There can be only Juan

Iceland is green and Greenland is icy

2013-04-03T10:40:00.000+02:00

"We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow."

- Immigrant Song, Led Zeppelin.

Iceland is a mind freak.

I would highly recommend it.

Reykjavik is unlike any European city I have visited.

Plain grey or white buildings interspersed with strange and colourful corrugated tin-walled buildings. Viking church architecture interspersed with some of the most unusual artistic grafitti I have seen.

And man, when you rent a 4 x 4, leaving the city behind to travel to some of the most untamed and unreal nature I have ever witnessed, your mind boggles!

Helping the state of "boggling" along is the weirdness of the sun "setting" at 23:00, remaining a strange twilight hue till about 1 AM, when it gets dark. Then the sun starts rising again at 4 AM. You see kids leaving their homes after dinner to go out on their push scooters with friends at 22:30. Weird.

So, if you ever find yourself in Iceland, here are my suggestions:

Places to visit:

These recommendations are centred around Reykjavik. Most can be visited by on any of a number of so-called "Golden Circle" tours. But not being one for keeping to other people's schedules, I would suggest doing what we did, which is hiring a car and driving about at your own pace. With so much daylight in Summer, you never really have to worry about timelines. Going off the beaten path and taking little side roads leads to such fun finds!

Thingvellir National Park. A massive crack. Some old buildings. Beautiful space. Historical prominence as the beginnings of Iceland's parliment.

Geysir. The origin of the name belongs to this massive water spout. Hot. Stinky. Amazing. Prepared to be dazzled by a large spout of water.

Gulfoss Falls. Awe inspiring to the max. So much water! So much wind! So much cold! Stop at the wooden restaurant alongside for some warm-you-up beverages. Despite it being Summer when we visited, the daytime temperature never went above tend degrees Celsius, and the wind chill factor dropped that temperature well below zero. Don't expect the sun to warm you up, so pack carefully when visiting if you are from warmer climes.

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa. The coolant water coming from the nearby geothermal energy plant makes for a pleasant way to spend some time if you can get your mind to say yes. I will say, though, that this doesn't even come close to the awesomeness of the hot springs in Rotorua in New Zealand. BUT there is something uniquely Icelandic about this experience, so why not.

Things to see:

Icelandic horses. An isolated breed famed for their genetic purity. Once a horse leaves Iceland, it can never come back. In this way, diseases stay out and the bloodline remains pure. These friendly dog-like horses will pull up to any random road-sode fence and say hello to you. They are also famed for having a fifth gait which allows the rider to trot exceptionally fast while remaining exceptionally stable so as to continue drinking one's mead.

Rock piles. They're everywhere. I don't know why. I guess when you have a country that has large parts which look like the moon, you stack rocks.

Architecture. A church shaped like a viking helmet. 'Nuff said.

The coastline. Pretty, pretty.

The Sagas. The historical documents telling of Viking history. They came. They saw. They conquered.

A show. Get thee hence to the massive glass building sitting on the water. We saw: "How to become Icelandic in 60 minutes". It was funny, if not a little disturbing (tips such as: walk like a zombie, give vague directions, eat sheep's testicles and have sex with as many strangers as possible in a club because what else is there to do in the dead dark cold of Winter don't go over so well with me).

Things to try:

Coffee! The Icelanders have a serious coffee culture. If you don't have a love of java already, this is the place to cultivate one.

Tap water. I am serious. The cold water tap pumps pure, icy spring water. The hot water tap pumps geothermal water that smells like sulphur. This is good for your skin, but pretty much guarantees that your entire bathroom and kitchen smells like a rotten egg ALL THE TIME!

Sushi. Just don't expect it to be cheap (ironically). The Icelanders are into cured and dried and fermented foods. This is not a pleasant exprience for one's tastebuds (or nostrils) unless you are REALLY into that sort of thing. Salmon is also very, very expensive. Although it is plentiful, the permits required to fish for it are very, very expensive too, so you don't find it on menus easily.

Pakistani cuisine. People laugh when Sim and I say that we ate Pakistani food in Iceland, but that is because they are not looking at travel through the eyes of a person with severe and numerous food allergies. Iceland is NOT a gluten-free friendly city. Bread is a big feature on all menus. Salads are practically unheard of (and buying imported cucumbers and tomatoes, as most common vegetables can't grow in Iceland, makes for a verrrrrry expensive supermarket outing). So unless you are content to spend your holiday eating fresh fruit, plain rice cakes with cheese and really bad dark chocolate, find your way to Shalimar for excellent and allergy-safe food. The chefs make everything fresh, so leaving out any ingredient is something easily done.

Other cool things:

Icelandic is close to impossible to parse, so thank your lucky stars for the excellent English spoken as a second language by all Icelanders. I have never been in a country where English is spoken so fluently as a second language, not even the Netherlands (which is famed for their education system).

Heated side walks. Hot water, being the plentiful thing it is due to geothermal heating, is pumped through pipes in the sidewalk to prevent ice.

The wind. It blows away fishy and sulphury smells.

