Cricket Match Food

Do you like entertaining? Are you a foodie who also enjoys cricket? Then this blog is just for you! We thought we'd put together some inspirational meals or eats to accompany test versus a one dayer cricket match...

Test match 

For those readers who may not know, a test match lasts a maximum of five days (eight hours each including breaks) With this in mind you might consider some slow cooked recipes. With the weather still slightly chilly you can definitely get away with preparing a beef and vegetable curry or slow cooked beef ragu. Why not try some of these marinade recipes for a barbie. If you've never marinated meat before check out this marinating 101

Test match menu

Starter

An easy, eight ingredient 45 minute preparation time starter that can be made in bulk and frozen for later use. A rich and creamy pumpkin soup with a dash of chilli to give it a bit of a kick.

Pumpkin soup with a dash of chilli

Main

A beautiful tender chicken piece, slow cooked for four hours with easy preparation instructions. Served with steamed carrots and broccoli.

Slow-cooker chicken with pesto butter

Dessert

A warm dessert with an hour and a half cook time and ten minutes prep. Served well with cream or ice cream. 

Slow-cooker poached raspberry pears

One dayer

Barbecues and lots of snacks are perfect for one dayers! Here are some of our favourite snack recipes that are really easy to make AND look impressive.

Caramelised onion pastries

• Recipe for caramelised onion
• 2 sheets of puff pastry
• Camembert
• Cherry tomatoes

Caramelise onion. Slide pastry into squares (as big or small as you like) Bake pastry sheets as per packet instruction. Top pastries with onion and finish with a dollop of camembert and a halved cherry tomato.

Baby quiches

It's easy to make a variety of options with quiches. Bacon and feta, spinach and feta, salmon - the list goes on. Here's a super easy recipe for baby quiches

Dreamy Cheese Platter

The most important thing for the perfect cheese platter is what you pair it with. Having some good South Australian local wines and craft beers go down amazingly well with the right cheeses but also choosing the right food items to go with the cheese. Here's some examples of foods that pair well with cheese:

• Gherkins
• Nuts
• Chutney
• Ham
• Crackers
• Olives

Things that don't pair well include

• Anything spicy
• Vegetables
• Acidic fruits

Handleless Kitchen Pros and Cons

Handless kitchens give a real sleek and tidy look to a kitchen but that doesn't always mean they are practical or right for you! Here's some info on handless drawers and cabinets and their pros and cons...

Pros

• Perfect for a minimalist look that won't date
• Not having handles means nothing to catch your clothes on!
• If it has a push to open functionality there'll be no gaps, but rather a nice smooth surface
• Finger pull style drawers are cost effective and not changes would need to be made to the cabinet or drawer itself like with a rail cabinet

• You can fit a rail along the inside of your cabinet creating space for you to open the drawers

Cons

• The spaces or ridges in the drawers can often collect dust and become hard to clean
• Handless kitchens are generally quite costly due to specialists styles and designs required to get the cabinet or drawer fitted properly
• They can be annoying. Sometimes it takes a few pushes or pulls before you can open the thing whereas with handles you'll pretty much get it every time!
• Push mechanic may open accidentally if it's being leaned on

Jamaican Style BBQ

Most people's mouths start to water at the sound of jerk chicken - tender chicken dry rubbed or wet marinated in hot spices and ingredients like sugar, garlic, salt and thyme. This week's blog is on a Jamaican Style BBQ!

Jerk Chicken

Originally cooked in a fire pit, jerk chicken should have a smokey flavour. This used to be achieved by cooking the chicken in a smokey fire pit but in modern days people use wood burning ovens, oil barrels or steel drums.Here's a recipe for jerk chicken seasoning

Jerk Seasoned Corn on the Cob

Make extra jerk seasoning and rub it on some corn on the cob! Quick, easy and delicious! 

Jamaican Rice

Jamaicans call this "rice and peas". A simple side dish of long grain rice, kidney beans and loads of flavour from lime juice, ginger and coconut milk. See recipe here. 

