The best tomatoes we specially chose for Jamie to cook with…

So the reason I haven’t posted in a long while is because Jamie Oliver came over and cooked us dinner in my kitchen!

Only joking. That happened in my dream, sadly not in reality… Yet.

But I did meet him (three times) when he was in here in Sydney a couple of weeks ago. It was simply fantastic! I worked as one of his prep chef’s at The Ministry of Food‘s Kitchen Talk with Jamie, a cooking show that was hosted to celebrate the opening of a new Food Centre in the Western Suburbs of NSW, Australia. The Ministry of Food is a brilliant organization that was started by Jamie in the UK and aims to transform the way we think about food, and hopefully inspire us to eat differently: more simply, healthily… (He pretty much copied the idea behind Ceire’s Kitchen – but I’ll give him the credit – who could resist his charming British accent?)

(Top left) His backstage-ninja-chef’s. (Bottom and right) At Jamie’s Italian, waiting for our big boss to arrive

So, the day after the event – when I met him for the third time – I tried to wear my hair the same way, hoping that he’d recognise me and I could then mention “this cooking show on YouTube that I’d started because of being inspired by you, Jamie.” As I shook his hand in a slightly star struck way I fumbled my words as I over-enthusiastically said – “I’m one of your backstage ninja chef’s from yesterday!!” He replied, slightly confused at first, “Oh darling yes… of course, of course!” He politely accepted by business card and gave me a farewell wink…

Hand-made tortellini’s – only the best at Jamie’s Italian, Sydney

Another reason I’ve been a bit distant of late is because I’ve been getting some basic chef-training in Jamie’s Kitchen at Jamie’s Italian, Sydney. The dashing young talented chef’s have been incredibly patient with me and generous with their time. Apparently I was a distraction at first as I have an annoying habit of not being able to chop vegetables without singing a Frank Sinatra song, but they’ve been very tolerant, thanks guys.

My work in the kitchen has also been an incredible eye-opener into the intense, stressful and demanding work that chefs do, and the long hours that are required. So really, this post is about giving a big shout out to all the chef’s in the world. Thank you for doing what you do, for feeding us, and for cooking your food with love!

Having fun in the kitchen with these good-looking fella’s

Peaches are in season! And what better way to celebrate than by making this summery salad with fresh peaches and ricotta cheese.

• 200g mixed lettuce and rocket
• 1 peach thinly sliced
• 4 rashers of bacon (optional)
• 80g ricotta
• handful roasted pinenuts/pumpkin seeds
• ½ chilli thinly sliced
• drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar

When cooking the bacon, add half a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of balsamic vinegar – it caramelizes the bacon slightly and gives it an extra bit of love.

Toss the ingredients together, dress with olive oil and vinegar and sprinkle on the chilli. The freshness of the peaches with the creaminess of the ricotta are just perfect.

But careful with the chilli – I had dinner with a friend and her parents recently and thought I’d impress them by making this salad. I added too much chilli by mistake and at first there was polite silence as we all tried to contain the burning fire at the back of our throats. By the end of the meal we couldn’t contain it any longer and let out a good laugh at the silly mistake and how we couldn’t pick the chilli out because it had been so finely chopped!

The fact that today is the day before Valentines Day, is pure co-incidence. But why not use it as an excuse to share the love and eat healthy raw cacao and walnut balls of deliciousness…

It’s a summer evening and it’s time for a picnic. On a hill. With friends. And a bottle of cold white wine. Crackers and cheese are sufficient but who can resist roasted butternut and cherry tomatoes mixed with quinoa, basil pesto, feta cheese and served in a big white Tupperware bowl?
Not me.

½ butternut, washed and cut into rough cubes
punnet cherry tomatoes
garlic
salt and pepper
block feta cheese
4 tablespoons basil pesto
handful coriander
200g baby spinach
handful dry roasted pumpkin seeds
1 cup quinoa

Parboil butternut. Place in a baking tray with tomatoes. Drizzle  with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, 2 cloves of garlic. Grill in the oven for about 15 min. Take out the oven and leave to cool.

Pour uncooked quinoa into a pot with 2 cups water. Bring to boil and then allow to simmer on a low heat for about 20min or until quinoa is light and fluffy.

Grab your Tupperware bowl and mix together the quinoa with the roasted veg, baby spinach and basil pesto.

Crumble in the feta cheese, scatter over the roasted seeds and chopped up coriander (stalks included as they contain lots of flavour.) Season with salt and pepper and add a dash more vinegar and olive oil.

Don’t forget the plastic forks and paper napkins.

On a recent holiday in South Africa, I couldn’t resist filming this special episode – with the help of my crazy family!