The lunar landscape. About as close as you'll get to walking on the moon I suspect. In fact, Askja was used to prepare Apollo program astronauts for studying geology prior to their lunar missions.

Graffiti. Interesting and abundant.

The knitting culture! Expect to have some knitting needles and wool handed to you at certain coffee chops instead of newspapers to keep you entertained. Expect to see many lamp poles and trees with knitted accoutrements.

Art & All Things Wes Anderson

2013-03-24T10:52:00.000+02:00

Being fans of all things Wes Anderson, we recently went to an art exhibit at the Pretoria Arts Association by a local artist, Wayne Vivier. The exhibit was called: "Out of the life aquatic with Steve Zissou".

The artist painted a beautiful version of the Belafonte, which can be seen at Wayne Vivier's site.

An article on Tilda Swinton (of "Moonrise Kingdom") putting herself on display as living art at the New York Museum of Modern Art piqued my interest.

Full article and more pics at Daily Mail.

Here follows my favourite song from "Moonrise Kingdom": Benjamin Britten's "Cuckoo!". It is hauntingly beautiful. It was recently used to excellent effect in an episode of "Bunheads", choreographed as a gorgeous solo for Jeanine Mason.

New Year

2013-01-08T15:53:00.001+02:00

"Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails,

across the sea of years with no provision but an open face,

along the straits of fear..."

- Kashmir, Led Zeppelin.

The calendar tells me it's 2013 but my brain has not caught up with that fact just yet. I keep referring to 2013 as being "next year". As Kenan Thompson would sing on SNL in his Deandre Cole skits:

"Ooooh Weee.....Waddup with that?"

2012 was an unusually unusual and interesting year in many respects.

I was back at my old alma mater as an undergrad (again) learning both French and German simultaneously, being taught instead of being the teacher, handing in assignments and writing exams.

Travelling to Iceland/Paris/Belgium/Netherlands.

Adopting two fantastic dogs from shelters and training/rehabilitating them.

Discovering delightful Haenertsburg in Limpopo.

Shopping for universities for my post-graduate studies in linguistics.

Applying for jobs, going for interviews and accepting a teaching post.

Discovering more food intolerances to add to my list of allergies.

And the like.

Both interesting and unusual indeed.

2013 has all the signs of being an equally interesting and unusual year.

A shiny new job.

A shiny new university.

A shiny new post-grad course load.

Ooooh Weee!

Things I am particularly looking forward to this year are:

getting back into teaching English, especially now that I have a deeper grasp of more complex grammatical concepts;
understanding the dynamics of second language acquisition (and having classrooms full of research subjects);
~~playing the piano as part of my day job (although I can't say I am looking forward to having to practise scales again)~~;
travelling with my bu;
having a car with tinted windows and air con (!); and
exploring new places.

Things that freak the heck out of me this year are:

getting back into teaching (noise, marking, germs, politics, early mornings, etc.);
actually doing post-grad research;
~~playing the piano as part of my day job (two words: stage fright!)~~; and
exploring new places that are in, like, weird places.

Funny thing that. The duality of things.

Of course, at the beginning of any fresh new year, one always has wishes for the year. So I would like to throw mine out there into the universe...from my lips to God's ears, so to speak.

Apart from the unspoken prayers that are always there (health, safety, prosperity), this year I wish for the continuance of 3 L's....

Love. Laughter. Ladybugs*.

* Seen the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun"? Ladybugs are a metaphor for good things :)

Happy 2013!

Just in case you needed reminding...

2012-12-13T09:58:00.002+02:00

Trays...

...should NOT be eaten!

Enjoy your weekend!

It's a love - hate kinda thing...

2012-12-07T16:04:00.004+02:00

Green smoothie. You are my friend.

Those are the words I mumble to myself when I stare into the green depths of my glass when I am about to down a green smoothie concoction and I have NO IDEA what it will taste like (this time).

For such is the nature of the beast: the taste is different EVERY TIME.

Since I usually eat a rather large amount of salad, vegetables, fruit and nuts on a daily basis, I tend to only drink green smoothies when I am feeling "rough around the edges" from too much indulgence in things like cream (oh home made ice-cream, you delicious fiend...) or dark chocolate (an ongoing frenemy indeed).

When Simeon sees a glass of green heading towards him, he tends to silently sigh, take a sip and say something like:

"Hmmm...earthy."

And this from a man who can eat an ENTIRE family size green salad with NO dressing OR carbs OR little tasty bits of things that MOST humans require to make a GIANT green salad palatable (he uses salt....yes, JUST salt).

But moving on (since that doesn't really HELP my point), THIS PARTICULAR GREEN SMOOTHIE turned out REALLY well. Like I could drink this on a daily basis if I WANTED (or, like, HAD) to.

Why a green smoothie recipe in this season of blessed indulgence and yummy things like Christmas mince pies?

Because (if I am anything to go by) it is often the season of OVER indulgence and EXCESSIVE EATage of yummy things, hey.

Green smoothie. YOU - ARE - MY - FRIEND!

