KIDDIES LUNCH BOX IDEAS

Roasted Tomato Soup
(Photo : Jackie Cameron)

"Healthy Lunch Box Ideas"

Back to school is an exciting time and I suggest adding to this enthusiasm with healthy, lunch-box ideas. I am childless so I recruited the help of family, friends - and childhood memories, which I like to believe don't go back too far!

A lack of available time is a mother's constant lament but remember to resist the easiest option. The following suggestions are intended to put enjoyment back into eating.

Containers add interest and keep all foodie items separate and fresh. I recommend investing in colourful vessels of varying sizes. And remember food should be stored in a little cool bag. Temperature control preserves nutrients, which means your child will fully benefit from the healthy snacks you provide. I recall un-enticing, hot sandwiches - yuck! Can you imagine all those many micro organisms having a field day? As I and many others before - and after - me live to tell the tale, there must be some truth in the old adage "what doesn't kill makes you stronger".

Children should be encouraged to pack their own lunch boxes. With your guidance they can be involved in the process of planning and shopping. This results in their taking responsibility for their eating habits. Skipping a meal time, as in lunch, because a particular snack isn't enjoyable - and then having to get through an afternoon - often on the sports fields - is not an ideal scenario. With their involvement, parents are assured their children will eat in a more sensible manner and not be starving when arriving home. Remember a lunch box is normally four light meals: the breakfast that your child might have missed because he/she overslept, morning and afternoon tea, and lunch. Hence a variety of food must be packed to ensure a balanced diet. As a basic guideline include dairy, fruit or vegetables, starch and protein - and remember nuts.

Left-over dinner on bread was always one of my favourites because it put new life into yesterday's meal, and the memories that went with it. Think low-GI, whole-wheat, brown or rye bread. Alternatives for bread can be pitas, tortillas, pancakes, flapjacks, bagels, mini pizzas, or bake interesting homemade vegetable bread. Cheese or banana muffins are another option. Traditional homemade oat crunchies create happy childhood memories and energy bars are a sound choice. One of my best friends at school always brought dry cereal, usually fruit loops, in her lunch box. In retrospect a healthier option for Kelly would have been a Tupperware filled with granola or muesli. Unbuttered popcorn, and potato or vegetable crisps are always enjoyed and often forgotten; so are muesli and bran rusks. Rice cakes, and baked potatoes, can be packed with interesting but simple toppings such as crispy bacon, chives and cream cheese. Potato or pasta salads are tasty and healthy, as are pumpkin fritters, potato cakes and corn on the cob.

Lean cold cuts, chicken pieces, homemade hamburger patties, mince balls, boiled eggs, tinned tuna, biltong, smoked fish and baked beans are all nourishing ideas if temperature control is maintained. A snack of fruit yoghurt with honey, nuts and roasted seeds is a real treat. A serving of cottage cheese and/or cheese makes up the recommend diary component. In-season fresh fruit, especially at this time of the year is refreshing and nutritious. Think superfood - blueberries or a selection of fresh, crunchy vegetable sticks. What about a stir fry? This is my kind of lunch box option. And remember tomatoes and avocados. A chunky, lettuce-free, tomato, onion, green bean, basil, avocado and feta salad is appetising and healthy; so are dried fruit rolls, raisins and dates which make an easy fruit snack. Soups or herb frittatas are ideal hunger stoppers.

Another school friend of mine always had a gherkin or pickled onion, or two, for lunch. I remember she had quite a mature palate.

Healthy drinks include homemade milkshake, milk, yogi-sip, energy drinks - and for those chilly mornings include a flask of hot chocolate or cocoa.

Come on mums; take the drag out of lunch boxes. I wish you a healthy, fun-filled 2012.

Take these recipes and try them.

RYE BREAD
HOME-STYLE BAGEL
CAPRESE PASTA SALAD
BUTTERNUT FRITTERS
LETTUCE-FREE SALAD
ROASTED TOMATO SOUP
HERB FRITTATA

I always look forward to hearing from you.

Jackie Cameron
Head Chef
Hartford House
www.hartford.co.za
jackie@hartford.co.za
+27 33 263 2713

P.S. Add me as a friend on FACEBOOK to keep up to date on local foodie news.

NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION RECIPES

Peanut Butter Semi Freddo
(Photo : Jackie Cameron)

"Bountiful bubbles, marvellous memories, love and laughter"

New Year celebrations mean bountiful bubbles, marvellous memories, love and laughter.

This calls for desserts - decadent and indulgent! You can worry about your resolutions tomorrow...

Tiramisu (Italian dessert made with sponge biscuits soaked in coffee and liquor, and topped with mascarpone or a soft cheese, and garnished with grated chocolate) cups are always a hit for their sweet and savoury combinations. They can be pulled out of the fridge at the last minute and win the day as a perfect "pick me up" - living up to the translation of the name.

White-chocolate-and-herb frozen mousse with vibrantly-coloured, edible garden flowers served with a tart, berry sorbet is creamy and fresh. Every bite releases the aromas of an herb garden after a thunderstorm. Expect an explosion of flavour!

