Oyster Mushrooms

A while ago I came across these DIY mushroom kits from a company called Home-Gro.

You order via e-mail after which they’ll post it to you since they are situated in the Karoo.

The package contains a cardboard box (much like the wine boxes you get on wine farms) with a plastic bag inside. Without going into too much fungi detail, you then cut a slit across the bag and start misting it at least twice a day. (For more detail visit their website/Facebook page – link below)

Mine took a bit of effort to get going and I had to reseal it and store it in a black bin for 2 weeks to allow the Mycelium to develop some more. Advice I got from Alida at Home-Gro, she’s like a mushroom Wikipedia when she starts talking! After this it was less than a week before a crust began to develop in the opening of the bag.

From here it is absolute magic! You literally see them grow right in front of you. When I came home in the evening the mushrooms looked totally different to what they looked like that same morning. It takes about 4/5 days before you have your first harvest of juicy oyster mushrooms!

The mushroom culture can be re-used to produce a couple of harvests. They also share a lot of information on their Facebook page on how to create your own little ongoing mushroom farm using the contents of the bag as the basis.

After I’ve tasted these beauties, button mushrooms just won’t do it anymore. It’s like comparing a McDonald’s patty to a Rib-Eye steak.

Have a look here Home-Gro-Gourmet-Mushroom-Kit

It’s a bit pricy @ R135 per kit but if you follow the instructions and re-use it a couple of times I recon you’ll get your money’s worth.

Cape Wine Academy

Over the last two Monday evenings I attended the Cape Wine Academy’s South African Wine Course at the Michelangelo hotel in Sandton. It sure is a good way to start the week.

It was only a two lecture course (so it’s more like water skiing and not scuba diving) followed by an exam next week but even so, I learnt quite a lot over the last two weeks - from winemaking to tasting to scoring and even a bit of wine history.

Have a look if you’re interested, it's good fun. southafricanwinecourse

Beeld article about the art of curries

Ken die kuns van kerrie

2011-09-28 23:00

Druk hierdie artikel

Moenie dat kerrie jou intimideer nie, beproef ’n bietjie iets nuuts. Foto: Thinkstock

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Celinda Groenewald

Vir baie is die kerrie-en-rys op die kerkbasaar en ouma se geel hoender hul enigste ervaring van geurige kerriegeregte.

Hulle vermy eerder die Indiese restaurante met die Taj Mahal- dekor, Boeddha-beelde en windklokkie-musiek op die agtergrond.

Die verskillende wierook- en speserygeure kan ’n mens oorweldig nog voordat jy die “vreemde” geregte op die spyskaart gesien het. Tog het kerriegeregte se gewildheid die afgelope paar dekades baie toegeneem en pas elke kultuur sy speserye aan om by sy unieke smaak te pas.

’n Dis om te deel
Volgens me. Zara Kara, hoofsjef en mede-eienaar van die Karma- Indiese restaurante, verstaan die meeste mense nie die fyn kuns agter Indiese speserye en kooktegnieke nie.

Sy gebruik die thali as ’n voorbeeld van ’n gereg wat ’n verskeidenheid streekgeregte bevat.

“ ’n Thali is ’n verskeidenheid geregte wat op ’n vlekvrye staalbord met katori’s (klein bakkies) bedien word. Die katori’s bevat verskillende geregte wat voedingswaarde, tekstuur, geur en kleur aan tradisionele Indiese maaltye verskaf.

“Die thali in verskillende streke van Indië bestaan uit geregte eie aan daardie streek. Die Goedjarat- thali het byvoorbeeld farsans (vegetariese peuselhappies), groente, chapati’s (platbrood), rys, slaaie en ingelegde suurtjies.

“In die suide verskuif die klem na ryslekkernye en groente.”

Die beste manier om ’n thali aan te pak is om ’n klein porsie kos van ’n individuele gereg langs die rys te skep en dit dan met die rys te meng. Herhaal dié proses telkens om die geur van elke gereg op sy eie te waardeer.

“Besoekers word aangemoedig om nie meer as een gereg op ’n slag met die rys te meng of die rys in die individuele bakkies te meng nie,” sê Kara.

Roti’s en naan-brood word saam die gereg geniet deur ’n stuk af te breek en van die kos daarmee op te skep.

Gesondheid sonder rondheid
Verskeie navorsingstudies dui daarop dat kerrie kan help om vetsug en sekere siektes te voorkom, insluitend kolonkanker en Alzheimer se siekte.

Daar word ook gesê dat die liggaam se pynreseptor-reaksie op kerrie se warm bestanddele help om endorfiene af te skei wat dit ’n kragtige wellusprikkelende uitwerking gee.

Navorsers aan die Universiteit van St. Louis in die VSA het ook bevind borrie kan ’n sekere soort lewersiekte voorkom. Borrie is dikwels die hoofbestanddeel in kerrie en gee dit ’n kenmerkende geel of oranje kleur. Dit is ook sterk anti-inflammatories en help die lewer skoon hou en artritis behandel.

Kaneel is ’n natuurlike antioksidant en is voordelig vir die vel en spysvertering. Kardemom hou ook voordele vir spysvertering in en kan maagkrampe, hardlywigheid en disenterie behandel.

