2017 August
July is
done and dusted. This morning at 5am in bed, drinking coffee, I swear I
could smell Spring ... although I know that our coldest weather is mostly in
the month of August! So far we’ve been really lucky and didn’t have those
many cold days/nights.
August is
also “Women’s month” so enjoy the 9th August and do something
fun!
Quote: “Women and cats will do as they
please; and men and dogs should relax and get used to it.” (Is this fighting
talk? Heehee)
Do you
sometimes despair of your house’s size? Do you think: I need a
bigger house. Do you get frustrated because there’s just ‘stuff’
everywhere?
This issue
has a few ideas on how to make the most of bedroom space. A few of the
ideas require a bit more money and work, but mostly it’s just to show you ...
how to use ‘dead’ spaces in your bedroom. Really clever ideas.
Most of the
ideas I actually found on Pinterest, so if you want more ideas for your
bathroom, lounge, kitchen ... go and have a look. It’s really really
worth it!!!! And cheaper than buying a bigger house.
Have a
fabulous month of August! Do something different this month ... try a new
dish on the menu, a new recipe, a new drink, a new flavour ice cream ....
Be happy
... be yourself ... believe in yourself ... you’re worth it!
LONGER, CHATTIER, CHATTIER-ERER VERSION!
Sweet
potato oven fries – McCains
have these frozen sweet potato fries ... they are actually meant to be fried in
oil, but since I really hate frying in oil, I literally heat my oven to 200 oC
... place the frozen fries in single layer on a greased baking sheet, on the
lower oven shelf and bake them for about 20 – 30 minutes ... they are
absolutely delicious!!!!! Perfect for a quick snack.
6 August
2017 (and every 1st Sunday of the month) – Ngwenya Glass Village
Country Market – (https://www.facebook.com/ngwenyaglassvillage/) PLEASE MAKE A NOTE ... GO THERE!!!!!
Take your friends, take your kids .... Tina, one of Virgin Active Randburg’s
personal trainers, has a FANTASTIC FANTASTIC sweet stall there!!!! Whip
and Whisk.
Tina (http://whipwhisk.wixsite.com/whipandwhisk) bakes cupcakes and cakes on
order. For the market, Tina bakes Cronuts, carrot cake, brownies,
chocolate cake and the most most plumped up cloudy round doughnuts (she
actually went to London for an hands-on lesson on making these) and then she
fills them with either vanilla cream, choc cream or my favourite LEMON
CREAM! It is to die for!!!!!!!!!!
The market
has little stalls with beer, dumplings/potstickers, mexican food, greek
burgers/pitas, curries, paella, sushi, German sausages, churros with chocolate
sauce, potato sticks, honey, tea, cheeses, cold meats .. there’s live music,
tree stumps and some benches to sit on.
Cream
mustard chicken livers – remember I told you about this lovely breakfast dish on Fournos bakery
menu? I searched for a recipe and tried it myself. With crème
fraiche, onion and mushrooms with the chicken livers, some lemon juice and
grainy mustard as well as Dijon mustard, this is an easy dish and perfect with
pasta, rice, mash or on a toasted slice of bread.
Fournos
mustard crème chicken
- 2 Tbsp oil or butter
- 4 medium Tegel Chicken Breasts fillets (chicken livers)
- 125 g mushrooms, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 250 g pottle creme fraiche
- salt and pepper to season
- 1 Tbsp French or Dijion mustard
Method
- Heat half the oil or butter in a frying pan and when hot, place the Tegel Chicken Breasts Fillets skin side down first. Cover with a lid and cook over a moderate heat for 5 minutes.
- Turn over and cook a further 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Set aside on a plate and keep covered.
- Add the remaining oil or butter to the pan and when hot, stir in the mushrooms and onion and cook over a moderate heat, stirring regularly until the vegetables are softened.
- Stir in the mustard and creme fraiche and bring to a gentle simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, cover and heat through for a further 1-2 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.
