Blueberry banana bread

I have always been a bit of a fiend for a sugary crust. 
The specific crunch that sugar can create on a crust is perfection. 
Think back to that moment of bliss when you closed your eyes and did a little happy dance over that morsel you just popped in your mouth. 

I suppose it's all about the simple things. Simple things that have the ability to invoke a powerful emotional response.
Complex in their simplicity - these moments and experiences always have so much more going on that meets the eye. 

Unfortunately, it is oftentimes the simple things that are most taken for granted.
In a recent collaboration with Country Road, I had to stop and think about the simple things in life. 
The basics that move me. 

Baking in my kitchen is a staple to my happiness. Only then am I in my element with all my senses being nourished.
To smell a fresh loaf of bread in the oven, to breathe it in and have your heart warmed by it is a simple pleasure that I could go not without. 
In one breath, it has the power to bring my entire childhood back into the here and now rendering me overcome with memories long since forgotten and a lingering feeling of nostalgia that can last for days.

After much thought, I decided to combine my thoughts on these 'simple things' and share something truly special with you.
The Result?

A simple yet sentimental loaf of banana blueberry bread with the ultimate sugary crust.
The baking is a labor of love and smelling it will bring you untold happiness and, well, tasting? You decide. 
Create a moment of reflection for yourself.  

What are your simple things? 

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Serves: 6 cooktime: 1h 30m

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas, smashed - don't have ripe bananas? Put them in the oven at 100 degree Celsius for 40 minutes
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup of blueberries (frozen or fresh)
• 1 fresh banana sliced to top the bread.
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

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Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease your bread loaf tin a 4x8 inch or 10 x 20cm

In a large bowl using an electronic mixer mix the butter and the mashed bananas.

Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.

Add the baking soda and salt and mix it into the batter

Add the flour and coconut and beat, do not over beat the batter. Using a spatula gently fold in blueberries. Be carseful to not break them as you will get a blue banana bread. Top the bread with the sliced banana and sprinkle the top with the sugar. This will result in a perfect crust.

Add your mixture to your baking tin and bake for 1 hour.

Allow cooling on your cooling rack in the tin for 15 minutes and then let it cool further out of the tin.

-Melissa

This blog post is sponsored by Country Road. All homeware can be shopped here.
 

Five Reasons to Visit Schoone Oordt

So I have this App. It’s a simple app with the sole purpose of playing soothing sounds to aid in rest and relaxation. For example, a crackling fireplace, a babbling brook or frogs chirping. It’s actually not as random as it appears. 

I use it when I just can’t seem to quieten my mind or let go of the day. 

Seemingly endless moments spent lying in bed, simply exhausted, while my mind runs amok with thoughts... of that to-do list for tomorrow, my growing workload and of course the all important stuff, like "what would my dream kitchen look like" or "would I be able to use a rolling pin with my feet in a pickle?"

Sound familiar? Of course it does. 

Imagine visiting a place that offers you each and every one of those sounds, and more - without an App and 100% Authentically. 

Welcome to Schoone Oordt.

The Walker family undertook the tremendous task of restoring the main house of Schoone Oordt to its former glory, and with (I suspect), perhaps more spit and polish than had ever existed before, even in her hey day.

The woodwork and painstakingly restored antiques will take you to a by gone era. This establishment boasts manicured gardens and history dating as far back as 1853. 

It truly is a marvel and a testament to the formidable spirit and vision involved in bringing this grand old dame into a new century.

The food is packed with flavour, is suprisingly unpretentious and can only be described as modern country food at its finest. With an array of amazing local farmers, Alison Walker explained that the restaurant only sources fresh organic ingredients from local suppliers. 

The dishes more than echoed this claim in quality and taste and I was struck by the seamless integration of the farm to table movement in a setting that could be taken all too easily as ostentatious.

Schoone Oortd strikes this balance perfectly.  

A few dishes to mention; The risotto was superb, and the Overberg feef fillet was tender and seasoned to perfection.

The entree that really stood out was the beetroot salad with goats cheese and crispy sage, and of course to round it all off, I opted for the lavender creme brûlée. Apparently, as my partner pointed out, licking your bowl in the dining hall is uncouth. 

The service is attentive, friendly and there isn’t a second that you will not be waited on hand and foot. The staff are mostly local, which I love! There is a real sense of professionalism, as the staff moves without really being seen. After dinner, you come back to a lit fireplace and a turndown service that offers the sweetest homemade chocolate truffle you have ever had. (Naturally, I had both truffles.) 

The gardens are beautiful. They are filled with tranquility. If visiting during a hot spell or during the summer months, you could relax at the pool with a book and completely switch off to the outside world. With water features scattered in the gardens, I drifted off into a complete state of relaxation and my partner quipped on more than one occasion that I was a Zen-Master Truffle.

