Soni's quick Bread

This is so very simple and so unbelievably delicious! We make this almost every weekend and will find any reason, no matter how obscure, to throw one together.

Soni's Quick Bread Recipe

1 packet of white onion soup (or brown or tomato or mushroom or ....)

500gm packet of self raising flour

500ml carton of buttermilk (or yogurt or stock or water...)

Mix it all together, press into a small loaf tin.

Grate over some parmesean or sprinkle with coarse salt and rosemary.

Bake at 180deg for 45min or until a skewer comes out clean.

Let cool to room temp and serve with a choice of chutneys, pickles, cheeses and sausage.

Use this as a guide and be limited only by your own creativity.

Enjoy!

Amalfi 2 - The Piazza in Cava di Terreni and dinner in Cetara

The charm of Cava is partly in it's relative obscurity, as it lies just off the Amalfi, about six kilometers from where Vietri perches at the southern end of the Amalfi coast, just before Salerno. We only know it because Son's dad lives here in the hills above the town. It is one of apparently only two villages in southern Italy that has colonnaded, arched walkways on either side of the main street.

The buildings surrounding the main piazza are mostly painted in the classic Italian ochre, with white trim and shutters. There is a charming central fountain, which also goes for a siesta when the rest of the town does and wakes with a gentle tinkle at 5pm to beckon all out for a passagare.



The Church on the square was destroyed and rebuilt after the war, but seems centuries old, displaying the notices of the upcoming Saints Feasts.

We had quick refreshments at Gran Cafe on the Piazza - espresso with very more-some little cheese twists, peach tea and gelato.

Well sated, we took a stroll through the park bordering the piazza, which was a cool oasis in the mid-day sun, graffiti on the park benched not withstanding. We were given a riotous welcome by the sprawling bougainvillea at the gate and were totally amazed by the massive old fir trees.

The wild life in the pond fascinated the boys, but I was sad to discover that the turtles weren't endemic to the region, they made good subjects though.

After a siesta, we set off to one our very favourite spots on the Amalfi Coast - Cetara. Unspoilt, not touristy and of the "blink and you'll miss it " variety, it's nested into the cliffs between Vietri and Maiori, at sea level.

We dined at Aqua Pazza, which despite it's contemporary take, still manages to maintain both an intimate and Amalfian atmosphere and aesthetic.

The starters consisted of sashimi di Mare, an assorted platter of raw sea food, lip-smacking fresh from the ocean, and maybe just a tad too sophisticated for the venue and occasion, but really good. The kids had a primi of simple spaghetti vongole, absolutely perfect with just a hint of lemon and garlic. Too Yummy.

We ordered a local bottle of white, Costa D'Amalfi - Terre Saracene, which with it's fresh citrus top notes, made for the perfectly paired wine for all choices for the meal.

The mains were simply a mixed grill of fresh local fish, spicy tomato based octopus, langoustine on parpadelle and a roughly chopped garden salad, all exquisitely delicious! The octopus did however take the proverbial cake...

After a very eventful and busy, long day we crammed back into Nonno's car (with Stef in the hutch at the back), and crawled our way back up the hill to SS.Annunziata.

Best burger outside NYC!!

Just been for dinner with Stef @ GBC - Gourmet burger company in Durban North.
Best burger outside of NYC, 100% endorsed by my own little burger gourmet Stef, so that makes it 110% authentic. Stef had the cheddar burger with fries.

I settled for the blue cheese burger with smoked bacon and fries. We shared a house side salad and home made mayo to dip the chips!

The bill was maybe a tad expensive for a couple of burgers (Paulie did join us last minute) but well worth it! Indulge yourself when you are in the area and go!

Sunday "FEAST" market

It was the launch of the FEAST market in Durban North. Pity it all but rained out, as it has all the makings of just the type of upmarket market we need. I sincerely hope Lynn and Co keep going, as the plan is to do it the first Sunday of every month.

My favourites were:

Organic veg from Earth Mother - I bought melanzane, fennel and a mix of course salt and herbs. Super fresh Proteas from Lynn, and the taster of the ribs (thanks Mairi) will have me getting some next time.

Great bakes from Debbie, who had the most scrumptious Greek sweets, which we managed to resist, but we crumbled (sic), for the huge muffins, both sweet and savoury, as well as the mini loaves.

We took home a spinach and feta loaf, which we had for dinner with home made fig jam, courtesy of Oumie. Now time for the sunday night movie and bed...

