Can Can Chickens!

Morning foodie friends! Its time for On the Menu Monday over at Stone Gable. A while back I did a post on one of may favourite coffee table books that happens to be a cookery book called,  A Kitchen Safari (click here for a peek at those table settings in the wild) The post was for Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch (always makes me smile) 

 I promised you some recipes from the book. So for today's menu we have...

 Menu

Chillied up Chilled Melon Skewers

Can Can Chickens

Salad of Roast Aubergine, Tomato and Mint

Three Cheese Bread and Butter Pudding

Hot Ginger plums with Nut Brittle and Cinnamon Cream

Can Can Chickens

4 Chickens

60 ml sea salt

60 ml olive oil

4 cans beer - pick your favourite

4 bay leaves

4 cinnamon sticks

20ml coriander seeds

4 red chillies

20 ml cumin seeds

60 ml Dijon mustard

60 ml Dukkah Spice Blend

and now for the Can Can..

Season chickens with salt and olive oil

Open cans of beer, drink a mouthful of each  ~ no more... I'm watching you!!!

Now divide the bay leaves, cinnamon,  coriander,chillies,and cumin between the four cans of beer. Yes, put them into the cans please.

Place the cans on a baking tray and "sit" a chicken firmly on each can ~ see picture below

Roast in preheated 190 degrees Celsius  oven for 35 minutes

Remove from oven and rub with Dukkah Spice Blend.

Cook for a further 25 minutes on 170 Degrees Celsius

Depending on the size of them chickens of course...

Allow to rest for 10 minutes

Serve as you wish on a platter and sprinkles some more Dukkah spice.

Serves 8 people

Salad of Roast Aubergine, Tomato and Mint

4 Large Aubergines

10 ml salt

1 orange

1 lemon

8 tomatoes ~ blanched,

skins removed and diced

1 red onion~ finely chopped

4 cloves garlic ~ peeled

and thinly sliced

20 ml sesame seeds

125 ml olive oil

10 ml fresh thyme

125 ml fresh mint leaves ~ shredded

Dice aubergines into 2 cm cubes, sprinkle with salt and leave for 15 minutes

Rinse briefly and pat dry with paper towel

Squeeze orange and lemon and set aside

In a bowl mix aubergines, half the tomatoes, red onion,garlic,sesame seeds,olive oil and thyme leaves

Roast on a tray in a preheated oven of 200 Degrees Celsius for 25 minutes or until aubergines are cooked

Remove from oven and place in a glass bowl. Toss with remaining tomatoes,mint, orange juice and lemon juice

Check for seasoning

Serve either hot as a vegetable or cold as a salad

Serves 4

This salad is wonderful with any braai (BBQ)

 

Three Cheese Bread and Butter Pudding

1 day old baguette

100 g soft butter

180 g parmesan ~ grated

180 g strong white cheddar ~ grated

1,5 litres milk

10 eggs

10 ml salt

5 ml ground black pepper

2 pinches nutmeg

200 g mozzarella ~grated

Cut the bread into 1 cm thick slices, and butter on both sides

Place these in a large, buttered ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with half the parmesan and all the cheddar
Mix together the milk, eggs,salt pepper and nutmeg
Pour this mixture over the bread
Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and finally the mozzarella
Bake in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes. the pudding will be well risen and nicely brown
Serve immediately before pudding "falls"
Delicious with all roasted meats  and tossed green salad.

Now, do not fret... that is an order!! Should the pudding decide to be rude and "fall" please remember it tastes the same!!! Not to mention the fact that it is going to be chewed and will be thoroughly fallen, so please do not let that deter you in any way to give it a bash!


Now, imagine all of that being served in a setting like this....

...with some visitors, like these....

I will also be joining Mosaic Monday at Dear Little Red House!

Bon Appetit

Happy Living

Veronica
xxx

all the images fro A kitchen Safari by Yvonne Short and Dumi Ndlovu

It would make my day if you regaled me with your comments.

Thank you for stopping by.

oh yes and any pics of you doing the can can may be mailed to me at ronnieclark@mweb.co.za...

