Suprise your loved ones with these chocolatey kiss cookies. The perfect easy gift for Valentine’s Day. This recipe is based on one by Rachel Allen From Rachel’s Favourite Food for Living.

For the biscuits

175gself raising flour

75g caster sugar

75g butter

2t instant coffee powder or granules

1t hot water

1 egg

For the chocolate icing

50g butter, softened

100g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

3t cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Place the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. In a cup or small bowl, mix the coffee with the hot water, then add the egg and whisk together.
4. Add this to the food processor and process until the dough comes together. (If making this by hand, rub the butter into the flour and sugar in a bowl, then add the coffee, water and egg mixture and bring together to a dough.)
5. Dust the work surface with icing sugar and then roll out the dough until it is 5mm thick and, using a 4cm in long heart-shaped cutter, cut out 50-60 heart shapes. (If the dough is a bit soft before shaping, chill it in the deep freeze for 10 minutes before using.)
6. Place the hearts slightly spaced apart on two baking trays (no need to grease) and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and slightly firm at the edges.
7. Remove from the oven and carefully lift off the tray with a metal slice while they are still very hot to prevent them sticking. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
8. For the chocolate icing, mix the soft butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl using a wooden spoon, or in the food processor, until it comes together.
9. Use the icing to sandwich the cookies together. If you dip a table knife into hot water as you work, it helps to spread the icing. Store in a box for two or three days.

Makes 25-30 biscuits

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.

River Cottage has become synonymous in Britain for food with conscience. Here they practise the art of growing fruit and vegetables as naturally as possible. Mark Diacono leads the Garden Team at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage – running the garden courses, giving talks, hosting events at River Cottage HQ and appearing in the River Cottage TV series. Mark is known for his commitment to sustainable, ethically produced food. As well as having a unique take on growing food, Mark champions climate change growing, an approach to producing food that takes sustainable advantage of the new weather conditions. Diacono’s sense of humour is a rare gem in books like this, and his passion and enthusiasm come through in these two books that he authored in the River Cottage Handbook series:

Veg Patch: River Cottage Handbook No.4

Named as the Practical Book of the Year at the Garden Media Guild Awards 2009, this book draws directly from Mark’s experience as an acclaimed climate-change gardener, and of setting up a kitchen garden from scratch for River Cottage.

Mark explains the practical aspects of organic growing, introduces the reader to a whole world of vegetables they may not have previously considered, and does away with alienating gardening jargon. He begins with a catalogue of vegetables, explaining each of their benefits, what varieties to go for, dos and don’ts, and popular culinary uses.

Next, he explains how to turn this diversity of vegetables into a coherent kitchen garden plan appropriate for your space, whether it be a patch of acidic soil, a roof-top garden or an allotment.

Included in the book is a section showing how to look after nutrients in the soil, how to resist pests and diseases, and how to make the garden sustainable and organic. Learn about seed trays, supporting plants with climbing structures, mulching, composting, companion planting, irrigation and promoting pollination

About thirty recipes finish the book.

Fruit: River Cottage Handbook No.9

Growing fruit at home is a delicious and altogether more enjoyable alternative to buying it in the shops. Mark offers a practical and accessible guide to making the most of your garden and what it has to offer. The first part of the book is an A-Z of the different varieties of fruit, with old favourites like apples, cherries, plums, blackcurrants, white currants, redcurrants, strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries and rhubarb as well as more exotic species like figs, grapes, cranberries, Japanese wine berries and apricots. Each is accompanied by a photograph, with detailed advice on when and how to grow and harvest.

In the second part of the book, Mark gives straightforward guidelines on techniques like pruning and training, as well as how to deal with problems or pests. There is a section dedicated to growing under covers and in containers. Introduced by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and with 30 delicious recipes, beautiful, full-colour photographs and a directory of useful addresses, this is the ideal reference for any aspiring fruit grower.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R236.80 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R296)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R59.

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.

Born in Egypt, educated in Paris, and now based in the UK, Claudia has written several award-winning cookbooks including Arabesque, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, The Book of Jewish Food and The Food of Italy.

She is one of the foremost authorities on Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African cooking, and in The Food of Spain she brings her incomparable authenticity, vision, and immense knowledge to bear on the cuisines of Spain.

Spanish cuisine is at a critical moment. Claudia claims that Spain has transformed itself into the world’s effervescent centre of gastronomic creativity. Standing on a precipice, unsure of what lies ahead, is perhaps the best time to look backward. “You have to look into the past to understand Spain’s complex gastronomic map.” This book certainly captures that flavour, and will be a constant reference at Wickedfood Cooking School, when developing new Spanish cooking classes.