Ingredients:

1 green apple
2 handfuls of kale or baby spinach
1 third of a large cucumber (with the peel on)
1 ripe banana (tweak the sweetness with more bananas if you wish)
1 teaspoon of protein powder (I use raw rice protein powder)
1 good pinch of cinnamon powder

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a blender.
Fill to about half way of the height of the ingredients with cold filtered water.
Zhoesh well till smooth and creamy.
This makes about 6 cups of smoothie.

I went to a craft store and...

2012-12-06T10:42:00.000+02:00

Craft stores that sell rubber stamps are to me what catnip is to a kitteh!

Plus, they are way cheaper than buying wooden stamps!

Picked me up a lighthouse and some mistletoe for my stamp collection.

The cheap and cheerful boxes are for storing pretty bitties like postage stamps and stampy stamps.

Gold stars are fun and Christmasy for decorating brown paper wrapped gifts...

...As is white satin ribbon (R20 for 20 metres from Osmans fabrics).

The pretty pre-made Christmas postage tags are from Spar.

Need insipration for decoration and creation?

*Heart* this UK Mag!

Sim made me a cuppa, and I indulged in one of my favourite old-fashioned(ish) activities...writing snail mail.

This time of year, it can only be one thing - Christmas cards for geographically scattered family members!

I highly recommend finding someone's latitude and longitude, and brightening their post box!

Even if it's a veritable stranger in the form of a long-lost friend or an out-of-touch family member, I like to think that the holidays give you a reprieve which allows you to say:

'Thinking of you. Happy 2013!'

Epic Pigeon Holes

2012-12-05T12:42:00.000+02:00

Don't you just love a good bargain?

There was a silent auction recently at Simeon's workplace where we managed to nab an AWESOME piece of (2nd-/3rd-/4th-/?-hand) solid wood furniture for a REALLY EXCELLENT price which has been PURRRFECT for organising my craft room (or our so-called "pottering room") into its neat 50-pigeon-holed glory!

Here are the BEFORE and AFTER shots:

I just *HEART* functional spaces so much (and being able to find little fiddly things quickly too!)

As the AFRIKAANS saying goes:
'n Plek vir alles en alles op sy plek!
(A place for everything and everything on its place!)

My French Fairy Tale

2012-10-24T12:28:00.001+02:00

As part of my final semester marks for my university beginner's French course, I created this little stop motion animation.

What fun it turned out to be doing something I have never done before and using language skills I didn't have in January!

La Princesse de l'Épée [The Princess of the Sword]
P.S. You'll need sound...

"Oh no you di'n't!"

2012-09-05T13:02:00.000+02:00

Is criticism ever a good thing?

I have never been a fan of the term "constructive criticism". Criticism is criticism, and when you're on the receiving end of it, it usually hurts. Like being hen-pecked by a thousand tiny chickens or being pruned in your moer-in like a bonsai tree with no root space.

However, I do appreciate what Olabode Anise says about the topic on the website Tiny Buddha today. There are quite a few poignant statements he makes about the subject in his article: Constructive criticism is a sign of your potential.

One of my favourites:

It is so easy to internalize everything someone tells you, and that is perhaps the biggest mistake that could be made. At that point, what someone has said is holding more weight than what you believe about yourself. No one’s words should ever be so powerful that you begin to doubt who you believe you are as a person.

And just for fun, here's a link to Urban Dictionary's take on the phrase:

"Oh No You Didn't!"

:-)

Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" A Capella

2012-09-04T15:54:00.003+02:00

I think it's Fabtastic!

Father's Day: Gifts for a Coffee Lover

2012-06-18T12:05:00.001+02:00

Simeon and I have been travelling around Iceland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands over the past month; arriving back in South Africa just in time for my first semester university exams. We're slowly getting back into the routine of home again.

I thought I'd share the gift we put together for my Dad - a real liker of quality coffee and milk chocolate!

1 - Take an empty tissue box...

2 - Sim used a carpet knife to cut the top off...

3 - Insert a brown paper bag...

4 - Fold the edges of the paper bag down until it covers the box...

5 - Pick out some lovely flavoured chocolates...

6 - And some great quality coffee...

7 - Tie string around the gift box, attach a card & insert tissue paper into the box...

8 - Put the jars of coffee in first & arrange the chocolate around them...

9 - Happy Father's Day!

Potjiekos

2012-04-29T09:48:00.000+02:00

In Afrikaans (which stems from Dutch), a potjie is a little pot. These pots are, for the most part, really not so little and actually weigh a whole lot since they're made from cast iron.

According to Wikipedia, they were brought to South Africa from the Netherlands in the 17th century. These so called potjie pots (which is a little odd, as it means: little pots pots) usually have three legs for packing coal/wood underneath for cooking, a heavy lid that keeps the contents in even while they're boiling furiously, and a sturdy handle for lifting a heavy, fire-hot vessel.

Almost every culture that has some cold weather during their year-long cycle has some version of stew, and potjiekos (direct translation: little pot food) is basically a very traditional version of just that...stew.

And we all know stew has a hundred-and-one incarnations! Meat, veg and a starch of some sort can be remarkably versatile.

My version is an entirely vegan recipe, made on the day we christened our potjie pot (size: #4, which feeds around 8 - 10 people).

