Week 2 – 11 to 17 July

Monday 11 July at 6pm – Thai Class (R370pp). Thai cooking is very different to modern western cooking but internationally famous. In this Thai cooking class we teach you how to balance the 5 flavours of this cuisine in the following dishes.

Sunday 17 July at 4pm – 30 minute meals (R380 pp). A Cooking class for the housewife, the executive, the newly single and the I’m-too-busy-to-cook’s out there. Come learn 6 healthy, quick and easy 30 Minute meals.

Week 3 – 18 to 24 July

Monday 18 July at 6pm – Indian class (R370pp). Indian cuisine is distinguished by its sophisticated use of spices and herbs which differ according to community, region, and state. Join us in discovering the exotic flavours of authentic Indian cooking in this spicy cooking class.

Week 4 – 25 to 31 July

Monday 25 July at 6pm – The tastes of Spain (R390 pp). Spanish cuisine is down-to-earth, uncomplicated food, based on the ingredients available locally or the crops grown regionally. In this cooking class we introduce ‘the people’s cuisine’.

Sunday 31 July at 4pm – Making flavoured pasta, shapes and sauces (R370pp). Adding flavour and colour to fresh hand-made pasta. Learn the secrets of making pasta from scratch and pairing it with a sauce in this pasta cooking class.

 

 

 

 

Green ideas for your Home

 

Food Miles

Surprise — your potatoes are better traveled than you are. American food travels an average of 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to table, reports the Worldwatch Institute.
A “food mile” is the distance food travels from the farm to the store where you buy it, and these miles are costly to the environment. They are, in fact, among the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Long-haul trucking requires enormous amounts of fossil fuel, the combustion of which releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere.

Keeping food cold and unbruised requires even more fuel in the form of refrigeration and packaging. And let’s not forget the impact of long-distance flyers such as apples from New Zealand and Chilean grapes. Distances have been increasing in recent decades, as foods increasingly are imported.

If you live in Iowa, according to one study, there’s a very good chance you’re buying tomatoes picked 1,569 miles from your local supermarket, even though farmers grow them within 60 miles of the loading dock. But why pick on Iowans? We’ve all seen those rock-hard tomatoes – and that’s the second great tragedy of shipping food long distances. By the time they arrive, you forget exactly what they’re supposed to taste like. And guess which tomatoes taste better and are better for you? Locally grown, of course.

Add it all up, and it’s clear: If your food earned airline frequent-flier miles, you’d be jetting to Europe for free. A Swedish study looked at the ingredients of a typical Swedish breakfast — apple, bread, butter, cheese, coffee, cream, orange juice, and sugar – and determined the food traveled a distance equivalent to the circumference of the earth. That’s 24,901 miles.

The idea has been floated to add food labels that tell consumers how far a food traveled to get to the store. That hasn’t gotten anywhere (it’s pushed more in Europe), but there is a growing movement to “Think Glo

bally, Eat Locally.”
Moral: By buying fresh local foods, less fuel is burned to get a meal to you. Plus, notice how it usually tastes more flavourful and fresher.

Wonky footnote: There’s a debate going on that argues that it’s more energy-efficient to raise particular foods in particular places – such as lamb in New Zealand, as noted in a 2007 New York Times story. So, could it be more environmentally sound to ship some foods long distances? Here’s a study that hints at an answer: Tomatoes grown in the ground in Spain and shipped to Sweden require less overall energy to produce and ship than tomatoes grown in a hot greenhouse in Sweden, according to a study by the Leopold Centre (see www.leopold.iastate.edu.) It argued that it’s important to examine fuel use and carbon-dioxide emissions across all sectors of the food system. Still, the same Leopold study recommended that Iowa consumers buy regionally grown foods and grow their own fruits and veggies at home or community gardens.

 

 

Food tip of the week:

 

 

ALMONDS

Roasted almonds are slightly harder in texture than natural almonds because the dry-roasting process removes some of the moisture. Natural almonds are better for baking and cooking.

Storage

• After opening, almonds will keep 4 to 6 months under refrigeration. • Opened nuts, if frozen, will keep for 9 to 12 months.

Uses and Tips

• Dry-roasted almonds have a shorter shelf life than natural almonds. • Almonds can be substituted in any recipe calling for nuts.

• Almonds are a tasty and nutritious addition to rice dishes, vegetable dishes, casseroles, stuffings, salads, baked goods and desserts; they also make an excellent substitute for bread crumbs as a topping for casseroles or in a breading for fish.

• To toast almonds, spread in a single layer on a baking pan and bake at 150-180°C for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until almonds darken slightly (they will continue to brown slightly when removed from the oven).

Nutrition Information

• Shelled Almonds are a vitamin E-rich food; because of their skins, they are even higher in vitamin E than blanched almonds. About 20-25 almonds provides 35% of the daily value for vitamin E. • Almonds are also high in protein, having as much protein, gram for gram, as red meat, but without the cholesterol.

• The fat content in almonds: 72% is monosaturated (the “good” fat), 21% is polyunsaturated fat, and only 7% is saturated fat.

• 1/3 cup of almonds provides 1/3 serving from the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, And Nuts Group of the Food Guide Pyramid.

 

Interesting places in Joburg:

 

http://www.gilroybeers.co.za/

 

Did you know that Gilroy’s is an award-winning happy place?

 

Gilroy’s Brewery invites you to experience the natural taste of hand-crafted beer.

 

The finest ingredients brewed to perfection. For every taste, every season, an ale or lager to suit.

 

The premium lager is well-balanced, naturally carbonated and matured for 8 weeks. Great body. Long finish.

 

Gilroy Favourite is a superb light ale. Dry finish. Easy drinking.

 

Classic ruby ale defines the Gilroy Traditional.

 

Gilroy Serious invites layers of flavour and taste to unfold, and be savoured. Rich, strong ale with a deep ruby shade.

 

Brewpub

 

Great beer and great food – a match made in…well the kitchen at the Brewpub!

 

Join us as we quaff and gobble, chat and yell for our sport team. All round large screen TV’s, big beer and big helpings!

 

 

 

The Ngwenya Glass Village forms part of the Crocodile Ramble in the Cradle of Humankind – a popular local and tourist venue where you can browse through the Ngwenya Glass showroom, have a splendid lunch and let the kids enjoy themselves in the playground.

 

The Wickedfood Team

 

 

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Wickedfood Cooking School runs classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking school. Cooking lessons 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 – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

 

 

 

Our cooking courses 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. Great Team building ideas.