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Main Ingredient’s weekly E-Journal
Gourmet Foods, Ingredients & Fine Wines
Eat In Guide’s Outstanding Outlet Award Winner from 2006 to 2010
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Feeding koi – a swirl of light and water
Hot box (or, as our once-a-week domestic helper Vivienne Memani calls it, a Magic Box - she loves hers). As we try to save as much energy in our house as possible, one of these has long been on our shopping list and when our friend Penny Dobbie told us she was selling them, we bought one immediately. Basically two gingham bean bags, filled with small polystyrene pellets; you heat up your dish to boiling, then place it in the bottom bag, which has a depression in it, and cover with the smaller bag. When you come home several hours later, the food is cooked. As we go to market very early in the morning and often return quite late when Lynne is tired, this is a perfect energy-saving solution to a hot dinner. The first meal she made was specifically designed to challenge the method. She soaked some dried white beans overnight and then brought them to a rapid boil. In a le Creuset pot with a tight lid, she browned some onions, garlic and then added carrots, celery, leeks, courgettes, tomatoes, herbs, spices, bacon bits and some potjie venison pieces, topped up with a good stock and a glass of port and then added the drained beans and seasoning. Brought to the boil at 7 last Friday morning, the pot was (amazingly) still almost too hot to touch when we got home at 6 that evening and dinner was ready without any more work required. You can use any recipe you have for a slow cooker and it is perfect for cooking samp and beans, rice and other pulses which would normally require lots and lots of fuel to cook them. Or you can use your favourite Potjie recipes. (Ironically our electric slow cooker has the instruction not to leave it on alone in the house…. So, of course, we were not using it.)
Penny sells these magic gingham ‘boxes’ for R150 and she has a special rate if you buy two or more. A great Christmas present for someone who has everything and/or a busy life. Contact her on: 021 424 8349 or 083 940 5744. You can collect from her home in Tamboerskloof and they are amazingly light.
Kathy Raath wines had a trade tasting at the newly converted Hilton Hotel (on the corner of Buitengracht and Wale Streets, at the edge of the Bo Kaap) on Monday night and we really enjoyed this very social tasting. Kathy has a very good small list of producers. We started with Teddy Hall’s MCC bubbly, which is unique in this country because it doesn’t go through malolactic fermentation. It has wonderful mature flavours but still has a delicious freshness, followed by his Chenin Reserve, but then he is a past master at this wooded and wonderfully sophisticated Chenin. His Summer Moments entry level Chenin (light but full-flavoured) and smooth, dry Winter Moments red blend are very good value. Other highlights were Landskroon Port (always amazing quality and value), Bouchard Finlayson (Blanc de Mer - wonderful with seafood - Sauvignon blanc, all 4 Chardonnays, Hannibal 2008 and 2010 and the Galpin Peak Pinot noir), Van Loveren’s fresh Christina MCC and delicious Colombard, Rudera’s Robusto Chenin, Shiraz (paired with chocolate) and noble late harvest, Johan Kruger’s Sterhuis beautifully mature MCC, fruity Chenin Viognier and sophisticated Astra red blend, Dornier’s wonderful Donatus Chenin/Semillon blend and pocket-friendly Cocoa Hill wines and Eikendal’s Chardonnay, MCC and Classique Red blend, as well as their new flagship red, these showing a new, fresher style under the guidance of Nico Grobler.
The Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report 2011 Christian Eedes has got together with James Peterson CWM, Sommelier at Belthazar, and Roland Peens of The Wine Cellar to taste 50 of the current release of local chardonnays and voted for their top ten. In alphabetical order, these are: Five star wines: Ataraxia 2009, Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2009, Oak Valley Elgin 2010, Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch 2010, Tokara Reserve Collection Walker Bay 2009. Four and a half star wines: Glen Carlou 2010, Glen Carlou Quartz Stone 2009, Julien Schaal Mountain Vineyards 2010, Laborie Limited Collection 2010, Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented 2009. We, with other members of the wine media, were invited to taste them on Tuesday night at Toro wine bar at 68 Waterkant Street in the Cape Quarter in town.
If you want to taste these excellent wines, Christian is organising a public guided tasting (click on this link to book) at the Vineyard Hotel on Friday, December 2nd – please note there are only 75 places available for this tasting, which we highly recommend, so do get your booking in very soon. The wines that are still available can be purchased from Wine Concepts.
If you want to taste these excellent wines, Christian is organising a public guided tasting (click on this link to book) at the Vineyard Hotel on Friday, December 2nd – please note there are only 75 places available for this tasting, which we highly recommend, so do get your booking in very soon. The wines that are still available can be purchased from Wine Concepts.
Lynne’s favourites were Ataraxia, Oak Valley, Laborie and Tokara. She found the Hamilton Russell horribly overwooded, still in the old style, which she doesn’t like. John’s observations (in the order in which he tasted them) are: Julian Schaal 2009: crisp acid, very leesy, fat mouthfeel. Glen Carlou Green Label 2010: Balanced, elegant, soft orange vanilla. Glen Carlou Quartz Stone 2010: big, a little tannic, quite Burgundian, leesy and austere. Tokara Stellenbosch 2010: a little acidic, lemony leesy undertone, balanced, Roses lime marmalade finish. Laborie Limited Collection 2010: Fat mouthfeel, cooked apples/sweet fruit. Tokara Walker Bay 2009: Classically wooded. Lightly oak-dominated, leesy orange marmalade with some mineral support. Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented 2009: balanced, big wine with yeasty lemon. Oak Valley 2010: Very rich orange marmalade with lees & Vanilla. Ataraxia 2009: Very elegant, quite lean oak with good orange marmalade.
