Red Pepper Pesto

Today I decided to whip up a red pepper pesto; something I can use as a pasta sauce, a dip or even as an accompaniment to a "boring" sandwich. I have to admit, I was a bit impatient with regards to the roasting and removal of the red peppers' skin, but I figured out a way that sped the process along.

Here is this delicious recipe for you to try:

Roasted red pepper pesto:

Ingredients: (Makes 500ml)

• 4 red bell peppers, halved and deseeded
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 30g fresh basil leaves
• 50g finely grated parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 100g roasted cashew nuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients (forgot the garlic)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade
2. Place the peppers, cut side down, on a baking tray.
3. Roast the peppers until they are soft and cooked and their skins are slightly charred (if skins are taking too long to char, put them under the grill for a bit)
4. Place the peppers in a bowl of cold water and peel of the skins
5. Place the peeled peppers and the rest of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until a thick paste has formed.
6. Adjust the seasoning appropriately.

Delish pesto ready to be used.

 

 

 

Recipe source: "Jampacked" by Tina Bester Queen of tarts

Amazingly Easy Chocolate Cake

This is a dark moist and delicious chocolate cake and its so easy to make. Its perfect for any occasion and can be adapted to your taste by adding orange zest or any other flavourings that your heart desires.
Try it!

Chocolate Cake with ganache icing

Ingredients:

• 250g dark chocolate roughly chopped
• 250g butter
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup Castor sugar
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds/hazelnuts

Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Centigrade.
2. Grease a 20cm spring form cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
3. Melt the chocolate, butter and coffee powder in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Allow to cool (the butter, chocolate and coffee can be melted in the microwave for 1-2mins, stir until smooth) 
4. With an electric beater, beat the eggs and sugar for 4-5 minutes, or until pale and fluffy.
5. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. 
6. Gently fold in the flour and the ground almonds.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50-55minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. 
9. Allow to cool completely on a wire wrack before icing and decorating.
10. I iced my cake with chocolate ganache. With 250g of dark chocolate melted and 100ml of cream. poured over the cake and left to drip over the sides. Then I grated 45g of white chocolate onto the top. Use whatever icing you prefer or you can simply dust with icing sugar.

Healthy and Delicious Mushroom Straganoff

Straganoff is a Russian dish normally made with beef strips but a few clever substitutes can turn this traditional creamy casserole into a low fat, low calorie and delicious meal.

Mushroom Straganoff

Ingredients: (Serves 3)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 onion (I used two small onions)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 400g mixed mushrooms
• 250ml vegetable or beef stock
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons low fat sour cream (I used low fat cream with a squeeze of lemon juice)
• small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
• 250g cooked brown wild rice

Ingredients

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and soften the onion for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and the paprika and cook for 1 minute more.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook on a high heat, stirring often for about 5 minutes.
4. Pour in the stock and the Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
5. Then turn off the heat and stir in the cream and the parsley. Make sure the pan isn't too hot or the sauce may split.
6. Serve with the cooked rice.

Healthy and delicious

Tantelizing Tiramisu!

I love love love dessert. Last week I went out for dinner to a little traditional Italian bistro and my Dad ordered Tiramisu and I tasted it and I've been thinking about it ever since... So when I went to the shop this afternoon, I walked past a packet of finger biscuits, and there we go I just had to make Tiramisu as a little treat for this evening. This recipe is easy and amazingly delicious, give it a try...

Tiramisu

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

• 250ml espresso (or instant coffee made with 250ml of water and 7 teaspoons of coffee)
• 125ml Tia Maria Liqueur 
• 200g Italian Finger Biscuits
• 1 egg
• 35g Castor sugar
• 250g Mascapone
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Method

1. Mix the coffee and half of the Tia Maria in a shallow bowl.
2. Dip the biscuits into the liquid, let them soak on each side enough to become damp but not too soggy. Line the bottom of a shallow dish with one layer of the soaked biscuits.
3. Separate the eggs, whisk the yolk and the sugar until thick and pale yellow then fold in the remaining Tia Maria and the Mascarpone to make a mousse mixture.
4. Whisk the egg white until think and frothy. 
5. Fold the egg white into the Mascarpone mixture then spread half over the layer of biscuits.
6. Repeat with another layer of soaked Biscuits then top with the remaining Mascarpone mixture.
7. Cover the dish with cling wrap and leave in the fridge (over night is ideal but i only left mine for 6 hours and was still divine).
8. When ready to serve, sieve some cocoa on top on the tiramisu




Mmmmm!