Rissies is ryk aan vitamien C en pro-vitamien A, wat albei voordelig vir die vel en gewigsverlies is. Dit bevat ook B-vitamiene wat stres verlig.

Koljander help met angs en slapeloosheid terwyl komyn die simptome van asma verlig en die immuunstelsel versterk.

Moet ook nie die voordele van klappermelk vergeet wat by die meeste kerriegeregte gevoeg word nie. Klappermelk help bou aan die immuunstelsel en hoewel dit baie versadigde vette bevat, kan dit jou help om gewig af te skud. Die vette bestaan uit kort en lang vetsuurkettings wat die liggaam gou in energie omsit eerder as om dit as vet te berg.

Groen, geel of rooi?
Hoewel kerries in verskillende kulture en op spyskaarte kan verskil, is dié ’n eenvoudige gids van wat groen-, geel- en rooikerrie behels:

• Groenkerrie: Bevat tradisioneel baie vars groenrissies, salotte, wortels en suiker-ertjies.
• Geelkerrie: Bestaan hoofsaaklik uit aartappels, uie, wortels en ertjies. Dit is die matige kerrie-opsie.
• Rooikerrie: Dikwels baie swaar gegeur met rooi soetrissies, tamaties, tamatiepasta, en rooi rissies (of minstens rissie- of rooipeper) word bygevoeg.

– Bykomende bronne: AFP; Go Media

Praat saam 
Voorgereg:

• Pakora – ’n Pannekoekie met groente of vleis; heerlik saam met blatjang.
• Poori – Diepgebraaide platbrood .
• Kebab – Pasteitjie met gemaalde lamsvleis en speserye.

Hoofgereg: 

• Brijani – Geurige, saggekookte vleis met rys en speserye.
• Karahi – Geroerbraaide vleis (in wok-styl) en groente met ’n bietjie room.
• Korma – ’n Baie matige kerrie wat gewoonlik met saffraan gekleur word om ’n romerige geel sous te maak.
• Vindaloo – ’n Baie warm rissie-en-suurlemoensous.

Bygereg: 

• Aloo – Geurige aartappels wat soms saam met blomkool en brinjal voorgesit word.
• Saag – Gaar spinasie wat dikwels opgesny en saam met paneer, ’n Indiese maaskaas, bedien word.
• Raita – ’n Mengel van jogurt, speserye en komkommer wat as doopsous dien en baie help om branderigheid te neutraliseer.

Nagereg: 

• Kheer – ’n Ryk ryspoeding.
• Ras malai – ’n Romerige poeding van ricottakaas en suiker.
• Kulfi – Indiese roomys wat van romerige melk gemaak word.
• Guab jamnu – Diepgebraaide melk-en-suikerbolle wat in ’n suikerstroop gedoop word.

Ghazal

Last night we met up with friends for dinner at Ghazal, an Indian restaurant in Bryanston (that I've never heard of to be honest).


I was pleasantly surprised! The inside of the restaurant is nothing special and neither is the location. It is situated in Coachman's crossing shopping centre. But it is very popular and there wasn't 1 empty table and the buzzing of voices and laugther always creates a nice vibe.

The food was unbelievably good. Serious stuff.
The Naan bread hot, fresh and slightly chewy (which is a good thing); the meat was so soft that you could cut it with a spoon.
All their dishes are either chicken or lamb based. Around the table the most popular choices were the creamy/korma type curries with a few exceptions like the really hot stuff for the bigger guys and Karlien had a tomato based chicken curry which was also delicious (can't remember it's name).

I realised I have some serious work to do before my curries are going to taste like this!

Check them out here www.ghazal.co.za

Sri-Lankan beef curry

Next on my list of curries was a Sri-Lankan beef curry. Very different flavours to the Malaysian chicken & prawn curry even though a lot of the ingredients in the 2 recipes overlapped.

It had a very unique smell & flavour, not quite like anything else I’ve ever tasted.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

serves 6 - 8 

1 tablespoon cardamom pods
4 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon fenugreek
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
3 onions, diced
6 garlic cloves
5cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
6 large red chillies, finely chopped
1 kg rump steak, diced into large pieces
4 tablespoons tomato paste
250ml water
1 bunch fresh coriander
540ml coconut milk
800ml coconut cream

Raita
2 Lebanese cucumbers, seeded and diced
4 tomatoes, diced
1 red onion, finely diced
1 green/red chilli, finely chopped
250g plain yogurt

Coriander leaves, chopped to garnish
Jasmine rice to serve

1. Roast spices individually in a dry frying pan or until fragrant and spices change colour.

2. I grinded spices in a coffee grinder (much quicker than a mortar & pestle!). Transfer to a roasting pan and dry roast until mixture reaches a dark coffee colour.

3. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook onions, garlic, ginger and chilli for a few minutes.

4. Add spices and pan fry for 1 minute.

5. Add meat and pan fry until browned. Add tomato paste, water, coriander and stir to combine. Pour in coconut milk, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 30-40 minutes. Pour in coconut cream and cook until sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally.

6. For the raita, combine all ingredients and season with salt to taste. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Where to find it:

Cardamom pods – Pick & Pay

Fenugreek – Food Lover’s Market

Coconut cream – Food Lover’s Market / PnP

Lebanese cucumbers – Food Lover’s Market