SPICY TUNA FISHCAKES
Makes 8 small cakes
400 g good-quality tinned tuna
6 tinned water chestnuts, drained and finely sliced
3 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
3 cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped (re-hydrated
for 5 minutes in boiling water if dried)
2 teaspoon Thai fish sauce
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil, for frying
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Dipping Sauce
Good pinch of caster sugar
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Juice of ½ lime
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
First make the dipping sauce. Mix together all the sauce ingredients, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Taste and adjust the flavours as necessary. Set aside.

Drain the tuna and place in a bowl; use a fork to separate the chunks. Add the water chestnuts, spring onions, ginger, coriander, chilli and lime leaves and season with salt and pepper. Add the fish sauce and beaten eggs. Mix well.

Squeezing the mixture to tightly compress it and get rid of any excess liquid, shape it into balls the size of golf balls. Flatten them lightly into patties.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add a little oil and shallow-fry the fishcakes on each side for 1–2 minutes until golden on all sides and heated through. Serve with the dipping sauce.
PHOTO: Michele Davis

LEPRECHAUN DREAMS
½ glass Granadilla juice
3-4 drops grenadine
1 shot Malibu
1 shot spiced gold
1 shot Bacardi
1 shot Blue Sambuca
1 Cocktail glass, filled with crushed ice
1 straw
1 stick mint leaf (garnish

(Optionally the glass can be decorated by wetting the rim of the glass and then dip the rim in greengage jelly and set to dry 1 hour in advance!)
Pour granadilla juice.
Pour 3-4 drops of grenadine, make sure the 2 don’t mix. The grenadine drops will go down to the bottom of the glass as it is heavier than the juice.
In separate glass or mixer, mix Malibu, Spiced gold, Blue Sambuca and Bacardi together and shake for 2 min.
Pour the mixture slowly on top of the ice so it won’t mix with the juice.
Garnish with a bright straw and mint leaf.

SOURCE: Mickayla Swart

KARAMEL VERSIERSEL EN VULSEL
BESTANDELE

1 kop melk
3 eetl of 45 ml koekmeel
250 gr margarien of botter sag
5ml karamel essense
halwe teelepel koffiepoeier
250 ml karamel of bruin suiker verpoeier soos strooisuiker

METODE

Meng melk en koekmeel goed en kook dit tot dit dik word, roer gedurig laat prut vir omtrent 5 min. Haal van stoof af plaas kleefplastiek direk op mengsel en laat afkoel.
Klits botter saam met die karamel of suiker vir ontrent 3 min, gooi nou meelmengsel en karamel essens,koffiepoeier by en klits goed vir 5 min met elektriese menger.
Laat staan in yskas vir 15 min voor gebruik

SOURCE/PHOTO: Marie Grobler

TARTARIC ACID VS CREAM OF TARTAR

Although cream of tartar and tartaric acid are close relatives, there are some important differences between the two. Make sure that you don’t simply substitute equal amounts of one for the other, as the results will be quite disappointing.

Identification: Tartaric Acid
Tartaric acid (or, in scientific terms, dihydroxy-succinic acid) is a salt found in plants. It can also be produced by fermenting grapes or other substances such as tamarind and pineapple in a container (for example, a wine cask). A white crust called argol often forms during the process, and this can be precipitated to make tartaric acid. Tartaric acid was first synthesized in 1769 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who used boiled tartar and chalk, combined with sulfuric acid, to arrive at the final product.

Uses
Tartaric acid has been in use since Greek and Roman times, and for good reason. The culinary arts, photography, tanning, ceramics, mirror making, and medicinal remedies make use of tartaric acid. It has an intensely sour and tart flavor, and is a primary acid in wine.

Identification: Cream of Tartar
Another important use of tartaric acid (or potassium bitartrate) is the production of cream of tartar. Cooks should be grateful, because tartaric acid is much more expensive and hard to find. Cream of tartar is basically a weakened form of tartaric acid. After tartaric acid forms, it is mixed with potassium hydroxide to neutralize the acid. This mixture results in cream of tartar, which is not actually a cream, but a crystalline powder.

Uses
Baking commonly calls for cream of tartar. For example, making a meringue pie requires cream of tartar (or a close substitute, such as vinegar or lemon juice), since you need it to stabilize beaten egg whites. Cream of tartar also prevents crystallization of syrups. A combination of cream of tartar and baking soda is all you need to make homemade baking powder.

Cream of tartar is also an excellent cleaning agent. Mixing cream of tartar and lemon juice results in a great copper cleaner. Hot water or hydrogen peroxide mixed with cream of tartar can help remove stains from aluminum pans.

Substitution
If your recipe calls for tartaric acid and you don’t have it, using cream of tartar might work. For every teaspoon of tartaric acid, replace with two teaspoons of cream of tartar. However, using tartaric acid will produce better results.

SAAD LEKKERNYE VIR VEERVRIENDE
Hierdie is nou nie vir ons om te eet nie, maar dis n resepie vir ons tuin voels!!!
1 k Saad
1 sakkie gelatine aangemaak met 60ml warm water laat kook en afkoel
Meng met Saad.
Druk in vorm en laat droog word!!
Ek ‘n toutjie in gesit in die middel om dit te kan ophang
Lekker gespeel!

