Greetings all,
We hope you have been eating some delicious food...if you have, please let us know where or send us a recipe so that we can try it out ourselves.
Wow – I can’t believe that it’s March already - the year is certainly flying past and with it brings the change of seasons. Check out the new product section for some great new seasonal products. We’ve had some new faces in the shop lately – we would like to welcome Wesley to the team and you will find him at the shop most weekends. Vicki and Carol have also joined and they will be helping us out at markets, so please say hello to them and as always, ask them what’s new!
We have a great newsletter this month, so please sit back and enjoy...if you have any suggestions or comments, we would love to hear from you – all contact details are at the bottom.
Cooking classes:
Preserving
When: Sunday 20 March 11am-3pm (depending on cooking time)
Where: Oded’s Kitchen @ The Old Biscuit Mill (373 Albert Rd, Salt River)
Cost: R400
What: Preserving – we’ll do a marmalade, pickle and salsa
To bring: Just yourself and comfortable clothing (you’ll be doing all the cooking). Everything will be provided from utensils (bring a favourite knife if you have one), aprons, recipes and even a snack lunch to keep you going.
The class is designed to be both educational and loads of fun. Oded is a preserving expert and has written several books on the subject...so please come with all your preserving questions (or any general cooking questions) and he’ll be able to help you out. Oded will begin with a tasting session of part of our range and will give a short lecture on the history of preserving.
It’s then roll up the sleeves and get a-cooking. Whatever you make during the class you get to take home
Traditional Jewish – PESACH/PASSOVER SPECIAL
When: Sunday 9 April 11am-3pm (depending on cooking time)
Where: Oded’s Kitchen @ The Old Biscuit Mill (373 Albert Rd, Salt River)
Cost: R400
What: Traditional Pesach fare with a gourmet twist
To bring: Just yourself and comfortable clothing (you’ll be doing all the cooking). Everything will be provided from utensils (bring a favourite knife if you have one), aprons, recipes and even a snack lunch to keep you going.
With the festival of Pesach/Passover only a couple of weeks later, this class is aimed at anyone who will be attending a sedar and would like to contribute to the food. We are yet to finalise what will be made – the idea is to get a group of 7 and then decide on a suitable menu. Ideally we will be making 4 dishes during the time allocated and our recommendations are the following: kneidlach, chopped chicken liver, herring salad, pesach borscht, chemslach, gesmeerde matzah.
To book for either class, please contact lewis@odeds-kitchen.co.za
New Products
Flavoured butters – they look almost too good to eat. 2 flavours at the time of writing: classic garlic and a coriander-ginger-chilli combo. Oded will be working on a couple more...any suggestions would be welcome and if we go into production with it, you can have one on the house.
Tahini sauce – a gorgeous blend of tahini and garlic – a perfect ready to eat dip. We also have raw tahini sauce in 250ml glass jars.
Drunken Fig Jam - We were very lucky to get some deliciously sweet, black Provencal figs which Oded has turned into drunken fig jam. The figs are cooked with sugar and lemon juice and flavoured with grated lemon peel and aniseed. The jam is allowed to cool a bit and a generous helping of brandy is added just before the jam is bottled.
Lunch/daily menu
We serve lunch – daily. Available only as a take away, although we do have a table and bench that you can perch on. Check out the daily specials: free range chicken koftes on cous cous, aubergine mousaka, lasagne (beef & ostrich)– we also do a chorizo hot dog (Rudi’s sausage meets our pickled aubergine, free-range-egg-olive oil mayo on fresh ciabatta) and lazy aged sirloin sandwich...you’re more than welcome to spice it up with any of our sauces.
Drinks – we do drinks...a range of bottled, filtered CT tap water with a hint of flavour (lemon or hibiscus) or our legendary ginger lemonade.
Sweets – we are introducing a range of sweets over the next few weeks...so far we have had a pecan nut brittle which was divine and are working on some new delights as we speak!
Markets
Wed Newlands 9:30-2:30pm Dean St Woolworth’s Arcade
An intimate (12 traders) little market with some great traders. Smoked fish and meats, nuts and berries by the same guys from the Biscuit Mill plus a few other familiar faces. We take a range of our olives and some great local cheeses.