 

The Easiest Macaroni Cheese ever…

Macaroni Cheese is just one of those comfort food, “everyone’s Mom makes the best”, dishes. It’s the basic cheese and pasta combination that just calls out for imaginative combinations of extras. Like a four cheese Macaroni with blue cheese, mature cheddar, feta and mozzarella. Or you can add some basic mince with a tomato-based sauce for a meatier version. Or cooked roast chicken pieces. Or ham and tomatoes. Or (like I did here) bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and mixed herbs. Or make a crispy topping with some bread crumbs on top of your pasta mixture. Or it’s perfectly divine just plain with some nutmeg. Play around with the flavor combinations to find your favorite. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s a cheats Macaroni as you don’t need to make the white sauce, this is the easiest recipe and it can be double, halved or whatever you need to feed a hungry crowd.

Bacon and Sun-dried Tomato Macaroni

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 250g Macaroni pasta
• 250g Mature cheddar (or any full flavored cheese)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tin (250ml) evaporated milk
• Salt pepper

Extras I added:

• Streaky bacon fried and cut up into pieces
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 15ml mixed herbs (including basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram)



Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.
2. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta as to the instructions on the packet.
3. While the pasta is cooking, grate the cheese and mix together the eggs, evaporated milk, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and seasonings.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain and put it into an ovenproof saucepan (I used a copper one they’re great in the oven) then pour the cheese mixture over the pasta.
5. Bake in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.



 



In the copper sauce pan

 

Perfection

Recipe Adapted from: Nigela Lawson Express

Creamy and delicious Sago Pudding

Sago pudding is a delicious end to any meal, not too sweet but perfectly creamy. It is made by boiling sago pearls (available from any grocery store near the grains, like rice, etc) in milk or water. It's creamy and smooth texture can be made runny or thick depending on how you like it. You can serve it with maple syrup, stewed fruit or cream.

Sago Pudding

Ingredients: (Serves 4 - 6)

• 200ml sago pearls
• 375ml milk
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1-teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 250ml cream

Ingredients

Method:

1. Soak the sago pearls in milk for 3 ½ hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
3. Add the sugar, cinnamon and cream to the sago in a saucepan and heat slowly until the sugar had dissolved.
4. Add the beaten eggs then mix well.
5. Pour into a grease dish and bake for 25 minutes. Or until set to your desired consistency.
6. Serve with fresh strawberries, syrup, or cream.

Amazing!

Honey and Soya Glazed Salmon

Very few people include enough fish in their diets. Fish, especially salmon, has essential oils that are very important. When I went to the shop this afternoon I saw that the Norwegian salmon was on special so I decided to get some and make something delicious with it. I served mine with some broccoli, baby corn, carrots and Pak Choi, but it would be delicious with rice, or mashed potato too.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

• Salmon (I used a 100g portion per person)
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• Mixed vegatables

Ingredients

Method:

1. Mix the soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger in a bowl.
2. Add the salmon to the soy sauce mixture and marinade for a minimun of 15 minutes. (this can be done a while before and left to marinade in the fridge).
3. When you are ready to eat, place the vegatables in a wok with some dried chilli and stir fry.
4. Heat a separate pan for the salmon. 
5. Place the salmon skin side down and cook for a few minute then turn over for a minute.
6. The sauce will reduce and thicken quickly be careful not to burn the sauce.
7. Pour the reduced sauce over the salmon and serve .

Simple and delicious

 

Scrumptious Butternut and Sage lasagne

I went to a fresh fruit and vegetable grocer on the weekend and there was a special on butternut, so as you do I bought a few packs and decided to use the butternut in creative ways. So tonight, I decided to make a butternut and sage lasagna. It was an experiment and turned out well, my family was well impressed. I used the smooth cottage cheese as an alternative to a Béchamel sauce, for a low fat and low calorie alternative but for a more luxurious option use a basic Béchamel sauce.

