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.

In South Africa there are a number of annual awards acknowledging  food bloggers in our own country.

• Food and the fabulous was voted best food blog for 2011  in the annual SA Blog Awards, a great site lots of interesting snippets and recipes and some very good photo’s.

• This year Eat In DStv Food Network Produce Awards will recognize for the first time the role that local food bloggers play in growing the local food industry. They have the shortest of what they regard to be the 10 best food blogs in South Africa on their website, together with links to each site.

Wickedfood cooking school subscribes to a number of food websites to keep abreast of food trends from around the world. All those websites listed below have a newsletter that you can subscribe to, as well as mouth-watering recipes and food ideas. Our favorite sites include:

• BBC Food – With the selection of easy-to-prepare recipes, many of them from featured celebrity chefs.  Each week the newsletter carries a pertinent theme, this week it is Valentine’s recipes, including a great selection of cocktails.  See our recipe of the week.

• Saveur - Regarded by Wickedfood cooking school as the best food magazine and web site in the world.  Apart from a wide selection of scrumptious recipes, the web site also has interesting articles on cooking techniques and food travel.
• JamieOliver.com – Jamie’s official web site, again with a superb selection of easy to prepare recipes and food tips.  See is delicious romantic  dinner for two menu ideas for a special valentines feast.

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.

Information & bookings (076) 236-2345  sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

We are  already in the second month of 2012, and pleased to report that cooking seems to be as popular as ever. Both our Corporate teambuilding cooking classes as well as our individual cooking classes are filling up fast with most of those in January and February running to capacity.

This Saturday we have our regular Valentines cooking classes, with limited space is still available.  Tuesday’s Valentines cooking class is fully subscribed.

The following Tuesday we have our Sushi cooking class, and once again the class is filling up fast.

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

The Cooking class programme for February and March are up on the internet. Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 giving everyone hands-on experience and keeping 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.

• Saturday 11 February at 6pm   – Romantic Valentine’s dinner, easy summer entertaining (R770 per couple). Join the staff at the Cooking School with the love of your life for a Valentine’s dinner with a difference – Valentine cooking Class. Not only will you get to enjoy a delicious 4-course dinner, but you will learn the secrets of how to cook it. Included in the price is a welcome glass of sparkling wine, house wine while preparing the food, and some specialist wines, complementing the food, with the meal. Space is limited to 30 students per class, so book early.
• Tuesday 21 February at 6pm – Sushi 1 – The basics of sushi making (R395pp – only 6 places left). The increasing popularity of sushi around the world has resulted in many more people wanting to learn the basics of sushi making, this Sushi cooking class shows you how to do the following – cutting fish, making rice, California and maki rolls, nigirizushi (finger), and hand rolls.
• Sunday 26 February at 4pm – Easy Entertaining Indian style (R380pp). Indian food is a diverse and extraordinary one, reflecting a complex layering of cultures through history and based on religious beliefs, geography, climate and availability of ingredients. India’s range of cuisine can amaze even a connoisseur. Different regions in India offer their own specialties with their very own taste, subtlety and aroma. The exotic tastes, hues and textures of Indian food have ensured a steady growth in popularity in the West. Join us in discovering these incredible dishes in our Indian cooking class. Authentic Indian dishes including bhel puri, lamb korma, potato and cauliflower curry, chicken pulao and cheese balls in syrup.
• Monday 27 February at 6pm  - 30 minute meals (R380 per class). Trying to juggle work and home commitments can be tough in this day and age, and the statement of ‘who has time to cook these days’ is on the increase. In this ‘30 Minute meals’ cooking class we show participants how to produce quick and easy 30-minute meals that are delicious and well balanced. Dishes include, Thai vegetable curry, Chicken breast with feta and pasta, chilli steak wraps, penne with a rich tomato vodka cream sauce, Fried fish with oven chips and homemade burgers.

Great food websites

At this time of year there is a scarcity of new cookbooks.  We therefore decided to look at some great food websites this week instead.   … Click here to read more

Click Here for reviews of all our cookbook reviews.

Food quote of the week

“All you see, I owe to spaghetti.” – Sophia Loren

Recipes of the week:

Mocha kisses

Surprise your loved ones with these chocolaty kiss cookies. The perfect easy gift for Valentine’s Day. ….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.

Information & bookings (076) 236-2345  sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas break and that this will be an exciting food year for you.  The School closed from 16 December to Monday 9 January 2012, and we’re now back and raring to go. It seems as though many of you have made it to your new year’s resolution to learn more about food, as of January classes are filling up quickly.  We have some very exciting cooking classes lined up for January and February, including Quick 30 minute meals; Easy curries, salads and soups; Easy Italian; Mexican Salsas, dips and filling; and Casual Thai dinner parties dishes - see below for more details.

In February we have our regular and ever  popular Valentines classes.  Bookings are already open for these and we have quite a few bookings, so if you’re interested don’t delay, contact the school for more information or to reserve a place.

