no-nonsense yet delicious addition to any braai.

Browniegirl's Death by Chocolate Cake

Matt Allison, is any wife's dream! Not only is he an urban farmer, a sound engineer, a closet designer and a blogger, but he is also a good cook and a stay-at-home-dad. Matt has featured in many magazines this year and all I can say is..watch this space! Do try his Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry.
I had the honor of featuring a recipe from the illustrious Anne Meyers from I love Cooking on my show and have since met her in person. Wow, what an icon this lady is. Anne has published more recipe books than years I have lived and if you just look at her website, you will see how talented and professional she is. What a privilege to know you Anne! Anne's recipe that featured on RSG was Smokey ribs with honey and oyster sauce. Perfect for the braai season!
One fine day, I got the idea to get the bloggers to come and make their dishes here in My Easy Cooking HQ and that brought a whole new dimension to this program and we had many hours of laughter, cooking, styling and photographing dishes. These bloggers not only featured on RSG, but a post was dedicated to each one of them. Here they are.

Ingredients for Candice' Caramel Croissant pudding

- Kristy from The Food Monger and her Mexican Bean Crumble - Kristy auditioned for the SA Masterchef Competition.
- Jeanne from Cooksister and her Pork Fillet stuffed with Pear and Sage. Jeanne needs no introduction and she is one of the brains behind the most successful Plate2Page workshops.
- Candice from The Gorgeous Gourmet and her Caramel Croissant Pudding(utterly decadent) - she too auditioned for the SA Masterchef Competition.
- Sue from Sous Chef with her Sticky Chicken
- Leaine from Leaine's Kitchen and her Coconut Chocolate Ice Cream.
- Chef Caro with her 4 minute Microwave Cheesecake - I must have had 100's of emails about this cheesecake. I am happy to report that Caro is moving to CT permanently to pursue her career as a chef.
- Jan Tripepe and her Fetuccini Alfredo although her Uvo Batuto made far more waves...... Without a doubt the readers choice!
- Sarah from A Foodie Lives Here with her Gnocchi with Bacon and Gorgonzola. Sarah's book will also be on the shelves soon....and here is the good part, I am in it!!
- Lisa from Marmite on Toast and her Asparagus and Gruyere Tart. Wow, what a refreshing surprise it was to find this blog!
- Jaco and Marietjie from Rainbow Cooking and there Chocolate-filled Shortbread. Also a crowd pleaser!
- Sam from Drizzle and Dip and her Beetroot and Barley Risotto - All the vegetarians went for this recipe. Sam is a food stylist of note and if you want proof of the quality of her work, please visit her site, Drizzle and Dip!
- Christie-Anne from CookingFoody and her Fresh Asparagus and Parma Ham gratin with Balsamic Plums.
This young lady has just auditioned for the SA Masterchef Competition and is in the top 40 that went through in Gauteng. We are holding thumbs for you! Her recipe also featured in the Woolworths Taste Magazine.
- Robyn from Chocswirl who is a pastry chef, made the most beautiful Pineapple Tarte Tatins in my kitchen. I learned such a lot about precision from her.
- Caylee from Love Bites and here Chicken and Mango Salad was our last featured recipe for 2012. Lovely, fresh flavors!

Although this is not my last post for 2011, there are still a few more Christmas Recipes I would love to feature, but I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every blogger who were willing to share their recipes with me and the RSG listeners. I am so grateful and proud to be associated with you in such a small way. Thank you, thank you!!

Countdown to Christmas Menu - My Festive Roulade on RSG

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:09:00 +0000

Today we move from Starters on our Christmas Countdown Menu to desserts! Yes, your eyes are not misreading something, nor have you missed the "Main Course", but last week on RSG I promised my listeners a Christmas dessert recipe so I had to make a slight change in my post schedule. Do not despair though, I will still do them still before I go on a well deserved break!
We usually spend our Christmas and New Year at our family home in Hermanus and no Christmas layout will ever be complete without the traditional Christmas Pudding with Brandy sauce or my mom's delicious trifle with sponge and fruit and custard! However, there can never be enough dessert, right? So this year, we will attempt a dessert buffet and my contribution will be this Festive Roulade with Cream and Raspberries. Looking at these images, it is hard to believe that such a delight is made with only 4 egg whites...... well, and a few other bits and bobs....

Festive Roulade with Fresh Cream and Raspberries

serves 6-8

Ingredients

4 egg whites - eggs must be room temperature
200gr caster sugar
1 teaspoon corn flour

For the filling
250ml fresh cream
1 punnet raspberries or any other summer fruit
icing sugar for dusting

Method
Preheat oven to 180 C

Whip egg whites until soft peaks appear (and so you can turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out)

Whip in the sugar and then fold in the corn starch with a metal spoon.

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and spray the paper with non-stick spray. Spread the meringue evenly to fill the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Switch oven off, open the oven door slightly and let it cool off.

When completely cooled down, place another baking sheet with greaseproof paper on top and turn over so that the roulade is now lying with the paper on top. Remove paper and follow instructions...

Countdown to Christmas Menu - Starters

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:10:00 +0000

Yes! The countdown to Christmas has begun and in 20 days we will hopefully all be celebrating with friends and family whether it be at our homes, a some beach resort or a far off holiday destination. Regardless of where we will be, I read and hear about Christmas menus everyday. Moms, grannies and wifes all walk up and down the shop aisles with long lists to get everything ready for this special day on our calender.
My mom starts with her menu in November already. No, wait! She started this year's menu last Christmas already by saying( while we all moan and groan from over-indulgence): "Next year we will do this a little simpler, less food!" Huh-um...she has been saying that for the last few decades and every year we have to order more tables to make space for all the food. Now in her defence I have to say, that we are one humongous family and it takes quite a bit of planning to get everybody involved. However I will not change it for the world. I have however made a few changes to the menu and in the following few days, I will be sharing a few delicious Christmas recipes with you. I promise you that you will have more time with your family and less time in the hot kitchen....Ready? Let's cook!

We begin with starters. Both these recipes have basically the same ingredients, but a different way of preparing them. I have used smoked rainbow trout because it is local, fresh and available and although the trout is somewhat on the pricey side, a little goes a long way.

First up is a Rainbow Trout Terrine. This little starter is most elegant and with a few slices of very thin melba toast, it certainly has a wow- factor. What is even more appealing to me, is the fact that you can make these terrines as well as the melba toast in advance so on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day you basically have to plate it and you are good to go!

Rainbow Trout Terrine
makes 4 small terrines

Ingredients

80gr Cold Smoked Trout
250gr cream cheese
2 tbsp chopped gherkins or capers
zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp grated fresh horse radish
fresh fennel for serving

Method
Line 6 mini loaf pans with cling wrap and slice your trout the size of the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of trout in each pan. Mix the cream cheese,gherkins lemon zest and juice together. Spoon about 1½ tbsp of the cream cheese mixture on top of the trout and place another layer of trout on the cream cheese. You can add another layer if you have more product, but you must end with a trout layer. Close the cling wrap and place in the fridge. When ready to serve, plate up with a few slices of thin melba toast and a sprig of fennel or micro greens.

Cook's notes, you can make this in one big loaf tin and serve in slices of use round ramekins. Smoked salmon will also work for this recipe!

Our second starter recipe, is perfect to serve as a snack with pre-dinner drinks, but it can be made slightly bigger and served as a starter. The rosti can be made in advance so again it will be a matter of 1-2-3 and your guests will be smiling.