The Amalfi coast - instalment 1

Arriving in Italy

We are back from a great holiday in Italy, where we stayed with Soni's Dad in Cava di Terreni, a few kilometers from where the Amalfi coast starts at the picturesque town of Vietri sul Mare. Vietri is famous for it's beautifull hand painted ceramics, and I must confess, we buckled and bought a few awesome serving pieces, but that is another instalment...

I'll be blogging about the food on our trip as well as dropping in some pics, just to make you all very envious, of the awesome scenery, classic architecture, as well as some happy snaps.

Oumie and I arrived on Sun the 12th, to join Soni, Stef and Luca who had been at Pappa since the previous thursday. He lives in the hills above Cava, where there are deliciously cool winds in the heat of mid summer.

The view from the terrace is amazing, and just to the right against the hill is a ramshackle ruin than we dream of restoring...

While Soni and the rest of the house hold went for a siesta, I went for a walk with Oumie and the Boys, who were so happy to see us after their ten day adventure with Lu & Co in London. The terrain is very rustic and hilly, so we stopped often, which was another excuse every time for a photo opportunity.

As is custom in these parts in summer, dinner was casual and late for us (9pm). Pappa drove us down to the beach promenade area of Vietri, where we were told they made the best potato croquettes in the world. Crispy outside, soft inside with melting mozzarella centres at Bar . This set the stage for the first meal of many that we shared with Soni's aunts Nelli and Angela.

The angel with Pappa. is ANGELO, Soni's six year old brother, what a gentle, charming boy and what a treat to watch Angelo, Stef and Luce communicate with a mix of pidgin English, Italian and mainly hand signals was refreshingly funny.

The only alternative to the potato croquettes was pizza - either Bianco or Rosso, sold by the slice.

We all slept well after a hour or so of the kids playing at the Gypsy fun fair and the trek back up the hill, there was a week or so worth of adventure, excitement and great meals ahead.....

Bocca di Lupo - London

With the sad demise of our old Italian favourite, Gennaro Contaldo's Passione in Charlotte str, it was with delight that we dined at Bocca di Lupo!

It is tutta L'Italiano!

Chef Jacob Kennedy delights with a contemporary take on Cucina povera. We dined at the bar, and were all truly satisfied and thrilled with the dishes.

Rob had the Rustic pork & foie gras sausage with farro & porcini from Trentino, Nibs t
Trofie with green beans, potato & pesto from Liguriahe, Shirley the Veal scallopini with artichokes & lemon from Lazio and I had the Braised beef cheeks on berlotti beans with pesto.

The sides were equally inspiring, Berlotti beans, roasted potatoes with rosemary and chestnuts an crispy deep fried artichokes.

We rounded it off with espresso, Vin Santo and a deliciously sharp Gorgonzola.

When in London make the effort:

Bocca di Lupo
12 Archer street (Soho)
London W1D 77B

Sea-side Meals - Magic Mussels

Love mussels? Who doesn't. but most people feel too daunted by the thought of cooking them - don't, the biggest challenge is finding a stock pot big enough to cook them in! I had a bit of a problem on that account at the cottage, but in the end it was two pots (pasta and pressure) that did the job.

For the base sauce:

1 bunch of celery, tops and stalks chopped.

1 Spanish onion, sliced into thin half rings

A thumb size piece of stem ginger, finely sliced

A few cloves of crushed and minced garlic

2 Tins of whole Italian tomatoes

A bottle of fine white wine (and extra for the chef!)

Saute the onion, garlic and celery in olive oil and a generous knob of butter till soft but not coloured.

We had the kids with some of their mates with us, so I held back the chili, but if all diners can handle add the chili to the onion mix now.

Add the ginger and then the wine, cook off the alcohol for a minute or two and then add the tomatoes, chopping them roughly in the pot with a knife.

This sets the scene for the mussels!

The mussels need to be cleaned of all beard and soaked and rinsed to clear all sand and grit.

Tip into the pot (...or pots in this case), mix through ensuring there is enough cooking liquid and if not add some boiling water. Fit a tight lid and leave the mussels to steam for 6 to 8 minutes or until they have opened.

Heap onto a shallow, wide serving dish and serve with fresh crusty bread to mop up the sauce with.

The amazing cooking liquor left in pot, fragrant with all the mussels natural juices were being to be whipped into another dish! What to do? Freeze for future use or....

.... cook a pack of spaghetti in the sauce,(add a little water if needed), and serve with some of the de-shelled mussels and bread crumbs crisped in the oven for crunch.

Whilst the adults were diving elbow deep into the juicy, plump mussels, it was the quite rapture and slurp-sigh of the kids tucking into the pasta, that was most gratifying....check it out!