Men's soaps: The coolwater, lacoste, polo and not forgetting patchouli kind of guys.

I make them on ropes too.

Let us not forget the soap for the rugged, 'no-nonsense-type.' Sure, they may not fancy ' soft as silk skin,' but these bars will surely make them smell good. The goats milk and the cocoa butter will nourish their exterior whether they like it or not after all they are still like little boys who love their toys!

I love these predominantly male fragrances like cool water, lacoste, polo types....etc.

E-mail me if you are interested in purchasing these as gifts. Go to ' view profile'

On vacation hooraaaaah!!!!

On vacation for the next three weeks. For me it can only be a gastronomic one of course, so I shall be back in my studio with some more interesting soap ideas and of course some scrumptious foodie ones as well so please do not lose interest now come back and visit me again!!!!

Kheer ( Boeber) A rich and creamy drink with overtones of cardamom and cinnamon.

OMG! I love this drink. We make this during the month of Ramadan( Fasting month).This drink is rich and creamy and has all the warm spices( more like fall spices) and boy could you get your required Vitamin D all in one sitting!

Please use organic if you can! And....Please use any brands of ingredients however, these brands set the final product apart from mundane to marvelous!

Ingredients:

5 cups of very vanilla Silk soy milk( or you can use dairy which most people prefer)

2 to 4 T sugar, or to taste( Repunzel unrefined organic sugar) I do not like overly sweet dishes, so adapt to your palate .

3 T unsalted organic European butter / Or ghee( clarified butter).

1 T soji( semolina) (Swad)

2 handfuls roasted extra fine vermicelli( Ahmed brand), crushed .

1 T small tapioca pearls soaked for an hour in water.

1 T rose water and 1t vanilla (I use the kind from Santo Domingo)

3 small cinnamon sticks

5 cardamom( elachi) seeds

1/4 c sultanas or golden raisins.

My Mom used to add nuts, but I like it without the nuts!

Method: In a saucepan heat the butter, add the vermicelli and saute until golden brown in color on medium heat. Add the soji( semolina) , cinnamon, cardamom and the sultanas and saute until soji has that ' nutty' aroma( 5 mins.), stirring continuously. Add the milk and sugar and stir to prevent scorching. When the milk looks creamy, add the tapioca pearls which by now should be almost transparent because of the pre soak. Bring this mixture to boil and then lower heat to a very low temp. Lastly add the rose water and the vanilla and just keep warm. If it feels thick just add more milk. I like mine to be of pourable consistency / Or just before serving , vigorously shake the carton of milk and pour just a tiny little bit of the fresh milk on the already cooked and presented cup or bowl of boeber!

E-mail me if you have questions. Go to my "view profile"

Thank you Danica for the pretty cups and flowers!!!!

Beta carotene extreme cont.....

This soap has a sweet, clean almost woody aroma.

Carrot seed oil is extracted from the seed of the carrot and supposedly stimulates skin elasticity and this vitamin A also helps the skin function as a barrier to bacteria and viruses( according to Office of the Dietary National institute of Health). The ingredients are so luxurious and just loves the skin! It has goats milk, shea butter, vitamin E, carrot seed oil and a little coconut oil. Homemade soap has less of a lather than commercially produced soap and therefore less phosphates seeping into our water table, and ultimately this small step is actually good for the ecosystem. All of my soaps are freshly made and contains no alcohol that would otherwise dry out the skin. Commercially produced soap contains alcohol and many other chemicals to preserve the product, just in case it has to sit on the shelf.

On a lighter note, this is the one time your parents will tell you not to eat your carrots.

This display can be taken from chic to playful!

E-mail if you would like to get it. Go to "view profile"

Beta carotene taken to the extreme!

The carrot is a 'horny' vegetable.
Oh! c'mon get your mind out of the gutter! This root vegetable gets its roots from the Indoeuropean "ker"- meaning horn.This humble tuber is packed with vitamin A and could very well be the reason for those bright eyes and a variety of others like a healthy heart. Oh, and by the way this is the debut for my very first piece of food art meaning of course the palm tree! ha! ha! Okay so I am not a master carver but at least it should make you smile.

This juice is so refreshing: It has pure carrot juice, lots of fresh clementine juice or you could use oranges, splash of pineapple juice and top it off with a healthy splash of Martinelli's sparkling apple cider. The salad was one of my Mom's favorite salads. It makes my mouth pucker. It has grated carrots, chopped green bell pepper, small jalapeno chopped, chopped pineapple( my addition), garbanzo beans and fresh lemon juice and kosher salt to taste.
I am really sensitive to the acidity in the pineapple so I sprinkle with salt first and then rinse the salt off and then I sprinkle with sugar and then rinse.


The palm tree is actually for my niece R who is a little girl in this picture above and just can't seem to live without them. I guess she likes the type of climate that goes with it. Ahhh, the sun, surf and those palms sure spell lots of "kick a.... parties!

Do you ever reminisce? your Grandmother's cookie bliss!

