Gaaarlic Bread!

What could be better than the smell of freshly baked bread?
Nothing!

So that is when I decided to take it upon myself to learn to knead. I really needed to knead. They say talk is cheap, well, bread – my friend is even cheaper, which is one of the many reasons we all buy it ready made and sliced for us, how convenient. Possibly a little too convenient for me and so I was determined to gather a couple of simple, staple but really good bread recipes which I can conjure up in little time with little effort.

On my quest for finding this handful of staple recipes I was also going to teach myself to knead. As you can imagine, my enthusiasm laced with sheer ignorance to the world of yeast and its fickle, unforgiving ways led to one (or two) complete disasters.
One particular disaster i recall was for a brown 'health' bread, which ended up being more of a health hazard and could cleverly double up as a weapon, should you so need one. I somehow managed to refrain from using my new weapon to sabotage any innocent passers by - curious as to my culinary efforts and gave it to these two greedy little piglets ...

One of my guinea pig/friends comforted me suggesting ‘we can still eat it…just as toast!’ this innovative idea was accepted as making the best of a bad situation, but not exactly one for your repertoire and so my quest continued.
I did not want a bread which was only edible in the form of toast, oh no, I wanted soft, fresh, hot bread straight from the oven that needs nothing but a lick of butter, - if that.

You know what they say, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try again! (And hide all the evidence).

Cutting to the chase, this recipe for garlic rolls is foolproof and the garlic can be omitted leaving you with nice white baps…

You will need:
4 cups plain (cake) flour (560g)
10 ml each of Salt and Sugar
1 sachet (10g) instant yeast
About 375 ml lukewarm water
30 ml oil
30 ml melted butter
4 cloves freshly chopped garlic



Sift your flour and salt into a large bowl, add sugar and mix. Chop your garlic as finely as you can, add to your bowl along with your sachet of yeast and mix again.
Mix your oil with your lukewarm water and gradually add to your bowl of flour until you start to see it coming together as a soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead, yes – knead. For those of you who think this is a little intimidating – as I did and were NOT taught how to knead by your mother (thanks mum!) or in home economics, its really simple.
You basically gently bring the far edges of the dough forward -towards you and fold it over. With the heel of your hand (or your clenched fist) push the dough away from you. Give the t a quarter turn and repeat.
Repeat these movements until your dough changes and starts to feel smooth and elastic.
You can tell if your dough has been kneaded sufficiently when the impression of a finger springs back.
Once your dough is smooth and elastic, pop it into a greased bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 20 minutes).












Once doubled in size, take out the bowl and back onto your work surface and knead it again until it is roughly back to its original size. Divide into 10 rolls and arrange on your baking tray and brush with melted butter. Leave to rise again in a warm place for a further 15 minutes.




Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees or Gas Mark 4 for 20 minutes.

So there you have it, yummy homemade garlic rolls.

PadKos

I’m not sure why making a meal consisting entirely of left-overs, (that would have otherwise been thrown out) is so satisfying, but, it is.




So this- I reckon is a pretty simple and yummy way to use up left-over cooked pasta, or you can just go wild and cook some pasta especially for this, well worth it as this can be eaten hot or cold in the same way you would eat a fritatta.
Padkos – means quite literally ‘road food’ in Afrikaans, this would make for some good and practical road food, I would imagine- but every time I have made it, it hasn’t quite made it to the car.

There are two non-negotiable ingredients in this recipe and they are – pasta and eggs. All the others you can chop and change as you wish to suit whatever is in your fridge or cupboards at the time or just to whatever you fancy.
For every cup of cooked pasta you want one egg. For a medium sized saucepan I use 3 cups of cooked pasta and 3 eggs.

3 Cups cooked pasta
3 Eggs
Peas
2 Rounds of Feta
Handful of chopped mint
Handful of grated cheese ie Parmesan or Cheddar
1 Tablespoon of Mrs Balls Chutney

Salt, pepper and dried chilli flakes

Whisk your eggs in a bowl and season, add all other ingredients to bowl and mix, saving a little cheese to sprinkle on top.
Heat some olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and pour in your eggy past, cook on a medium heat for a few minutes then pop under the grill to get all golden on top.

J-Bay

So it was good ol’ Captain Jeffrey who stumbled upon this diamond in the 1840’s, which has since been nicknamed J-Bay.
Captain Jeffrey was forced to anchor up his vessel in this secluded spot after a bad case of Scurvy settled on board his ship, so he took it upon himself to build a small but efficient port on what is now the main beach. He went on to build the first house, “The White House” it was aptly named, it is said that much of the building material used to construct the foundations of this grand house came from Jeffrey’s infamous ship.
So now you now why Jeffrey’s Bay is called Jeffrey’s Bay I suppose you want to know what’s so special about this little cove? Well, O.K.