Angelhair Rosti with Cream Cheese and Rainbow Trout
makes about 15 snacks

Ingredients
2-3 large potatoes
2 heaped tbs of cornflour
80 gr smoked rainbow trout
250 gr cream cheese
1 tbsp grated horseradish
juice and zestof ½ lemon
oil for frying

Method
Grate the potatoes on a fine grater in a big bowl of water and rinse off all the excess starch. Place the potatoes in a cloth and wring out all the water or use a salad spinner. Mix the grated potatoes with 2 tbsp of corn flour and make sure every strand of potato is coated. Heat some oil in a frying pan fry small batches of the potato mix, making sure that each little rosti is crispy and brown. Drain of a piece of kitchen towel. Mix the cream cheese with the horseradish and lemon and when ready to serve, spoon some of the cream cheese of each rosti, top with some trout and lastly some micro greens.

Just in case these recipes were not quite what you were looking for, maybe you want to try some recipes from my previous Christmas Menus

Easy Cooking for Effortless Entertaining

Easy Chicken liver pate

Breakfast on the patio

Baked feta

Love Bites on RSG and we're making sizzling summer salad.

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:35:00 +0000

When I invited Caylee from the blog "Love Bites" to join me for my regular RSG slot on Thursday morning, I asked her to send me a couple of recipes so that I could choose a suitable one. I think she revealed more about her personality than she intended to, because all the recipes were for sweet things...desserts, such as yummee melkkos.
I think it was quite apt, because she is such a sweetie!
Anyway, I asked her for a recipe that spelled "SUMMER" in big letters and this is what she came up with: Chicken and Mango Salad. Again, quite a sweet salad, but it reminded me of summer holidays, beach vacations and island memories. I loved the dressing idea, because frankly, the thought of sweet mango with yogurt and fresh mint, makes my toes curl.
Sadly we are not yet in mango season here and if you should be lucky to get them, they are not at their prime just yet, so I used peaches instead. I also replaced the chicken with goat's cheese and for me both can work, maybe the chicken option is more a man thing than goat's cheese.
The secret however is in the yogurt dressing.

Chicken and mango salad
serves 6

Ingredients
Fresh lettuce leaves - rocket, butter lettuce or baby spinach leaves even
1 onion thinly sliced
6 chicken breasts, cooked
2 fresh mango (or 2 cans), sliced
1 avocado, sliced

Mango salad dressing:
1 mango
½ cup yogurt
¼ cup 1000 Island dressing
1 tablespoon chutney
1 tablespoon mint, chopped

Method
Quick all the dressing ingredients together. Place a handful of fresh lettuce leaves on each plate.
Cut the chicken breasts and steaks and place on lettuce. Divide the mango slices, onion and avo between the plates.
Serve with the dressing and delicious coarse bread.

Cook's Notes: the chicken can be replaced with goat's cheese and the mangoes can be replaced with nectarines or peaches.

Please tune into RSG on Thursday mornings just after 9. 100-104FM or listen online HERE!

By the time we got to eat supper it was way past best-light-for-taking-pictures, so please forgive me for using the same image as in this post. Similar salad, different dressing! Enjoy!

Cheesy Pasta Shells in a rich tomato sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:53:00 +0000

Making these stuffed pasta shells was my come back after a few days of non-cooking in My Easy Cooking HQ. If you are in the kitchen all day, every day, then trust me, come dinner time, few dishes have a wow-factor anymore. All you can think of is just feet-up and rest, but alas, I have a family to feed and a spoiled one at that!
Pasta is such a "good old faithful" so I make sure that I am well-stocked. Walking down the pasta isle in my supermarket is such fun, because I visualize all the lovely recipes I can try...... Fettucini Alfredo, Spaghetti Carbonara and oops, I almost forgot my signature Pasta with Butternut and Biltong! To whip up a quick tomato or Alfredo sauce takes literally minutes and you can have dinner on the table in no time. I think there are very few, if any, pasta recipes on my blog that take longer than 30 minutes and with pasta being such a money saver, there is always room for one extra at the table. With a teenager in the house, extra quests at the table have become a normality rather than a rarity.
Before you click away looking at this picture, thinking that life is to short to well, stuff a pasta shell, stick around, this is really very easy and the result is so worth it.

The giant pasta shells are sometimes a bit tricky to find, but I found mine at our local PnP and I know Giovanni's in Green Point also have them in stock. However, if you struggle to find the pasta shells, I am sure this recipe will be perfect for Cannelloni too.

Cheesy Pasta Shells in a Rich Tomato Sauce
serves 6

Ingredients

500gr giant pasta shells

Stuffing
1 kg tub Greek yogurt
1 cup strong mature cheddar - grated
1 cup mozarella - grated
½ cup parmesan cheese - grated
a good grinding of nutmeg - about 1 tsp
salt and pepper to taste
zest and juice of 1 lemon
a big handful of fresh herbs, such as oregano or parsley - chopped

For the tomato sauce, follow this recipe

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Place a big pot of water on the stove and bring to the boil. Add the pasta shells and cook them for about 6 minutes. They must still be firm, but not hard ( they will cook further in tomato sauce). Drain and plunge in cold water. Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing and spoon into a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle or a clean plastic bag and cut the one corner open and use as a piping bag to stuff the shells.
Pour your tomato sauce in an oven-proof dish and as you stuff the pasta shells, lay them in the sauce. Repeat until you have done all the pasta shells. Grate some more Parmesan over the top and bake in a pre-heated oven for about 40 minutes.
Serve with a simple green salad.

More Pasta Recipes

Lipsmacking Roast Chicken Pasta Bake

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Rosemary

Proudly South African Seafood Potjiekos

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:11:00 +0000

Potjiekos is as South African Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Table Mountain and and am convinced if all the politicians in South Africa would join me for a delicious Seafood Potjiekos, maybe on top of Table Mountain, we could solve a few issues right there and then. Potjiekos, literally translated "small pot of food", is meant to bring people together around simple, rustic food, a principle that is very near and dear to my heart.
Basically potjiekos is a stew that is cooked on the open fire in a round three-legged cast iron pot and was originally made by the Voortrekkers from the game that they hunted throughout the day. These days potjiekos is made with chicken, beef, lamb and although the original idea was to add just simple vegetables, these days recipes include, pasta, fruit, creams and a variety of sauces.
While growing up, we used to always camp out this time of the year and because it was holiday our eating routine changed and mom would always treat us with well, holiday food.....hamburgers, hotdogs etc, but by about the 4th day, my father would say: " Lovey, I think it is time for some proper food, otherwise we might die of scurvy ( a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C)! After this friendly reprimand of dad, mom would always haul out the pot to make potjiekos.... Mom's pot would then have lamb, lots of carrots(to fight off the evil scurvy), potatoes, and onions. Lots of black pepper, yum!! The greatest part of eating a potjiekos was always the good times we had around the fire, singing, joking and just bonding as a family so when I my hubs and I got married someone gave us our first cast iron pot as a wedding gift and till this day, we are trying to keep the tradition going.

This past weekend we had a Potjie kos Cookoff at our church and because there were so many interesting pots such an as Paprika Chicken, Kudu with Fruit, Oxtail and Lamb Curry , I knew I had to be really inventive to nail this competition. I decided to go with my Proudly South African Seafood Potjiekos! Nothing fancy, just a fragrant tomato base with all sorts of seafood and if you want good seafood in Cape Town, Julie from Ocean Jewels is just a phone call away. Julie says: I sell only the freshest fish caught in and around the False Bay coast line. I am a SASSI (South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) participant and consider sustainability an essential." So I was up at the crack of dawn Saturday morning to fetch my fresh seafood from Julie at the Biscuit Mill where she trades on Saturday mornings. So if you are in Cape Town, here are a few places where you can get your supplies, else you can find her on her blog Ocean Jewels Fresh Fish.

