The Corkless Mind

Booch mocktail.

Last year at the Convivium table event that had I attended, I was introduced to an intriguing beverage I had never heard of. Theonista Kombucha was something I’ve never tasted before, a combination of so many flavours sweet, sour, and fizzy.

Kombucha is a beverage made by fermenting tea and sugar with a specific culture called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast). It has a unique sweet, tart tangy taste with a light fizz. There are so many health benefits of kombucha including enhanced digestion, immunity and increased energy. Best of all each batch made, tastes different in a way.

As a recent ‘booch’ fan, I just can’t get enough, and plan on making my very own batch at home with the Scoby kits that Theonista sells online. Until then I will enjoy my store bought booch with a twist of course.

I’m a little obsessed with ginger at the moment and thought I would make a simple syrup infused with slices of ginger and star anise. The booch with all the added flavours really tastes like summer! It’s so fresh and crisp. You can of course omit the syrup or use a natural sweetener as a substitute and just serve it with all the other flavour enhancers.
Booch mocktail.
Ingredients:

-500ml bottle of Kombucha

-one knob of ginger thinly sliced(reserve a little of the slices for the jug)

-50g castor sugar

-50ml water

-1 star anise

-cucumber slices to add to jug

-6 strawberries to add to jug

-a few mint leaves to garnish

-a few slices of lemon to add to the jug

-A few ice blocks to cool down drink

Method:
In a small saucepan on a medium heat, place the sugar, water, most of the sliced ginger and the star anise. Once the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat. Using a spoon, dip the spoon into the syrup, if the mixture coats the spoon, it’s ready to take off the heat. (Mine was on for about 5-10 minutes)
Using a carafe/jug drop the ice in with the mint, the ginger that was set aside, strawberries lemon slices and the ginger and star anise syrup. Muddle with a back of a wooden spoon and pour in the Kombucha, stir to mix and serve cold.

Some of the information supplied by Theonista’s website.

**This post is not sponsored and thus views are my own**
Grilled strawberries and cream.

There’s something so unmistakably classic about the combination of strawberries and cream, that will always transcend food trends. That to me is the very definition of classic food. Inspired by the breathtaking food photography and styling in the March issue of delicious Australia, I couldn’t resist recreating this recipe at home. This recipe is by chef Matt Wilkinson for the March issue of delicious.
Like many others scrambling to the stores to indulge in the last little bit of summer produce available before its all vanished off of shelves for a good couple of months and before regret sets in that I didn’t attempt this gorgeous recipe, I knew I had to give it a go!
Grilled strawberries with cream and meringue shards.
Ingredients:
– 250g strawberries

– 1 tsp of olive oil

– Black pepper to taste

– A few basil leaves to garnish

– Vanilla ice cream to serve

– 2 egg whites

– 120g castor sugar
Method:

Preheat oven to 95 degrees C. Starting on the meringue shards first, in a stand mixer or with an electric beater, beat the egg whites until soft peaks have formed. Gradually adding the sugar a little at a time, whilst the mixer is on. Beat until stiff and glossy. On a parchment lined/silpat lined baking tray spread the meringue thinly on the baking tray, and bake for 40 minutes. Break into shards and set aside.
Coat the strawberries in olive oil and a little freshly ground black pepper. On a high heat, sear the strawberries until black grill lines are visible (take care to space the strawberries apart)
Serve with the meringue shards, a scoop or two of ice cream, basil leaves and freshly ground black pepper.
Chicken liver pâté.

Have you ever loathed a particular food for most of your life and one day experience said particular food and find that its actually quite tasty? Growing up, my mom used to fry up chicken livers in a sauce, I remember hating every morsel of any chicken liver dish ever(sorry mom) until as recent as a few years ago my soon to be brother in law, changed this deep rooted hatred into a new found food love with a chicken liver dish I would never forget. The dish was fairly simple in that it was served in a relish, yet packed a flavour punch that bowled over my tastebuds and changed my stance on chicken livers for the rest of my food filled existence.

The chicken liver pâté is super easy to recreate at home and only requires a blender as special equipment. This recipe is adapted from a Woolworths Taste Magazine recipe.

