Mushroom Sosati Recipe

Happy heritage day! In South Africa today is also fondly known as ‘Braai Day’ (or bbq day), and these mushroom kebabs (or sosatis) are the perfect vegetarian braai option or a delicious side to any grilled meat.

Mushroom Sosatis

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

8 sosati sticks

± 400g mixed mushrooms (shitake, big brown, portabelinni etc)

100g butter

1 T garlic, crushed

Pinch of salt

1 cup (chopped & loosely packed) mixed herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, fennel etc)

Truffle oil for serving

Method

Soak the sosati sticks in water for at least 10 minutes (to prevent them from burning on the while cooking).

Cut the large mushrooms into halves or quarters so that all the mushrooms are more or less the same size.

String the mushrooms onto the soaked sosati sticks.

Heat your griddle pan or get your fire ready.

Melt the butter in a pot. Add the garlic and salt and fry for a minute. Add the herbs and fry for another minute.

Place the sosoatis on the grill or fire and brush with the melted herb butter while cooking, turning regularly.

Once the mushrooms are cooked (soft and juicy), serve immediately drizzled with truffle oil.

Tip: The mushrooms shrink quite a bit during cooking, so 2 kebabs per person won’t be too much.

A jar in a jar

How fabulous are these 'Jar in a Jar' jars from Consol? Basically it keeps everything you want separate, together. With two jars of different sizes fitting one inside the other, it makes for the perfect picnic dish container or even a space saving way of storing things. 

Think meals at the office, school lunches, trips to the beach, snacks on the run, and even as storage for stationery, crafting materials, as well as baking essentials.

The larger 1L jars are retailing from R42.90 while the smaller 500ml option is priced from R32.90.

The Jar in a Jar is available at The Consol Shop Woodmead and Stellenbosch, as well as through various leading retailers. For more information, visit the website www.consol.co.za, or go to Facebook (Consol Glass) or Twitter (Consol_Glass), or mail sales@consol.co.za. 

Lentil Dhal with Roasted Garlic

The evenings are still a little chilly and this makes us want curl up with a warming bowl of curry. This recipe is from the ‘Best ever Indian Cookbook’ that we bought in Udaipur, India during our trip last year. A perfect spicy vegetarian main meal or as part of a curry table.

Lentil Dhal with Roasted Garlic
Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients
2 whole garlic houses
Vegetable oil
3 T ghee or butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 fresh green chillies, chopped
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1 cup mixed lentils (or red lentils)
4 cups water
1 t cumin powder
1 t coriander powder
1 can chopped tomatoes
½ T sugar
Salt and ground black pepper
Fresh lemon juice
Fresh coriander leaves
Dried garlic slices

Method
Pre heat oven to 120°C.
Break the garlic houses into individual cloves, leaving he skins on.
Place on a baking tray and drizzle with vegetable oil.
Bake until soft (about 15 minutes), remove and once cool, puree.
Heat the ghee in a deep heavy based pot.
Fry the onion, ginger and chillies over a low heat for about 10 minutes until soft and golden.
Stir in the lentils. Add the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 50 – 60 minutes – stirring occasionally - until the lentils are soft and it looks like a thick soup. (add more water if you need to)
Stir in the garlic puree, cumin and coriander. Cook for another 10 – 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and cook through.
Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander and dried garlic.

Quaker Oats Heaps of Fruit

When I came back from our fabulous European holiday I was surprised with this delightful box of Quaker Oats products. Now, in our house sleeping in is more important than breakfast, so we're always looking for a quick meal option - and that's exactly what Quaker Oats offers! 

The packaging is very innovative; basically you empty the contents into a bowl, use the same sachet the oats was in to measure and pour the water or milk, cook it in the microwave for 2 minutes and voila - breakfast is served. Pour, Press, Ping ;)

I really liked that there was 'heaps of fruit' in each serving (the banana and strawberry flavour is my favourite), and that it serves up a perfect portion of creamy porridge in just 2 minutes.

Check out this funny Suzelle video where she tries Quaker Oats:

For more info, visit:

Quaker Facebook Page

Official Quaker Website

KitchenAid in Golden Nectar

Drool! Isn't this new colour from KitchenAid just gorgeous? 

In my ideal world I would have a KitchenAid in every colour :)

For more info click here or here.

Undinian Mussels with Sedgwick’s Original Old Brown

Spring was fleeting in Joburg and we've been hit by a cold front. So out come the booties, coats and winter recipes - like this one! Old Brown is synonymous with 'warming', so I think this easy recipe is just the perfect comfort food for tonight.

Undinian Mussels
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 kg mussels, beards removed and cleaned
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
15 ml finely chopped garlic
30 ml olive oil
30 ml garam masala or curry powder
180 ml Sedgwick’s Original Old Brown
250 ml cream
Fresh limes and fresh coriander leaves to serve

Method
Make sure the mussels are clean. Use a big, heavy based saucepan with a lid. Fry the celery, onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft and translucent.
Add the garam masala and stir through. Place the mussels in the saucepan with the Sedgwick’s Original Old Brown. Close the lid and leave for 7-8 minutes, shaking the saucepan intermittently.
Remove the lid and discard any mussels that did not open. Add the cream and heat through. Serve the mussels with fresh limes, coriander and crunchy farm bread.

Happy Spring Day!

Happy Spring Day! 

We'll be brightening some lucky offices with tasty treats today :)