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Tuesday, January 22, 2019

The Oranjezicht Market at the V&A Waterfront

On Saturday we visited the Oranjezicht City Farm Market at the Waterfront and met some old friends from the time when we too worked in markets like the Biscuit Mill. It is a dynamic place selling good comestibles from local suppliers to keen foodies and featuring the fresh organic fruit and veg produced at the Oranjezicht City Farm. It is now open on Saturday and Sunday so you can go and buy your fresh produce for the following week

Stefan Wroblewski on his fish stand, he is especially famous for his tuna biltong

Home made brownies of many varieties sure were tempting

and it is a very busy stand

We love the bread produced at the Woodstock Bakery. Sourdough, rye and other variations

Nice to see butcher Salvin Hirshfield and Kaytlin Jones on their stand

He says that he will open a butchery in Sea Point in the near future

They have such good meat and it’s all from ethical sources

The Biltong stand with fans

and another old friend, Jane Selander on her cheese stand, Around Cheese; all her cheeses are the best South African

And we are very fond of Chrisna's huge variety of olives. She told us how she makes them; the process is long and complex,

but so worth it. The olives are firm and very good. You have to try the chilli olives, they can blow your mind

An extremely tempting ice cream stand with real flavour

A message to us all

The Oranjezicht farm stand is large and crammed with so many different fresh, organically grown vegetables at this time of the year. And if you are looking for something rare, try them; they do seem to grow everything. We were asked for white egg plants and saw some here last Saturday

A great selection of heritage tomatoes, they have the best flavours

The largest aubergine we have ever seen, the size of someone’s head

The large green pepper was there for a size comparison

Security watching the happy shoppers

R40 a kilo but worth every cent

They grow lots of fruit too

Sheryl Ozinsky, who started it all. We have known Sheryl for many years. John worked with her

on the Heritage site boards and Aquarium projects at the naissance of the V&A Waterfront

AGFA was one of the sponsors

Sheryl is passionate about what she is working on; someone who truly gets involved and does

We have great respect for her and her enthusiasm

There is a smaller area with food outlets and we were impressed to see the French Galette stand,

making authentic buckwheat galettes, sweet and savoury varieties

Select your mix of salads for lunch

Or on another stand, a selection of avocado open sandwiches, topped with different mixtures

Happy serving you today

.. on the Ethiopian delicacies stand

Another old mate, Lewis Niemann of Oded's Kitchen with his very popular small pies

Lewis told us he no longer does any other markets but this; it is so successful

And the stand of the Kitchen Cowboy Pete Goffe Wood

where they serve these awesome barbecued beef sandwiches. Chef Pete, who is a judge on the Ultimate Braai Competition with Justin Bonello and Chef Benny Masekwameng, knows how to do it well

The meat cooking on the braai. His staff are trained to do this properly

It’s a busy place and there are seats and tables outside where you can enjoy your food

Lynne’s choice was a naked, lightly toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon from Kleinsky’s, who have a restaurant in Sea Point. No onions or capers for her, they muddy the waters. R40 is reasonable and it’s a large bagel

The outside seating area, with plenty of umbrellas

And you can sit and watch the yachts, cargo and container ships and cruise liners in the bay. This week, Cunard's MS Queen Elizabeth called in on her way to Australia, as did the MSC Musica

The popular Queen of Tarts stand dispensing their wares

Popular with families too

On the Adopt a Pet stand we met this enthusiastic chap and we were both captivated. John said "I think I'd have called him "Jake". But our current lifestyle cannot support a dog, we have such an unpredictable life. We feel we need to devote time and attention and lots of walks and a regulated regime to keeping a dog. Maybe one day when we slow down. At present independent cats grace our lives and don’t mind our coming and going so much

Raising funds is necessary

And some very cute puppies, some of whom had already been claimed. Lynne asked what breed they are and was told African dogs. The breed is called Africanis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanis) and is one of the most ancient breeds in the world. They have bred by natural selection

