The perfect way to start the day...

The perfect way to start a bright Friday and get ready for the weekend – coffee and an almond croissant from Jardine on Bree's impressive bakery.

Spicy, hearty, easy homemade cassoulet

Ingredients:

• Potatoes (to bake)
• Pork sausages (or whatever your preference)
• Garlic (About 2 cloves, crushed)*
  
• Chilli (About 1 to 2 tsp fresh or dried flakes)*
• Onion, diced finely
• 1tsp Garam Masala
• 2stp Dried herbs
• 1tsp sugar
• Salt & pepper
• tin of kidney beans & tin of butter beans (or whatever your preference)
• 2 tins of tomato

*Haven’t prescribed amounts (I have a propensity for chilli and garlic, they basically make the world go around), but I guess I’d say two cloves of garlic and 1tsp chilli would be good for your first attempt.

How to make:
Turn on oven to around 180ºC and put potatoes in to bake while you prepare cassoulet. In casserole dish, fry pork sausages on stove top, browning. Remove, slice and set aside. In same casserole dish, add a little more oil and saute onions, adding garlic and chilli when onions have softened a bit. Then stir in herbs and masala and add sliced sausage back. Add the tinned tomatoes, sugar, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes then stir in beans, put the lid (or some tinfoil) over the casserole dish and bake for about half an hour. Serve over piping-hot, crispy baked potato met a glassie rooi wein.

Love is...

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Edward Estlin Cummings

Gorgeous Gifts

The perfect, personalised gifts for my friend's two year old, Rylee, thanks to the talented Crazy Aunt Narina. Check out her blog and more gorgeous creations here.

The Biscuit Mill

The Neighbour Goods Market forms the Saturday ritual of many foodie Capetonians and trendy tourists alike. So, like a good tour guide, I initiated another visiting friend with a trip to the B-Mill. The overcast weather was a blessing, as it had kept away the hoards, though I was still elbowed and trodden on enough times to make me feel like I got the full experience. Speaking of experiences, you have to go hungry and I wasn't disappointed with a lamb souvlaki made by the chuckling-authentic-Greek-guy, and amazing cinnamon and caramalised sugar crepe for dessert, washed down with a lemon iced tea.



The visit was concluded with a trip to my favourite stall, Skermunkil Design Studio, for the beautiful, heart-shaped pendant – a little Women's Day giftie for moi – I've been lusting after!

Sushi at Kyoto Garden

For this week's date night, we went in search of sushi. The craving had spoken and we were determined not to fall into our old comfortable routine of reliably delicious sushi at the Waterfront's Willoughby's or hole-in-the-wall Minatos and to try something new. It was a challenge to think of somewhere that was a dress-up, date-night venue, but that didn't have the price tag of Nobu or the dusty reputation of Tank. Kyoto Gardens in Tamboerskloof (around the corner from Rafiki's and opposite Miller's Thumb) is somewhere we'd wanted to try for a while.


I'd read in comments on JP Roussouw's site, that the service was slow and indifferent, but, thankfully, that's not what we experienced. The waiter was efficient and the food came quickly (we'll overlook that the restaurant was quite quiet!). The cocktails were delicious, fresh and well balanced – a must! The main courses were exotic (and expensive), but we were there for the sushi. To start, we ordered the paper-thin "Tempura Light", which had been recommended. We went for the prawn and scallop tempura (only one of each so not ideal for sharing!), with melt-in-your-mouth aubergine, broccoli and sweet potato tempura, and the mushroom and seaweed salad with a perfect, fresh wasabi-soy sauce accompaniment.

Following more recommendations, we ordered the red salmon sashimi, which was little more textured than Norwegian, and yellow-fin tuna (they were all out of the big-eye tuna we were after and we certainly weren't ordering the blue fin – tsk tsk!) sashimi, Alaskan crab sushi and eel sushi. The waiter grated real wasabi root, which was sharp and hot and far more tasty than the horse-radish-like lurid green wasabi on offer. The soy sauce itself was delicious – obviously different to the watery, salty liquid at some sushi restaurants – and the waiter explained that it was full-flavour, high-soy content Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Good to know!

The strange owner, mentioned in most reviews and comments, was around, but only in the background, delivering packets of what looked like wine and produce from his double-parked car. This disorganisation may explain why two of the white wines we ordered weren't available, but we were graciously given two glasses of decidedly-average white wine on the house for the inconvenience.

Desserts sounded delicate and light, but our meal was concluded with warm saki, though we overheard a couple next to us raving about the green tea ice cream.

With expertly-presented quality ingredients, expect an adventurous, exotic menu and prices to match your carbon footprint ~ Kyoto Garden Sushi, Tamboerskloof, 021 422 2001