The best way to eat is fresh

In our last edition we introduced you to Ros Ivey, our food detective. Ros is on a journey to discover foodie treasures on the North Coast. In the second instalment, Ros  takes a leisurely meander through Salt Rock and Ballito, sampling goods that will make your mouth water. Hungry? Let’s go. 

In this edition I thought I would spend some time on my favourite spots and meander my way through the Salt Rock
area, deliberating on produce, natural foodie spots and – oh yes, sitting down for that inevitable cup of coffee.
Starting at Cindy’s in Umhlali – baby brinjal pickle, a pack of 10 rotis (and a quick chilli bite for me and sweetcorn samoosas for the boys.) We sit outside on crates and watch our local world go by. Cindy does different curries each day, but you can also order what you need. We had friends out from the UK and ordered the prawn and chicken curry; I was able to ask for medium heat for fear of their long ‘plane trip back to London the following day. Delicious!

Next stop is the Exceptional Bakery for Julian’s ciabatta or sourdough loaves. Bread making is intense work – long hours through the night but in his words: “It takes time to give you something beautiful.” They slice your bread for you and…did you know they make all their own burger and mini buns? Exceptional Bakery is going places!

Well now, I need some fresh unsalted farm butter for my ciabatta. I will just pop into Dawn’s Home-grown Biz. Boys’ mouths aflame from the samoosas, I will also need a few litres of farm milk (delivered in large bottles which are returned to Dawn). She will show you how to make your own yoghurt and paneer (an Indian style ricotta cheese). This is great if the weekend is stretching out in front of you, and your children are over the age of four. Thick Greek
yoghurt and all ingredients locally produced, naturally made and in her words, free from junk are held and displayed in her little store. I’m so excited by what I see and how many people in this area are making food from scratch -that HomeGrown is a complete story in itself. What started with selling tomatoes at the foodies market, progressed to
organic, farm produce boxed and delivered, to a complete retail solution where you can buy your fresh produce from her store on a Friday and look out for the surprise veg. Something special! To my delight she sells Israeli cucumbers (the baby ones) which I love to pickle. Watch this space. Perhaps she will have them on her shelves.

I’m sitting quietly under the trees, near Kerry Eb’s herb garden at the Litchi Orchard. I smell rose geranium behind me, Kerry’s coconut crème brulee wedding cake wafting up the alley from the kitchen, and tahini pork belly lunch offering on the harvest table at The Delish Sisters Cafe. Something has struck me this week while writing for The Ballito… our local surrounds are the next midlands meander… on the coast. Each person I have spoken to for this edition, who is passionate with what they are making or selling, has such exciting ideas for the future. They want to invest their passion and time in this area and provide you with ingredients for your pantry – homemade, REAL food so that you can feed your family the best there is. Start your weekend whether you live here or visiting our beautiful North Coast with a meander. Kerry of Lemon Canary has her windows open and I can smell guava jelly and German chamomile. Her cakes, tea time treats and baked goods are nostalgic, earthy and flavour is her essential ingredient. I so agree with Kerry when she tells me that we have so much to offer on our Coast with warm rich Indian spices, French Mauritian flavours and what we are able to grow that that we can set our own trends up here. Also, it’s not all about being safe with carrot cake and red velvet. Kerry works with raw fresh ingredients. She literally throws her garden into her cakes. her cakes. Pecans from her pecan trees, mulberries, granadillas. Her combinations are so earthy and clever that the prettiness of what she presents is almost a given. Just remember to give her a ring to place your order for orange blossom cake you will need for Sunday afternoon tea to round off your weekend. Just in case you haven’t eaten enough.

I wind my way down the road and remember that Yolanda (the Bavarian Butcher) has roasting pork shoulder or
Eisbein in her oven, melt in the mouth meat which is so reasonably priced. In fact, I won’t buy viennas for my boys
from anywhere else. Yolanda, who is yet another lovely person in our midst, claims that her bacon (unlike any other)
weighs the same raw and cooked. No water, no shrinkage. She uses authentic ingredients and her late husband
Roland’s recipes for natural curing processes. Hams, salamis, sausages, bacons, pork products and if you ask
nicely, she will make you her sauerkraut (an 8-month process to reach its full potential according to Yolanda). Phone
them to pre-order your sliced pork shoulder for Saturday lunch and tuck in with Dawn’s guava jelly.Sadly my
meander must eventually come to an end.

Last is not least chaps—we find ourselves with our cappuccino in hand buying the best chocolate croissants
from Say Cheese and the inevitable chat with Allister. Although I can’t talk because I’m so focused on needing to stuff my face with their perfectly light chocolatey reminiscent of our Italian trip. Must fly Allister.

Amanda is my last mention. Although not yet on our meander, her ice cream Scoop deserves a massive mention. You
can order her ice cream (ranges from 125ml to 2,5 litre tubs). Last night we had friends for dinner and took a range
of 125ml flavours of sorbets and ice creams and un-moulded them onto a platter and gave everyone a teaspoon.
We tried not to get too competitive. Tensions were high, particularly over her salted caramel! Scoop ice cream is found already stocked at Dawn’s Homegrown store or Steve’s Salt Cafe (Chaka’s Rock). Amanda will deliver to you if she can. Her wildest combination – gin and tonic sorbet- WOW! Oh, and I failed to mention that she is now doing ice cream scoop cakes. They are a sight to behold. Her Banting ice cream is 70% dark chocolate and part of her new Innocent range. Let’s order and help her reach her 100 litre per week target.

Awareness and support of our local food movement is what’s going to keep our producers growing, producing, making and selling. People may say these ingredients cost more than your average supermarket. They do. I’m not denying that. But I feel treats for my family and essential daily ingredients (mainly animal by-products) are necessary for your home. If I could do my weekly shop by consciously buying and putting the right food on my table, I’m doing my family a favour. Tomorrow morning we will be tasting Dawn’s Greek style yoghurt and
creamy farm milk. I will let you know how that went down. Until next time!

Ros Ivey – Olive Twist
031 563 3260 | info@olivetwist.co.za

Home Grown
074 110 9049 | dawn@home-grown.biz

Lemon Canary
lemoncanarydesign@gmail.com

Cindy’s Umhlali Fresh Produce
032 947 1413

Scoop
082 307 1096 | amanda@scoopicecream.co.za

Exceptional Bakery
032 974 2128

Bavarian Butcher
072 543 6267