Dessert

Self-saucing chocolate cherry puddings

Thumbnail image for Self-saucing chocolate cherry puddings March 28, 2012

So – who can tell me what a Trojan horse is?  This is one of those questions that shows your age, I’m afraid.  If you are of a certain age (ahem!) you will tell me about how the Greeks besieged the city of Troy but despite their efforts, nothing seemed to be able to break [...]

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Grilled nectarines with saffron and lavender syrup

Thumbnail image for Grilled nectarines with saffron and lavender syrup March 21, 2012

When I first got to the UK in 2000, I embarked on a culinary voyage of discovery.  Suddenly, berries that had cost half a month’s salary in South Africa (or simply weren’t available) were available on every supermarket shelf – and sometimes even available for free in the hedgerows around our house!  The stuff I [...]

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Christmas pudding semifreddo with cinnamon streusel and brandy sauce

December 15, 2011

  One of the things people often ask me at this time of year is what some proper South African Christmas traditions are. It's at times like this when I am faced with the sudden urge to make up something totally outlandish, along the lines of "first, you have to feed the giraffes their customary mince pies, otherwise they [...]

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Nectarine & plum galette, and being remembered

October 18, 2011

Have you ever had the experience of meeting somebody and within minutes of parting thinking “what an amazing person- I want to see them again”?  I don’t mean that heady feeling of a romantic connection with your heart all a-flutter and everything seen through rose-coloured spectacles – I mean in a totally non-romantic context.  Of [...]

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Honey-roasted figs with Greek yoghurt – sweet simplicity

Thumbnail image for Honey-roasted figs with Greek yoghurt – sweet simplicity October 10, 2011

  What is it with us humans?  We spend a considerable amount of time, money and energy over our lifetimes acquiring.  We acquire houses and cars that need maintenance and insurance and upkeep.  We acquire clothes and shoes and jewellery that need cleaning and care and storage.  We acquire books and CDs that take over [...]

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Summer pudding

September 13, 2011

Summer.  Such an evocative word; a word about which countless poems and songs have been written.  Say it to yourself a few times – what associations does it bring up?  To me, summer will always mean the summers of my childhood.  Days when you would awake to the sound of cicadas and could smell the [...]

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Chocolate peanut butter chip brownies

Thumbnail image for Chocolate peanut butter chip brownies September 5, 2011

  I always wonder how people like emergency medical personnel or bomb disposal experts manage to do their jobs properly.  I mean, can you imagine trying to concentrate on the specific and difficult job you were trained to do, while all around you there is chaos, noise, and people calling out and generally distracting you?  I [...]

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