Author: Jeanri Verster

The whisky tasting was enlightening and the food that accompanied each of the single malt whisky’s were to die for!  My favorite out of the 5 whisky’s we tasted was Singleton, a 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky.  Here are some of the facts we learnt during the presentation:

“Whisky (Scottish English) or whiskey (Irish English) is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash.

Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn).

Whisky is aged in wooden casks, made generally of white oak, except that in the United States corn whiskey need not be aged.

Whisky is a strictly regulated spirit worldwide with many competing denominations of origin and many classes and types. The unifying characteristics of the different classes and types are the fermentation of grains, distillation to less than 95% alcohol, and aging in wood.”

Click on the link below to see photo’s taken at the tasting (it was taken with my I-phone in bad lighting, so please excuse the quality of the photo’s!)

Whisky Tasting – Clover Aardklop 2011

If you want to read articles about whisky or other alcoholic beverages, or get recipes with alcohol as an ingredient, be sure to visit www.thespir.it.

Happy cooking (with or without alcohol!)

Jeanri

I am very sad to announce that Carolié and her husband Adri left for New-Zealand two weeks ago. Carolié has been a mentor and friend to me for the past 7 years and I am extremely grateful to her for her generosity in sharing her knowledge and experience with me and consequently playing an enormous role in helping me to establish Cooking Up A Storm.

Carolié has been a source of inspiration for thousands of people for more than 30 years, whether through her cooking demonstrations, consulting services or recipe books. Although Carolié will be sorely missed by family, friends, colleagues and clients, she promised to keep in touch by way of regular updates of her new life in New-Zealand. She will also continue to contribute to the content of the Cooking Up A Storm website.

Please click on the links below to see Carolié’s CV, her “Goodbye Letter” with her new contact details, recipes from her “Bon Apetit & Goodbye” demonstrations as well as photo’s taken at Carolié’s courses over the past few months.

Goodbye Letter
Bon Apetit & Goodbye Recipes

I hope you had a great Heritage Weekend.  I once again had a ball at this year’s JHB Good Food & Wine Show. Here are a few of the items I came across and loved:

• Nicoletta (www.nicoletta.co.za or 021 932 6092). They have an exclusive range of confectionary, including cake decorations (cake confetti & crystals in a variety of colours and shapes, glitter writing icing, heavenly hearts, angel drops, etc.), sugar almonds and chocolate dagrees.  My favorite:  edible markers in a variety of colours.  The markers are one of the latest additions to the Nicoletta range. It is a full food grade marker containing approximately 1000 meters of edible ink. This marker can be bought in conjunction with the larger wafer hearts and used to write messages to your loved ones (slipped into their lunch boxes as a cool edible surprise) or a “Happy Birthday” message for a friend to stand in their cake or cupcake. The marker can be used on any surface that is hard enough to write on – for example royal or plastic icing, biscuits etc. Nicoletta products are available from Pick n Pay, Checkers, Spar and Woolworths or online.
• Daniela’s (daniellas.co.za or 0860 266 266).  Their macaroon’s are delectable!  They have shops in Green Point, Cape Town and Hillcrest, Durban, so Gautengers will have to order online!
• Vergezocht HO (www.vergezocht.co.za) – Vergezocht High Oleic Sunflower Oil is approved by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  Available from Pick n Pay, Checkers, Spar and Woolworths or online.
• The Cooking Club For Kids (www.thecookingclubforkids.com or 021 850 0102.  The kits are designed with little hands in mind and quality is second to none, with heat resistant and cool to touch silicone used as the core material. Each cooking kit contains a number of essential tools that can be used for both role-play and real-play, and 4 various recipe cards per kit to put the tools to good use.  The Cooking Club for Kids cooking kits target children aged 3-15 and capitalise on the world’s obsession with cooking shows and competitions.  Choose from Cupcake Kit, Cake Kit, Pizza Kit, Cookie Kit, Burger Kit, Ice Cream Kit – to name a few!
• Lattemento Cordless Milk Frother (www.italianlifestyle.co.za) – It makes perfectly textured froth for that perfect Cappuccino, Latte or hot chocolate in a matter of seconds (70 seconds to be precise). With a filling capacity of 150ml for frothing and 250ml for heating, this stainless steel and double-walled frother will be a hit in your kitchen. It features a non-stick coating for easy cleaning as well as an automatic switch-off function.
• Pronto Mama Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (www.prontomama.co.za or 021 762 0320) – Use as relish, garnish, as part of a tapas platter or as a topping for omelet or pizza or a stuffing for meat.  Available in JHB at Cheese Cafe in Linden (011 888 5384).
• Purelast Mixing Bowls (www.livin.co.za or 012 653 7911) – Made from all-natural, plant based, zero-plastic material and and dishwasher safe!
• Wellos O2 Ion Wash Ball (www.wellos.co.za) – Cleans and removes dirt from your washing without washing powders and softeners.  A must for people with skin allergies!