Old favorites that my Grandmother used to make. A crispy fresh coconut cookie which was so coconutty and d.... good and a cookie called an Essie( with strong overtones of elachi(cardamon). I tried to recreate the Essie, but I do not think that I have done this cookie justice. It was good but it did not come from her hand!

Hout Bay is where I remembered my Grandparents getting that really good fish from called Snoek. Oh my gosh! I wish I had a piece of smoked snoek and a slice of crushed wheat bread! I cannot stop thinking about them. I wish I wish............

Nazarina.

Fruity soaps

These soaps smell like the real deal.
The citrus soaps have pure lemon and orange oils, shea butter, goat's milk, black seed oil and sometimes I inadvertently pick up the soap instead of the real lemon or orange. Trickery!The pear smells like a real pear and the apple smells like a green apple

Aero peppermint cookie

Peppermint Aero cookies





I had to come up with a fresh new cookie for a client for St Patrick's day. This is what I visualized and made( a peppermint dark chocolate shortbread cookie with peppermint extract and a liquid molten dark chocolate aero bar in the center just like my favorite chocolate bar I grew up with in Cape Town.

It is okay if it has to live in the shadow of the chocolate bar because both are really goooood!

Also good for the Holidays!


Please use organic ingredients

Recipe:

1 cup European butter unsalted (2 sticks) like Plugra Room temp.
1/2 cup organic sugar (Florida crystals)
1Tablespoon vanilla (From Santo Domingo)
1 beaten egg (organic or egg lands best
2 cups of King Arthur all purpose flour.


For the green dough:
Beat the sugar and the butter with electric mixer until sugar crystals are completely dissolved. Add the egg and incorporate. Add the vanilla and then 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Fold in 2T matcha and the flour. Do not over mix. If your dough is a bit wet then add up to 1/2 cup flour. The dough should be soft. Cover and set aside. (I only add 2 c flour minus 2 T because of the fact that I live above 5000 ft and I constantly have to adjust my recipes.)

For the chocolate dough:

Use the same basic recipe above take out 2 T of flour and add 2 T of Dutch cocoa and if your dough is too sticky, just add a little bit more flour.
Roll out green dough to about ¼ inch thick and using a pizza cutter cut out long strips ½ inch wide and carefully set aside. Do the same with the chocolate dough. Alternately lay the strips closely next to each other and just lightly go over with rolling pin to “bond” strips together. Cut out with a decorative flower cutter and place on silpat on baking tray. While on the baking tray, use another smaller size cutter and cut the middles and remove these are going to be the tops of the cookie. The bottoms could either be a solid green or a solid chocolate. I, however, painstakingly detached the bits of green dough from the chocolate dough and re rolled. Bake in a pre heated 350 for 12-15 mins or until you can smell the aroma of peppermint cookies. Melt the peppermint aero chocolate with some milk, lightly smear on the bottom solid cookie place on the top. Fill the little opening with a little more melted choc. You can also use creme dE menthe choc or dark chocolate if you cannot find Aero.

E-mail me if you have a problem

Hope you enjoy!



Pictures from the book "This is Cape town" by D. Biggs.

Freedom often eludes people in bondage. What good is all this beauty when apartheid continues to rear its ugly head---now in the form of reversed discrimination?

Nazarina

Ground turkey timbales with a hoisin and Mrs Balls chutney sauce

Mmmmmm good! This is a party in your mouth with all the different flavors and textures.This hoisin sauce is fruity, a little spicy and very smooth. It reminds me of dark onyx!It has hoisin , sesame oil, and orange juice and Mrs Balls bladjang. These ground turkey timbales and everything for that matter was baked until golden brown and delicious. As you can see I ladled the hoisin sauce over the turkey and the mushrooms. The mushrooms are stuffed with a red bell pepper, kalonji( onion seeds, my new found love), garlic, tarragon panko mixture and the chips are coated in that same panko mixture and then baked.


Enjoy!


Please e-mail me for the recipe

Brioche: This is not in the south of France!

Pictures from the book "This is Cape Town" by David Biggs.

These are not the " salt lapping waves in the south of France but indeed the unprecedented salty sea frontier of a little country called South Africa".

Many a tranquil moment, I tend to envisage the days on the beach with my family and not forgetting those infamous picnic baskets that my Mom and Grandmother would so joyfully pack and excitedly hurry us all along for just a fun day. I still recollect the brown algae that I would so playfully throw back into the blue sea and not forgetting those stinging "blue bottles"( jelly fish) that would just ruin your day when you stepped onto one of them! South Africa has that innocent and yet a raw beauty that is only indicative of my native land!

Ahhhhh! I got so carried away by my memories that I forgot all about the brioche! This is a sweet bread with chocolate oozing out when you sink your teeth into it. It has a flaky texture, yet has a very soft crumb if you will. So, no, this chocolate brioche does not take me back to France where the brioche was "born" but it takes me back to where I was born and evidently the brioche has nothing to do with it LOL!

Please e-mail me for recipe!