The classic view of Table Mountain, across Table Bay from
Blaauwberg
The weather forecast says that we have a 50%
chance of rain on Sunday. Pray that it happens. Meanwhile, we make the most of
the clear skies and warm sunshine, as you can read below
Breakfast at Baked on Regent We
write reviews of all sorts of restaurants, but we have to confess that we
usually prefer to have breakfast at home. We start the day very simply with
fresh fruit and green tea for Lynne and muesli and black coffee for John. He
makes the breakfast every day. There is a sudden bloom of restaurants doing
breakfast that people keep telling us about, so we have decided to try a few of
them. This week was the turn of Baked, which is near the circle at the end of
Sea Point, next to President Motors. Virtuously, we walked there and arrived
just before 9 am
Go Get Wine... Where
do you buy your wine? Your local supermarket? Direct from the wine farms? On-line
or specialist wine shops? We buy from all these sources. Get Wine in Salt River
who sell wine in vast quantities, often discounted, is one of the places we
include on our places to buy as they often do a two day special with about 28
wines, all of which you can taste. They also hold these tastings in other
areas. You need to watch for them on their web site. We won't buy wine unless
we have tasted it (and love it), so these tastings suit us down to the ground. We
went to one held at their Salt River premises on Saturday morning. And yes, we
did come home with three cases
We
have friends here from the Netherlands and took them to this lovely country
market on Sunday. It is held on the last Sunday of every month and we had a
great time. The market is full of things to buy, things to eat and things to
admire. There are lots of food trucks and of course you can taste and buy the
excellent Groote Post wines to enjoy with your lunch or take home with you
We are huge fans of cold soups in summer, as they
are a light, delicious and refreshing start to a dinner. They can be made in
advance, are very healthy and people love them. This week, as all the
vegetables in the recipe are at their seasonal best, Lynne made this the day
before our dinner party to let the flavours meld together beautifully. You can
remove the seeds, but we like the thicker texture they add and the lycopenes. She
does not use raw onion in her version as we find it a bit indigestible, nor
does she use the more common two slices of stale bread to thicken the soup, as
this is a low carb version. They are optional and you are welcome to add them
if you like. (Soak the bread in water till soft, squeeze out the water and
liquidize it with the vegetables) You can substitute the teaspoon of sugar with
Xylitol, but be cautious. One ingredient you do need is Spanish Sherry vinegar,
but you can substitute herb or red wine vinegar. Serves 6
2 red peppers - 1 ½
kilos of ripe red tomatoes - 1 small cucumber - 2 large cloves of garlic - 2 T
Spanish Sherry vinegar - 3 T fruity extra virgin olive oil - salt and freshly
ground black pepper - 1 t sugar - garnish with chopped chives and fresh basil
leaves
Put the peppers under a grill and char the skin
till it is blackening all over. Put into a plastic bag, seal and allow to cool.
This separates the skin from the peppers. Then remove all the charred skin
using kitchen paper towels. Remove the stalks and the seeds, chop roughly and
set aside. Using a small paring knife, cut a cross in the top of each of the
tomatoes. Put them in a deep bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 4 to
5 minutes, then remove and put into iced water to cool quickly. When they are
cool, remove and peel - the skin will come off easily. Core them, chop roughly
and add to your liquidizer or put into a deep bowl and blitz them with your
stick blender. Peel the cucumber, roughly chop and add to the tomatoes, with
the peppers, and the garlic. Add the
olive oil, and one tablespoon of the sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. Continue
to liquidise to emulsify the oil with the vegetables. This would be where you
add the bread. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more vinegar and more
seasoning. If the soup is too thick, add a little tomato juice or iced water. Only
if necessary and it is too acidic, (depends on the tomatoes) add a spoonful of
sugar. Put into the fridge overnight. Serve icy cool, topped with the chopped
chives and one or two basil leaves. You can put bowls of finely chopped tomato,
red pepper and cucumber on the table for people to add to the Gazpacho if you
like more texture.
Reminder 1 T - 1 Tablespoon 1t - 1 teaspoon
MENU Wines of the Week: Eikendal Classique 2008 +
Morgenhof LBV 1993 We served
the Eikendal Classique '08 with a grilled picanha steak to a Dutch friend who
brought it to us a few years ago. It was a very elegant blend of 40% Cabernet
Sauvignon and 30% each Merlot and Cabernet Franc, made by Nico Grobler. The
latter is a grape that does very well in the shadow of the Helderberg.
It had
sweet, ripe cassis and a touch of black cherry, with a delicious earthy,
minerality; bone dry with very gentle, silky tannin. It had an especially good
cork, which could have helped the wine to age for several more years, a rare
example in a South African wine. Platter gave it 4½ stars in 2012 and the same
to the current 2014 vintage in the 2017 edition.
And an honourable mention to
Morgenhof LBV Port 1993, legendary winemaker Jean Daneel’s first attempt at
Port. We served this with a good selection of cheeses, fresh figs and grapes. Crusted
and full of dark berries and chocolate, with spice and elegant age, it was so
enjoyable and at its peak
28th February 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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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
Not the most salubrious location, but it is usually packed with locals who know where to go
Lynne
bought two almond croissants for later and they were good, filled with nice
thick almond paste. Very reasonably priced at R13.95 each. These can be found
elsewhere in Sea Point for over R30. The staff is friendly and service was
reasonably quick. We may be back soon for the cheese cake