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

The new year sees an exciting selection of interesting and different cooking classes aimed at individuals.  The Cooking class programme for January and February are up on the internet. 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 15 January at 4pm – Quick 30 minute meals (R370pp). Trying to juggle work and home commitments can be tough, and the statement of ‘who has time to cook these days’ is on the increase. In this ‘30 Minute meals’ cooking class we show participants how to produce quick and easy 30-minute meals that are delicious and well balanced. Dishes include, chickpea and pumpkin curry, grilled beef, grilled tuna and a rich chocolate self-saucing pudding with only 5g of fat!!
• Monday 16 January at 6pm – Jamie’s Ministry of Food – Easy curries, salads and soups (R380pp). We consider Jamie Oliver’s ‘Ministry of Food’ his best book yet. It’s the perfect book for any beginner. In this Jamie Oliver cooking class we take six recipes from the book and re-interpret them, with plenty of tips along the way. Learning the secrets to successful, easy cooking which includes, pea and mint soup, vegetable bhajis, chicken korma, lamb rogan josh, evolution potato salad and a vanilla cheesecake.
• Sunday 22 January at 4pm – Easy Italian (R380pp). Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and is known to be one of the most popular in the world. The main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its extreme simplicity. Dishes and recipes are often the creation of grandmothers rather than of chefs, and this makes many recipes ideally suited for home cooking. This is one of the main reasons behind the ever increasing popularity of this cuisine. Join us in this Italian cooking class for a more in-depth look at Italian cuisine which includes cauliflower frittata, risotto with dried mushrooms, lamb chops fried in Parmesan cheese batter and cassata.
• Monday 23 January at 6pm – Mexican Salsas, dips and fillings (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 includes salsas, dips and fillings, for nachos, tostadas and tortillas, which are all perfect for al fresco dining.
• Sunday 29 January at 4pm -  Easy dishes for casual Thai dinner parties (R370pp). Thai cuisine places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. Thai cuisine is also known for being quite spicy as well as balancing the four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter. Learn how to balance these tastes in this Thai cooking class, which includes, fresh springrolls, sour and spicy fish soup, stir-fried beef curry, chicken salad with peanut sauce, stir-fried noodles and bananas in a sweet/salty coconut sauce.

Book of the week

Food quote of the week

“Garlic is as good as ten mothers.” – Les Blank

Recipes of the week:

Empire roast chicken

This recipe  is an adaptation from Jamie’s Great Britain, our recipe book for this week.  Jamie says of this roast chicken recipe in the introduction -  “Ask any British person what their two favourite meals are and I reckon most people would say their mum’s roast chicken, and a curry. Well, welcome to Empire roast chicken, a combination of both of those things. Your friends and family are going to love it. I love it. You will love it.” Certainly a delicious dish for a casual Sunday roast with friends. ….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.

Information & bookings (076) 236-2345  sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

The end of the year is always a busy time at Wickedfood Cooking School with Christmas and end-of-year functions.  If for some reason you have been unable to organize your end of your function in time, why not consider January, when all your colleagues are freshly back from a deserved Christmas break.  Contact Cilla on (076) 236-2345 or sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za for more information.

We have one individual cooking class left for this year,  Alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner.  See the overview below.

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

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.

We have one more individual class for this year, our annual Alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner cooking class.

• Sunday 20 November at 4pm – Alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner (R390pp). Easy stylish festive entertaining in this cooking class, an alternative to the traditional Winter Christmas food, including chicken liver pâté, sun-dried tomato soup, roasted medallions of sirloin, Waldorf salad and a Christmas pudding.

The School will be closed from 16 December 2011 and re-open in mid January 2012. January And February cooking classes for individuals will go live within the next week, with some exciting new ideas.

Book of the week

The Food of Spain

Food quote of the week

“My tongue is smiling.” – Abigail Trillin

Recipes of the week:

Almond Cake

There are almond cakes from all parts of Spain, but this one is special. Pilgrims and tourists who visit the great Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where the relics of the apostle Saint James are believed to be buried, see the cake in the windows of every pastry shop and restaurant. It is usually marked with the shape of the cross of the Order of Santiago. This deliciously moist and fragrant homey version is without a base. ….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.

Every once in awhile a really absorbing book crosses our desk.  One such book is Mark Diacono’s A Taste of the Unexpected . He quite rightly believes that it is a waste of time and effort growing the usual fruit and veg available on the supermarket shelves, they are usually cheap to buy and don’t taste that much different to what’s available at the shops.

In A Taste of the Unexpected Mark discusses growing  the more unusual fruit and vegetables – Tree Fruit, Nuts, Soft Fruit, Herbs & Spices, Beans & Greens, Leaves & Flowers and Buried Treasures. He reveals that it is no harder to grow the unusual and utterly delicious than it is the entirely ordinary.

Each chapter gives fundamental advice on conditions each plant thrives on, varieties available, growing methods and process of harvesting. In addition he includes a number of mouthwatering recipes for all of the crops featured.

