Filed under: Breakfast (at Tiffany's...)
“But I can’t even cook an egg!” No worries, this is the best place to start! No two-step involved – master the eggs and you can conquer someone’s heart.
For 1 person you need (multiply quantity as needed):
1 tsp soft butter
2 eggs
50 ml full-fat milk or single cream (ever-so decadent)
A pinch of salt and 3 grinds of freshly ground black pepper
How to go about it:
Mix your eggs, milk and seasoning in a bowl with a whisk/fork. Put a non-stick pan on a medium heat and melt the butter in it. When it is melted, lift the pan up and shake so that the pan is covered evenly. Put the pan back on the heat (don’t let the butter burn though) and quickly add the egg-mixture, and turn the heat on its lowest let it cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat. You can use a whisk, but I found it too scrambled – use a wooden spoon or egg lifter instead and stir like mad! Even though the heat is turned off, the eggs will cook over a slow heat, thus resulting in a creamy mixture instead of rubber eggs.
Serve hot on toast with tomato sauce or tomatoes on the stove (see under) and avocado, or add to complete a full boere breakfast…
“Tomatoes on the stove”
A lot of people I know will go mad for this – my friend (this is the only breakfast she will willingly scoff in the morning), but most importantly my mom and the rest of my family. You can eat this on toast or off toast, with eggs or without eggs, as tapas or out of the pan…tried and tested.
For 5 people you need:
8-10 overripe tomatoes, a minute from their use-by date, or really, really red ones
1 T sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
How to go about it:
Cut the tomatoes up roughly, in chunks (the smaller the tomato is cut up, the faster it becomes cooked), but please don’t do this one in a food processor, the taste is not so rustic at the end! Throw the tomatoes in a deep pan (no need to add oil, the tomatoes make their own yummy juice), turn it on a medium heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and lower the heat a bit lower. Cook this for 20 minutes, whilst stirring every now-and-then, so that it does not get caught at the bottom and burn. After 20-odd minutes of wishful stirring, you’ll see a sweet/sour kind of tomato jam/sauce/concoction (give it your own name, we call it “tamaties op die stoof” – tomatoes on the stove) that is ready to serve…
Filed under: Lunch
“Luckily, there is a lot of rice – some 450 million tonnes are harvested every year throughout the world. Rice belongs to the family Gramineae and contains protein, fats, carbohydrates, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other nutritional essentials; and 100g provides 350 calories. It is highly recommended food because it cannot be adulterated and is easy to digest. Furthermore, it goes well with meat, pulses, vegetables, fruit and milk.”
- The Silver Spoon, Phaidon Publishers
This was not the reason this dish was produced, nope, it was simply a bright idea my mom had, she decided to take the leftover basmati rice and make this salad because I have a long day after school tomorrow… but the nutritional aspect is a bonus. Thanks mom!
For one person on the go you need:
½ cup cooked basmati rice
5 rosa/cherry tomatoes, cut in half
About a piece of 4cm cucumber, chopped
About ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
Juice of half a lemon
One big handful (or two small ones) Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make it, fast:
Make it the night before by throwing everything together in a container/bowl and mix with your hands. Keep it in the fridge until you leave.
Filed under: Breakfast (at Tiffany's...)
There is something about the poached egg. The poached eggs that you get in restaurants look as if they were magically produced, so perfect, but I guarantee you they make it with one of those egg-poaching machines (I saw one in Sandton, Johannesburg of all places), so they’re not so difficult to get hold of if you prefer a perfect poached egg. But who said life – and eggs – should be perfect? If you are not into those machines and just want to take a shot at making a poached egg, like I did, go for it!
For your poached egg, you need:
One egg, of course
1 T White Wine Vinegar
Pinches of salt, to garnish
How to: Place a medium deep pan on a high heat, add the vinegar and let it come to the boil. When it boils, reduce heat to a simmer. Now – the only tricky part – break the egg into a cup, slowly so that the yolk does not break. Make a hurricane of water by stirring it clocks wise with a big spoon, with the other hand slide the egg slowly in the water by holding the cup close to the water. Stop whirling and let it simmer for 4 minutes (= medium-soft egg, 3 minutes = very soft on the inside, 5 minutes = hard). Remove the egg with a slotted spoon (one with holes so that the water drains out) and serve with a bit of paprika sprinkled over for a kick.
You can make Eggs Benedict (by the way – who is Benedict?) if you want to!
First place 2 strips bacon in a pan on a medium heat, keep watching it and turn it over after 2 minutes. Prepare the egg. While it is poaching in the water, put your toast in the toaster and take one handful of spinach leaves, stalks removed, and put it in another pan with 1T water on a medium heat to wilt it a bit. One minute before your egg is ready, take your toast out and butter it, put your spinach on the toast and then add the bacon, and lastly the egg. That’s all! Let’s eat.
