Mish thinks every Friday is a book event

Last week this time, the office was buzzing with last minute things to do and deadlines to meet before attending the annual Media24 Books Literary Awards. I literally threw my heels aside and made my friends wait for me in the parking lot, just so I can upload my Friday Food Fest post! I have to say, I was cutting it fine with those stilletos, posting and grabbing everything in sight and shoving it in drawers... Just to make my desk look clean and neat. With a flushed face, cellphone in hand, camera bag and handbag, I spilled into the car to get to the Awards ceremony at the Raddisson Blue Hotel.  

 

Our company snagged three out of the six prestigious prizes which I think is pretty impressive. The youngest of the prize winners was Sally Partridge, author of Dark Poppy’s Demise. She is a young talented woman who is passionate about writing. Well done Sally and congratulations on winning the M.E.R Prize for best youth novel for the second time!

 

The MC of the evening was Vicky Davis, a presenter of Pasella on SABC2. This young woman is a wonderful warm and slightly awkward lady. She is truly a towering beauty as you can see from the photograph. Vicky is more than a television celeb. She is a writer and has written a short story that has been included in Nuwe Kinderverseboek. Her latest title is director! Even when Vicky is not in the lime light she shines. She will be directing her second play called Labirint by Daleen Kruger. With a top notch cast that includes Deon Lotz and the ever popular Illse Roos, this production promises to be a gripping one! If you are in Johannesburg this winter, be sure to catch Labirint when it opens on the 12^th of July.  For more information about this show and exactly what it is about, visit Volksblad for the full story! The production will be in Cape Town in August of this year!

 

Be sure to visit the Cape Town Book Fair starting today and running over the entire weekend. Whether you are celebrating Youth Day tomorrow or Father’s Day on Sunday… The book fair is a great way to spend your day in celebration. For those of you who claim Youth Day and don’t know what exactly the celebration is about, I would suggest clicking here.

Friday Food Fest: Chicken is vegetables with feathers

I am not a fan of a chicken breast but when discovered this dish I figured... There is hope! Whenever my mother announces her chicken breasts, I am always underwhelmed and rush through it. For me there is really nothing worse than a dry chicken breast piece. Though my mom is an excellent cook, as most mothers are, I think Mrs Parker has one up with this recipe! She succeeds in taking your tastebuds on a taste sensation with chilli and chives, hmmmm! Try this recipe, you will never look at a chicken breast as the vegetable part of this poultry! Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself!

Chicken breasts stuffed with chilli

and chive butter

Chilli and chive butter

100 g salted butter

10 ml crushed dried chillies

5 ml garlic paste

1 bunch chives, finely snipped

(reserve a few for garnishing)

Chicken

1 kg chicken breast fillets

1 tub cream cheese with chives

100 g mozzarella cheese, grated

30 ml chicken seasoning

5 ml freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

2 cloves garlic

15 ml cooking oil

Chilli and chive butter:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. Scoop onto a piece of clingfi lm and roll into a sausage shape. Twist the ends of the plastic and tape tightly in a tube. Chill in the refrigerator until required.

Chicken:

Use a thin, pointed knife to pierce the side of each chicken fillet and cut it from end to end to create a cavity. Do not make the cut too deep. Keep aside. Mix the cream cheese and the mozzarella in a small bowl. Rub the chicken fillets with the chicken seasoning, pepper and salt. Stuff the cheese mixture into the chicken cavity, making sure the cavity is not too full. Close the openings with toothpicks. Rub the inside of a grill skillet with the cloves of garlic and heat the oil. Place the chicken fillets in the pan and fry for 3 minutes on each side over high heat. Continue until all of the chicken fi llets are cooked. Place on an ovenproof plate, remove the toothpicks and grill for 5–10 minutes. Serve with a ring of chilli and chive butter on each chicken fillet and sprinkle with snipped chives. Serve with Vegetables flavoured with chilli and roasted garlic (page 155) and a salad of your choice.