 

Butternut and Sage Lasagne

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 750g butternut
• 1 small red onion diced
• 250g lasagna sheets (I used spinach lasagna sheets as I had some left over)
• 5 cloves of garlic
• Handful of fresh sage
• 250g low fat cream cheese
• 200g mozzarella
• 5ml nutmeg
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

The main ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
2. Cut the butternut into smallish pieces and place in a roasting pan with the dice onion, fresh sage and whole garlic cloves. And a good few glugs of Olive oil
3. While the butternut is in the oven, grate half of the cheese and mix with the cottage cheese, salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
4. Roast the butternut until soft and golden this should take 30 minutes approximately.
5. When the butternut is soft mash into a rough mash.
6. Layer the butternut mix, pasta and “white sauce” in alternate layers with the cheese and some sage leaves ontop.
7. Bake in the oven for 30mins or until the pasta is cooked.

Perfection!

How to make a variation of the perfect steak!

Last night I made steak for dinner. I normally just marinade my steaks in lemon juice, garlic and a generous helping of olive oil, which is absaloutely delicious, but last night I decided to do it slightly differenlty! I decided to use some of the left over pesto (which is still delcious and has been stored in the fridge all this time!), the juice of one lemon and olive oil to marinade it. It was outstanding! So flavoursome and delicious, and the actual steak was done perfectly! Rare to Medium - Rare just how I like it! Try it...

Lemon and Pesto marinated Sirloin Steak:

Ingredients:

• 125ml olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 100ml pesto
• 2 large sirloin steaks, cut into 4

Ingredients

Method:

1. Rinse the steaks under cold water.
2. Cut the steaks into 4 equal sized pieces
3. Put the steaks into a dish that has a firm fitting lid. Pour the olive oil, pesto and lemon juice over the steaks and make sure that all the steaks have an even coating of pesto on both sides and allow to marinade with the lid on for +/- 1-2hours.
4. Heat a griddle pan until it is piping hot!
5. For medium -rare: Cook the steaks for 2 minutes a side and allow to rest for 2 minutes before serving. 
6. If you'd like you steaks well done, just increase the cooking time slightly, be careful not to burn them!
7. Serve on a warmed plate, otherwise the steaks will get cold fast!
8. Enjoy with your choice of accompaniment :)

Delish!



Delicious Lemon Polenta Cake!

It was my dads birthday on Sunday and he loves eating anything with a lemon flavour, so after making lemon tart after lemon tart over the past few years I wanted to try something different and this months "Taste" Magazine was just the inspiration I needed. I love the Woolworths taste magazine its always full of ideas and new recipes for me to try. I love the "month of meals" recipe special section and the new "Taste Guide to Really Good Cooking" where they incorporate the discount for Woolworths cardholders and make recipes for affordable cooking. This cake had an amazing texture and lemon infused taste. Try it!

Lemon Polenta Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 100g fine Polenta
• 100g ground almonds
• 100g shredded coconut
• 1-teaspoon baking powder
• 2 lemons juiced and zested
• 250g butter
• 250g caster sugar
• 4 eggs

Lemon glaze:

• 200g icing sugar
• ½ lemon juiced

Ingredients

 Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper.
2. Combine the Polenta, almonds, coconut and baking powder with the lemon zest.
3. Cream the butter and the sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs 1 at a time and beat in between.
5. Fold in the lemon juice and the dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool then pour over the glaze.
7. To make the glaze, place the icing sugar in a bowl together with the lemon juice and beat into a smooth paste.

Enjoy

Recipe Source: Woolworths Taste Magazine

Tantelizing Lemon Curd Recipe...at your disposal!

Today I came home and just saw lemons galore in my kitchen, so I thought for a while about what I could make with them...perhaps a tart? or maybe a lemon cake? But then it clicked: Quick, simple and delicious Lemon curd! It came out beautifully tart, smooth and sweet all at the same time, and got my mom reminiscing about her youth. Eat it as an accompaniment to scones for a tea time treat or wedge macaroons together using it as the "glue" or just eat it with a spoon! It is also a great "thank you" gift for a host. Give it a try! You'll love it!

Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

• 140ml lemon juice
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 100g butter
• 250g caster sugar

Ingredients

Method:

1. Wash the lemons, grate the rinds, squeeze and strain the juice.
2. Cook the juice, rind, sugar and butter slowly in a double boiler/in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
3. Strain in the lightly beaten eggs. Cook gently, stirring frequently, until just beginnng to thicken. DO NOT BOIL!
4. Remove from the heat and pour at once into warmed pots/steralised jars. Cover and store.

Amazing!

 

Recipe Source: Silwood Kitchen Recipe Service

Go to Knead Bakery...it's a must!

Today I unfortunately don't have a recipe to share with you, but to make up for my lack of cooking I have decided to give you all a recommendation. My recommendation to all of you is to take a visit to Knead Bakery in Cape Town, South Africa. There are a couple scattered around namely in:

• Muizenberg
• Wembley Square
• Kloof Street
• Dean Street Arcade
• Palmyra Junction

This Bakery is fantastic! If you looking for a delicous breakfast or lunch or even just a quick cup of coffee or hot chocolate, that is made with the freshest ingredients, then I really suggest you take a drive to one of their bakeries. All of the bakeries are warm and inviting as well as exciting as the guests are able to see what is going on in the kitchen. The Bakery is also child freindly and the waitrons are particularly attentive and helpful.

Knead Bakery bakes their goods on each of their premises. They make outstanding breads and croissants that regularly get bought in my household and are great to quickly go and buy if you are on your way to breakfast/lunch/dinner at a friend and want to give them something "home-made".

I personally have a regular craving for their Sweetcorn fritters with smoked Salmon, Cream cheese and lemon. This breakfast/lunch dish is absalutely fantastic! The fritters are stacked in the middle of your plate, topped with smoked salmon and the cream cheese, surrounded with a line of pesto and a few cherry tomatoes and then to top it all off, rocket is thrown on top of it as well as a slice of fresh lemon.

Each component of the dish compliments one another. The tastes transform in your mouth and literally make you wanting more!

Sweetcorn Fritters

Sweetcorn fritters with smoked salmon and cream cheese

I strongly suggest that you pay this Bakery a visit, let me know what you thought about it!

My favourite Spanish inspired pasta

When I opened my fridge this evening the ingredients just jumped out at me and the inspiration hit! I love love love Chorizo sausage with its Smokey flavors it goes well with anything, from calamari to chicken to just plain on its own with beautiful freshly baked bread and farm style cheese. But tonight I wanted pasta and I so I added the chorizo some of my cupboard staples like tomatoes, garlic and chili and it was fabulous and easy. Give it a try or make up your own combination and tell us about it...

Chicken and Chorizo Pasta

Ingredients: (Serves 3)

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Spanish red onion
• Olive oil
• Chorizo sausage (sliced)
• Handful of Rosa tomatoes
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 3 chicken breasts (sliced)
• Chili (to taste, I used dried chili flakes but fresh is also good)
• Paprika
• Pasta of your choice
• Sugar, salt and pepper

 

Ingredients

 Method:

1. Place a medium saucepan on a medium heat, and chop the onion and crush the garlic.
2. At the same time place a pot of salted water on the stove for the pasta.
3. Heat some olive oil in the pan and add the garlic, and onions.
4. When the onions have browned slightly add the chorizo (the chorizo will flavor and colour the oil and infused the dish with Smokey flavors)
5. Let the chorizo crisp its oils.
6. Then add the chicken and cook through.
7. When the chicken has browned add the fresh tomato and let them blister and cook releasing their juices.
8. Then add the tinned tomato, and flavor with the chili, paprika, salt and pepper. (Don’t forget to add some sugar, just a small teaspoon, to normalise the acidity of the tomato)
9. Then when your pasta is cooked, add the drained pasta to the sauce and serve

Ready to enjoy

Served with Wild Rocket

 

Use yesterday's Pesto recipe and make today's Pesto Pasta!

