"Melkkos" It is a great traditional dish that can be enjoyed all year round

 
"Melkkos" is one of my favourite dishes ever. I do honestly not know what it is called in English, but if I had to translate it, it would be something like milk food. It is a dish with its main ingredient being milk, to which you add some flour and butter.

It is a great traditional dish that can be enjoyed all year round. Try it in the winter, it warms you up from the inside! Nothing tastes nicer than a bowl of “melkkos”, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar on the top.

What can be nicer, I ask you all! If you have never tried it, I would say it is time.

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1 1/2 tablespoons of hard butter
A pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups of milk

Method:
1. Rub the butter in with the flour, using your fingers. Add the salt and mix some more.
2. Bring the milk to the boil on the stove and add the butter and flour mixture a little bit at a time.
3. Turn the heat right down and let it boil for about 5 minutes. Make sure you stir the mixture often.
4. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the top and enjoy it warm!

You will not be disappointed with this recipe. Try and enjoy. Believe me, you will.

"Pampoenmoes" traditional South African recipes

Pumpkin is one of South Africa’s favourite vegetables.  Most restaurants serve pumpkin and spinach as vegetable side dishes with main meals and all mothers buy it for their families.  There are many ways in which you can serve the great varieties of pumpkin available like butternut squash, herbert squash, “boer” pumpkin or red pumpkin, to mention just a few. 

Not all types of pumpkin are in season and therefor available all through the year, so you have to use the one that is in season at a certain time.  The most common and quickest way to prepare pumpkin is to boil it in a little bit of water, season lightly with salt and add some cinnamon.  Otherwise you can mix the pumpkin with flour, salt and egg and bake “pampoenkoekies” in a little bit of oil, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

Another favourite recipe from times gone by, a truly traditional South African recipe, is “pampoenmoes”.  You can either bake this in the oven or boil it in a little bit of water in a saucepan.  This is a recipe worth trying: 

Ingredients:
8 slices of white bread
Butter
Apricot jam
2 cups of pumpkin (1 butternut squash should do.  Slice very thinly)
Salt
Sugar
Cinnamon

Method:
1. Butter the bread on both sides and spread apricot jam on the side facing up.  Place one layer in an oven proof glass dish, jam facing up. 
2. Cut the pumpkin thinly, season lightly with salt and place on top of the bread. 
3. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the pumpkin.
4. Repeat this until all the pumpkin and bread is used up, finishing with a layer of pumpkin.  Dot a few extra clots of butter on the top.      
5. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour in a pre-heated oven of 180°C

Serve the pumpkin hot with vegetables and maybe a lovely chicken dish, maybe a pie?  This is a great dish to try and impress your friends with.  It is very easy to make, so try it and see what happens!

Food Of The Future," 40 Years In The Making

 
Forty years ago, a first-class stamp cost a nickel, a new science fiction television show called "Star Trek" made its debut and a tasty topping began its crunchy history of enhancing salads, baked potatoes and Americans' cupboards.

General Mills first tested Bac-Os as a better-for-you alternative to bacon in select markets in 1965. Bit by bit, the product's popularity took off, and it was dubbed a "food of the future" in early television advertisements. Consumers enjoyed the convenient product's multipurpose use-a savory ingredient used to jazz up casseroles, salads, soups and other favorite dishes. This handy condiment helped home cooks streamline their kitchen prep and promised the smoke-cured, sizzling flavor of bacon without a splattering mess.

"A jar of Bac-Os brought the flavor and texture of crisp bacon right to the family dinner table in a fraction of the time," says Maggie Gilbert, manager of the Betty Crocker Kitchens test kitchen. "Because they were considered superconvenient and required no refrigeration, they soon became a familiar ingredient in popular recipes of the day, such as holiday party dips, sweet-sour beans and twice-baked potatoes."

The brand debuted in its first print advertising campaign in 1970. The product was featured in several new recipes from the Betty Crocker Kitchens in national magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle. Shortly thereafter, General Mills extended the line to include Saus-Os and Pepr-Os, two new soy proteins with distinct flavor possibilities.