Serves 4 to 6

This recipe is from Shanaaz Parker's Real Food Aromatic Fusion.

For more wonderful books visit

www.nb.co.za

Mish remembers Tygerberg Zoo

Last year I spent one of the best days of my life surrounded by wildlife at the Tygerberg Zoo. My bow, his 4-year old nephew and I visited the zoo. We wanted little T-man to see and experience the animals. At this stage we were blissfully unaware that not too far into the future we would learn that the Tygerberg Zoo is closing. The zoo has been sold and everyone is gearing up to close down. The zoo is closing due to financial difficulties and its rumoured that it will close officially end of 2012. Tygerberg Zoo is due for their final lockup in December. In a last effort to generate funds to cover their overheads, maintainance and salaries, the park has slashed the prices to get more feet into the zoo. Before the zoo closes, do yourself a favour and go and check out the most beautiful owl I have ever seen... The white owl. Just a pity I wasn't able to capture this majestic animal.

Here are a few pictures to entice you go and visit the Tygerberg Zoo before it closes at the end of the year.

T-man visits the Tygerberg Zoo

Are there snakes uncle Lee?

Add caption

A Lama

This is Angus. This chimp has was saved from a Taiwanese boat in 1985.

(Hilarious commentary from a few visitors while feeding Angus. Guess they didn't see the notice saying -Don't feed the animals!)

If Justin Bieber had a pony...

The majestic white lion

This will be written up as T-man's best childhood experiences

Mish passes by in a blur

Life goes by so fast. It literally passes by in a blur when you are in a car traveling somewhere. I thought about how fast years roll by when you reach your twenties. Though I am not nearly old enough to be considered wise, I am old enough to realise how precious time is.

Source Image

Waste your time on the things that make you happy if you must waste. Spend your time as though it is your last, so that you are careful with how you use it. Plan for tomorrow in case you wake in the morning. Tell the ones you love how you feel in case it is your only chance. Declare your love for someone if they are worthy. Live passionately. Be free but responsible. Take a moment to breathe and take in the view. Say goodbye to the things of a child but always be able to tap into your child-like nature. Explore and grow. Read and share. When your twenties have passed and the wrinkles start trailing down your face, let it be the lines down to your mouth and etched in the corners of your eyes, as these are the lines of hapiness. Enjoy the shots below.

 

Friday Food Fest: Souped up and warm

A rainy day calls for a comfort food and what is better than a bowl of soup and freshly baked bread. Shanaaz Parker manages to top herself once again! Her latest cookbook is called Shanaaz's Real Food Aromatic Fusion.This book is crammed with mouthwatering recipes with everyday ingredients. Enjoy!

Lamb and mushroom soup

60 g butter

500 g beef mince

5 peppercorns

3 whole cloves

10 ml crushed garlic

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 large carrots, grated

250 ml red lentils

1 tin whole peeled tomatoes

1 tin mixed vegetables

15 ml tomato paste

100 ml chopped celery

50 ml chopped fresh parsley

salt to taste

250 ml fresh cream

Place the lamb, 2 L water, onion, carrots, garlic and whole spices into a large pot. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45–60 minutes. Place the butter and mushrooms into a medium pot and sauté for 3–5 minutes. Mix the cornfl our with the milk in a jug. Add the seasoning, black pepper, chilli sauce, lemon juice and salt. Mix together well. Add the milk mixture to the mushrooms and stir well until the mixture thickens. Add the mushroom mixture to the meat in the pot and stir. Simmer for 15–20 minutes until the meat is tender and soft. Add a little water if a thinner consistency is required. Add the coriander and parsley and serve with Mushroom-filled bread as in Shanaaz's recipe book.

Serves 6 to 8

Mish 's maketh war against common cold

I have been very quiet for a while now and it has been eating away at me that I was not able post anything for such a long time. Truthfully I have been swamped at work and as of late, I have been fighting a battle against a cold and possible flu!