For an entertaining suggestion try peanut-butter (only the crunchy variety must be used) semi-freddo dessert. Serve with loads of your favourite hand-broken chocolate bits and candied banana slices. This can be taken to another level by adding a large ball of maple syrup ice cream. Do it - it will make your day!

Another option is three sorbets of your choice. This is created by sectioning your container into three. Once the sorbet is set, scoop out and roll balls incorporating all three flavours. Summer fruit sorbets are my favourite. Serve these balls of sorbet in good quality glasses and top with bubbles, fresh mint and lavender. My kind of dessert!

A homemade Dom Pedro makes a delicious dessert. To vanilla-bean ice cream add a tot or two of Kahlua and a drop of cream or milk and you have the adult equivalent of ice cream and chocolate sauce!

Here's to great celebrations and exciting times! May 2012 be a year to remember.

Take these recipes and try them.

TIRAMISU CUPS
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND FENNEL MOUSSE
PEANUT BUTTER SEMI FREDDO
MAPLE SYRUP ICE CREAM
TRIO OF SORBET
NEW YEAR'S DOM PEDRO DESSERT

I always look forward to hearing from you.

Jackie Cameron
Head Chef
Hartford House
www.hartford.co.za
jackie@hartford.co.za
+27 33 263 2713

P.S. Add me as a friend on FACEBOOK to keep up to date on local foodie news.

EATING IN, DEFINED BY EAT OUT

Head Chef Jackie Cameron
(Photo : Cooked in Africa)

"Small Producers / Suppliers to the Culinary Trade"

Turn up at the front gates to Summerhill Stud, home of Hartford House, on any given day, at 12 noon and a little beyond, and you'll see them; a stream of gleaming SUV's and smart cars, all headed for one of the nation's top eateries. They know their stuff, and they know it doesn't get much better. She's regularly in the news these days, but she takes nothing for granted. Every moment of recognition in a competitive world, is graciously acknowledged. Head Chef, Jackie Cameron, has been recognised once again by the publishers of Eat Out magazine. Their associate publication is Eat In (as most "foodies" know) and of all the experts in the nation, Jackie has been invited to join a panel of just four to assess the nation's premier small producers / suppliers to the culinary trade. To illustrate the extent of the compliment, she sits alongside revered critics Anelde Greef, (Content Director of Eat In) Abigail Donnelly, Anna Trapido and Pete Goffe-Wood, quite a team, and she's the youngest by half! (forgive the observation, guys!)

Judging takes place in Cape Town on the 19^th and 20^th January, so watch out for the outcomes in Eat In's 2012 edition, particularly if you're keen to know the tricks of the trade, and where the country's leading kitchens get their secret ingredients from.

www.eatout.co.za

OUT AND ABOUT : KZN MIDLANDS

Food & Home Entertaining

Food & Home Entertaining magazine has just released their top list for 'OUT & ABOUT : KZN MIDLANDS' by Clifford Roberts where Hartford House features in the category 'Best for Fining Dining' :

Hartford House
Summerhill Stud Farm, Hlatikulu Road, Mooi River
033 263 2713

Renowned chef Jackie Cameron weaves culinary magic in the restaurant, situated in a large colonial sandstone building featuring vistas of hills and dales. Cameron travels regularly and applies what she learns in her kitchen.

Food and wine evenings are a regular event, with dishes such as seared beef fillet served with fresh horseradish, horseradish potato creme, green beans and roasted garlic on offer. For breakfast, don't miss the oast and Irish whiskey with grated apple, raisens and cream.

For more information please visit :
www.hartford.co.za

STEVE AND NICKY FITZGERALD : HAIL CAESAR

Hartford House Restaurant
(Photo : Cooked in Africa)

"Steve was lyrical about Jackie Cameron's food"

There are no more recognisable faces in the hospitality trade, than Steve and Nicky Fitzgerald, past bosses of And Beyond (or CC Africa, as it was previously known). Their tenure at And Beyond saw them build that business into the biggest and most innovative safari and wilderness operator in the world. In our own encounters with Nicky, (head of marketing), through our mutual affiliations with the Land Of Legends (www.landoflegends.co.za), a visit to "headquarters" in Johannesburg was like spending a semester at Harvard.

This past weekend, we were privileged to host them at Hartford, together with their dynamic young daughter, Kate. Unsurprisingly, they were their usual ebullient selves; enterprising, interesting and wildly enthusiastic.

The one thing you know about the Fitzgeralds, is that they are forthright and constructive, and so when they say you are doing something right, you should know the size of the compliment. Steve was lyrical about Jackie Cameron's food, and they were generously complimentary about Hartford and its atmosphere. While you'd expect them to notice these things, coming from whence they do, they were quick to remark on the vibrancy of our guests, and especially on the demographic. They couldn't get over the fact that Hartford was packed with young visitors from the corporate, professional and financial sectors, all about "twenty years younger than us!".

By their standards, the "Fitzes" have been quiet of late, but it's a sure bet they're not done yet. Steve loves nothing more than a good deal, and Nicky loves to make it work.