THE KITCHEN

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RECIPES FOR BRAAI SIDES

We were recently asked by the Lowveld Get It! magazine to present 4 scrumptious side dishes for a South African braai. The specifications were simple and suited us down to the ground - no potato salad, garlic bread or pap en sous!

This is what we came up with:

• Crustless Zucchini Quiche
• Old Joe's Kaia's own Chakalaka - with a coal-baked potato
• Crocodile Bread with Mushroom and Cheese filling
• Crystal Salad Spring Rolls

Email us if you would like to try any of these recipes - IT'S FREE!
(our email address is on our website)

ODE TO KENWOOD

The time has come…. my faithful Kenwood mixer gave a cough and, while still willingly turning, indicated that its time is here to retire.

It is with nostalgia that I replace it with a monster of a machine – The Kenwood Major Titanium. I bought my small white machine in 1981. It can tell many a story of happy baking days, raising both my boys with their favourite biscuits, birthday cakes and small treats that all came from this reliable workhorse. It baked close to 2,000 Christmas cakes, a couple of wedding cakes and mixed and kneaded at least two of Old Joe’s Kaia’s famous breads every day for the past seven years.

Before it gives its last breath I will proudly and with honour put it on my shelf with other objects of sentiment and service. BRAVO my little Kenwood!

Here Amelia and myself show gratitude for both machines and the start of a new era in the kitchen - we can't wait to start baking!

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MEMORY BREAD

This coming Friday, 25 November, it will be a year since Damian’s passing – a very difficult time indeed for Paul, Dale and myself – time to bake ‘Memory Bread’.

I was introduced to Memory Bread by Helena Nell, journalist and lunch guest at Old Joe’s Kaia. She forwarded this interesting ritual from The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell to me:
“My mother used to make it when I was a child, and it's called that because when you have a piece, you're supposed to remember something important. It can be from your childhood. It can be from any time or anywhere. So I thought we'd drink a toast and eat some bread and remember what we've been through and who we were, because it's also who we are."

So how does one make a Memory Bread?
Simply mix your favourite bread dough (or buy ready-mixed from the local bakery), roll it out into an oblong and spread all your ‘memories’ down the middle, then plait the sides over to enclose them…
"Memories are like what you find in the kitchen, she said, all these dribs and drabs in drawers and dark cupboards, bits and pieces that seem extraneous or even bad…"

So what shall we put in Damian’s Memory Bread?
Dead-fried eggs, crispy bacon, Fun & Happiness, Lentil and Mushroom Soup …and welding rods… How can we ever forget…?www.oldjoes.co.za