South African Food Company

I am a very lucky kid - I was fortunate enough to be chosen as a gourmet taster for The South African Food Co. It is a new company based in the UK, that creates delicious home-cooked South African favourites.

When you leave your home country, you know that you will miss your family and friends, and that you'll miss some of your favourite places and sights, but you hardly ever realise just how much you will miss the local food.

This came as quite a shock to me, when we moved to Malta and I had NO South African ex-pat shops or any 'normal' products. I even got quite excited when I found randomly imported products from South Africa, like Sunlight's Green bar soap (for pre-washing clothes).

However since we have moved to the UK, I have been very fortunate in that I have quite an array of South African products to chose from. 

That said, the South African Food Co has now become a very firm favourite in our house. We received Tamatiebredie (pronounced Ta-ma-tee-brie-dee) which is somewhat like a stew, but a trillion times tastier! It has lamb, potatoes, spices, tomatoes and peppers, all infused in a rich creamy sauce. 

One thing I loved about this portion (great for two large plates), was how much lamb  there was in the meal. I could not believe it. Most of the time, a ready meal has loads of cream and a sprinkling of meat. It was quick and easy to prepare, and when I took it out of the oven I nearly melted into the oven dish, it smelled soooooo delicious. And tasted amazing too.

I definitely think that we will need a few of these yummy meals in our freezer, for when I am feeling a little homesick! Truly, an ex-pats dream...

Check them out at http://www.southafricanfoodcompany.co.uk/  or https://www.facebook.com/thesouthafricanfoodco

'here come the sun...'

Hello, my name is Kalli - and I am addicted to Vitamin D!!! (although you really wouldn't think so, if you saw my ghostly white body)

I really am starting to think that I am a bit of a loon... We lived in Malta for 18 months, and one of the main reasons that we left was that it was too hot! So we moved to one of the least sunny places, LONDON!

This week's forecast is in the 20's, with sun forecast for almost every day and this makes me the happiest person alive. I spent the morning hanging washing, cleaning windows and doing anything and everything I could in the beautiful sunshine. I am wearing summery clothes, and honestly feel happier and lighter today. 

Talk about confused??? Escape the sun of Malta, to crave it like crazy in the UK. 

But I also did promise myself that I wouldn't go on about the weather in the UK, because this is where I wanted to be... So I am off to sun myself, as much as I can, before Summer is over...

Have an awesome day! K x

Braai = Good times!

One thing I have realised that I miss the most about South Africa, is a regular braai (at least once a week). A braai, by definition is like a BBQ or a barbie. But in reality, is unlike anything you can ever imagine, if you have never been to one. A braai is a very special event - it's a purely South African gathering. It can be a whole day or whole evening thing - where people bring their own meat and drinks (most of the time), different people bring various salads, potato bakes, sides and desserts. 

The ladies are generally inside - chatting, preparing the sides and desserts together and watching the kids, whilst the men are outside cooking the meat and bonding over beers at the braai side. Obviously this stereotype has somewhat changed over the years, with everyone outside enjoying each others company.

A typical braai involves lamb chops (not to be confused with lamb chops in other countries, it's a different cut of meat in South Africa), steaks, ribs, chicken, boerewors (a very special kind of sausage!!!), sosaties (similar to a kebab), potato bake, potato salad, coleslaw, green salad, mielies (corn on the cob), various South African desserts (although the dessert is never usually that important), beer, wine and soft drinks. There are obviously very many variations to this simple event - you can also do potjies, and we have even done pizza on the braai.

Another thing that I love about South Africa braai's, is that you don't need to invite people over 3 months in advance, if the weather is good and you're braaiing, you just let people know, and they come over. It's not a grand event, it's just a different (more sociable) way of cooking your food! A braai is one of the the best things in the world... We used to have a built- in braai in South Africa, have had a braai wherever we have lived since, and have braaied in all sorts of weather conditions. A braai will invariably always mean GOOD TIMES!

Rain, rain go away...

With miserable weather being a relative constant in London, it is always a good idea to have tons of back up plans. We seem to actually really enjoy our rainy days in, but they can get a little monotonous after a few days... Here are 10 great indoor toddler activities, to tyre your little one out. Remember, you can have fun in even the smallest house.

