Happy holiday food

December is in full swing and it only takes a quick stroll down the aisles of a shop at your closest mall to know that Summer is here and it’s set to sizzle! I happened to stumble upon a popular retail brand’s pop-up store in Long Street last week, which they’ve called The Swim Shop – filled with every bright and beautiful pool accessory you could wish for. Such fun!

If you’ve been subjected to this week’s heatwave, I empathize with you. Make this instant ice cream stat! It’ll cool you down and relieve some of that Christmas-is-in-15-days anxiety.

Speaking of Christmas, we’ve been enjoying the build-up with all sorts of festive fare. Mince pies, gammon, turkey! Traditional Christmas food is without a doubt something truly special but when you’re sitting in 34 degree heat – a piping hot brandy pudding somehow loses its appeal. Over the years we’ve slowly let the African sun melt these strong European rituals away and adapted them to suit our environment. Frozen eggnog anyone? In fact – read our article on how to modernise your Christmas lunch in 10 easy steps!

It’s that time of the month that equals colleagues saying their farewells, friends hosting “last” book clubs/supper clubs/wine clubs etc for the year and teachers taking the leave that many of us envy. We’re all trying to cram in everyone and everything before saying our goodbyes and with that comes much merriment thanks to a lot of food and drink! It’s festive but not quite 25th-December-festive and the food we tend to indulge in is decadent, celebratory and unifying. I’ve coined it… “together-ness food”.

We have so many glorious recipes to get you in the spirit and we’re dying to try them all ourselves. I like the sound of these:

Coconut cream chocolate truffles

Cinnamon bread with cream cheese glaze

Pear and cranberry fritters

Biltong and goat’s cheese mini pizzas

Mrs. Ball’s curried apricot chicken

Steak, beer and bacon pies

6-ingredient Summer berry tart

Pineapple and basil sorbet

DIY charcuterie platter

Mexican pastry plait

Spicy paella