Kitchen love

As this week is dedicated to food and cooking, some attention can also be given to the kitchen. Tonight I am drooling over some wow kitchen designs and as usual Worded Reflection's love for all things white is evident!!

From here

Timber ceiling - LOVE! From here

Nice sink! From here

Really like the subtle touch of green. From here

 

I believe you cook better in a kitchen that you love - no matter how small or unpractical - work with what you've got and make your kitchen your happy place!!

Marvelous Monday

Hello dear readers, I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are feeling rested and ready for this new week ahead.

This week I would like to focus on a few things in and the around the kitchen. With Anton having started eating solid foods in the past few weeks, the husband providing too much meat for two people to consume from the farm - Kudu, Eland, Impala... you name it, I have it! - I am foreseeing a good few hours in the kitchen.

Can anyone say venison pie, steamed, liquidised veggies, kudu roast or biltong !? Let the cooking games begin!

Although I do like to page through recipe books, read cooking or recipes specific blogs and watch cooking programs, I am not one to strictly follow recipes. I find recipes too regulated and strict, but great for inspiration and sparking ideas; the kitchen is where I like to experiment and play.

A few of my favourite culinary inspirations include:
Punchfork
Foodgawker
I love cooking
Whats for dinner

My kitchen_this is where I play!

Perhaps with spring winking at us some of you are less focused on food than on putting on your gym gear, but who said cooking and eating cant be yum and healthy!? More on this tomorrow.

Where have I been?

After a loooooong delay and pause in my blog posts I am happy to report that I am back!

So what have I been up to you may ask. Well here is the short version:

I've been cooking:

We had a lovely "Greek" inspired August Kitchen Counter Club!

I've adopted a dog:

Meet Rosco, aka Mr. Wakkie

I've been exploring our "back yard":

A trip to Hartbeespoortdam

I've gotten up close and personal with the wildlife on the farm:

I've spent some much needed time with my family:

The past few weeks also included experiencing SNOW in Jozie, reading, writing, designing, planning, configuring, preparing and embracing my home again.

I think I can now honestly say that I am okay with the idea of staying in sunny South Africa for now.

Have a lovely weekend dear readers and I am looking forward to bringing you some inspirations and new creations next week.

A special thanks to my sister, Bianka, for some of these amazing shots!

DIY Thursday_ KCC Burger Night

This month we had a KCC meeting with a twist -  2 of our regular members could not make the event so instead of postponing or canceling the night we called in the heavy artillery and seeing that it was Burger night it wasn't too difficult to convince the guys to wear our pink uniforms (smile!).



For Burger Night we made the following recipes:
Buns from here
All other items from here

The burger buns:

The Buns

Sweet Potato Wedges

 Tomato relish

 Pink peppercorn sauce

Grilled Bacon

Beef Patties

Our YUMMY end result:

Hungry now?

DIY Thursday_ What's for dinner

I am hosting a dinner party this week and for those of you that know me you are aware that I take this quite seriously! (Serious with a smile that is). As it is officially winter here in Jo'burg I want to do a warm, hearty winter meal that will leave my guests asking for more... mmmm, where to begin!?

Today I am posting some yummy winter recipes for DIY Thursday - let the long winter nights in front of the fire and a glass of red wine begin!

Starter:

The ultimate winter started must be a soup or a broth; here are some YUMMY ideas:

This Turkish Red lentil soup looks absolutely delicious; from here:

Creamy Cannellini Bean Soup; from here:

Tomato Soup, from here:

Main:

When I think of winter dishes I think of stews, roasts and steamed dishes... Here are a few recipes that grabbed my attention (or tickled my taste buds) this morning:

Slow Cooker Korean Grass Fed Short Ribs; from here:

This classic Northern Chicken Curry looks yum! From here:

Something for the vegetarians out there; how good does this Slow Cooker Punjabi Eggplant with Potatoes look! From here:

 Typical winter dish a slow-cooker pot roast; from here:

No, I still don't know what I am cooking for my guests, but these are great inspirations...

Side dishes and deserts I will leave for another day. I will try to post my menu and photos of my meal next week! 

Have a happy Thursday and keep warm!!

KCCC_ Pizza adventure

A belated post that was meant to be written yesterday already... better late than never I suppose!!

I know it is not a DIY Thursday, but I really want to share this wonderful KCCC evening with you - we had such fun! KCCC May month was pizza month and we made the most delish pizzas from scratch with no other kitchen utensils than what we all have in our houses!

We started by making a pizza dough recipe from Ravinder Bhogal's book Cook in Boots (a great book that I can definitely recommend!)

The pizza dough after being under a warm grill for 5 minutes

The base is then turned around and ready to receive the toppings.

What is so wonderful about this dough is that you only need to make it approximately an hour before you start making the pizzas and the fact that you grill it for 5 minutes and only then start layering on the toppings ensures you have an amazing crisp and crunchy pizza crust when you eat – this is almost always where homemade pizzas fall short!

Our ingredients included:

Fresh Rocket and Basil leaves, straight from the garden

 A selection of cheeses: Mozzarella, Brie and Gruyere.

Something meaty: Parma ham and chorizo sausage

Caramelized onions and poached Rosa tomatoes in white wine and thyme

 Tomato paste and fresh Avocado pear

With these ingredients we managed to create a feast that looked something like this...

 

Making the dough is probably the most difficult part of your evening, from there you only need fresh and interesting toppings, a very hot oven and some hungry customers… how easy can it be!?

Perhaps this post inspires you to rather DIY it than order in when your next pizza crave hits?