Three simple soups

TUESDAY 7 MAY, 2013  /   COMMENTS [2]

So the other day I wrote a post about my winter goals and plans, one of them being to make and freeze and variety of delicious soups for winter.

During the week we want nice, quick and healthy meals without having to go out and buy anything. So I went to the fruit and veg shop and bought a trolley FULL of ingredients (it came to about R300 with fruit and salad ingredients - so cheap!) and decided to make three different soups.

I made Nigella's butternut soup,

Jamie Oliver's Potato & Leek soup

and A Cup of Jo's Broccoli soup.

All delicious and simple.

I always thought soups were such a mission to make, but they're so easy peasy (and the recipe's are so adaptable). All you really have to do is chop up the veggies, and add water/stock and let it cook.

They've been so great to heat up on these cold winter days. I'd really recommend this. I doubled each recipe and decanted the soups into portions of two (you'll need quite a few small tupperwares). You'll save money, you'll eat healthier - I can't recommend it enough! : )

I'm thinking of doing a few more interesting one's next time. If you have any tried and tested recipes please let me know : )

image via

Daleahs

TUESDAY 30 APRIL, 2013  /   COMMENTS [5]

After a meeting in the CBD this morning Dylan and I went to have quick bite and coffee at the new eatery in Braamfontein called Daleahs. It's lovely spot with delicious food, good coffee in pretty, transparent cups and an all around nice atmosphere. I just had croissant but Dylan had the beef sliders which were amazing, and so fairly priced. Dylan also tried the Greek coffee which was a really authentic experience, served with a shot of sparkling water and a sweet preserved fig.

 They're in the bright green building just off Juta street (opposite Post). :)

(I recommend sitting outside in the little courtyard, it's really nice).

Whisking it

WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH, 2013  /   COMMENTS [0]

My friend Lexi has just started a foodie blog called Whisking it where she regularly posts delicious recipes from an amazing looking chicken pie to biscotti. If you're looking for something to make for dinner tonight or a tea time treat for the weekend go and scour her posts, there are so many nice things to make and there a lot of Gluten free options too.

Just don't go look at her blog on an empty stomach. I just made that mistake and now i'm even hungrier!

Italian pop up lunch!

MONDAY 4 MARCH, 2013  /   COMMENTS [0]

There is an awesome (pretty new) Italian lunch spot that has recently started popping up every Tuesday at the Rosebank fire station from 12 - 2. I went last week around 12:30 and it was PACKED! You pay R45 for a take away box and then you get to fill it with all sorts of delicious Italian dishes from their harvest table.

We tried almost everything, but while we were there they kept on bringing out more and more dishes!

It is run by a couple of authentic Italian families and they all make a dish or two of something delicious. It's also a great place to learn a few Italian phrases (which will come in handy for our Italy trip in July!).

If you're bored of your usual lunch/take away and work near Rosebank it's definitely worth the visit - parking is a bit of nightmare so come on your vespa or car pool! 

Tribeca

TUESDAY 29 JANUARY, 2013  /   COMMENTS [3]

Dylan and I visited Tribeca Standard on Saturday while in Pretoria for a shoot. It is without a doubt the most beautiful restaurant i've been to in a long time. You stroll in and feel like you might have walked in from the streets of New York or London into a trendy lunch time bar. It has an old-worldy feel but still modern and new. As designer I was just drooling over every piece of branding and collateral I found - I mean even their take away bags are beautiful!

We arrived after an awesome (but hot!) shoot and sipped up some delicious mango daiquiris and mojito's. We weren't overly impressed with our food but I think we ordered the wrong thing - I think it's the type of place you have to order steak and burgers (and I think they're famous for their oysters too), not their chicken salads. I guess we'll HAVE to go back for dinner sometime to try a few other things on their menu ; )

Tribeca is also famous in PTA for their coffee, which Dyl tried even though it was a sweltering day and said it was pretty good (they have a few other coffee shops around PTA - check here for venues, but Tribeca Standard has more of an emphasis on the food!).

It's at Lynnwood Bridge centre, PTA.

