My Food Heroes – Moface’s Macaroni & Cheese

Now no one could ever start a food blog without remembering all the amazing food they had as a young child. The very first meal that got you hooked  and who was there when it happened. For most people this involves their mother. How could It not! Hell I could dedicate an entire blog just to her. My amazing mother has been on a culinary journey with me my entire life. The bags of flour that I sifted through, the eggs, the baking powder THE MESS!! THE MONEY spent! My mom has been there through it all. She always allowed me the time and space to destroy her kitchen and turn it into an experimental mecca of foodie thoughts and ideas. She is the one that got me started not just on the idea of cooking and feeding people but the whole concept and joy behind it.  Luckily for me I remember this day. In the kitchen at my childhood home. My mom had just made dinner, a huge casserole dish sat pristine ontop of the stove cooling down. All I could see was melty cheese and bits of sausage and some pasta. Ooo melty cheese. My gastronomical crutch. I pushed the small wooden chair closer so I could reach it and started picking away at the delicious crispy crunchy melty bits.

It was heaven. The sauce that embodied the pasta was creamy and rich and full of flavor. The tomatoes displayed neatly on the sides. The little russian sausages cut into small cubes and perfectly distributed throughout the dish. The onions diced finely gave a gentle sweetness and crunch. The cheese! Oh the cheese! Melty and gooey inside, perfect and crispy ontop. It was as I have and always will remember the best meal of my entire life and every time and I mean every time my Moface makes it, it brings back only the happiest thoughts and memories. It’s tough to explain in that it’s the most special dish I think I will ever share on this blog. It’s comforting, it’s moorish and just plain damn delicious.

Moface’s Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

1 Onion chopped

4 Savoury Sausages (Russians) chopped

1tsp Garlic

1tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Mustard powder

1 tsp Oregano

1/2 cup Cheese (grated)

1/2 pkt Cooked Macaroni

2 Tbs Butter

2 Tbs Flour

1Tbs Corn Starch

1 Cup Water

Instructions

1. To make a white sauce add the butter into a small pot and melt. Add the flour and corn starch in small quantities and mix till it forms a smooth paste. If it gets too think add small amounts of water to bring it back to that paste like consistency.

2. Mix all the ingredients above except the cheese.

3. Add the white sauce into this mixture  and mix well.

4. Once combined place this mixture into a glass casserole dish, cover with freshly sliced tomatoes if that’s your thing and then pile as much cheese as you can on the top.

5. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 mins or until the cheese is crispy.

Dish yourself a massive bowl, pour a glass of wine, sit back, relax and enjoy.

Love you Mamma ❤

My Food Heroes – Piley’s Cappuccino Choc Chip Muffins

Not many people know but I’m not really into sweet things. I couldn’t imagine sitting down with a whole bar of Cadburys and devouring the thing in one small go. I’ve never liked chocolate and if I do get one I tend to savor each piece. A large Toblerone could last me a good month maybe longer. Easter eggs are just lost on me, all that chocolate and no belly to enjoy it. I’m not a chocolate bar or candy prude I guess I just only like certain sugar highs.

I do however like decadent sweet things; chocolate eclairs, chocolate ganache covered triple layered mousse, fudgey brownies, oh the list could go on. It’s that kind of sweet dessert that tickles the back of your throat and leaves u in an eye rolling ecstasy. Never experienced that before? Well we need to hang out, you have no idea what you’re missing out on!

One such gorgeous treat is my childhood friend Amy’s (Piley) Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe. It may seem like just a muffin recipe but it is sooo much more than that. It represents an almost 15 year friendship. More than half of my life, these muffins have played their part. That day at school where she came into Afrikaans class with a whole box of muffins and cookies for sale. Yes Aimz I remember 😀 I bought one who knows how much for and the first bite had me addicted. I think I bought another 3 or 4 by the end of the day.

It’s always been a running joke that whenever Amy ever wanted me to do something for her she would repay me in muffins haha. It was actually discussed not even a few weeks ago. haha.  It got to a point a few times where I even bribed her to make them for me. I eventually decided I couldn’t treat my bestie like my foodie slave so I got the recipe myself and tried my hardest to match that delicious pouch of sweety goodness. Well I failed. It looked as if small aliens were sprouting out of the muffin tray. So I just decided to continually bribe my wonderful friend and probably will until we are old grannies sitting on the stoep at the old age home talking about that one time at band camp…

I will however attempt to once again recreate these little chocolatey angels for the sake of a few pictures and a walk down memory lane. The ingredients are simple enough to find in Korea, except buttermilk. That’s quite easy to fix though. Just some milk and vinegar and boomshakalaka.

Ingredients

500ml flour
15ml baking powder
125ml soft brown sugar
100g choc chips
50ml strong coffee granules
80ml water hot
100ml oil
100ml butter milk or plain yoghurt
2 extra large eggs
60ml milk

Instructions

1. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and choc chips into mixing bowl

2. Dissolve coffee in hot water and let it cool down.

3. Mix oil, buttermilk, eggs and milk with coffee and then add to dry ingredients to form a stiff dough, do not over mix!

4. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 200 degrees for 20mins. Remove and cool.

CHEF AMY’s TIPS:

Try not to eat them all up yourself 😀

My Japanese Food Adventures – Deep Fried Squid Tentacles (Ika Geso Age)

An Izakaya restaurant is very simplistic. It’s a place to go to where you want to drink some good beer or sake and have a few delicious dishes alongside it. Like a Tapas style place. It’s usually a very small hole in the wall with  low tables shoved really close together and a small menu that can be freshly prepared in a matter of minutes.

The ever famous Suntory Whisky

We went to an Izakaya place in Asakusa, Tokyo for a taste of what was on offer. The first thing that my eyes spotted was “Deep Fried Caramali Legs”. The spelling mistake was the least of my worries. I couldn’t believe it!! Fried Calamari! What a win! I absolutely love the stuff.

The Izakaya Menu – Simple yet delicious

All the memories came flooding in of sitting on the beach in Strand, Cape Town with family, friends and boyfriends with a spread of Calamari&Chips. The smell of the sea and the breeze through your hair. The crisp crunch of that first bite. The sting of the lemon juice you doused  all over and finally the calming rejoice of the sweet and tangy mayo that soothes your tongue. This specific dish is so ingrained in my life. It truly represents some of the happiest memories of my childhood.

So as you can imagine I was over the moon and back to see this “Caramali” creation lol. I ordered almost 2 servings and came back the next day for more!

Delicious deep fried Calamari