Although the falling rain may dampen the spirits of the New Year revelry, it brings with it a fresh clear air and the onset of new growth and life. The New Year brings a chance to reflect on the last year and improve on it, and to move forward into the future of exciting new opportunities and experiences. The chance of a new start and fresh beginning always has a certain allure to me.
Gingerbread baking in the oven, laden with the aroma of mixed spices and syrup, is reminiscent of bygone days and of the holiday season.
A good recipe is like a chain letter passed down from its owner to those of us who have tasted it, heard it was great, begged our friends to share it, or searched online for the best or most popular recipes. With each person who uses it, there are sometimes changes , additions, improvements or adjustments to suit the tastes of the individual.
Add a bit of Christmas colour to your scones this festive season with Mary Berry’s fresh berry buttermilk scones. Fresh Raspberries and Blueberries added to these buttermilk scones give bursts of flavour with every bite. What better way to wake up on Christmas morning than with the smell of fresh scones to start a great day of eating and festivity.
I always associate shortbread with Christmas, and it was something my mother in law made every year. The ingredients for shortbread are simple, and all shortbreads are based on the traditional proportions of 1:2:3 – sugar, butter and flour – although these amounts are varied slightly in most recipes. Today some people substitute a portion of the sugar with caster sugar and a portion of the flour with cornflour. It makes the texture of the shortbread more refined, but I love the traditional way making this recipe crisp and crunchy, and my mother in law’s recipe is a winner.
Bluebery and Pecan Crumble Cake is a tender, fine textured cake, topped with a blueberry layer and a sweet nutty crumble flavored with a subtle hint of cinnamon. This recipe can be adapted so easily by replacing the blueberries with raspberries and the pecans with walnuts or if you are not crazy for nuts, you can leave them out.
Well this can’t be said for me, because I am not a pea eater by choice (I think its the texture that gets to me) but I absolutely love this soup. Of course there is not a pea in sight once they have been cooking for a few hours on the stove. My mother in law gave me this recipe years ago, and I have to hand it to her, she could really make a great soup. This soup is thick and full of goodness, typical of the good old days when soup was considered a meal in a bowl.
I am loving simple loaf cakes at the moment, have been making them morning, noon and night, and feeding everyone who is willing to taste. There’s a limit to how much I can subject my poor husband to. And my lemon tree just keeps producing – seriously do these trees normally fruit ALL year around. So today’s loaf is a simple Lemon and Orange Drizzle. I added the orange to make it a little different with a subtle sweetness, and because its looking a lot like Summer here in beautiful sunny Durban. Obviously you could make this with just fresh lemon juice, its delicious both ways.
Make your own flavoured salt with just a few ingredients. It looks great on the table and tastes even better. There is no need to buy expensive fancy salts available in the supermarket when it is so easy to make your own – yet no one seems to do it. As we all know, salt is a flavour enhancer bringing out the natural flavours of food. Plain salt wakes up your taste buds, so why not change that into something sensational that makes your taste buds scream out for more.
Pumpkin and Garlic Hummus and Pumpkin Spiced Hummus by Kelly Thomas – Nutritionist (CNC) Herbalist (CCMH) and Aromatherapist (CCMA).
We visited our first pumpkin patch this week and it was delightful. Orange balls as far as my ball-obsessed son’s eye’s could see. We came home with two pumpkins, one which we carved into a jack ’o lantern and the other got roasted, pureed and then sat in my refrigerator overnight while I mulled over what to do with it.