Ingredients:
– 400g Chicken livers

– 3 Tablespoons of Sherry/Brandy (I only had Port on hand)

– 300g butter half melted and half cubed

– 2 Shallots finely chopped

– A few sprigs of Sage finely chopped

– A few bay leafs

– 2 Tablespoons of olive oil

– 2 Garlic cloves finely chopped

– 1/4 t nutmeg

– Salt and pepper to season

– 50g clarified butter

– 2 bay leaves

– 3-6 sage leaves

Method:
Fry the chopped shallots until translucent. Add the garlic and chopped sage and cook for 1 minute, set aside.
In the same pan, increase the heat and add the chicken livers, cook 3 minutes on each side, the livers should be light and with a slight pink colour.

Be cautious not to overcook, this changes the texture of the pâté to that of a grainy consistency. Pour in the sherry/brandy or in my case the port and cook for a further 2 minutes, the. Add the nutmeg and season to taste.
In a blender, add the livers with the shallots, garlic and sage. Add the melted butter and blitz to combine. Add the cubed butter and blitz once more to a smooth consistency. Pour into a pâté dish or baking tin would do(just be sure to line with parchment first. Place the sage and bay leaves on top and pour the clarified butter on top. Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours.

Serve on warm freshly baked bread rolls.
Sweet potato, maple and pecan nut waffles.

Autumn is a special and magical time of year, the transition from light crisp summery food and weather to a comforting warmth of stews and chunky knits, I find totally irresistible as any winter/autumn baby would! There’s something so satisfying about hearing the crunch of leaves under your feet and feeling the crispness of the cold wind against your face.
As you can tell I’m pretty excited for Autumn and the imminent(hopefully rainy) Winter to come! I might have mentioned before that, the Western Cape of South Africa is currently experiencing the worst drought yet, The City of Cape Town has implemented very strict water restrictions to curb the rather high water usage. Currently our dam levels are at a dismal 23% , I urge you to please use water sparingly if you live nearby, and to be smart about how you use water. At the moment my plants are getting watered by my recycled dish water, so I’m expecting a rather soapy tasting fennel, basil and mint 🙂
This recipe is a take on a conventional waffle with a twist of course! Having finally purchased an electric waffle machine, the temptation was too much to not put it to immediate use.
Sweet potato, maple and pecan waffles.
Ingredients:
-210g of cake flour

-15ml baking powder

-15ml castor sugar

-15ml maple syrup (plus a little extra for roasting the sweet potato)

-300ml milk

-2 eggs separated

-50g melted butter

-1 sweet potato cut into chunks

-pinch of cinnamon

-100g of pecan nuts roughly chopped
Method:

For the waffle mix, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl then add the sugar.

Whisk the milk, the two egg yolks and melted butter together. Add to the dry ingredients, mixing until a smooth consistency is achieved.

Beat the egg whites to a soft peak consistency and add folding it into the mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Whilst the waffle mix is resting, in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C, cut the sweet potato into chunks and place into a roasting dish and drizzle with maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon. Place into the oven for 25 minutes until soft and caramelized. Once the waffle mix is done resting. Switch the waffle machine on, then add the cooled down sweet potato chunks( I mashed mine to be able to get them adequately into the waffle mix) add the maple syrup and chopped pecan nuts and gently fold into the batter. Using a ice cream scoop! spoon the batter into each side of the waffle machine, for 3-5 minutes until golden brown or according to the waffle machine instructions. Serve with pecan nuts and ice cream.
Turmeric and lemon muffins

I love baking on weekends, having said so, I haven’t done so in a while. Yesterday, I spotted a recipe from a renowned blogger and someone I admire for her beautiful food photography, the Displaced housewife . This recipe is adapted from her original recipe for the mouthwatering Meyer lemon and Chamomile muffins
What drew me to making these delicious looking muffins, were the fact they contained Chamomile. Chamomile being a natural sleep and relaxation aid. On a personal note, in recent years I have been suffering from Insomnia, which makes my polymyalgia worse. I find that moderate exercise and eating healthy seems to help with the symptoms, I don’t care too much for medication and carefully watch what goes into my body.

A dear aunt of mine, gave me some great advice to drink first thing in the morning, a cup of hot water with a teaspoon of Turmeric. The turmeric is a wonderful anti inflammatory with so many healthy benefits. I’ve only just taken her advice this morning, and will report back to you, if there are any dramatic changes.

