Wickedfood Cooking School Newsletter 10 August 2010
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL
Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za
Hi all,
To all of you who took a long weekend, hope you had a relaxing food weekend and are raring to go for the rest of the week. Our theme for this week is Greek, with our scrumptious cookbook and recipe of the week, see below.
It’s scary to think that we are already through the middle of August, very close to the official start of spring. If you look at your garden, you will see that the grass is starting to turn green and in the countryside, the fruit trees are starting to bud and flower. If you’re a keen vegetable gardener, see our gardening insert below.
We’re also looking for your help, see below.
As usual we have a host of delicious cooking classes for the next two weeks, including a Quick & easy 30 minute meals for entertaining, Moroccan tagines, Mexican flavours and Easy Greek dishes for entertaining. See the overview below for all the cooking classes for the next two months.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.
Looking for info on food?
If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.
Wickedfood Cooking School news
Cooking class programmes for the next two months are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the August and September programmes.
Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience and keeps the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the cooking class.
- Sunday 14 August at 4pm – Quick & easy 30 minute meals for entertaining (R390 pp). This Gordon Ramsay cooking class is based on his book Cooking for Friends. Love him or hate him, he certainly knows his food. In this book, we see a very different side of him, more relaxed, cooking some best-loved versions of classic British dishes for family and friends. We reinterpret 6 of the dishes, all easy to make in under 30 minutes and great for entertaining friends, chilled cucumber soup; linguine with lemon, feta and basil; poached fish; quick fish curry; pork fillet stroganoff; and baked berries.
- Monday 15 August at 6pm – North African Moroccan tagines. (R380pp). The exotic flavours of North Africa reach their full expression in the cooking of Morocco. Moroccan cuisine is known for its flavourful stews, called tagines. In this Moroccan cooking class we cover the following dishes, which include harira; lamb, chicken and pumpkin tagines; couscous; and coiled almond pastry.
- Monday 22 August at 6pm – Mexican flavours (R370pp). The history of traditional Mexican food is a long and complex one, and every bit of the complexity is reflected in the sheer variety of flavours in Mexican cuisine. Present day Mexican cuisine has evolved into something truly extraordinary. Join us in this Mexican cooking class as we blend the exotic flavours with that of the new world flavours which include melted cheese with mushrooms, coriander soup, lamb in a chilli sauce, and rice pudding
- Sunday 28 August at 4pm – Entertaining Italian style (R360pp). In this Italian cooking class we show you some great dishes for entertaining with an Italian flair including rice croquettes, Siena bread soup, semolina gnocchi, poached chicken with a caper/egg sauce and baked pears.
- Monday 29 August at 6pm – Easy Greek dishes for entertaining (R380pp). This Greek cooking class is a simple introduction to Greek cuisine. The Greek diet is the perfect example of traditional Mediterranean eating. It’s based around a variety of colourful and flavourful foods that are high in nutrients and low in animal fats. Come and learn how to cook some of these more imaginative dishes.
Cookbook of the week
In her book, My Greek Family Table, Maria Benardis, a Greek-Australian welcomes you to her table to enjoy Greek food the way her family has always done. This delicious book, offers over 100 recipes that have been passed down through generations. At Wickedfood Cooking School, we will definitely be using the book as reference for our future Greek cooking classes.
Click Here for reviews of all our cookbook reviews.
Food quote of the week
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” – James Michener
Please help us conserve old fruit varietals
In the past the Highveld was home to a verity of delicious fruit. These included a wide variety of apples. Sadly a lot of these fruits’ rootstock have been lost to the commercial market, ’cause they would either be the wrong shape, size or colour, despite them possibly being really delicious to eat. Nowadays there are only three or four varietals that are commercially available. We’re looking to save some of these older varietals and bring them back. If you have any interesting fruit trees and are willing to share the genetics with us, please contact Mike at earth@wickedfood.co.za.
Food gardening
Now is the time to ensure that your vegetable beds are prepared, start planting the first of your seeds, and put in fruit trees if you have not already done so (if you have not yet pruned your fruit trees, do them this weekend before it is too late).
Things to consider planting over the next few weeks include Artichoke, Asparagus, Beetroot, Cabbage, Carrot, Lettuce, Onion, Parsnip, Radish, Swiss chard, Spinach and Turnip.
Click here for an easy to use seasonal vegetable planting guide (pdf format).
For some unusual and interesting seeds with a difference, see:
- Livingseeds – A large selection of locally grown heirloom and open pollinated vegetable seed; and
- Sought after seedlings – Open pollinating heritage/heirloom varieties that are grown to maintain the longevity of vegetables which have been around for hundreds of years, ensuring quality and exceptional taste.
Food market
Bamboo Market in Melville (cnr 5th Ave and 9th Street) aims to become first in Johannesburg recognized Slow Food Earth Market. The market will run every Saturday morning between 09:00 am and 01:00 pm. This Saturday Wickedfood Earth will have a stand at the market, selling some of our natural herbs, tangy chilli sauces and preserves.
An Earth Market is a market in which farmers, growers or producers from a defined local area are present in person to sell their own produce, direct to the public. All products sold should have been grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed by the stallholder.
Recipes of the week:
It’s still winter and we all crave foods that warm our heart and delight our soul. This week’s recipe is Rizogalo - a Greek traditional rice pudding. This recipe comes from our cookbook of the week, My Greek Family Table. The recipe is very similar to one we make at Wickedfood Cooking School in our Greek cooking classes. ….Click Here for all our recipes.
Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.
Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.
Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL
Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za
Hi all,
To all of you who took a long weekend, hope you had a relaxing food weekend and are raring to go for the rest of the week. Our theme for this week is Greek, with our scrumptious cookbook and recipe of the week, see below.
It’s scary to think that we are already through the middle of August, very close to the official start of spring. If you look at your garden, you will see that the grass is starting to turn green and in the countryside, the fruit trees are starting to bud and flower. If you’re a keen vegetable gardener, see our gardening insert below.
We’re also looking for your help, see below.
As usual we have a host of delicious cooking classes for the next two weeks, including a Quick & easy 30 minute meals for entertaining, Moroccan tagines, Mexican flavours and Easy Greek dishes for entertaining. See the overview below for all the cooking classes for the next two months.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.
Looking for info on food?
If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.
Wickedfood Cooking School news
Cooking class programmes for the next two months are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the August and September programmes.
Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience and keeps the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the cooking class.
- Sunday 14 August at 4pm – Quick & easy 30 minute meals for entertaining (R390 pp). This Gordon Ramsay cooking class is based on his book Cooking for Friends. Love him or hate him, he certainly knows his food. In this book, we see a very different side of him, more relaxed, cooking some best-loved versions of classic British dishes for family and friends. We reinterpret 6 of the dishes, all easy to make in under 30 minutes and great for entertaining friends, chilled cucumber soup; linguine with lemon, feta and basil; poached fish; quick fish curry; pork fillet stroganoff; and baked berries.
- Monday 15 August at 6pm – North African Moroccan tagines. (R380pp). The exotic flavours of North Africa reach their full expression in the cooking of Morocco. Moroccan cuisine is known for its flavourful stews, called tagines. In this Moroccan cooking class we cover the following dishes, which include harira; lamb, chicken and pumpkin tagines; couscous; and coiled almond pastry.
- Monday 22 August at 6pm – Mexican flavours (R370pp). The history of traditional Mexican food is a long and complex one, and every bit of the complexity is reflected in the sheer variety of flavours in Mexican cuisine. Present day Mexican cuisine has evolved into something truly extraordinary. Join us in this Mexican cooking class as we blend the exotic flavours with that of the new world flavours which include melted cheese with mushrooms, coriander soup, lamb in a chilli sauce, and rice pudding
- Sunday 28 August at 4pm – Entertaining Italian style (R360pp). In this Italian cooking class we show you some great dishes for entertaining with an Italian flair including rice croquettes, Siena bread soup, semolina gnocchi, poached chicken with a caper/egg sauce and baked pears.
- Monday 29 August at 6pm – Easy Greek dishes for entertaining (R380pp). This Greek cooking class is a simple introduction to Greek cuisine. The Greek diet is the perfect example of traditional Mediterranean eating. It’s based around a variety of colourful and flavourful foods that are high in nutrients and low in animal fats. Come and learn how to cook some of these more imaginative dishes.
Cookbook of the week
In her book, My Greek Family Table, Maria Benardis, a Greek-Australian welcomes you to her table to enjoy Greek food the way her family has always done. This delicious book, offers over 100 recipes that have been passed down through generations. At Wickedfood Cooking School, we will definitely be using the book as reference for our future Greek cooking classes.
Click Here for reviews of all our cookbook reviews.
Food quote of the week
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” – James Michener
Please help us conserve old fruit varietals
In the past the Highveld was home to a verity of delicious fruit. These included a wide variety of apples. Sadly a lot of these fruits’ rootstock have been lost to the commercial market, ’cause they would either be the wrong shape, size or colour, despite them possibly being really delicious to eat. Nowadays there are only three or four varietals that are commercially available. We’re looking to save some of these older varietals and bring them back. If you have any interesting fruit trees and are willing to share the genetics with us, please contact Mike at earth@wickedfood.co.za.
Food gardening
Now is the time to ensure that your vegetable beds are prepared, start planting the first of your seeds, and put in fruit trees if you have not already done so (if you have not yet pruned your fruit trees, do them this weekend before it is too late).
Things to consider planting over the next few weeks include Artichoke, Asparagus, Beetroot, Cabbage, Carrot, Lettuce, Onion, Parsnip, Radish, Swiss chard, Spinach and Turnip.
Click here for an easy to use seasonal vegetable planting guide (pdf format).
For some unusual and interesting seeds with a difference, see:
- Livingseeds – A large selection of locally grown heirloom and open pollinated vegetable seed; and
- Sought after seedlings – Open pollinating heritage/heirloom varieties that are grown to maintain the longevity of vegetables which have been around for hundreds of years, ensuring quality and exceptional taste.
Food market
Bamboo Market in Melville (cnr 5th Ave and 9th Street) aims to become first in Johannesburg recognized Slow Food Earth Market. The market will run every Saturday morning between 09:00 am and 01:00 pm. This Saturday Wickedfood Earth will have a stand at the market, selling some of our natural herbs, tangy chilli sauces and preserves.
An Earth Market is a market in which farmers, growers or producers from a defined local area are present in person to sell their own produce, direct to the public. All products sold should have been grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed by the stallholder.
Recipes of the week:
It’s still winter and we all crave foods that warm our heart and delight our soul. This week’s recipe is Rizogalo - a Greek traditional rice pudding. This recipe comes from our cookbook of the week, My Greek Family Table. The recipe is very similar to one we make at Wickedfood Cooking School in our Greek cooking classes. ….Click Here for all our recipes.
Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.
Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.
