Hippo
Norah Sperling-Thiel
Spatzendreck
bratwurst
lamb shank
snoek cakes
the road from Delheim to Muratie
Rijsttafel
Rijsttafel 2
Happy birthday
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Main Ingredient's MENU - Buitenverwachting, Jardine at Jordan, spicy Thai prawns
Stellenboschkloof over the dam from Jordan’s cellar
We hear that we are heading into some hot weather and we always start to feel the need for spicy and hot food! Tonight Lynne is making prawns in coconut milk and we thought you might like the recipe. It should be aromatic and be hot, sweet, savoury and sour all at the same time and then nice and creamy because of the coconut milk. You can use chicken or pork or fish. Serves 4.
Spicy Thai Prawns in Coconut Milk
1 T Red Curry paste - 1 T canola oil - 2 cloves garlic, chopped - 1 chopped red chilli - 400ml can Coconut Milk - 200 ml water - 2 T fish sauce - 2 T palm sugar - 2 T lime juice - 1 bruised stalk of lemon grass - a few thin slices of fresh peeled ginger - 1/2 kg large peeled prawns Optional: a few broccoli spears, or mange tout.
Fry the red curry paste in the oil, add the garlic and chilli and stir for a few moments then add the coconut milk and the water. Stir well to blend then add the fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice, lemongrass and ginger and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes, tasting and adjusting the flavours. Put in the prawns and cook till they are pink and done. Add the vegetables and cook for just another minute.
Serve with Steamed Jasmine Rice or very thin rice noodles and accompany with 3 to 4 T roasted cashews or peanuts, roughly chopped, and 4 T toasted coconut flakes.
Romantic Beyond Expectation Romantic as always, John took Lynne to Buitenverwachting on Sunday for their Valentine’s Day Lunch. We were welcomed with a glass of Bubbly, Lynne was given a long stemmed red rose and then we went to our table inside which has a lovely view of the burgeoning vineyards and the Constantia Mountains. The lunch began with a perfect Amuse. A tower of full flavoured peppers and aubergine slices topped with a delicious and refreshing tomato jelly, it shows you how good things taste when they are made with perfect ingredients. Their bread is pretty special too. The next course was called a seafood salad, but was a little daunting as it was a huge plate with 5 pieces of different fish, prawns and calamari with a little salad. Most of the fish had been beautifully seasoned, seared or grilled and drizzled with a herb dressing. The main course was a veal T-bone served with a marvellous Marsala jus, turned vegetables and small cakes of polenta with pine nuts. Really tender veal but, sadly, we left a few of the accompaniments because the dessert of Catalan Crème Brulée with Rhubarb and ice-cream was still to come. John had a coffee and friandise and then we drove slowly home by the scenic route along the Atlantic coast. We had no room for dinner that night, but we really loved it and the staff is superb, kind, pleasant and informative, without being over attentive. Etienne, the maitre’d, carefully matched all our courses to lovely Buiten wines, chardonnay with the fish and our favourite Meifort with the veal.
POWER TO JORDAN & JARDINE On Wednesday, we attended Jordan's Trade Harvest lunch and cellar tour. Cathy and Gary Jordan took us on a lovely tour of the fully working cellar with Sauvignon grapes being slid from hoppers into the destemmer and then into the tanks for fermentation. We tasted the fresh juice which was full of sweet crushed red fig flavours, wine from a tank that had been fermenting for two days - where the sugars are turning to alcohol but the figgy flavour persists, there is less sugar and you taste the developing character of the wine. A taste of last year's wonderful sauvignon followed. We were also given some merlot rosé to taste from the tank and we predict it will be a cracker of a wine this year but, sadly, quantity is limited. They had a power cut while we were in the cellar but they have a generator and work could carry on. This is the worst thing that can happen in the middle of harvesting as grapes have to be kept cool and it can ruin the wine.
