Pear sauce with a bite...

This sauce is great with roast chicken, leg of lamb and pork roast. My gran always used to make pear sauce for Christmas lunch but I never liked it. It was only after she passed away that I made it myself and actually tried it on gammon and chicken. She just always made her pear sauce without the chilli!

Preperation time: 15 minutes
Serves: approx 7-8

Ingredients:
4-5 pears peeled and cut into cubes
40g butter or margarine
pinch of chilli powder
pinch of cinnamon
3 tbsp brandy (recipe says Calvados, but normal brandy is fine)
5ml lemon juice
300m vegetable stock

Method:
Fry the pears in butter or margarine until soft.
Add chilli, cinnamon, lemon juice and brandy and cook for approx 5 mins.
Blend until smooth and add to vegetable stock in a saucepan.
Heat for approx 5 mins and serve hot!

Enjoy, till later...

Don't be a fruit cake!

My first attempt at baking a fruit cake produced a really large, dry brick because I thought that I was really clever and left it in the oven after baking it to keep it moist!!! This method will work only if you let the cake (and the oven) cool down first!

This recipe comes from a Moir's cookbook and is really easy and tasty if you do not leave it in the oven after baking it!!
Ingredients:
375ml (1 1/2 Cup) Fruit mix
125ml (1/2 Cup) chopped red/green glazed cherries
150g butter or margarine
125ml (1/2 Cup) brown sugar
5ml (1tsp) mixed spice/cloves
250ml (1 Cup) orange juice
2 eggs
375ml (1 1/2 Cup) Flour
15ml (3 tsp) baking powder
10-15 peacan nuts halved

Method:
Add fruit mix, cherries, butter, brown sugar, mixed spice and orange juice to a large saucepan.
Bring to the boil stirring continuously for about 4 min. Leave to cool down.
Mix flour, eggs and baking powder until smooth. Mix with saucepan mixture and pour it into a cake pan (20cm in dia)
Bake at 150 degrees for 1 1/4 hours.
Leave to cool down (outside the oven!) for 10 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack.

Well, I hope you enjoy this recipe and if you would like to spice it up a little, add a dash of brandy to the fruit cake everyday before Christmas!!!

Till later...

Broccoli and cashew nuts on the side...

I found the following recipe in an old magazine. I have only recently tried it myself and it is delicious and easy to make.

Preperation time: 15 minutes

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

1pkt (500g) fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 Red or Yellow pepper cut into thin strips
1/3 cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup chopped salted cashews

salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Steam broccoli in microwave for approximately 5 minutes (must still be crisp) Add the peppers to the broccoli. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the mixture of brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic to it. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Become a fan of the green affro man...

Well, this is a difficult one because I am supposed to encourage you to eat your broccoli when I despise it myself. All I can say for now is; do as I say and not as I do!!! No, all jokes aside, I do eat broccoli but I can honestly say that it is not my favourite veggie!

I am going to attempt to try and get you excited about broccoli, so here goes: Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family( and this is important to man and beast beacause?) Broccoli contains a high percentage of Vitamin C, A and folic acids, while potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, traces of Omega 3, calcium, iron and zinc are also present.

So as you can see it is indeed a valuable source of most of the essential nutrients. It is very easy to prepare, and as it is with all vegetables, do not overcook broccoli as it will lose all of its valuble nutrients. The health benefits of eating broccoli include its preventative and healing qualities against the effects of various forms of cancer, cataracts (I'm not so sure about this one as I was an optician for 10 years and developing cataracts had nothing to do with eating broccoli or not!), osteoporosis and ulcers. If eaten regularly it could also boost the immune system.

So now you might ask yourself how much broccoli should I eat? The good news is that just 3 to 5 servings-less than one serving a day will be enough to help you benefit from all its goodness.

Now all I can say is bite the bullet and happy broccoli eating!!!
Till next time!

