Summer Refreshment

After a long day of running around (the type that make me wish I had a normal day job...) there's not much better than a sugar-free rock shandy :) No so eco-friendly I'm afraid as I have to admit I buy little cans of lemonade and soda... I send them to recycling to justify myself! 


It's so simple as tastes and looks great: equal parts lemonade and soda water, add a couple of ice blocks and then add a dash of bitters... voila! You have a yummy and refreshing drink that makes you feel like it's ok to put your feet up 

Jamie Oliver's Lamb Rack Recipe

This is a recipe straight off Jamie Oliver's website... I didn't cut and paste so don't hold me responsible if the wording isn't exactly the same - anyway, as you probably know I'm terrible at following recipes to a T and love to add a bit of a story! This is an amazing meal for entertaining as everything is in one roasting dish in the oven and it tastes so yummy. You can prep up to the point of roasting and then chuck it in the oven when your guests arrive - there's zero mess and timing is taken care of.


Rack of Lamb


10 Potatoes (I've done it with big potatoes, baby potatoes, sweet potatoes and Mediterranean potatoes and they were all delicious!!)
1 handful cherry tomatoes
6 bone rack of lamb
1 handful kalamata olives
1 small handful garlic cloves (I've forgotten this once or twice and you won't notice the difference!)
 Sea Salt and Black Pepper
a few sprigs of rosemary
olive oil


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (I have no idea how to do a superscript in blogger!!)
Boil the potatoes in salted water (I've used leftover potatoes a few times - baby ones)
Sear the lamb in a little olive oil to seal and brown - this is imperative! You will thank me when you eat it... Crush the potatoes into the lamb juices and fry a little. Mix in the (pitted) olives, cherry tomatoes, rosemary and seasoning. Transfer into a roasting dish and place the lamb on top. Roast in preheated oven for 40min. Allow to stand for a few minutes before cutting into portions and serving. Jamie says it serves 4 but I'd say you need at least 2 bones per person. I make this size serving for two and there's one portion left over for lunch.

Christmas was good ;)

For the first year ever I didn't celebrate Christmas as such... Sacrilege you might say but wait! When there are no kids in the house and your man is jewish no one really expects an elaborate Christmas. We spent christmas eve at Spier Wine Estate (said Man thought he'd surprise me with a couple of nights as a treat - and what a treat it was!!) Christmas day was a very early start (like 5am hotel departure!) to get to the Breede River to spend the day with my family... Ok, so this was the most 'christmassy' part - my mom had every conceivable meat option and some crackers.

Once back in Cape Town we launched into a few days of frantic admin and SHOPPING! These were the memorable items we bought as "Christmas gifts to ourselves":

Esspresso Machine :) I think I'm in love...

The AMAZING Chef's knife

What a pleasure eating in has become!!

Foodie Girl's Night-in

It's been ages since the girls have gotten together without the lads - it's funny how we go through stages! Needless to say we drank far too much (really good, I mean amazing) wine and I did a little experimental recipe which was divine (if I may say so myself!)

For starters I made a very simple salad - it's actually my absolute favorite recipe at the moment...
- Cos lettuce
- Iceberg lettuce
- Toasted pine nuts
- Parmegano Shavings
- Greek Dressing
I make up individual bowls for each person (I way prefer this presentation to a bowl on the table) - mixing the leaves and dressing then sprinkling pine nuts and then finally parmegano shavings - VOILA! you have a wow salad in minutes!

Mains:

I have to admit I went big here (blush!) Homemade pasta and a fresh Coriander, basil and chili pesto. The pasta is something I've developed a bit of a reputation for - fresh pasta is just so good it makes me wish I was Italian! I've shared the recipe previously here. I underestimated just how much the airconditioner dried out the air and by the time I tried to put the sheets through the cutter they were far to dry and sort of started to crumble - not quite the angel's hair I'd planned :( I improvised a little and cut the sheets with a knife and it turned into a bit of tagliateli

Coriander, Basil and Chili Pesto
- big bag of fresh coriander from woolies
- 30g basil leaves
- pine nuts
- Chili to taste (I used one)
- Olive oil

Blitz the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add olive oil a bit at a time to get the right consistency. The key with any pesto is to allow it to stand for an hour or two to develop flavour before  using it.

We've just bought an espresso machine (the kind that actually requires you to read the whole manual!) so for desert we had cappuccino's, dark chocolate and maybe a very special bottle of Rupert and Rothschild red vino :)