Abigail’s extras: 
* If you prefer a sweeter scone, add 60ml (4 tbsp) castor sugar to sifted flour. 
* Use sour cream instead of buttermilk. 
* To make your own sour cream, add 10ml (2 tsp) lemon juice or vinegar to 200 ml (4/5 cup) milk. 
* To make cheese scones, add 2 cups grated cheddar to the dough. 
* For a fruity scone, add 1 cup chopped dates or sultanas. 

"Relax and have fun when you cook… food tastes  much better when you enjoy preparing it, "says Justine Drake.

Justine Drake is best remembered for her much-loved ‘Busy Cook’ column, published from 1992 to 1997 (and then as a cookbook) during Annette Kesler’s  tenure as food editor. Combined with  Justine’s ebullient personality and fresh,  modern take, it provided a springboard  for her celebrity food career. Justine is  editor of Eat In and Fresh Living, and  festival director of the Taste of Cape Town  and Taste of Joburg food festivals. 

Why do you love this recipe? 
Wading through the Fairlady files brought  back fabulous memories, but to be honest,  very often I found a recipe I loved but  with a photograph so cringe-worthy I  didn’t think I could include it! Luckily it wasn’t the other way around: the recipe  is, in the end, the important bit. This  was a great recipe with a great image. 

What were your favourite foods then and  what are your favourites now?
My favourites aren’t different – there  are just more of them! I’ve grown to  appreciate simpler flavours like fresh  herbs and aromatics, rather than fullflavoured  sauces and masses of condiments.  I still find the ultimate culinary comfort in the likes of roast chicken and spaghetti bolognaise and I adore salad. 

SERIOUSLY GARLICKY MUSSELS

Dig in with plenty of crusty bread so you don’t miss out on all the  garlicky juices at the bottom of the bowl.
(First published in the 2 April 1997 issue, Justine has since added celery to the recipe.)

45 ml (3 tbsp) butter 
30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil 
2 onions, finely chopped 
8–10 cloves garlic, crushed 
4 sticks celery, finely sliced 
250 ml (1 cup) white wine 
750 ml (3 cups) chicken or vegetable stock 
5 ml (1 tsp) sugar 
65 ml (¼ cup) chopped parsley a grinding of milled pepper 
2 kg mussels in shell 
(Serves 4)

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic and celery and sauté until glossy, about 5 minutes. Add wine, stock, sugar, parsley and season with pepper. Bring to the boil. 

Add mussels, cover and cook for about 6 minutes; mussels are ready when shells have opened. (Discard any that do not open.) Ladle into a heated serving bowl. Serve with crusty bread. 

 

Annette’s quintessential cooking tip:  Keep it healthy. Bake your own bread, use home-made stocks, sea salt, apple  cider vinegar, olive oil, lemons, garlic  and fresh herbs! Keep things simple. 

Annette Kesler was Fairlady’s longest  reigning food editor, from 1969 until  1999. Through her, Fairlady became  known as a reliable and consistently excellent source of recipes. For me,  and countless others who used to tear  out and file her food pages, Annette  will always be the food doyenne who taught us how to cook. Annette is editor of www.showcook.co.za

Why do you love this recipe? 
You may be surprised at my choice of  recipe, as this seems like such an old  chestnut! However, I do believe South Africa was introduced to butternut  soup when I included the recipe on a cookery card in 1982. It obviously  struck a chord and has since been prepared in a thousand variations. It’s  one of the most delicious, comforting  and simple soups to make using a  vegetable that is readily available  and easy on the budget.

What were your favourite foods then and what are your favourites now? 
I have always adored stunning soups  and good salads – conventional as  well as variations on seasonal themes. Combining fruits with leafy greens,  and vegetables like fine green beans  with succulent black mushrooms  and fresh garlic. Room temperature  vegetables make the most wonderful salads with meats, fish or poultry. 

BUTTERNUT SOUP WITH LEEKS AND FRESH GINGER

Butternut soup improves with  standing and can be served hot  or well chilled.
(First published in the March 1982 issue.)

60 ml (4 tbsp) butter 
60 ml (4 tbsp) orange  peel, slivered 
30 ml (2 tbsp) ginger, freshly grated 
1 kg butternut squash or pumpkin, cut into  chunks 
1 large potato, diced 
1–2 leeks, finely sliced 
1–2 parsnips, sliced 
2 medium carrots, diced 
1 sprig celery leaves 
sea salt and milled black pepper 
30 ml (2 tbsp) cornflour for thickening, if  necessary 
500 ml (2 cups) homemade chicken stock 
500 ml (2 cups) milk 
60 ml (4 tbsp) cream 
coriander, finely chopped 
(Serves 4–6)

Heat butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan until  foaming. Add orange peel,  ginger and vegetables.  Stir-fry for 2–5 minutes, then  cover and cook very gently over low heat until the vegetables are  soft (15–30 minutes). Stir with a  wooden spoon from time to time. Season with sea salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cornflour, if necessary, and stir thoroughly. Gradually add the stock and then the milk, stirring constantly  until the soup comes to the boil.  Remove the saucepan from the  stove, transfer the soup to a food  processor or blender and purée  until smooth. 

If serving the soup hot, return  it to the saucepan and reheat over low heat. Stir in the cream and serve in heated soup bowls. 
If  serving it chilled, refrigerate if for 2–3 hours then stir  in the cream and serve in chilled  soup bowls.