rumps aside

Hello. So tonight's dinner - if you call a meal at 5pm supper - was greatly anticipated by the two of us. Every night this week, we would contemplate cooking up that beautiful rump we had recently purchased, yet could not visualise the complete meal. Upon the conception of a luxurious and creamy blue cheese sauce yesterday, our souls were set, and the plan for steak night was in motion. 

This delish combination was fairly quick to cook up - it probably took us about 30 minutes to create, including the preparation time. We were ever so delighted to discover that our steaks were indeed cooked to perfection - soft, juicy and pink on the inside. We devoured our satisfyingly rich portions with a side of avocado, and decided to save our prepared side salad for tomorrow's lunch - it wasn't a hard decision to make, at all. 

Anyhoo, below lies the recipe to our non-studenty student dinner.

simple pan-fried rump 

with a decadent blue cheese sauce 

[serves 2]

500g rump steak

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic

40g blue cheese

150ml fresh cream

1 teaspoon arrowroot powder 

(if you aren't carb-conscious, you can use cornflour)

1 twig rosemary

slice the steak into two equal portions

mix the arrowroot powder with a little bit of cold water and stir until combined (set this aside for later)

in a hot pan fry the garlic in the butter for about 5 minutes

fry the meat in the garlic butter, to your preference

(it took us about 5 minutes on each side to cook them medium-rare)

season the steaks with a decent amount of salt and ground black pepper

set the steaks aside 

keep the cooking juices in the pan and add the cream and rosemary 

when the cream starts to bubble, add the blue cheese and stir until fully combined

add the arrowroot liquid and stir the sauce quickly until it acquires a smooth consistency

(the arrowroot thickens liquids a lot faster than cornflour)

pour the sauce over your hopefully still warm steaks and quickly tuck into your meal

happy fooding!

something soupy

Hello. So we finally ventured away from the coconut-craze - with very little protest from Carmen's side. Feeling decidedly inspired by the idea of yet another cooking exploit, we thought we would try something new to the both of us... red pepper soup. How peculiar a creation. 

Anyhoo, we found today's recipe in the Lose It! magazine and, as per usual, adapted it to suit our rather particular fancy. 

creamy red pepper & tomato soup 

with basil meatballs

[serves 2]

3 red peppers

1 onion

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 x 400g tin whole or chopped tomatoes

500ml chicken stock

120ml fresh cream

3 tablespoons of butter

250g beef mince

1 egg

3 teaspoons of psyllium husks

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

5 basil leaves (finely chopped)

peel, deseed and roughly chop the peppers

melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pot and fry the onion and paprika until soft

add the peppers and fry for a further 5 minutes

add the tinned tomatoes and stock and simmer for about 25 minutes 

(leave the lid of the pot off)

take the pot off the heat and place the soup into a blender and blitz until smooth

(we used a food processor for this)

combine the mince, egg, psyllium husks, garlic and chopped basil in a medium sized bowl

(the best utensil for this is certainly one's hands)

season the meatball mix to your own preference

roll the mixture into small balls and set aside

melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and fry the meatballs until they are cooked through and beautifully browned

set the meatballs aside and keep the cooking juices (and by juices we mean delicious fats) in the pan

return the soup to the stove and add the cooking juices 

add the cream and stir until the soup is heated through

season the soup to taste

serve the soup with the meatballs and garnish the dish with a few basil leaves

happy fooding!

much ado about nutting

Hello. We hope you're enjoying the coconut festivities currently going down on our page. We have another beautiful recipe constructed for our - and subsequently your - enjoyment. We created this lovely dish upon return from our late-afternoon lectures in under an hour - the jiffiness surprised us too! 

 coconut & pecorino crusted chicken schnitzel

with a creamy mushroom and cheese sauce

[serves 2]

2 chicken breasts

1 egg

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons finely grated pecorino cheese

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 sprig of rosemary

2 dollops of butter

1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/2 packet of white or brown mushrooms

150 ml of cream

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

briefly whisk the egg with a fork in a shallow bowl

combine the coconut, pecorino, smoked paprika and rosemary on a flat surface

place the chicken breasts on a clean work surface and cover them with a layer of cling film - alternatively you can place them in an open sandwich bag

use a mallet to flatten the breasts until they are about one to two centimeters thick

dip each breast into the whisked egg

dip each breast into the dry coconut mixture and set aside

season the chicken with salt and pepper to your preference

melt the butter in a frying pan and fry each breast until cooked through and golden brown (this should take around 12 minutes on medium heat)

remove the cooked schnitzels from the pan and set aside

for the sauce, melt the butter in a hot pan

fry the garlic in the butter for a few minutes

fry the mushrooms until golden-brown

add the cream and reduce the temperature of the stove

add the cheddar and mozzarella to the sauce

let simmer until desired consistency

(this should take around 5 minutes)

serve with a starch or cauli-choice and a handful of blanched green beans 

happy fooding!

loafin' around

Hello. So this is our second attempt at a low-carb bread loaf - the first being a catastrophic event including flax meal and feelings of severe failure. Today's endeavour, however, reminded us of the sweet peace that one can experience when successful in baking adventures.


This creation surprised us with its delicate moistness and reminded us of a certain coconut tart from grandma's recipe book. If you like your loaves a little firmer, we recommend slicing your bread into equal parts and placing them on an oven rack for 10 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius.


Anyhoo, below lies the recipe we altered and followed to bring us the scrumptious treat that now lies before us...

coconut loaf

1 cup desiccated coconut 

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt

1 tablespoon xylitol

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius 

grease a mini loaf tin with butter

combine the coconut with the eggs

 add the yoghurt, lemon juice and xylitol, and mix thoroughly  

add the salt, vanilla and baking powder, and beat until well combined

spoon into the prepared loaf tin 

bake for 40 minutes, turning tin halfway through  

cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes

remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before turning onto a cooling tray 

leave to cool completely before cutting into desired sized slices


happy fooding!