A night of storms, which if the reported wind speed is accurate, reached gale force winds. They were certainly strong enough to tear off the neighbours patio roof! Our damage was limited to filthy studio windows, which meant a workout washing them down and doing a sort of cleaning job.

Sicilian slant on the traditional French boeuf Bourguignon. The addition of chili, anchovies and garlic more subtle than expected. No less delicious, which was probably a result of the excellent stock Terry made at the start. Alchemy in a sauce. An old Cape of Good Hope Cab, Merlot blend held up surprisingly well to the complex flavours of the rich beef. The Lynx Cab Franc splendid.

Great run out along the lagoon to Phantom Pass with the girls training for the Oyster marathon, over the red bridge and back to the studio. My groin muscle giving in on the way back reducing me to a shumbling. 

New selection of paintings up in the studio, with pink balloons and ribbon around the front columns. ‘Favourite Shades of Pink!’ in acknowledgement of the Pink Loerie Mardi Gras and Arts Festival that takes place over the long weekend in Knysna.

The garage a mess of building dust as the cracks from the settling of the building are gouged out and plastered. It does mean that my lazy sorting and cleaning can’t be delayed any longer.

Suyenne made excellent spinach and ricotta balls, Ella’s legendary sweet potato cakes with a chicken chocolate mole for a sunder chord lunch next to the water. Delicious.

Jim stopped into visit on his way down the coast. Fantastic to catch up, even if Terry did have to kick us out so she could get some sleep.

A couple of small paintings sold.

Spinach and Ricotta Balls
800g spinach, 200g ricotta, 1 egg, coconut flour, Parmesan cheese 

Sweet Potato Cakes
– 4 sweet potatoes
– 1 heaped teaspoon of tahini
– 2 tablespoons of tomato puree (check there is no added sugar)
– a handful of fresh coriander
– 1 lime
– 1 teaspoon of cumin
– 1 teaspoon of chill flakes
– 2 gloves of garlic
– 2 tablespoon of quinoa flour (or pumpkinseed flour) and a little extra to sprinkle on top as they cook
– salt and pepper to taste
Peel the sweet potato and cut into equally sized chunks. Steam the chunks on the stove until they are soft and easily pierced with a fork, this should take about 10-15 minutes.

Place the potato squares in a bowl and mash them with a fork until they are nearly smooth, but still a little lumpy. Then stir in the tomato puree, crushed garlic cloves, finely chipped coriander, cumin, chill flakes, lime juice, tahini, salt and pepper.

Mould the mixture into four even sized cakes.

Dust the top of each cake with flour (this is what makes the outside crispy) and place in a baking tray, cook at 200C for about 20 minutes.

Serve with extra tahini on a bed of salad, I like a simple rocket (arugala) and avocado with lots of delicious lime juice and olive oil.

A Sicilian take on Boeuf. A rich beef treat!
Ingredients
400 g chopped tomatoes

350 ml red wine (medium-bodied)

1.5 tblsp flour

4 onions (chopped)

2 tblsp olive oil

1 kg round steak (in cubes and trimmed)

1 tsp sugar

2 bay leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

to finish

3 anchovies

2 cloves garlic

1 lemon rind

1 large red chilli

Method
Fry the onions in the oil in a large sauce pan until they are soft. This will take approx seven to ten minutes.

Then toss the beef in seasoned flour and separately brown the meat in a hot frying pan, taking care not to overload the pan as the meat will stew rather than brown.

Add the meat back to the saucepan and deglaze the frying pan with some red wine. Pour these juices over the meat and mix in the remaining red wine.

Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce it to a simmer for approximately ten minutes.

Add in the chopped tomatoes along with the bay leaves, salt, pepper and sugar.

Bring the sauce to the boil, cover with a lid and allow to cook gently for approx two hours until the meat is nice and tender.

Occasionally, turn the meat over and check that it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan and add in a little hot water if needed.

And then we move on to the extra little Sicilian touch. Finely chop the anchovies, lemon rind, garlic and chilli. When the beef is ready, add in the minced seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste, and you have transformed the dish.