Serve with vegetables.
Tips
Creme fraiche requires no reducing down and does not
curdle if boiled or mixed with wine.
Paul bakery
in Melrose Arch – (https://www.zomato.com/users/alma-pretorius-992143) – what a lovely French coffee
shop/restaurant. As you walk in the door, on your right are these glass
cases with heavenly sweet cakes, tarts and ‘monster’ macarons!
Caramel
with biltong - yes,
you’ve read correctly ... on your way to Olivedale Library, in the dip, there’s
a small shopping centre with an AMAZING Italian restaurant (Casa del Sol) and a
little fruit and veg place – FreshHouse (https://www.facebook.com/Freshouseza/) It has a bit of everything as well as a little
cafe for coffees and treats. But close to the tills they have these
imported goodies ... and I always loooove to browse and see what’s there.
Jalapeno crisps I bought, but was disappointed, no flavour.
However
when I saw these Choc Caramel with biltong slabs ... I thought ... oh
yeah! It’s more like a fudge than a chocolate. And the biltong is
definitely there .. perfect for the sweet/salty foodies! Another one that
I absolutely love is the Choc Caramel with olives!!!! Oh yeah ... it’s
really really good!!!!!!!!
Are you
a knitter? Do
you knit for a charity? As you may recall, I’ve done loads of beanies a
few years ago. Then I switched to knitting squares, but I really wasn’t
into it. Then a few months ago I knitted 4 full-size adult jerseys ...
but then my Tuesday aqua instructor Astrid told me about this pattern ...
called the Mother Teresa pattern. I had to have it. At the
chemist in Rabie Street, next to the Spar in Fontainebleau, you ask for the
pattern and then you return the finished product.
It is
simply mind-blowing! A small jersey for probably a 1 to 2 year old
... BUT THIS JERSEY IS KNITTED ALL IN ONE!!!! Yes, yes, it’s
true! Of course I didn’t follow the pattern ... they wanted me to knit
with a no 4 knitting needle and although I bought the needles, after a few rows
my hands got cramped, so I switched to mostly using a no 6 knitting
needle. So you knit the rib, the body, then you cast on stitches on both
sides for the sleeves, knit rows, cast off in the center for the neck, cast on
again for the neck, knit rows, cast off the sleeves, knit the body and rib and
cast off. Sew the sides and sleeves and you have a fabulous jersey!
Can be knitted in one day.
In the past
month, I’ve knitted 10 of these darling little jerseys. As I said, the
first one I didn’t really like ... I think the sleeves are too short.
Adapted from Mother Teresa pattern by Alma
Pretorius
Chunky or
double knit Wool
No 5 and no
6 knitting needles
(You can either just
knit with no 5 … or just with no 6 … or both)
(You can also use
different stitch for the body … sometimes I just use ‘knit’ stitch)
1. Using the no 5 needle, cast on 44
stitches.
2. Work 18 rows in single rib (1 stitch
knit, 1 stitch purl)
3. Change to no 6 needle.
4. Work 30 rows in stocking stitch (one
row knit, one row purl)
5. Finish on a purl row.
6. Cast on 20 stitches at the beginning
of the next TWO rows (for the sleeves) and continue the rest of the 2 rows in
stocking stitch.
7. Next row: Work in single rib the
next 22 rows. (I’ve used plain knitting
every row – not doing a rib)
8. Next row: Single rib 29 stitches, cast OFF 26 stitches,
single rib to end of row.
9. Next row: Single rib 29 stitches, cast ON 26 stitches
(this seems a bit tricky but it’s not.
Once you’ve knit the 21 stitches and you’re ready to cast ON, swap the
needles – so that the loose end is on the LEFT, to allow you to cast ON. Once you have cast on your 26 stitches,
switch the needles again, so the loose end is in your right hand), single rib 29
stitches to end of row.
