The Good Food & Wine Show

Yesterday I took myself of to  The Good Food & Wine Show! And what a feast it was! Colourful, vibrant and brimming with good taste and not to mention celebrity chefs. It is on at The Cape Town Convention Centre until the 29 th May.  Besides James Martin, Heston Blumenthal and our local leading chefs like Craig Cormack, Bertus Basson and Jenny Morris (just to mention a few) there was a Wellbeing Theatre, Wine Theatre and a Slow Food Market. All absolutely delectable and kept my taste buds dancing in delight.

The Le Creuset stand was, as always, a colour feast and people couldn't stop touching and gasping.  I adore the burnt red colour and of course it fits my kitchen perfectly, BUT, the Cassis is just a mouth-watering, and I want one!!!!!

The photos just doesn't do the jewel colour justice at all....think the purple passion of the Aubergine...hmmmm.. gorgeous!

These bottles of grappa from Bottega are so beautiful and I would buy the range and light them up as an accessory in our Pub... I just love the colours. Will have to buy a second set to drink....

I wanted to recline here with this book....

The best colour in the world, is the one, that looks good on you! Coco Chanel. (the pink looks great on the cake ...)

Table settings...

Billowy meringues....

Lots of Ooohh la la...

Panforte

How do you choose?

Too cute on the back of a mini truck...

Have a look at the cute cake stand and the stunning packaging of the tea!!!

Gorgeous table decor

Of course, I love the colour of these moulds and could easily hang them on my kitchen wall. They have inspired me to bake more, for sure. The sunflower is so gorgeous...

The softest toffee in the world!

Rudi's  Sausage Deli and sausage of every description...

And if the lampshade fits....

Imagine, you could have a new lamp just by changing the outfit!!

So, this is just a taste of what is on offer...

There is much more to see, taste and explore...so if you are in Cape Town , pop  in to The Good Food and Wine Show for a feast to tantalise those taste buds...

Happy Weekend...

This gent had clearly had enough and was just soaking up the sun next to the canal...

...along with some Mother City Magic...

Bon Appétit

Tastebud

Chorizo Dinner Dish

This is one of those dishes I can always rely on to get me out of a pickle within 15 minutes, when confronted at 6 pm with a “What’s for dinner?” enquiry, and well, I have not even mildly developed an inclination in that direction! What enables me to do this is that I am a natural hoarder. So my larder always has a few back ups for just such a perplexing question! Tins of lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans, butter beans, tin tomatoes etc. Add an onion, a potato and a sausage and dinner is done.  Now the worst part of this for me is to open the tins. If I were shipwrecked, with the entire supply of tinned food, in the world as well as a ton of tin openers…. I will starve!!!!! Guaranteed!!!  Rather give me a bow and arrow and I will survive. I have the ability to annihilate any tin in an attempt to get to its contents, injure myself and any unsuspecting bystanders and still come up short with a tin that looks like it has been used for target practice. So its 15 minutes provided someone is handy to open the tins.

Spanish Chorizo Dinner Dish

Chorizo Sausage is spicy and has enough fat content so you hardly need any other oil. The packaging describes it as follows “Whole dry cured pork sausage with a coarse texture, a smoky flavour and a distinctly spicy bite” Well, you see why I am in love…

Chorizo Sausage sliced

Large Onion sliced

Red Pepper (note these can also be bought in jars already preserved)

Baby Potatoes quartered (depending on their size about two per person)

Tin Tomatoes

Tin Chickpeas

Fresh Coriander

Boil the baby potatoes in some salted water while you get on with the rest. Slice them in halve to speed up the process.

Cut the sausage into discs and place in a heated pan and fry until crispy but not dry for a few minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Slice your onions into rounds and fry in the oil from the sausage. If you really need to, add a little more olive oil. Sprinkle with some sugar. Sauté until smoky.

Toss in the red peppers which you have deseeded and cut into slivers.

When the  potatoes are soft, toss them in for a bit of a sauté as well.

Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, some tomato paste if you feel the need as well as a tin of drained chick peas and your sausage.

At this point I yank open the spice rack and find the turmeric as an afterthought. Sprinkle in some and taste.

The sausage is spicy so test before you add salt and pepper or sweeten it with a bit of brown sugar if that is your preference.