The bedrooms; Lying in bed listening to a crackling fireplace while sipping on peppermint tea is my definition of heaven. Their attention to detail will not go unappreciated, I can promise you. It’s the little things that make all the difference in a five star establishment. Fresh milk in the fridge and home baked rusks for your morning tea is just a few of them. The bathrooms are spoilt with fragranced products from pause room and I must admit a rose petal bath every night was on the cards for little old me.

In retrospect, thinking of my stay at Schoone Oordt - It's definitely the little things that turn out to be the big things.

Falling asleep to the sound of the water fountain outside and the fireplace crackling at the foot of my bed created a deep relaxation that no iPhone or App on earth could create. Sometimes you just need to take a step back.

I took a step back into the arms of our countries third oldest town, Swellendam and stayed at one of the towns oldest houses, Schoone Oordt.

The Walker's have not only created a space where the most natural thing to do is to let go and just be; they manage to maintain the values of slow living at every turn.

-Melissa 

Risotto salsiccia funghi

I met Maybe Corpaci a few years ago, when I was adamant that I was going to be a fashion photographer. Yes you heard me! Just two years ago I would never have thought (in my wildest dreams) that my career path would end up in food. 

Maybe worked at the wildly popular and very well known Elle magazine South Africa. I was a photographic assistant to the incomparable fashion duo, Elford De la Foret at the time and surprisingly, Maybe and I connected over food. 

In retrospect, I should have already known then that the stars were aligning into a shape of a crockery pot. Needless to say, all these years later; Maybe and I decided to do a little cook for you. 

Maybe is a fiery Italian women that is fearlessly beautiful and knows her way around the kitchen. When I asked her what we would be cooking, a singular booming word was the reply, Risotto!

Now, I might be many things, but certainly not one to argue with an Italian who wants to cook the elusive risotto and show me the ropes.

So here it is. 

Believe it or not, I over salted it at the end; so watch out for that. The salsiccia sausage and the broth both have plenty of salt, and coupled with the Parmesan, leave the dish perfectly seasoned.

A rookie error on my part, never to be repeated.

However, having said that, allow your guests to season for themselves if they are so inclined, but caution them accordingly.

A simple, "Put down the salt Grandma!" should suffice.

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Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, chopped 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 150 grams salsiccia sausage 
• 1 cup risotto
• ½ a cup of white wine  
• 1 liter beef broth 
• 1 teaspoon saffron 
• 4 wild mushrooms (shitake) sliced. 
• 3 knobs of butter 
• 40 grams of Parmesan cheese 

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Instructions: 

Chop the onions finely and add to a casserole pot with your olive oil and soften. Make sure the pot has a lid. 

Remove the sausage from the skin and break it up with your fingers. Add it to your onions and fry until golden brown. 

Add the risotto and fry on a medium to high heat until the grain becomes slightly translucent. 

Add ½ a cup of white wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. You want the alcohol to evaporate. 

Add your beef broth one ladle at a time. Keep stirring. As the liquid absorbs add more broth feeding your risotto. Your cooking time should be 15-18 minutes. 

At the 13-minute mark add a tablespoon of broth to the teaspoon of saffron in a separate bowl. Let the saffron steep for 3 minutes. Add the saffron to the risotto. 

Slice the mushrooms and fry with a little butter in a separate frying pan over a high heat until golden brown. 

Add the mushrooms to the risotto and fold through. Remove from heat and pot the lid on the casserole. Let the risotto sit for 3 minutes before serving.

-Melissa

Earl grey and honey milkshakes

These milkshakes are inspired by one of my favourite ingredients of all time, honey.

I add honey to almost everything! You can use it in your tea, mix it in salad dressings and even add it to pizza! Yes, I said pizza. The saltiness of the bubbly cheese mixes so well with the sweetness of honey – its absolute perfection! Don’t even get me started on the health properties of honey. The list is too long to mention here but to give you an example; recently it’s proved a lifesaver in our home as a soothing throat and flu remedy (hot toddy alert!) 

You would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of this versatile product from nature.

I partnered up with Woolworths to share these decadent Earl grey and honey milkshakes with you because, well, who said milkshakes are exclusively for summer? 
Or perhaps you need to bring a boy to your yard, pronto!?
Everyone knows a sure fire way to achieve the latter is through milkshakes.

I leave you with this parting thought from the only other honey fan that is more obsessed than I. 
The incomparable Winnie-the-Pooh.

“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.” “Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.”

