A Wale of a Time

I just found this post in my draft section – thought I’d post it anyway despite the fact that it’s abut 2 months old.

 

Olivia and I gatecrashed Piers and Susan’s honeymoon in Wales. We took a lovely road trip via Stratford-upon-Avon, to Warwick then onto Monmouth, Hay-on-Wye, then back to Oxford.

Oxford

Enjoyed drinks and dinner at the Rose & Crown in Warwick

Warwick Castle

Not another bloody castle

Off with ye head Janey

We couldn’t do this in Joburg,  pot and the flowers would be stolen within minutes

Tudor overload

 

So quintessentially English

Hay-on-Wye – Piers and I patiently waiting with the dogs whilst the others shop

Tree Heaven

We went to the Kruger Park this last weekend. I haven’t been for years – my last memories of it are from when I was a child; we’d sing songs in the car to keep ourselves entertained, fight over who got the window seat and snack our way through yummy padkos – chicken mayonnaise rolls, Simba chips, cheese and tomato on brown bread with the crusts cut off; Crème Soda cold drinks and melting Cadbury chocolate bars – all memorably delicious.

This time, we stayed at a place called Shimuwini Bush Camp, located on the banks of the Letaba River. Ideal spot and inexpensive however, as with all Sanparks camps; the single beds (I guess no one shagged back when the lodge was developed) are sheer torture. The mattress was as supportive as a piece of tofu – I am still bent over and it’s been 2 days.

 

From Joburg, it took us 7 hours - a long drive but worth it for the sheer animal sightings, birdlife and unbelievably beautiful trees – Giant Mahogany’s, Jackalberries, Sausage trees, Baobabs and Mopani forests. We saw about 8 different herds of elephant – bachelor and breeding herds with lots of babies. They are really conditioned to vehicles and don’t react negatively when you draw up alongside them, which was great,as I am a little nervous of them.

 

View from Shimuwini

Giant Mahogany

Paella with Saffron

I am fascinated by the historical trade in aromatics from ancient times to the present. Aromatic substances were viewed as mysterious as they were connected in many cultures with the idea of a faraway paradise. I love to feel a sense of this bygone era and when Geoff from Wicked Foods pulled from his apron a vial of Saffron, I could almost envision belly dancers swathed in golden silk and spice traders haggling in markets. Saffron is the most precious and most expensive spice in the world, more expensive per kilo than gold.

We used saffron in a seafood paella dish. I have adapted the dish to be more typically South African using a combination of Wicked Foods recipe and one from Recipe World – here is my take on it.

Ingredients:

• Pinch of Saffron
• 1 kg rice, long grain uncooked
• 1 kg kingklip fillet, cut into small pieces
• 1 kg prawns, cut and deveined
• 24 fresh mussels
• 3 onions, thinly sliced
•  Olive oil for frying
• 1  green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1  red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 200 g button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cups water and fish stock
• 1 sprig rosemary
• ½ tsp paprika
• tabasco sauce
• butter
• 4 tbsp chilli sauce
• 4 clove(s) garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp masala
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp tobasco sauce
• Green beans trimmed and halved

Method:

1. Soak saffron threads in 2 Tsp of hot water and set aside.
2. Cook the rice in salted boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Combine chilli sauce, garlic, masala, salt and Tabasco sauce and marinate the kingklip, mussles and prawns for about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, fry the onions in a little oil in a paella pan or wok until golden brown.
5. Add the peppers and fry for a further 10 minutes; Add the beans and fry for a further 5 minutes.
6. Add mushrooms and fry for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
7. Add about 15 ml oil to the frying pan and transfer the marinated kingklip, mussels and prawn mixture to the frying pan and stir fry for 10 minutes, or until the prawns turn pink.
8. Bring water and rosemary to the boil. Once the water begins to boil, stir in the rice, paprika, saffron and chilli and season to taste.
9. Layer the ingredients in a large saucepan as follows; first, about one-third rice then half onion and mushroom mixture, then beans and peppers, then half kingklip and prawn mixture and sprinkle each layer with a few drops of tabasco sauce, season with salt and dot with butter.
10. Continue this way until all ingredients have been used up.
11. Steam the paella, covered, over a medium heat for 30 minutes. (Serves 10)

Portraits of Oxford

I’ve recently returned from a trip to the UK  to attend friends, Pier and Susan’s wedding in Oxford.