Ingredients:

1 kg carrots
1.4 kg baby potatoes
700 g - 1 kg pumpkin chunks
1 punnet each of zucchini + patty pans + baby butternut + baby gem squash
fresh curry leaves
fresh rosemary
fresh basil
fresh thyme
salt
pepper
water
agar-agar

Method:

Once the new pot has been 'seasoned' for use by heating over the fire and wiping out with cooking oil numerous times, you're ready to begin your cooking exploits.
Lay the fresh herbs along the base of the pot. Make sure they cover the entire base of the pot. This will do two things: 1 - prevent the vegetables from burning during cooking, and 2 - flavour the entire potjiekos evenly.
Cut carrots into chunks and baby potatoes in half. Add them to salted, boiling water in the potjie and cook with the lid on for at least 40 minutes.
Test the carrots and potatoes to see that they're almost cooked. Now add all of the softer vegetables: layer pumpkin chunks first, then baby gem halves, then patty pan halves and zucchini chunks. Top with enough boiling water to cover, season with more salt and put the lid back on the pot. It goes back onto the fire for another 30 - 40 minutes.
Test that the veg are done. Take the pot off the fire and stir through 1 tablespoon of agar-agar. This will act as the thickening agent (when the stew cools, it will turn slightly gelatinous, but this abates when the leftovers are reheated).
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with basmati rice.
You will find that a stew cooked over a fire is infused with a delicious smoky flavour. And you might get a kick out of the authenticity too: (wo)man versus fire! :)

French for Fun and Practise

2012-03-15T14:34:00.002+02:00

J'ai une soeur. Elle s'appelle Esmeralda. Elle a 26 ans. Elle est avocate. Elle parle anglais et francais. Elle est mariée. Son mari s'appelle Jimmy. Il a 27 ans. Il est un professeur. Il parle anglais et allemand. Ils ont deux enfants. Le fils a trois ans. La fille a cinq ans. Ils ont un chien. Il s'appelle Fred. Le chien a sept ans. Il a faim, bien sur. Tres faim. Quelquefois il mange escargots dans le jardin. Pardon, escargots!

I have a sister. Her name is Esmeralda. She is 26 years old. She is a lawyer. She speaks English and French. She is married. Her husband's name is Jimmy. He is 27 years old. He is a teacher. He speaks English and German. They have two children. The son is three years old. The daughter is five years old. They have a dog. His name is Fred. The dog is seven years old. He's hungry, of course. Very hungry. Sometimes he eats snails in the garden. Sorry, snails!

Inspiration...

2012-03-13T16:23:00.003+02:00

*...I need me some of that!*

With a Chaucer assignment due soon,

and a whole bunch of new German/French to learn,

all I *really* feel like doing is

looking at pretty pictures.

Here are a few of my favourites.
(Hover over captions for links).

And P.S. -

Middle English is actually a foreign language -

don't let anyone convince you otherwise!

Rob Ryan Umbrella from In Good Company

Wooden Letter Rack from Papa Stour

Little Black Sheep Clutch Purse from Misala

All The Buzz Wallet from Mod Cloth

Birds Nest Bell Jar from In Good Company

DIY Chocolate & Coconut Milk Ice-Cream from Vittles and Bits


Tea Cup and Saucer ("January") from Portmeirion's Botanic Garden Collection

Cavallini Paris Rubber Stamps from In Good Company

Breakfast

2012-03-03T12:31:00.004+02:00

Rooibos Tea and (Gluten-Free) Toast

with Peanut Butter

Rooibos tea - a South African favourite!

One of the pleasures of childhood was waking up on a Summery Saturday with the entire day stretched before you like a treasure chest waiting to be discovered. No school. Zero responsibilities. Ample sunshine.

But first, breakfast.

And in South Africa, at my parents' house, that usually meant hot white toast with Black Cat peanut butter.

Oh, the simple joy to be found in biting into a slice of crunchy hot toasted bread smeared with (melting) peanut butter that was so gooey it glued your gums together! Paired with a frosty glass of cold milk to make swallowing easier (or possible), it was decadence.

A decadence I have, however, been sorely missing for some years (because, let's face it...sometimes rice cakes just don't cut it!)

So I set about baking some fresh gluten-free bread on Friday afternoon in order to ensure that there would be toast on (this leisurely) Saturday morning.

My Homebaked Gluten-Free Bread Recipe

My bread flour mix:

1 kilogram of Entice Rice rice flour
550 grams of Nature's Choice potato starch

Mix flours together well and store in an air tight container.

