Me, Myself and I
Weekend
Thursday, 1 March –
Monday, 5 March 2012
For the 3rd weekend in a row, we had
weekend plans. Albeit different
ones. Hein had to go to Mozambique. I said, no way am I staying home alone.
Through Groupon specials, I saw this place
Stornoway Lodge – about 20 minutes from our house, on the other side of
Lanseria Airport. Ok, so don’t laugh
now! It may be close to home, but it’s
something different. I soooo wanted to
stay in one of their 3-level self-catering silo’s, but they were fully booked.
So I was booked into another self-catering
unit – www.stornoway.co.za
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Helped Hein pack his clothes, medical supplies,
camp chair, gazebo and beer. They would
leave around 11 am from work. It was
goodbye for a good 6 days – yikes!!!
I did some admin, packed my bags, had 2 Apricot
muffins for breakfast and 1 for lunch and after 1 o’ clock, I started with
dinner. I invited my friend, Ant, to
dinner at the lodge and was planning Mac ‘n Cheese. Or a twist thereof. Since my other friend, Tammy, is totally
wheat-allergic, she devised this magnificent turkey stuffing: pork mince, sage, cherries, walnuts &
seasonings. I couldn’t find cherries, so
I bought soft-dried cranberries and fried the mixture in my pan (kept the
chopped walnuts till last).
In another
pan (and this is now what I’ve learned from TV Masterchef Professionals), I
fried my dried, raw macaroni in butter till nicely brown. Then I slowly simmered it (in my microwave)
in beef stock with added boiling water.
It tasted very yummy!!
The cooked (al-dente) macaroni was added to the
mince mixture, some Woollies’ cheese sauce was added and (too much I think)
grated Cheddar cheese. Everything was
baked at 180oC for 15 minutes. I was
ready to start my weekend.
Pork Stuffing Mac ‘n Cheese
Onion, finely chopped
Mushrooms, finely
sliced (optional)
Pork mince (I used
pork sausage meat)
Little bit of bacon,
cubed (optional)
Small packet of
soft-dried cranberries
Seasonings (especially
Sage)
Walnuts (chopped –
keep till last)
Macaroni
Butter
Cheese sauce
Grated cheddar cheese
Woolworths’ 3 Cheese
Cheese straws, crumbled
Fry the onion,
mushrooms, pork mince, bacon & cranberries with the seasonings till
done. Add the walnuts. Fry the dried, raw macaroni in butter till
brown. Simmer in beef/veal/veg/chicken
stock (add more boiling water to cover the macaroni) till al dente. Strain the macaroni, add to the pork
mixture. Add the cheese sauce &
cheese, stir well, spoon into a dish and bake at 180 oC for 15 minutes. Top
with cheese straw crumbles and serve.
Checking in at 2 o’ clock, Paula from the lodge
was very sweet and said she gave me the end unit for peace and quiet. After unpacking everything, including 7 x 250
ml flavored Frozen Yogurts, I relaxed with my IPad. Later, I walked to a grass patch to keep an
eye on the visitor’s gate and also to photograph the resident buck. But they were way too skittish and galloped
off at a tremendous speed. Although the
lodge is right next to the Malibongwe/Pelindaba
Road, it was still peaceful with guinea-fowl cries
and crickets hopping around.
With the sun setting, I took some amazing cloud
and sunset pics. Ant arrived and we relaxed on the small patio
with cold drinks and gossip.
Hunger pangs called - I heated the Mac ‘n
Cheese and sprinkled it with the crumbled cheese straws.
It was a
bit rich but sooooo yummy!!!!!!!! Luckily we had loads of news to
catch up on, so we enjoyed the quiet of the evening while chatting miles to a
minute.
Frozen Yogurt Test Time – 2 years ago, another
friend Renee, gave me this Donvier Ice Cream Maker (hand crank model). I made lemon sorbet and stored the Donvier. For some reason the ‘bug’ bit me, I found a 3
ingredient recipe for ice cream and made it with 1 litre Lite Cream, 1 cup
castor sugar, 1 vanilla bean (it was dried, so I finely grated it) and some
vanilla extract. It was very nice, but a
bit too rich for me. So I decided I’ll
use Woolworths’ double cream Greek Yoghurt (and don’t bother, Spar/Pick ‘n Pay
brand is not as good).
During our previous weekend to Parys, I took
the Donvier with. It has a cylinder that
you freeze for 7 hours, pour in the chilled mixture, add a paddle, lid and
handle and in 20 minutes you have soft serve.
