Today is market day!

Old and young volunteers standing and making feather-light pancakes and then sprinkling them liberally with cinnamon sugar – this is to a church bazaar what red sand is to the desert. It takes bravery and courage to walk past all that deliciousness! All would be well if you could stop at one pancake, but your conscience usually only starts bothering you after about the fourth one!

Church bazaars have made way for modern markets and these days this is where young and old hang out and get together. When I walk through these markets, I am often amazed at how creative the people of our nation are. Just when you think there is no more room for new ideas, somebody comes up with something original and refreshing.

Nowadays we are all looking for something to supplement our wallets … nothing is stopping you from perfecting your favourite braai sauce, salad dressing or brownies and selling them at the market. Who knows, you may be sitting on the proverbial golden egg and your offering may well be the next best seller!

Herb butter

This butter is so versatile – it’s delicious with fish, chicken, your favourite cut of beef or just as a snack on toasted ciabatta. People are always asking me for the recipe, so if I had to run a stall at the next market, I would definitely sell this butter.

• 250 g salted butter, at room temperature
• 200 g goat’s-milk cheese
• 15 ml pink peppercorns (available at most supermarkets or delis)
• 10 ml coarsely ground black pepper
• 15 ml green peppercorns
• 100 ml chopped fresh soft herbs – I prefer mint, thyme, origanum and parsley

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. I prefer to divide the butter and make two rolls of herb butter. However, you can also put it into a plastic container or glass jars. To make the butter rolls, spoon the butter in two thick and long ‘sausages’ onto two sheets of cling wrap and roll up tightly. Chill until required. The butter also freezes very well.

Makes 500 g herb butter – you can easily double the recipe and leftovers will keep in the freezer for up to 4 weeks

• Replace the black and green peppercorns with 10 ml smoked paprika.
• If using the butter for fish, add chopped dill to your herbs, as well as the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon.
• The butter can also be inserted under the skin of a Sunday roast chicken for the most delicious crispy chicken.
• Add 4 cloves peeled and chopped garlic to the ingredients to make garlic butter.

Beetroot and pineapple chutney

I love beetroot, and Mom’s green bean bredie with lovely sweet and sour red beetroot salad is still a hit when she comes for a visit. Whole boiled beetroot with just a little salt, pepper and a few drops of olive oil is simplicity at its tastiest. This chutney is ideal to keep in jars and to serve with a cheese platter, corned beef, a braai and yes, even Mom’s green bean bredie. The pineapple gives a lovely sour taste to the chutney.

• 3 large raw beetroots, peeled and grated
• 250 ml canned crushed pineapple – you can also use grated fresh pineapple
• 100 ml currants
• 100 ml sugar
• 45 ml red wine vinegar
• 2.5 ml salt
• 1–2 red chillies, kept whole
• 1 star anise
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 whole allspice

1. Place all the ingredients into a large heavy-based saucepan and heat slowly to melt the sugar. Bring to the boil and then cook the chutney for about 1 hour over very low heat until thick and a bit syrupy. Spoon into sterilised jars and keep in the fridge.

Makes about 500 ml chutney – will keep for about a month in an airtight container

Herbed salad dressing

As students we were very poor and had to walk wherever we wanted to go. It was only around my fourth year at university that Dad managed to organise a vehicle for us. I think there are kids in primary school nowadays who get more pocket money in a week than we used to get in a month! With the small amount of pocket money we did get, we made some clever plans! We soon realised that home-made was better than bought, and that your money would last much longer. A well-known restaurant in town used to serve the most delicious salad dressing with their salad and toasted sandwiches, but we could only afford to go there at the beginning of the month. The responsibility fell to me to try to imitate the dressing. I think I got very close to the original taste, and I still make this dressing today. It’s fantastic with salad, fish, chicken or drizzled over a baked potato.

• 500 ml Greek yoghurt
• 250 ml tangy mayonnaise
• 2 large handfuls fresh herbs such as mint, parsley, basil and origanum
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 red chilli, deseeded (optional)

1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Spoon into glass jars. When serving as a salad dressing, dilute with a bit of milk but serve undiluted on baked potatoes, fish and chicken.

Makes 1 litre salad dressing – will keep for about a month refrigerated in an airtight container

Pancakes with fillings

The ladies in aprons who stand and make pancakes on Saturdays at market days until their cheeks are flushed from the heat are, to me, the stars of the market. Their dedication and passion are unbelievable. This recipe is another one of those found on a piece of paper in Mom’s recipe book. No notion of where it came from, just the word ‘DELICIOUS’ written at the bottom of the recipe in capital letters. These pancakes are indeed delicious. Although the recipe requires a lot of oil, you don’t use any oil while frying.

• 4 extra-large eggs
• 1.25 litres water
• 50 ml white vinegar
• 250 ml cooking oil
• 4 × 250 ml cake flour
• 2.5 ml salt
• 20 ml baking powder
• 5 ml bicarbonate of soda

1. Beat the eggs, 250 ml of the water, the vinegar and oil until combined. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a mixing bowl. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix, while continually adding the remaining water, until you have a smooth batter. I use my mixer, leaving my hands free to add flour and water alternately. Allow the batter to stand for 30 minutes and then start frying the pancakes. Heat the pan until very hot and spread with a little oil just for the first pancake. Fry until golden-brown on both sides.