Ingredients for bread:

1 kilogram of my bread flour mix
10 grams (1 sachet) of instant yeast granules
20 millilitres (4 teaspoons) of white sugar
100 millilitres (20 teaspoons) of olive oil (or another vegetable oil)
500 - 1000 millilitres (0.5 - 1 litre) of tepid/lukewarm water
1 teaspoon of sea salt chrystals

Method:

Put 250 millilitres (1 cup) of tepid/lukewarm (approximately 37 degrees Celsius, which is body temperature) in a bowl and stir in 20 millilitres (4 teaspoons) of sugar. Allow the sugar to dissolve slightly, then sprinkle the 10 gram sachet of instant dried yeast granules over the water/sugar mixture and stir through briefly. Allow this to sit on the counter for about ten minutes. The yeast will start frothing happily.
While the yeast is having a party in a bowl, get out a much bigger bowl. Measure out your 1 kilogram of my bread flour mix and add it to this big bowl.
Keep approximately 750 millilitres of tepid/lukewarm water at the ready. Take 250 millilitres (1 cup of that) and stir in 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) of salt chrystals. Stir until the salt chrystals have dissolved.
Make a well in the centre of your flour. Add the 250 millilitres (1 cup) of salty water, the 100 millilitres of olive oil (or another vegetable oil) and the happy frothing yeasty liquid into the flour and stir through.
Next, continue adding tepid/lukewarm water to the mixture and stirring it through until the dough resembles something between a scone dough and a cake batter. There is definitely no kneading involved in gluten-free bread making as there is no gluten to make the dough stretchy!
Allow the dough to sit on your counter for about 30 minutes while it rises. In the meantime, grease three loaf tins. I would suggest you use those silicone non-stick loaf tins, as the softer dough and use of rice flour can make the end product a little difficult to get out of regular tin loaf pans.
Once the 30 minutes has passed, divide the dough into the three loaf pans and allow it to rise for another 20 to 30 minutes. While this is happening, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (356 Fahrenheit) and shift the oven rack to the middle of the oven.
Drizzle some vegetable oil over the top of each loaf, and use your (clean) fingers to spread it (gently and evenly) on the surface of each loaf.
Bake the bread (there's nothing quite like the smell of freshly baking yeasty bread), one to two loaves at a time (I would definitely not recommend baking three at a time unless you have a fancy convection oven that distributes the hot air evenly throughout the oven) for 30 - 40 minutes. From 30 minutes, insert a cake skewer or kebab stick into the loaf every 5 minutes till it comes out clean.
Leave the loaves in their silicone loaf mould/loaf tin for 10 minutes after baking before turning out.
Slice with a sharp bread knife.
Best eaten fresh if sandwiches are what you're after. If not, then keep it wrapped in wax paper/tin foil once cool and keep it in the fridge. It goes quite hard but makes for excellent toast over the next couple of days.
Although I have never tried, I suspect it could be frozen and thawed (for toasting) as well.
Serve with the topping of your choice and, above all, enjoy the pleasures of eating homebaked bread!

Woolworths sells a great organic, sugar-free peanut butter.

The only ingredients are tasty, organic roasted peanuts!


This magnificent tea cosy was purchased for me by my darling husband from "Out of Alex" for R165. Not only is it handcrafted, but it works like a dream, keeping one's tea nice and hot for over an hour. Plus it's really easy to wash and supports an excellent cause. For a list of stockists, see their website. Simeon bought it for me from the Bryanston Organic Market (where the company has a stall) which makes for a wonderful Saturday morning outing.

Blueberry Flapjacks

2012-02-14T01:00:00.003+02:00

A heart healthy sweet treat to celebrate love week.

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (15ml x 12) chickpea flour
10 tablespoons (15ml x 10) potato starch
1 tablespoon (15ml x 1) vegan rice protein powder
1 teaspoon (5ml x 1) ground cinnamon
1.5 - 2 cups (375 - 500ml) filtered water
2 handfuls of blueberries
1 teaspoon (5ml) oil
your favourite jam
double thick cream (optional)

Method:

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Whisk in 375ml of water till batter is lump free. Add more water a little at a time if a thinner batter is required.
Stir through the blueberries.
Use a non-stick crepe pan, lightly oiled, to make the flapjacks. Flip when bubbling.
Spread with yummy sweet jam and add some double thick cream for decadence.
Bon appetit!

And to my bu: you make every day of the year love day! :)

Fragrant Jasmine Rice with Pumpkin, Peas and Arugula

2012-02-06T10:04:00.003+02:00

A quick (from start to finish in 20 minutes if you use pre-sliced/frozen vegetables) and tasty meal with a nice mix of flavours that compliment rather than clash. You would not believe it doesn't have butter in it, as the pumpkin lends such a rich and buttery flavour to the dish (so it's healthy too).

2 cups of jasmine rice
500 grams of diced pumpkin
250 grams of frozen green peas
40 grams of fresh rocket/arugula
2 teaspoons of salt
3 teaspoons of olive oil
1 large green chilli (optional)

Cook the rice in salted water according to the instructions on the packet, which is usually approximately 20 minutes. Boil the pumpkin in the same water. If the pumpkin chunks are small enough, they'll be cooked within this time.
About 7 minutes before the cooking time for the rice is up, add the green peas.
At the end of the cooking time, drain any remaining liquid. Stir through the rocket/arugula and the olive oil. As you do this, the pumpkin pieces will break up and become mushy, adding a lovely butteryness to the dish.
If you prefer an extra zing to your dish, use a kitchen scissors to finely slice in a large green chilli. If not, garnish with something mild like a herb of your choice or cherry tomatoes.
Serves 4 - 6 people.

