About/Editorial Policy
EDITORIAL POLICY:
This blog is the personal blog of, and authored by, Colleen Grove. It was created with the intention of sharing recipes, advice, tips and ideas with like minded readers on the web. This is a family blog with family appropriate content.
There may sometimes be guest posts written by other bloggers with the same interests but these posts will be clearly defined as guest posts. The topics on this blog may sometimes be home and family related but will mostly (at least 90% of the time) cover food related topics….anything that Colleen cooks or bakes in her home kitchen which she believes is of interest and worth sharing with readers on this blog.
Photographs will usually accompany all blog posts as the author believes that the eyes feast first! All photographs that appear on the blog will be taken by the author herself (unless otherwise stipulated) using a Canon Powershot SX20Is or Canon EOS 1100D. All recipes that appear on the blog will be tested and tried by the author and tasted by family and friends who share her food or baked goods in her home. Wherever possible all recipes are edited and checked for typing errors before posting.
The author may sometimes post restaurant, book, event or product reviews. The opinions stated are those of the author only. If products have been supplied free of charge to the author these will be declared in the relevant blog posts. The expressed opinion of said products, books, events or restaurants in relevant blog posts are, however, the honest and personal opinions and views of the author. She will not, under any circumstances, accept payment to write positively about products that she feels negatively about. These products will be discussed with the relevant companies or businesses and will not appear on the blog.
Comments written by readers in the comments sections are the opinions of others!
COLLEEN GROVE:
“I am just me, a South African living in the beautiful little seaside town of Fish Hoek which is situated on the False Bay coast (Indian Ocean) about 45km from the city centre of Cape Town. I blog about my home life and the goings on in my kitchen. I am 50 something (on the right side of 50 and only just still on the right side of 60), a Christian, fun-loving, fairly easy going, very loving & compassionate, a nurturer by nature, a nursing sister & midwife in a long ago career life, married to the man in my life for 33 years now. We share 3 adult children, I am grandmama to gorgeous Tyler & Jayden, love animals and currently have Tasha the hound sharing my living space and life. I am a lover of anything food related, enjoying baking, preserving & cooking, trying out new recipes, I mostly never stick to a recipe but am always testing (I call it pimping) and tasting! At the grand old age that I am at now I am discovering new foods that I love like prawns (sue me, I was never adventurous before hehe), sushi, squid just to name a few! I stop though at eating bugs of any kind (well…..I guess prawns COULD pass for bugs but I stop there!) I am a food blog addict, started reading and lurking on food blogs about 7 years ago and started my first blog, Kitchen Diary (which I still maintain) on the South African blogging platform food24.com, in July 2008, never thinking of the far reaching effect it would have on my life. At the end of 2009 I took the plunge and organized the first ever South African Food Bloggers Conference which took place in Cape Town in March 2010 and which was a dizzy success. The South African Food and Wine Blogger Indaba followed that in February 2011 and more Indaba’s will follow, God willing. It is such an honor & privilege to be involved with a community of like minded, passionate and fabulous people. Blogging has opened up a whole new world to me and I am embracing it with wide open arms and eyes. Blogging led to me winning a couple of competitions with my recipes and this in turn led to me being given a contract with ClemenGold to do some product development for them during the latter half of 2011. Did I mention you are never too old to learn new things? It has become my mantra!
My hobbies include knitting, reading, walking and photography (food, nature & of course my grandsons). I am an avid sunset chaser and love photographing sunsets and La Lune…that shining cool lady of the night! Moonbeams attract me….
I believe that a sense of humor is essential to living a happy life and this will show in my writing and I hope it will help you as much as it helps me. Feel free to interact with me. I welcome comments and constructive criticism!
Welcome to my world…….enjoying brownies is optional, tasting life is imperative!”







67 Comments
Marisa
19 Apr 2010 10:04 am
Pimping nogal?
Great reading a little bit more about one of SA’s favourite food bloggers. The new blog looks great!
Colleen
19 Apr 2010 04:04 pm
Hehe....you know me Marisa!! Thank you so much for your kind words. Much appreciated x
Madmom
20 Apr 2010 10:04 pm
Found your new blog – love it, Colleen.
Colleen
20 Apr 2010 10:04 pm
Hey MM good to see you this side. Thank you so much for popping in to look and I am very glad to hear that you like it. Thanx. xx
Jamie Who
21 Apr 2010 03:04 pm
Hey Colleen,
The site looks beautiful. I’m a big fan of clean design rather than cluttered. Kicking things off with Le Creuset definitely does both parties justice!
Congrats.
Colleen
21 Apr 2010 04:04 pm
Hi Jamie, good of you to pop in and take a look around. Thank you so much for your comment and encouragement. Much appreciated.