Photo by: Tristan Relly

It was my first visit to Oxford and I loved every minute of it.

We hired bikes and took a ride to Sandford Lock on the southern outskirts of Oxford

Photo: Oli

where we had lunch at the Kings Arms and

and  also visited Blenheim Castle

Susan and Piers held a drinks party at the Vaults and Garden Café, which is set at the foot

of the magnificent  Radcliffe Camera.

On Saturday 2 July, Piers married Susan at her college chapel, Pembroke.

Mini Royal Wedding! Photo: Tristan Relly

After the wedding they celebrated with champagne on the green lawns of Pembroke College quad

Photo: Tristan Relly

The wedding reception was at Cherwell Boathouse – where we went punting down the river. Lovely!

Photo: Tristan Relly

Photo courtesy Cherwell Boathouse

 

“May the road rise up to meet you,

may the wind be ever at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face

and the rain fall softly on your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

BENE

The new Monte Casino TV advert, Mavericks of Chance, sparked this blog post. Stunning ad!

Courtesy: Monte Casino

Monte Casino is located in the suburb of Fourways, the bosom of faux Tuscan décor and Monte Casino is the arbitrator of all things Italian.

I find that many South African architects recreate nostalgic European landmarks in Africa and strangely this pseudoness ensures their egalitarian status.  Monte Casino’s architecture, designed by Bentel Associates International, who also happened to design Nelson Mandela Square which is influenced by St Marks Square in Venice, replicates an ancient Tuscan village. It is unashamedly phony yet startlingly convincing – you really do feel as if you are in Italy as you wander along cobbled streets beneath a starlit sky.

Even though I don’t visit often, I occasionally like to stroll around the shops – they stay open late probably in the hope that gamblers will spend their winnings and sometimes I have a little flutter at one of the many Black Jack Tables. I tend to do this alone as gambling is not a pastime enjoyed by my friends and family. The Pieter Torien Theatre offers some of the best stage productions in Joburg and we usually enjoy sushi at John Dory’s before taking in a show.

We recently took some of Mark’s clients to the Portuguese Restaurant, Beira Alta. Fantastic chouriço, calamari and prawns combos. I highly recommend it.

Courtesy: Kitchen Bar

Fourways is a relatively new suburb filled with start-up Summercon home developments and gated-cluster communities. There are very few trees, hundreds of shopping centres and neighbourhoods filled with proud DIY renovators; you have to fight your way through traffic jams outside Builders Warehouse and the divine Design Quarter, a mall dedicated to home décor. The concept is brilliant as it offers so much more than a retail experience. I also love the architecture – lots of raw steel and glass. The open air piazza which houses a few great restaurants, also gives you a sense of openness. I particularly like the Kitchen Bar which has an outside terrace and balcony seating.

The Leaning Tower of Odd

One morning after a rather late and indulgent dinner party at home last week, I went for breakfast with Heather a fellow blogger at The Odd Cafe. I ordered the scrambled eggs, bacon kebab and ciabatta – delicious!  This memorable, slightly odd restaurant is a little weird which I like; the people are friendly, the food is fresh and beautifully presented and the artwork is fantastic.

I love art… well, its not just art, I also love the galleries that house them… elegant old buildings housing hallowed collections, digital art spaces like Resolution Gallery on Jan Smuts, David Brown’s fab new space at Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton or the big, bold eclipse-like Circa gallery on Jellicoe – each space is beautiful and the Odd Café, despite it being a restaurant is oddly captivating as is the artwork by Chad Farah and the graffiti wall inside and outside.

Photo: David Smith

I think Art is definitely in the eye of the beholder; for me a Nandipha Mntambo sculpture has an allure that is difficult to explain as part of me is repulsed, a William Kentridge charcoal drawing or one of Judith Mason’s pomegranate pieces – simply beautiful.

Judith Mason

I also lust after a Paco Tibetan carpet – the Che Guevara carpet hanging in the window of this amazing emporium draws my eye without fail as I drive from Emmarentia through Greenside. I cannot profess to being an art expert, I just know what I like and what I don’t.