Like everyone, they are looking at alternative methods of power generation for the future. After tasting their Chenin and Chardonnay we went to the restaurant which has the most amazing views of any vineyard restaurant we have visited. See our blog page for more photos. And it also has one of our favourite chefs, George Jardine, who is loving the country life. We began lunch with a really special amuse of white bean soup with a truffle dusting and a tiny, delicate stuffed ravioli with olive pesto. There were four choices for lunch: John chose the Marrow crusted Chalmar Rump, truffled Pomme Anna, creamed spinach and foie gras sauce. Lynne had the vine charred (by George) gemsbok, roasted eve fig and honey roast sweet potato. The gemsbok was like butter, so tender and very delicately flavoured by the smoke. She asked how it was made so tender, as we don’t expect game to be so soft and was told it was cooked sous vide before being vine charred. The tiny red eve figs were a really good accompaniment. As usual both our plates went back to the chef completely clean - we love his sauces. John had a dessert of Strawberry and blueberry clafoutis with vanilla ice cream, Lynne opted to go to their excellent cheese room to choose from their selection of some of South Africa's best cheese. Wow, we are really getting there. Marvellous stilton, a ripe and ready camembert, an intense black pepper pecorino all impressed. Wines with the meal were two Chardonnays; Jordan's unwooded which Gary Jordan thinks (and we agree) is the best they have ever made and his really delicate but full lightly wooded one; both from the 2008 vintage. We were completely spoilt with a glass of Cobbler’s Hill 2007 to accompany the meat and then a bottle was produced of Cape Winemakers Guild Sophia 2002 - iconic, delicious, full, deep and very well crafted and it still has years to go. We finished with a bottle of the Mellifera NLH with dessert and cheese. A very good balance of sugar and acid makes this perfect for desserts, cheese and for rich patés and other suitable starters. We will definitely be back to sample more of George Jardine’s lovely food and to sit admiring the view. Even in winter, with the glass doors closed, it will be sensational.
Product news We’ve added a few new delights to our attached product list. Products are now listed in groups, which should make it easier for you to find them. The delicious French patés and terrines are back in the shop, as is the oak smoked butter from Aphrodisiac Shack. Cape Point’s brilliant Stonehaven sauvignon and lovely, smooth and easy Scarborough Red blend are back in the wine rack, as is the wallet-friendly Splattered Toad and we have more of the delicious Constantia Glen sauvignon which sold so well last Saturday. Morgenhof’s ridiculously inexpensive, delicious red blend is moving fast and we have plenty in stock.
Tastings and other events Late February will bring a rash of events worth visiting, so making the right choice becomes a bit of a challenge: De Krans Wine Cellar, in Calitzdorp, alongside the well known Route 62, will offer visitors to the area the opportunity to pick delicious, sweet Hanepoot grapes. This fun-filled picking experience will take place daily (except Sundays) from 10th to 27th February, between 08h00 and 16h00.
Join WINE magazine for an informative seated tasting of the 10 top-scoring wines (made from organically grown grapes) from this year's Nedbank Green Wine Awards. The tastings will be presented by leading winemaker Francois Van Zyl of Laibach. The Cape Town tasting will be on 25th February at 18h30, Mount Nelson Hotel. Tickets cost R150 per person. TO BOOK: Call 0860 100 205 / Fax 0866 704 101 E-mail subs@ramsaymedia.co.za For more information, please contact Jane Eedes on 021 530 3308. In the interest of fellow tasters, please refrain from wearing excessive perfume.
Award winning Chef Craig Cormack brings you a unique experience: "around the world with salt and wine". The first salt dinner for 2010 will be at Overture Restaurant on 24th February at 18h30. Seating is limited - Booking is essential from chefsonthemove@telkomsa.net phone 082 562 8360 Price per head is R300, which includes an arrival drink and canapés, wine per course. A 10% service fee will be added.
The Robertson Wine Valley will host its second Hands on Harvest Festival from 26th to 28th February, giving you a chance to experience the magic of harvest for a day - without having to quit your day job! Groups are small and intimate, so you are sure to have a hands-on experience you’ll never forget. Many of the activities are 'kiddie-friendly' and, on Sunday, the Harvest Market promises to be a true family affair. Other activities include grape picking, grape stomping, vineyard tractor trips, grape vs wine tasting, and loads more.
For the Love of Sauvignon Blanc Constantia Fresh Festival will happen on Friday 26th & Saturday 27th February. There is an exciting programme of events designed for serious lovers of wine and well worth visiting.
Darling Cellars will host their annual Crush Day on Saturday 27th February. The day begins with breakfast at 08h00, after which you can pick and crush your grapes (your wine, with your own label follows 10 months later), participate in a label design competition and enjoy a traditional West Coast lunch. The price is R190 per person. Contact Cornel Loubser on phone 022 492 2276 or tasting@darlingcellars.co.za
Constantia Fresh' Red Wine Tasting Saturday, February 27th from 11h00 to 13h30, Groot Constantia Wine Estate. Call 072 467 5943 to book and for information.
Join the Durbanville Boutique Wine Association (DBWA) in kicking off the 2010 harvest with a Festival of Taste in the gardens of Rust en Vrede in the heart of Durbanville on Sunday 28th February from 12 am onwards. For more information, contact Karin de Villiers on 082 784 5102, e-mail info@durbanvilleboutiquewine.co.za
One of Cape Town’s iconic family events, the Community Chest Carnival opens its gates for the 59th time. The four-day event at Maynardville Park, Wynberg runs from Wednesday 24th February to Saturday 27th February. For more information call 021 797 5422 or visit www.comchest.org.za Bring the family and come and join the community for a day of food, fun and charity!
