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 Newsletter 13: Oct / Nov 2009
 Sand Candles

At your next dinner party, use coloured sand (the same as your colour scheme) and dress up tea light candles to make flickering lights that are cheerful and fun. Take drinking glasses and fill each glass with different patterns of the coloured sand, then submerge the tea light candle into the top of the glass, being careful not to disrupt your pattern. Your guests will love it

 Cheese Facts: Emmentaler
Feta has been part of a staple diet for most Mediterranean people. The pressed, sliced curd is salted and dried before maturing in a brine bath. Feta will keep almost indefinitely as long as it submerged in the brine. Feta is a tangy, pure white cheese that has a solid crumbly texture, it is also creamy with a hint of salt. Feta can be used in salads and like most cheeses, can be served cooked; it is often used or as a salty alternative to other cheeses in a variety of dishes.
 New Articles

Part 1: Planning your herb garden

Although the term going green is lately more of a buzz word and a cool thing to do rather than a conscience decision, this didn’t contribute to my desire to start doing things differently, it perhaps just brought awareness. Besides the fact that it is good for the environment and good for our bodies I think it’s definitely good for the soul.

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 Recipe to try: Sweet and Sour Pork (serves 6-8)

INGREDIENTS

  • 700g pork tenderloin
  • 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/4 –1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp Maizena mixed with a tbsp of water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 cup green pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup onion,
  • thinly sliced 1 cup pineapple chunks


METHOD

  1. Cut the uncooked pork tenderloin roughly into strips 5cm long by 1.5cm wide.
     Brown meat slightly in oil.

  2. Add the water and vinegar.

  3. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cover the pork until cooked and tender.

  4. Combine brown sugar, corn starch, salt, pineapple juice and soy sauce into a separate saucepan.

  5. Cook until slightly thick, stirring continuously.

  6. Pour mixture over the pork and simmer for five minutes.

  7. Add green pepper, onion and pineapple chunks and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

  8. Serve over fluffy white rice or noodles to complete the meal.
 Food Q & A
Q:
 How do I spin sugar? I am having a dinner party and would like to make a unique topping for my desserts
A:

First things first, make sure that you cover your working area with wax paper and the floor with newspaper as there is nothing worse than trying to clean up caramelised sugar afterwards.

Ingredients:

  • 400g sugar
  • 125ml water
  • 5ml liquid glucose

Method:

  1. Place all the ingredients into a pot and stir occasionally until the sugar has melted. Slowly bring the mixture to the boil and make sure the colour is golden.

  2. When the mixture has reached its optimum temperature of bet 149'C - 159'C, lower the pot into a container of ice water, this will prevent the sugar from cooking further.

  3. Let the pot stand for about a minute to thicken.

  4. Using a whisk, start to create fine sugary strands over the wax paper; this can be achieved by waving the whisk back and forth.

  5. The sugar will harden almost immediately.
  Up and Coming Events

- Soweto Food Festival

- Taste of Joburg

- Good Food & Wine Show

- Soweto Mushroom Festival