A tanker on a "wine dark sea" (quote from Homer) with
clouds on the horizon which we hope will bring more blessed rain
Winter has set in and we are feeling the cold.
Thank goodness for a new load of firewood being delivered tomorrow. While the
temperatures are not significantly lower than we experienced in Oslo last
month, our houses are not built for cold weather; we have always pretended that
it doesn’t exist. This is Africa, after all – even if Antarctica is the next
stop to the South and a lot of our weather comes from those parts. So we have a
couple of stories for you about good things to do in a cool place which
pretends to be warm in July....
The Granary Cafe at The Silo-
A Warm Breakfast on a cold day at La Petite Tarte
-
Visits to Groenland and Kaapzicht in Stellenbosch
-
What’s on the Menu this Week? Classic Chicken soup
-
MENU's Wine of the Week. Kaapzicht The Glimpse 2015
The Silo in the Waterfront is about
to open its much publicised gallery, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art
Africa (MOCAA) to the public. John heard about it on Cape Talk last week and we
realised that we had not been to see the Silo Hotel or its restaurants which
are above the gallery. So, on a rare lovely, sunny and warm Champagne day this
week, we made a booking. The Silo Hotel is part of the Royal Portfolio Group
Last Saturday was a raw and miserable
morning, a little wet, but we were all anticipating heavy rain
from a big front approaching the city. We decided to cheer ourselves up
with another breakfast. Not too far from home, we discovered Le Petite Tart in
Dixon Street, across the road from the Cape Quarter Lifestyle centre in Green
Point and got a table for 10 am. No one wants to jump out of bed early on a
chilly Saturday morning
The restaurant, which also does lunch and dinner, is
easy to find; you can't miss those red and white striped awnings. We also found
parking at the top of the street
What
to do on a cold and damp Saturday morning in the Cape midwinter? Why not visit
some wine farms not too far from Town. Bottelary took us only half an hour on
the N1 and Old Oak Road. And we zoomed along, not breaking any speed limits
with very moderate traffic
What’s on the Menu this Week? Classic Chicken soup We love the restorative properties of good
chicken soup. We have been buying it from the Kosher section at Checkers for
years and keep a litre in our freezer for those days when we are feeling a bit
wobbly and some winter bug or other is beginning to overtake our life. However,
they seem to have left out the chicken recently and Lynne decided to make her
own. We had a large chicken this week and on day three, still quite a lot of
meat on one leg and on the carcass; she sacrificed it to the pot. It is not
rocket science, you just need good vegetables. This was quite astounding as,
when we ate it, it was full of umami flavours. And yet, no salt had been added,
just some real chicken stock. Use a stock cube if you must, but make sure it
actually contains some chicken, not just MSG
One cooked chicken carcass, not picked
completely clean - one cooked leg of chicken - 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 3 carrots, finely chopped - 2 leeks, finely chopped - one turnip, finely
chopped - two cloves of garlic, sliced - 3 T celery leaves, finely chopped - 2
T parsley with stalks, finely chopped - ½ litre good
chicken stock - 2 bay leaves - 1 t fresh thyme - 5 whole peppercorns
-seasoning: white pepper and salt to taste.
First, cut off as much good chicken meat as you
can from the carcass and the leg and keep aside. Put the carcass and any bones
from the leg and the skin into the pot and add all the vegetables and the
stock. Cover with water and simmer for about 1½ to 2 hours. Check the pot every
half an hour and when the carcass looks as though it is about to fall apart, immediately
remove it with the bones and skin from the pot. Remove any more bits of chicken
on the carcass that can go back in the pot, then discard the carcass, skin and
bones. Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to, adding white pepper and a
little salt if it needs it. You can add some soup noodles at this stage and add
back all the chicken pieces you have saved, cook for another 10 minutes until
the added chicken has been boiled and any noodles are cooked. Serve as a meal
with crusty bread
MENU's Wine of the Week. Kaapzicht The Glimpse 2015, from
Kaapzicht in Bottelary, Stellenbosch. 
From a winemaker with vision, Danie Steytler,
who is also a member of the Cape Winemakers Guild. This is made from the same
grapes as the Vision (45% Pinotage, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cab Franc)
but spends only 12 months in barrel. It is different, with pomegranate and
cherries on the nose and palate, soft with chalky tannins with some liquorice. So
satisfying to drink and cellar. R300 a bottle. We predict that it will win
awards
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
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 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. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please click here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click here to send us a message.
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