Vetkoek

Vetkoek is a traditional South African fried dough bread. It is a deeply engrained and beloved food embedded in South African culture. The word vetkoek literally means "fat cake" in Afrikaans.

It is delicious with just butter, or syrup, or cheese, or syrup and cheese... or mince... or mince and cheese... or use it instead of buns for a hamburger... or lettuce and chicken mayo... oh my goodness... now I'm hungry!!

This is a simple and time & tried tested recipe.

Ingredients

5½ cups flour

2t salt

3tbs sugar

1tbs instant yeast

2 cups warm water

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast well.

2. Add the warm water and bring it together to form a stiff dough.

3. Knead for at least 10 minutes.

4. Smear with oil and cover with a damp cloth and let it rise to double in size.

5. Lightly knead down, and use as you wish. For Vetkoek, divide into equal balls,

cover and let it rise.

6. Heat oil in a pot and fry the balls of dough in the oil until well done.

7. Remove from the oil and drain onto paper towels.

I made spinach and feta vetkoek, as well as bacon and cheese.

Use your imagination, go wild, but most of all... eat, drink and be merry!!

Yours in oil and veggies,

Risch

For a printable PDF version of the recipe, click here: Vetkoek PDF

Spinach & Feta Baguette

Over these festive times, I will not be posting very often. We are so busy in and around the house, preparing for the family to come and visit and to make use of the time of the holidays where we are all together, that documenting our meals is way down on the priorities list! However, I will be posting every now and then, and hopefully it will be just as delicious as you expect.

Yesterday I made this Spinach & Feta Baguette. It was sooo delicious, even Baby liked it! These quantities makes enough for 5 people.

Ingredients

2x Deeghuys French Loaves, defrosted
1 onion, chopped
2tbs butter
250g cut spinach
salt & pepper to taste
pinch nutmeg
1 rind plain feta
3tbs mayonnaise

Method

Preheat the oven to 160degrees C. Melt 1tbs butter and brush the loaves with the butter.

Cut diagonal lines onto the bread, spaced as thick as you want your slices (1 1/2cm - 2cm), and about 3-5mm deep. 

  Bake in the oven for 20min. Take out, brush again with butter. 

Put back in the oven for another 10 - 15 min. Take out of the oven and let it cool down a little.

 I chopped the onion in the Veri-Mark special chopper thingy, which came in handy a little later on. Melt the butter and fry the onion until lightly browned. Add the spinach. This was fresh store-bought pre-cut spinach, which I just washed again. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Fry until the spinach starts frying too. 

Scoop the whole mixture into the chopper thingy, Add the feta, crumbed, and add the mayonnaise. Blend well.

Cut the bread along the cuts you already made before baking. Lightly spread with butter. If you wish, you can spread a thin layer of Dijon Mustard or hot English mustard for a little kick. Scoop the Spinach & Feta mixture over... 

...And Enjoy!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Spinach Quiche

And I am back!! It has been quite a wait, but I am back with some great recipes. Starting off with a Spinach Quiche - very delicious, very filling and baby-approved!!

Preparation Time: 30min
Cooking Time: 50 - 60min
Difficulty Level: Easy
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Crust:
2cups flour
1/4t salt
2tbs sugar
200ml cooking oil
3tbs milk

Filling:

500g chopped spinach (I cooked from frozen)
1/2cup milk
salt & pepper to taste
large pinch nutmeg
1 onion chopped
1tbs butter
1cup milk
3 eggs
3tbs mayonnaise
150g grated cheddar cheese
1/4cup flour
1/4t cayenne pepper
1 rind feta cheese 
grated mozzarella cheese for topping

Method

Crust: Sift the dry ingredients together. Combine the milk and oil very well, I used a stick blender. 

Add the liquid to the flour and mix well. 

Spray a oven proof baking dish with non-stick spray, and line with the dough. Set aside.

 Filling: Cook the spinach in a little water (remember spinach has a lot of natural water, and we don't want to throw it away, as it contains a lot of nutrients) until tender. Add the 1/2 cup of milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook until soft. Set aside. 

Fry the onion in the butter until lightly browned. Set aside.

Blend the cup of milk, eggs and mayonnaise well. I used the stick blender. Place the cheddar cheese in a bowl and cover with the 1/4 cup of flour. 

Add the liquid to the cheese and mix well. Add the cayenne pepper and mix well. 

Add the onion and cheese mixture to the spinach and mix well. 

Pour into the baking dish  and level out. Add the mozzarella to taste on top.

Bake in the oven at 160degrees C for 50 - 60 minutes, until firm and cheese lightly browned.

And enjoy!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Spinach Soup

I haven't been posting lately, as we have moved into a new house. And at first, an old, 4-plate electric stove and oven (with only 3 plates working) occupied the kitchen. Very uninspiring. I simply had to buy a new oven!! 5 plate gasstove with electric oven. Absolutely stunning! My first big meal was this Sunday: starter of spinach soup, main of honey-mustard gammon, pumpkin with zest and fried potatoes with basil pesto. It was such a huge feast! I only took pictures of the spinach soup, though... but I cannot post any pictures as my wi-fi is down and I use another camera to take the pictures and this is such a schlep... However, I will upload the photos once I am able to do so!

Ingredients

500g fresh/frozen cut spinach
2tbs butter
1 onion, chopped
500ml cream
200ml water
1/2 cube chicken stock
Salt & pepper
1/4t freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Method

Melt the butter in a pot. Fry the onions until nicely browned.

 Add the spinach and cook until soft. Add half the cream, cook through. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Add the other half of the cream. Dissolve the chicken stock in the water, and add to the spinach. 