Happy cooking!

Jeanri

As promised, here are a few of the recipes from Carolie’s upcoming courses to give you a “taste” of what’s to come!

July Recipes

Enjoy!

Jeanri

With the Royal Wedding just over 24 hours away, I decided to revisit and old classic:  Chicken à la King.  Also see the posts on the Groom’s Cake and The Royal Reception.

Chicken à la King is not only quick and easy, it is also comfort food at its best with the wet weather we have been experiencing lately and perfect to have in front of the TV while watching the Royal Wedding.

There are several competing accounts about the origin of Chicken à la King, but I prefer the account that it was created in the 1890’s by a cook by the name of William “Bill” King of the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia.  When King died in March 1915, a New York Tribune editorial stated:   “The name of William King is not listed among the great ones of the earth. No monuments will ever be erected to his memory, for he was only a cook. Yet what a cook! In him blazed the fire of genius which, at the white heat of inspiration, drove him one day, in the old Bellevue, in Philadelphia, to combine bits of chicken, mushrooms, truffles (mushrooms), red and green peppers and cream in that delightful mixture which ever after has been known as “Chicken a la King.”

Chicken A La King

Whether you are celebrating the Easter or Passover holidays, or just celebrating the season, the recipes below should inspire you to serve home-cooked food over the long weekend.

Spiced Fruit Buns –  a variation on the traditional Hot Cross Buns.  You have the option to make the dough from scratch or buy ready-prepared dough at a bakery and just add the spices, dried fruit and glaze.  Also see  Spices for more information on the spices used in this recipe.

Creamy Hot Cross Bun & Dried Fruit Pudding – a great way to put stale hot cross buns to good use.

Quick Savoury Pie (Souttert) – an excellent way to use up leftovers.  Can be served as breakfast, brunch or as a light meal with salad.

Wheat-Free Maize Meal Bread – you can substitute the corn kernels and diced sweet peppers in this recipe with chopped peppadews, chopped sun dried tomatoes, pitted olives, chopped bacon or your choice of chopped fresh herbs.  Serve as is with butter or toasted with preserves or scrambled eggs. (More wheat-free recipes to follow soon!)

Enjoy!

Jeanri & Carolie

Carolie will be doing a Winning Ways Without Wheat & Gluten cooking demonstration on the 19th of March. This event is not to be missed if anyone in your family is wheat or gluten intolerant!   See Events for more details.

What is wheat allergies?
Most people eat wheat so often their bodies adapt and cope and so they experience mild forms of the symptoms (known as wheat intolerance) without ever really being aware of where the problem lies. Withdrawing wheat from the diet and therefore ridding the body of wheat can lead to immense improvements in health and wellbeing.  A few of the symptoms of wheat allergies are:

• Headaches
• Bloated stomach
• Diarrhoea
• Tiredness
• Skin rash

What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein occurring naturally in wheat, barley, rye and oats (although some debate is held on the gluten levels of oats). When these grains are milled the gluten is released and it’s this that gives grain flours their strength and elasticity, something that is noticeably missing from gluten free breads.

What is gluten intolerance?
Also called celiac disease.  People with healthy digestive systems can eat gluten without any problems. The food is broken down in the stomach and passes through the small intestine where projections called villi absorb nutrients. These villi provide a large surface area (20-40 metres squared), which is used for the absorption of the nutrients from the food.  When a celiac eats gluten in foods their intestine thinks it’s under attack from a foreign body and creates an immune response to the invader. The lining of the intestine becomes inflamed and the villi flatten. The flattening of the villi means that their surface area is reduced and the nutrients vital to health therefore aren’t absorbed, which over time leads to weight loss, wasting and malnutrition. Symptoms of celiac disease are:

• Anaemia
• Bloating
• Chronic tiredness
• Constipation
• Dermatitis herpetiformis
• Diarrhea (aka diarrhoea)
• Irritable bowel
• Migraines
• Mouth ulcers
• Psychological issues (stress, nerves, depression etc)
• Severe weight loss
• Vomiting

The above lists of symptoms associated with wheat allergies, celiac disease or gluten intolerance is by no means exhaustive, other symptoms may present themselves in different people. (source: www.wheat-free-org).