Jamaican BBQ Sauce

If you like BBQ sauce you'll LOVE Jamaican BBQ sauce! This flavoursome sauce has a bit of bacon, jalapeño peppers, mustard and thyme - just to give you a bit of idea of the wonderful flavours this sauce has and it only takes about 20 mins to make! Recipe for Jamaican BBQ sauce.Don't know about you guys but we're feeling pretty inspired to host a Jamaican style BBQ this weekend! 

Latest Kitchen Trends

We're always interested to hear our client's ideas and thoughts and they often want to know ours. What's trending, fads, what's in and what's not. Here are our latest five top kitchen trends...

1. Metal

Whether it's a pressed metal splash back for practicality or metal artwork for aesthetics metal is a great material to have in a kitchen! It's not only a strong and durable material but lends itself to loads of design possibilities and adds real character to a kitchen.

2. Polished Concrete flooring and benchtops

Polished concrete is the fastest growing flooring solution in the Australian commercial sector. The lifespan of concrete flooring is just one of the appeals. The fact that it doesn't scratch or dent is a huge plus for a kitchen floor. Functionality aside polished concrete is a sleek material that looks great for flooring and benchtops!

3. Vintage Style

Vintage style is a fast growing kitchen trend indoors and outdoors. Although you might not be able to do as much decor outdoors you can definitely get away with some vintage style crockery or semi-permanent decor.

4. Eclectic Mixes

Mixing and matching items in your home is a huge trend but you've gotta get it right! The coffee table below is a good example of a successful blend of two materials. Mixing the right colours, textures and materials in your home can give it a wonderfully eclectic feel. Don't be scared to break some design rules!

5. Timber

Timber is a beautiful material that gives a house a real homey feel! Adding touches of timber throughout your home or building timber cabinets in your kitchen is a great way to give your home a natural and modern look.

Kitchen Flooring Options

There are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to selecting flooring for your kitchen (indoor or outdoor) Durability, design, longevity and how often you use your kitchen are just some of the factors to consider. We've selected a couple of kitchen flooring options to give you an idea of the what to think about when selecting the right floor for your kitchen...

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring is a good option if you don't want your kitchen to go out of style. Timber is a timeless material for flooring. Even when it ages it only adds character to your kitchen. Other properties of hardwood flooring:

• Low maintenance
• Durable
• Moisture resistant

Porcelain Tiles

This material is prepared at exceedingly high temperatures to produce a hard and durable final product. Porcelain tiles can withstand high temperatures and are extremely durable. Just make sure you select slip resistant tiles!

• Durable
• Suitable for modern kitchens
• Low maintenance

Cork Flooring

This kitchen flooring option is considered a bit more environmentally friendly. It's also a good option if you're looking for a softer floor.

• Naturally textured
• Slip resistant
• Needs to be sealed every three to four years for to prevent moisture from seeping in

Concrete Flooring

Concrete is a good kitchen floor option. This materials looks great in modern, industrial type kitchens and is really durable! It's a difficult to material to damage so can withstand a lot of furniture bumps and scratches. Concrete flooring is also easy to maintain. It only needs to be waxed or resealed every three to nine months.Other factors include:

• Endless design possibilities: mixing and setting of concrete has come a long way allowing many different colours and textures
• Environmentally friendly: seeing as most houses have a concrete subfloor, it's possible to simply remove what ever is above that and make use of that as your flooring.

Did you enjoy this blog? Here are some others you might like to read!

Fire Pit Building Materials

Kitchen Layouts - What's the difference and why does it matter?

Picking the right kitchen sink

South African Style BBQ (braai)

It's been a while since we posted a foodie blog, so we thought we'd share some ideas for a South African style BBQ or braai (pronounced like fry)...The word braai comes from the word braaivleis which means "grilled meat" in Afrikaans. In South Africa it's common to have a wood braai as opposed to a gas barbecue. Braais are a big social happening in South Africa rather than just a meal. People make big efforts when hosting braais with all sorts side dishes and salads. They even have a National Braai Day!