Tokai Earth Fair 3pm-8pm Builder’s Warehouse (Kirstenhof)
The only weekly, night market in CT. Some great local beers/ciders (Dieu Donne, Boston, Everson) and organic wines gets the night going, but it’s the food that is really memorable. South American, Italian, German, Japanese and good old South African...we do an ostrich/beef lasagne and our free range chicken kofte on cous cous.
Thurs Earth Fair 12-6pm Corner St George’s Mall & Wale St
The newest of CT’s markets – from the same group as the Wed/Sat Earth Fair market. A European style market where you can get most of your grocery shopping done – fresh veg, cheese, preserves, berries, dried meats, olives etc plus lunch...there is some great south American, pies, rostis & spring rolls...we do our free range chicken koftes and a vegetarian mousaka
Sat Biscuit Mill 9-3pm+ The Shop (Old Biscuit Mill)
CT’s biggest and best market. Stretched out over the entire Biscuit Mill complex, this market has alles! Food – tick, baby clothes – tick, booze – tick even something for the dog! If you have never been, then get down here...if you have, then you know what I am going on about. For serious shoppers, get here early...for the scene, anytime from 10:30 it starts to get busy.
Stellenbosch 9-2pm Oude Libertas (Stellenbosch)
Originally called the Slow Food Market...there are still a few of us slow fooders here. A really lovely market and my favourite of the lot! It’s one that you can take your baby/dog to and not feel too bothered. It does get busy, but it’s spread over a large area so it’s easy to avoid the crowds. Bring a picnic blanket and spend the day. The is breakfast and lunch, lots to drink and some amazing one off stalls. We’ll have our full range there and Lewis is normally there, so that means something new...just ask.
Hout Bay 9:30-2:30pm La Cuccina’s parking lot (Hout Bay)
The trend is towards small local markets and this is a good example of that. 14 traders, but a great mixture. Top quality products and another nice day out. There is a garden to chill at and there is entertainment for the kids. Good local beers, fresh produce, cold meats and we do our olive and cheese range.
Earth Fair 9-2pm Builder’s Warehouse (Kirstenhof)
A great shopper’s market with plenty to help you enjoy breakfast/brunch/lunch. There is entertainment for the kids and again great beers! A slightly different crowd to the Wed night bunch but most of the favourites do both days.
We don’t cook for this one, but may start soon!
Nitida 8-12 noon Nitida Wine Estate (MONTHLY ONLY)
This is a monthly market held on the last Sat of the month. A true farmer’s market in the city – well that’s if you consider Durbanville Hills part of the city...the drive out there is worth it alone to realise how close to nature we actually live in CT.
Franschhoek 9-1pm Franschhoek (Church in the middle of town)
A really small, but very “lekker” local market. Franschhoek has to be my favourite small town around CT and I think it’s great that there is a weekly market there - in addition to so many great restaurants and foody establishments. No trip to F’Hoek is complete without a visit to the chocolate shop and of course, the French cheese store...the market is yet one more reason to get yourself there.
Reviews
A couple of weekends back, Lewis (and family) went for a picnic at Solms Delta (just outside Franschhoek) and had a fantastic time. The food was very reasonably priced at R135 per head it also included a bottle of wine and mineral water for the 3 of us. While it was a picnic hamper – carried out to where you wanted to sit (under the trees, next to the lake, on the hill...the grounds are really superb) it was effectively 3 courses. Starters of smoked trout and spicy hummus, cheeses with bread and crackers; mains of green salad with lamb kofte and a tandoori chicken with dessert a lovely apple crumble with cream and fruit salad.
Friendly staff, service was amazing – I really can’t fault them on anything. I will certainly be going back for more.
Oded also ate well and is probably putting a bit too much weight (he wrote this!). With the stream of visitors we lately had I have been eating out a lot.
We have a disabled friend from London who is a bit of a gourmet, loves to entertain in restaurants and is very particular about accessibility, ambiance, quality of the food and value for money. Last Wednesday he celebrated his birthday and on the last day in Cape Town he took us to Societi Bistro – his current favourite.
