Hearth and Larder

30/07/2026

I jumped into the kitchen this week to make a batch of homemade yogurt and muesli and it couldn't be easier! If you have ever been on the fence to try and make it at home, this is your nudge!

❤️ Marlé

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

24/07/2026

This week's video is live on YouTube!

I'm still dealing with my sick flock and honestly don't know what's going on!

❤️ Marlé

This week I've got two hens down, and it's been a lesson in how dif...

21/07/2026

This week on the homestead I'm tackling my soil for my summer garden. I'm a small-garden lady up until now, now I'm staring at a wonderful 150sqm garden. What can possibly go wrong?!?!

This week I'm testing out 4 things I'm using for free in my summer ...

03/07/2026

Too true!

Sounds like a good idea to me 🌱

24/06/2026

Ever look into the fridge at 5 PM and see a random assortment of frozen chicken, some slightly soft carrots, a bag of frozen apricots, and amasi/sour milk? I took a big gamble and just threw it ALL into one dish—along with uncooked macaroni—and let the oven do the magic.

That was me today. After our recent move, I haven't yet restocked as I normally would and the meals are getting interesting! I have to say. This one really surprised us all!

​The result? A creamy, fruity, Cape-style chicken pasta bake that tastes like it took hours. The apricots melt down into a sweet chutney-style gravy with the sour milk, and the pasta cooks right in the sauce. Zero boiling pots, zero fuss.

Ingredients:

🍗 500g–600g Chicken (thawed, cut into bite-sized cubes)
🥖 1.5 cups Dry Macaroni (approx. 150g, UNCOOKED)
🥔 2 medium Potatoes (peeled and diced small)
🥕 2 medium Carrots (diced small)
🍑 1/2 to 1 cup Frozen Apricots (roughly chopped)
🥦 1 cup Frozen Mixed Veg
🥬 2 large handfuls Fresh Spinach (roughly chopped)

The Spiced Liquid Base:

🥛 1.5 cups (375ml) Sour Milk / Amasi
💧 1 cup (250ml) Water or Chicken Stock
🥄 1 tbsp Curry Powder (mild or medium)
💛 1 tsp Turmeric
🧄 1 tsp Garlic Powder
🧅 1 tsp Onion Powder
🧂 1.5 tsp Salt
🧂 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. In a jug, whisk together the sour milk, water, and all the spices, salt, and pepper until smooth.
2. In a large, deep baking dish, combine the raw chicken pieces, uncooked macaroni, diced potatoes, carrots, and chopped frozen apricots. Toss them together briefly so they are evenly distributed.
3. Pour the spiced liquid mixture completely over the top. Give it a good stir, pressing down so the dry macaroni is mostly submerged.
4. Cover the dish tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes to create a steam chamber that cooks the raw veg and pasta perfectly.
5. Carefully remove the foil. Stir in the frozen mixed veg and chopped spinach (the heat will wilt the spinach instantly).
6. Leave the dish UNCOVERED and return it to the oven for a final 10 to 15 minutes until it's golden brown.

​Share this with a friend who needs

03/06/2026

29/05/2026

There's a particular kind of exhaustion that comes not from working hard, but from losing sight of why you started.

I've been there lately. Too many opportunities, too many open tabs, too much doing — and not enough of the life that made me want to build something in the first place.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is stop.

Come back to your people. Remember what you're actually building towards.

The work will still be there. But this moment — this ordinary, beautiful, irreplaceable moment — won't.

22/05/2026

Ever wondered why a grey, slow-cooked stew meat never tastes quite as deep and rich as meat that’s been seared first?

​It all comes down to a beautiful piece of kitchen science: The Maillard Reaction.

​Discovered by chemist Louis-Camille Maillard in 1912, this is the chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that occurs when food hits temperatures between 140°C and 165°C. It’s what creates that gorgeous crust on a loaf of bread, the deep golden edges of softened onions, and that irresistible roasting aroma filling your kitchen on a cold May afternoon.

​When we cook by principle instead of just blindly following a recipe, our winter cooking shifts completely. We learn:

1️⃣ Why we must pat meat completely dry before searing (moisture creates steam, which caps your pan at 100°C—stopping browning in its tracks).
2️⃣ Why we use high smoke-point fats and leave the food alone to build a natural crust.
3️⃣ How to capture the "fond" (those precious left-behind browned molecules) to build an unforgettable braising liquid.

​Want to bring this exact science into your kitchen today? (Bonus: We’ve included our step-by-step method for building incredible, deep vegetarian umami using root vegetables and the Maillard reaction!)

https://www.hearthandlarder.co.za/the-maillard-reaction-why-browning-is-the-secret-to-winter-flavour/
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Learn the science behind browning food and why it's the key to rich, deep winter flavour — from searing meat to building vegetarian umami. Hearth & Larder's guide to the Maillard reaction.

15/05/2026

Somewhere along the line, we were sold the lie that a beautiful home requires a trip to the decor shop or a perfect, Pinterest-worthy garden.

Right now, my autumn garden is overgrown, shaggy, and by modern standards, an absolute disaster. But when I walked out with just a pair of scissors, I didn't see weeds—I saw functional, seasonal, entirely free decor that will also feed my family for months.

In my latest video, I’m sharing how to stop buying home decor and start drying 3 incredible herbs instead:

💜 Sage: Moving from the garden into cooking blends and seasonal kits.
🍋 Lemon Verbena: The ultimate antidote to a cold autumn evening (if you’ve never had this tea, we need to fix that!).
🌱 Rosemary: The stringy, overgrown hero that has saved me hundreds of rands in the kitchen.

There is an ancient rhythm to sitting at a table and bunching these up. Women have done it for thousands of years, yet modern life talked us out of it. You don't need a massive budget; you just need to look at what is already growing around you and ask, "What can this become?"

Watch the full video now to see how to turn these three herbs into beautiful, aromatic hanging decor.

Want the step-by-step systems behind the beauty? The exact seasonal rhythms, harvesting timelines, and preservation guides are fully documented in this month's edition of The Homemaker’s Almanac.

Tap the link in my bio and stories to watch the video and grab your copy of the Almanac!

15/05/2026

https://youtu.be/TI26Xhczd1I?si=RpeYIpI47Zytry09

Somewhere along the line, we were sold the lie that a beautiful home requires a trip to the decor shop or a perfect, Pinterest-worthy garden. 🌿

Right now, my autumn garden is overgrown, shaggy, and by modern standards, an absolute disaster. But when I walked out with just a pair of scissors, I didn't see weeds—I saw functional, seasonal, entirely free decor that will also feed my family for months.

In my latest video, I’m sharing how to stop buying home decor and start drying 3 incredible herbs instead:

💜 Sage: Moving from the garden into cooking blends and seasonal kits.
🍋 Lemon Verbena: The ultimate antidote to a cold autumn evening (if you’ve never had this tea, we need to fix that!).
🌱 Rosemary: The stringy, overgrown hero that has saved me hundreds of rands in the kitchen.

There is an ancient rhythm to sitting at a table and bunching these up. Women have done it for thousands of years, yet modern life talked us out of it. You don't need a massive budget; you just need to look at what is already growing around you and ask, "What can this become?"

Watch the full video now to see how to turn these three herbs into beautiful, aromatic hanging decor.

Want the step-by-step systems behind the beauty? The exact seasonal rhythms, harvesting timelines, and preservation guides are fully documented in this month's edition of The Homemaker’s Almanac.
Tap the link in my bio to watch the video and grab your copy of the Almanac

They sold us a lie about what beauty costs.We've been told that a beautiful home requires a trip to the shops, a budget, and someone else's aesthetic. But wa...