Peri Peri Sauce

Hi everyone!

As some may have noticed, I take great pleasure in recreating classic "restaurant" favourites and sharing the successful attemps with you all. This sauce was inspired was inspired by the famous Nandos marinades/sauces with the perks of adjusting it to my own personal preference. You can also make subtle changes depending on who you are cooking for. I am a spice head, so I like everything HOT!

Recipe: Enough to marinade and baste 1 full chicken

1 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 small diced red pepper
1 1/2 tsp honey
1/2 diced onion
8 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1 heaped tsp paprika powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp salt
9 green chillies- you can use, scotch bonnet, bird's eye, whichever you can find and the heat level you desire

Directions

1. Over medium heat saute the garlic, onion and pepper until they are slightly soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the chillies.
3. bring everything to a simmer and leave covered for 2 minutes.
4. Add the chillies, mix and leave to cool for a few minutes.
5. In a blender, blend everything until it is smooth.

This is great to marinade chicken and baste during the cooking process.

Easy Sweet Chilli Chicken Wings

Who doesn't love a generous plate of sticky, spicy, slightly sweet chicken wings, definitely not me! This is incredibly easy and perfect when hosting a crowd, they cook quickly and are sure to be a hit for everyone.

Ingredients

Butternut and Carrot Soup

This healthy and heart warming soup is so appropriate as the days become wet, dark and cold. It's full of great nutrients, to be enjoyed with absolutely no guilt.

Ingredients: Serves 2

Mocha Swiss Roll

Coffee meets chocolate! If you are looking for a very light dessert type of cake that requires very few ingredients then a swiss roll is definitely something to consider. You can make variations to flavouring, giving you a canvas to express your creativity in dessert form!

Ingredients:

Savoury French Toast with Feta Cheese

You know when you have those mornings that you wake up wanting something a little out of the ordinary for breakfast, why don't you try making these savoury french toasties. There's flavour from the fresh herbs, a little tangy saltiness from the feta cheese and the egg makes a lovely familiar base that brings it all together. And ofcourse you can drizzle lightly (or heavily) with some syrup. After all, what is french toast without syrup!?

 Ingredients:

Lamb Stew

As the days become colder, warm, hearty meals are a no brainer. In addition to being comforting, they are not complicated to make. So try this over the weekend while you are resting with your family and friends.

Ginger and Coriander Fried Chicken Wings

I love making food for little events with friends and family, and I love it even more when whatever I'm making cooks quickly and is easy to eat. That all spells CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS to me haha.
I made these crispy chicken wings last week, and although the event I had made them for didn't end up happening, the people that did have them absolutely loved them! Yay!

Classic Egg Salad Sandwich

I'm a sucker for anything with eggs. Seriously, if it has egg, I'm pretty sure it's going to be good and this egg sandwich is no different. Its also really filling and very easy to make.

Honey and Mustard Chicken

This recipe is perfect for any occasion and it's so easy to put together too. I have tried different ways of making this chicken, but this is by far my favourite and I thought I'd share.

Ingredients:

Sweet Wholewheat Rolls

I love sweet breads, they are such an indulgent treat for me. I had to find a way of enjoying them with a little less guilt and using wholewheat flour allows me to do just that.

Ingredients: makes 12 rolls

Tagliatelle with Creamy Tomato Sauce and Meatballs | Recipe

With classes and just life in general being in full swing now, I have been enjoying really quick, easy meals. And pasta dishes are definitely a great way of having dinner in minutes. I have a delicious meatball recipe that is perfect for pasta so in this post I am only going to share how i made the pasta sauce. Click here for meatball recipe.

Ingredients:

Yoghurt and Herb Chicken Kebabs

Hi Everyone!

This recipe is inspired by the Turkish cuisine I had during the summer when I spent some time with my family. I loved it, I can't believe i had always shied away from it- what was wrong with me?

But I'm reformed and decided to share my version of yoghurt and herb chicken kebabs. You can use as much or as little chicken as you like depending on if your making mini kebabs or bigger ones if they are part of the main course.

Mint Grilled Tilapia

Hello everyone!

I had quite a bit of mint around and I was really struggling to find ways to make use of it (I hate throwing things away). Coincidentally, I also had some tilapia and decided to give this a try and I must say I am SO happy with how it turned out. Here's how I did it:

For one average sized fish ( enough for 2 people)

How to Preserve Fresh Herbs

I always avoided buying fresh herbs when trying out recipes. Its because since moving away from my mom's little herb garden, I hated spending money on a big bunch of herbs and only using a small amount and throwing the rest away. Since the beginning of he year, however I have found a way to preserve them so that I can use them over a longer period of time and essentially get my money's worth.

