TWO Port Elizabeth grannies are taking the country by whisk, and soon everyone can see their family recipes in a cookbook made available by the Heart and Stroke foundation.
Hazel Nortje, 63, from Rowallan Park entered her scrumptious fish cake recipe which she often whisks up for the family and Elaine van Vuuren, 83, from Lorraine submitted her generations-old banana loaf recipe along with thousands of other hopefuls around the country.
Nortje is a great believer in healthy cooking and has been adapting recipes, including her sister's fish cake recipe, to be healthier for over 20 years. She added that she has passed the recipe on to her daughter so it is a bit of a family tradition by now.
Van Vuuren is a self-confessed foodie whose recipes archive dates back to well over a century."My passion for food started from an early age. Both my grandmother and mother were outstanding cooks and even though money was hard to come by, they made every mealtime special."
She added she has passed the recipe along with her Christmas cake recipe to her children who will keep up her tradition.
Cooking from the Heart is a recipe book from generic pharmaceutical company, Pharma Dynamics and the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSF) and contains more than 70 traditional South African recipes, and will be made available free of charge to the public during National Heart Awareness Month in an effort to get South Africans to eat with their hearts in mind.
Additional information from Lange 360 PR.
Banana Bread
Ingredients
5 tbsp (75ml) sunflower oil
½ cup (125ml) sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp (5ml) vanilla essence
4 ripe bananas, mashed
½ tsp (2.5ml) bicarb
¾ cup (180ml) lukewarm low-fat or fat-free milk
1½ cups (375ml) cake flour
½ cup (125ml) wholewheat flour;
½ tsp (2.5ml) baking powder
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 °C. Lightly grease a 1.5 litre bread tin.
2. Beat the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla and stir in bananas.
3. Dissolve bicarb in milk and stir into the egg mixture.
4. Place the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir in the egg mixture.
5. Spoon batter into the bread tin and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Tip
1. Add 1 tsp ground nutmeg and 1 tbsp ground cinnamon or mixed spice to the batter.
Fishcakes with pilchards
Fishcakes with pilchards
(Makes about 20 fish cakes)
Ingredients:
1 x 425g tin pilchards in tomato sauce
2 eggs, beaten
1 small onion, grated
1 carrot or baby marrow, grated
½ cup (125ml) self-raising flour
5 tbsp (75ml) oats
½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
lemon juice and black pepper to taste
3 tbsp (45ml) chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp (45ml) chopped fresh coriander or more parsley
1 tbsp (15ml) tomato sauce or chutney and
1 tbsp (15ml) sunflower oil
Method:
1. Flake fish and small bones in the tomato sauce, with a fork.
2. Mix fish with all the ingredients, except the oil.
3. Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan and place spoonfuls of the batter in the pan.
4. Fry on both sides until golden brown and cooked. Drain on paper towel and keep warm. Repeat with the rest of the oil and batter.
5. Serve with lemon wedges, a green salad and a baked potato per person.
Tips
1. Replace pilchards with any fish of your choice, like tuna or left-over hake or snoek and add another 2 tbsp tomato sauce.
2. These can be served with a green salad