Mother City Magic ~ Tribal Trends

Good Morning Friends. Happy Friday to you. I would like to introduce you to my new blog. I live in the amazing city of Cape Town and it has inspired me to start a blog about my slice of life in the Mother City.

Tassels and Twigs is my indulgent space where I love to share my love of decor, cooking and gardening, but my other passion is this wonderful city I call home namely Cape Town.

Friends often ask me for details about shops, restaurants etc and that prompted this new blog where I will share my personal favourites.

But for today's post it is all about decor and I would like to share a gorgeous shop that I found just of Green market Square called Tribal Trends.

For the rest of the post would you please join me over at  Mother City Magic (click please).  Also, I am not sure about that background of the blog. Does it annoy you and can you read it properly? Please give me your input. I would deeply appreciate it.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Living and if you happen to be in The Mother City...make it Magic!

Veronica
xxx

please leave me your comments and thank you for stopping by and your help.

Outdoor Tables

Good Morning friends. I would like to welcome all of my new followers and those who have been here from the start. I am thrilled to have you stop by and spend a little time here on my dot in cyber space. Thank you for joining me here and I hope you enjoy your clicking and take away something to inspire or spark a new idea...or just relax a while.... I give you permission.

This blog has taught me so much in a short space of time and it is where I discover, share and just spew out my random thoughts on what I found and what I'd like to do. It has given me enormous pleasure to find like minded people who share generously with others.

The setting below is perfect, isn't it? It comes from one of The House of The Year Finalists and I am in love with the whole house and this setting is just an added bonus to swoon over for me. If you haven't seen that gorgeous conservatory yet have a look at my post HERE 

As you know I have started to explore colour that fall outside of my personal preference and I can tell you I have learnt so much and have discovered a whole new world of possibility. This week I explored aqua (click here to have a peek) and found that I did like the colour and  I am determined to use it somewhere but came up blank. And then it hit me...outdoors, of course and here is the proof that I just found!!

This is an adorable outdoor setting and of course just the spot for an urn and pot addict like myself to dine. And a stroll through that garden after dessert is also on the menu....

This looks like one of those times when you decide at the last moment to enjoy the simple beauty of a field picking some wild flowers as you go to adorn your table...

The table is completely adorable! Rustic gone glam on the beach...under swaying palms and I imagine a saga dance later....

This is total bliss for me...everything about it makes me happy...

This is such a charming outdoor dining area covered in ivy and elegantly lit. It looks peaceful and serene and the floor is gorgeous. I wonder what is on the menu after that first glass of sauvignon... perhaps Fig Salad ?(click for recipe) That is just what I'd serve up here..

Who wouldn't want to dine here at this charming spot in Venice? We could take the gondola back to the hotel...

This is so romantic... Do you think he is proposing?  If so, I can't imagine that any wedding could top this....

I end of today's post with a heavy heart. I just heard of the passing of an old school friend that I'd been meaning to ring and did not get to... You can imagine how terribly sad I feel and disappointed with myself...

If you need to ring some one do it now...

Hugs and Blessings to you

Veronica

xxxx

I will be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. Please wonder over there by clicking on my link and enjoy all the wonderful tables and stories...

all these beautiful images are from pintrest

Aqua ~ Colour My World

Good Morning Friends! We  are having a little Indian summer in mid winter and we're loving it! I borrowed this beautiful image from Marsha at Splenderosa. Actually, it has been sitting on one of my inspiration boards asking me to use it to explore my new fascination with colour that falls outside of my own "fired earth" colour palette that I think I must have been born with. Terracotta, ochre and paprika is what makes me happy! But I have fallen in love with colour and so, am experimenting with one colour per week and trying to find ways to use it in the home, garden and closet. But you have to understand, we work on Africa time here and living in Cape Town we take a bit longer than the Texans..lol. So first have a look here what Marsha did....here

Gorgeous, isn't it? How about those champagne glasses and that dress?

I am a bit odd in so far as I just love the names that are given to the different hues in paint catalogues. So above left, the small pot of dark paint is Eucalyptus Garden View and recommended to paint small-scale furniture to dot throughout the house. Just below it to the left is Celadon Wishful Thinking. It says that this is a dreamy backdrop for silver accents and ivory upholstery and I can so see that! Then, the small pot to the right below the sea glass is Caribbean Summer Breeze. The large pot below that is Mermaid and below that is Sweet mint! It all looks and sounds quite delectable....

