Sophia Lindop - A Unique Food Experience

Talk about 'a room with a view!'

I guess it's kind of obvious that I have had a busy month...?  But, who's complaining?  Many a platter of sexy cocktail snacks and many a plate of delectable cuisine passed through these little hands, and I enjoyed every minute of it!  Not only that, but I get to see sights like this that remind me how fortunate I am to be out and about at 'cocktail hour' in different parts of this amazing city!

This is also the season for my favourites - artichokes! - and I am sorry to announce that my plants aren't producing the way I would have liked them to...  We were eating out with friends some time last week, and I saw a menu from 1953 featuring the farewell dinner on the Queen Mary luxury liner - guess what?  There I found fresh artichokes served with melted butter!  Seems like this is an age-old obsession!!

Wow!

I often ask people what they would choose as their last meal if they were facing the death sentence...?  I know it's a weird question, but it gets people thinking about what they most love to eat.  People get all excited and relate with passion what their favourite meal is.  I find that it reveals a lot about one's character.

It's after midnight...  It's also not often that I feel overwhelmed and inspired by a meal in a restaurant.  Not because I think I am the be-all and end-all of your food needs, but mostly you get a meal that looks exquisite and tastes average, or your plate looks like a battlefield and tastes average.  This evening, however, left me inspired, wow-ed and excited!

I joined David and Sarah, who are visiting from the UK, at the Vineyard Hotel for dinner, which was served in one of their restaurants, Myoga (meaning 'ginger blossom' in Japanese.)  Paddy and I have always admired the Vineyard Hotel - it just keeps getting better and better!  And tonight's meal certainly was the best in a long time.  The restaurant is owned and run by Mike Basset, the whizz behind Ginja.

All puffed up and nowhere to go!

OK, I understand that it's breeding season on Planet Bird, but this Karoo thrush who lives in our garden has given a new meaning to the term 'bird brain'!  He sits in front of the garden mirror all day, squawking at the 'other guy' in the mirror, flying up and down, pecking at the glass, and pooping all over Paddy's precious garden stool.  He puffs himself up and then gets going...  It's both sad and funny, and I fear that he will literally kill himself with fatigue, yet I cannot help but chuckle!

But, on another note - I did promise to share a puff pastry recipe with you, so here goes...

Upside down

Last night I looked at Paddy and said, "I love you so much that my heart aches!"  And then I thought about what I said - it seemed all the wrong way around...  Upside down.  But it is true.  And then I thought about that French beauty called Tarte Tatin...also kind of upside down, wrong way up.  And yet so yummy and perfect.  So I smiled and repeated, "Yes, my heart does ache with love for you," without feeling as if I had said anything the wrong way around.  Because you see, sometimes 'upside down' is the new 'right side up'!

UFO's

Yes, it's true!  I've seen one...

Last Monday morning I woke up with a scratchy eye that progressed steadily to where I was in the ophthalmologist's surgery on Wednesday,  with an anaesthetised eye, and a small, sharp object pointing right at it...to remove the Unidentified Foreign Object that was causing me more pain than I had had in a long time!  I survived... 

Fortunately, as soon as this little incident was over, and the UFO was removed, my week was great!  Crazy, but great!  We hosted another successful dinner for a American group on Thursday - I made bobotie (both lamb and lentil - there were two vegetarians), a kudu pie, and tried out a wonderful new invention that came to me in the early hours of one morning - a sweet potato and tomato tarte tatin!  I will share that one with you tomorrow...

In the meanwhile, try this...  It might sound pretty foreign (kind of like that thing in my eye...), but it's a novel and yummy idea!  Pumpkin fritters served as dessert...  Here goes: 

Santa Claus is coming to town!

...if you think I've lost it, think again!  In about 7 week's time it will be that time again...  I decided to 'work' this year and will probably be cooking a Christmas dinner for an overseas group.  Needless to say, Paddy will be manning the Weber, that will contain his famous turkey, while Pam and I run around the kitchen like Santa's little elves.  (Note the word "little"...)   