There’s nothing like fresh fish cooked on a braai/barbecue – especially a wheel-on-fire in a wheelbarrow!

Click here for the recipe, and the link below to see the Youtube video. If you’re a fan of these cooking video’s, please subscribe to my Youtube channel.

This delicious sun-coloured fruit is known in other parts of the world as papaya. For some reason in South Africa we call it pawpaw.

½ cup mielie-meal*
½ cup water
¼ cup milk
1 TBS butter
pinch salt
drizzle of honey
¼ cup chopped and peeled pawpaw
2 TBS sunflower seeds
cinnamon
*use rolled oats if mielie-meal is unavailable

Place mielie-meal (or raw oats) in a pot, add water and bring to the boil.
Allow to simmer for about 10/15min and add the butter, milk and salt.
Once cooked, spoon into a teacup and add the pawpaw.
Drizzle with some honey, scatter over the seeds, a dash of cinnamon and enjoy!

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I have just been on an incredible family holiday in the dragon mountains and sugar cane-fields of KwaZulu-Natal and in the mother of all cities, known as Cape Town. While in the Drakensburg (known to locals as the dragon mountains) I felt like Maria from the Sound of Music as I ran through green fields and danced with grazing cows, looking for inspiration for my next episode of Ceire’s Kitchen.

I wandered through outdoor markets in the nearby town, spoke to stall holders in broken Zulu, but it was when I saw Tuusa mowing the lawn on a little tractor that an idea struck! Tuusa is the big African mama who maintains the gardens and house on the farm where we were staying. The comical image of her grinning and whizzing around the edges of flower beds on a tractor, while the dogs excitedly chased and barked after her, reminded me of one my favourite breakfasts from when I was younger… Pawpaw porridge. Mielie-meal porridge is a staple diet of many South Africans and I added my own touch by adding fruit, cinnamon and seeds… And eating it out of a bone chine tea-cup. Just because I like it!

Grab a glass of sherry and enjoy EPISODE 3 !

click here for full recipe

From all of us in CEIRE’S KITCHEN, have a Merry Merry Christmas.

One of the main things I absolutely love about food is that it brings people together.

Offer someone a cup of tea and the grounds on which an acquaintance stands on begins to deepen. And let me just say; the way to my heart is certainly through my stomach!

A few years ago a good friend of mine, Nicole, started a neighborhood Christmas lunch feast – she and her housemates invited their neighborhood community to a lane-way party outside their house. They made a slow roast lamb and vegetables and the neighbours were invited to get involved in this bring-and-share lunch by sharing a dessert or salad. This was all in aid of getting to know the fella next door – making the community smaller and friendlier (and it also meant that there was someone’s door you could knock on when you ran out of sugar.)

As I had recently moved into the leafy suburb of Surry Hills (notorious in the 1920’s for illegal speakeasies and underground jazz clubs – my kinda place) I was invited to the 2013 Christmas Feast, and I couldn’t wait. My bright red bicycle and I rounded the corner into a little bricked lane, decorated with colourful bunting strung between the houses. There was a long wooden table laden with flowers, friends, steaming food and good wine. It was a merry saturday afternoon, indeed.

This is what we all could do a bit more of – sharing food and sharing the love! I dare you to give it a go – especially since it’s Christmas.

I love art exhibition openings. Not only is there wine on tap and nibbles of bree and baguette, but there is also very interestingly dressed members of society wandering around the gallery with thoughtful expressions on their faces as they ponder the meaning of life while looking at a canvas and sipping slowly on their glass of pinot-noir.

It was my friend Bess Kenway’s exhibition at the Janet Clayton gallery and I was looking forward to an evening of feeling cool and cultured (or at least trying to appear cool and cultured.) I arrived slightly late, enthusiastically thanked the barman as he handed me a glass of red and joined the circle of people who were looking on in puzzlement.

An opera singer was literally singing for her supper, while orange slithers of confetti were gently showered on her from above, against the back-drop of a wall that had the peelings of 120kilos of very orange oranges. I was speechless.

I had no idea what was going on.

Thank goodness Bess likes questions and she happily explained her fascination with the ephemeral: art (and life) constantly changing. Her vision of art was not only concerned with the ‘deep and meaningful’, her art was also about the viewer actively getting involved: with their sight, smell and touch.

I wanted to eat the wall.

Not the one with orange peels, but the one next to it that had over 300 pink sugar biscuits stuck onto it.

Does everything always have to mean something? Does everyone always have to change someone?

I have no answers but simply a new appreciation for

Orange. Opera. Art.

EPISODE 2  is here!

I’m cooking an old school Sunday roast… click below and enjoy