A date for the future which you should diarise now is the Taste of Cape Town 2010 from 24th to 28th March. It will not be at the Granger Bay Extension – V&A Waterfront, but at a venue in Observatory, more about which later.
Restaurants and picnics We’ve posted the restaurant specials list on our blog. Open it here. Please let us have more feedback about the restaurants in our list of specials. Your input is very valuable to all our readers.
We’ve enjoyed picnics at Buitenverwachting, Allée Bleue and Warwick. We are so lucky to live in a beautiful environment, where we can enjoy wonderful wines and food in such lovely places.
Click on the highlighted hyperlinks here and in the restaurant and other blogs linked to this to book for the events we write about or to learn more about them.
Weekend market: Nelle, Susan and Jane will be on our pavement as usual this Saturday with their delicious country goodies. Come and buy fresh farm eggs, fruit and vegetables, preserves and home baked breads, cakes and pastries from them and then come and visit us! We will be tasting wines, so do come in and have a chat and a taste and buy something great to cook with this weekend and a good wine to go with it. Wine and food are inseparable partners.
Your invitation to Main Ingredient’s Free Saturday morning Wine Tastingsevery Saturday from about 10am in the shop
20th February – Darling Cellars Onyx wines
27th February – Nabygelegen wines
18th February 2010
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re not in Cape Town, 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
Visit us at Shop 5, Nedbank Centre, 15 Kloof Rd, Sea Point 8005, Cape Town, South Africa
Phone: +27 21 439 5169 / 083 229 1172
We are the only shop in Cape Town which offers hard to find gourmet foods matched with well-chosen wines
Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to wine producers who are not usually open to the public. 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 Computer Associates® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.
• If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "subscribe" in the subject line
If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "remove" in the subject line
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Buitenverwachting, Valentine's Day
The Avenue of ancient oaks leading into the farm
Buitenverwachting manor house and vineyards
A perfect Amuse. A tower of full flavoured peppers and aubergine slices topped with a delicious and refreshing tomato jelly, it shows you how good things taste when they are made with perfect ingredients
The seafood salad starter was a little daunting - it was a huge plate with 5 pieces of different fish, prawns and calamari with a little salad
veal T-bone served with a marvellous Marsala jus, turned vegetables and small cakes of polenta with pine nuts
Catalan Crème Brulée with Rhubarb and ice-cream - the mouth is faster than the camera!
The boss can do everything! Lars Maack delivering wine to the St Luke's Hospice Valentine's Day concert
Photographs from our visit to Jordan Wednesday 17th February
view from the cellar over the dam
Kathy Jordan pouring wine in the cellar
Sauvignon blanc grapes in the destemmer
Gary and Kathy tasting fermenting merlot rosé
A view over the Stellenboschkloof from Jardine terrace
George Jardine plating vine-charred gemsbok
Marrow crusted Chalmar rump, truffled pomme anna, creamed spinach and foie gras sauce
Vine charred gemsbok, roasted eve fig and honey roasted sweet potato
Selection of South African cheese from the cheese room
An interesting mural in the restaurant
Friday, February 12, 2010
Main Ingredient's MENU - Truffle chicken, Warwick Picnic, Sate House, Vaudeville
Warwick Professor Black sauvignon blanc on ice
This Sunday will be Valentine’s Day and we have some specials for you. R70 gets your loved one a bottle of Morgenhof Fantail Rosé and a pack of Belgian dark chocolate truffles. We also have small boxes of four Belgian truffles. Other shops in our Nedbank Centre also will sell you a DVD voucher for R20, a Manicure voucher for R80, a Wash and blow dry voucher for R120 and a rose from FineAlly florist for R35. If you want to book at Dynasty, he will do a Chinese set dinner for 2 for R200.