Sugar Bean Curry

Hello everyone!

Making a curry can definitely turn a potentially boring or bland meal into something exciting. Beans have always been one of those things I found quite uninteresting until I started making them like this. I love sugar beans now and I always have them with chapati which is a perfect accompaniment for the spicy beans.

Garlic and Herb Grilled Potato Wedges

Hi everyone!



If you looove roasted potato wedges but you never quite get them right, then this post is for you. There are so many reasons your wedges don't turn out the way you imagine, but the most likely problem is the type of potato you are using. Some potatoes are best for salads, steaming or boiling, baking while others are best for roasting etc. I guess the real difference is in the texture. There are thousands of varieties, I would have to do a seperate post to cover them all so today I am going to focus on how I made these delicious, crispy garlic and herb grilled potatoes.

Any Time is Tea Time!

Hi everyone!

 

So I have recently come to realise and accept that i have an obsession with tea, more specifically this Clipper Mango Green Tea. The extent of my absolute love for this tea is obvious because even though it has been quite warm, I've managed to go through multiple boxes over the last 3 months. Sometimes I even have it twice a day (covers face) but I have no shame, rather that than some sugared beverage.

Sticky Barbeque Ribs

Who doesn't love delicious sticky, well marinated ribs?!

Here's a simple recipe and as usual, feel free to customise it and make it your own with your favourite seasonings and sauces.

Mini Chicken Pizzas

I've been thinking what food is reminiscent of spring and summer and somehow pizza came to mind. So I thought I would share my recipe for mini pizza. This recipe can be adapted to your needs, so you can make many small pizzas or one large one to share with family and friends.




Secret to a delicious pizza is in the pizza sauce you use and I have tried countless times to make my own sauce. I'm so excited to say that I think I may have nailed it this time!

For the Pizza sauce: 2 mini pizza (15cm diameter)

Meatball Kebabs

Hi everyone!

Happy Spring to everyone south of the equator! I love this new season, it represents all things new, fresh and beautiful and I really hope you will take advantage of the awesome weather and get out to picnics, braais/barbeques.. whatever you do, get out, do something new and fun!

So I thought it would be appropriate to share this meatball recipe.

Restaurant Style Chicken Curry

Most times when I try to make a curry, i always find recipes that require a million and one spices that i never have on hand. Realistically thinking, not many people have all sorts of spices waiting to be used so i found a way of achieving the same restaurant style curry result but without the hassle of all the individual spices.

Crunchy Tuna Salad

Hello everyone!

A friend of mine introduced me to beautiful combination of sweetened lemon juice, celery and apple and that is what inspired this salad recipe. Its so simple to put together and tastes so light and fresh.

The Perfect Vanilla Cupcake

I cannot count the number of vanilla cupcake recipes i have tried in search for the best texture and taste (i'm slightly obsessed with textures in food). And I think i have found my "vanilla cupcake home" haha.
One of my absolute favourite pastry chefs is Gretchen Price. Her recipes will not steer you wrong! She knows what she's doing and she definitely inspires me. This is her version of a perfect vanilla cupcake, and i absolutely agree.

 Bread making can be so therapeutic- almost addictive, especially when you know that the result of all your hard work (kneading) will be worth it and delicious. These rolls are everything you want from a home-baked batch of bread rolls. What's even more exciting is knowing that you can make any shape buns, so here's a way of releasing your creativity! :)
 

Light and Fluffy Pancakes | Recipe

If you are tired of making pancakes that are chew and heavy, then this recipe is a must-try. A few things to do with technique really affect the texture of pancakes. Firstly, it's so important to have make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before mixing them. Also, using the correct measuring utensils ensures you use the correct amount of baking powder that will make your pancakes rise without being bitter. Lastly, do not over mix the batter. LUMPS ARE GOOD (not huge lumps of flour though, just mix enough to make sure you don't have flour that has not been incorporated).

Chicken Fried Rice | Recipe

This Chicken Fried rice recipe is a great reason to stay away from ordering Chinese and making this yourself at home.

Serves 2

Baked Samosa | How-to and Recipe

Samosa dough Recipe : 12 samosas.
2 cups plain flour
2 pinches salt
5 tsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup water

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-fry | Recipe

If you have veggies that you need to get rid of before they go bad, and you don't want to fuss for too long in the kitchen, this recipe is perfect. I made this whole meal in less than 30 minutes. And it's so healthy and delicious!!!