So, on the hottest day of the year we had a very cool and refreshing meal at this pleasant, unpretentious and very Capetonian establishment. I have tasted my partner’s ice cold watermelon with minted vodka and feta salad which was well chilled, fragrant and refreshing, while I had the roasted figs – topped with prosciutto. Figs are one of my most favourite summer fruit. They were very delicious, delicately spiced, soft and fragrant - a tantalizing contrast to the harsh saltines of the cured ham. Unfortunately, due to the great heat the cured meat was a bit wilted, dry and sweaty. My friend on the right had the summer salad which was also very delicious.
For main I had the chicken with grapes - an old favourite and beautifully roasted chicken with grape sauce which is light and delicious. Saul had the fish – a delicious, Mediterranean roast fish with capers and other goodies which I have enjoyed very much. I also tasted the steak, a tenderly aged sirloin with superb chips and a tasty vegetarian alternative.
The gorgonzola and fig Tart Tatin I had for dessert was extremely delicious –caramelized figs served on a gorgonzola melt and vanilla ice cream - a superb and exciting combination of hot and cold sweet and salty and the melting, . The melon water ice and the brûlé lemon tart where also delicious.
It was not the first time I have been here and definitely not the last – it is good to have a good bistro around the corner, with simple, delicious and well executed food.
As well as a lovely, contemporary set of inter connecting dining rooms, there is the front garden, nice when the weather is good. The Restaurant has a local community programmes in which patrons of the Labia, the Little, and Intimate, on certain days can have a pasta and a show for under R100.
This community awareness is also translated into a well trained, informative and welcoming staff.
As I was going on a lot about figs I will give you a superbly delicious and easy to make fig recipe.
Recipe - Glazed Figs
Throughout the summer delicious frigs are available throughout the cape. Figs are best eaten simply, raw, peeled or un-peeled accompanied by a strongly flavoured cheese. Or serve them as a first course, stuffed with feta or other salty goat or sheep cheese which has been previously flavoured with fresh chopped mint. Select figs which are unblemished, just ripe but still have a slight resistance to the touch.
18 just ripe purple figs
250ml medium or dry sherry, Madeira or port wine
5 cardamom pods, broken
1/2 cinnamon stick
75g butter, cut into cubs
Clotted cream or formage frais
6 sprigs of mint
Slit 3 sharp cuts in each fig and push gently to separate the ‘petals’ .
In a large frying pan bring the sherry to the boil add the cardamom and cinnamon and boil hard for a minute or two. Add the fig and simmer for 2-3 minutes turning once. Lift the figs out and keep warm.
Return the frying pan to the heat and boil hard until reduced by 1/2 (about 5 minutes). Add the butter and continue boiling, beating all the time until a thick and a shiny sauce is achieved (about 1-2 minutes).
Pour over the figs, decorate with mint and serve with a dollop of cream, Creme Fraiche or pure vanilla ice cream.
Help us
Looking for a part time job? – we are looking for 1) people to help us at markets by managing a stand at a food market as well as 2) agents to rep our products to retail clients. Contact lewis@odeds-kitchen.co.za for more details. Both positions are part-time, so no major commitment required.
Fruit on your tree? If we can use it, we would love to get it from you - we can pay for it with jars of the finished product! We look for anything in season, preferably organic and you must be from within a 100km radius of CT. Ordinary is good...we use onions/garlic/chilli/lemon on a daily basis...exotic is also good – rosebuds/berries/mushrooms/hibiscus/gherkins.
Babies – we are expecting 2 babies in the next couple of months. Mali’s (the friendly smile you see when you first walk into the shop) partner is pregnant with their first and Mimi (Oded’s assistant cook) is about to have her second. We’re starting a collection for them and would really appreciate it if you could donate any of your old baby clothes/nappies/advice/money/anything...it would be greatly appreciated. Please forward any emails my way (lewis@odeds-kitchen.co.za if you want to send them a message).
That’s all for now...hope to see you at the shop or market soon
Love
The Oded’s Kitchen Team
E: info@odeds-kitchen.co.za
lewis@odeds-kitchen.co.za
oded@odeds-kitchen.co.za
T: 021 447 0400
084 804 0748 (Lewis’ cell)
A: The Old Biscuit Mill
373 Albert Rd
Salt River
CT
W: www.odeds-kitchen.co.za
FB: Oded’s Kitchen (please search for the group or find via Lewis Nieburg)
Twitter: OdedsKitchen