Cook through. Should you like it thicker, cook longer. Should you like it thinner, add more water. Add the parmesan and cook through. Smooth in a blender and serve warm. 

This is an absolutely perfect starter, as it is light, but with distinct flavours, very healthy, but doesn't fill you up so quickly. 
So you still enjoy your main course!! Goes very well with some crispy bread, too.

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Pork Tjops with orange reduction sauce and Spinach

For Meat Tuesday, I made grilled pork tjops. As in, grilled in the oven. My frying pan is toast (pardon the pun), and I wasn't in the mood for the Foreman griller... I don't have a pan big enough to do all 5 tjops... So, my best option, is to grill it in the oven!!

This recipe is only for the Pork Tjops and Spinach. The Orange reduction sauce is another recipe...

Ingredients

5 pork tjops
4tbs soya sauce
1t balsamic vinegar
1tbs lemon juice
Braai Salt to taste

Method

Place the pork tjops on an oven pan. Sprinkle 2tbs soya sauce and all the lemon juice over, evenly covering all the tjops. Sprinkle over some Braai Salt.

Grill on medium in the oven for about 15 minutes. Turn over, sprinkle over the other 2tbs soya sauce and balsamic vinegar, evenly covering all the tjops. Sprinkle some Braai Salt over, but be careful - the soya and balsamic already has a high salt content. Grill for another 15 minutes, or until well done. The fat should be nice and crispy too!

The Spinach was also very easy:

Fry an onion and 200g bacon pieces in butter until the bacon is starting to crisp. 

Add spinach and a little water and cook. 

When almost all the water has cooked off, add 125g cottage cheese and mix through. Flavour with pepper and salt to taste.

Serve the Pork tjops with the Orange Reduction Sauce, and Spinach for a wonderfully delicious meal.

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Mince & Macaroni, with Spinach soup and Spinach salad

Monday. Mince-day. I haven't made pasta in ages, so I decided to make it for a change. We still have spinach in the garden, so I sent my son to cut some leaves. What an absolutely wonderful plant spinach is!! It just keeps growing and growing... straight through our freezing winter, it still just kept on growing!
This is just another normal meal, so I am not giving measurements, just what and how.

Mince - chop onion and mushrooms and fry in a little olive oil. Add the mince and be sure to separate the mince. Add a little balsamic vinegar and more soya sauce. Add Spice for mince. You can add a little salt, but be careful of too much. The vinegar, soya and spice already has a lot of salt. Fry until done. Turn off heat.

Pasta - Cook in salted water until al dente.

Spinach soup - Cook the spinach in water with a little salt until very soft. Add ground black pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, cream and grated cheddar cheese. Mix very well and cook further. (My idea wasn't soup, but I added too much water in the beginning, and now matter how long I cooked it, it just didn't want to evaporate!!) Put in a blender and blend until smooth. Astonishing creamy, cheesy taste - really great to remember for a different type of soup!!

Spinach salad - I took the baby leaves and flash cooked them for 40 seconds and then dunked them into a bowl of icewater to stop the cooking process. Then I sprinkled some salt over, let it stand a couple of minutes, threw off the excess water, crumbled some feta cheese over, and there's your salad!! Quite an interesting taste... Not as strong as raw spinach leaves, it has a softer taste, but still intense. I almost want to describe it as spicy and sharp.

With this meal, going low carb is easy - just don't eat the pasta!! 

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Flourless Spinach Quiche

Good Evening!!

Today we are making a quiche without any flour in the mixure. It is tasty and very filling, and, in line with our theme on this blog - it is easy to make and uses ingredients that is already in your cupboard!

And, I actually have pictures for this one!!

Ingredients

1 can Sweetcorn
1 can mushrooms
1 finely chopped onion
8 red viennas, chopped
500g cut spinach
1tbs mustard
1tbs parsley
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3 eggs, seperated

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cook the spinach until just cooked and tender. Mix sweetcorn, mushrooms, onion, viennas, mustard, parsley, salt, pepper and cheese together. 

 Let the spinach cool down. Add the egg yolks and mix the mixture well. Beat the egg whites until it forms slight peaks. Fold it into the sweetcorn mixture, but do not overmix. Spray a  baking dish with non-stick spray. Scoop the mixture into the dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle more cheese on top. Put into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the quiche has risen nicely and the cheese has turned a golden brown.

 Serve warm with a classic salad. And ENJOY!!

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

Pumpkin & Spinach Surprise

This is the first recipe for this blog, and unfortunately I do not have a picture. Sorry, guys!! However, this meal is super-delicious and worth every minute of cooking! But don't just take my word for it, start cooking and taste for yourself!!

Ingredients:

1kg Pumpkin
500g Spinach
1 onion
300g bacon 
1/2 cup cream*
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cheddar cheese grated
100g margarien
4tb brown sugar
1 or 2 cups rice

Method:
Pumpkin
Cook the pumpkin in very little water until soft. Add a little salt and mix through. Stir regularly to prevent burning. Once soft, add 70g margarien and the brown sugar and cook through. Remove from heat.

Spinach
Cook the spinach in very little water until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the cream and stir through until it thickens a little. Remove from heat.

Rice
Cook the rice as per packet instructions.

Chop the onion and bacon and fry in the rest of the margarien until the bacon is done. Mix the onion mix, pumpkin, spinach and rice together and scoop into an ovenproof dish. Throw grated cheese over and dip the cheese into the dish with a spoon. Cover with some breadcrumbs and bake in the oven @ 180 degrees for about 20 min. 

Let it cool and then dish up!

Makes about 6 full servings.

Yours in oil and veggies

Risch

* Tip: Cream substitute:   Mix 1 cup of milk and 2tbl mayonnaise very well.