Neighbourgoods market - Saturday 9am - 2pm
I trade every Saturday at the Neighbourgoods market, The Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock.
An email is sent on Friday with details of fresh fish available at the market
Fresh fish can be booked for collection at the market.

Starlings cafe - Wednesday 4pm - 6pm
I trade every Wednesday at Starlings cafe, 97 Belvedere road, Claremont
The fish selection will also be mailed to you.
Fresh fish can be booked for collection at the market.

Weekly deliveries
Deliveries take place at least once a week, dependent on availability of fresh fish.
Details of fish available and prices will be emailed to you.
Please order via email or cell. 083 5820829.
Delivery cost is R10.00.

The Foodshed
You may also order your fish online at the The Foodshed.
Orders are for delivery or collection.

By now you must be dying to see the recipe, right? Before I start, I just need to remind you, that potjiekos takes time and patience and when making a tough meat like Oxtail, a pot can easily simmer for 3-4 hours. Now you all know that seafood cooked that long will disintegrate to nothing, so take your time with the tomato base, it really is the success to this pot!

South African Seafood Potjiekos

feeds about 12 hungry souls

Ingredients

For the tomato base

3 cans chopped tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

2 large onions - chopped

2-3 cloves garlic - chopped

3 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp fry ground fennel

2 heaped tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp dry ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

3 bay leaves

1 tbsp dry oregano

about 1 liter chicken stock

juice and zest of two lemons

2 tbsp sugar

Fresh fish

400gr yellow tail - green on SASSI list

800gr hake - green on SASSI list

2 kg mussels - green on SASSI list

1 medium crab

2 kg prawns - orange on SASSI list

Proudly South African Seafood Potjiekos

Start to get your fire going with charcoal and when you have a few coals, place your pot over the fire and when the pot is hot, add the oil, onion, garlic and all the spices. Stir with a wooden spoon until your onions are soft lightly caramelized. Add the all the other sauce ingredients and bring to a light simmer. Place the lid of the pot back on and relax while the sauce is cooking. Feed your fire with thin wood so that the sauce just bubbles. When the sauce is thick and wants to start catching at the bottom, add more hot water and keep reducing the sauce. Remember the longer it cooks, the better it gets.Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to your taste.

When you are happy, I was after about 1 hour, add the seafood and some salt and place the lid back on. Once all the mussels are open (discard the ones that don't), the prawns are cooked, the legs of the mussels comes off easily when pulled and the fish is flaking, your pot is ready. Place the pot on the table with heaps of crusty bread and a lemon aioli. Enjoy!

Ready for judging

More South African Classics

Curry Beans

Hertzoggies

Bunny Chow

Italian Meatball Sub and other man stuff!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 05:50:00 +0000

If you research the word "Sub" on the Internet, you get answers such as submarine, subscription, substitute, but the two explanations that I caught my attention were "sub", referring to sub-woofer and "sub" referring to submarine sandwich. Now, although I am moving on in years and my taste in music and fashion horrifies my children most of the time, I did marry a man significantly younger than myself and there was a time when our the age gap was quite evident.
Yes, believe it or not, there was a time when my husband bought cars based on the size of their trunks, not because he had warm fuzzy feelings about family and baby luggage, but because it had to have enough space for the "SUB", the woofer.....the NOISE!! Not only did his taste in music test my patience, but the noise level was above my threshold! Gladly that phase is long gone and only now and then when he had a tough day at work, I would get in his truck, turn the CD player on, only to be almost blown out of my seat with "Eighteen till I die!" God bless you honey, I hope you stay young, always!

The other "sub" story has something to do with food(yes, I know you have been wondering!). You see, when I met my husband, his culinary highlights pretty much depended on what the colonel had to offer or whether he had money for a packet of "Assorted Biscuits" to have with his tea. I remember the first Sunday after we got married, I got up at the crack of dawn to cook my hubs his first proper Sunday Roast. At about 8 o'clock he woke up. "Why is the whole house stinking of food?" Deflated does not begin to describe my emotions at the time, but let's just leave it at that. I started packing lunches for him and with my eager innocence, I thought the amount of layers I could pack on one sandwich would reflect the intensity of my love for him, until one day he could not keep it in any longer! "Honey, can I please just have jam on my bread? JUST JAM, PLEASE!!" It was then that he told me how he struggles to eat while he drives while egg yolk, tomato juice and pieces of cheese were dripping on his lap, especially when he was on his way to a client. Not cool! So submarine or sub sandwiches never made it to his lunchbox again, but were restricted to eating at home.
A sub or a submarine sandwich is a sandwich made with French or Italian bread, sliced open and stuffed with just about anything you wish. The idea is that is must be huge and therefore it is...well, man food!

This week I had to cook and style so many recipes, that frankly, when it came to dinner time, I was all "cooked out!" I had a few meatballs left form a shoot and was wondering how I could change them into a filling meal for 4. I could make a .......sub! The thoughts stared forming....meatballs, tomatoes, spaghetti....no, no spaghetti....ok, that's it, I will make an Italian Meatball Sub. Quick, quick!

Italian Meatball Sub

Serves 4
Ingredients
4 Italian rolls of mini ciabattas
1 cup tomato tomato pizza sauce - make your own
500gr good quality beef sausage - meat removed from casings
2 cups mozzarella - grated
dry oregano
salt/pepper
fresh rocket

Make little meatballs(you need 16) from the meat that you have taken from the casings and fry them in a pan, until they are cooked. I did mine in the Phillips Air Fryer. Slice the ciabatta open and spread some of the pizza sauce on the one half. Scatter enough grated mozzarella on tomato covered ciabattas. Sprinkle some oregano and pepper on top of the cheese. Place about 4 - 6 meatballs on top of the cheese and place under the grill in your oven and grill until the cheese has melted and are bubbling. Serve with fresh rocket and more pizza sauce of you have.

Cooks notes: I have to say these subs are huge, it is man food, my children shared one and still couldn't finish it. So next time hubs invite some friends over for a game, give them man food! It is quite SUB-stantial (sorry couldn't resist!)

More Man Food

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Beef Tacos

The Perfect Steak

1, 2, 3, 4 Ingredients...Raspberry Cheesecake!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:15:00 +0000

Raspberry Cheesecake made with only 1..2..3..4 ingredients. No way! Well, that was just about my first reaction too when I heard about this recipe. Proper cheesecakes are all about whipping cream or egg whites and folding it into something or else the list of ingredients is as long as my arm. By now you should know.....
that if there is an easy way out, Nina will find it and if there is a more effortless way of doing things, I will share it. Of course I can make a proper cheesecake and of course I know all the do's and don'ts of getting it just right, but let's just say this recipe appealed to My Easy way of cooking!

Tomorrow is my day at the radio station, RSG, again and I cannot believe that it has been such a long time, almost a year and ½. What I have learned from the numerous emails and phone calls I get after each show, is that I am not the only one who likes things to be simple and easy. Most emails I receive are requests for "easy meals", easy ideas for entertainment, quick desserts, never in all this time did someone ask me for a lengthy 3-hour recipe. So if you like recipes to be quick and easy so that you can get on with your life, this Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe is for you! Enjoy!

Raspberry Cheesecake

Make 1 round cheesecake

Ingredients

For the biscuit base

200gr packet biscuits - I use Nutticrust - crumbed
100ml melted butter

Spray a loose bottom pan with Spray 'n Cook. Mix the melted butter and the biscuit crumbs and press in the bottom of the pan.