These muffins are so dense and lemony in flavour, I love how the earthiness of the turmeric shines through also picking up on the floral notes of the chamomile.So with that said, I give you turmeric, lemon with a hint of chamomile muffins.

Ingredients:

For the Muffins

-250g granulated sugar

-2 teaspoons of loose chamomile tea

-170g canola oil

-2 large eggs (room temperature)

-170g buttermilk (room temperature)

– 50ml milk, room temperature

-50ml fresh squeezed lemon juice

-2 tablespoon lemon zest

– 1 tablespoon of ground turmeric

-500g of all-purpose flour

– 2 teaspoon baking powder

– 1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon sea salt

-Pinch of cinnamon
For the glaze:

-1 ½ cup powdered sugar

-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

– 1 tablespoon lemon zest

-1 tablespoon milk
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Place a rack in the top third of the oven. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray or lightly grease with butter or canola oil. Place the sugar and 2 teaspoons of chamomile tea in a blender( I used my NutriBullet with the grinding blades) and grind until the chamomile is reduced to small flecks.

In a large bowl whisk together your granulated sugar, vegetable oil, sour cream, milk, lemon juice and eggs until well blended.In a medium bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until barely blended.

Pour the batter into the muffin tray filling until just barely ¾ full. Squeeze some lemon over the top and sprinkle with sugar + cinnamon. Let the muffins sit for 15 minutes before putting in the oven…this will help them get a nice crown. Bake for 15 minutes in the top third of the oven or until a toothpick comes out clean. You want the tops to be puffed up and slightly golden.Let cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, then use a butter knife to help get them out to finish cooling on a rack. In a separate bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins. In my photos you will notice I added a dash of turmeric to my muffins, I did this for dramatic colour contrast, of course, you don’t have to do this, to avoid a yellow mouth and hands 🙂

Happy weekend baking!

Dominique x
Honey and Mustard Pork meatballs with pumpkin tagliatelle.

The pairing of pork with flavours like honey, mustard and sage not only enhance the natural sweet flavour of pork but celebrate its umami undertones. This week’s midweek meal is a budget buster, super easy to make and best of all it takes only 20 minutes to magically whip up!
Like many others, I constantly find myself stuck in a rut when it comes to weekly meals and making the same things for convenience sake. Each week, usually as a mid week meal, I make pork and sage bangers, using one of my jars I recycle to use as salad dressing jars(a tip I picked up from Siba from Siba’s Table) I mix some honey, mustard, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and give it a vigorous shake to combine I then proceed to drizzle over the bangers then roast in the oven for 20 minutes to achieve a crisp and golden brown banger. The perfect accompaniment for me is runny polenta studded with butter of course, placing the bangers on top of the polenta and using the pan juices to dress the dish. This for me, is the ultimate comfort food dish.

So in rebellion of boring mid-week meals and costly healthy food, I’ve decided to pimp up the usual pork bangers and give it a lighter more fitting facelift for end of summer days.
Honey and Mustard Pork Meatballs with Pumpkin Tagliatelle with crispy sage.
Ingredients:

-350g pack of Pork bangers

-2 Tablespoons of honey

-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

-1 tablespoon of whole grain mustard

-1 pack of pumpkin tagliatelle(or any spiralized veg for that matter)

-a few sprigs of sage

-a knob of butter or tablespoon of coconut oil

-1 tablespoon of coconut oil to flash fry the pumpkin tagliatelle.
Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Remove the meat from the bangers roll into balls and place in a oven tray/dish. In a jar or bowl, add the honey, mustard, olive oil and lemon juice mix or shake until incorporated. Place the pork meatballs in the tray and pour over the honey and mustard glaze and roast for 20 minutes until golden brown. In a pan, flash fry the pumpkin tagliatelle in the coconut oil for 1 minute on high, place in a separate bowl and set aside to serve with the meatballs. Using the same pan, add the knob of butter or more coconut oil and fry the sage leaves until crispy. Take off the heat and set aside. On a plate, place the pumpkin tagliatelle (I sprinkled a little dukkah and chilli flakes over the veg pasta) place the meatballs on top with the crispy sage leaves using the leftover pan juices drizzle over the dish and serve with grated Parmesan.