Crunchy Salad

2012-01-30T09:37:00.001+02:00

I love finding new ingredients while grocery shopping.

Woolworths is now selling fresh julienned beetroot in small bags in the fresh vegetable fridge.

Beets are one of those maligned vegetables, hated by many due to their association with the bottled pickled variety. But fresh beetroot sliced thinly makes a crunchy, sweet and colourful addition to any salad.

J's Crunchy Salad
Serves two as a main salad or four as a side salad

2 x 40g bags of rocket (arugula)
1 bag of julienned fresh beetroot (approx. 4 small beets)
240g tinned chickpeas (drained)
75g raw pistachios (shelled)
olive oil
salt

Toss together, dress lightly with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Enjoy.

Carrot and Apple Cake

2012-01-24T16:16:00.002+02:00

In addition to gluten-free, I've been baking egg-free and dairy-free of late as well. This recipe is a great place to start if you're baking for someone who has multiple allergies or problems with cholesterol.

I concocted the recipe using my Mom's gluten-free, egg-free banana bread recipe as a starting point, and playing around with egg and butter substitution.

My Mom generally substitutes half a large mashed banana per large egg in a recipe for sweet baking.

For sweet or savoury baking, I've begun substituting 1 tablespoon of whole flax seeds and 4 tablespoons of water per large egg in recipes.

You can also use chia seeds in the same proportions without needing to grind them first. They have the benefit of being milder tasting than flax seeds as well.

Egg-free doesn't have to be scary. Have fun with it.

Click image to enlarge

The Energy to Thrive

2012-01-16T10:44:00.002+02:00

Life begets life. Energy begets energy.

It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.

- Sarah Bernhardt -

Energy highs and lows are the norm for humans.

But for those people operating with autoimmune diseases, it can feel as if the dial is constantly turned to low.

Prior to my celiac diagnosis, energy was a difficult thing to muster. Most afternoons were spent sleeping for hours at a time, with intense headaches, stomach and joint pains, numbed by some form of painkiller. Exercise was an intense chore which left me feeling more broken rather than more energy-filled.

Cutting out the foods I was allergic to was like an energy awakening. Suddenly, exercise became something to look forward to (imagine that!)

I read a book recently which made a big impact.

It was one of those impulse airport bookshop grabs just prior to a flight that you can't imagine never having read. It's called: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

Filled with epic adventure and pure inspiration, the book brings across the thrill of rediscovering what it should be like for every human who has the physical capacity for movement to run (and actually enjoy it...injury free). Minimalist running or barefoot running is another strong topic of debate in the book, which for anyone who has ever had an injury caused by running is something which might peak your interest.

Inspired by the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyons, whose culture is built around running long distances in remote locations wearing leather sandals, the book also delves into the scientific aspects of running and running shoes. For instance, have all the advances in running shoe technology really led to injury-free running? For many people with expensive running shoes that control pronation, give arch support and have enough cushioning for your heel striking gait to feel like you're running on clouds (but who still sit with shin splints or foot fractures), the answer is a resounding: "NO!"

I've been pondering this for a few months now, using myself as a guinea pig of sorts. Over the years of starting and stopping running, most often due to shin or knee complaints; upping the weekly mileage has mostly been in new running shoes. You know, the ones you pay a whole lot of money for to prevent those injuries.

Well, for the past couple of months or so of running, I've been using old running shoes. The ones you're supposed to retire on the advice of running magazines because their cushioning isn't so great anymore, and the support has worn down. You know, the ones that are now supposed to be causing you injuries.

The verdict?

Not a knee or shin complaint in sight.

The premise of minimalist running is simple.

Take away the running shoes designed to alter your foot's natural way of hitting the ground during motion, bring back the feedback your foot should be getting from the ground which allows you to land more carefully, and what you get is a stronger foot and an adapted natural shock absorption system (i.e. your legs) that eventually self-corrects posture and alignment, allowing you to run injury free.

The way a child would run barefoot across a field out of sheer joy.

It's an interesting premise, I think.

So buoyed by months of running happily in old shoes, and a sale on at the Cape Union Mart, Simeon and I came home yesterday excitedly clutching our Merrell barefoot collection shoes.

Now before you scoff, since barefoot running should indeed be free and shoeless, would you relish your foot being cut up by a rusty aluminium can or smeared in dog poop? Me neither.

Thus, barefoot shoes a la Vibram five fingers or the like.

Notice the differences in design from a regular running shoe in terms of slope and cushioning?

Merrell Women's Barefoot Collection: Pace Glove in Dark Shadow

Merrell Men's Barefoot Collection: Trail Glove in Black/Molten Lava

Donning our shoes for the first time, we set out on our evening run marvelling at how much of the ground we suddenly felt and how differently our feet were landing to adjust to that fact. It was the first time while running through the veld that I didn't almost twist my ankle, and I realised it was because I was stepping more carefully over the rocky paths because I could feel the ground!

Another interesting fact is how much lighter the shoes are versus regular running shoes. Your feet literally feel less heavy to pick up.

Are we hooked?