PICNIC AT WARWICK On Sunday we were invited by Warwick to come and enjoy their picnic, which has been designed by Bruce Robertson. It was cloudy in Cape Town, but sunny over Warwick the whole afternoon. We arrived at 12h30 and were shown to our requested table on the deck, which has lovely views of their lake and the nearby hills, and we were shaded by the oak trees above, and enlivened by the occasional crash of acorns, Lynne receiving a bull’s eye mid-cranium. You can also have a table on the lawn, in the "Forest" - actually a treed area between the main building and the cellar or in one of their oddly named Pods. We didn’t opt for these as they sounded like hollowed out plastic structures. They are in fact charming constructions of wood with one wall and the roof made of horizontal branches to protect one from the wind. We think they should call them Loggias or even Lapas. We had a rather extended wine tasting and then waited for our picnic basket, which came at 13h50. It was delicious and worth the wait. Applause for the green packaging: all recyclable cardboard, paper, glass, bamboo or Burgos cutlery. It arrives with a bread board, a chopping board and a hot, crusty baguette. We had a small à point (ripe) camembert, lovely humus with a red pepper coulis, a slightly sour biltong paté with brandy, some charcuterie, round slices of poached chicken breast with a tiny pot of divine truffle mayo, meatballs in a tomato sauce, a couscous salad in a box, two chocolate brownies (where were the nuts!?), and a small bag of wine gums. Washed down with the excellent, slightly peachy Professor Black sauvignon blanc, (the vineyard was originally Professor Black’s peach orchard) there was plenty for two. We saw some children enjoying their box with an apple, sandwiches, crisps, amongst other things plus colouring-in pages and crayons.
Goat’s Cheese Panna Cotta (you will need to make this in advance to allow it to set)
1 round of Fairview chevin goat’s cheese - 1 tub of pouring cream - 3 sheets of leaf gelatine - a little milk - freshly ground black or pink pepper - sea salt Optional: 2 T small ½cm cubes of fresh celery - 2 finely chopped pepperdrops
Put the cream and the cheese into a small pan and heat gently till the cheese melts into the cream. Do NOT boil. If it is very thick, add a little milk. It should coat the back of a spoon. As soon as it has melted, remove from the heat and add the flavourings. Soak the leaf gelatine in cold water for just a few minutes till it softens, remove, shake off any water and put into the pan with the warm cream cheese mixture. Stir until the gelatine dissolves completely. If you like a bit of texture, stir in the celery and the pepperdrops. Pour into a square dish (approx 16 cm) and put into the fridge to set. Cut into single portion squares and serve as a starter with melba toast. Decorate your plate with rocket and watercress, a drizzle of a nut oil and a drizzle of Orange Zest balsamic reduction. You could add a segment or two of orange or another fruit. You could also serve in individual ramekins.
Sake House We were intrigued to see this voted as one of the best sushi restaurants In Cape Town, as we had not heard of it - and usually there is a customer buzz about good restaurants. We went with friends last week and were delighted to see that they served Chinese dim sum. Not a large choice, but those we had were absolutely delicious and authentic. We then tried four of the chefs recommended sushi Specials. This is where we think there should be a classification for classic sushi and one for modern. We are definitely prefer the classic variety. We were horrified when our selection came, the sushi was huge, approximately five bites in one piece, you needed a knife and fork rather than chopsticks and it was very messy, the rice was congealed rather than sticky and the Nori was like black insulation tape, as it had obviously been rolled quite a while before. We had a Spider (crab) roll, a duck roll – tempting, but the duck was very tough - it doesn’t work in sushi, a huge roll that appeared to have everything in it - and a sushi Boerewors - deep fried rolled tuna in batter and then in a vinegary marinade, very strange, and it did remind one of Boerewors. Our friends had more normal sized sushi and some tofu and loved it. We should have done the same, but we thought we should try the adventurous dishes. We had Teddy Hall’s Chenin blanc and Cape Point’s new Splattered Toad sauvignon (R29 corkage per bottle) and each was a very good accompaniment to the food.
Vaudeville An invitation from the management led us to this extravaganza last night. Performances run Tuesdays to Saturdays at 20h15 with guests to be seated before 19h45. Tickets cost R350 each, and R395 for ringside tables and booths. The price includes a welcome drink, the show, a three course meal and free entry into the Moroccan-themed Fez Bar and Club. Advance reservations are essential with all bookings via bookings@vaudeville.co.za or 0861 787 737. Special offers are available for corporates and groups of ten or more.