On the edges of the market are some good bric-a-brac stands, some clothing and jewellery

and flowers

Cute clothes for children, even some made with imported Liberty cotton

and one great plant stand

Milkshakes are very popular at the moment

And then we found something we love, Martin Grunert’s Protea Hill Farm Balsamic Vinegars, which we used to sell at Main Ingredient. We know there are many fans out there, our customers used to buy lots. You can buy by the bottle from the barrel. Lynne went for our favourite, his aged Raspberry Balsamic vinegar, and it cost R100. If you are a fan, this is now the place to buy them. The stand also has a good selection of local olive and other oils, some of which you can taste. They will give you a taste of the vinegar too if you ask

The barrels of vinegar. They are not harsh at all, just intensely fruity. Used by many top chefs too

The owner of the stand. We need to go back soon to get some walnut oil

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On the MENU this Week. Pavlova

Friends joined us for lunch on New Year’s day and, as this time of year has the best selection of tropical fruit and berries, our dessert was a classic. It’s not difficult to make at all, remember to take your eggs out of the fridge a few hours before. Lynne made the meringue the day before and had a challenge. Our gas oven is playing up and would not light. The temperature in the oven is impossible to control and so she risked cooking this in our combination oven where you can set the temperature to the desired 110°C degrees and cook in the Convection mode – she just had to use a lined Pyrex or porcelain dish instead of anything metal. It worked well

Remember, when whipping egg whites, make sure the bowl is completely dry and clean. And you must not have any yolk in the whites, or it will not whip up

6 egg whites at room temperature - 1 pinch of salt - 1½ cups plus 2 tbsp white caster sugar - ½ Tbsp lemon juice - 2 tspns real vanilla extract - 2 tsp corn flour - 1½ cups chilled whipped cream - 4 to 5 cups fresh fruit (such as mango, strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, raspberries, litchi, banana, granadilla)

Preheat oven to 110°C with the rack in the centre of the oven. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper

Using a stand mixer or an electric whisk, beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt on high speed for 1 minute until soft peaks form

With mixer on, very gradually add the sugar and beat for 10 minutes on high speed, or until stiff peaks form. The mixture should be smooth and glossy

Using a large metal spoon, gently fold in lemon juice and vanilla extract, then the cornflour until well blended.

Pipe or spoon the meringue onto the greaseproof paper. Using a spoon, make an indent in the centre to allow room for cream. Bake for 75 minutes, then turn oven off and leave meringue in oven for another 30 minutes without opening the door. The outside will be dry, crisp and pale (almost white) and the inside should be marshmallow-soft

Transfer the meringue, on the greaseproof paper, onto a wire rack and leave to cool to room temperature

Beat cream until thick and spreadable. You can add 2 tbsp of sugar if you like but we prefer it without as the meringue is quite sweet on its own

Once cool, and you are ready to serve put the meringue on a pretty plate and top it with the whipped cream and fruit and serve

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Lunch at Russell's on the Port, Port Owen

On the way home from our Summer Holiday, we made a reservation for lunch at Russell’s on the Port hotel and restaurant at Velddrif. We had lunch there last January and vowed to be back. It has both great food and a very relaxed atmosphere. It’s next to the Port Owen Yacht club

The harbour view

We specifically asked for a table on the terrace ...

... and were shown to a good table with a large umbrella. Behind Lynne, you can see the special of the day on a blackboard

They were enticing

There are many small fry in the harbour and this Arctic tern was enjoying spear fishing them

They are quite magnificent when diving, caught in flight

There was music by extremely talented guitarist Dawid van der Merwe. He played Recuerdos de la Alhambra, a difficult classical guitar piece by Francisco Tárrega. We often listen to Julian Bream play the same piece and he is just as skilled. But he also played some good light pieces, jazz and pop and mellow. So nice to have good music with lunch

You could buy his CDs

The menu of the day. Service is very sharp and quick and the waiting staff are well trained, friendly and helpful

The gin and beetroot soaked gravadlax trout was magnificent. With avocado, cream cheese, peeled segments of orange and pink grapefruit and squid ink crackers; a good mix of flavours and textures and just right for a hot day

