The Corkless Mind

Category: Food Photography

  • Banana and Date loaf.


    I love bananas and always end up buying way more than I actually need. So if you, like me find yourself with too many slightly overripe bananas than this is the perfect solution for you. Of course you could do just about anything else with overripe bananas like, banana flapjacks as seen previously on Off Beet Blog, or separate the batter into a muffin tin to make smaller portions of the tasty loaf. I sometimes mash up one or two into a granola bar mix of which I make on a weekly basis. 
    Recreating classics is what excites me although mindfully keeping the said ‘classic’s’integrity in tact.The recipe is from Woolworths Taste by Clement Pedro, who is now on Afternoon Express as their resident Chef. As always, I tweaked the recipe and added two more bananas, chopped walnuts and dried Medjool dates. I love the added texture the dates and the walnuts lend to the banana loaf,that said it has a ‘cake like’ soft texture too. I added a few Pomegranate rubies for a pop of colour, why not?


    The photos were taken yesterday at noon once again. As you can tell by now this is one of my favourite times to shoot during the day. Natural light was rather moody with it being overcast out but with a few reflector boards perfectly positioned, a white sheet on the table to create texture and bounce the light I made it work. 

    Happy baking! 🙂 

  • Berry spritz 

    Berry spritz 

     September in South Africa, means Spring is here, there are many debates and theories as to the actual official start of Spring. With the arrival of a new family member last week, I do feel there is much to celebrate and what better way with wine! I saw the recipe from Donna Hay and immediately felt inclined to recreate it. I used one of my favourite’s Pierre Jourdan Tranquille Blush from the Haute Cabriére wine estate and a lovely strawberry and mint syrup(store bought from Woolworths) with soda water and fresh berries and mint to garnish. Top tip: instead of ice which will water down your cocktails or wine spritz, freeze some grapes or berries and add to your drinks.


    Last week I took the practical experience gained recently from the workshop and put it to use doing what I love best, shooting food. I took some beautiful photos of the berries and whilst loading on to the laptop most of them somehow disappeared into (I’m assuming) an untouchable dark abyss. Feeling rather defeated and being rather busy, eventually picked myself up and dusted myself off and admitted to the rookie mistake and tried my hand again at another shoot, I really wanted to recreate the feel and mood of those I took last week. Moral of the story, don’t give up even if the task at hand seems monstrous or impossible. This does not just apply to my little faux pas last week, but to so many life lessons learnt along the way.

    Berries always signify a start of a new season ahead, a brighter more festive one. The photos of the berries were taken just before 13:00 yesterday. The photos of the berry spritz were taken last week round about the same time. And yes, that is a charger plate which I have repurposed and sprayed to use as a prop for my photography. I decided to try both moody shots and lighter ones, I love the juxtaposition of the light in the shots and how the berries and drinks are portrayed in different light. Personally I adore the darker, moodier shots, to me, it creates so much depth. But like many other things it’s all about the photographers preference and style.

    Happy Spring! x

  • Confit Duck Ravioli


    French, Italian, and of course South African are my absolute favourite types of cuisine that I love to cook,eat and enjoy! My name and love of food has a French origin, my soul Italian and my heart definitely belongs to my beloved home country. I feel like I must have been a nonna in my previous life, I simply adore making pasta, so much so that I make a batch once a week usually accompanied with pork mince and chicken liver meat balls (a favourite in my household) or a simple quick meal with sautéed mushrooms, garlic and cream with tagliatelle. This week I wanted to do something different and venture into uncharted territory and what better way to confit the duck legs for the very first time and make ravioli too! I made the pasta dough and chilled in the fridge to keep till I need to roll out and shape. For the duck legs, I removed from the packaging and pat dry to season with sea salt flakes and sprigs of thyme. Melt 600g of butter (I used half butter and half duck fat) pour over the duck legs and place in a 160 degree C preheated oven for 2 hours. Once the duck has finished cooking, shred the meat and using a ravioli round cutter or if you don’t have one like me you can use a round cookie cutter place the meat in the middle of the circles(I added a few chunks of goat’s cheese to some of the ravioli before closing, brush the edges of all circles with eggwash(this acts as a glue to help the ravioli stick together and not leak filling whilst being boiled) place in salted water with a a few glugs of olive oil and bring to a boil. Place ravioli in the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes until the ravioli starts to float. Drain on a paper towel and serve with extra virgin olive oil. The recipe for the confit duck itself I borrowed from Woolworths Taste, the rest I improvised and used my own discretion. 
    For this post I shredded only what I needed for those ravioli and served the rest of the duck legs on polenta, because it was my first time eating confit duck I wanted to get the full experience. As life changing the meal was, I feel I need a good run for every glorious morsel consumed. But no regrets here! I will definitely be making this for guests soon. Over the weekend, I went and snatched up some bargains at the Weylandts sale for my props and am I glad I went! The plate and kitchen towel in the photos above are just some of a few beautiful items I bought there. Keep an eye out for some new props popping up in my up and coming photos. 