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Ingredients:

Serves 2

• 2 earl grey tea bags
• ½ a cup of boiling water
• 2 tablespoons of honey 
• 1 ½ cups vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup milk
• ½ a cup of cream
• Whipped cream to top
• Chocolate to decorate
• Honey to drizzle

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Instructions:

Add the tea bags to the boiling water and let seep for 4 minutes. No longer as the tea will become bitter!

Add the honey and stir. Let the tea cool. You can add two blocks of ice to speed up the process.

Blend together the tea, ice cream, milk and cream until light and frothy.

Serve topped with whipped cream, chocolate and a drizzle of honey!

-Melissa 

*This blog post is sponsored by Woolworths all opinions are my own

Vegetarian Lasagne

I am all about the cheese. As in ALL about the cheese. If anything goes wrong in the kitchen, I am a firm believer that all you need to do to correct a culinary calamity is to add cheese on top to solve the problem. 

Now when it comes to lasagna, I have a passion for the corner piece (as I am sure most of you do!) 
You know what I am talking about right? The gooey, crunchy, bubbling corner piece that definitely hosts more cheese than the rest of those pitiful landlocked slices. 

I am prepared to fight to the death for it.

The amazing thing with this lasagna is, not only is it vegetarian (meat eaters fear not) but it is also (in my mind) guilt free. 
Layered with fresh vegetables and topped with the perfect cheese crust, this recipe will blow your mind. 
It is a labour of love. 

Dubbed by a close friend of mine as the Lasagn-YOH (who also generously shared the recipe with me), its name is as fitting as the casserole dish it’s baked in.
I say generously because this dish is a game changer. A blessing. 
For those of you who don’t know, YOH is South African slang, used when a person is rendered speechless, a word that summarizes the gravity of an overwhelming experience.

Practice saying it out aloud now. Yoh.
There is no use fighting it – it’s exactly what will happen.

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Serves: 6

Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes 

Ingredients:

• Coconut oil (olive oil if you don’t have)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of thyme (twigs removed)
• 700 grams of Rosa tomatoes, halved
• 700ml or 1 jar of tomato purée
• 50 grams of basil chopped
• 1 large butternut, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 400 grams potabellini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 sprigs of rosemary (twigs removed)
• 250ml cream
• 1 large aubergine
• 200 grams Swiss chard, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zested
• 300 grams fresh ricotta cheese
• 250 grams egg lasagne
• 450 grams of mozzarella
• Parmesan cheese to serve

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Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a large pot over a medium heat, add a tablespoon of coconut oil, the onion and the garlic and fry until soft. Add the thyme leaves and the tomatoes and fry until soft. Add the tomato purée and basil, let simmer. The longer the tomato sauce simmers the more the acid reduces and the sweeter the sauce, so the longer the better. I let mine simmer on a low heat for almost two hours if I can. Season to taste.
 

Put the butternut on a roasting tray and lightly coat in a half a tablespoon of coconut oil. You don’t want too much oil. Just enough so that it is covered. Add salt and roast at 180 for 35-40 minutes or until soft when you poke it with a fork. When it is ready remove from the oven but keep the oven on to bake the dish at the end.
 

In a small frying pan over a medium to high heat add the butter and a dash of oil (this stops the butter from burning.) Do not add to much as you don't want to boil the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms and fry until they are golden brown. Once they start to brown add the rosemary. Once ready add half the cream to the pan. Let simmer for 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.

Slice the aubergine into half a centimeter thick disks. In a large frying pan over a high heat add half a tablespoon of coconut oil. Once hot add your disks. Aubergine tends to suck up the oil. Don’t panic if they need add a little more oil (don’t over do it, they will fry up). Fry each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add the Swiss chard and lemon zest. Using your hands crumble the ricotta into the bowl and toss with the Swiss chard.

Almost there! Now you just have to put all the layers together

You are going to assemble the lasagne in a large lasagne dish. 

Add your butternut to the dish. I squish my butternut down to make a compact flat layer. Top with four ladles of tomato sauce. Add the lasagne by lining them up next to each other. You are not wetting the lasagne before cooking. It will cook out when you bake the dish.

Add the mushrooms on top of the lasagne. Smooth out to all corners of the dish.

Add the spinach on top. Pack it down and get as much in as you can. It wilts when you bake it.

Add another layer of lasagne.

Add your fried aubergine on top of your lasagne. Assemble it so that it makes a full layer.

Cover with the rest of the tomato sauce. Pour over the rest of the cream.

Slice the mozzarella into disks, enough to cover the entire top of the lasagne. Don’t be shy and make sure you don’t miss a spot! Remember the cheese will spread as it melts! Grate some parmesan over the top. 

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye on your cheese as you don’t want it to burn but you do want it crunchy!

-Melissa