The view across the valley from Spice Route in
Paarl to the Simonsberg
July winter weather in the Cape can be
violent. On Monday night and Tuesday we had one of our epic storms, storms that
would have frightened the life out of sailors in centuries past. The gale force
wind hits us full on, the sea roars and this is followed by pelting rain. The
temperature drops fast and we are so thankful to be inside, warm and dry, and
our hearts go out to those who are not. But we do welcome the rain as the dams
are slowly filling up. Hopefully, this will ease our drought. Since Sunday,
here in Sea Point, we have had nearly 100mm of rain, and Sea Point generally
has lower rainfall than other parts of the Western Cape. Has El Nino stopped at
last?
MENU has a new Facebook page
Tuk Tuk Brewery in Franschhoek launches the beers brewed
in house Tuk Tuk Micro Brewery, which is part of
the Leeu Collection, opened in February this year and is already a very popular
venue on Main Street in Franschhoek, on the next corner above Quartier Français.
They have been selling CBC beers on tap and, this week, they introduced their
own beers, brewed in the in-house 250-litre capacity brewery which you can see
as you walk into Tuk Tuk. The beers are a Pale Ale, a Weiss (or Weizenbier
(wheat beer) beer and a Dunkel made by brew master Dewald Goosen. We enjoyed these
with a rather good selection of classic Mexican street food served family style
from the Tuk Tuk Taqueria
Another visit to the Place of Angels –
Angala. We loved our first stay at this chic small Boutique hotel on the slopes
of the Simonsberg in April last year and were delighted to be invited back to
see the new Spa and have dinner and stay the night. We had a marvellous time in
this peaceful and tranquil place. Angala is surrounded by Vrede and Lust and Rupert
and Rothschild vineyards. You enter through Vrede and Lust gates and then drive
2 k up the mountain till you come to this lovely guest house with superb
gardens and view. They have recently installed a spa and they also have a
special Winter Spa package for two. http://www.angala.co.za/
Societi Bistro's Tour de France Enjoying good French food at Societi Bistro
with some well paired wines. Having had a successful 10 weeks of Italian food
and wines Societi invited us to come and try their Culinary Tour Through France -10 Weeks. 10 Regions. 10 Exceptional
Wines. A different region and wine every week. Despite a cold and miserable
Saturday afternoon, we so enjoyed sampling the dishes from the menu with many
great local French style wines. Now you can too. http://societi.co.za/france/ It's a
lovely way to enjoy eating out in winter
Sunday lunch at Bertus Basson, The Spice Route, Paarl Who doesn't enjoy Sunday lunch if someone
else is cooking for you? And it appears, from the full restaurant with lots of
large parties, that Bertus Basson's generous offering of a four course lunch
for R290 is attracting lots of you. We were very impressed at the variety on
the menu which is served family style. And, of course, the restaurant is up on
the Paarl mountain with superb views across to Franschhoek on the left, then
looking right across past the Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, Klapmuts and, in the
distance, Table Mountain. Lions Head rides like a shark through the Durbanville
Hills and beyond is the west coast
The Sommeliers Selection Awards at The Stack, Leinster
Hall This is the
second year these accolades have been awarded. Suppliers can enter their wines
and these are judged by professionally trained Sommeliers who chose their 'Wine
list 2016' selection. Suppliers are asked to submit their wines in various
categories, NOT by varietal or blend. The Sommeliers say they prefer to make
listings this way rather than by cultivar as it makes wines easier to recommend
to customers and pair with food. All wines are tasted blind and judged by taste
alone. There were some surprises when the wines were revealed. We love it when
these surprises appear. We so approve of blind tasting and no sight of labels
which can lead to predictable expectations
We finally found some pork cheeks at
Joostenberg this weekend. We have heard how good this cut of meat is (beef
cheeks are supposed to be even better) and Lynne wanted to try out this recipe
with the Spanish ingredients. They were succulent. Do use good stock and check
halfway through the cooking that the liquid is not evaporating, add water if it
is. You serve this with rice rather than potatoes, but the choice is up to you.
1 1/2 T olive
oil - 2 large onions, finely chopped - 3 garlic cloves, chopped - 600g pork
cheeks, excess fat trimmed and cut in half - 1 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt
and pepper and mixed dried herbs - 1 tsp ground cumin - 2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish
paprika - 300ml medium dry sherry - 500ml beef stock - 3 carrots, chopped in
rings - 1 celery stick, finely chopped - 1 fennel bulb, sliced - 1 turnip cut
into 2 cm cubes - 1 bay leaf. To finish, 1 T flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
and 1 T flaked almonds
Heat your oven to 170 ⁰C. In an
ovenproof casserole with a lid, fry the onion in the oil till soft and beginning
to take on some colour. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Dip the
pork cheeks into the seasoned flour and, adding a little more oil, brown them
on all sides. Add the spices and stir for one minute. Remove and set aside. Add
the sherry to the pan and quickly stir to deglaze the pot, to incorporate all
the good brown crusty bits. Put back the pork and onions and pour on the beef
stock. Add all the vegetables and then add a lid to your pot and transfer to the
oven. Cook slowly until the meat is tender. This should take an hour or two. Just
before serving, scatter over the parsley and the almonds. Serves four
Wine of the week: De Krans Touriga Naçional 2014
We had this with the Pork cheeks
and it was a serendipitous match. This robust wine has mulled wine spices,
black pepper and cranberries on the nose, luscious red and blue berries with
brandy and milk chocolate notes and those lovely soft tannins one expects from
the Portuguese and Spanish grapes
Current farm
price is R65. Its a Platter four star wine
28th July 2016
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 and standard or Dutch-flavoured Afrikaans.
If you like the photographs you see in our
publications, please look at our Adamastor
Photo website for our rate card and samples
from our portfolio
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 and our blogs
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
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