While we were tasting the wines, we were served platters of the tapas that Toro specialise in and they were very good. This small wine bar is a find and we will definitely return to taste some of their wine selection, and the food - as it was so moreish – and, looking at their menu on line, not terribly expensive. Definitely a place to take your foreign visitors and local friends when touring the Bo Kaap, De Waterkant and the Cape Quarter. They put out dishes of very good sliced biltong and fresh almonds and served platters of their Charcuterie – we had Montanara salami, Parma ham, and Coppa ham. Also served were deliciously soft peeled pink Prawns on bruschetta, ripe brie on a cracker topped with chilli jam, lovely sweet brioche type rolls stuffed full of chicken and onion jam, and a limey salmon ceviche. It’s a small place with a tiny outside terrace and very willing staff. Just one or two doors down Waterkant St from the original Cape Quarter entrance. Phone 021 418 2846 or 079 063 7055
We will be giving you some different recipes from next week to help with ideas for what to serve.
Seafood Warning? We visited a major seafood wholesaler this week and saw something that made us slightly suspicious. Nice fat pieces of Patagonian squid cut into scallop shaped pieces. Why? It would be most distressing to pay a huge amount for good scallops and find that you were actually being served pieces of squid. Do let us know if you have an encounter. Our concern is that South Africa is quite inexperienced as far as scallops go as they have been so scarce and so expensive, so how would you know?
Our products: Christmas cometh like a train If you are getting sucked into the vortex that Christmas is becoming, please note we have stocked up with lots of foodie items which make great presents. We can put together hampers or boxes for you, just tell us what you want. Lynne has some Christmas puddings from last year so they are wonderfully mature and she will be making more this week. The price has not changed – they are still R85 each and are full of all the necessary luxury ingredients like cherries, dates, figs and nuts. Made with butter rather than lard, they also have lots and lots of brandy and can be quickly reheated in the microwave. She will be making small individual Christmas cakes which make delicious small festive gifts and were so popular last year. We should have these by next week.
Also for the rapidly approaching Christmas festivities, we have added lovely small Italian Panettoncino cakes and Cantuccini biscotti. Chestnuts are always popular for stuffings and we have them tinned and vacuum packed and we can provide frozen chestnuts to order (they need to be ordered and paid for and collected from our house) but please don’t leave buying these to the last minute, they do run out every year just before Christmas and we cannot get more. We also have sweetened and unsweetened chestnut purees. Lynne has been busy making her famous Christmas puddings and we will soon have small individual Christmas cakes,.
We have a lot of fun putting MENU together each week and, of course, doing the things we write about, but making it possible for you to enjoy rare and wonderful gourmet foods is what drives our business. We stock a good range of ingredients and delicious ready-made gourmet foods. So, please have a look at our Product List and see what you need. You can contact us by email or phone, or through our website. We can send your requirements to you anywhere in South Africa, but don’t leave it too late. Remember the old maxim: “Post early for Christmas”!
Our market activities You will find us at Long Beach Mall this Friday, 18th November from 09h00 to 17h00. We will also be at Long Beach on Tuesdays 6th, 13th and 20th December and Fridays 2nd and 16th December. We will be at The Place at Cavendish on Friday 25th November and Fridays 9th and 23rd December. We will be at the Old Biscuit Mill’s brilliant, exciting and atmospheric Neighbourgoods Market, as always, this Saturday between 09h00 and 14h00 and every Saturday, including Christmas Eve, December 24th.
E-marketing. We have had responses from several people to our interview on Cape Talk with Pavlo Phitidis and Aden Thomas. Most have offered to redesign our website (which is needed), but few have actually come forward with a proper proposal about giving it a better appearance and creating an online shop. We are considering options. John has embarked upon a UCT e-marketing course and this week, for the first time, we are using mailing software to get round MWeb’s ridiculous restriction on the number of messages we can send per hour and the number of recipients per hour.
The Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding, independent South African producers for putting South Africa on the international food map with their integrity, care for the environment, passion and innovation. Of course, an outlet is a vital connection between the producers and public, which is why the awards also recognise the stores, shops and market for their vital role in the process. If you think that the bread from your local bakery or fresh veggies from your Saturday morning market is worthy of some praise, now's your chance to speak up! We are very proud of being winners in a few previous years. Nominate your favourite producer, product or outlet in this year's Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards. Read more about it and submit your nomination before Friday, November 25th at http://www.eat-in.co.za/Awards/Nominations
There is a huge variety of interesting things to occupy your leisure time here in the Western Cape. To help you choose an event to visit, click on our list of Interesting Food and Wine Events. All the events are listed in date order and we already have exciting events to entertain you through into the new year. Click here to access the list. You will need to be connected to the internet.
Many of the specials in our list of restaurant special offers are continuing through summer and we have been told that there will be some new summer menus soon. Click here to access it. These Specials have been sent to us by the restaurants or their PR agencies. We have not personally tried all of them and their listing here should not always be taken as a recommendation from ourselves. If they don’t update us, we can’t be responsible for any inaccuracies in the list. When we have tried it, we’ve put in our observations. We have cut out the flowery adjectives etc. that so many have sent, to give you the essentials. Click on the name to access the relevant website. All communication should be with the individual restaurants.
17th November 2011
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere in the country, we can send it to you! Check our product list for details and prices.
PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined, click on it for more information
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to specialist wine producers who make the best of South Africa’s wines. Have fun while you learn more about wine and how it is made! Tours can be conducted in English, German, Norwegian or Dutch flavoured Afrikaans.
Recommendations of products and outside events are not solicited or charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these newsletters are ©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. Our Avast! ® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.
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