So we all know that ‘when in Rome, you do as the Romans do…’
Well in J-Bay, you do as the surfers do, whether you actually own a surfboard or not . . . the latter in my case!
Through the 60’s and 70’s J-Bay locals witnessed their quiet little fishing village evolve into the surfers sanctuary that it is today. Jeffrey’s is one of the top five most renowned surfing hotspots in the world so it’s no surprise that is hosts the legendary Billabong Pro ASP World Tour Surfing Event every July at Super Tubes.

So, I could take the easy route and boast about one of the best right hand point breaks in the world, with Super Tubes breaking for over 300 meters and waves that have been known to reach up to 12 feet to lure you in to visit this little spot, but I reckon that is just selling J-Bay short.

In-between catching all those hectic waves a girl’s gotta eat. Although Steers, Fish Aways and Debonairs are just around the corner, we fought the fast-food temptation and took it upon ourselves to catch our own dinner.
So hunger led us down to the beach where we attempted to catch something to fill our bellies. After meeting one of the friendly locals who insisted on telling us how abundant the fishing is in Jeffrey’s, we started to doubt our dodgy old fishing tackle (and talent) and headed back to the Surfers Backpackers where we were residing (for a mere 100 Bucks a night, I might add) to get clean and make a plan.

After cruising around town and checking out some of the local spots, it was pretty clear that that is exactly what they were, local spots – if you catch my drift. Beers in hand, we wandered back to our backpackers where we soon discovered that ‘ what happens in J-Bay, stays in J-Bay’. A quiet and tranquil village from the outside, but behind closed doors is where it all goes down. With worldwide visitors from China, America and the U.K, as well as the good old Saffer’s, drunken stories were exchanged until the early hours of the morning.



After catching 40 winks, we walk the 20 meters or so down to the beach to see the local gang of friendly dogs taking themselves for a walk (my puppy in tow having the time of her life).
The waves are ‘cooking’ and the sun is shining, a perfect day for hitting the shops I think!
You can take the girl out of London but you cannot, for love nor money, take London out the girl. So I head out on my solo mission to check out the bargains. It is Billabong, Rip Curl and Quiksilver eat your heart out, with surf shops on every corner, with a couple in between. With surf factory outlet stores, prices are unbeatable, I mean, it would be rude to leave without buying anything – wouldn’t it?
Scattered around these surfing superstores are a couple of African ornament stores and cute little café’s where you can spot the local bare-footed bare-chested talent!
With so many things to do, from surfing, fishing, hiking, canoeing and board surfing, you’re spoilt for choice. However tanning, shopping and braaing are not such a bad way to pass the time in such a beautiful little village.

Vla Koek

‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’...



So, when your boyfriend describes his ouma – grandma’s cake as the most amazing cake he has ever eaten in his life – you’re in trouble.
The standard has been set and although you may think you can alter it or give it a modern twist … that is not what he is looking for, he is looking for that exact same taste he remembers from way back when, that nostalgia provoking mouthful that takes him right back to his ouma’s kitchen– no pressure then.
After nagging incessantly I get the old ball and chain to call his mother and get me the recipe in question. Finally, I have it in my hands; only one slight problem… its in Afrikaans. Oh good, this should be interesting.
After several hours of being lost in translation, I am now lost in something else altogether. The technique seems slightly backwards...well, we are in Africa, so go figure.
Two panic attacks and one nervous breakdown later, I am left with what could be mistaken for a recipe..hoorah!
So this holy grail of recipes is for a Custard Cake and it goes something like this…




Vla Koek – Custard Cake
Yes, koek means cake, told you it was backwards!
Below is the ingredients for the cake’s, you bake two and when cold slice each into two so you have a four layer cake. Delectable.
4 Eggs Seperated
230ml Sugar
230ml Cake Flour
50ml Cold Water
25ml Cornflour
2ml Baking Powder
Salt

Mix your egg yolks, water and sugar – thoroughly. Sieve your remaining dry ingredients and fold into egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until stiff and gently fold into flour mixture.
Bake at 180 degrees or Gas Mark 4 for 15 minutes or so. Leave to cool then slice ready to ice.



So for your custard icing you will need
120g Butter
220ml Sugar
100ml Custard Powder
Dash of Vanilla
500ml Full Cream Milk
12.5ml Sugar
Heat milk until boiling, make a paste with custard powder, a drop of cold milk and the 12.5 ml of sugar, add paste to milk and boil for a few minutes. Leave to cool slightly. Beat butter and sugar well. Gradually add custard and beat constantly but lightly until smooth. Voila – Icing Made.
So start to assemble your custard tower and top off with icing and a couple of crushed ‘Tennis’ Biscuits. Good Luck trying to find these in London. They are just simple butter tea biscuits with a slight hint of coconut. I just used some coconut biscuits I found in Waitrose.



This cake was well worth the melodrama and was demolished faster than you can say vla koek.
With thanks to Reynette Fryer for this recipe I use for blackmail…often.