SOURCE/PHOTO: Benhet Nieuwenhuis

Or a very simple one: toilet paper roll covered in peanut butter rolled in bird seed

BOTTERBONE SOP
1 pakkie botter bone wat jy oornag moet week en dan uit dop…
1 groot ui
1.5 kg bees sop vleis
bietjie botter
2 blikke tamatie room sop
2 eetlepels growe peeper
teelepel sout

Braai ui in bietjie botter tot glanserig…Braai dan vleis saam met die ui tot bruin…
Alles in die stoom pot natuurlik gooi dan die uit en vleis onder water maar bedek dit net net.. Kook dan die onder druk vir 1 uur…Voeg dan die uitgedopte bone en tamatie room sop by..Voeg growe pepper en sout by. Kook dan vir nog ‘n uur onder druk tot bone sag is…As die sop te dig is kan jy water byvoeg as jy die tamatie room sop insit… maar ek hou van n dik sop
SOURCE: Jaco Malan

VEAL ROLLS WITH HAM AND CHEESE

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
30gr Butter
4/5 Fresh Sage leaves
1/2 Glass Dry White Wine
1 Chicken stock in 500ml Hot water
Thinly sliced veal or Beef.
Sliced ham
Cheese of your choice thick slice
250ml Fresh Cream

METHOD
Place your sliced ham on top of meat and place your cheese on top of ham and roll .
Seal the roll with string.
Place 4 tablespoon olive oil and 30gr of butter in a pan. When your butter has melted add some sage leaves into butter oil and let them become crispy then add your veal rolls on a fairly high heat to brown the meat.
Add the Wine and let it evaporate then add your chicken stock and let the veal rolls cook on medium heat until stock has almost dried up. At the end add your fresh cream and let it thicken.

SOURCE/PHOTO: Sabrina Merli

MA SE LEKKER HOENDERPASTA
1 pakkie klein skulpie noedels
1 pakkie spek gesnipper
2 koppies cheddar kaas
2 pakkies dik sampioen soppoeier
1 bakkie sampioene
1 ui opgesny
1 klein greenpepper
1 heel hoender gekook en gevlok

Braai ui, bakkie sampioene, greenpepper en spek in so bietjie olie, tot sag, voeg gevlokte hoender by en braai nog so bietjie. Hou een kant.
Maak die 2 pakkies soppoeier aan met 3 koppies koue water en kook op stoof tot gaar en lekker dik. Kook noedels soos normaal en spoel af.
Skep noedels in ‘n oond pan, meng die hoender en spek mengsel by, roer lekker deur, gskep die aangemaakte sop oor van hoek tot kant, roer weer lekker deur.
Sprinkel die kaas bo-oor en bak vir so 10 min op 180ºC, dan grill tot kaas goud bruin is.
Geen sout word by gevoeg die sop is sout en die spek ook.
Dis ‘n lekker dis glo my en jy eet net ‘n bietjie dan is jy versadig, bedien met ‘n slaai ek maak sommer ‘n mengel slaai.
Geniet dit en laat weet wat julle dink, my ma dit altyd Saterdae vir ons gemaak.
Foto en resep: Belinda Minnie en Adam Cloete

TOMATO SAUCE vs TOMATO PASTE

TOMATO SAUCE is made of tomatoes puréed with a little bit of water, plus spices and salt for flavour. It’s the same thickness as jarred tomato sauce (like Prego or Ragu), or the kind you might make yourself, but without any lumps. Canned tomato sauce is often called for in large quantities (think, one or two whole 15-ounce cans) as the base for chili recipes, stews, or tomato-based soups.
TOMATO PASTE is also made with tomatoes, spices, and salt, but the tomatoes are concentrated first, then puréed into a super thick paste that’s intensely sweet and a little bit tangy. It’s used in small quantities to add flavour, not as a base for recipes.
IN A NUTSHELL: Tomato paste has a way stronger flavour so it’s used in smaller amounts.
Can I substitute one for the other? No. Tomato paste adds flavour, and tomato sauce adds volume.

SOURCE: Buzzfeed
PHOTO: seriouseats

LIGHT CREAM vs WHIPPING CREAM vs HEAVY CREAM

Light cream has a fat content of 18–30% (for comparison, whole milk is about 3.25%) and is used mostly as coffee creamer. Light cream won’t whip, because it doesn’t have enough fat, and it isn’t really used as a base for cream sauces, because it’s too thin.
Whipping cream, also sometimes called light whipping cream, has a fat content of 30–36%, plus added stabilizers — usually carrageenan, a substance derived from seaweed — that help it hold its form once it’s whipped (otherwise the air bubbles will escape and the whipped cream will essentially deflate over time and turn back to liquid).
Heavy cream, also sometimes called heavy whipping cream has a fat content of 36–40% and is great for whipping, or as a base for cream sauces. Look for heavy cream without stabilizers (carrageenan), since its high fat content is enough to help heavy cream hold its shape when whipped. And, if you’re just using it to thicken a sauce, there’s no need for a stabilizer.
IN A NUTSHELL: Only ever use light cream for coffee. Opt for heavy cream over whipping cream unless you’re on a diet.
Can I substitute one for the other? Sort of. Heavy cream and whipping cream are pretty much interchangeable. But, light cream won’t whip and won’t really thicken a sauce.