We were welcomed with Watermelon and Vodka cocktails and given very good 'ringside' seats. Great atmosphere, and very attentive staff, wandering performers chatting to you and an enthusiastic sommelier who keeps trying to whisk away your unfinished drinks and then refill your filled glass. All alcohol after the cocktail is for your own account. The wine list is fairly short, but well-chosen, with a reasonable choice of wines by the glass. We chose two old favourites, a glass each of Graham Beck’s Sangiovese rosé with our starter and a bottle of Cloof Inkspot, which we did not finish in deference to the (short) drive home. A mezze platter of humus, butternut paté, tzatziki, some nearly raw aubergine slices and a salad of leaves, beetroot, seeds and feta starts you off. We could have done with a little more bread for the dips. Then the show begins and there are many different acts. A strange band to begin, which was very Brechtian, quite a lot of beautiful male and female bodies, trim and toned, expertly doing very physical things like acrobatics, trapeze, juggling, dance, some singing, some break dancing, and a really killer pair of very talented tap dancers [Lynne has 2 medals for tap dancing!]. A very amusing male acrobat in tiny green shorts did amazing and funny things on a long piece of material suspended from the roof, and some very good jazz singers. A (male) bride, a five (false!) breasted woman, a cute penguin and a Marlene Dietrich Mistress of ceremonies fly, float and walk by often. Main courses were a very fatty and rather tough rib of beef with vegetable couscous, a good light salmon ravioli dressed with salad greens and a liberal sprinkling of pine nuts and a vegetarian option. These are served in intervals between the performances. The meal ended with a moist chocolate cake at the end of the entertainment. We think we'd like to see a bit more variety in the acts - perhaps less physicality, more magic, conjurers, comics, a rock band, a mentalist, Spanish dancing, etc., but there is huge talent on show and we enjoyed it. Go, enter into the sprit of things by dressing up and have great fun. It’s great entertainment.
Our Saturday Wine Tasting this week should not be missed; we will have Constantia Glen wines - Sauvignon blanc 2008, Constantia Glen 2007 and Constantia Saddle 2007 - open to taste. All were given 4½ stars in the 2010 John Platter guide. They are a rare treat and are not often available for the public to taste. These are investment wines which deserve to be cellared for a few years if they are to show their best and we will decant the tasting reds. While we will have a small amount of stock on Saturday, we will be happy to take orders.
An eagerly awaited event in wine enthusiast circles is the release of Cape Point Isliedh and Semillon. This will happen in the next few weeks and we will have a small allocation. The wines are only made in limited quantities, so we are taking orders now on a first come, first served basis, with payment needed up front to confirm the orders. The Semillon has 4½ stars in the 2010 John Platter guide and Isliedh, a Bordeaux style white blend, has been awarded 5 stars in Platter and in Wine Magazine. They will probably be slightly more expensive than they were last year, but are definitely worth the money, even if you only invest in a bottle or two. We’ll confirm prices when we receive your orders. We have not had enough in our previous years’ allocations to sell more than two bottles per customer.
Truffle Chicken A good customer has requested a recipe for this delicacy. Should you be fortunate enough to have truffles, all you need to do is mix a little thinly sliced and/or chopped truffle with some butter and push it carefully under the skin of the chicken, then roast as normal, not forgetting to season well with truffle salt and pepper. If you don’t want to do a whole chicken, you can flatten chicken breasts, spread on a little truffle butter, fold them over, dip in seasoned flour and then fry gently in more butter. You can make truffle butter by adding some truffles or truffle salt to butter. Or buy the real thing from us.
Product news Our attached product list has been updated and reorganised. Products are now listed in groups, which should make it easier for you to find them. At last, we have 1g packets of Iranian Saffron at a very, very good price, significantly lower than the price we’ve had to charge for the last two years. Come and get. New stock of smoked olive oil and smoked butter will arrive next week.
Tastings and other events Late February will bring a rash of events worth visiting, so making the right choice becomes a bit of a challenge: De Krans Wine Cellar, in Calitzdorp, alongside the well known Route 62, will offer visitors to the area the opportunity to pick delicious, sweet Hanepoot grapes. This fun-filled picking experience will take place daily (except Sundays) from 10th to 27th February, between 08h00 and 16h00.
Join WINE magazine for an informative seated tasting of the 10 top-scoring wines (made from organically grown grapes) from this year's Nedbank Green Wine Awards. The tastings will be presented by leading winemaker Francois Van Zyl of Laibach. The Johannesburg tasting will be on 18th February at 18h30, Crowne Plaza The Rosebank. The Cape Town tasting will be on 25th February at 18h30, Mount Nelson Hotel. Tickets cost R150 per person. TO BOOK: Call 0860 100 205 / Fax 0866 704 101 E-mail subs@ramsaymedia.co.za For more information, please contact Jane Eedes on 021 530 3308. In the interest of fellow tasters, please refrain from wearing excessive perfume.
Award winning Chef Craig Cormack brings you a unique experience: "around the world with salt and wine". The first salt dinner for 2010 will be at Overture Restaurant on 24th February at 18h30. Seating is limited - Booking is essential from chefsonthemove@telkomsa.net phone 082 562 8360 Price per head is R300, which includes an arrival drink and canapés, wine per course. A 10% service fee will be added.
The Robertson Wine Valley will host its second Hands on Harvest Festival from 26th to 28th February, giving you a chance to experience the magic of harvest for a day - without having to quit your day job! Groups are small and intimate, so you are sure to have a hands-on experience you’ll never forget. Many of the activities are 'kiddie-friendly' and, on Sunday, the Harvest Market promises to be a true family affair. Other activities include grape picking, grape stomping, vineyard tractor trips, grape vs wine tasting, and loads more.
For the Love of Sauvignon Blanc Constantia Fresh Festival will happen on Friday 26th & Saturday 27th February. There is an exciting programme of events designed for serious lovers of wine and well worth visiting.
Darling Cellars will host their annual Crush Day on Saturday 27th February. The day begins with breakfast at 08h00, after which you can pick and crush your grapes (your wine, with your own label follows 10 months later), participate in a label design competition and enjoy a traditional West Coast lunch. The price is R190 per person. Contact Cornel Loubser on phone 022 492 2276 or tasting@darlingcellars.co.za
Constantia Fresh' Red Wine Tasting Saturday, February 27th from 11h00 to 13h30, Groot Constantia Wine Estate. Call 072 467 5943 to book and for information.
Join the Durbanville Boutique Wine Association (DBWA) in kicking off the 2010 harvest with a Festival of Taste in the gardens of Rust en Vrede in the heart of Durbanville on Sunday 28th February from 12 am onwards. For more information, contact Karin de Villiers on 082 784 5102, e-mail info@durbanvilleboutiquewine.co.za
One of Cape Town’s iconic family events, the Community Chest Carnival opens its gates for the 59th time. The four-day event at Maynardville Park, Wynberg runs from Wednesday 24th February to Saturday 27th February. For more information call 021 797 5422 or visit http://www.comchest.org.za/ Bring the family and come and join the community for a day of food, fun and charity!
A date for the future which you should diarise now is the Taste of Cape Town 2010 from 24th to 28th March at the Granger Bay Extension – V&A Waterfront
Valentine’s Day We’ve received news of several special events around Valentine’s Day. There are too many to list here, so we’ve posted them on our blog site. Click here to open the list
Restaurants and picnics We’ve posted the restaurant specials list on our blog. Open it here. Please let us have more feedback about the restaurants in our list of specials. Your input is very valuable to all our readers.
We’ve enjoyed picnics at Buitenverwachting, Allée Bleue and Warwick. We are so lucky to live in a beautiful environment, where we can enjoy wonderful wines and food in such lovely places.
Click on the highlighted hyperlinks here and in the restaurant and Valentine's blogs linked to this to book for the events we write about or to learn more about them.
Weekend market: Nelle, Susan and Jane will be on our pavement as usual this Saturday with their delicious country goodies. Come and buy fresh farm eggs, fruit and vegetables, preserves and home baked breads, cakes and pastries from them and then come and visit us! We will be tasting wines, so do come in and have a chat and a taste and buy something great to cook with this weekend and a good wine to go with it. Wine and food are inseparable partners.
Your invitation to Main Ingredient’s Free Saturday morning Wine Tastings
every Saturday from about 10am in the shop
11th February – Constantia Glen, as above
11th February 2010
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re not in Cape Town, 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
Visit us at Shop 5, Nedbank Centre, 15 Kloof Rd, Sea Point 8005, Cape Town, South Africa
Phone: +27 21 439 5169 / 083 229 1172
We are the only shop in Cape Town which offers hard to find gourmet foods matched with well-chosen wines
Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to wine producers who are not usually open to the public. 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 Computer Associates® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.
If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "subscribe" in the subject line
If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please send us a message, inserting "remove" in the subject line
Friday, February 05, 2010
Main Ingredient's MENU - Nectarines in muscadel, Valentine events
Overberg landscape through a Dassiesfontein door
CATERING FOR FRIENDS A friend wrote about catering for her daughter’s camping trip and it brought back to Lynne when she first cooked for a crowd! Going camping with St Barnabas Girl Guides in the 60’s was a regular event and some of the camps were lovely long escapes from reality in the wilderness of Worcester and Bain’s Kloof. Everyone had camp duties, the worst of which was digging the latrines and Lynne figured out from about age 11 that cooking duty was the best one to be on, especially if you could delegate scrubbing pots to someone who didn’t know how to cook. Not that she did, but working on the theory that if you cut up most things to bite size pieces, threw them in a large pot with lots of flavourings and some water you got a reasonable result (was this potjie cooking at its best?) It didn’t always look too appetising, especially if you cooked for too long on slightly too hot a fire and the potatoes dissolved to a grey mass with a few burnt bits and some ash for taste, but the girls were always hungry and it disappeared. Porridge for breakfast was a doddle if you came from a Scottish family, fry-ups were easy, braaiing such fun and making campfire desserts of roasted banana stuffed with chocolate and marshmallows and syrup was the best. Arriving home, she was marched off for a few hours of scrubbing in the bath because slaving over a hot campfire did tend to smoke the hair, darken the skin on one’s face and hands quite a lot! Oh happy days being a tomboy. Before she discovered boys…. And fine food.
BILTONG IN THE OVEN Occasionally though, she can slip back into the old ways. This weekend we were going to have slow roasted pork. Instead we learnt how to make biltong in a gas oven. Tip: Don’t add balsamic reduction to your joint if you are going to roast in a bag for a long time. It a) caramelises b) then burns c) sticks to everything d) eats through the cooking bag and lets out all the moisture. Disaster. And this was using our new oven thermometer. The joint we bought was also completely devoid of any fat – very healthy but not great for long, slow cooking. And everything Lynne tried to make it a bit better just succeeded in making it a little bit drier, or tougher. The cats loved it. Oh well, not all meals are a success and some are just learning experiences. Our veggies were good, the roast parsnips and boiled new potatoes so worked. The steamed green beans, perfection.
SUMMER NECTARINES IN MUSCADEL
Done recently for a Sunday night supper, this uses the wonderful seasonal nectarines we are enjoying at the moment. It is light and fresh because the nectarines are not cooked, just marinated. For six people you will probably need 8 nectarines, as seconds may be called for. You need to start in the morning or even the day before. It is easy but a little fiddly. If you can’t get the stones out easily without bruising the fruit, slice it instead of serving it in halves.
8 ripe nectarines – bottle of white or red muscadel – 250 ml cream – caster sugar to taste - Amaretto liqueur
Put the nectarines in a deep bowl, pour on boiling water to cover and leave for five minutes. Put in a tray of ice cubes to cool it down, then drain. Peel - you will find the skin comes away from the fruit easily. Carefully cut the nectarines in half and remove the stones. Put in a bowl and cover with the muscadel. Leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 6 to 7 hours or overnight. Before serving, stir a couple of spoonfuls of sugar into the cream (to your own taste), lightly whip it till forming peaks, then stir in about 2 tablespoons of Amaretto , again to your taste. Serve this with the nectarines and the muscadel juice.
Tastings and other events The Kromboom Rotary Club is helping to organise the annual Rabbie Burns celebration, which takes place at Kelvin Grove on February 6th. In addition to being a fun evening, it also helps raise money for the Nonceba Trust, which takes care of abused women and children.
Late February will bring a rash of events worth visiting, so making the right choice becomes a bit of a challenge: De Krans Wine Cellar, in Calitzdorp, alongside the well known Route 62, will offer visitors to the area the opportunity to pick delicious, sweet Hanepoot grapes. This fun-filled picking experience will take place daily (except Sundays) from 10th to 27th February, between 08h00 and 16h00.
Join WINE magazine for an informative seated tasting of the 10 top-scoring wines (made from organically grown grapes) from this year's Nedbank Green Wine Awards. The tastings will be presented by leading winemaker Francois Van Zyl of Laibach. The Johannesburg tasting will be on 18th February at 18h30, Crowne Plaza The Rosebank. The Cape Town tasting will be on 25th February at 18h30, Mount Nelson Hotel. Tickets cost R150 per person. TO BOOK: Call 0860 100 205 / Fax 0866 704 101 E-mail subs@ramsaymedia.co.za For more information, please contact Jane Eedes on 021 530 3308. In the interest of fellow tasters, please refrain from wearing excessive perfume.
The Robertson Wine Valley will host its second Hands on Harvest Festival from 26th to 28th February, giving you a chance to experience the magic of harvest for a day - without having to quit your day job! Groups are small and intimate, so you are sure to have a hands-on experience you’ll never forget. Many of the activities are 'kiddie-friendly' and, on Sunday, the Harvest Market promises to be a true family affair. Other activities include grape picking, grape stomping, vineyard tractor trips, grape vs wine tasting, and loads more.
For the Love of Sauvignon Blanc Constantia Fresh Festival will happen on Friday 26th & Saturday 27th February. There is an exciting programme of events. Click here to check it out.
Darling Cellars will host their annual Crush Day on Saturday 27th February. The day begins with breakfast at 08h00, after which you can pick and crush your grapes (your wine, with your own label follows 10 months later), participate in a label design competition and enjoy a traditional West Coast lunch. The price is R190 per person. Contact Cornel Loubser on phone 022 492 2276 or tasting@darlingcellars.co.za
A date for the future you should diarise now is the Taste of Cape Town 2010 from 24th to 28th March at the Granger Bay Extension – V&A Waterfront
Valentine’s Day We’ve received news of several special events around Valentine’s Day. There are too many to list here, so we’ve posted them on our blog site. Click here to open the list
The Beaumont Open Days each year is an event we prefer not to miss. Beaumont, in Bot River, is one of the prettiest farms we know and the wines, made in their lovely, rustic cellar are generally excellent. The open day is a great opportunity to taste their range with snacks prepared by Sebastian Beaumont’s wife, Nicky; also to visit their cellar and working water mill and to see and buy Jayne Beaumont’s art and Ariane Beaumont’s jewellery.
After our visit to the farm, it was time for lunch. Sebastian recommended that we try a new restaurant on a nearby farm, Gabriël’s Kloof (they have Cape Town fine dining prices, even for lunch, we looked at the menu)- so we went there, to find that they were fully booked, and we went a little further down the road in the direction of Caledon and visited Dassiesfontein.
This is a rustic emporium and restaurant which sprawls along the side of the N2 highway. The interior is the proverbial curiosity shop, with everything for sale from old iron stoves to baskets, candelabras, wine, cheese, food and leather goods. Lunch menu and wine list are on chalk boards and the helpings are designed for gargantuan appetites. Lynne opted for the R99 “tasting plate”: A “bord kos” of traditional country food on a rectangular china platter. Mushroom (and steak) pie (excellent), roast chicken and frikkadels (large meat balls), served with rice, roast potatoes, green beans, carrots and mashed butternut, If you have the full meal you get soup, the above platter and “appelpoeding” to follow for R120. She made a fair inroad into the tasting plate before asking for a doggy bag. We didn’t bother with pudding. John opted for the frikkadels (R89), three large meat balls with the above vegetable accompaniment, served on an enamelled metal plate. The flavour of the meat was excellent, if a little fatty. The beans were a bit overcooked (which is traditional), while the carrots were nicely al dente and not sweetened – as they often are in our country places. The butternut made up for it and was a bit too sweet for our taste and had a lot of cinnamon. He managed two meat balls and about half the veg before admitting defeat. The rustic atmosphere was compounded by two white hens which wandered among the tables looking for scraps. A bottle of Wildekrans chenin cost us R50 and half of it went home. It’s not fine dining, but is very good value and a very interesting, amusing place to show to visitors.
Restaurants and picnics We’ve posted the restaurant specials list on our blog. Open it here. Please let us have more feedback about the restaurants in our list of specials. Your input is very valuable to all our readers.
Product news Our attached product list has been updated and reorganised. Products are now listed in groups, which should make it easier for you to find them. New products include Nielsen Massey’s Peppermint Extract, a new addition to their range, French green peppercorns and pistachio oil and three new German mustards. New wines on our list are Cape Point’s great value Splattered Toad sauvignon blanc (R1 from each bottle goes to protect the endangered leopard toad), Vergenoegd’s interesting Runner Duck rosé and Groote Post’s delicious merlot-based pink Old Man’s Sparkle (a customer called it “strawberries in a glass). If you cannot easily get to us in Sea Point, please place an order for your requirements and we’ll get it to you.
We’ve enjoyed picnics at Buitenverwachting and Allée Bleue, and we look forward to visiting Warwick next Sunday. We are so lucky to live in a beautiful environment, where we can enjoy wonderful wines and food in such lovely places.Click on the highlighted hyperlinks here and in the restaurant and Valentine's blogs linked to this to book for the events we write about or to learn more about them.
Weekend market: Nelle, Susan and Jane will be on our pavement as usual this Saturday with their delicious country goodies. Come and buy fresh farm eggs, fruit and vegetables, preserves and home baked breads, cakes and pastries from them and then come and visit us! We will be tasting wines, so do come in and have a chat and a taste and buy something great to cook with this weekend and a good wine to go with it. Wine and food are inseparable partners.
Your invitation to Main Ingredient’s Free Saturday morning Wine Tastings
every Saturday from about 10am in the shop
6th February – Welgelëe cabernet sauvignon and shiraz and Miravel sauvignon blanc 
4th February 2010
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re not in Cape Town, 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
Visit us at Shop 5, Nedbank Centre, 15 Kloof Rd, Sea Point 8005, Cape Town, South Africa
Phone: +27 21 439 5169 / 083 229 1172
We are the only shop in Cape Town which offers hard to find gourmet foods matched with well-chosen wines
Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to wine producers who are not usually open to the public. 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
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