Another Christmas Cake Order – All Ready!
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First veggie harvest!
Butter lettuce & Beetroot from our veggie garden
Bacon & brinjal roll
Two of my favourites – bacon and brinjals! I could easily eat bacon three times a day and I just LOVE the creamy texture and taste of brinjals, so I decided to try these out in a type of meatloaf roll:
The result – salty bacon meatloaf, with a creamy centre of brinjals {or eggplant} and a hint of cumin. {Cumin & brinjals go oh so well together!}
What’s also great about this dish, is that you can make it a bit in advance, say in the afternoon, to be reheated later. {Running club on Wednesdays, remember?!}
So, you will need:
Streaky bacon rashers {enough to form a 15cm roll)
500g venison mince {you can use any type, I suppose}
1 medium brinjal, chopped into small cubes
1 onion, chopped
1tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Peppadew spice
1 egg
1 green chili, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbs chopped Italian parsley
Olive oil
In a skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until soft. Add the cumin and parpika and let the spices fry off. Add the brinjals and cook until soft. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix the mince with the egg, Peppadew spice, cayene pepper, salt, chili & parsley.
Lay a sheet of cling wrap on your work surface and carefully arrange the bacon rashers to form a solid layer. Spoon the mince mixture on top and pat it down. Next, spoon the brinjal mixture onto the mince and carefully start to roll it.
Once you have a nice roll, remove the cling wrap and secure it with some twine.
Place it into an oven dish and bake at 180C for 40 minutes.
This went nicely with a simple salad of roasted beetroot, mixed lettuce leaves, feta cheese and pecan nuts. Drizzle the salad with balsamic glaze and olive oil.
Enjoy!
{A few other top bacon goodies to try SOON are: Bacon Jam and bacon biltong – can I just say Oh My Goodness!!}
Honey & orange glazed chicken
I recently bought some chickens from a farmers market – proper free-range farm chickens… Well they reminded me of the chickens we used to get in India, quite tough! Anyways, so there goes my grand ideal of eating proper free-range chickens… Although I must say that a bit of marinating helps a LOT!
Anyways, this honey & orange glazed chicken is not a farm chicken… {it’s funny though how much a free-range chicken from your favourite supermarket differs from one bought directly from the farm… I guess they just run around and have a better and more active life on the farm!} I will still try and eat proper free-range chickens as much as possible and just marinade it {with my own homemade marinade of course} – a small price to pay for wholesome goodness and a clear conscience!
The difference between shop-bought ‘free-range’ eggs and proper free-range eggs from our little hen is also quite amazing!
You will need:
1 whole chicken
1 orange
1 tbs honey
freshly ground sea salt
8 carrots
Peel and cut carrots into quarters {length-wise} and place them in a casserole.
Place the whole chicken on top of the carrots and brush with the orange juice {squeezed from the orange!} and honey. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 180C for about an hour or until golden and cooked.
Serve with fresh salad leaves.
Enjoy! X
Related articles
- Rearing Free Range Chickens Benefits (raisingfreerangechickens.wordpress.com)
Christmas Fruit Cake
Rich, fruity & very nutty Christmas Fruit Cake
Crispy Grilled Chicken Livers with Seasonal Veggies
I do love chicken livers, but hate cooking them! The way they pop and splatter everywhere… My dad taught me a nifty little trick; putting a weight on top of the livers while they fry will prevent them from popping and also make them nice and crisp. Using a lid will just make them boil… So gross!
Tonight’s dish consists of 5 components – wilted spinach, buttery grilled sweet potatoes, grilled aubergines, tomato relish and crispy grilled chicken livers. This is such a great dish – perfectly filling, bursting with flavour, yet light and delicate. {This would make a perfect meal-in-a-jar too!}
Wilted Spinach:
Roughly chop 2 handfuls of spinach and sauté in butter. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Sweet Potatoes:
Peel and thinly slice 3 sweet potatoes. Place in a baking dish, add a few dollops of butter and a sprinkle with a bit of nutmeg. Bake at 180C for about 45minutes.
Grilled Aubergines:
Slice one aubergine into 1/2cm slices, brush with olive oil and grill in a hot pan until golden and cooked.
Tomato Relish:
Slice one small onion and sauté in olive oil. Add 2tsp tomato paste and let it caramelise. Add a handful of small Roma tomatoes, cut in half. Flash fry for a few minutes, but don’t let it cook until mushy.
Crispy Grilled Chicken Livers:
I used 500g of chicken livers. Heat about 100g of butter and a splash of olive oil in a non-stick pan along with 2 red chillies and a clove of garlic, chopped. Add livers, season with salt and place a heavy pot on top. Fry until you can hear the livers starting to pop, then turn them over. Fry until both sides are crisp and brown. You might need to do them in two batches.
Assemble and enjoy! X
Moroccan-inspired meatloaf with a Mediterranean salad
Tonight I made a meatloaf {I know, I know..! But seriously, it can be yum.} with Moroccan-inspired flavours, along with a Mediterranean salad of green beans, roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes and capers.
