Durban’s Karyn shares her love language: food

UPPER Highway’s talented cook and baker, Karyn Smith, will share some of her favourite recipes with readers each week.

The mom of four said her love language is food and she lives, breathes and dreams about recipes all day long.

“Food is my passion and how I can express myself. To be honest, I am not a confident person unless I have a pan or pot in my hand. I have fond memories of standing on a stool at a very young age, hardly being able to reach the counter top while baking with my mom. I was always intrigued at what could be created with such simple ingredients,” she said.

Her mother was her foodie inspiration and, no matter how busy she was, she ensured the family had a hearty home-cooked meal each night.

“I can barely remember ever having no veg on our plate,” she laughed.

Karyn took home economics at Pinetown Girls’ High School and admitted that it could possibly have been the only subject she was passionate about.

ALSO READ: Covid-19: Durban municipality suspends orange bag collections

Her husband, Rhett, is an executive chef and helped take her passion for food to another level. “Outdoor entertaining is our favourite as a family. On weekends we seldom cook on the stove top,” she said.

When her eldest daughter, Daena (then five), questioned why chicken (the animal) was called the same name as the chicken nuggets she ate, she began her vegetarian journey and has never touched meat since.

“My second daughter, Beth, followed suite a few years later and transformed our vegetarian journey into a vegan one,” said Karyn. “Cooking vegan has been so interesting and very experimental.”

Both girls (now 23 and 21) are vegan, happy and healthy.

“Both my older girls have serious boyfriends. Kayden is vegan and Kyle is very much a meat eater, so our weekend menus are varied. Reegan (16) and Madison (14) eat more meat than veg, if they have the choice,” she said.

When Curro Hillcrest was being built, Karyn was asked to tender for the Campus Cafe and it was granted. “With little time to prep, I started working on a menu. I wanted to do something to assist the teachers at the school too. She also took on the functions co-ordinator position and works alongside a catering team that consists of learners and staff.

ALSO READ: Blood donations still needed during lockdown, says SANBS

“The kitchen is definitely the heart of our home. Friends often ask me to share recipes and creating new recipes is my thing, from sauces to desserts, baking and breads. Food is my life and I love sharing it,” she said.

Coriander summer relish:

Ingredients:

1 large bunch coriander chopped

4 tomatoes diced

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp Himalayan salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tbs honey (syrup for the vegans)

1 and a half cups lemon juice

1 and a 1/4 cup orange juice

1tsp dried chilli flakes

If you like heat, then add 1/2 fresh chopped chilli

Method:

Place all in the liquidizer and blitz for a minute (it must still be chunky).

Place all in a pot on low heat and reduce until you have a chunky jam like texture.

Place into sterilized jars and refrigerate until needed.

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.

Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.

Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.