For the filling
3 x 250gr cream cheese
1 x 80gr packet of raspberry jelly
125 ml boiling water
250gr fresh raspberries

Mix the water with the jelly powder and mix until the jelly powder has dissolved. Cool the jelly down, but do not allow it to set. Place cream cheese in a bowl and with a wooden spoon, beat the cheese to just soften it a bit. Mix the cooled down jelly with the cheese and mix well. Pour into your biscuit base and allow to set in the freezer. Once the cheesecake has set, decorate with fresh raspberries and enjoy!

Bloggers Featuring on RSG

Kristy - Food-monger

Candice - The Gorgeous Gourmet

Marietjie Rainbow Cooking

Ice Cream makes it all better

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Ice cream makes it all better or shall I say this is what Hollywood wants me to believe, because in every love story at some stage the girl with the broken heart, would do a midnight trip to the freezer and take out a tub of ice-cream. I can't say that I have ever done that because of a man, but I have taken a trip to the freezer tonight and it was for two reasons........
As I am sitting here working, the The Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards 2011 is happening not very far from me. Unfortunately, this year I could not attend this prestigious function, but maybe you can remember my write-up about it last year. At last year's function I happen to sit next to the very talented Riaan Badenhorst and soon after that we did the Kwêla shoot, so for me it all ended well. I am sad for not being able to attend this year and that is the first reason for my trip to the freezer. My second reason for visiting the freezer, although I hear raindrops on the roof, is because I made a few tubs of homemade ice cream on Friday and it really is the most delicious ice-cream I have ever made. Rich, creamy and so easy that my children could manage to make a batch. No custard to be made, no ice-cream machine, sounds almost impossible, but trust me it isn't! Let's make a batch!

A trio of Ice Creams

Basic Ice Cream Recipe

makes about 750ml

Ingredients
2 eggs
200ml (3/4 cup) caster sugar
250ml(1 cup) full cream milk
500ml(2 cups) cream
½ vanilla pod - inside scraped out

Beat eggs and caster sugar in your mixing bowl until it is creamy and thick. Add the cream, milk and vanilla if making vanilla ice-cream. Pour into a plastic container and place in the freezer. After 15 minutes, take the container from the freezer and with a fork, just mix the ice-cream again to prevent ice-crystals from forming. Repeat the process again after 15 minutes and once more. Freeze until needed.

Strawberry Swirl Ice cream

Puree 250gr fresh strawberries and mix with 2 tbsp of caster sugar. Add to the ice cream mixture before it goes into the freezer.

Peanut Brittle Ice cream
Crush 2 peanut brittle candy bars and mix with the ice-cream mixture before it goes into the freezer.

Choc Mint ice Cream

Choc mint Ice Cream
Crush one Peppermint Crisp Candy bar and mix with the ice cream mixture before it goes into the freezer.

My ice-cream is all finished and so is the The Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards 2011. Strangely though, I do feel better now and I am not sure whether it is the ice cream or the fact that I live in the Western Cape which is now officially the food capital of South Africa! Well done to all the winners!

1. The Greenhouse
2. The Test Kitchen
3. The Tasting Room
4. The Roundhouse
5. Overture
6. Terroir
7. DW Eleven-13
8. Jordan Restaurant
9. Nobu
10. La Colombe

Chef of the year - Luke Dale Roberts from The Test Kitchen
Restaurant of the year - The Greenhouse
Excellent Service Award - The Roundhouse

More Ice-cream and Sorbet ideas

Funky Orange Sorbet

Choconanas

Frozen Trifle

Fudgy Coffee Cake with Caramelized Pears

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:30:00 +0000

Confession time! I have always thought that coffee cake is something with a coffee flavor. So every time I read a recipe for coffee cake, I gently clicked away, because it is not something I particularly like, except maybe in my Chocolate Ganache Cake. I once saw a recipe and a photo of a coffee cake and nearly contacted the creator of it to fix her recipe, because no where in the list of ingredients did I see coffee. Duh!
Well, I have since my almost-embarrassing-moment, learned that a coffee cake does not have to have coffee as one of the ingredients, but it is a kind of cake that you will enjoy with a cup of coffee. Aah, that makes sense, doesn't it! In fact there are two kinds of coffee cakes, the one has a coffee flavor and the other is the one you have with coffee.
The coffee cake that traditionally goes with your favorite cup of java, is typically a single layer cake that may be square or rectangular or like a loaf-shaped cake. A coffee cake also sometimes have a streusel topping of a glaze of some sorts.

Now that we have remove all the confusion, let me tell you about my coffee cake. A friend of ours came to stay for a couple of days and brought bags and bags of sweets and fudge for the so-called children in the house, although I think dad might have made a bigger dent in the sweetie bag. By Sunday night we were all fudged-out and I also wanted to get rid of all the unnecessary temptations in the house, so the idea of a fudge coffee cake started to take shape in my head also because I had to bake something for Bible Study on Monday night. I did not want a dry cake and also I needed to think of something that would cut through the sweetness of the fudge and found a tin of canned pears in my cupboard. Eureka, I had a recipe!

Fudgy Coffee Cake with Caramelized Pears
makes one round cake

Ingredients

250gr butter- softened
250gr caster sugar
250gr self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 eggs
a little milk - about ¼ cup

For the topping
1 large tin of canned pears - about 800gr
3 blocks of caramel fudge - crumbled
2 heaped tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbs butter - melted

Place all the ingredients for the cake in a bowl or your mixer and beat until the mixture is fluffy, white and creamy. Use a spring form pan for this cake or if you do not have one, a normal tin will do, just spray with Spray n Cook and line with grease proof paper. Pour the melted butter in the bottom of the pan and swirl around to coat the whole bottom of the pan. Drizzle the brown sugar and the crumbled fudge over the butter. Now lay the pears in a circle in the bottom of the pan( pip sides up). Spoon the batter on top of the pears and lightly tap the pan so that the batter will fill all the gaps. Bake for about 40 -45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
Remove form the oven, let the cake rest for a while and then undo the clips of the pan, invert a cake plate onto the cake and turn the cake so that the pears and fudgy goodness is now on the top.

I served this cake with......wait for it......Peanut Brittle Ice-cream. Bigtime taste sensation. Recipes for the easiest home made ice-creams to follow soon!

More easy Cake Recipes

Chocolate Caramel and Hazelnut Torte

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate Ganache Cake

FRESH ASPARAGUS IN PARMA HAM GRATIN WITH BALSAMIC PLUMS

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:51:00 +0000

This week's blogger that will be featured on RSG on Thursday morning is the bubbly Christie-Anne Wolmarans from Johannesburg. Judging by the flavors that she has combined in this recipe, I can see a long and prosperous career in food for this vibrant lady.

This recipe was created by Christie for the November 2011 Readers’ issue of TASTE magazine.I have never met Christie in person, but I have seen her delicious creations on Facebook and Tastemags where she is a regular blogger.She is a passionate foodie who wishes to follow a career in the food industry and because she studied journalism as well, there are so many possibilities for her. I really wish you well Christie! For now, let's make this delicious summer dish!

FRESH ASPARAGUS IN PARMA HAM GRATIN WITH BALSAMIC PLUMS(recipe copied with permission of Christie)
Ingredients:
16 large asparagus spears, cleaned and trimmed
8 Parma ham slices
4 t butter, softened
1 T Parmesan grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ripe plums
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
rocket leaves, for serving

MethodCook the asparagus in boiling water for about 30 seconds.
Drain and refresh in cool water. Drain once more and pat dry.
Make parcels by wrapping two stems of asparagus in a slice of Parma ham.
Divide the parcels between four ovenproof plates.
Combine the butter and Parmesan, dot onto the asparagus parcels, season with black pepper and place under a hot grill for 4 minutes, or until slightly crisp and golden.
Halve the plums and arrange on the plates, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top with fresh rocket leaves. Season and serve immediately.
Cook’s note: Use fresh white asparagus if available, and add figs to the salad in season

Please tune in to RSG tomorrow morning just after 9 when we make this delicious Summer Salad.100-104FM or listen online at www.rsg.co.za

Why not try the easy cheesecake that one of our previous guests on RSG made.

