3 Simple rules in life

DIWALI BISCUITS

DIWALI BISCUITS
Makes: +- 50

Involve the whole family in preparing trays of eggless biscuits, to share with family, friends and colleagues during Diwali.

250g SPAR butter

250ml SPAR castor sugar
15ml rosewater
625ml SPAR cake flour
250ml desiccated coconut

1. Preheat oven 200ºC, with the oven shelf set at one above centre position. Grease or paper-line large baking tins.
2. Cream the butter and castor sugar together until creamy white.
3. Blend in the remaining ingredients to a workable ball of dough.
4. Press out half the dough to +-3mm thickness, onto a floured work top. Cut out star shapes using a cookie cutter. Gather the in-between pieces together into a ball, then re-press and cut out more until all the dough is used. Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
5. Transfer onto the prepared baking tins, and bake for 10 minutes. Lift onto a cake cooling rack to cool and crispen.

Hints and Tips: Dip into melted chocolate to coat halfway, or dredge with sieved SPAR icing sugar, or spread brightly coloured water icing over cooled and crisp biscuits using a palette knife dipped in hot water. Decorate using glitter icing tubes, and sparkly edible accessories such as silver dragees, assorted star sprinkles, SPAR red or green glazed cherries, glace ginger, chocolate chips and so on, to create a colourful firework display!
If you live in a humid climate, ensure the iced biscuits are stored in an airtight container in the fridge or in an air-conditioned environment, or all your hard work may be spoilt as the biscuit and icing absorb moisture from the damp air.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 10 minutes x 4 batches

Decorating time: Dependent on topping choice, but water icing option is fiddly and will take an hour.

Faith

Good Luck for your exams

Avocado, Strawberry, and Goat Cheese Sandwich

Go open-faced and toast up this yummy sammymade with whole-grain bread, avocado, strawberries, goat's milk mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar.

Wellness week

Even More reasons to eat fruit!

Health Bread

Makes: 1 medium loaf

So many women enjoy and would benefit from a healthier version of bread. So, why not treat the woman in your life to this easy-to-prepare homemade loaf this Women’s Month.

250ml SPAR Quick Cooking Oats
250ml SPAR Bran flakes
125ml digestive bran
1 large Granny Smithy apple, unpeeled and grated
60ml SPAR canola oil
25ml SPAR honey
500ml whole-wheat/high-bran flour
250ml SPAR Soy Milk
Pinch salt
15ml baking powder

1. Pre-heat an oven to 180ºC. Grease a medium loaf pan.
2. Measure the oats, bran flakes, digestive bran, grated apple, oil and honey together into a large mixing bowl.
3. Pour on 250ml boiling water, mix briefly and set aside to stand for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the flour, soy milk, salt and baking powder. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for up to 1 hour.
5. Cool slightly and turn out onto a cake cooling rack.

Hints and Tips: Up to 125ml additional ingredients may be added, such as mixed omega seeds, seedless raisins or sultanas or wheat germ.

While you have the oven on, it is recommended you economise on electricity and bake two or three loaves at one time, so you have one fresh to enjoy, and two to wrap and freeze whole or sliced for weeks ahead.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Oven time: 1 hour

Recommended accompaniments: Any savoury or sweet filling would be perfect as this is nutty and slightly, but not overly, sweet

SPICED MOCHA-CHOC

Serves: 6

Combine dessert and after-dinner coffee in this deliciously rich hot chocolate, coffee and cinnamon drink.

1 box SPAR Café Express Skinny Cappuccino (6 sachets)
6 x 0.5ml ground cinnamon
6 x 0.5ml ground mixed spice
250ml SPAR fresh cream
4 sachets SPAR Café Express Hot Chocolate
30ml brandy

1. Whip the cream, hot chocolate powder and brandy together until soft peaks just begin to form. Set aside.
2. In each heat-proof glass or mug, combine the contents of one sachet of cappuccino powder with
0.5ml of each spice. Stir to combine. Then pour in boiling water to ¾ fill each mug. Stir well.
3. Gently spoon the chocolate brandy cream onto the hot spiced coffee. Do not stir.
4. Scatter chocolate curls or vermicelli over and serve immediately.

Hints and Tips: Serve a spoon with this, so guests can stir the chocolate brandy cream into their coffee before drinking (it’s not like an Irish Coffee where the coffee is sipped through the cream).
If you prefer a sweeter end-result, substitute the Skinny cappuccino for the regular sweetened Cappuccino option.

Preparation time: 8 minutes

Taste the Rainbow

Fruit and Cheese Board

Consider fruit and cheese as a fine dessert option, any time of the year.
Prepare two or three seasonal fruits, served in neat slices or cubes, enhanced with an appropriate flavour liqueur, to complement a small selection of cheeses.

Finish off with a good coffee and chocolate truffle for each guest, and voila!