Today, Bac-Os continues to appeal to consumers, particularly by offering added health benefits: They're made with the goodness of soy, are kosher and contain no MSG. They can also help consumers keep healthy eating in check, without tipping the scale on calories, fat, saturated fat or cholesterol.

Happy Birthday, Bac-Os!

Italian Spinach and Mushroom Salad

This seasonal salad for special gatherings has extra crunch and a burst of added flavor.

1 package (10 oz.) fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and patted dry

1 package (8 oz.) sliced mushrooms

1 can (19 oz.) Progresso chick peas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup Betty Crocker Bac-Os bacon flavor bits or chips

1/2 cup seasoned croutons

1/2 cup Italian dressing

In large salad bowl, toss all ingredients except dressing. Just before serving, drizzle with dressing and toss gently. Makes 4 servings.

Jars of a revolutionary new "food of the future" product appeared on grocers' shelves 40 years ago, offering busy consumers the bacon flavor they loved with a simple shake of the wrist.

The Best New Way to Lose Weight, Add Butter to Your Coffee

 
learn more recipes in the most comprehensive Keto cookbook

The oily brew is the brainchild of U.S. entrepreneur Dave Asprey, who was served tea laced with yak butter when trekking in Tibet and became intrigued that mountain climbers use the drink for energy and sustained concentration. He went on to devise what he calls ‘the bullet-proof diet’ — a high-fat, low-carbohydrate regimen which, he claims, protects against fatigue, flab and chronic diseases, as well as promising dramatic weight loss.

The theory is that if you’re not filling your diet with carbohydrates (such as sugar, bread and pasta), your body will use fat as fuel instead. This is called ‘ketosis’. The ketogenic process is what makes Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets work, but it is frowned upon by conventional weight-loss experts in this country, who say that low-carbohydrate diets can lead to headaches, muscle cramps, general weakness and digestive problems.

learn more recipes in the most comprehensive Keto cookbook

Its greatest appeal is as a breakfast drink among fans of extreme exercise (such as ‘Cross Fit’) because of its claim to boost stamina and performance without dulling your muscle definition, and the Paleo diet, which advocates a return to the unadulterated hunter-gatherer diet of our ancestors — no sugar, grain, junk or processed food of any kind.

The double shot of caffeine will speed your metabolism (studies have shown this) but the addition of fat (in the butter and coconut oil) slows the digestive process, preventing a sudden energy spike, which means the coffee ‘hit’ is gentler and lasts longer than it normally would.

Adding coconut oil gives a boost of lauric acid (a fatty acid), which some believe to be good for the immune system, and a particular type of fat called ‘medium chain triglycerides’ (MCTs). It has been argued that these MCTs are metabolised directly in the liver, meaning that they are more likely to be burnt as fuel than stored as body fat.

However, one cup of butter coffee packs 400-500 calories — more than a bacon sandwich — and 50g of saturated fat, which brings you alarmingly close to your total daily allowance of 70g in just your first drink of the day.

As a result, many experts say it is hard to understand how this can possibly contribute to weight loss. Dietitian Dr Sarah Schenker says: ‘Ketosis is only triggered when the liver glycogen stores are depleted, so if you enjoyed a carb-heavy takeaway the night before, your morning cup of bullet coffee won’t be enough to make the switch.’

BY the same token, if you succumb to a baked potato at lunchtime or a couple of biscuits mid-afternoon, the low-carb magic will be lost and your butter coffee becomes no more healthy than buttered toast.

Although butter is very high in saturated fat, studies increasingly suggest that the link with heart disease is contentious. But there are concerns that too much butter (and some bullet coffee blends contain two tablespoons of the stuff) could increase cholesterol levels, raising your risk of heart disease.

learn more recipes in the most comprehensive Keto cookbook

Certainly, by drinking a high-fat, high-calorie drink for breakfast without making other changes to your diet or lifestyle, you are more likely to gain weight than lose it.

Feed