For the Saturday morning I made Choc Brownie Frozen Yogurt – added
cocoa powder, choc syrup and small chunks of brownies with castor sugar &
vanilla to the Greek Yogurt. Double
Yum!! Washed it quickly, froze the
cylinder again and that evening I made Vanilla Flavor. Everyone enjoyed it and said it tasted like
cheesecake. My mind started to click …..
light bulbs went off …. And so I decided on 7 flavors for Ant and myself to
try.
Banana, Peanut & Caramel (It was ok-ish,
not pronounced banana flavour). I used Purity Banana, chopped peanuts &
Caramel Condensed Sauce (but don’t
bother, it’s not nearly as caramelly as the Caramel Condensed Milk.)
Next was Pumpkin Pie. (U could really taste the pumpkin, but I
should have used more sugar.) Purity
Butternut with ‘all spice’ & cinnamon.
Hertzoggie flavour (Was nice) I used pureed
canned apricots, apricot jam, toasted desiccated coconut & crumbled
cookies. Apple Pie (Now this was magic!!!) Pureed canned
pie apples, ginger liqueur soaked raisins and cinnamon. It was really really good!
Fig & Ginger (Too sweet.) I used preserved
green figs and preserved ginger slices, but I also added some of the fig syrup
for more taste and it didn’t freeze properly.
And it was just too sweet.
Lemon Meringue (Quite nice!) Used crumbled
meringues, lemon jelly powder, mixed citrus peel and lemon cream cookies,
crumbled. Very nice.
Mojito – (Definitely a hit, just not on your
empty stomach.) Lime jelly powder, lime
zest, Red Heart Rum (yes, I should have used a white rum) and freshly chopped
mint leaves – man, this was seriously good!!!
Filled to the brim, we relaxed with a nice
strong cup of coffee and more gossip.
Ant left at 11h30, with a container of Mac ‘n Cheese and the Apple Pie
& Mojito Frozen Yogurt. With no
burglar bars, I was a bit scared to leave any windows open – but the room got
so stuffy, I ended up opening the 2 high windows over my king-sized bed.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Hein woke me with a phone call at 6 am. The previous night they drove to a lodge
close to the Moz border, so this morning they were entering Mozambique. And Hein’s phone didn’t work – so no direct
contact with him.
A cup of coffee on the patio, checked my email
and decided where to breakfast. And
jumped up – showered, dressed, packed the camera with zoom lens and I was
off. To Wiesenhof Restaurant, Lanseria Airport (http://www.wiesenhoffranchise.co.za).
Hein and I sometimes drive here for weekend
brunch – its lovely to watch the small planes and the food is good. As I was seated, the waitress looked very
familiar to me. She then recognized me –
told me she used to serve us Tai Chi girls at the JB River coffee shop, next to
the gym. Gosh, small world.
What did I order??? The sheep’s liver in caul (also called
Skilpadjies) with tomato relish, mushrooms, eggs & sausage. The ‘skilpadjies’ was fantastic! Fried crisp on the outside, soft inside and
the relish …. A small plane was ready to
fly, but it made such a loud noise and wind, the black pepper nearly flew off
the eggs. Calm descended and I enjoyed
my food and tea.
I forgot to pack my toothbrush – well, actually
I showered just before I left and out of habit, replaced my toothbrush in its
holder, not my overnight bag. So I
quickly zipped home, fetched my brush and ready for the day, I drove to Montecasino Bird Gardens
(http://www.montecasino.co.za/entertainment/family/bird%20gardens/pages/default.aspx).
Have never been there before and it’s quite
worth it. Lovely flamingoes, some other
animals, exotic birds and a bird show every day at 11 am.
It was very entertaining! A crow was taught
to throw cans into the bin. The only drawback is because of the animal cages, I
couldn’t take lovely pics of the animals inside.
After the show, I went to see the movie ‘This
means War’ – a chick flick, but good.
Some popcorn, still water and Cappuccino Freezo as my partners. Driving back to the lodge, I stopped at The
Home of the Chicken Pie for a magazine, jam, buns and Koeksisters (to be frozen
– that’s the best way to eat it - from frozen).
Chilled with a book on my IPad, had some of the Mac ‘n Cheese for dinner
and was in bed at 10.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Just after 6, I woke, made coffee and sat on
the patio. Hein phoned me quickly from a
friend’s phone, said it was raining hard – the Cyclone Irine’s doing. Some of the Kruger
Park’s camps had to be evacuated and Durban was hit with rains.
I decided to drive to Hartbeespoort Dam. Armed with my GPS, I drove to the Snake Farm, but they were still closed. So I drove on to the Zoo in the centre of Hartebeespoort (http://www.hartbeespoortsnakeanimalpark.co.za). It really is worth it. It was quiet at 8h30, most of the pathways through the cages are in the shade and although some of the cages are really, really smelly – there are a huge variety of animals. Circling the zoo, I saw tigers, lions and hyenas. Strangely, the zoo was very quiet.