John went for the chilled Gazpacho with lots of roasted red peppers, chilli, tomato and cucumber. This comes topped with a 'wood-fired' prawn toast, topped with peeled prawns, avocado and sour cream. John's comment was the chilli was just in the background and the flavour of the peppers was to the fore

Another local wine, the Darling Cellars 2018 Arum Fields Chenin Blanc, a lovely wine for a warm day and these starters. Very reasonably priced at R105

The large choice of main courses

Wow this was such a good choice. Perfectly cooked Belly of Pork with a plum glaze adding a nice piquancy. Not too fatty, falling apart with the best crackling in a very long time. Served with scorched onions, greens and a clean onion 'gravy'. The creamy mash was a little grainy, almost as if polenta had been added, but the chef, with whom Lynne had a chat afterwards, said no, just the potatoes

Another impressive dish, perfectly pink medium rare (as ordered) Springbok loin with a rosemary and mustard crust. It has great umami flavours, the texture of springbok is quite dense but tender. On the side a potato and wholegrain mustard croquette. topped with a butternut purée. Accompanied by a good gravy and herb oil and seated on creamy Swiss chard

So relaxing just watching the water lapping at the yachts moored to the jetty

We resisted dessert and coffee and were now ready to head home

The bill

We thoroughly recommend this restaurant if you are in the area

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Lunch at the Indian Chapter, Tableview

We are fans of good Indian food and Lynne, who is a member of a Facebook restaurant page called Cape Town Restaurants, the Good, the Bad and the Nasty, found that The Indian Chapter in Blaauwberg was recommended by members as one of the best in Cape Town. We were going to be in the area, so we made a booking for lunch during the week. The restaurant is owned by Prim Reddy, a TV and Radio personality

It is not that easy to find, the Google map reference does confuse

Slightly dusty and faded; it has been open a couple of years. No flocked wall paper, but all the usual references

Plastic table cloths and a variety of chairs, and quite large. We arrived at about 12 and it was not busy that Thursday

The starter menu

Main courses

Vegetable and seafood dishes

Tandoor naan and a reasonable but not adventurous wine list

Poppadums come automatically. They come with a tamarind and a sweet chilli dip

The service was good but a little slow. We didn't mind; we were not in a hurry

We ordered the Prawn Biriani and were impressed

Good large prawns and potato in an excellent rice Biriani, topped with crisp sweet fried onions

Had we known how good the Naan was going to be, we might have ordered a Tandoori dish

Enormous, just right and covered, as ordered, in lots of garlic and butter

John's favourite curry is Rogan Josh, so we ordered the lamb version

A thick tomato rich sauce, with enough pieces of meat for both of us

We shared the meal and washed it down with Windhoek Draught. Lots of food and enjoyable

But was it lamb? It had more of the texture of beef or, as so often served as lamb, goat

Not bad, quite tender but we miss the sweet flavour of the lamb we ordered

The bill

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A Beautiful Summer’s Day in Blaauwberg

The view from the beach at Blaauwberg! Cape Town is doing turquoise so well this year! The fine white sand is almost blinding

A little breezy, but this side of the coast does get a bit of wind. It is a great place for kite sailing and surf boarding,

you just have to be careful not to be taken out past Robben Island

What a lovely way to spend the afternoon

This sea front house has great meaning for Lynne. In 1993 she was in Cape Town and visited Blaauwberg with her mother and a friend. While they sat and chattered on a seat, admiring the sea and our fantastic mountain, she pondered what to do with her life. The recession was on in the UK and it was punishing; she was working herself into the ground. She realised how much she missed Cape Town; she had been away for 27 years. She turned around and there was the name of the house! The universe has ways of giving you messages. She returned the following year and the rest is history, which includes John ...

Some coal had been washed up on the beach and these children were having such fun 'mining' for it

The classic view of our mountain across the Bay in perfect weather

We might put this panorama on our wall in a frame!