    The photos were taken just before 17:00pm, I know it was a bit late, but notice how it’s stays lighter for longer in the evenings, a sign Spring is almost upon us! 

    “Everything in moderation…including moderation” – Julia Child. 

  • Unusual Suspects: Kale

    Unusual Suspects: Kale

    With the recent craze, Kale has had its fair share of shine and praise with its abundance of health benefits. I thought it a good idea to see what all the fuss was about. Kale is a member of the Brassica family, which includes Cauliflower, Broccoli and Cabbage. Like Parsely, Kale has two types Curly and flat leaf. Just one cup of raw Kale, has about 3 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of fibre. To make it easier to go down, I usually put half a cup of raw kale in a smoothie cup and blitz in my super NutriBullet. 

    I massaged the kale with extra virgin olive oil, Sumac and smoked Paprika. Honestly, I was expecting the superfood to instantly transform into scrummy crisps that I can’t keep my hands off, alas this is not the case (for me at least) I added extra smoked Paprika, flaked sea salt to taste and a few pinches of some authentic Sumac. Yet it still tasted of, well, Kale. As healthy as it may be, I simply loathe the taste of it. 


    But I will let you decide whether you like the crisps or not. I found the recipe off of Taste Australia. As always, I deviated from the original and added the Sumac. The link is above. Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear if anyone loved the crisps. 


    The Sumac I purchased from a quaint little delicatessen called The Olive Branch, situated in Kloof street lifestyle shopping centre, walk passed it and you’ll certainly miss it. It’s a hole in a wall but it is incredibly beautiful inside evoking an old world charm with that special welcoming feel too. I certainly recommend when in Cape Town, or like me, you’re constantly on the hunt for weird and wonderful delicatessens then you absolutely must visit this gem! 
    *Nutritional information sourced from WebMD*

  • Buttery Popcorn Ice cream

    Buttery Popcorn Ice cream

    Popcorn ice cream with a dark miso caramel

    I’ve been wanting to recreate this recipe for some time now, and it’s just another excuse to use my awesome Ice cream attachment for my mixer. Combining two things I just can’t go without… 
    I’m a frequent cinema goer and for me no movie is complete without my tub of butter flavoured popcorn, the same can be said for long walks on the Promenade on a gorgeous sunny day with my favourite local artisanal ice cream. I love all the effort that goes in to making good ice cream, however it is rather complicated if tempering egg yolks is not your thing then may I suggest a no-churn ice cream, something which Nigella Lawson masters quite effortlessly, amidst many other things! (Spot the Nigella fan) Thus I can only aspire to being consistently great at making ice cream, I will however leave it to the experts. I found that the fat in the butter and double cream, if not passed correctly through a sieve and at the exact temperature it needs to be when churning, can create clumps in the mixture and thus gives a ‘sticking to your palate’ type of feel (face palm) I decided to add copious amounts of the most umami caramel I’ve ever had to make it acceptable for consumption and of course styling. I made a really dark caramel with a touch of miso and flaked sea salt. I quite like taking the caramel further, again it all depends on your palate. I love how the miso complements the dark velvety smooth caramel and makes it even more indulgent! The correct recipe can be found in the book NOPI by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully. I however used a basic ice cream guideline and deviated from there… When deviating sometimes is not the right idea, and  I certainly learned that. 

    Styling tip 101: if making a dish for a shoot that needs to be styled, the dish should look appealing and equally taste good if you want great results for the shoot. If all else fails, try and style the dish to look like the desired result that you require by (like me, if you made ice cream) drizzling over caramel or chocolate sauce with a few toppings like 100s/1000s sprinkles or chopped up chocolate or flaked/ toasted nuts or berries. 

    Popcorn ice cream with a miso dark caramel

    The photos were taken yesterday morning, taking advantage of the perfect light in my living room and that my partner was home yesterday to help pour over the caramel whilst I shoot. This I call a win-win! 

  • Not your average doughnut

    Not your average doughnut

    I always crave doughnuts, it’s my absolute go to, like ice cream I never say no to either! These are only just a few on my list of comfort food dishes. 

    The doughnuts in the post were purchased (yes, I know store bought) shamefully so, they taste just as good anyway. Lately there’s been something of a doughnut frenzy in South Africa, with Krispy Kreme finally making its way to our shores, and a dessert bar called My Sugar in Sea Point, that creates the most insane looking doughnuts and milkshakes. With that in mind I thought I would take inspiration from all the doughnut hype and put together a few that is so easy to recreate at home with some of the store bought treats. 

    I really wanted to show how the meringue frosting should look when ready to spread over the doughnut, stiff glossy peaks is what you need. I also think that it looks so pretty gracefully glossed over the balloon whip. Please pardon the reflection in my mixer bowl, I’m not quite there yet with editing…
    The photos I took are just after 13:00 and styled and set in my usual little corner in my living room.