GOOD PARTNERS TO MOST TABLE-CHEESE VARIETIES:

FRUIT
Pears
Orange and grapefruit segments soaked in Cointreau (orange) liqueur
Pineapple slices, soaked in icing sugar and Kirsch (cherry) liqueur
Pear, gooseberries and sultanas soaked in brandy
Seedless grapes
Paw-paw soaked in mix of orange juice and Malibu liqueur
Lychee and mandarin mix, soaked in orange juice with preserved ginger slivers
Peach slices or halves, soaked in peach-flavoured sparkling wine
Fig preserve

Easter

Benefits of Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is extracted by grating mature coconuts and squeezing them by using cheesecloth or both bare hands. This milky white liquid is called santam in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, and gata in Philippines. It is used in several food recipes like sauces, delicious curries and desserts. Apart from making foods tastier and creamier, coconut milk is also a healthy addition to various food preparations.

Nutritional Values of Coconut Milk:

Following are the nutritional values present in 100 grams of fresh coconut milk:
Calories – 230
Proteins – 2.3g
Fat – 23.8g
Carbohydrates – 5.5g

Dietary fiber – 2.3g
Sugar – 3.35g
Vitamin C – 2.8 mg
Vitamin E – 0.15 mg
Vitamin B1 – 0.026 mg
Vitamin B6 – 0.033 mg
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) – 0.183 mg
Folate – 16 mcg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) – 0.76 mg
Iron – 1.64 mg
Selenium – 6.2 mcg
Sodium – 15 mg
Calcium – 16 mg
Magnesium – 37 mg
Phosphorus – 100 mg
Potassium – 260 mg

Benefits of Coconut Milk:

Following are some of the health benefits of coconut milk:

• Helps to maintain blood sugar places:

Glucose intolerance may cause manganese deficiency in your body. Coconut milk is a rich source of manganese. Whole grains, legumes and nuts are some other excellent sources of manganese.

• Keeps skin and blood vessels flexible and elastic:

Copper is a very important mineral for most of the bodily functions. Copper and vitamin C help to maintain the flexibility and elasticity of the skin and blood vessels.

• Aids in building strong bones:

Coconut milk is not rich in calcium, but it is rich in phosphorus. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient that the body needs for strengthening bones. It is must to take phosphorus with calcium particularly to prevent bone loss because it supplies phosphate to the body.

• Helps to prevent anemia:

Lack of iron is the most common nutrient deficiency among the people throughout the world. Iron deficiency in body does not allow the body to develop enough hemoglobin for keeping sufficient oxygen levels in red blood cells, resulting in anemia. Each cup of coconut milk supplies the body with nearly a quarter of daily value of iron.

• Relaxes muscles and nerves:

Whenever you feel muscle cramps or muscle soreness, have some food along with coconut milk. It is rich in magnesium and can help you in relieving the problem. One of the functions of magnesium is it acts as a gate block in many nerve cells. If magnesium is not present in body, nerve cells become very active because of calcium that activates nerves. Excess contraction of muscles is caused by over-active nerve cells.

• Helps in Controlling Weight:

This can be good news for people who are trying to reduce weight. Coconut milk makes you feel full very quickly because of high concentrations of dietary fiber.

• Decreases the risk of joint inflammation:

Selenium is an important antioxidant. It controls the free radicals and thereby helps in relieving the symptoms of arthritis. It is observed that people with low levels of selenium may suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.

• Helps in lowering high blood pressure:

People who are concerned about their blood pressure will not face any problem consuming foods containing potassium. Potassium helps in lowering blood pressure levels in the body.

• Helps in maintaining healthy immune system:

Coconut milk helps in warding off colds and coughs by keeping the immune system healthy. It supplies vitamin C to the body which boosts the immune system.

• Promotes the health of prostate gland:

Zinc plays a vital role in promoting the health of prostate gland. A preliminary study showed that it slows down the activities of cancer cells.

RISOTTO WITH A LOCAL TWIST

RISOTTO WITH A LOCAL TWIST

Traditionally associated with Italian menus - but being so versatile, we have introduced South African flavours to give it a local identity.

250g pouch SPAR Freshline butternut (‘Veg For Two’ range) 
15ml SPAR olive oil
15ml SPAR butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
250g risotto (Arborio) rice
75ml white wine
500ml hot vegetable stock
125ml SPAR milk
50g shaved biltong, chopped
4 Peppadews™, chopped

1. Cook the butternut according to the microwave instructions on the packet.
2. Heat the oil and butter together in a medium-sized pot. Fry the onion gently until translucent. Stir in the rice to ensure each grain is coated.
3. Pour on the wine and cook it off briefly.
4. Slowly begin stirring in the hot stock, 100ml at a time, stirring continuously to a creamy mixture for 20 minutes, or until all the stock has been added, and the rice grains are just tender. Stir in the milk and cook for five minutes more.
5. Add in the biltong, Peppadews ™ and cooked butternut. Heat through and serve immediately as a main course in flat bowls or as a rice side-dish firmly packed into greased ramekin dishes, then abruptly turning them upside down onto the plate and lifting the dish away.

Serves: 2 adults and 2 children (as a filling main course, served in soup plates) or 8 (as a side-dish).

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Hints and Tips: The secret to a successful risotto is continual stirring with the slow addition of hot stock. Do not rush this process.

Recommended wine: A dry White or young Merlot.

Love is in the air

Let them live

“The tragedy is that rhino horn is made of keratin, the same stuff that makes up human hair and nails. It has no medicinal value, you might as well eat your fingernails.” – Mark Jones, Executive Director, Humane Society 

Surprise your little one

More-ish Muesli

Recipe: Muesli Health Loaf