Hi all,

Winter is definitely comfort food time.  Our cook book of the week, Winter on the Farm: Heartwarming Food for Colder Months, is filled with delicious, hearty, comfort food, a real gem.  Our recipe of the week, pasta with sausage and cheese, is a hearty meal that is quick and easy to make.

If you’re looking at a fun day’s outing with or without the kids, then come visit Wickedfood Earth at the Cambridge Food Festival, where we will be selling a wide variety of delicious homemade produce, see below for details.

And as ever, we have a wide selection of cooking classes for the next few weeks, see our programme for June and July.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.

Looking for info on food?

If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

The Cooking class programmes for June and July are up on the internet, and bookings are now open. Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12, giving everyone hands-on experience and keeping the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the cooking class.

• Monday 10 June at 6pm – 30 minute meals (R430pp). In this ’30 minute meals’ cooking class we will show participants how to produce quick and easy 30 minute meals that are delicious, and at the same time low in fat and well balanced. Dishes include Moroccan spiced chickpea soup, orange spiced lamb stir-fry, and pasta and seafood casserole.
• Sunday 16 June at 4pm  – Jamie’s Italy (R430pp). Sample the flavours of 8 dishes from Jamie Oliver’s road trip through Italy’s culinary landscape. These authentic recipes learned in this Italian cooking class are practical for foreigners, and the instructions easy to understand. Dishes include brushette, risotto, grilled mushrooms, baked creamy chicken and spaghetti pie, grilled fish, fried courgettes, caprese salad, and fresh fruit and almond tart.
• Tuesday 18 June at 6pm – Spicy Thai (R430pp). Thai cuisine places emphasis on lightly-prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. Thai cuisine is also known for being quite spicy as well as balancing the four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: hot, sour, sweet, salty, and (optional) bitter. Learn how to balance these tastes in this Thai cooking class entitled ‘Spicy Thai’ which include minced pork northern style, spicy chicken soup, deep-fried fish in a garlic sauce, sweet and sour vegetables, stir-fried noodles and sweet rice pudding.
  
• Monday 24 June at 6pm – Classic Portuguese dishes (R430pp). At the heart of Portuguese cuisine is the use of quality ingredients prepared simply to preserve their distinctive flavours. Portuguese food is renowned for being lusty and robust. Because Portuguese cuisine is easy to prepare, and uses very basic equipment, it is often described as peasant food. The use of seasoned pork, strong olive oil, garlic and onions contributes to the image of strongly flavoured, simple cooking. This is Sunday dinner fare designed to satisfy the appetite and reinforce the bonds of home and family. Dishes in this Portuguese cooking class include pickled tuna, chickpea soup, grilled chicken and molotov pudding.

• Sunday 30 June at 4pm  –Sweet treats – the art of baking (R430pp). Baking holds a certain mystique and is often associated with disastrous stories. Unlike most areas of cooking where just a basic knowledge of food science is sufficient, baking requires a broader understanding of food chemistry and how and why dessert recipes work. Successful dessert making requires precision, patience, and strong attention span. Join us in our baking cooking class, for an introduction into baking which includes cupcakes, Black Forest chocolate cake, cheesecake, crunchies and quiche.

• Monday 01 July at 6pm – Mexican flavours (R430pp). The history of traditional Mexican food is a long and complex one, and every bit of the complexity is reflected in the sheer variety of flavours in Mexican cuisine. Present day Mexican cuisine has evolved into something truly extraordinary. Join us in this Mexican cooking class as we blend the exotic flavours with that of the new world flavours which includes melted cheese with mushrooms, coriander soup, lamb in a chilli sauce, and rice pudding.

Cambridge Food Festival

This coming Saturday, 8 June, sees Wickedfood Earth selling a wide variety of delicious homemade produce, from pulled pork and smoked chicken mayonnaise filled rolls, to a wide variety of jams, preserves and chutneys, and a selection of frozen pork cuts and artisanal sausages.

When: Saturday 8 June from 9am to 5pm.

Where: Cambridge Food Festival, at Mountain Cambridge School, Beethoven Street, Hartbeespoort Dam.

Cookbook of the week

 Winter on the Farm: Heartwarming Food for Colder Months

Winter is a time for hearty stews, thick soups, belly filling pasta and chocolate desserts. Our cookbook for this week whisks you away to chilly winter days in the country, exploring country cooking at it’s best. … Click here to read more.

Click Here for reviews of all our cookbooks.

Food quote of the week

“The rich would have to eat money if the poor did not provide food” – Russian proverb

Recipe of the week

 Pasta with Sausage and Cheese

Pasta is a fantastic ingredient, light and summary, or rich and comforting, it all depends on the sauce. Our recipe for this week is a perfect quick winter dish. …. Click Here for all our recipes.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients. We’ve just launched a new and exciting class, Wickedfood Master Cook. Think Master Chef with a fun twist.