I find myself cooking much more than I usually do because of the lockdown in Cape Town. I figured I would share a few recipes that are easy to make and don’t require lots of ingredients. My idea was to include recipes that are ration friendly. Things you can make with stuff you most likely already have in your cupboard and which will make your food last longer.

Bread without yeast

I didn’t have bread at home so I quickly made this bread without any recipe I just threw everything together and it worked.

Ingredients

2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

A pinch of salt, a quarter teaspoon

1 teaspoon of sugar (optional)

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Method

¾ cup of milk- I mixed mine with water to save on milk

Mix all the ingredients well then bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or until golden brown. I made this bread on the fly without trying a set recipe. The bread comes out kind of like a dense cake.

 

Banana loaf (bread) because it’s trending 

In South Africa, we call it banana loaf and I haven’t made it yet during the lockdown. But, it’s something I have baked in the past. It’s a good way to use overripe bananas. It is also trending now since lots of people usually have bananas at home for some reason. Here’s my recipe for banana loaf.

2 cups of self-raising flour

¼ teaspoon of bicarbonate soda

½ teaspoon of salt

½ cup of butter

¾ cup of sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup of mashed banana about 2 big bananas

Method

Cream butter and sugar then add eggs one at a time.  Sift all the dry ingredients. Add the wet and dry ingredients together, and the banana. Grease a baking tin and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about an hour or till your loaf is cooked through. You can check with a skewer or sharp knifepoint after your loaf looks golden brown. Don’t open the oven too soon because the heat level will change and your cake will flop. You can divide the batter into two tins or make a big loaf by using one baking tin.

Dalgona  coffee

This is whipped coffee and it’s wonderful. I made it a few times already and I can see why it’s trending. If you don’t have an electric mixer whipping the mix will take super long. But, I used an electric mixer.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of boiling hot water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons coffee

Milk

Method

Put all the coffee, water, and sugar in a bowl and whisk it with an electric mixer till it comes out kind of thick. Warm up the milk in a mug and scoop the coffee mixture on top of it. And there you have it.

Crepes

Ingredients

1 cup of flour

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 egg (optional)

½ cup of milk (optional)

½ cup of water

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons of melted butter (optional)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract  (optional)

A pinch of cinnamon (optional and not traditional)

 

Method

Add more water if you’re cutting out the milk your batter should be runny. Mix all your ingredients well. I just added everything in the only bowl and mixed it with a wooden spoon. Then use a nonstick pan or cast-iron one to fry your crepes at a low heat seating.

 

Pasta

Below you will find a link to a simple pepper pasta. You do need hard cheese like parmesan but if you’re in a bind you can substitute it with cheddar cheese. It’s not traditional but living through a pandemic makes it ok to break cooking rules I think.

With this recipe, you boil pasta then reserve a cup of the water. You add your pasta in a pot with two tablespoons of butter and lots of black pepper. After that add the cheese and reserved water mix it well through. The pasta is then creamy and peppery.

The full more detailed  pepper pasta recipe is here:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cacio-e-pepe

And if you are looking for easy tips on how to cook one-pot pasta read this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20dinning/one-pot-pasta-coronavirus.html

I used to make pasta in one pot or pan and eat it straight out of the pan. Haha, see my photographic evidence below.

 

Scones

This is a very basic recipe I normally add sugar to my scones this one is a ration friendly version of what I make.

Ingredients

1 cup of self-raising flour

1 teaspoon of salt

½ cup of margarine or butter

Method

Mix dry ingredients. Then add chopped up pieces of butter mix with a flat, round-bladed knife. Don’t mix too much. Roll into balls and put on a greased baking tray.  Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or till golden brown.

 

Vetkoek

Traditionally made with yeast but this is a simpler version of this South African classic since yeast shortages are now a thing.  Vetkoek is fried like a doughnut but tastes more like bread. If you do have yeast then try this traditional vetkoek recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/245683/south-african-traditional-vetkoek-fried-bread/

Ingredients

2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

You can replace flour and baking powder with self-raising flour.

1 tablespoon of sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of milk

2 eggs

Method

Sift and mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients together then pour it into the dry ingredients. Mix everything well. The dough must be soft.

Heat up oil on the stove and fry your dough in balls. Fry on both sides.

It’s like you are making a doughnut but a vetkoek is more versatile. You can slice it in half and serve it with cheese or jam or mince curry.

 

Paptert

This tart is made from maize meal, which is sort of like polenta. You can use polenta which is cooked till it’s stiff to make this recipe And once again use cheese that’s available if you don’t have parmesan. Here’s the recipe:

https://www.food24.com/Recipes/suzelle-diys-paptert-20180918

 

 

Lemonade

Ingredients

Half a cup of sugar

2 to 3 lemons, you need half a cup of lemon juice

2  2/3 cup of water

Method

Put your sugar and water in a pot and boil it slowly on a low setting until the sugar is dissolved. Then wait for your sugar mix to cool pour it in a jug with your lemon juice and mix.  Add more water to taste this recipe will make your lemonade sweet I added 2 cups of cold water to mine.

Note: You can use limes as well if you don’t have lemons.

 

Soup with anything you have

The good thing about soup is that almost any veggie can be used to make it. Just remember different vegetables cook differently. Butternut takes longer to cook than say spinach for example.

So your basics are vegetables, stock (kind of optional)  oil or butter, and salt and pepper.

You can make your own stock by boiling meat, chicken, or beef in water and using that water as your stock. You can also use stock cubes.

Then you need aromatics like garlic, onion, fresh herbs, and spices like curry, paprika, pepper.

Ingredients

0.454kilograms – 900 kilograms of vegetables (1-2 pounds of vegetables)

Here’s how to measure vegetables using cups: https://www.almanac.com/content/measuring-vegetables-recipes-pounds-cups

Aromatic ingredients

Oil or butter

4-6 cups of broth

Chicken or stewing beef or pork bones (optional)

Method

Cut up your vegetables then sauté aromatic ingredients like onions or garlic till they are soft.

After that add your chopped vegetables and brown them if you have chicken pieces or meat you should add them at this step.

Add your herbs and or spices, add broth and let it boil slowly simmering your vegetables till they are soft check up on your pot after 30 minutes. If everything isn’t soft yet continue to simmer till it is. Also, make sure the seasoning is on point add more salt if needed, or spices.

Note: if you don’t have broth then just add water to your soup and some kind of meat, or more spices to provide flavour.

I made chicken soup when I was sick in Germany when I got a bad case of the flu. All I did was add 4 pieces of chicken and noodles to a pot of water with salt, pepper, and some frozen mixed vegetables, with dried herbs and garlic. It actually tasted yummy,  be creative with your soup.

You can use a blender to make your soup smooth or serve as is. I prefer chunky soups but that’s just my preference.

 

Extras: If you can’t bake banana loaf then make banana pancakes instead. And if the bread isn’t your thing but you like bread rolls click on the highlighted words for my recipes.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment. I will be updating this post with more images of the meals. I’m just bad at taking good photos of my own food.

Take care

Nikki xx