After a few loops around the zoo, I was very
hungry. At the Tea Garden, I ordered a
Bacon, Cheese & Egg Burger and Five Roses Tea.
While waiting, I noticed the grass-green
water next to the tea garden – yikes, sure don’t want to fall in that slime. My burger arrived with exactly 5 chips. It was very good – I closed the hamburger and
ate it bit by bit. My phone rang and
Hein told me he’s got cellphone coverage – I was happy to hear his voice,
although only for a few seconds.
Even when I drove around the dam, I was
surprised to see few cars and fewer people.
One of my weekend plans was to visit the
Ngwenya Glass Village (http://www.shadesofngwenya.co.za)
– hoping I would see a glass blower in
action. And my luck was in – this guy started with a knob of hot, glowing glass
– formed a bubble, blew in the pipe to enlarge the bubble, formed it into an
apple – then added a stem and a leaf.
Absolutely magic.
At a Woolworths store (one of many close to our
home), I bought some Watermelon cubes (just loooooove watermelon), a Spinach
& Feta pizza, some sweets and iced coffee.
Back at the chalet, I quickly warmed up the oven and grilled my pizza. I could have gone to see the 3 o’ clock bird
show at the lodge, but I was pretty sure it was in the sun – so I sat with my
legs in the swimming pool and enjoyed my pizza.
The rest of the afternoon and evening, I read –
nibbled on the rest of my pizza and had some yummy coffee. Hein said they were braaiing in the rain.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Just after 6, Hein sms’d me – I made strong
coffee and sat on the patio, munching on lovely bran rusks. It was going to be another sunny day.
Today I’ve planned to watch the Lipizzaner Show
(http://www.lipizzaners.co.za) in
Kyalami. Leaving myself enough time, I
left at 8h45. At Broadacres, I went into
the Clicks and Spar – looking for some socks (forgot mine), but they didn’t
have any. This was just so funny, cause
I normally see them stocking some – when I don’t need any. I did however see Hawaiian Tropic Sunscreen
at the Spar – coconut flavor!!!! I
wondered if I would find any … that coconut smell is just so typical of a
beach.
Arriving at the Lipizzaners, I bought my ticket
(R110 per person) – it’s a little bit steep, but they need funds for the
horses. I was early, so I grabbed a tea
(no filter coffee, so tea’s the next best thing) and sat outside under a tree. While glancing around, I saw Amore Vittone
and Joost – they were having their girl’s birthday party.
The arena was big, but very hot inside. The horses are magnificent! I took so many pics and it was a real treat
to see them perform. Afterwards I took a
quick snap of kids feeding carrots to the horses and drove off.
I’ve seen there’s another zoo in Midrand – Lory Park. But somehow my GPS got confused – I ended up
at the Gautrain station. Frustrated and
by now very hungry, I then looked for a Farmers’ Market at Gecko Jewelers. I was really hoping for a jaffle or something
divine – but alas, it was a small market with odd stuff and nothing I fancied.
With my tummy grumbling, I decided to have
lunch at Broadacres Mugg & Bean.
Although the wind was blowing lightly, I sat outside under the trees. Feeling like flapjacks, I tried my luck and
ordered the kids’ version – 1 big flapjack with ice cream & syrup. A fraction of the price and more than enough
for me.
I also ordered some Nachos with jalapenos, tomato relish, sour cream & guacamole. It was ok, but nothing beats Spur’s Nachos!!!!!!
At the Spar, I bought the Sunday newspaper,
Rapport. Back at the chalet, I spread
the paper on the bed and indulged in Sunday afternoon fun – paper, sweetie pie,
iced coffee and silence. I took a nap.
When I woke after 5pm, it was very humid
outside. I had a few laps in the pool
and sat outside for quite a while – listened to the birds, the wind and
relishing being me – loving me.
Dinner was Prawn Curry with Coconut rice while
watching Hugh Grant & Julia Roberts on a grainy MNet screen.
The 8 o’ clock movie was RED – very
good. Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren – I
read for a while, brushed my teeth and closed my eyes.
Monday, 5 March 2012
At 5 o’ clock my alarm went off. I wanted to
leave very early, so that I’m not trapped in the morning peak traffic going
home. Not even bothering to shower or
have coffee, I packed up everything, dropped the keys at the gate and was back
home at 6 am.
Washing the bedding, I decided not to clean the
house – just unpacked everything, cleaned some dishes and had a mighty good
coffee from our machine.
My weekend was over – it was fun. It’s so important to make ‘me-time’– and
people tend to forget that.
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