The Game Plan Brew: Silent killer not depicted. Read on. :)

In my quest to stay healthy because of this busy lifestyle, sadly I lost the first round against the common cold. According to Commoncold.org, a cold is caused by a virus that enters through the nasal passages. I contracted my dose in a train with closed windows on an icy morning from a friendly lady next to me. From infections, it takes about 8-12 hours to become a runny-nosed, scratchy throat, hoarse sounding, and coughing mess. Experts say that the cold weather has nothing to do with contracting the cold virus! The cold weather rather causes us to be in closer proximity to each other because we tend to opt for the great indoors.  So it really gives the cold virus the chance to spread like hot gossip.

A cold lasts for anything between 4 and 14 days. Here is the catch; there is no cure for the common cold. You cannot shorten the period it takes your body to work through it. Well, not really. All you can do is alleviate the symptoms. This does not inspire hope of winning any wars against this virus. When I made this miserable discovery, I resolved to alleviate, alleviate, alleviate… Until I feel great!

How would you do this? The best thing is prevention but this post is not about prevention. It is about treating the symptoms because life just doesn’t come to a screeching halt just because you have a cold. Even a sneeze-filled day continues to demand its quota of deadlines, meetings and other mundane tasks. *Cough-cough*

Here is what you can do to alleviate or I’d call it cheating your cold as best you can:

• Drink lots of fluids. Hydrate your body by increasing your intake. This helps flushing those awful germs.

• Cut out sugars and coffee. Replace your caffeine with 2-3 cups of green tea. A great battle weapon.

• Rest more than you normally do. By rest, I mean solid sleep time. Try to get in an hour or two more per day. Don’t just lay in bed, sleep! Take a sick day if you have an event to be ready for within a day or so.

• Reduce stress. When you have a cold, you tend to feel hazy and your head can be stuffy. So outsource some work. Negotiate later deadlines if possible. Delay the washing. Do whatever it takes. This is a defence that works!

Special Game Plan brew

Honey

 
It soothes the throat because of its antibacterial properties. It gives your body that boast it needs for the day and add a dash of happiness to your beverage of choice. It tastes great in coffee, tea and just hot water. 

Lemon juice

 
Here is your vitamin C defence mechanism. It takes care of the horrible phlegm that builds up during a cold.  Try to lower your dairy intake, especially milk, as it activates phlegm. #MishteryTip

Ginger Root
It will boast your immune system and add to soothing that scratchy patch in your throat. 

Chillies

This is your not so silent killer of germs. 

Method

Boil some hot water. Add grated ginger to water. Grating the ginger releases its goodness and is far more effective this way. Now add a couple of squeezes of lemon juice. Freshly squeezed or bottled. Add just a pinch of cut up chillies to your brew. Let it steep for about 3-4 minutes before you strain the tea. You are now ready to add your honey. You can add about a teaspoon or two or three depending on your preference.

Now go out there and fight against the common cold with vengeance!

For more information visit the following sites for more about colds and flu:
Dr Oz: http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/donna-cardillo-rn-ma/cold-and-flu-home-remedies
Herb: http://www.herb.co.za/herb-remedies/coldremedies.htm

Friday Food Fest: Imagine not having to wonder about what's for dinner for an entire year!

This has been my latest addiction! Chicken livers! Hmmm, this is winter comfort food when you are pressed for time and craving love to fill your tummy! I discovered this easy to make recipe in Ideas 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year. I love this recipe book. It says what it does. It gives you one recipe per day for an entire year. Imagine never having to wonder about what to prepare for a meal for a year! Don't take my word for it, check it out yourself.

Spicy chicken livers

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes

15ml sunflower oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

500g chicken livers,

cleaned and halved

1 x 410g can chilliflavoured

tomatoes

100ml sweet-chilli sauce

crusty bread, to serve

1 Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the garlic.

2 Add the chicken livers to the saucepan and brown them on all sides.

3 Add the chilli-flavoured tomatoes and the sweet-chilli sauce. Cook for 15 minutes or until the livers are cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Serve with crusty bread.