I am currently mad about Pretoria based sculptor, Angus Taylor (incredible) and downtown galleries like JAG, Arts on Main and the Standard Bank Gallery, always have exhibitions that are worth seeing. I also love street art – like the wire sculptures lining the streets around the Stock Exchange in Sandton and William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx’s Firewalker  which stands on the side of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge in Newtown. South African’s are lucky – our eclectic culture gives us such a diverse range of art.

Angus Taylor Photo courtesy of Circa on Jellicoe

But, where would I put it?

 

 

Parkhurst Cont.

Next door to Bottega on 4^th Avenue is an authentic barber, Roma Paris – you’re probably wondering how I know about it, well, when we return from a camping trip, Mark desperately needs a proper barber shave. This shop is a slave to masculine bonding, cigars and good malt whiskey. Definitely a pastime I’d relish, if I was a man.

Santos is famous for unique storage ideas and they also have a few quirky gifts, beautiful baskets and bespoke ceramics. I like this shop as it is unique but their over-the-top preoccupation with their parking space annoys me, as does the Treasure Trove‘s which stocks incredible art deco glassware. Map is next door to Santos and offers the best, but probably the most expensive manicure and pedi in Joburg but definitely worthwhile, once in a while.

Alf Kumalo

The black and white photography studio, Cow Artworks offers a diverse selection of iconic images. They also represent Michael Doran who I love – both his work as a commercial director and his stills photography speak to me.  Click on the link to see his advert for Airlink.

TWO and Mememe is the new kid on the block – it’s a collaboration between blogger Milisuthando Bongela, local designer Doreen Southwood, who’s shop in Long Street, Cape Town is a great retro find, and Caren and Gina Waldman from TWO – which I’d never heard of before. It’s a lovely shop, very feminine and beautifully designed. Another new store is Modernist – fab furniture with pieces I lust after.

The old Pickwick book shop is a firm favourite although it’s now changed ownership and is called Parkhurst Bookshop (original) – old Wilbur Smith paperbacks, Booker prizewinners and dusty old atlas’ line the walls in this cramped yet wonderful space.

The Super is a foodie market in the space next door to Georges on 4th. It’s only open on the last Saturday of every month and in the evening on the second Thursday of the month. Enjoy Quality food from bakers to butchers and coffee to cupcakes.

Strada Peroni

A shop that definitely needs mentioning is Braeside Butchery - best Biltong in town and grain fed meat, plus the owner Caroline, who I met at a dinner party at Nicky Gibbs’ house, has altered every pre-conception I’ve ever had of a butcher. Lovely!

Pets Paraphernalia is a wonderful pet shop on 4^th Avenue. The owner has a giant Dalmatian which I think might be crossed with Doberman Pinscher sitting at her feet inside this tiny shop which is filled with the best dog food, accessories and love.

Probably my two best shops though are; Parkhurst Hardware and Solly Kramers Bottle Store – both stalwarts of Parkhurst. The hardware is owned by a family of heavy metal diehards who despite the idiotic questions thrown at them by their women clientele, give the best advice and service on the block. I have practically rebuilt my home in Parkhurst on both their counseling and their products.

Solly Kramers is difficult to navigate with a trolley but they deliver – definitely a plus when you’re having a party. They also have a fab collection of wine that gladdens the cockles of my heart.

4th Avenue

The bohemian village of Parkhurst is one of the best places to live in Joburg, particularly if you’re single. I lived in this quaint suburb for 10 happy years – check out my superb little home.

I now rent my house out to a lovely young couple who recently returned from London after being away from home for 8 years. I too would return; despite the wonderful culture, art and Broadway, those drab, grey winters would depress the crap out of me; give me Joburg’s pale blue cloudless sky in winter any day.

I digress, Parkhurst has the best sidewalk cafe culture in Joburg; bistro’s, antique shops and lifestyle boutiques line 4^th  Avenue. Eating out is an adventure on this busy strip. Bottega, a small, noisy enclave has great food. What it lacks in pretentiousness, it makes up for in taste. My best dish is the Fillet Porcini. Owner and chef, Saverio is very hands on, which shows, as the quality never wanes.

Georges on 4^th – Ahh, I have a yen for their chicken schnitzel with basil mash potato and bok choy, but I also love the bacon and vodka pasta. There’s now an open air space above the restaurant which offers great views of the street – the waiters are a little scatty but nice.