For lunch today I decided to use what I made yesterday, add a couple of minor ingredients and make a delcious Pesto Pasta. The dish came out beautifully... Appealing to the eye as well as to the tastebuds! Try it, it won't disappoint.

Simple Coriander and Almond Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 batch of the coriander and almond pesto (recipe on blog)
• 250ml sour cream/creme fraiche (I used creme fraiche)
• 1 bag of pasta
• 1 handful of shaved almonds
• Parmesan cheese, grated.

Ingredients

Method:

1. Boil your pasta in boiling, salted water.
2. While your pasta is boiling, in a bowl, mix together your pesto and sour cream/creme fraiche, creating a light green in colour and creamy consistency'd sauce (add more or less to your liking)
3. Fry the almonds in a dry frying pan (lightly toasting them). Be careful to not burn them.
4. When the Pasta is al dente, drain, and put into your desired serving bowl.
5. Pour the sour cream/creme fraiche and pesto mixture over the pasta and toss. (making sure that all the pasta has some sauce on it)
6. Put the desired portions into serving dishes, sprinkle with toasted almonds and some freshly grated parmesan, serve and enjoy!

Enjoy!

Versatile Pesto...for every occasion

Today I made some Coriander/Cilantro and almond pesto as I had the ingredients floating around in my fridge and thought it was the most versatile "paste" to have at hand and it would more than likely go down well in my house. The herb and nuts used in the recipe can be exchanged for other leafy herbs such as basil and rocket and the nuts can also be exchanged for other nuts such as walnuts, cashews and pinenuts. The flavour of the pesto is quite strong but very flavoursome and I'm sure if you are a fan of pesto in general you will enjoy this recipe.

Coriander and Almond Pesto

Ingredients: (makes +/- 250ml)

• 50g shaved/slivered almonds
• large bunch of coriander leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 50g parmesan, freshly grated
• 125ml olive oil, + extra to seal
• sea salt and black pepper

Ingredients

Method:

1. Lightly toast the almonds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, tip onto a plate and leave to cool.
2. Put the coriander leaves, garlic, grated parmesan and almonds in a blender/food processor and blitz yo a rough paste.
3. Slowly add the olive oil, scraping down the sides of the machine as you go along.
4. When fully combined, season with salt and pepper.
5. Transfer the pesto to a dish with a lid or a screw top jar and pour a thin layer of olive oil over the surface and cover with a lid.
6. The pesto should keep well for up to a week in the fridge.

Delicious and ready to eat

 

 

Recipe source: Adapted from Gordon Ramsey, Fast Food

Another Delicious Soup Recipe

This afternoon I felt like soup but I just couldn't quite put my finger on the type that I felt like. I was staring into the fridge and freezer as you do when you're hungry and a saw a bag of frozen corn and the idea popped into my head!

Chowder first originated in America and is basically a milk based soup. It is usually made with seafood, most commonly clams, but I decided to go for a meat option and used bacon. I was pleasantly surprised and definitely recommend giving this recipe a try

Corn Chowder:

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 1 celery stalk
• 1 medium onion
• 1 ½ tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme 
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 cups (1%) milk
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into little cubes
• A small bunch spring onions
• 2 cups frozen corn
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 200g streaky bacon 
• Salt and Pepper









Ingredients

 Method:

1. Chop the onion and the celery.
2. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan, over a medium heat. Add the onion and the celery and saute until brown. While the vegetables are cooking peel and cube the potatoes, and fry the bacon.
3. Pour the flour over the vegetables and fry for a few more minutes (at this stage you may need to add a bit more butter).
4. Pour in the milk and add the potatoes. Bring to the boil and carry on stirring so the soup doesn't stick to the pot. It should take about 10 minutes for the potatoes to cook
5. Meanwhile, thinly slice the spring onions. When the potatoes are cooked add the corn, bacon and the spring onions.
6. Bring the soup back up to the boil and sprinkle on some thinly sliced spring onion and crispy bacon bits
7. serve with fresh crusty bread.

Ready to enjoy!

 This recipe was adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.

Vegetarian option for the day...