4 Minute Microwave Cheesecake

An age-old curry recipe - Curry Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:37:00 +0000

Of all the curry recipes I use, this recipe for curry beans is my favorite meatless or vegetarian recipe. I feel so good when I make this, because although it has all the elements of comfort food which normally means it contains sugar or starch or some kind of fat, this recipe is super healthy, packed with goodness but at the same time most comforting.
I grew up with this recipe, although my mom's version was not always meatless......At least once a week my mom used to cook curry beans, but the secret to her curry beans was the little nuggets of pork fat that was hidden in the creamy beans. These days, we would call them lardons, but back in those days mom ordered pork speck which was first browned until the fat rendered out and then the beans and water would be added so that the pork fat taste would infuse the curry beans. Delicious stuff, but not at all healthy, so these days I make the curry beans without the pork speck and I must say, we enjoy it as much.

The ideal bean for this recipe is the black-eyed bean, also known as the black-eyed pea.This popular bean was most probably first cultivated in West Africa, but these days it can be found in many cuisines across the world. There are many beliefs and rituals associated with the black-eyed bean but the most common one is that eating black-eyed beans on New Year will bring prosperity and good luck.

I am not a very superstitious person, but I do know that replacing some of your meals with a vegetarian bean option will not only benefit you health wise, but you will save a whack on groceries every week and that is a step in the right direction towards prosperity.

Curry Beans
serves 6

Ingredients
1 x 500 gr dry black- eyed beans
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - chopped

1 heaped tbsp curry powder
2 tsp ground turmeric
1tsp fennel seeds
1tsp gara masala
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar
water
1x sachet tomato paste
salt
125ml coconut milk - optional

Heat the oil in a heavy based pot and add the onion, garlic and all the spices. Stir for a couple of minutes until the onion becomes translucent and the slightly browned. Add the beans and cover with water. NO SALT ( the salt will prevent the beans from softening). Cook the beans until they are soft, about 40 minutes, adding boiling water if needed. After about 30 minutes, take a bean from the pot and press between your fingers, if it is soft, reduce the cooking time, if not keep cooking. What you want is a pot of soft, but not mush beans with a little liquid. Now add the tomato paste, salt, sugar and vinegar and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust to your liking, adding more sugar or more vinegar as required. The vinegar will thicken the beans slightly, but if you feel your beans are too watery, take a potato masher and mash some of the beans, it will help thicken the beans some more. Add the coconut milk if you are using it.

Serve with poppadoms, chopped chillies, tomato and cucumber salad and a drizzle of coconut milk.

More Curry recipes to choose from

Thai Green Curry with Pork Dumplings

Chicken Breyani

Citrussy Chicken Curry

If you enjoy listening to us on RSG or you love coming to our kitchen for a tasty easy recipe, please nominate us for the Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards in the Category Best Local Food Blogger.
Thank you

Chocolate-filled Shortbread on RSG

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:01:00 +0000

As if shortbread is not sinful enough, imagine little shortbread cookies with a heart of chocolate. Oh my word! How delicious can it be? Well, they are so delicious that it is very hard not to take one every time I walk passed the tray in the kitchen.
When you aim for the bedroom, but you detour though the kitchen just to....well, walk pass that cookie tray......you are in serious trouble. I am in serious trouble, I need to move those cookies out of here so fast...luckily they will make a beautiful "thank you" gift for a teacher or a friend.
When I contacted the lovely Marietjie from Rainbowcooking to ask if she would be my guest on RSG this Thursday morning, she was more than willing to part with a few of her recipes.

She sent quite a few recipes for salads and main courses, but the simplicity of this recipe caught my eye. I could not believe that a few standard ingredients could make something so delicious, but hey, the proof is in the pudding or in this case the biscuits and trust me, they are so addictive and moreish that it really is very hard not to scoff them all down in one sitting!
With Christmas around the corner, I think these cookies are a must-try. I love that the batch is small and easy enough to whip up in now time. I also love the fact that the recipe is easy and child-friendly enough to get the kids involved.

When making the Chocolate-filled Shortbread you can also choose your favorite chocolate whether it is dark, milk or even white chocolate. In this case I used a milk chocolate with hazel nuts, so some cookies not only have a chocolate heart, but also a whole hazelnut on the inside.
The last two weeks have been tough, I had two shows to do and the prep work for these shows takes a lot of planning, time and effort and although I love the interaction with the public it is more tiring than any of the catering jobs I have done in my life. There was no time to rest, because I had to move straight into doing a recipe book for a client, but I am happy to report that life is slowly going back to a normal routine and I hope to share more recipes with you than I have been able to in the last couple of weeks.

We are cruising merrily towards the end of the year and many exciting things are lurking in the future, but I will share with you as and when it happens.For now, let's bake!

Chocolate-filled Shortbread
(copied with permission of Rainbow Cooking)

Ingredients

200 gram butter

1/4 cup (50 ml) caster sugar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) water

2 cups (500 ml) flour

200 - 250 gram slab chocolate

In South Africa: use two 100 gram slabs of whole-nut chocolate

In New Zealand: use a 250 gram slab of Whittaker's Dark Almond with 62% Cocoa

Of course you use your favorite flavor too.

Icing sugar to dust

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180C

Cream butter and sugar together.

Add water. Add flour and mix thoroughly.

Cut chocolate into blocks.

Fold each block of chocolate into enough dough to cover it completely. The dough wrapping should be about 5 mm thick.

Roll it between the palms of your hands to shape it into a barrel.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes. It should have the color of straw, but should not be brown.

Dust with icing sugar while biscuits are still warm.

Previous Bloggers featured on RSG

Jan Tripepe

Leaine Brebner - Leaineskitchen

Robyn Gartell - Chocswirl

Thuli - Mzansi Style Cuisine

Do tune in to RSG on Thursday morning just after 9 to learn more about Rainbow Cooking.

As julle geniet om na ons te luister op RSG of as julle lekker kuier hier by My Easy Cooking, nomineer gerus ons blog vir die Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards vir die kategorie Best Local Food Blogger

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies and a confession!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:04:00 +0000

Peanut Butter .....mon indulgence secrète. Yes, my little secret indulgence when no one is watching...In the morning early when I pack lunch boxes( and yes my husband wants peanut butter and jam sandwiches everyday), I always lick the excess peanut butter and jam off the knife... I know, I know it is not good for me, but let us pretend.......
pretend that the calories you consume early in the morning do not count. I'm afraid it is not the case and therefor I have been trying very hard every morning not to indulge in this secret little sin. MY father taught us from a young age that it is the food we don't pray for that makes us fat.... I can already see quite a few frowns, but what he was trying to teach us, was that the food we eat in between meals often are the cause of our weight problems.....makes you think doesn't it?
For the biggest part of my life, I thought peanut butter belonged on sandwiches, but that all changed when I ventured into the unknown and paired it with chocolate for the first time. Wow, what a treat. The salty taste of the peanut butter together with the sweetness of the chocolate was such a stunning combination in my Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. that I was sad for not trying it before. (maybe that it s good thing!) I was converted and soon I tried many other recipes with peanut butter, like smoothies, cookies, sweets and even a Crunchy Noodle Salad.
Needless to say that of all the peanut butter recipes I have tried, the chocolate-peanut butter combination remains a firm favorite with my children so this brownie recipe wins hands down every time.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
makes 12

Ingredients
150gr dark chocolate
100gr butter - cubed
1 cup(215 gr) castor sugar
½ cup(75gr) plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 eggs
200gr(3/4 cup) peanut butter - I like the crunchy one.