New Attitude
23 Apr 2010 10:04 am
I love your look brownigirl..:-)
Colleen
23 Apr 2010 05:04 pm
THank you so much sweetie. Good of you to visit. Take care and have a great weekend xx
Jo
30 Apr 2010 06:04 pm
You are my food HERO, O Captain, my Captain! xxx
Colleen
03 May 2010 11:05 pm
Welcome to my humble new abode groupie. Its lovely to see you here...thanx Jo xx
janice Tripepi
02 May 2010 08:05 am
Wow – i am loving scouting around this Worldpress goodie!
Colleen
03 May 2010 11:05 pm
Thanx Jan, it seems pretty OK to me...Im happy here and even more so seeing all my visitors popping in. Thanx so much for that xx
Cocoa
02 May 2010 06:05 pm
I seeeee you
Colleen
03 May 2010 11:05 pm
I see you too Taz....welcome :o) xx
Markella
06 May 2010 01:05 pm
Hey Browniegirl. What a beautiful blog. You make me want to go home and cook!!! Well – I always want to go home and cook – but more so!
Colleen
08 May 2010 10:05 pm
Haha welcome Markella to my new blog home. I do hope you will pop back and see whats up here. And enjoy that cooking. Hugs xxx
d1
18 May 2010 02:05 pm
It is I- Psychic Cook – Remember me???? i still visits , as you can see and I have found you again!!! I will be a regular now.
Colleen
18 May 2010 03:05 pm
EEEEEEEK!!! d1 how could I ever forget you sweetie??? Welcome to my new abode. I am thrilled out of my socks to see you!!! So glad to hear from you and know that you are still around...YAAAAY!!! :) xxx
Lizanne
10 Aug 2010 04:08 pm
i did not know you were once a midwife… so you are someone I can keep in mind for advice
Love the blog…
Colleen
10 Aug 2010 06:08 pm
Hehe, amazing what you get to know about someone if you go behind the scenes Lizanne....thanx so much for taking the time. And thank you for the compliment. I am here if you need me!! :o) xx
Claire
26 Sep 2010 02:09 pm
Just discovered your site and will keep checking, I have duck at home and can’t wait to try your Mandarin Duck Breast Verlaque with Citrus Ginger Soy Glaze. I am also curious to find out of about the name Verlaque. My great aunt was married to a Verlaque in the Seychelles and then moved on to the UK.
Colleen
26 Sep 2010 03:09 pm
Thank you Claire. Always good to welcome new visitors. Much appreciate your comment. If you would like to know more about the Verlaque name I could put you in touch with the lady who owns the company. Just drop me a line to my email address collywolly50(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk and give me yours then I can put you in touch with her. Thanx and let me know how the duck breasts turn out.
Natalie Glinister
03 Oct 2010 10:10 am
So this is where you hide out in your “spare time”. Great recipe, i LOVE anything with Cheese yum xxx
Colleen
03 Mar 2011 10:03 pm
Hey Natalie, good to see you visiting this side. Thanx so much for the pop in and the comment. Hope you come back again...xx
Caylee
20 Apr 2011 10:04 am
Hi Colleen !
I have been following you on Twitter for a while but have only met your blog now. It’s gorgeous. I have subscribed and will be having a proper look through the RSS feed for recipes to try. Right now my favourites seem to be the Mediterranean Stuffed Squid and the Lamb Kleftiko. Mmmmmmmmm. The lamb would be perfect for Easter… I might just give it a try.
Colleen
21 Apr 2011 01:04 am
Hi there Caylee. Welcome to my blog! And thank you so much for your lovely comment. I truly appreciate the feedback and love interacting with my readers. So glad that you like what you see. I will be popping over to visit you as well now that I am finding more time to do a bit of blog browsing again. FBI has been taking up all of my time up to now! Enjoy the recipes. The Kleftiko is an awesome recipe for sure and perfect for easter. I am going to make it again with a whole leg for Easter Sunday xx
Cat
01 Jun 2011 04:06 am
Hi Colleen–didn’t know where else to put this, so I stuck it on your About page. Thanks so much again for the Kleftike recipe! I am sorry you don’t have access to the giant couscous–I only learned of it a few years ago at a potluck and am absolutely addicted. If curiosity ever gets the best of you, I’d be willing to mail you a packet/box as a thank you..kleftiko recipes were kind of hard to find!