Winter Art Fair

FRIDAY 3 MAY, 2013  /   COMMENTS [0]

From the same incredible people who brought you Food. Wine. Design. now for the first time bring you the Winter Art Fair. This one is really special as it combines food, wine and art at the Nirox foundation (which is a 15 hectare piece of land in the Cradle of humankind). I hadn't heard of it before but the pictures look amazing. It's just this WIDE open expanse of land with sculptures and interesting things around every corner.

All the top chefs and wine makers from Franshhoek are flying up to cook us amazing food and serve us their best wines and I just can't wait! I'm going with a whole bunch of friends and thinking of bringing some picnic blankets so we find a nice spot to chill and eat and enjoy the surroundings.

It's on this weekend 4th & 5th May. R100 at webtickets. Go here for more information on how to get there.

Best burger bar in town

TUESDAY 16 APRIL, 2013  /   COMMENTS [2]

is Beefcakes in my opinion*

Where else in Joburg do you get to drink an endless variety of pink drinks, play bingo, daaance and get to eat a proper burger while doing it? I had dinner there a few weeks ago with a few lovely local bloggers and had such a good time. I don't know if any of you remember the movie Pleasantville (?) but I felt like I was in the Pleasantville diner.. where all the cool 50's kids hang out on a friday night, drink bubblegum milkshakes and eat hamburgers. 

We went on a tuesday night, which is bingo night, hosted by Molly. We tried our best to win but think we were slightly pre-occupied with our Watermelon cosmos and Lemon drop Martini's.

 Later on in the evening they brought out these (above)... which are deep fried twinkie's and banana spring rolls. Oh. my. word. You have to try these at least once in your life. They will change you. (Also if you wanted to know... the burger I ordered above is a Beach Boy which is also delicious).

Find Beefcakes at Illovo Muse.

198 Oxford Rd, Illovo.

They're open Tues - Sun. Be sure to book a table for dinner!

Good food on film

WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH, 2013  /   COMMENTS [3]

I love this photo stream of healthy food on film, it makes eating sugar free and gluten free look good! I'm seriously thinking of re-attempting Whole 30, it seems easy enough. Has anyone tried it?

Watermelon juice, a seemingly obvious invention yet i've never made it before! I did have a glass of it at Burnsides a few weeks ago on a hot Sunday and it was wonderful and refreshing!

Croft & co

MONDAY 25 FEBRUARY, 2013  /   COMMENTS [2]

Previously a men's luxury gift shop, Croft & co has become a wonderful cosy coffee shop to spend a morning in. They have delicious Lavazza cappuccinos, a nice selection of breakfasts and sandwiches, and free Wifi. They also still keep stock of a few nice gifts for men such as cigars, knives and wine.

It's also a great place to have a G & T or glass of wine on friday afternoon, they're open at 6:30 am for breakfast and lunches but stay open a bit later on friday evening (when they serve Prego rolls).

Find them at:

66 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview, Johannesburg.

The Whippet & The Palm

FRIDAY 11 JANUARY, 2013  /   COMMENTS [4]

The Whippet has finally opened up properly in Linden, so we went over there today to say hi and try it out.

It's a really lovely space, light and airy, nice exposed brick and beautiful light fixtures. It was too hot for coffee so we tried out their special iced tea (which they make on site). They let us smell all the different flavours, and showed us how they brew and serve it. I think the winner here is the Pineapple and Ginger (served in a Consol jar). Perfect for these scorching Joburg days.

For lunch Dylan had The Whippet burger and I had this amazing cous cous salad (the name escapes me). Both were delicious, fresh and very fairly priced. They have a nice menu, full of some nice different options.

While we were there almost everyone around us ordered the milk tart (above), so we figured it must be good and got one to share.

It was the BEST milktart i've ever had. I'm not lying. It was heavenly. Try it and tell me i'm wrong! ; )

Us Joburgers crave beautiful new spaces like this, so I have no doubt The Whippet is going to thrive. Find them on 7th street in Linden.

Right up the road we discovered The Palm trading house, (at the first robots going towards Cresta on 7th). A real treasure trove full of beautiful vintage and art deco things. How awesome is that chair below?

It's not exactly a bargain bin, things are pretty pricey but if you're looking for a beautiful piece of period furniture for your house this is a good place to look.