Makes 30–35 pancakes

• I use my pancake pans only for pancakes. It might be an old wives’ superstition, but my pancakes never stick.
• Keep the pancakes hot by arranging them on a plate and covering the plate with a cloth or a lid. If pancakes are kept hot by placing them on top of hot water, they can become very chewy.
• For a very special occasion you can add the juice of 1 beetroot to your batter and show off with red velvet pancakes.
• For chocolate pancakes, add 100 ml good-quality cocoa to the flour mixture before combining it with the egg mixture.

Decadent breakfast pancakes

• 250 g bacon rashers
• 40 g butter
• 500 g mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped
• salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• a squirt of lemon juice
• 6 pancakes (see recipe on p. 167)
• 200 g Camembert or Brie cheese, cut into strips
• fresh watercress or other herbs of your choice

1. Preheat the oven grill. Pack the bacon rashers in a single layer on a baking tray and grill until crispy and brown. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan and fry the mushrooms until golden-brown, but be careful that they don’t become watery. Season the mushrooms with the salt, black pepper and a squirt of lemon juice. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Place a pancake on a plate and spoon some of the mushrooms down the middle, and top with 1–2 bacon rashers followed by some of the strips of cheese. Roll up the pancake and bake for about 1 minute or until the cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh herbs of your choice. To take this breakfast to new heights, serve it with a soft poached egg on top.

Enough for 6 pancakes

Smoked trout and cream cheese

• 1 × 250 g tub plain cream cheese
• 15 ml chopped fresh dill
• coarsely ground black pepper to taste
• a pinch of salt (optional)
• 6 pancakes (see recipe on p. 167)
• 250 g smoked trout or salmon
• 80 g fresh rocket leaves

1. Beat the cream cheese with a fork until soft. Add the dill, pepper and salt (if required) and mix well. Spread the cream-cheese mixture onto the pancakes. Divide the trout or salmon between the pancakes and place on top of the cream cheese. Scatter rocket leaves over the fish and roll up the pancakes. Serve as a light starter.

Enough for 6 pancakes

• For this filling, the pancake should preferably be at room temperature.
• Replace the cream cheese with goat’s-milk cheese for something different.
• Replace the smoked trout or salmon with smoked chicken.

Toffee-apple filling

• 80 g butter
• 30 ml sugar
• 4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices
• 50 ml brandy
• 6 pancakes (see recipe on p. 167)
• 250 ml fresh cream, beaten

1. Melt the butter and sugar in a pan over high heat. When the butter and sugar has melted, fry the apple slices until golden-brown on both sides. Add the brandy and flambé until all the alcohol has cooked off. Serve the apple slices in the pancakes, with large tablespoonfuls of beaten fresh cream.

Enough for 6 pancakes

Cherry and chocolate marbled pound cake

A pound cake is nothing other than equal amounts of flour, butter and sugar. It’s probably one of the easiest cakes to bake and again it is a basic recipe with so many possibilities. Cherries drenched in liqueur and chocolate are enough to make me swoon – and these are what transform this pound cake into something very special.

• 300 g self-raising flour
• 5 ml baking powder
• 2.5 ml salt
• 300 g butter, at room temperature
• 300 g castor sugar
• 3 eggs
• 50 ml milk
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 1 × 100 g slab 70 % dark chocolate
• 100 g maraschino cherries, 50 g with stalks and 50 g without

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Spray two 25-cm bread pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and stir through. Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla extract together, add to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl placed over a pot of boiling water until smooth. Lightly stir (do not over-mix) the melted chocolate into the cake mixture to create a marbled effect. Add the cherries without stalks, then spoon the batter into the bread pans. Arrange the cherries with the stalks on top and lightly press into the mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool.

Makes 2 large loaves or 6 individual small loaves

• Bake small individual loaves by spooning the cake mixture into small bread pans or tin cans, then bake for 30–35 minutes.

Popcorn balls

There is a child in each of us and when it comes to sweets, I’m at the front of the queue. To me, bazaars and market days are like Christmas – you always find something new, something you would never make yourself or sometimes just a more interesting version of an old recipe you’ve been using for years. I make a lot of Rice Krispie slices for my children, and even though they are now teenagers, they are still mad about them. Another of their favourite snacks is caramel popcorn. In this recipe I combine the two treats.

• 100 g butter
• 2 × 400 g packets marshmallows
• 2 × 150 g caramel toffees
• 10 cups popcorn, already popped

1. Melt the butter, marshmallows and caramel toffees in a large saucepan over very low heat. When the mixture is smooth and all the caramel toffees have melted, add the popcorn and stir through quickly. If there is too much of the marshmallow mixture, add a little more popcorn. Now you have to work very quickly otherwise the mixture will set. Ask someone to help you roll 12 balls. Each ball can be moulded around one end of a sosatie stick or around a brightly coloured ribbon so that you can hang it up.

Makes 12 balls

• If you like bright colours, you can add a few drops of food colouring of your choice to the marshmallow mixture before adding the popcorn.
• Add 250 ml nuts to the mixture for extra crunch!