Other books on Spanish cuisine that we have reviewed include:

• Seasonal Spanish Food
• MoVida Rustica
• The Book of Tapas
• Jamie Does…
• 1080 Recipes
• A Day at elBulli
• Moro
• Arabesque
• The Food of Spain

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R358.20 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R398)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, and therefore pay just R312, a total saving of R86.

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.

Asparagus is one of the first spring vegetables to arrive on the shop shelves. We are loving them at Wickerfood Cooking School cooking classes. They are now at the height of the season, with prices coming down all the time. Buy local, the fresher the sweeter. Here are two simple recipes, one for white and the other for green asparagus, as well as a delicious easy-to-prepare sauce.

Sauteed Asparagus

Cooking asparagus in a heavy-based frying pan, preferably cast-iron,  with a tight fitting lid, concentrates its flavour rather than diluting it, as in steaming or boiling. This recipe works best with green asparagus, especially the thinner ones.

1kg asparagus
2T  butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Rinse asparagus in cold water and trim off tough ends of stalks.
2. Put butter in a heavy cast-iron frying pan, with a tight-fitting lid and heat until butter is foaming.
3. Lay asparagus in the pan and shake from side to side to coat asparagus gently with melted butter. Cover tightly and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Check asparagus and turn as needed to make sure the stalks cook evenly and don’t burn.
4. Continue cooking 5 minutes longer, or until asparagus is tender but still crisp and bright green.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Serves 4

Preparing Fresh White Asparagus

Unlike its green-skinned counterpart, white asparagus has a tough, bitter peel that needs to be removed before cooking. The following is the classic way of preparing white asparagus (alternatively, they can also be steamed).

4L water
2T  salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3T  butter
1kg fresh white asparagus

1. Bring water, salt, lemon juice, and butter to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, trim about 2cm from the ends of white asparagus. Lay spears on a work surface, then peel thin skin from each with a sharp swivel-blade vegetable peeler, starting 4cm from the top and running the length of the spear. (Spears are brittle and can snap when peeled in midair.)
3. Gather spears into 2-4 bundles, tie loosely with kitchen string, and lower into simmering water. Cook, increasing heat to medium-high to maintain a simmer if necessary, until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 8-10 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus.
4. Lift bundles from simmering water with kitchen tongs and drain on paper towels.

Serves 4

Olive Oil Sabayon

This is a delicious light, yet elegant sauce to serve with asparagus or artichokes (also great over steamed fish).

1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place wine and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce by three-quarters, cool, then transfer to the top of a double boiler.
2. Add egg yolks to wine reduction. Set over simmering water over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until yolks thicken enough to fall into thin ribbons when whisk is lifted from pan.
3. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in olive oil. Thin, if necessary, with 1–2 tbsp. water.
4. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

For more asparagus recipes  …. click here

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.

“Soil enriched by organic matter is the foundation of a healthy food garden that produces vegetables and fruit of high nutritional content. Compost gives plants the opportunity to graze about with their roots for what they need, just like chickens are healthier when able to scratch around an orchard for grass, worms, and herbs than when they are fed a scientific formula.”

This is the foundation of the  book – One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a 1 Metre Square by Lolo Houbein

Australian gardener, Lolo Houbain’s popular book on creating themed and small 1m2 food gardens, has reached South Africa. Starting with a discussion on the types of food production in the world, she then encourages the reader to start his own small food garden using one of 30 different designs. She also covers how to prepare the beds, composting, pests, and vegetable and herb culture. Finally she has a section on vegetables and herbs that you can plant.

Having read One Magic Square and then was subsequently inspired to try out her techniques, I found that this is the book’s main advantage. It inspires the reader to get out and make a veggie bed, start seedlings in cardboard toilet roll tubes and plant them out in one of her designs.

But this is where the book starts to become less useful. Like many motivators, it is light on practical experience. She tries to cover too many points and the advice given is often insufficient. It isn’t as simple as she says to start and maintain a garden. And of course, to anybody growing veggies and herbs in a small backyard plot, the aim is not to save money (for you won’t), but to gain the satisfaction on growing something local that you have planted and that is conveniently located outside your kitchen door.

If you are a starter or initiator like Lolo, or somebody who needs a spark to get your butt into gear, then you will find One Magic Square useful. If you are a detail person or somebody who is a little unsure of starting new projects, then you will probably need another more detailed book to help you with your gardening project. Try either of the following:

• Pat Featherstone’s Grow to live
• Grow vegetables by Alan Buckingham

(Review by Tim Truluck,  Johannesburg Slowfood convivium leader).

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R180 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R225)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%.

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.