I have come up with what I think to be another genius idea...  And all-year-round-ex-Christmas-tree.  This is how it works: early in December you hang your Christmas decorations, come 30th December, you whip them off, and replace with festive New Year's glitter, which you keep there until end January to remind you of your New Year's resolutions...  Then, off at the end of January, and replace with hearts in your favourite colour for Valentine's Day - these you should also leave there until mid-March (just so you remember to be kind to your loved ones) when you replace it with pictures of all kinds and colours of human beings...aah!  Right!  Human Rights Day on 21st March!  These can only be up for a very short while when the mini hot cross buns should be hung up to celebrate Easter.  When you've eaten these, replace quickly before anyone notices, and keep the cycle going all through April.  At midnight on the 30th of April, hang up your collages of people in different work uniforms for Workers' Day.  Being 'workers' ourselves, we should keep these up for a while to remember to pat ourselves on the back for doing what we do!

Then on 16th June comes Youth Day, and you may use your imagination for this one...  I suggest pictures of little bonny babies, but that's just 'cause I'm very broody right now.  August brings women of all colours, races, ages...and we can salute them as we face the tree and listen to "My brown eyed girl" or "Ave Maria" - you choose.  Then comes Heritage Day in September, and to show our excitement about the Boks winning the rugby, and to remember who we are and where we come from, I suggest many hanging South African flags, and then we're back at Christmas...

The reason for my brainwave, is because it seems as if I take down the Christmas tree on the one day, just to put it up again a week later...  How time flies!

They have arrived!

My first artichokes are almost ready for the table - and what a glorious feast it will be!  I was reading another blog the other day called Simply Recipes, and found the following article about cooking and eating artichokes - I could not have done a better job!  Check out her blog for more...  Anyway, thank you to Elise.

"I can imagine, that if you didn't grow up eating artichokes and if you were encountering them for the first time, they might seem a little intimidating.  How one cooks and eats an artichoke is not obvious from its appearance. One friend of mine told me a story about observing a woman eating an entire artichoke (regular sized, not baby) in a restaurant, chewing each leaf carefully before swallowing.

If you didn't have parents or friends who fed you this marvellous edible thistle, and you've always wondered how to cook and eat the darn things, here are the steps:

How to Cook an Artichoke
If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut of the thorned tips of all of the leaves. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke.

Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke.

Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.

Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems tend to be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them. Alternatively you can cut off the stems and peel the outside layers which is more fibrous and bitter and cook the stems along with the artichokes.

Rinse the artichokes in running cold water.

In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket. Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 35 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 20 minutes cooking time).

   

We're the working girls, we're the working girls...

Aha!!  Wasn't that how the song went?  Well, it's true - Pam and I have been very busy preparing scrumptious meals for many a tourist and many a Capetonian, and loving every minute of it!  This evening we're off to our friends at Blackheath Lodge again to prepare a trio of fillet (beef, kudu and springbok), a potato gratin, and seasonal veggies as a main, a simple starter involving avocados, smoked mackerel and leek, and then these little lemon pots (recipe and pic below...)  Pam found this recipe a while ago, and they have become a favourite since!

About two weeks ago, I was privileged to be with Ant and John at Blackheath Lodge, cooking up a storm, while Pam (my assistant and sister-in-law) was on holiday - guess who had to step into her shoes?  Yip!  Paddy.  Now I used to think that I married a tall, but cute, guy - that was until we started working, and Jean Claude, who works there, helped us serve...  Look, I have no misconceptions about being tall - I was the shortest in a class of 212 Matrics in 1985.  So, Jean Claude makes me look like "The Celebrity Midget Chef"!  He beats my husband, for goodness sake!

We thoroughly enjoy working with Ant and John - not only are they great guys, always friendly and helpful, but they run a five star operation - professional and passionate...  Just like we work.  A match made in heaven.  We are planning wonderful Food and Wine Tours for the winter season, which will include luxury accommodation at Blackheath Lodge, cookery courses with moi, tasting wines and learning more about our growing and rich food culture.  Watch this space... 

In the meanwhile, check out this recipe - you'll love it!