Definitely!

We'll be interspersing the use of these shoes with our old running shoes, allowing our feet/calves/legs/posture time to adapt gracefully to the landing modifications required. For as Benjamin Franklin said: Energy and persistance alter all things.

To read more about minimalist running online, I recommend the following Running Times article as a starting point: Much ado about minimalism

And in closing, for those of your who have ever not felt quite right after eating a meal (or, let's face it, just felt anywhere close to crappy for days on end after eating certain foods), please do your self a favour and get tested for allergies. Your life will thank you!

Ina Garten's NY Apartment

2012-01-09T11:47:00.006+02:00

Happy 2012!

I've been watching episodes of the Barefoot Contessa on YouTube (user "Mr Melodifestivalen" has quite the stash), chuckling at Ina Garten's overuse of catch phrases: 'Use good [insert ingredient]'; 'How easy is that?' (which has apparently been trademarked), etc. and rolling my eyes at the East-Hampton smarminess which inevitably oozes through in some episodes.

Photo: Food Network Humour

Watching Ina interact with her numerous friends at dinner parties, beach grills, and so forth; one really picks up on her inherently controlling nature in the way she orders people around at parties, controls the conversation, tells people what to do/buy, etc. Whether this is a product of editing; an on-screen persona or the true Ina is hard to tell. However, personally, I find these somewhat irritating traits forgivable due to her jovial character (almost always clothed in shents [shirt-tents]) which doesn't come across as overly critical at the best of times.

Juxtapose that with Martha Stewart, the ultimate control-freak and perfectionist who, in my opinion, while being undoubtedly magnificently successful as well, does not posses Ina Garten's on-screen charm; ability to laugh easily (albeit nervously), or warmth of character. I found it interesting to note that, according to the article on Wikipedia, Ina Garten was mentored by Martha Stewart. Hmmm.

And then there's Jeffrey Garten, Ina's puppy-dog-like husband. This man is immensely successful in the business world, which must require the tenaciousness of a bulldog with all the right connections, and yet is content to be portrayed as a soft-hearted slightly dim-witted character in Ina's productions. I have wondered whether his business colleagues watch him onscreen (assuming the upper echelon business types in the US would watch an episode of the Barefoot Contessa starring Jeffrey) and think to themselves: WTF? Regardless, whether his on-screen time portrays anything close to his real-life character or not, it must be love, right.

Photo: Food Network Humour

But whatevs. Her shows are fun to watch for all the things that make them cringe-worthy, with each episode containing enough butter in every cake recipe to stop the heart of an ox (although, nobody rivals Paula Deen on the butter front), as well as the voyeuristic ability to check out the house/garden/beaches/stores of the richer contingent of American society.

Photo: Food Network Humour

Speaking of how the other third lives, I found an article on Ina Garten's New York pad over at HouseBeautiful. Who wouldn't love to walk into a house, see a window and tell the realtor: I'll take it. My goodness, it must be fun to be that rich :-)

Photo: HouseBeautiful

Love the photo/painting above the fireplace. It's so striking.

Photo: HouseBeautiful

Great pumpkin-coloured tablecloth.

Photo: HouseBeautiful

A window above the sink overlooking the city must be a cool thing to have.

Photo: HouseBeautiful

For the full set of photos, and a Q&A with Ina, head over to HouseBeautiful.

Have you seen the Gingerbread Man?

2011-12-07T10:30:00.010+02:00

A few months ago, I came across an interesting hobby which harkens back to earlier years, where pen pals found through the Garfield monthly magazine were the norm (as was waiting weeks for a reply to any correspondence).

The fun of collecting stationery, and receiving interesting letters/postcards from around the world has surprised me. And I find it funny how hand written correspondence has become an oddity in today's world of instant messaging.

Every now and then, you come across a particularly fun project.

Take for instance this class postcard project:

Mrs Schindler's Kindergarten Class have a Gingerbread Man in their classroom. They will read stories about him, until one day he will disappear and they will discover he has run away (like in the story). The class will make a plan to get him back and try to solve the mystery of where he went.

They need people to send postcards from around the world to report sightings of their missing friend. They will map each postcard and track his journey.

If you'd like to join in the fun of Jinjee spotting, send a postcard to the address below keeping the following points in mind:

Begin each postcard with "Dear Madison".
Say that you were doing something ordinary when you spotted the Gingerbread Man.
Report that you tried to stop him, but he turned and shouted "Run, run, as fast as you can. you can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man!"
Mail them to:

Mrs. Schindler's Kindergarten Class

Nottingham Country Elementary

20500 Kingsland Blvd

Katy, TX 77450
USA

Here's the one I'm sending. Don't you just love the stamps? I bought them at the Brooklyn Post Office. They ask interesting questions regarding facts (most are about South African history), and then the person who receives the postcard gets to scratch the gold ink off to see the answer (like a lotto card). How clever!

Speaking of Gingerbread Men, here's a link to a gluten-free, corn-free, egg-free gingerbread recipe:

GF Jinjee Biscuits

P.S. If you're interested in doing some writing, Postcrossing is a fun place to start, as you are guaranteed to get replies from all over the world (and writing postcards is quick and fun, as is shopping for them [or even designing your own on zazzle.com]).