Method
Preheat oven to 180C
Spray a 20x20cm pan with non-stick spray or line the pan with greaseproof paper. Place the butter, caster sugar and chocolate in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water (making sure the bowl does not touch the water) Stir until the chocolate and butter have fully melted. Beat the eggs with a fork and quickly beat into the chocolate mixture. Mix the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold it into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and spread out evenly. Heat the peanut butter in the microwave for 15seconds just to make it softer and easier to spread. Spread the peanut butter over the chocolate mixture and with a toothpick make swirls so that the peanut butter and chocolate shows a marbled effect. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting it into blocks.

Chocolate cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Pan-Fried with Satay Salad

Crunchy Noodle Salad

How to cook a Spanish Frittata in an Air Fryer?

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:30:00 +0000

By now everyone who knows me and have been to my kitchen will know that I am quite an avid Phillips Air Fryer user. I have tried just about everything in the machine and it ticks all the right boxes for me, convenience, user-friendly, healthy, fast, easy-to-clean to mention but a few.
At the moment I have two machines and they run all day, everyday. We cook, fry, grill, bake and roast in them and even my children can manage making their own fries, something I would never have allowed them to do had it involved the use of hot oil.
However, the acid test ingredient for the Air Fryer was eggs. I love eggs, but it has to be done right. When fried, the yolk must be running, when boiled, the yolk must be runny, but the white set, when making omelets, the eggs must be set, but not rubbery, so you see, I have issues with eggs. The Air Fryer had something to prove and I was ready to put it through the acid test. The first egg recipe I tried in the Air Fryer, was Heuvos Rancheros and what a delight it was. Breakfast was ready in about 4 minutes and the eggs were just perfect.
Making a frittata required a little more time and a few more steps, but it still was the easiest frittata I've ever made and I had one pan to clean in the end. So if you need any more convincing, cook with me......

Spanish Frittata with Potato and Chorizo

Ingredients
To fit a small pan or the Phillips Air Fryer pan

3 jumbo free-range eggs
½ chorizo sausage - sliced
1 big potato - par-boiled and cubed
½ cup frozen corn
olive oil
chopped herbs of your choice - I used parsley
½ wheel of feta
salt/pepper

Pour a good glug of olive oil in the pan of the Air Fryer(or your pan on the stove), and add the chorizo, corn and the potato. Set the Air Fryer on 180C and cook the sausage and potato until slightly browned. Break the 3 eggs into a little bowl and beat with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Pour eggs over the potato and sausage in the pan and top with crumbed feta and chopped parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes, check and if needed cook for another minute or so. When cooked turn out on a plate and serve with a chunky tomato relish and some fresh rocket.
If you are doing it on the stove top and oven, preheat the oven to 180C and then cook the potato and sausage in a oven-proof pan on the stove top. When the potato has browned slightly, beat the eggs in a small bowl and pour over the potato and sausage. Top with feta and parsley and and bake in the oven until the eggs are set.

More Phillips Air Fryer Recipes

Sweet and Sour Pork

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Corn Bread

Rugby wins at the New Zealand RWC-Des Timm

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 11:09:00 +0000

The 2011 rugby world cup has come to an end with a most thrilling yet lowest scoring game ever. France won every facet of the game...
except the game itself with New Zealand lifting a nation with a fantastic defensive effort highlighting the spirit in a country that in a very short time has gone from tragedy to triumph.Battle scared Ritchie McCaw gave his 110% speculating with commentators that he would potentially be knighted for his fantastic performance and his service to the game.Thierry Dusautoir (French Captain) played a leading role with a try that brought the game to a knife edge with 15min. to go.

From a South African point of view Craig Joubert had very little influence in what was a tight flowing game. South Africans may have a bitter sweet feeling as they may have felt robbed. In contrast to South Africa's lead up to the finals France lost two games in the run up to the final and won everything except the game.

photo from the official RWC site

A very low key ceremony for the handing over of the William Webb Ellis Trophy allowed the emphasis to be on the game and the players and a fantasic future for this fantastic game

New Zealand 8 France 7

As a tribute to the French effort, we have put a few recipes that have a French mention:

Sticky Pineapple and Chicken Kebabs

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:05:00 +0000

Making these Sticky Pineapple and Chicken Kebabs was a fun way to get my family's attention and an effort to redeem myself for having neglected them the last week or so. Excitement is peaking and the game is on as we are preparing for the Huisgenoot Namakwa Festival, where I will be cooking for...
a couple of hundred ladies. The whole family is involved this time.....and while dad is working a full day at his business, he still sits up till all hours of the morning, doing my marketing and PR. The children are pretty much my errand fairies and they have to run around all afternoon "fetching this" and "doing that. I have to say we make a mean team and for that I am so grateful.
Sadly however, on the cooking front not much is happening and I must be honest I have heard the odd murmur coming from the errand fairies and the marketing manager. It was time to step up my game and last night I think I kind of nailed it with these delicious chicken kebabs and Peanut Butter and Chocolate Brownies for dessert.

The important thing to remember with chicken kebabs is that they tend to be very dry so if you are using the breast meat, it is essential that you place the meat in some kind of marinade before the time and baste the kebabs while cooking them. The longer you keep the chicken in the marinade, the better it is, but an hour or so will also do. Now if you are on the verge of clicking away, because marinades are just to time consuming and too much effort, I will show you a way that is almost effortless, but the end result is so worth it.
Ready to cook?

Sticky Pineapple and Chicken Kebabs

6 chicken breasts - skin and boneless
1 pineapple - peeled and cut up in chunks

For the marinade
2 tbsp thick soy
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil

For the basting sauce
2 tbsp golden syrup or honey(my children do not like honey)
1 thumb-size piece of ginger - grated
2 tsp thick soy
a little lemon or lime juice
Mix all the ingredients together
a little salt

In the morning, cut the chicken in big chunks and place in a plastic bag together with all the marinade ingredients. Make a knot in the bag and keep in the fridge for as long as you can.
The make the kebabs, simply alternate pieces of chicken and pineapple onto kebab sticks and you are ready.
Place on medium coals, in the oven or on a griddle pan. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, before you start basting.
Turn the kebabs, keep on basting until they are cooked, golden brown and sticky. I served the Kebabs on some sticky rice and a salad made with gooseberries, apple, spring onions and a light vinaigrette.

Please don't forget to enter the Two Oceans Competition. Who knows you might win the wine that will go beautifully with these fruity kebabs.

Last request for the day, if you think this blog is worth reading, then please nominate it for the Eat In DStv Foodnetwork Produce Awards. I appreciate your support.

Two Oceans Cookoff...and the winners are.....

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:04:00 +0000

In Cape Town this month the Two Oceans Cook Off followed quickly on the heels of the Master Chef Style cooking competition at the Table Bay. It was different to the Table Bay in a sense that couples worked together and I had "hubby" as a sous chef but with the Two Oceans event it was totally different......
We had to work in teams, not only teams that we have never before worked in, but also with people in a team that we have never met before. Interesting, but let me not put the cart in front of the proverbial horse, but rather start at the beginning where all good stories should start.
A good couple of weeks ago, I received an email, inviting me to "Cooking and Caring" morning with wine-tasting and pairing in the company of Two Oceans. My husband was telling everyone I was cooking at the Two Oceans Aquarium that morning but that's his story and he is sticking to it. In a nutshell, this is what it was all about:

" Two Oceans is supporting WWF SASSI, the WWF Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative that helps to improve the conservation status of over exploited seafood in local oceans. By making information readily available to consumers, we hope to help shoppers make sustainable seafood choices."