10. Next row: Work single rib the next 22 rows. (I’ve used plain knitting every row – not
doing a rib)
11. Next row:
Cast off 20 stitches at the beginning of the next TWO rows and continue
with stocking stitch to end of these 2 rows. (sleeves are now done)
12. Work 30 rows stocking stitch.
13. Change to no 5 needle.
14. Work 18 rows single rib.
15. Cast off.
16. Sew together up the sides and along
the bottom of the sleeves.
17. Neckband:
a. You can either pick up stitches with
round needle and knit a few rows.
b. You can with normal knit needle pick
up stitches on back side of neck and work a few rows. Then pick up stitches on front side of neck
and work a few rows. And sew the sides
of neckband together.
c. You can crotchet a neckband by doing
a few rows (Alma’s personal favourite).
18. Work away all the loose wool.
oo000oo
Nataniël
- oh my
goodness, he’s so funny! http://www.nataniel.co.za/stage.html On 10 July 2017 in Atterbury Theatre,
Nataniël had his Winter Kitchen show. Together with 2 ‘helpers’, Nataniël
made a few dishes ... while dishing out funny stories and jokes ALL THE
TIME!!! His show was in Afrikaans and you have to be a bit open-minded
... Nataniël can be a bit ‘much’ ... no holy cows with him. But you laugh
the whole time!
I’ve been
looking for a tailored jean jacket and found 1 a few months ago ... but
I bought it so that I can wear a jersey underneath ... meaning that with only a
blouse, the jacket is a bit ‘loose’. So I decided to get some shoulder
pads to give some body to the shoulders ... went to Chamdors in Deco Park
Friday, was in a bit of a hurry and didn’t use my reading glasses. Paid
for the shoulder pads and only when arriving home, realised they looked a bit
funny ... put my glasses on and they were ... padding cups! Uggghhh .....
had to go back yesterday (with my reading glasses) and found another pair.
For the
past 17 odd years, my hairstyle hasn’t changed.
It was shaped with clippers (at either a barber or a hair salon) with a no 4 clipper on top and no 2 clipper on the sides and back. But while watching a few episodes of Masterchef Australia 2017, I saw this 1 girl with a short bobbed hairstyle (Eloise)... but the 1 side is totally shaved.
Now my niece Didi has done that with
her long hair and it looked great!
But when I saw this girl with shorter
hair and shaved side, it sparked something in me ... I want to change my
hairstyle. Showed my stylist more or less what I want and end of May she
cut my hair so that it can start to grow in the new style. After 2
months, you cannot believe the mob of hair I had! It was bizarre! I
washed my hair and instead of just using a few drops of shampoo, I really had
to use a bit more! I could also style it in a few different ways, which
was really weird for me.
Friday 28 July 2017 I went back to my stylist and she then
cut my sides and back short short and now I the rest just have to grow longer
.... it’s so much fun! I even had to buy a hairdryer!!!!
and this was a month later - August 2017 ... wowzer!!
Reading an
Ebook, they were drinking tea and munching oat crunchies ... so I craved
some. Couldn’t find any in the shops I liked, so I decided to make my own
... since I’ve made them before. Thought I had all the ingredients ...
decided to halve the recipe ... and when starting to add ingredients, realized
I didn’t have enough coconut. I only had ½ cup instead of 1 ½ cup.
So I just used more oats. I mixed everything, pressed it down firmly in
my greased baking tin ... double checked my recipe and realized I forgot to add
the cake flour ... scraped the mixture back into the mixing bowl, added the
flour, mixed everything well, re-greased my baking tin, pressed it down firmly
and baked it. It was absolutely deeeelicious!!!!!!!