I don't know if I will ever have the courage to paint furniture this colour, but it looks great here....

Now, this muted shade of aqua is gorgeous, as it the whole setting. simple but glamorous...

This bombe chest looks stunning in this shade and if anything will convert me to this palette, this is it!

Isn't this a magical scene....

Oddly enough this is my favourite colour in my summer wardrobe year after year...

Now, this is me! If I ever get my dream of having a guest house this will be in one of the bedrooms..

 

This is gorgeous aqua and sea sand colour... Very romantic cake this...

 

This has got to be the cutest and most beautiful bug in all the world!!! Just look at the lesson in colour from mother nature... This is a Cecropia Moth Caterpillar. Nature at its spectacular best! I wonder where it is found?

From caterpillars to chandeliers of  dreamy beauty....

 

This looks so comfy and glam  at the same time...

 

Aqua adornment for our lobes, darlings.....

I so want one of these dress forms for my boudoir and the chest of drawers is just gorgeous. Have I converted you to aqua yet?

 

Just loved the texture of this....

Crisp, fresh and glam...

Saving this ottoman for my den, library cum study area. Sadly not in this colour but in a metallic or velvet pinky champagne hue....still hunting for a swatch of fabric.

Candles ...

A very striking combination of colour...

So elegant....

So what are your thoughts on the colour aqua?  Have you used it in your home? I, for one will look at a piece of sea glass and the colour spectrum of aqua with a new fresh eye. I am not able to find a  home for it amidst my fired earth palette yet. Although it might be an option for outdoor dining for table cloths and cushions for my stone table for a fresh summer alfresco table together with white platters and sandy coloured serviettes like the wedding cake above... Yip, I need to go and search the fabric stores.

And I will never step over a piece of sea glass on the beach without bringing it home...

Have a very happy week friends. Live well.

Veronica
xxx

Linking with Mosaic Monday over at Dear Little Red House. Please visit a few other bloggers! You wont be disappointed...

all these gorgeous images are from piniterest

It would make my day if you left me a comment! Thanks for stopping by....

Fig Salad ~ Total Bliss ~

Happy Monday Friends.  On The Menu Monday at Stone Gable gives us all a great excuse to start the week on a mouthwatering note with food!

The Table is Life!!

This is one of my favourite meals when the temperatures are soaring, the pool is inviting and I avoid the kitchen like the plague! Hardly any prep work and loads of relax to the max principles here...

Menu

A bowl of your favourite olives to nibble on....

Fig Salad served with Crusty Bread

Berry Sorbet doused with Bubbles

It doesn't sound like a huge meal but trust me its more than enough in hot weather when you want something light.

My grandmother would turn in her grave if she knew I bought figs in a shop!!! Let alone at the price of a small electrical appliance and in a punnet to boot…. So I hunted down, in the local nurseries, the black variety with skins that you can eat and have now dutifully planted it in a large pot since my patch of earth is not quite enormous enough to give a fig tree the free reign that it seems to demand. The dude at the nursery warned that the pot would crack in due time as the ficus root system is rather aggressive. I listen patiently and then told him we would worry about it when it happened! Seems it might take a few years so I will have time to prepare for the catastrophe! The tree has yielded a couple of figs so far but not enough yet for my fig appetite. The bird residents were very chuffed with the sweet dessert table that I had laid on for them. So I have had to resort to rather drastic measures to protect my small crop. To confuse the feathered blighters I now pop a brown paper packet over the figs when almost ripe and they are thoroughly confused providing me with entertainment and tweeting loudly.” Bloody hell, I was sure there were some figs here yesterday… what has she done with them!!!"

Fig Salad

The sexiest The salad in the world ex the naked one himself - Jamie Oliver adapted by moi.

You start by putting a bottle of champagne in the fridge of course, how else?

Then you head to your nearest and dearest Woolies food market giving the fridge time to perform its duty!