Occasionally if it’s cold, I also add some extra paprika to supplement the paprika already in the sausage. It only needs a few minutes to bubble on the stove to heat it through.

Chop some fresh coriander and sprinkle over to serve.

I also like to serve it with sliced avocado as I did here in stead of coriander.

I manage to feed four people with this by adding some chunky bread for mopping up operations.

Now, you could probably use any spicy sausage you wish.

Food for thought on Chorizo: This signature cured sausage is made throughout Spain in a multitude of regional traditions and nuances. The meat is coarsely chopped and seasoned with spices ranging from garlic to chilli to paprika (pimento). The sausages are then cured, smoked and dried. The flavours range from fiery hot to almost sweet, but the texture is almost always chunky and meaty. This chorizo has a spicy bite and smoky flavour and aroma. This all according to the label on the back of Woolies imported chorizo and I couldn’t put it better myself except to say try it!!!! I implore you.

PS: If your Woolworths does not stock it. Let me know and I will see if I can help you get it in your corner of the country! Obviously a good deli will also stock it. But my personal preference is the one from Woollies.

Bon Appétit

Tastebud

Tastebud's Raspberry Coleslaw

Cabbage is either something you love or something you detest. I fall into the love category. I used to enjoy coleslaw with mayonnaise but now I think it’s utterly deplorable! So, one day I was making it for a party and was sure that I had mayo in the fridge but alas there was none. By this time I had already shredded a huge amount of cabbage and while poking about the fridge for the mayo I knocked over the tub of raspberry yogurt and that’s how I came up with this!! Licked my fingers and added a shred of cabbage while I contemplated my dilemma. Wow I thought… that tastes kinda good! So I headed to the larder to see what I could add to the concoction and this was the result! I was quite nervous until the first quite fussy guest (Laura) asked “What’s in the coleslaw?” Nervously I replied. “Yum! “, she said… “Who would have thought?” Now to me the colours are just dazzling….sorry you know how I am?

This is so good with pan fried salmon and looks great on the plate together. Once you have eaten cabbage and the juicy coral flesh of salmon together you will know that the cabbage stands up really well to the oiliness of the fish. Ditto with snoek, mackerel and tuna. Of course this is a must with your Christmas Gammon (or Smoked Kasslers) at which time I use cranberries instead of raspberries, since there is always left over cranberry sauce at Christmas)

I was just about to start chopping the cabbage when my stunning coral birthday roses caught my eye and I just had to show you how gorgeous the colour of the cabbage is against the rose...

Raspberry Coleslaw

Baby cabbage green and red - actually it’s the most magnificent opulent purple!!! - Finely shredded (I just used the red this time round)

Couple of spring onions chopped finely

Small chili, seeded and chopped finely (add more if you feel, but you just want a hint of heat here, almost as an after thought) (Kids note!! Please do not touch your eyes after working with chili!!!! – slice the chilli length ways and use knife to scrape out seeds)

Fresh Raspberries chopped

Pomegranate rubies (as I call them)

Mix the cabbage, chilli, spring onions and raspberries.

Add dressing and top with pomegranate rubies.

Dressing.

Tub of raspberry yogurt

Raspberry Vinegar or Berry Juice or Strawberry dressing (salad dressings dept Pick n Pay)

Sweet chilli sauce (optional)

Just thin the yogurt with some raspberry vinegar until it tastes nice and tangy to you. It’s not easy to find raspberry vinegar, and it is quite expensive. So you can use Goedgedaght 100% Strawberry Dressing (Pick n Pay) or maybe some berry juice. It works just as well.

Also if I didn’t add any chilli to the salad I add some sweet chilli sauce to the dressing for a little heat.

Ring the changes:

I have also, on a whim, of course, added some freshly diced plums in place of the raspberries. The salad also works very well with kiwi fruit and then I use kiwi fruit yogurt. Needless to say, that the lime green yogurt, the luminescent green kiwi fruit and the pomegranate rubies together look just spectacular with the purple cabbage.

At times I add a sprinkling of sesame seed to finish it off. Toast them in a dry pan for a few minutes.

Dried Cranberries and Pistachio nuts are also a good combination

Bon Appétit