Boerewors

Boerewors (farmer sausage) comes from an older Dutch sausage verse wosrt. It's a flavoursome sausage that can contain a mix of minced beef, lamb and pork with lots of spices! Boerewors is best braaid but can also be cooked in an oven or fry pan. Late nights out in South Africa usually end with a boerewors roll, served with fried onions and sauce on the street!Recipe for boerewors sausage

Pap

Also known as mieliepap (maize meal) is a porridge/polenta type food. Also known as putu. It can be served plain or seasoned and can be served in a dry or moist consistency. It is served as a side dish with meats, stews, vegetables and/or salads and goes amazingly well with an onion and tomato sauce!Recipe for pap or putu

Braaibroodtjies

This is basically a barbecued toasted sandwich and is a truly unique part of a South African braai! It contains tomato, cheese, onion, chutney, salt and pepper. The outsides of the sandwich are thickly coated in butter and placed on the braai.How to make braaibroodtjies

Brandy

South Africa has some amazing wine regions so wine at braais is common, however for a true South African experience brandy goes down best! You can even pair the different types of brandy with boerewors!

6 Ways to Keep Spiders Away From Your Home

No matter how big or small, most people aren't fans of spiders and even if you are, you probably don't want them in your home or outdoor kitchen! Here are 6 natural friendly ways to keep spiders away from your home...

1. Vinegar

White vinegar is good for soaking feet, cleaning barbecues, keeping washing white - just about anything really! It is also good for keeping spiders away. Spiders don't like the scent of vinegar so will usually steer clear of it. Mix some vinegar with some warm water in a spray bottle and use it to clean your kitchen area. The vinegar will keep the surface clean and keep spiders away!

2. Peppermint

Like ants and mice, spiders also don't like peppermint. Mixing  up some peppermint essential oil and water in a spray bottle and spraying it around the house should keep spiders away and leave your home smelling fresh!

3. Citrus Rub Down

Spiders also don't like citrus scents like lemon or orange. Rubbing orange peels in areas spiders usually like to hide (bookshelves, windowsills, etc.) Should do the trick! You could even hollow out an orange, fill it with oil and a wick and make a citrus candle.

4. You Must Dust!

Of all the ways to keep spiders away, making sure your home or outdoor kitchen is regularly cleaned and dusted will help.

5. Cedar

Cedar wood has an aromatic scent that repels insects. Although a spider is not an insect but rather an arachnid, spiders follow their food and if you eliminate the insects you won't have a problem with spiders. There are different types of Cedar wood and some Cedar wood loses its scent. The insect repellent properties of Cedar are in the heartwood which means wood chips might not work as well as they're usually compiled with bark and/or sapwood.

6. Eucalyptus

Another natural spider repellent is Eucalyptus. Burn some Eucalyptus oil or put some Eucalyptus leaves in your cupboards and nooks to keep spiders away.

Read more tips here - 14 GREAT WAYS TO KEEP SPIDERS OUT OF YOUR HOME NATURALLY

Outdoor Kitchen Fridges

With temperatures reaching as high as the forties in summer and chances of chilly winters it's important to find an outdoor fridge that can handle drastic temperatures (as well as frequent use during all your summer barbies!) We thought we'd take a look at some outdoor kitchen fridges and give some tips on how to go about choosing one...

What makes an outdoor kitchen fridge different to an indoor one?

Outdoor kitchen fridges need to maintain their temperature in various weather conditions. Because of this, a fridge usually requires a lot more insulation and requires more power than an indoor fridge. It needs to be resistant to all types of weather and waterproofed too.

Size

Obviously outdoor kitchen fridges are a lot smaller than indoor fridges as they are mostly used for stocking beer as opposed to large amounts of food. Typically a bar fridge is around 60 cm wide and 86 cm tall. Obviously the fridge you get will need to fit the space you have! Think about the kinds of things you would want to store in your outdoor fridge before committing to buy one. You might want to consider a fridge with a wine cooler too!

Built-in or free standing

We advise having your fridge built-in. Not only does it look better but built-in fridges have the vent in the front which means you don't need to account for extra space on the sides or above the fridge for ventilation.

Materials

We've already mentioned that your outdoor kitchen fridge needs to be weather resistant so it goes without saying that it needs to be rust resistant too! Stainless steel and glass are the most commonly used materials for outdoor fridges. Make sure you check the grading of the steel to ensure it is corrosion resistant!

Cost to run

sa.gov.au has a page where you can check estimated costs of running your house hold appliances. Make sure you check the Energy rating to ensure the fridge is energy efficient.