Nourishing Nibbles in the Cape

I've just rendered my very own, highest grade, beef tallow...  and made my Victorian G reat Grandmother, Grace, very proud. In case you didn’t know, Tallow is beef FAT, in the same way that Lard is pig fat and Duck Fat is, well um... duck fat. I’m lucky enough to be friends with an awesome woman who just happens to supply local Cape Town restaurants with the most amazing Wagyu beef (gold mine as friends go, right?)   For those of you who are not yet familiar with this wonder-of- nature,   it is a breed of cattle that originates in Japan where it is   known as ‘Kobe beef’. Kobe Beef is Wagyu [pronounced ‘wag-you’] that comes from the Kobe region in Japan. Here they are regarded as a national treasure (it’s that good) and for many years only the Emporor, his family and his Samurai could eat Wagyu beef. It is rumoured that they fed these treasured beasts a strict diet, including beer, and washed them with the Japanese rice wine, Sake, spat by monks (yes, spat on, with sa

Grain + Gluten + Sugar Free with Dairy Free cake option. You’ve pestered and pestered (and yes, I reveled in the suspense) but now, my eager friends, it’s time... Time to put you out of your misery, and introduce pure delight. Delightful deliciousness and delectable decadence in every bite. I bring you my Best in Show: My Two’s Birthday Cupcakes with creamy butter cream frosting (in Vanilla and, of course, a chocolate version when you absolutely just have to). I have made these now on three separate occasions, all within this month (yes, I really liked these and found any excuse to retest the recipe) and each time Ive tried something different - actually the last time I accidentally doubled the liquid quantity, then had to throw in some more ‘flour’ and held thumbs - and guess what? They came out great! - A very forgiving recipe - just how I like it! My inspiration came from THIS  recipe, although I have used a different (favourite) icing. I wante

Sugar Free + LCHF (With a Dairy Free Option) It’s cold outside… nay… Its freakin’ freezing outside (well by Cape Town standards anyway) and I want warm stuff - on me, around me and definitely IN me! Enter: my warming and very creamy, dreamy Chai Tea. I’ve never really been one for flavoured or herbal teas. I like Rooibos tea, served black, and that’s it. And I drink loads of hot water with fresh lemon, and sometimes a sliver of ginger in, too. Oh, and of course, the best coffee I can afford made ‘ My Way ’: creamed with an egg and butter . You remember? It’s the ONLY way I make it now, no milk needed. But then last week, I was out with a friend, and I smelt it… the aroma wafted alluringly my way, and I almost dunked my entire nose in my dear friend’s steaming mug of milky spice. It was love at first waft. She let me have a sip… well, the flavours and scents of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom made me feel positively drunk. Masala Intoxication ! How divine.

Grain + Gluten + Sugar + Dairy Free... and Gentle, too When baking, I often think of my ‘old ways’ of eating. How much it’s changed and evolved. I started about 10 years ago playing with the idea of going wheat free. I went to an iridologist and he said I was too acidic and should look at eating differently. Fast forward to a year ago, a well-meaning surgeon telling me he thinks it could be Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and here’s your doggy-bag of medication to take…indefinitely! The rebel in me said (hands firmly on hips and one eyebrow lifted) “I don’t think so, bye bye now!” I now eat beautiful God-made food that is Grain, Gluten, and Sugar Free, and sometimes Dairy Free too. I still bake up a storm and mess up my kitchen on almost a daily basis, only difference is now my ingredients have changed. I’ve realized on this journey to cleaner eating how important one’s state-of-mind is. It is better to let go of the old .  You know this? Yes, I know this. But we need t

So its getting colder here… and in my household that means two things:  Mommy wants her electric blanket, and...  Mommy’s Cooking Soup for Supper! Yay! (I can actually hear my Six groan as I type this). I think, with my kids, it’s a texture thing? They don’t like anything soupy, mashed or too saucy (yes, I feel sorry for me too...) But that’s okay because, if its for-my-mouth-only, it allows me to be a bit more daring with my flavours and spices. Oooh, how exciting, I get to be daring with my broccoli soup? (I really need to work on my salcasm, I know). But, seriously, this soup is actually quite mild in flavour so don’t ‘chicken-out’ when it comes to adding the cayenne pepper or the spicy sausage. It needs the saltiness and different layers of heat to pack a punch. If, by some lucky chance, your kiddies like eating soup, but don’t want it too spicy, then keep the cayenne pepper for soft warmth, and replace the sausage with smoked bacon, or ham, or even diced, left