Potstickers
– potstickers are
basically steamed Chinese dumplings that are fried in a pan so that their
bottoms are brown and crispy. After eating some at the Ngwenya country
market, I was quite hooked and decided to try making it. I cheated with
the dough by using my food processor and dough hook instead of kneading it ...
wrapping it was actually quite easy and then I first fried them and then
steamed them ... they were okay-ish, lovely crisp brown bottoms, but the dough
was a bit more doughy (the ones I ate was almost see-through). I also
think that it’s normally steamed first, then fried. Maybe I’ll buy the
wanton folders at a Chinese supermarket and try it with them ... but
nevertheless, it was worth the try.
Our 25th
wedding anniversary was on 25 July ... we wanted to celebrate by
sleeping over but not too far from Randburg. Checking hotels and
guesthouses, we finally decided to go to Magalies Park (http://www.magaliespark.co.za/Pages/default.aspx) , Hartbeespoort. It’s a
golf-orientated family resort, started as timeshare but open for
non-members. We paid for a ‘1 bedroom apartment’ which is a bit
confusing, since this unit (no 73) is actually a fully-fledged chalet! It
has a main bedroom, a bathroom with bath, sink and toilet and a separate shower
in another room. It has a lounge (where 3 kids can sleep on the couches),
a small but fully equipped kitchen and also a patio with table, chairs and a
built braai (but you can only use charcoal, not wood) since the roof is
thatch. For R1 050/night it was perfect!!!!
Tuesday
morning we decided to have breakfast on the way to Harties ... and decided on
the new Lion park. (http://www.lionandsafaripark.com/) Wow! If you are visiting the
restaurants, you don’t pay entrance. Of course you can have guided tours
to see cheetahs, pat the cubs and feed the giraffes or go for a game
drive. There are 2 restaurants ... Wetlands is open for breakfast and
other meals but mostly light meals. Bull & Buck is open from 12 and
features venison steaks, venison shank and more substantial meals.
It was such
a lovely day we sat at Wetlands on the patio, overlooking the bushveld and the
ostrich in the camp next to us. I ordered Kippers for breakfast. Oh
my goodness ... I am salivating again ... it was
perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crisp, yet moist. It was served with so-called
‘bubble & squeak’ but it was mash. Really reasonable priced.
Hein had breakfast with eggs (a bit overcooked), loooovely sausage, hash browns
(those frozen little faces for the kids) and a cold beer. Asking for
their dessert menu, I tried their passion fruit fridge cheesecake ...
wow! It actually looked like a baked cheesecake and not only was there a
lovely jelly-ish passion fruit layer on top of the cheesecake, but passion
fruit in the mixture. A big slice and really good.
Although we
arrived at Magalies Park too early to check in, we decided to play Adventure
Golf. What fun!!!! And not as easy as you may think ... I won with
a few points.
For lunch we had a toasted sandwich.
Magalies
Park has activities for kids, pools, heated pool, tennis courts, volleyball, a
small supermarket and a lovely restaurant on the premises. For dinner we
shared Escargots in creamy garlic sauce, steamed mussels in sauce and Hein had
a baby flat lemon/peri-peri chicken.
Little
monkeys are all over the trees so we daren’t sleep with open windows ... the
next morning while drinking coffee, small buck grazed outside the chalet.
After
packing up, we decided to have breakfast at Die Ou Pastorie - https://www.dieoupastorie.com/restaurant/menu/ - my goodness, what a
treat!!! As you may recall, I told you about us having lunch there in May
listening to live music ... but I didn’t realise they serve breakfast in the
week.
I decided on the Continental Tray (so glad I’m not a Banting girl)
and it was out of this world! A mini croissant, a slice of seed bread, a
mini waffle and mini-mini Melba Toast slices. A small pot of divine
chicken liver pate, a small pot of syrup and a small pot of really tart apricot
jam (homemade by them and soooo yummy!), a long cube cheddar cheese, a slice
Brie cheese and a slice white cheese. 3 different slices of cold
meat. Pure heaven! For R80!!
Hein had an
omelette with 3 fillings and it was stuffed!!!
And that’s
all for now ... I hope you visit some of these places ... let me know.
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