Tuesday 29 January 2013

crunchies

....cause one always needs a little something with a cup of tea.





I introduce to you Crunchies...a South African favourite, truly the simplest and quickest biscuits of them all. 

As long as you have a bag of oats lying around, you're away.  My favourite part is measuring the golden syrup, man oh man golden syrup and me are very good friends, I always add a little extra just because.






Makes approx 24 pieces (depending on how big you cut them)

You'll need

1 cup of flour
1 cup of coconut
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of oats
1 teaspoon of bicarb of soda
1 1/2 tablespoons of golden syrup
6 0z of margarine

Method:

Melt margarine and syrup, add to dry ingredients and mix well. 
Spread in a tray and bake at 180C for about 15-20 mins or until golden brown
While still hot, cut into square and leave in the tray to cool.

Tip:  The mixture may seem a little dry but you need not worry, when it bakes it all binds together.  Just make sure you pack in in the tray tightly

Wednesday 23 January 2013

golden beetroot & feta risotto



Talk about having to climatise...  Having just returned from a long stint in sunny South Africa this snowy winter wonderland sure is an adjustment.  Coming from a land of salads and BBQ's, I had all good intention of carrying out the all healthy, all slimming January detox.  It soon became apparent that in this icy weather, we are still very much in need of warm comforting food and that's exactly what you can expect over the next couple of weeks.

Let the detox begin in February, where we'll 'Detox - the delicious way'!   There will be soups, curries, stews, bean salads, dips, healthy snacks and lots of herbal teas. 

But for now, here is a warm creamy risotto, using golden beetroot which you don't always find and feta.






Serves 4

You'll  need:

1 red onion, chopped
3 golden beetroots (roasted in foil to maintain their juices and diced)
1 slab of feta (to taste)
400g arborio risotto rice
300ml boiling stock
4 Tbs white wine
salt and pepper to taste
slice of lemon

Method:

1) Put oil in a pan and saute onion
2) Pour in the rice and coat with the onion and oil, then add the wine
3) Gently add the stock spoon by spoon, allowing all the stock to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladle, over medium heat for approx 20 minutes.  If you need to increase the amount of stock do so, until the rice is al dente, but not too soft.
4) Add chopped up feta and beetroot and let it cook through the rice.
5) Serve immediately warm and creamy, and squeeze a slice of lemon over and season with salt and pepper