The Achtertuin on Google Earth

There is the achtertuin, right at the bottom of Afrika

I have the most amazing creative an passionate friends.

Look at this

I asked them to bring a dish and recipe for the book. 

And there we had an incredible selection of mouthwatering dishes ; Tomato tart,

spinach ricotta gnocchi,  sage leaves and ansjovis paste in a batter diep fried, preserved lemons,spicy brinjals, masala onion tart tatin , fig, buffalo mozzarella and Parma ham salad,

beetroot tahini, curried eggs, Organic slow roasted leg of lamb, a parsley bouquet of flowers,

Fried green bananas, apple crumble, and beautiful vegetable stacks.

It was a beautiful autumn day after yesterdays rain and a great lunch was enjoyed in de achtertuin after photographing all the plates of food for the book.

Thank you all.

Haleluja its raining!!!

It seems we haven't had rain here in cape town for months . But today made up for it..one solid day of rain, We still needed some veggies from the achtertuin for tomorrows menu, so we send Benn out...not a happy chappie!!

French onion soup

 

BORSCHT

 

 

Borscht (also borsht, barszcz or borshch) is a vegetable soup from Eastern Europe It is traditionally made with beetroot as a main ingredient which gives it a strong red color.

Claimed by some to be the ultimate hangover cure, this soup can be eaten hot or cold.

 

 

1 Red onion diced

2 cloves of garlic

1 chilly chopped

1kg fresh beetroot peeled and diced

2 large potatoes

olive oil

teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed

approx 1 liter water

2 Tablespoons of some thick balsamic vinegar

100ml vodka

some thick Greek yogurt

Salt & Pepper

 

Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan, add garlic, onion, chilly and cumin for about 10 min. Add beetroot , potatoes and the water. Cook until soft.

Put all in a blender until just smooth. Return to the pan, add the vinegar and vodka and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a dollop of yoghurt on top.

You can also serve it cold. Just chill it in the fridge and serve again topped with the yoghurt.

This is part of the invitation to our final summer achtertuin get together.

A good way to spent some time together, get some more recipes from our friends and celebrate my birthday!

Betsy 2 is the second attempt on a home dried ham.

My first attempt was a disaster, a salty bite. the dogs didn't even want to eat it.

Lets hope this one is better.

The making of a ' Parma ham'

Buy the largest leg of pork that you can and carefully trim away any small tags of meat, leaving the exposed flesh as tidy as possible. Put it in a tray on a bed of coarse salt and cover it completely in salt, taking care to work salt into any crevice, especially around the hip bone and the shank end. Leave it in salt for as many days as it weighs in pounds - twenty days for a twenty pound leg. Check it every couple of days and replace any salt that the pickle washes away, concentrating on the hip bone and shank. These are the two areas where rot can set in; salt stops it from happening.

When the time is up wash off the salt and dry the ham carefully. No harm in replacing a little salt around the hip and shank. Hang it up in a cool place and wait a year, two is even better. Try to avoid a draughty place as it will make your ham rock-hard in just a couple a months. Check it from time to time; it should be always dry and sweet smelling. Any sign of mould or weeping must be treated at once with more salt. If all is well after a month or two then you've won; you're on the way to a Parma ham. At this stage you can pretty it up by rubbing olive oil onto the skin which will give it a lovely golden colour. Rub the exposed meat with olive oil and sprinkle chilli powder over it, working it into any cracks until you have a smooth covering. Apart from making it look nicer and adding a little flavour, it stops the interest of flies during the summer.

Tortilla-Spanish Omelet.

 

 

 

This one I first saw in Moro-the cookbook. A wonderful recipe to get rid of any overflow of eggs we have at some times.

 

 

Their recipe is basically eggs potatoes and onions, but I like to add to this whatever is ready in the garden, like Swiss chard, tomatoes, chilies, baby marrow,……

 

 

 

2 red onions sliced into rings

100ml olive oil

6 potatoes thinly sliced( I don’t bother peeling them, too much work )

2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

1 chilly chopped

500ml sunflower oil for deep-frying

6 organic or free range eggs

Any veggie you got going.

 

 

Heat up the olive oil and toss in the garlic , chillie and onion. Add some salt and lower the heat to a simmer for about 20 – 25 min. If you have any other veggies to add add them later so that they still slightly crispy when done.

When done remove from heat and reserve the oil for later.

In the meantime deep fry the sliced potatoes slowly over medium heat in the sunflower oil. Slowly so they don’t colour too much.

 

Drain on paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

 

Beat eggs in a big bowl, add onion mix and potatoes .Add salt and pepper.

 

Pour the reserved olive oil in the frying pan(25cm)  and set over high heat. Add the mixture when the oil is smoking hot, shake the pan with the other hand to spread the mixture evenly.

Reduce the heat and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes. The underside should now be golden brown and the top sill slightly runny. Take a big lid an put it on top of the frying pan . Carefully turn over and slide it back into the pan. Cook for another 3 minutes on medium low heat. Both sides should be golden brown. If it still feels a bit soft cook a little longer.

Slide the tortilla onto a plate and serve cut in wedges. 

De Achtertuin

This is it; De Achtertuin where it all happens, here we grow all our veggies, This is where the chickens roam, and where we have to chase them away from. Here are the lemon , paw paw, guava, plum and apple trees, here we sit and have long lunches and braais ( bbq) in the evening.

Here we celebrate our birthdays,  have our xmas party and generaly just chill!!!