As it’s Wednesday and we had running club right in the middle of dinner prep time, I needed to make something in advance that can just be heated up later. It also needed to be something that doesn’t take up a lot of prep time, because I was busy baking some seriously delicious cupcakes {will post recipe and pics tomorrow!} and I’m also trying to cut down on multi-tasking…
http://www.zaparents.com/2013/10/30/multi-tasking-bad-for-moms/
Right, so here’s my recipe for Moroccan-inspired meatloaf with a Mediterranean salad:
For the meatloaf, you will need:
500g mince {I used venison}
1 egg
1 cup of puréed pumpkin
1tsp each of peppadew spice, salt and cumin
2 red chillies, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
Mix all together and place in a greased loaf pan and bake at 180C for an hour until cooked through. The meatloaf is quite juicy because of the pumpkin, so you won’t get that brick-like texture!
For the salad, you will need:
4 small red peppers
green beans {about a handful}
cherry tomatoes
capers
olive oil
freshly ground sea salt
red wine vinegar
Roast the peppers by placing under the oven’s grill for 30 minutes, rotating as it blackens. When blackened all around, place in a glass bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let it cool.
Boil beans in salty water until just tender, blanch with cold water. Let it cool.
Once the peppers have cooled, peel off the charred skin and remove the seeds. Tear into strips and toss with the beans. Add cherry tomatoes, leaving some whole and chopping a few. Add the capers, drizzle with olive oil and the vinegar and finish off with a sprinkle of ground sea salt.
Enjoy!
{I would serve the meatloaf with a dried peach and prune compote, but I honestly forgot to make it! Oops..}
Roast Veg Terrine
My latest obsession – terrines – and here’s another one, a roast vegetable terrine.
I love that they’re quite easy to make and that they can be made in advance. I made this one on Wednesday morning for Wednesday evening {it takes about 8hrs to set} but then we never had it then… We joined a running club {I know – shock, horror! I call myself ‘The Reluctant Runner’ but I actually do enjoy it, just need to run more often, hence the joining of the club} and had a run on Wednesday evening which ended up in drinks afterwards, etc.
Right, so the terrine was eventually enjoyed tonight, along with grilled fish {snoek} and rocket leaves from our very own veg garden.
For the terrine:
6 assorted bell peppers, roasted {place in oven under the grill for about 40minutes, rotating as they char. Once charred all around, place in a large bowl and cover with clingwrap until cooled. Peel off the charred skin and remove the stalk and seeds.}
1 head of garlic, roasted {drizzle garlic with olive oil and bake at 200C for 40minutes}
6 zucchinis, thinly sliced and grilled until just tender
basil leaves
1/2 a cup of fresh tomato juice
1/2 a cup of chardonnay
salt & pepper to season
1 tbs + 1 tsp gelatine powder
Line a loaf tin with clingwrap and ensure that there is some extra hanging over the sides of the tin and set aside.
Bring the tomato juice to the boil, season with salt & pepper. In a heatproof bowl, sprinkle the gelatine over the Chardonnay and then melt this over the steam from the tomato juice. Once the gelatine and wine has melted, add to the tomato juice and remove from heat. Do not let this boil any further. Squeeze the roasted garlic from their cloves and blitz into the tomato mixture. Let it cool before starting to assemble the terrine.
Start by dipping the basil leaves into the tomato & gelatine mixture and laying them in the bottom of the pan. Next, dip half of the roasted peppers into the juice and gently place them on top of the basil leaves. Dip the roasted and sliced zucchini in the mixture and layer all of it onto the peppers. Place another layer of basil leaves on top of that and finally, do a last layer of peppers. Pour the remaining gelatine mixture over all the layers, wrap the clingwrap tightly and place a weight on top. Refrigerate for at least 8 hrs.
Serve on a bed of rocket leaves as part of a main meal, or on a crostini as a snack.
Enjoy! X
Happy Halloween!
Marshmallow Eyeballs & carved pumpkins
Pineapple Roast Chicken & Papaya Salad
Some people are totally against using fruit in salads or any other main dishes… Not me! I love it! You can do so much – use it in salads, with meats and chicken. It does depend on the fruit, but I do think it really complements meat dishes, just take apples & pork as an example. I’ve been quite inspired by pineapples lately and made a {totally delicious, if I may say so myself..!} pineapple & thyme roast chicken. You will need: 1 whole chicken 1 medium pineapple {peeled & core removed, blitzed in blender} 5 sprigs of thyme freshly ground sea salt & black pepper olive oil Rub the chicken with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Remove the leaves from 2 of the sprigs of thyme and add to the pineapple. Pour the pineapple slush over the chicken and let it marinade for about an hour before roasting. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Place the remaining 3 thyme sprigs on top of the chicken and roast for an hour until golden and cooked. For the papaya salad: Fresh papaya cubes Fresh basil leaves Grilled plain Halloumi cheese, cubed Sweet corn kernels Chorizo sausages, sliced & grilled Mix together and serve with the pineapple roast chicken. {The natural juice from the papaya is all you need in terms of a dressing!} A perfect Summers dinner – just simple, tasty and fresh! Enjoy! X 
bespoke + custom cakes + cupcakes for special occasions 