This vegetarian dish (Melenzane Parmigiana) is delicious. Whenever we have a glut of aubergines in our vegetable garden this is one of our "go to" recipes! It is flavoursome, filling and fairly easy to prepare. Try it if you haven't before...or even if you have and you know you'd enjoy it! The recipe called for basil leaves, but in Cape Town basil is not in season at the moment, so I went and bought some basil pesto to replace it. It actually worked really well and gave the dish a wonderful taste. Unfortunately I did not put the basil pesto in the "ingredients" photograph as I went to buy it at the last minute.

Here is the recipe:

Melenzane Parmigiana

Ingredients:

• 3 medium aubergines
• 125ml olive oil + extra for greasing the dish and frying the onion.
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped.
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 120ml flat leaf parsley, chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon dried oreganum
• 1 tin tomaoes/ 6 really ripe tomatoes, peeled.
• 25ml tomato paste
• salt and pepper
• 250g sliced/grated mozzerella
• 250ml basil leaves chopped/ 50ml basil pesto
• 100g parmesan grated
• 400ml cream (only if you planning on freezing this dish and reheating it)

Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade
2. Slice the aubergines lengthwise in thickish slices (Don't peel), lay them in a collinder and sprinkle with salt and allow them to drain for 10- 15 minutes.
3. Fry aubergine slices in olive oil until soft and cooked, put aside.
4. Fry the onion in a pot until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, parsley and oregano and fry over a low heat for 1-2 minutes. Do not burn the garlic.
5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, pinch of salt and black pepper to the onion and garlic mixture. Cover and cook gently for +/- 35 minutes. (If it seems to watery, reduce it for a bit with the lid off)
6. Grease a deep baking dish with olive oil.
7. Cover the bottom layer with aubergine, follow with a layer of the tomato sauce, then a layer of mozzerella. Repeat until you have run out of one of the ingredients.
8. Finally sprinkle with a generous layer of parmesan.
9. Bake for +/- 40 minutes.
10. If you freeze this dish and reheat it, then about 3 minutes before removing it from the oven add 50ml or more cream (depending on the size of your dish) .
11. Serve with a side, green salad, enjoy!

Ready to enjoy!

Recipe Source: Sumptuous, Marlene Van Der Westhuizen

Crisp, melt in your mouth, chocolate biscuits

These chocolate biscuits are wonderful! They melt in your mouth and have a deep, rich, chocolatey taste. They are exceptionally quick to make and have minimal ingredients which is perfect for when you are having another one of those chocolate craving days.

Try them out and see what you think:

Crisp Chocolate Biscuits

Ingredients: (makes +/- 20 biscuits)

• 125g butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 125g self raising flour
• 25g cocoa

Ingredients

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade
2. Grease a baking sheet well or put a silicone mat onto a baking sheet (a"silpat" works well)
3. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy.
4. Sift in the flour and cocoa and mix well.
5. Form the misxture into small balls.
6. Place onto a greased baking sheet and flattern with a damp fork.
7. Bake for 10 - 15minutes
8. When they come out the oven they may still feel soft and uncooked to the touch, but don't let that concern you. Once they are cooled they will be hard and crisp.
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy with a cup of tea!

Guava's are BACK in season! Here's something you can do with them!

Today's recipe I cannot take credit for making, as my mom actually made it for me. They are my favourite and they are very versatile in terms of how you can eat them and with what. The recipe for today is quick and easy STEWED GUAVA"S! You can eat them with your breakfast which I have done, you can have them with custard for dessert or you can even eat them plain. They are sweet, delish and really hit the spot!

Here is the recipe:

Stewed Guava's:

Ingredients:

• 4 (or more depending on how many you want) ripe guava's, peeled and halved
• 3 cups water (or enough water to cover the guava's in your particular sized pot)
• 200ml sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks

Ingredients

Method:

1. Place the water, cinnamon sticks and sugar into a pot on a medium heat.
2. Stir the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved.
3. Add the peeled and halved guava's to the sugar-water mixture and allow to simmer until the guava's are soft (and a knife can go through them easily)
4. Allow to cool/ serve warmed.

Delicious on a bed of granola and yoghurt