A definite favourite of mine is Espresso - especially when I’m hungry – their Beef Prego’s and shoe-lace fries – always hit the spot. Espresso offers consistently good comfort food, excellent service and has a wonderful vibe, although (this could be my age talking), the crowd seems to be getting younger and more raucous by the minute. But, at least they’re pretty to look at!

For the best Cappuccino there is no better place than 4^th Avenue Coffee Roasters. This tiny, stand up place offers the perfect caffeine fix. Besides creating delicious food, The Attic chef, Tom Hughes, (who also owns The Office in Greenside) supplements his menu with naturally raised poultry, grass fed beef and SASSI approved fish.  The dishes are fusion-flavoured and unusual, but the service is poor, which kind of spoils the experience. The adjoining bar is one of two’ of Parkhurst’s late night hangouts; the other is The Jolly Roger.

Photo:Times Live

The Jolly Roger is a Joburg staple – it’s been around forever. Juke box music, smokey, cheap and heaving with atmosphere; it’s patron’s are a combination of down-and-out regulars and young, not-so-innocent students. Enjoy half price pizza on Wednesdays & Sundays. This place beats the pants off the androgynous franchised bars littering Joburg’s suburbs.

Further down the road is Bistro Vine. It get’s rave reviews however, the only time I ate there, I wasn’t overly impressed.

Nice Chefs Photo: House & Leisure

And then there’s Nice! Owner Carla is onto a winning formula – the restaurant and the book shop come restaurant are both fab. The food is better than nice, in fact it’s superb and the quirky, offbeat atmosphere is very welcoming. Try the chicken pie!

Parkhurst offers a diverse range of lifestyle stores and stylish designer fashion boutiques….. More tomorrow.

Wicked Food

My sister, Claire and I have started attending cooking classes.

We had no idea where to find a hands-on cooking class in Joburg until  I asked one of the feature journalists at Food & Home Entertaining – she recommended that we try Wicked Food in Sunninghill. We signed up for the Vietnamese cooking class and loved it!

We each got our own chopping boards, knives, aprons, and dishes to prepare and afterwards we sampled eight tasty dishes. We also drank loads of wine while we cooked – always a good idea.   Together, Claire and I are going to prepare a fantastic Saturday lunch for our friends… there’s sure to be incriminating photo’s of people gorging themselves.

Here is the recipe for the pork spring rolls.

FRIED SPRINGROLLS

A classic Vietnamese starter – small deep-fried springrolls,  served wrapped in lettuce leaves, with a variety of herbs. The springrolls can be made ahead and stored for a few hours in the fridge before frying. Be very careful when frying, if the springrolls touch each other, they tend to stick together and are very difficult to separate again.

±15-20 round rice papers (±22cm across)
Oil for deep-frying

Filling
±25g cellophane noodles (from the 100g in accompaniments below)
±250g minced pork neck (or beef or chicken)
±30g small shrimp, peeled and de-veined, and finely chopped (±1/2 cup)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 spring onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, finely grated (optional)
1/4t freshly ground black pepper
2T fish sauce

Accompaniments
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 cup mixed herbs (rocket, basil, mint, coriander)
±100g cellophane noodles
11/2 cups Vietnamese table sauce (see below)

Instructions:

1. Soak all the cellophane noodles in boiling water for 4 minutes (filling and accompaniments), then drain and cut into ±2,5cm lengths with scissors (you need just over 1/2 cup for the filling).
2. Chop all the filling ingredients, as indicated above, and then combine in a single bowl, set aside. (This can be done up to 12 hours ahead and stored in a sealed container in the fridge.)

Making the springrolls

1. Fill a bowl with water. Working with one sheet at a time, dip the rice paper into the water until it becomes slightly pliable and then transfer to a damp tea towel.
2. Working on a damp tea towel, place ±1T of the filling onto the lower half of a rice paper wrapper. To roll the wrapper, first fold the bottom section over the filling and then the left and right sides, and then roll tightly. Place seam side down, on a plate and cover with a damp tea towel until all the rolls are ready for frying.
3. Heat ±3cm of oil in a frying pan, and when hot, fry the springrolls in a single layer, turning to brown all sides (do not overcrowd the pan as they tend to stick to each other if they touch). Drain on paper towels. