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Friday, November 30, 2018

StreetSmart hands over R1 million in aid of Cape Town’s vulnerable children

Time for the Annual StreetSmart Cape Town Handover Event with Thank Yous to the restaurants, accommodation venues and wine tasting venues in the Western Cape, Garden Route, Gauteng and KZN, the volunteers, workers and the many other people who have contributed to the R1.7 million rand raised nationally this year. It is an amazing amount, raised by just adding R5 to your bill so, if you contribute, the Thank You is also for you. StreetSmart ensures that every cent donated by you goes towards social and educational upliftment projects for street children, helping them to rebuild their lives. StreetSmart raises its own funds for administration

Melanie Burke the Chairman of StreetSmart SA, which is a Non Profit organisation, told us that they are able to continue to expand their national footprint. R1.05 million was handed over to the Cape Town beneficiaries at this event raised by the 33 local establishments. And they will be disbursing over R1 million to beneficiaries nationally enabling them to support 35 programmes. And all from donations of R5 a time. She extended invitations to other restaurants, accommodation establishments and wine tasting venues to join StreetSmart in their local areas and become part of this great initiative. For information on how to make a donation or join the programme by emailing to info@streetsmartsa.org.za or visit ing www.streetsmartsa.org.za

Keynote speaker of the evening was broadcaster Africa Melane, whom many will know from Cape Talk and Radio 702. He was delighted to announce that he is committed to the work of StreetSmart and will be joining StreetSmart on their Board. He reminded us that President Mandela said that Street children are a testimony to an unfinished job. He said we have the best constitution and the best laws, but we are just not implementing them. Why are 100 000 of our children not going to school when we have compulsory education? Lots of money is spent on them later in life at higher education, but we need to spend it early, while they are young, to give them a future

Certificates are awarded to the top restaurants and venues. StreetSmart Cape Town has selected the following beneficiaries for 2019: Cape Town Multi Service Centre, Home from Home (Masiphumulele, Ocean View and Westlake), Learn to Live, Ons Plek, School of Hope, The Homestead, TLC Outreach Projects and Zip Zap Circus

and to volunteers for the work they have done

and to the staff

Retiring members of the Board were also given recognition and certificates. Margi Biggs on the Left is the founder of StreetSmart. It was set up by a group of concerned Capetonians under the patronage of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in 2005. Similar StreetSmart organisations also run independently in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Netherlands. She retires from the Board this year as does Leonard Hersch. They were thanked for their invaluable contribution

And we heard from some of the children who have been helped by one of the organisations supported by StreetSmart. Their lives have been changed and improved by the work the organisations are doing

Angelo Casu, owner of Grand Dédale Country House and keen cyclist, has raised R30 000 with his partner by getting people to sponsor them riding the Cape Epic and other endurance races

Richard Chamberlain of Out of this Planet Catering donates the canapés to the event
and they were very good. Steak with spicy aioli on a crisp biscuit base

Vietnamese rice paper rolls with a noc nam dipping sauce

presented by willing and smiling servers

Wellington Wines had donated wine for the event and there were also soft drinks

Asian style spring rolls

Devils on Horseback, bacon wrapped prunes

and small crisp croquettes

Mini pies

with thanks to

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Saturday, November 24, 2018

This Week's MENU. Elim Wine Festival, Sauvignon-Semillon Blend & Wooded Sauvignon Report 2018, New Leeu Estates lunch menu, Christmas Chestnut or Butternut Stuffing, Aristea Sauvignon-Semillon

The road through the wheat fields, near Bredasdorp, Southern Cape

Black Friday! A great excuse to stay at home. We popped in, very briefly, to our local supermarket yesterday afternoon to pick up a few essentials and it was already a nightmare of aisles clogged with stacks of fizzy drinks and other products we never buy. Shop tomorrow. So here we are, to bring you news which is different from the bombardment of special offers which has been clogging your In Box. We’ve been having fun in the past week and will have a lot more in the short time that remains before we take a year-end break, relaxing at the seaside. So here’s our story…

The 2018 Elim Wine Festival

We were glad we could get to the annual Elim Wine Festival this year; it was an easy detour on our way home from Robertson. We love the area, but it is rather far from Cape Town. The day, thankfully, began with a bit of cloud, which kept the temperature down. The weather forecasts had been promising temperatures in the 40s; it stayed comfortable all day. It was held at Black Oystercatcher winery, which has a great spacious venue…

Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon Blend & Wooded Sauvignon Blanc Report 2018

An invitation to attend the WineMag awards for the sixth annual Sauvignon-Semillon Blend & Wooded Sauvignon Blanc Report, now sponsored by precision agriculture service provider Aerobotics. The awards were held at Uitkyk. It is always a joy to visit this marvellous example of Cape Georgian architecture, which is unique. Uitkyk has been bought…

The new lunch menu at the Leeu Estates manor house, Franschhoek

A lovely invitation to try the new Summer Menu at the Leeu Estates in Franschhoek had us beginning the experience with a glass of their Bas MCC. On arrival they take your keys and park your car for you. Head Chef Terence Morris came to tell us...

On the MENU this week. Christmas Chestnut or Butternut Stuffing

We have adapted our Christmas stuffing recipe for you this year as, sometimes, it is impossible to find chestnuts in South Africa. They do add a lovely texture and flavour and Lynne thinks that by substituting some cubed butternut, you might get a similar result. To get the nutty flavour, she has added 50 g of roasted pecan nuts, roughly chopped. Butternut shines when a grating of nutmeg is added so try that too. If you want some colour, add some dried cranberries. See the whole recipe here…

MENU’s Wine of the Week. Aristea 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend

Wine maker Matthew Krone does it again with his Aristea wines. We tasted the new release of wines over dinner at the Alphen last night and you will read about them next week, but his Sauvignon Semillon Blend is so good we had to list it this week. See it here…

23rd November 2018

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Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169

Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005

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 our website and ancillary works are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are often 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

Friday, November 23, 2018

On the MENU this week. Christmas Chestnut or Butternut Stuffing

50g bacon, finely chopped - ½ T canola oil – 1 onion, finely chopped –1 stick of celery, finely chopped – 50g butter - 100g fresh white breadcrumbs – 1 1T parsley, chopped – grated zest and juice of 1 lemon – 500g canned whole chestnuts or unsweetened chestnut puree (or 400g 1 or 2 cm cubed butternut, a ¼ teaspoon of grated nutmeg and 50 g of roasted pecan nuts, roughly chopped) - salt and pepper to taste – 1 jumbo egg – salt and freshly ground black pepper – optional, sweet sherry

Fry the bacon until crisp in the oil. Remove and crumble. Add the onions and celery to the pan and fry gently until they are softening. Mix all with the butter, breadcrumbs, parsley, lemon and chestnuts (or, if using, butternut, nutmeg and pecans). Season and add the beaten egg. Fry off a teaspoonful to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. If the mixture seems a little dry, add a small amount of sweet sherry. Oh hell, add a spoonful or two anyway for flavour. Put into a greased Pyrex dish and roast, covered, for about 35 to 40 minutes.

Sage Advice: It is not wise to put the stuffing into a bird and much better to cook it separately. If you must, then just stuff the neck cavity of a turkey. Why? Because cold stuffing will absorb all the raw juices of the bird and it may not cook properly, as heat has to penetrate the flesh and bones, so it can become a haven for any bacteria that might reside in the inside of the bird, allowing it to breed in the moist gentle heat. Now, if we haven’t put you off stuffing completely, try this one. It is delicious. And it goes well with Turkey, Goose, Chicken, Capon, pheasant and almost all other birds, but is perhaps a little rich for duck

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MENU’s Wine of the Week. Aristea 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend

We can pay no better compliment to this wine than to say that at the table one person compared it to a Graves, another to a Haut Brion. It certainly is quite French in character, and very impressive. The grapes are from Elgin and they pay the best for the best fruit. It isn’t a wine you want to pull apart and analyse; it is a full well balanced, well integrated and layered wine, with beautiful golden stone fruit, good minerality, deliciousness and staying power. It is aged in wood for 10 months and the wood supports, not dominates. 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon

It is available from Caroline's and The Wine Village, Hermanus

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The new lunch menu at the Leeu Estates manor house, Franschhoek

Head Chef Terence Morris came to tell us about his lunch menu and what we would be having,

which was a sample selection of the dishes on the menu

Our table had been prepared on the terrace; it was a perfect Franschhoek day

with no wind and moderate temperature

A view of the enclosed part of the terrace with the lounge behind it

Another entrance to the library and the foyer of the hotel

The left hand view from our table

and it stayed shady all through the meal

The grounds are full of superb sculptures; here on the lawn is Demeter with her hounds

and this, by Angus Taylor, is entitled “Lady on a Donkey, Thinking”

A Common Fiscal, also called Fiscal Shrike, (Lanius collaris)

uses the head as its watch tower

You can see every feather

Looking into the restaurant, which had a large party from the UK

Simple table decorations

Charlton, our excellent waiter for most of the afternoon. We were not offered white wine in time for our starters, but enjoyed two carafes of the Mullineux Swartland Rouge, a Mediterranean style red blend based on Syrah with other Rhône varietals; soft and fresh, this went very well with the food

A great selection of bread rolls, warm from the oven, with two flavoured butters, one with smoked butter and beetroot, the other was truffle flavoured. There were also olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Morgenster on each table

The first course was slices of well flavoured pan seared beef on a bed of truffled courgette 'spaghetti'

and dark caramelised onions. A good dish if you are Banting or counting carbs

and then a warm Wakame broth was poured. It was absolutely delicious and authentic;

we lifted our bowls at the end and drank from them. None of that broth was going back to the kitchen

We asked chef if he had worked in the Far East and the reply was "Not yet!"

He, like us, loves Asian food and is very keen to go and learn some more Eastern skills

The second starter was Poached Trout with a Cranberry and Orange gel,

served with compressed celery, pickled courgette and deep fried dill.

A lovely combination of delicate flavours and textures;

it just needed a tad more seasoning on the fish

The courses were coming thick and fast and we were both being served plates

This was our third starter of Daikon rolls filled with a finely cut coleslaw mix,

served with a spicy butternut aioli. Vegetarian and possibly vegan

These were Mushroom Bitterballen for Lynne to taste (John can’t eat mushrooms)

Nicely crisp bitterballen with the correct creamy mushroom batter inside

with great mushroom flavour. Served on a light, grainy mustard sauce

Delish and topped with deep fried vegetable strands which added more texture

The first main course was Vegetarian. Dark Quinoa as a base with sticky chilli Tofu cubes,

toasted peanuts, wilted greens and topped with Tobacco caramelized onions.

The sauce tastes rather like a Sate peanut sauce

Eleanor Kerwan, Food and Beverage Manager, came to say hello. We asked her if we could now share one plate as there was so much still to try and she arranged it. Up till then we had been served one each....

Pork Belly, main course with a pickled citrus and tomato relish, edamame beans, brussel spouts and a creamy flavourful leek purée. We asked chef if he presses his pork and he does. This is something we learned from Reuben Riffel, as it gets rid of most of the fat and the meat is moist and tender. The plate is then dressed with perfect rich, dark and glossy gravy. The dish has faint hints of star anise

The third main course was Hanger steak topped with a Café de Paris butter on a slice of confit butternut, tenderstem broccoli and a very clever swirl and berry of butternut purée. You can taste the tarragon and the anchovies in the butter

Musa took over from Conrad, as his shift was over. She is charming. Both are very good at their jobs

It was such a lovely, long and lazy lunch with a lot of food

We watched the clouds forming shapes as they appeared over this mountain peak

Time for dessert. Lynne has to admit that she would not have ordered this from the menu,

but it turned out to be her favourite. A gently spiced pear and apple crumble,

topped with rough nuts and served with a cardamom ice cream on crisp crumbs

Lovely flavours and textures

A perfectly gooey meringue Pavlova topped with fresh fruit and berries

in a lake of orange and mint syrup and topped with a rocher of orange sorbet

John's pièce de resistance, a warm chocolate fondant

with a properly gooey centre, topped with filling-pulling sticky nut brittle

and served with a scoop of pistachio ice cream - or was it?

We had a long chat with Chef Terence after the meal, while John enjoyed an excellent double espresso. It was amazing how we managed to consume so much food, although we didn’t clear all the plates. We were not surprised to find that we finished at 5 pm, having arrived at 1. Do go and try the Summer menu; you might like to try some of these dishes and just relax on the terrace. Thank you so much Leeu Collection for a lovely lunch and charming company

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About us

MENU, our weekly email newsletter, started as an advertising medium for Main Ingredient, our specialist retail grocery business. We opened our Sea Point shop in December 2002 because realised that there was a place in South Africa for a grocer catering to people with sophisticated tastes and needs. We moved the shop on line in 2010, but discontinued it in 2015, having decided that it is time to “retire” and concentrate on our writing, photography and tour guiding. MENU has a wide circulation and is read nationally and internationally.

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