Recipe #1

So before I go into my first recipe, I need to say this: I never measure. Everything I cook is done by feel, sight and taste. Other than baking, there is no point in measuring. Why does cooking have to be precise, it should always come from what you feel inside that's right.

So, for my first recipe, I am going to do my favourite summer dish that goes with pretty much anything. Friends and family know it well so I think it is time to share it with the rest of you.

Panzanella

I have always loved Italian food. There is something about its freshness that makes you feel less guilty from enjoying servings two and three. As I have learnt over the years and from other chefs, is that Italian cooking usually has three to five ingredients that make up the dish. You don't need more than that as it creates confusion in your mouth. I find it really satisying when you take a bite of something and taste every ingredient.

Where does this panzanella come from? To be honest, I don't know. I once hear about this 'salad' made with old bread and fresh ingredients. I thought this could be cool, it's kind of like a broken up sandwich. Thinking that it is an Italian sounding dish, I thought of tomatoes, olives, ciabatta and mozarella. Dressing wise, there is no substitute for the original Italian salad dressing: balsamic vinegar and olive oil. First time I bought the ingredients, the shop didn't have the mozarella so I bought Danish feta instead and it turned out to be the best move ever-texture wise and taste.

So here is my recipe:

1 x bottle of black olives (green is too bitter)
1 x tub of danish feta
1 x loaf of ciabatta bread
1 x punnet of rosa tomatoes (sweeter than the large ones)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180, once it is ready pop in your ciabatta bread. You need to really crisp it up so I'll give it about 10-15 mins in the oven. Once the bread is nice and crispy take it out to cool.

Pit the olives and cut the tomatoes in half. Place it in a large mixing bowl.

Then start to cut or rip up the bread rustic style into small pieces and add it to the bowl. Now comes the fun part, break up the feta into the bowl and start mixing all the ingredients by hand (feel the food). Then start to add loads of balsamic and a little olive oil. Just do it by what feels right. After you pour it in start mixing by hand again so it gets all nice and mushy. Add some salt and pepper and then taste.

Trust me, it'll soon be a firm favourite at any braai.

The beginning

I have always loved food, to me it something more than sustenance, it is life.

To some, food is a just part of daily life where they have to 'squeeze' it in around their day, mine is the other way around, I like to work my life around food. It is something to look forward to. How often do you think when you are working that you can't wait to eat...your mouth begins to salivate.

I am a mothers dream, ever since I was a kid there was nothing I wouldn't eat. Vegetables (even brussel sprouts), fruit, fish etc. etc. I was especially fond of the sweet and salty things. That was probably why I was always the biggest kid in class my whole schooling career, but what I am trying to get at is the fact that when you love food, you know what tastes good, you know what would go well with what and you start creating these menus in your head.

I started creating these "menus" since I was six. I use to help in the kitchen cooking dinner with my mom and tell her this would be nice with this, and yes it was mostly salads and meats, but I knew then what tasted good. The more I learnt about food, the more I wanted to do something with it in my life. Some kids wanted to be firemen and policemen, I wanted to be a chef. But as I grew older my love for food never faded, it was my need to be a chef that did.

I soon learnt that I was a good people's person, I am a good listener and I thought "how hard could this be" and the thought of being a psychologist crossed my mind. After school I went to university and found that it wsn't for me. Too many subjects, too much studying...I am not a learner, I am a creator. I loved to write and my English wasn't too bad so I enrolled in an advertising college that would let me express my true creative nature, and for three years I learned to love what I did.

As much as I love being a copywriter, there is this beast within me that wants to break free, that wants to break out of its shell and do something that I have dreamt of for 20 years, and that is to be a chef. This blog is my starting point in becoming who I want to be. My thoughts, ideas and recipes will hopefully give me the courage to take the next step and be the next best thing since sliced bread.

Wish me luck!