Lifestyle

For first-timers, this over-the-top ultra-spicy Sichuan-influenced meal can be a challenge. Most of the strong flavours are unfamiliar, the colour of the sauce is a deep magenta, and one of the key ingredients – tofu – is not part of the South African diet. But man, the taste! The aroma! The astonishing look of it all on the plate! But enough with the foodie raving. Let’s get that wok smoking.

Some call this dessert millefeuille but I never cook anything I can’t pronounce. But custard slices? There’s a joyous childhood memory! Try this classic version, culled from some good friends’ personal cookbooks.

Hi Jonno, We are planning to build a house in natural indigenous bush in the Waterberg area and would like your help.

Dear Jonno, Attached is my two-bedroom unit. Where the entrance is facing south-east there’s more space to extend.

Cilantro, coriander, dhania: only the name is different. Here is a fragrant soup loaded with flavour, that’s easy to prepare and even easier to drink. Make this colourful dish an integral part of your next dinner party.

In this issue Jonno designs a single storey retirement home for FW reader Makabongwe.

It’s seems that Baron Stroganoff, inventor of this recipe, was a real person and not some fairy tale Russian chef. But something tells me that this version is even better than anything the late baron ever cooked in his castle’s kitchen.

I received a request from regular Farmer’s Weekly reader Wayne to design a home which will be situated on a private development estate, located in the Karkloof area of KZN.

Every so often my adult children demand gnocchi for dinner. “Not again!” I say, and then I actually make the stuff and wonder why I ever object. The taste, the texture, the look of the little devils: it’s impossible not to love gnocchi. As a vehicle for strong flavours, gnocchi can’t be beaten.

With a power failure without end at my sister-in-law’s Drakensberg timeshare, we had to take a meal with us from Durban that could be easily reheated over a camping stove. The answer, which was a long time coming, was fish head soup. And the result was truly a moveable feast.

I had a call from Herbert, one of my private village developers in the foothills of the Waterberg in Limpopo...

I was sitting around with my food focus group wondering what to do next. I decided I want something familiar, yet unfamiliar, a meal that’s easy to cook, made with easy-to-get ingredients that pushes the envelope a bit. And here it is: Hungarian goulash.

Jonno designs a retirement home for Dan from KZN.

This chunky, flavoursome curry will seriously dent the prejudices of those who believe a meal without meat is not a meal at all, and will be a marvellous addition to your repertoire.

Jonno assists Daniel with a sketch for nurses accommodation in Northern KZN.

This enticing combination of tastes and textures comes from North Africa. The mix of honey, saffron and nuts is common in cooking from Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, and will ensure that this splendid meal becomes a regular item on your family menu.

Jonno helps design a cottage on a private complex near the Kruger Park.

Tasty fragments of mixed foods cooked on a stick? This Greek influenced classic probably harks back to the earliest days of cooking over a fire. What could make more sense than threading food on a twig and holding it over the flames? While traditionally, souvlakia were made with lamb or kid, this chicken version gives the national bird of Africa yet another chance to shine.

Jonno helps design an environmentally friendly farm house.

The time has come for Abré J Steyn’s last Field Sports. Although it is the end of the road, it it most definitely not the end of his globe-trotting adventures.