Colleen
03 Jun 2011 02:06 pm
Hi Cat, how absolutely super of you to come back and do this. I so appreciate it and am so happy that you liked the Kleftiko recipe. I would absolutely love to try the giant couscous! Will send you an email. Have a great weekend xx
mustbewrite
18 Jul 2011 11:07 am
Hi Colleen. I’ve been dipping in and out of Browniegirl, love it and all the delumcious recipes and photies. What is your new blog – I’d love to have a look. Go well and grow strong. Ciao
Colleen
18 Jul 2011 01:07 pm
Hi Sandi, thank you so much for that lovely compliment. This (browniegirl) is my "new" blog. The original one where I started blogging 3 years ago is Kitchen Diary and you can find it at http://blogs.food24.com/kitchendiary Thank you for the good wishes. xx
sunsanddaughters
08 Aug 2011 11:08 pm
hi just discovered your blog and it looks so great!!
i see you like Nomu, check out a friend’s homemade video about the hot chocolate – but be warned, have some ready to make, as you’ll want some after watching!!
please copy and paste into your browser
http://vimeo.com/26963080
thanks and keep up the great work!!
Colleen
28 Aug 2011 04:08 pm
Thank you so much for the comment and the link. I had a look...its awesome! And yes, I love NoMu products. They are awesome, quality products xx
Shel
11 Aug 2011 11:08 am
Such a lovely blog, glad to find more SA bloggers!
Shel
Colleen
28 Aug 2011 04:08 pm
Hi there Shel, thank you so much. Yes, I also do enjoying finding SA bloggers. Will pop over soon xx
Maureen
22 Aug 2011 10:08 am
hi colleen, love ur blog!
-maureen (a food blogger in Singapore, the sunny island in asia)
Colleen
28 Aug 2011 04:08 pm
Hi Maureen and welcome, Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Hugs to you in Singapore xx
Ulanda
30 Aug 2011 12:08 pm
Hi Colleen,
I’m writing from a digital ad agency. We would love to get in touch with news and press releases on behalf of our clients, Robertson’s & Knorr.
Would you kindly provide us with an email address we can use to get in touch?
Kind Regards,
Ulanda
Colleen
30 Aug 2011 08:08 pm
Thank you for the visit Ulanda, I will email you!
Nancy Curteman
13 Sep 2011 09:09 pm
Colleen,
Great blog site!
Thank you for your comments on Global Mysteries about Cape Town. I agree with you. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and certainly is one of the greatest tourist attractions, as well as a lovely place to live. I saw this first hand when we visited your city. However, like New Orleans, one of my favorite U.S. cities, it is named on most lists of the the 10 most dangerous cities in the world. Simply do a search for the most dangerous cities in the world and you will find it. I believe its beauty and culture trump its dangerous areas in the minds of tourists. In the Paris metro, I barely missed having my wallet stolen right out of my fanny pack. This unfortunate incident doesn’t even figure in my decision to revisit Paris. When visiting any cosmopolitan city (New York, Paris, London, Cape Town) tourists need to be alert.
I look forward to visiting Cape Town again in the near future. I could never get enough of your wonderful city and its fascinating history. I’d love for you to share your personal views of Cape Town.
Colleen
19 Dec 2011 02:12 pm
Thank you for your visit to my blog Nancy and for commenting. I know all the good and bad about my beautiful country. Just find it difficult to believe that it is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. We are in agreement though that it is one of the most beautiful and very glad to hear how much you enjoy it and look forward to visiting it again. Have a great Christmas!
Mary
15 Dec 2011 07:12 pm
Hi Colleen,
Congratulations and great to see you organized a blogging conference her in SA. I would love to attend the next one…if there is a next one…so please put me on the list. I am a Canadian living in Cape Town blogging about food and sustainability so would love to connect with food bloggers here…thank you and hope to meet up soon.
Colleen
19 Dec 2011 02:12 pm
Hi there Mary, thank you so much for your visit and comment. Yes, there will definitely be more Indaba’s. The next is being planned for June 2012. I look forward to meeting you sometime. xx
Karin Vermeulen
08 Feb 2012 11:02 am
Hi Colleen
Please could you forward the next Food Bloggers Indaba details to me at Stellenbosch Slowmarket. We definately would like to participate this year.
admin@slowmarket.co.za
Thanks
Karin Vermeulen
Colleen
08 Feb 2012 11:02 pm
I certainly will Karin, thank you so much! Look forward very much! xx
John Conrad
27 Mar 2012 03:03 pm
Hi There again Collen,
I am contacting all food bloggers and other foodies in Cape Town to tell you about an exciting competition launched for our client – Rhodes Quality.
Rhodes is looking for the top home chef, who can cook up a storm with stock from his/her pantry. If contestants make it past the first stage, they might be whisked to the Rand Show to show off their skills and could win their share of R100 000 in prizes. The South African Chef’s Association will be overseeing the cook-off, and will do all the chopping and preparing of your ingredients before you cook. REAL food magazine’s editor -Nandi Twala, will be right there by your side with her cooking tips.
