lifestyle

There’s nothing like a baked cheese for sharing, and toast for dipping in it. This makes a baked cheese a perfect starter for Valentine’s day. This version is made a little more ‘chefy’ by adding smoked garlic to the cheese and topping the bread with basil pesto. Prep time 5 minutes/Cook time 20 minutes/serves 4 […]

Apart from mackerel, sea bass is undoubtedly my husband’s favourite fish. It’s also a great fish to cook for a romantic Valentine’s (or St Dwynwen’s) meal. This is a restaurant-quality dish that you can easily, simply and quickly prepare at home (which I think is ideal for a Valentine’s meal — cook simply, cook quickly

Based on thumbprint biscuits (cookies), these tasty jam-topped biscuits are excellent as a Valentine’s day gift. They also go very well with possets, custards and creams. As they keep well for a few days, then can be made well ahead. Prep time 15 mins/cook time 15 mins/Makes 14-16 Ingredients: 100g (1/2 cup) icing sugar (plus

Possets go back to Elizabethan times, when milk, cream and sugar started to become more commonplace, particularly in cities. This was the start of the spread of city dairies and the spread of Mediterranean sugar production. Possets are basically sweetened fruit purees beaten with cream. They are easy to make, delicious and lend themselves well

Mussels are another Valentine’s day classic. Often, they are cooked as a starter. This dish, however, is more substantial and is intended as a main course. This is also quick to cook, so you can spend more time with your Valentine. In this recipe the strong flavours of the mussels, chorizo and cavolo nero are

morning-after-rooibos-tea.png Rooibos, the dried leaves of Aspalathus linearis, a broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae (beans) that grows in South Africa’s fynbos biome. The leaves are used to make a herbal tea that is called rooibos, bush tea, red tea, or redbush tea. It has been used as a re-hydrating tea for thousands of years.

This is the first in my collection of recipes for lovers. Of course, we all know about Valentine ’s Day on the 14th February. My husband, though is Welsh and he celebrates the native Welsh saint of lovers, Saint Dwynwen’s day on the 25th of January. So we get two chances to celebrate. This first recipe is

marzipan-centre-bundt-cake.png This is a half-cake, half-stollen confection bursting with festive flavours, mixed spice, dried fruit and nuts that can be served and made as a last-minute Christmas bake that doesn’t need to mature. The bundt shape also makes it round, like a coin; so it can be served for good luck as a New Year

Mussels on the half shell are now available in South African supermarkets. This recipe turns these fairly cheap shellfish into a moreish New Year’s Eve (or any other party) nibble. Prep time 10 minutes/Cook time 40 minutes/Serves 4-6 Ingredients: 150g (1 1/2 cups) cornbread, crumbled 60ml (1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling ¼ tsp of crushed

Siberian Beef Dumplings Dumplings are another food often associated with prosperity and served around the New Year. Chinese dumplings are shaped like traditional purses, so it’s relatively easy to work out their association with wealth. These Russian (Siberian) dumplings are more shaped like coins, hence their association with the New Year. Prep time 25 minutes/Cook

Round confectionery such as bundt cakes, layer cakes, doughnuts, biscuits and cookies are believed to bring good luck on New Year. The key is the round shape, as they are believed to bring a full circle of luck in the New Year. These are really good and can be used as New Year gifts to

Grilled Mackerel Two Ways Fish are also considered lucky, in Chinese culture at least, but they must be served whole, with the heads and tails still attached. This symbolizes prosperity, abundance and a fortunate year to come. Here I’m cooking braaied (barbecued) whole mackerel, with the first recipe for a Chinese-style of finishing the fish

This is from the American South, where sweet or savoury cornbread is said to bring prosperity in the New Year (its golden hue literally refers to gold and other riches). This recipe is for a sweet breakfast cornbread, typically served with maple syrup. Prep time 5 minutes/Cook time 30 minutes/Serves 6 Ingredients: 270g (1 1/2 cups) yellow cornmeal

neujahrsbrezel.png neujahrsbrezel-plaiting.png As we enter the New Year, I’m presenting a few recipes for foods that are deemed lucky. Today’s recipe is from Germany. Neujahrsbrezel is a large pretzel popular in the Rhineland and other areas in southwestern Germany and is typically served on New Year’s Day to symbolize good luck. Unlike traditional lye pretzels,

I want everyone of you to do this spiritual bathing…and after the bathing any sign you see you let me know…I won’t say more than this…just try it and see what will happen within 7 days after this work is done ITEMS NEEDED.. Bitter leave Salt(tigh salt get it from the market) Seven 10 naira