Gluten/Dairy/Egg/Corn-free Fruit Crumble

2011-10-17T12:17:00.002+02:00

Perfect for when you're craving a little afternoon sweet treat to accompany your tea, this gluten/dairy/egg/corn-free fruity crumble wont disappoint.

Single Serving Fruit Crumble

1 sweet apple
1 sweet peach
3 tsp rice flour
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
cinnamon (optional)
hazelnuts (optional)

- Cut the apple and peach into bite size pieces, and put them in the bottom of a tiny baking dish.

- Mix together the rice flour, olive oil and sugar and sprinkle over the top of the fruit.

- Bake until the topping is beginning to brown.

- When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon (optional).

- Use a dry pan to toast some hazlenuts and then sprinkle them over the crumble (optional).

In honour of breast cancer awareness month, Roanne of Ms. Veronica's is hosting a Heart the Boobies auction, all the proceeds of which will go to EmbodiWorks, an organization that educates and empowers people affected by cancer. Please stop by and bid on any items you like, knowing that good will come of any money spent in the auction.

Have a grand week.

Curry Sunset

2011-10-10T12:01:00.003+02:00

Curried Brown Rice with

Sweet Potato Purée and

Roasted Green Beans

Rice:

1 cup brown rice
1 tsp salt crystals
1 Tbsp crushed curry leaves
1 tsp black mustard seeds
0.5 tsp cumin seeds
3 - 4 cups of water
1 tsp butter (optional)

Method:

Simmer rice and spices for approximately 40 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.
Add the butter right at the end and stir through.

Purée:

800 grams of sweet potatoes, scrubbed
3 large carrots
1 apple
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of butter or cream (optional)

Method:

Cut sweet potatoes, carrots and the apple into chunks.
Pour over boiling water (just enough to cover), add the salt and boil for 20 - 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Drain three-quarters of the water, then use a stick blender to zhoesh the veg all together until the purée is smooth.
Stir through the teaspoon of butter or cream, and check the seasoning.

Green Beans:

700 grams of green beans
olive oil
salt

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Wrap an oven dish in heavy foil.
Brush a light coating of olive oil over the bottom of the covered roasting pan.
Use a scissors to top and tail the green beans, and give them a good rinse.
Throw the beans in the pan, drizzle them with olive oil and a liberal sprinkling of salt.
Oven roast for 20 - 30 minutes, until crispy on the outside but tender on the inside.

A sunset the colour of sweet potato peels and carrots, taken by Simeon from the roof of our house on the evening I made this meal.

Sunday Lunch

2011-10-04T13:41:00.003+02:00

The Table Setting

The Menu

Starter

Gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free savoury pancake
with butter bean hummus and wild rocket.

Savoury Pancakes: See this recipe.
Butter Bean Hummus: 1 tin of butter beans (reserve half of the liquid) zhoeshed in a mini food processor with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, cumin and salt.

Main Course

Baby spinach salad with fried aubergines, grilled tomatoes,

chickpeas and goat's milk feta; with a side

of carrot-nut stuffed green peppers.

Salad:

Wash baby spinach well and mix with goat's milk feta and a can of chickpeas.
Fry aubergine slices (1 cm rounds) in a little olive oil and salt. Cut up into bite size pieces before adding to the spinach.
Grill tomato slices (1 cm rounds) in the oven, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. While still warm, toss tomatoes into the salad (the goat's milk feta will melt deliciously).
Season to taste.

Side dish:

Cut peppers along their natural lines to create little pepper bowls.
Use a food processor to finely chop a handful of raw cashew nuts, some carrots, wild rocket, salt and olive oil to create the stuffing.

Dessert

Gluten-free, egg-free banana bread served with

fruit salad and double thick cream.

Mom's Banana Bread:

125ml butter
125ml sugar
4 large or 5 small bananas
2 cups gluten-free cake flour (e.g. Nature's Choice)
1tsp bicarb
pinch of salt
125ml milk

Mix ingredients together and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for one hour in a loaf pan, or 30 minutes in a rectangular oven dish.

There can be only Juan

*Iceland* is green and Greenland is icy

Art & All Things Wes Anderson

*New Year*

Just in case you needed reminding...

It's a love - hate kinda thing...

I went to a craft store and...

Epic Pigeon Holes

My French Fairy Tale

"Oh no you di'n't!"

Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" A Capella

Father's Day: Gifts for a Coffee Lover

*Potjiekos*

*French for Fun and Practise*

*Inspiration...*

*Breakfast*

Blueberry Flapjacks

Fragrant Jasmine Rice with Pumpkin, Peas and Arugula

Crunchy Salad

Carrot and Apple Cake

The Energy to Thrive

Ina Garten's NY Apartment

Have you seen the Gingerbread Man?

Gluten/Dairy/Egg/Corn-free Fruit Crumble

Curry Sunset

Sunday Lunch

Iceland is green and Greenland is icy

New Year

Potjiekos

French for Fun and Practise

Inspiration...

Breakfast