If you would like to promote the abovementioned competition to your readers, here is a link to the competition page: http://www.rhodesquality.com/competitions/we-are-looking-great-cooks
Hope you will enter too!
Let me know what you think about the competition and if you will be entering.
Kind Regards
Johann F. K. Conradie
Colleen
04 Apr 2012 10:04 pm
Hi there Johan, I am sorry if you have contacted me previously I did not see any comment. Unfortunately this is not something that I can participate in but I am happy to promote it on twitter and facebook. Thank you!
Diana
01 Apr 2012 11:04 am
Hi, I am doing a review of your awesome blog for our newspaper. Please can I have the best way to contact you for some comments to add to the article.
Thanks
Colleen
01 Apr 2012 01:04 pm
Thank you for that lovely compliment Diana. I have emailed you xx
Stephan Nell
06 Apr 2012 07:04 pm
Hi Colleen
Can I please have your email address?
Colleen
06 Apr 2012 09:04 pm
I have replied via email Stephan thank you x
ohmegapb
16 Apr 2012 03:04 pm
hey colleen! your blog was recommended by one of our enthusiastic customers and would love to chat about some recipe ideas. shoot me an email when you have a minute
thanks! cindy
Colleen
16 Apr 2012 03:04 pm
Hi Cindy,
I will email you now. Thank you!
Jakes (@j8kes)
17 Apr 2012 12:04 pm
Hi Colleen, I’m putting together a food blogger list for Cape Town could you pop me your email to jakes@go4word.co.za and add your Twitter handle if you have a active account. You can find me @j8kes on Twitter if you want to get hold of me quickly.
Kelly
24 Apr 2012 01:04 pm
Hi Colleen, Please could you send me your email address. Many thanks.
farmingfolk
16 Jun 2012 09:06 pm
Hi Colleen, I’m brand new to blogging and still have ridiculous amounts to learn but I am delighted to have chanced upon your fascinating and inspirational blog – I am a South African farmer, avid kitchen gardener and am happiest preparing food for family and friends – I look forward to reading more….
Colleen
17 Jun 2012 01:06 am
Hi there and let me welcome you to my humble blog and to the whole blogasphere where the world is your oyster. Thank you so much for your beautiful comment. I so appreciate it. ;) Will be around to read your new blog asap. xx
Roger Norminton
12 Jul 2012 01:07 pm
I knew a Lewis Verlaque (ex Seychelles) both in Kenya in the sixties, and later in the UK,
Unfortunately I cannot recall the date but I know that Lewis died following a collapsed lung. He was an architect in Nairobi, also a Black belt at Judo, Private licence pilot, and Nairobi Go- Kart Champion, amongst other things. He had a pretty close likeness to Yul Brynner !,
Regards, Roger Norminton
Phumela
24 Jul 2012 03:07 pm
Hey Colleen I’m really interested in your blog and would love to discuss a few recipes and opportunities with you, could you please pop me a mail so that i can also have your email address. Thanks so much
Kevin
25 Jul 2012 10:07 am
Hi Colleen, can you please drop me a mail with your details, id like to send you some information about a food show happening in Sept. kevin@darkhorsecommunications.co.za
Colleen
14 Aug 2012 12:08 am
Thank you Kevin, have emailed you
Jildaz Beddiaf
26 Aug 2012 11:08 pm
Hello Colleen,
I have friends visiting South Africa from Vancouver for the first time this fall (your spring).
They will probably spend most of their time in the Cape Town area. Do you have any recommendations for wineries to visit, braai BBQ place(s), and on the beach restaurant to offer? My friends are adventurous so the more local the experience the better.
Thank you so much
Colleen
09 Sep 2012 03:09 pm
Hi there, I sent you an email with some suggestions for your friends. Thank you for your enquiry!
Ilse van der Merwe – The Food Fox
01 Oct 2012 12:10 pm
Your new site looks beautiful, Colleen! Congratulations! I especially love the calm colours.
Cannot wait to see what you’ll be cooking up next. My favourite still remains your Bete Noir.
Colleen
Ooooooh that Bete Noir!! Yes......that's a fabulous cake :) Thank you so much for your lovely comment Ilse, much appreciated. I have been a disappointment of late to my readers but I will remedy that now that its a new year....and a new me! Happy New Year to you ;) xx
Ev Thomas
14 Nov 2012 01:11 pm
Your new site looks amazing.
Colleen
Thank you so much Ev, apologies for not replying sooner! Happy New Year xx
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