On arrival at the venue I was happy to meet fellow bloggers Jane -Anne, Kristy and Thuli and felt at ease knowing that they were all there and silently prayed that at least one of them would be on my team. After the welcomes etc, we sat down to a wine-tasting and pairing and although I do not consume wine, I made lots of notes as Justin Corrans, winemaker for Two Oceans explained the types of food to enjoy with each wine. After the tasting and pairing it was time to select teams and each team was given a specific wine and our team had to cook a meal that would pair well with the Pinot Grigio.Once we knew what our challenge was, the social chit chat and casual banter was immediately replaced by the sounds of murmured conferring, slicing, dicing, simmering and frying, as the participants switched into competitive mode. The dynamics of team work proved to be quite interesting and it took a good 5 minutes for us to determine whowould lead what. I think we had the coolest group though, Kristy Snell from the Food-monger, well-known wine judge and writer Fiona McDonald, Anthony Sharpe of Juice and myself. Fiona's knowledge about wine gave us the edge and she was brilliant at telling us which ingredients we should avoid and which ones would be perfect with the fruity Pinot Grigio. (Fiona's tip of the day:"Stay away from Asparagus and Artichokes in this case as they are tricky to pair with wine). The other groups had to create meals for a Sauvignon Blanc, a Pinot Noir, a Shiraz Rosé and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot.
To cut a long story short, we decided on a dish called Wonton Seduction and yes, you have guessed right, it had Asian Flavors and was perfectly balanced in both tastes and textures. We all climbed in and while some chopped, others changed and we all took the role of adviser.Too many cooks did not spoil the broth, in fact it made it perfect! We finished in the allotted time and it was then opportunity for the judges to scrutinize our meals.

The judges were astounded by the resourcefulness, dexterity and creativity of the teams and battled to choose an overall winner. “We were enchanted by the names of the dishes, their spectacular presentation, their flavour combinations and intelligent pairing with the wines,” said Andrea. “They really took the challenge seriously, making their own stocks, mayonnaise and wontons.”

Well the moment of truth came and we were announced as the winning group and we walked away with a lovely Two Oceans Hamper each.
It was amazing and such fun, thank you to SASSI who spend so much time making us aware of our scarce resources and to sponsors like Two Oceans who make it possible, not forgetting the folks who arranged such a stunning event.More photos from the event can be seen here.
I do not normally write such lengthy posts, but please do not stop reading, there is a reward in the end, promise! First a recipe.

Wonton Seduction.

Ingredients

For the broth
200 gr firm white fish or fish bones
3 cups water
2 cloves garlic
1 thumb size piece ginger - cut in chunks
1 chili - whole
a stick lemon grass - cut in chunks
a few kaffir lime leaves
2 tbsp soy
1 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar
juice of 2 limes
fish sauce - as needed
about 2cm ginger - sliced in thin match sticks
about 1 tbsp peanut oil or sesame oil.
1 packet of udon noodles - cook according to packet instructions
spring onions, coriander and chili for garnishing

Place the fish, water, first lot of ginger, garlic, chili and lemongrass in a pot and slowly bring to a simmer. Simmer for at least 15 minutes and strain through a cheese cloth. Pour the stock back into the pot and add soy, sugar, lime zest and juice, ginger strips and peanut oil. Add some fish sauce. Taste and taste again. What you want is a perfectly balanced broth...sweet, sour and salty. Keep warm.

For the Thai Fish Cakes and the Wonton fillings

300gr sustainable white fish
1 tablespoon fresh ginger - grated
1 small chili - chopped
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 egg
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt
a big handful of fresh coriander - chopped

Place all the ingredients in your processor and chop roughly. Do not over-process otherwise you will have dense rubbery fish cakes. Alternatively, chop all the ingredients together with a sharp knife and mix with the egg. Keep about 2 3 heaped tablespoons of the mixture and shape the rest into small fishcakes and fry them in shallow oil until golden brown and cooked through.

For the Wontons

12 wonton wrappers
fish filling- left from the fishcakes
1 egg white
vegetable oil for frying

Place a wonton wrapper on a workspace and with your finger, spread some egg white on all four sides. Place some of the filling(about a teaspoon) in the middle of the wrapper and bring the 4 sides together, pressing slightly to ensure that there are no gaps. Deep-fry the wrappers in vegetable oil.

To assemble the dish. Place some noodles in each bowl. Pour some of the broth over it. Place 3 fishcakes on top of the noodles and finish off with the spring onions, chili and fresh coriander. Serve the fried wontons on the side with a soy dipping sauce.

Finally, the reward......I have two bottles of Two Oceans wine up for grabs. The two bottles come complete in their own thermo carrying bag. Ready to chill and take with you on a picnic or a braai with friends. All you have to do to get your hands on this cool gift is to tell me the names of the 5 wines that were used in the Two Oceans Cook Off. You can give your answers in the comments below. Best of luck and Bon Appetit!
Competition open to RSA residents only.

The Koeksister has a humble relative - The Brood Broer

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:45:00 +0000

The koeksister! This doyenne of the South African tea table has seduced so many with her twisted syrupy goodness. She has stripped people of their willpower and intentions to diet or lose weight. The word koeksister is from Dutch origin and literally means cookie. The koeksister is made by deep-frying dough and then dipping it in an ice-cold sugar syrup.
In South African we have 2 kids of koekisters, the Afrikaans version and the Cape Malay version. The Afrikaans one is crispy on the outside and very saucy and syrupy on the inside, while the Malay version is soft and spicy, almost like a doughnut.
Of course there is another kind of Cooksister, but although she is in my opinion the doyenne of South African blogging, she is definitely not twisted or syrupy.What very few people know, is that the koeksister has a very humble relative...the Brood Broer! (bread brother) Let me explain!

Whilst growing up, we lived a very abundant life. We wanted nothing. Love, laughter and good food were always there, but money was scares. So whenever we went on sport trips or field trips, mom packed food parcels with much love and care, because money for take-away food was not always there. One treat that my mom always packed, was a huge tin filled with golden-brown syrupy BroodBroers. What on earth is a "Broodbroer" I hear you all ask?

I "Broodbroer" is a cube of bread that is deep-fried and then dipped into the same sugar syrup that you will use for koeksisters. Maybe it was just my mother's invention, but I can assure you I was the most popular kid on that bus. In my mind however, I envied the children who had the take-away money, but I suppose that is just how children are at that fragile age.
This past weekend, I attended my 30th school reunion and I cannot tell you how many of the "children with the take-away money" walked up to me asking me for my mom's Broodbroers. They had such fond and positive memories of our field trips and my mother's Broodbroers. How strange is that, while I had issues about having no money, these children had issues about their mothers not taking the time to pack something so special. Strange how life is like that. I think there is a deep life lesson to be learned here! Dankie Ma!

Brood Broers

Ingredients
1 loaf of white bread - not sliced bread and day0old works best.
vegetable oil for deep-frying

For the syrup
4 cups sugar
500ml (2 cups) water
2 pieces fresh green ginger (each 5cm), peeled and crushed
2ml (½ teaspoon) cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
Grated rind and juice of ½ lemon

Method
Make the syrup a day in advance and cool overnight in the fridge. Heat water and sugar, allowing sugar to melt completely. Add the ginger, cream of tartar and the lemon zest and juice and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes and cool down.