The book is winner of the Guild of Food Writers Food Book of the Year Award 2011.  Author, Mark Diacono, is head gardener at River Cottage and owner of Otter Farm, which has become known as the ‘Climate Change Farm.’ On his farm in Devon, Mark grows gourmet delights such as gojiberries, Egyptian walking onions, kai lan, salsify, Chilean guava, day lilies and Szechuan pepper.

Exciting and inspirational, A Taste of the Unexpected will redefine your approach to growing your own food. As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage puts it “…I believe that this is a book that will, if you let it, if you really use it, change how and what you grow, what you cook and how you eat, forever and for the better.”

It is a book that we will definitely be using as a constant source of reference at Wickedfood Earth.

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 R369 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R410)!  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 R332.10, a total saving of R77,90.

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.

]]> http://www.wickedfood.co.za/blog/a-taste-of-the-unexpected.html/feed 0 http://www.wickedfood.co.za/blog/asparagus.html http://www.wickedfood.co.za/blog/asparagus.html#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:09:20 +0000 Wickedfood Chef http://www.wickedfood.co.za/blog/?p=5834 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.

Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

The first of the summer vegetables is now coming in to the shops, with asparagus and artichokes leading the way. On the fruit side, strawberries are in full swing, and the first mulberries are starting to appear, together with early peaches and nectarines.  See our recipe of the week for tips on cooking asparagus.

Cooking classes for individuals for the next two weeks include Spanish peasant cooking, Making pasta sauces, Easy Italian and Outdoor cooking, this one concentrating on beef.  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 October and November 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 09 October at 4pm – Spanish peasant cooking (R380pp for the class). Learn to cook with the robust flavours of the Spanish countryside in this Spanish cooking class. Spanish food reflects this vast country’s turbulent history, diverse geography and Mediterranean culture. The class includes fried calamari, chourizo and cheese fritters, garlic soup, butterflied lamb, hot chourizo salad, and fried cream.
• Monday 10 October at 6pm – Making pasta sauces (R370pp). Tired of the same old pasta sauces? Come learn some new ones in our pasta cooking class. Delicious, no-fuss, easy sauces for pasta, including raw tomato sauce with ricotta cheese, rocket pesto, vodka tomato cream, ham and mascarpone, and ragù with nuts and mushrooms.
• Monday 17 October at 6pm – Easy to prepare Italian dishes (R380pp). Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and is known to be one of the most popular in the world. The main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its extreme simplicity. Dishes and recipes are often the creation of grandmothers rather than of chefs, and this makes many recipes ideally suited for home cooking. This is one of the main reasons behind the ever increasing popularity of this cuisine. Join us in this Italian cooking class for an introduction to Italian cuisine including tomato pizza, bean and pasta soup, cannelloni, grilled fish, bean salad and lemon tart.
• Sunday 23 October at 4pm – Outdoor Cooking – beef class (R395pp). A braai is essentially a traditional way of preparing a meal on the open fire. It has evolved to take on many forms since early pioneering days – from a wood fire to the use of charcoal and gas. Today a variety of BBQ shapes and cooking surfaces allows for exciting and innovative methods of meal preparation. It is unquestionably the most enticing, easy and informal way to entertain. Join us in learning the delicious secrets of cooking beef on kettlebraais and gas barbecues in our Outdoor cooking class. Dishes covered in this class include spicy beef burgers, secrets of cooking the ultimate steak, prime rib roast, and Béarnaise sauce.

On Asparagus

Asparagus is a spring vegetable, and is getting to the height of the season right now.  Enjoy the ones that are grown locally now, while they are abundant on the shelf, at good prices.

Asparagus is a flowering perennial plant in the genus as the lily family. A plant may have a life of up to 20 years if cultivated with care. On the negative side, they make the soil around them sterile, so once they are removed, very little else grows where they were being cultivated.

Earliest records of asparagus cultivation trace it back to Greece some 2,500 years ago. The Greeks believed that asparagus possessed medicinal properties and recommended it as a cure for toothaches.

It is the tender shoots of the asparagus that are harvested. On the shelves you find mainly green and white varieties, and occasionally purple.  They are all the same plant, with the white asparagus growing beneath this soil, whereas the green asparagus is harvested once it is approximately 15 to 20cm above the soil. The colour is thus determined by the amount of exposure to sunlight. The white asparagus variety has less flavour than the green or purple asparagus. They are always harvested by hand, a very labour intensive vegetable. Click here for two simple recipes.

Book of the week

One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a  square metre.

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.

Click Here for reviews of all our cookbook reviews.

Food quote of the week

“Don’t take a butcher’s advice on how to cook meat. If he knew, he’d be a chef.” – Andy Rooney

Recipes of the week:

Asparagus

Asparagus is one of the first spring vegetables to arrive on the shop shelves.  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. ….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.

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

My Greek Family Table

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:

Rizogalo | Greek rice pudding

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.