Wickedfood Cooking School Newsletter 1 December 2010
Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL
Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za
Hi all,
The December holidays are once again upon us, companies are winding down with the end-of-year functions and most of us finalizing plans for a welcome annual break. It is also a time of religious celebration, Christmas for the Christians, Hanukkah for the Jewish community, and Muharram – Muslim new year.
We wish all of you, no matter your religious persuasion, a relaxing and safe break, and hope to welcome you back at Wickedfood Cooking School refreshed and with a new desire to learn some exciting recipes in 2011. January and February are always popular for individual classes. We have some exciting new classes on offer … click here for more details.
10 December 2010 is Terra Madre Day, at the Cheese Gourmet in Linden (cnr 3rd Ave/7th St) from 3-7pm, where you will be able to meet some of Gauteng’s top local small farmers and food producers. Wickedfood Earth will also be there with a range of interesting products. See below for more information.
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.
Terra Madre Day
Terra Madre Day aims to raise the voice of good, clean and fair farmers and producers, chefs and consumers to promote a better, local food system. The 1st Terra Madre Day last year saw more than 1,000 events take place across 120 countries. This year, there are even more events planned in even more countries.
One of the objects of Slow Food Johannesburg is to focus on and feature the small producers who grow, supply and make good quality products. With this in mind, they have chosen around 20 of the most promising local producers in & around Gauteng to showcase their products, in conjunction with the Cheese Gourmet in Linden (cnr 3rd Ave/7th St) from 3-7pm on Friday, 10 December. You will have the chance to talk to the stall holders as well as sample and buy products (Wickedfood Earth will be there with a range of interesting products). … click here for more information.
On food
Schmaltz or schmalz, rendered pork, chicken or goose fat used for frying or as a spread on bread, especially in German, Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese cuisine. It is great for frying potatoes, sauteing vegetables, making a roux, or flavoring pâtés and savory mousses.
Schmaltz rendered from a chicken or goose is popular in Jewish cuisine, used by Northwestern and Eastern European Jews who were forbidden by kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) to fry their meats in butter or lard, the common forms of cooking fat in Europe, and who could not obtain the cooking oils that they had used in the Middle East. … Click here for a recipe to make your own.
The shortest food mile is from your garden to your kitchen table. What do you do if you have an abundance of harvest and don’t know how to make the most of it all? Jane’s Delicious Kitchen, is a fun, inspiring and practical cooking journey through the seasons – whether you grow your own food or buy seasonal produce. Filled with practical advice, time-saving tips and over 100 mouth-watering and individually photographed recipes, this feast of a book is about making the most of seasonal bounty. … Click Here for more.
Gardening
For those of you not going away in December, it is a perfect time to get stuck in to creating your very own vegetable garden. Not only are growing your own vegetables very rewarding, but they are also very healthy, and by growing your own vegetables you’re doing your own little bit in decreasing your carbon footprint.
What to do in December
With the start of the holiday season, December is a busy month. It is also a month when many crops are bearing abundantly. Harvest regularly and preferably early in the morning.
Continue sowing summer crops and seedlings. Direct sow quick bolting crops, such as lettuce, in a position with afternoon shade. Keep soil moist and harvest when young.
Regularly foliar spray vegetables with seaweed spray. This quickly corrects nutrient deficiencies and helps prevent fungal diseases. Feed fruiting vegetables with potassium-rich organic fertiliser. Side dress fast growing heavy feeders with liquid organic fertiliser.
During hot, dry weather, plants close stomata to minimise moisture loss. If plants are wilted in the middle of the day, don’t worry about it. If they are wilted in the morning, it is time to water. Water early in the morning to help plants through the heat of the day. Keep ground well mulched.
Tie tomatoes to their supports and wind gemsquash and butternut up tripods.
for more tips on month to month vegetable gardening see Month by month
Food quote of the week
“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Potato pancakes, or latkes in Yiddish, are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families, as they are prepared by frying in oil. At Wickedfood Cooking School, they have become a firm favourite in a number of our cooking classes, served as a snack with smoked salmon and the mustard dressing, or as a side dish with roast pork and applesauce. Don’t overcrowd the pan while frying these latkes. …Click Here for the recipe.
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.
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