Slice the bread in thick slices, about 5cm each. Now cut off all the crusts and cut the bread in big chunks. Heat the oil in a pot( I use my wok) and fry the bread until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, let the excess oil drip off and dunk in the syrup immediately. Remove from the syrup when the whole cube is coated and place on a wire rack so that excess syrup can drip off. Serve with a steaming mug full of coffee!!

More South African Recipes

Malva Pudding

Hertzoggies

Chicken Breyani

Click on picture for recipe!

Tomorrow morning I will be sharing this recipe with the nation. please tune in just after 9 on RSG 100-104FM or listen online.

Chef's Table Event at the Table Bay, Cape Town

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Eating at any Chef's Table is a treat, period! For a passionate foodie like me, it is like walking through an art gallery if your were to be an artist. I look, sniff, smell and marvel at every single morsel plated so skillfully by the chef and his team. This time the event was somewhat different, somewhat better......
The invitation to this prize event was already different! Any invitation that states "bring an overnight bag" gets my attention immediately. So after a long and tiresome morning cooking for a fundraiser, hubby and I sat in the lounge, tapping our feet as we eagerly awaited the arrival of our own private chauffeur. Needless to say, all the men, went crazy when this baby rocked up!

On arrival at the Table Bay Hotel, the camera crews were waiting and clicking away. Silly me thought: "Wow, there must be someone famous coming to this place tonight!" To my surprise, we were the famous people and that pretty much set the scene for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

After meeting all the other bloggers, Jason Bagley, Harry Haddon, Neil Tosefsky and The Bearded Wiseman, we were escorted to the oh-so-elegant presidential suite. Oh my word, what luxury! My husband was content to know that Charlize Theron stays there when she visits Cape Town. After some refreshments we got the keys to our own rooms "to freshen up!" Half an hour later we all met in the lobby to be taken to the chamber of horrors, our own Masterchef-Style Cookoff.

After the initial shock of having only fish as a choice, the cooking was a breeze and although hubs cut his finger in the first three minutes of our allotted 45 minutes, we made a mean team and walked off with the prize for Best Presented Food. (guess all the food blogging paid off!)
After that stressful episode, we left for some much needed R&R and joined up with the rest of the crew for a wine tasting of note. Although I do not drink, I learned a lot about food and wine pairing.
Dinner at the chef's table followed and we could see how the professionals do it, I feel kind of flattered to know that these professionals chose my dish for Best Presentation!

The winners for the night were: @ninatimm best presentation, @blindcripple most online mentions and @JBagley won best dish.
The highlight of the night of course was dessert and the prize-giving in the Presidential Suite after which we were told that we could all stay for the night. Bliss!

Thank you Sun International and the whole team at the Table Bay for making our stay there so memorable. Every member of staff that we met, were warm, friendly and committed and made us feel most welcome and comfortable.

As a last word, before I end off, Capetonians and those who visit here for holidays, the Atlantic Restaurant is one of the best restaurants I have eaten at in a long time. Although the dinner was superb, not every one would have the opportunity to eat at the Chef's Table, but the Breakfast Buffet is available to everybody and it is simply out of this world. Everything I would expect of a five star hotel and more......

Thank you Sun International!

All the photos for this event can be seen here!

Potato Latkes with Bacon and Guacamole

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:53:00 +0000

Potato latkes, potato fritters, potato pancakes......what's in a name? In the end, what matters is that the key ingredient is potatoes and I think I might have told you before......I LOVE POTATOES! I love it in any form, shape or size.....
I can rarely imagine a Sunday roast without roast potatoes on the side or what would our family BBQ be without the trusted old potato salad. Let's not forget my absolute weakness, mashed potatoes. Soft, fluffy, lump-free with a subtle hint of freshly grated nutmeg and a generous knob of butter enough to put me in a state of total potato Nirvana. What is your favorite way of eating potatoes? Cooked, fried, boiled, mashed, sliced....let me know, maybe you can put a link to your favorite potato dish in the comments below and we share a little, making the potato circle bigger, bigger.......

While mashed potatoes make my knees wobble, the potato recipe that makes my children move to the kitchen at the speed of lightning is potato latkes or fritters. In principle, latkes and fritters are exactly the same thing( at least in some countries they are), latkes form part of the Jewish culinary tradition while fritters are normally any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried.

This recipe for Potato Latkes with Bacon and Guacamole is lazy, laid-back Saturday or Sunday food. You can hardly call "Boiling a potato" or "frying some bacon" work and if you are lucky enough to have an AirFryer, you can do both in under 10 minutes. You can even boil your potatoes in advance and keep them in the refrigerator until needed.I really do hope that you will try this dish on Saturday morning. It is a fresh new idea for a breakfast and this simple dish delivers on all the important elements, crunchy, soft, fluffy, warm and spicy.

Potato Latkes with Bacon and Guacamole

12 small potatoes - boiled in the skin
1-2 tablespoons flour
1 egg
2 spring onions
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt pepper

Peel the boiled potatoes and mash fine with a fork or use a potato ricer. Add all the other ingredients and mix through. Form a small patties and fry in shallow oil until they are all cooked and golden brown. Serve with fresh rocket, crispy bacon and a good dollop of spicy guacamole! Enjoy!

More of my favorite potato dishes

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

Potato Rosti

Spinach and Potato Pie

Off to RSG to make a cheesecake with Chef Caro!

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Timm) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:48:00 +0000

When I start prepping for my radio show on RSG every Thursday morning, I literally have to pinch myself just to remember how privileged I feel to work with all the passionate foodies South Africa has to offer. Really, the golden thread that so delicately weaves all these people together is a unsaturated passion for food and the enjoyment thereof.
Another dominating factor is that almost all these foodies were inspired my mothers or grannies or aunts and I think it is so fantastic that they in return are giving this wonderful legacy back to the next generation.
Chef Caro is no exception. My first impression of Caro was also on the Internet where she is blogging with Tastemags. I think when she and her family decided to renovate and operate an old dilapidated hotel in the little town called Piet Retief and to share the whole experience with her readers, I got so much respect for her and could not wait to meat her in person. It is remarkable how her whole family unit pulls together to make it all happen and with Caro as head chef and the rest of her family as backup they have done quite a few functions that were highly successful. I have no doubt in my mind that there will be many more.

When I first met Caro in person about 2 months ago, it was like meeting an old friend and she slipped her feet underneath my table so comfortably that it seemed as if we have been friends for years. This week she came on a mission! She is joining me on my radio show tomorrow morning, showing us a dead-easy microwave cheesecake with not an morsel of cheese in it, huh?

When I asked her for an easy recipe, she delivered because an easier recipe would be hard to find, so without further ado, here is chef Caro's Microwave Cheesecake all cheffed up!

Easy Microwave Cheesecake with Honey Comb and Summer Berries.

Ingredients
For the crust

1 packet of Romany Creams
80gr butter - melted
about 2 tsp orange zest

For the filling
500ml Greek yogurt
75ml lemon juice
1 tin condensed milk

Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin or process in your food processor. Add the melted butter and orange zest to the biscuits and spread in the bottom of a glass tart dish.( a round one works best) Set in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes.
Mix the yogurt, condense milk and lemon juice and pour into the biscuit base. Place in the microwave oven on an inverted saucer and cook on high for about 5 minutes. Leave to cool completely or even better, refrigerate overnight. Serve with crumbed honeycomb and fresh summer berries.

Please Tune in tomorrow morning just after 9 on RSG - 100-104FM

Previous Bloggers featured on RSG

Jan Tripepe

Leaine Brebner - Leaineskitchen

Robyn Gartell - Chocswirl

Thuli - Mzansi Style Cuisine