Coquito Pana Cotta with Strawberry Compote

So it turns out that non-alcoholic coquito is a pretty fantastic cure to cocktail envy when you aren't allowed to/don't want to imbibe anything with a bit of kick in it. I've been whipping up batches of this creamy goodness every so often (which for now I can chalk up to baby weight, but which I'm sure I'll have to find another excuse for in the next few months) and thorough relishing sipping it oh-so-slowly over crushed ice. Seriously, if you're not drooling at the mere thought of this, there is clearly something fundamentally wrong with you. 

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Tropical Fruit Parfait

There are few smells more intoxicating than frangipani. Yes vanilla is lovely, and freshly baked bread is certainly comforting, but nothing beats the sensual lazy day smell of frangipani. Back home - and by 'home', I mean my parent's place (does that ever go away?) - the scent of frangipani is what first hits you, followed swiftly afterwards by the wall of humidity. My parents live on the East Coast - smack-bang in the middle of South Africa's tropical zone. It is known for its sandy beaches, lukewarm water and packs of monkeys whose favourite activity is stealing the pawpaws off the trees of unsuspecting suburbanites.

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Harissa Spiced Squash Soup

We often don't even realise we live in paradise, do we? Not to blow my own horn (we've had enough of that during the World Cup, right?), but us South Africans are a damn lucky bunch when it comes to food. Sure, it's a tad difficult to track down tofu (nevermind different types of tofu), and I've given up looking for plantains, but we're actually blessed with a wide variety of fabulous fruits and veggies all year round. Sure I might not stumble upon fresh berries as often as I'd like, but when it comes to the more exotic fruits, we can pick and choose to our hearts content - passionfruit (we call 'em grenadillas), pineapple, plums, mangoes, papayas and litchis are all par for the course.

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