Find the fruit isle and those luscious plump fresh black figs that cost R28-99 per punnet for 6! Put them into the trolley before you change your mind! Two figs per person is a must unless you want a brawl on your hands!

Take a deep breath and head to the cheese counter, grabbing some lemons, rocket or mixed tangy Asian salad leaves and honey as you go.

 Look for those mozzarella balls in a tub of water – looks like a cottage cheese bakkie (bowl)  about R14-99. Buffalo mozzarella or goats milk will do!

Now head to Pick and Pay for some Parma ham. The Parma ham at Woolies comes from Parma in Italia and you might have to mortgage the house, the ones at Pick n  Pay is local and quite good actually! By now I am totally wanton and the bank balance a distant memory! Also black forest ham will do just as nicely.

Here’s what you do with your investments:

Wash the figs and take off the small little stems, do not be a sussie and peel them! Dry them off gently and slice a small cross in the top where you removed the stalk. Take your thumb and forefinger and gently squeeze the fig on either side and it will pop open and flower lusciously in tones of Carpaccio’s  brushstrokes. Stop drooling on the figs!

Now, arrange your flowered figs on a bed of your favourite greens e.g. rocket. Bloody baby sorrel leaves, looks too ala Picasso!

 

Separate the Parma ham slices and weave through your figs standing them up so to speak.

Now take your moza balls and rip them (elegantly please) into pieces and dot around the platter. A large white platter is just the canvas for this piece of culinary art!

Stand back, admire your work, sigh and make the dressing!

Whisk some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and a dash of honey. Salt and pepper if you want together and dress your sexy fig platter! I also use the Balsamic Creme in place of the dressing and then drizzled some honey sparingly over the salad.

Drizzle an elegant lace pattern of honey over the whole ensemble by warming the honey slightly in the microwave for a few secs (only if it is unco-operative! Oh yes I buy the squeezy bottle) by holding the honey from on high!

Oh yes those Italian Rolls from Woolies that you bake are the best served warm from the oven! Otherwise any crusty baguette or ciabatta will do just fine.

Crack the patiently waiting champagne, place the platter in the middle of the table and encourage your guests to dip the bread into the communal platter of dressing after they have selfishly removed their quota of figs to their own plates!

Even the very stuck up ones will succumb!

What you do with the rest of the honey is up to you honey…

Here is a list of my favourite wines to serve with the figs.

Bubbly of course!!! JC le Roux’s La Domaine

Springfield’s Wild yeast Chardonnay (Woolies) ~ A heavenly combo with figs!!

Nitida’s Souvignon Blanc (Woolies) ~ A close second spot

Haute Cabrier’s Pinot Noir (Woolies)

Or off course what ever makes you happy!!!

I could not for the life of me find one of my own photos of the fig salad, but as soon as I make it again (when in season) I will add the images. In the meantime I do hope you will try this. It is so easy and looks so glam and tastes simply Divine!

Please note as you know by now this recipe was written for my kids. So take it in that spirit with the prices included for them to work out their foodie budgets...lol

For desert, I use an elegant martini glass or margarita glass, scoop two scoops of your favourite berry sorbet into the glass. Top with a little champagne and a sprig of mint. Serve with a small teaspoon.

Look what else I found with figs....

A cheese tower! Stunning party piece, isn't it just!

Honey, figs, cheese, baguette and wine...what else is there that you need really?

Bon Appetit

Veronica

xxx

Please join us at On The Menu Monday.

images pinterest

When you get down from the table...please regale me with a comment...no hiccups allowed...

Remember to have a peek at On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable for loads of wonderful inspiration.

I am also linking up with Amaze me Monday at Dittle Dattle a delighful new find for me....please click above and wonder on over for some great viewing.

as well as... especially for newbies like myself!!! The Newbie Party at Debbiedoo's. Have a peek at other newbies  and join them please to support fellow bloggers.

Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie has enough menus to keep you going for yonks. Please follow the link above to join us.

Tempt my tummy Tuesday over At The Well  today is full of wonderful finds to keep your tastebuds happy!

Linking for health, minus the champagne to Funky Junk Interiors Healthy Recipe Link