10 - Put a large piece of fabric or a plastic rubbish bag (cut open) on the floor - set up paint, brushes, sponges and different papers. Let your child really get into the painting - using their hands and feet. Make sure they are dressed for mess - a bath is easy enough to remedy any excess dirt!

9 - Get some cool colouring in books, and sit and colour together. Pointing out the colours of the crayons and pictures, shapes and numbers. Teach your child to write their own name too.

8 - Get coloured paper, stickers, crayons, glitter and pictures. Make cards for granny and grampa, Father's Day, birthdays, etc.

7 - Make some playdough. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salt

1 cup water

1 Tbsp oil

2 tsp cream of tartar

Food colouring (drops)

1 cup flour

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir.  Cook over low heat, stirring until a ball forms. Add food colouring and mix thoroughly until desired colour. Cool and store in covered container. Hours of fun!

6 - Make some popcorn, and some hot chocolate. Get a cuddly blanket and let you little one chose their favourite movie. Have a cinema day!

5 - Play a fun session of hide and seek.

4 - Have a treasure hunt. Hide a sweet or a favourite toy. Draw up a map or clues, and spend hours 'searching' for the treasure.

3 - Bake! Get the kids involved. Kids love helping, and getting messy - so put on an apron, and get messy in the kitchen. Make simple cookies or cupcakes, get them to help you with mixing, or rolling or anything that requires them to get their hands dirty. Or you could make lunch together - mini pizza's are amazing!

2 - Build a fort (using chairs, sofa's, duvets or sheets, and pillows) or pitch a tent in your living room. Make a picnic, and grab some books and toys. Spend the day 'living outdoors'.

1 - Dress warmly, grab your umbrella and wellies, and go splashing in the puddles.

Rainy days can be super fun... But sometimes it's nice when the rain just comes 'back another day' rather!

Food Revolution Day

I received an email from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution regarding the 19th of May - Food Revolution Day.

"Together we can change the way people eat by educating every child about food, giving families the skills and knowledge to cook again, and motivating people to stand up for their rights to better food. Add your voice to the conversation with your best cooking and food education tip, favorite ingredient, or tell us why you support the Food Revolution and what actions you are taking." - http://foodrevolutionday.com/

I showed my son the video of Jamie discussing his virtual dinner party (I think my son thinks Jamie is a part of our family, the amount of times he has seen his videos/ books/ pictures around our house) - he got all excited and said 'Mommy, it's Jamie.' and after asking if we should make dinner for Jamie, he agreed!

We love making dinner, cooking and baking as a family. With an Italian daddy and a South African mommy, and living in London - our little boy is so fortunate to have been exposed to so many lovely foods. We really enjoy trying new things, and prepare most of our meals from scratch - including pasta, pizza, soups, sushi, to name a few. Don't get me wrong, we do buy pasta and pizza too, but we enjoy the family vibe of making it from scratch every so often. 

One of our favourite recipes is a fillet of steak or pork (we used pork), potatoes and veggies. Hmmmm, yumminess!

Ingredients:

Pork or Steak Fillets, marinated*

500g potatoes, any kind

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Rosemary, fresh

Fennel, half

Onion, half

Garlic clove

Carrots

Balsamic Glaze

Sugar


Marinate: Salt, Pepper, home-made dried Italian herbs, lemon juice, Mrs Balls Chutney (available at South African stores, and some supermarkets).





Cover the meat with the marinate, put in ziploc bag and put in the fridge for a few hours.


Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, place fillets into oven tray and cook. Put carrots neatly on a tray, sprinkle with sugar and a pinch of salt. Gently drizzle with balsamic glaze. Cook in the oven until soft.

Peel and slice potatoes. Toss with fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Finely slice fennel, garlic and onion. Heat a pan, and cook potatoes until brown and crispy. Add fennel mix, and cook a bit more.

And voilà! A delicious family dinner. Serve with baby spinach, red peppers, and tomato salad.




We also made a delicious vanilla pud, for dessert.


Ingredients:

2 cups milk
6 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp butter

Directions:

Heat milk, on medium heat in a saucepan. In a separate bowl; sieve sugar, flour and salt. Pour flour mixture into hot milk, a little at a time, to avoid lumps. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens, do not allow mixture to boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes, sprinkle with chocolate powder, and allow to set in fridge, until needed.

Buon appetito!
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