New look and feel

Good day to you!
I am sure you must be confused if you have stumbled across my blog and expected to see recipes and health tips. If you thought that bite on the side was all about good food and decadent treats, you are correct, so please excuse my previous entries, written in Afrikaans about my cat and dog. I can explain... I trust that you will greatly benefit from my tips and enjoy my cooking experiences with me. Watch this space!!!

Didi aka Jantjie se 'recovery'

Noem dit nou maar rehab as jy wil, maar ou Didi het vir dae aaneen sy wonde gelek en gelek en gelek, en ons het hom nie met 'n oog gesien nie! So snoep soos wat hy was het hy hom nie veel aan enige kos gesteur nie, en my ma was eintlik bekommerd. Sy het al beging praat van veearts toe. Hy het die katte soos die pes vermy of jy kan eerder se hy was so bang vir hulle soos die Amerikaners vir voelgriep!

Didi was nie net lui nie, hy was 'n smertserige ding met toutjies hare wat onder sy pens uitgehang het. Niks in die wereld kon hom pla nie. Taffy se stert het heen en weer, heen en weer, ritmies geswaai.... Dit was doodstil, elke voeltjie wat wou klets het geweet hier is iets aan die kom... Taffy het vooroor geleun, stert nou stokstyf, sy het van die paal afgeskiet soos 'n pyl uit 'n boog en sy het vir arme ou Didi gepak, hy het hom morsdood geskrik en op sy kennebak geval en terwyl jy net stof en stert en hond en stof en stert en kat sien, het Toedels en Sirikit besluit om ook in te spring. Hulle het onaardse binnemond, binnemaag geluide gemaak en uiteindelik het die smertserige lui dier, weggehardloop, stert tussen die bene en nerwe op sy kirkdroe propneus.

Goed,kom ons gaan nou uiteindelik terug na ou Jantjie toe!! Ek voel beter so ek kan weer dink en dus die storie verder vertel... Jantjie aka Didi het lui-lui sy slap wol lyf op forseer en slapgat die inry uitgestap. Taffy het op die hek se paal gesit, Toedels, wat heeltemal herstel hat na die buurman se hond hom gebyt het, het saam met sy ma, die mamma's boy wat hy is; in die gras na gytjies en goggatjies gesoek. Didi het niks gesien of gehoor nie en het beslis nie geweet wat volgende kom nie!

Vandag voel ek soos die kat se gat. Jantjie en die kat saga sal maar moet wag. Ek mis LamLam vreeslik. Ek het regtig gedink sy sal vir ewig leef - ek het mooi na haar gekyk en daar was niks wat ek nie vir haar sou doen nie. LamLam 1987-2005 RIP

Jantjie aka Didi was 'n rooi-bruin Irish terrier. Hy het lang bene gehad soos 'n foxie, kraal ogies en 'n pikswart propneus. Hy het het 'n baard gehad soos enige terrier en was 'n lui dier wat net gele en gevreet het, tot die katte hom beetgekry het. Sirikit was die oudste - ma van die nasie in ons huis. Haar seuntjie Toedels was 'n 'mamas boy' en Taffy wat eintlik 'n mannetjie moes gewees het was 'n regte 'rebel'. Elke hond in die buurt het deurgeloop - tot die rotweiller langsaan. Natuurlik moes ons 'mamas boy' veearts toe vat want hy het nie net die hond gebyt nie, die hond het hom ook gebyt!

Hy was gou weer op die been, en so slim soos wat hy was, het hy gemaak asof die pyn ondraaglik was, as hy 'n mens gewaar het. Hy het sy kos langtand gevreet asof dit die laaste keer sou wees wat hy sou eet!

Jantjie kom huis toe...

In ons huis was arme ou Jantjie altyd die 'underdog'. Die 3 siamese het gereeld vir hom ore aangesit en hy het maar gesorg dat hy uit die pad uit bly. Die 3 siamese het vir almal ore aangesit, tot ons ou cafe kat LamLam wat ons by die DBV gered het moes gereeld deurloop. Die siamese het koning gekraai in ons huis. Geen dier is slimmer as 'n kat nie en geen kat was slimmer as LamLam nie...