Because stri fry are made at high temeperatures, it helps to prepare everything before you start.

Home-made Bread | Recipe

Very few things in life are as satisfying as baking your own bread and then enjoying it with some butter and jam on a rainy day.

For 2 mini loaves of bread:

Chewy Chocolate Brownie | Recipe

This recipe will give about 16 brownies.

What you need:

Cheesy Tuna Cakes

These make for an awesome starter or light dinner served with a salad and they are very simple to make.

Ingredients: to make 8 fish cakes (serves 4)

Spicy Roasted Potatoes

Hi everyone! So i know this photo can be a little confusing about what the recipe is on... but, its those gorgeous potatoes!

They are so easy to make and are an awesome addition to any meal.

Ocean Basket, Sam Levy's Village [Review]

I finally made my way to the relatively new Ocean Basket conveniently located next to the Cinema and right opposite St. Elmos restaurant at the Sam Levy's Village Entertainment Centre.

Its opening on the 24th of December 2014 definitely came as great music to the ears of any seafood lover like myself.

Tangy Cucumber Salad

Nothing like a guilt-free lunch. One can never have too much
salad.

Perfect Roast Chicken | Happy 35th Birthday Zimbabwe!

On Zimbabwe's Independence day, I had been planning to go all out, making one of my favourite Zim "traditional" meals - Rice with peanut butter, chicken stew and any fried leafy greens. This meal honestly makes my heart skip a beat..yup, thats my relationship with food in general :D

After all that planning, I felt too tired after being at school all day so I did this crispy, juicy roast chicken instead- my love for chicken clearly runs deep haha!

 

I used half a chicken here to make sure I would be able to finish it over the next few days (uni life)..:/

I seasoned it using a mixture of :

1 tablespoon cajun spice

60 ml soy sauce

Salt and pepper.

I mixed this all together and then rubbed it into the chicken.

Healthy meal idea | Red Cabbage and Chicken Stir-fry

Hi everyone!

I've always been facinated by the idea of red cabbage as opposed to the normal (boring) yellow one, so everytime I need to buy cabbage, I definitely get the red one :)

So this is a stir fry that I've been having mainly for quick lunches because, to be honest, I don't think any one wants to fuss over cooking complicated meals for lunch so here's how I do it..

shredded red cabbage
chicken breast
spring onions
diced red pepper
diced garlic cloves
stir fry sauce (I used a Garlic and Spice Stir Fry sauce but im sure any other will be great)
sliced button mushroom
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Baked Lemon and Garlic Chicken

Hi everyone,

I've been feeling like experimenting a lot in the kitchen lately so thats what I did with my Easter break. This is a baked chicken recipe thats perfect for cooking in large quantities - parties, dinners etc when you're short of hands to help you to prepare everything.

Ingredients
1 kg chicken drumstick or thighs

Marinade
1 onion
1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder
5 cloves garlic
1 Teaspoon Basil
1Teaspoon cajun spice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
salt (use a small amount as soy sauce can be salty as well)
Juice of 1 lemon

Meatless Meal- Simple mushroom meal!

I'm a veteran lover of meat, but since the beginning of the year, I've forced myself to have some meatless days. To my surprise, I quite enjoy them because they are so stress free... I don't think anyone can ever go disastrously wrong with veges right...?

Birthday Reflections - Hiding in Him

So I turned 23 last Wednesday!!

God is good, I am so grateful for another year to honour Him!

I have learnt a number of lessons in the last few months but one that i felt so strongly about was learning to hide myself in the Lord. Life is busy and distractions of all sorts are in our paths and its easy to drift away from God and before you know it, you're doing, saying and thinking things you would have never dreamt of before. In all this, I have learnt that there is great victory in simply running back to God because honestly, without him, we are nothing.

This whole lesson forced me to introspect with regards to issues such as pride that stop us being able to trust and rely on God. He is our all in all, and He's ever willing to draw us back to Himself and teach us to walk with Him.

Jeremiah 31 verse 3: "Long ago the Lord said to Israel: "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself""

Here's to many more years of walking with God and learning, every day, to be more like Him!

Tomato and Roasted Garlic Pork stir fry

That name is a serious mouthful!.. and it may make the meal sound complicated but if I made it, then you all know its a dead simple and quick meal. You can have this meal with anything from rice to pasta or mashed potatoes.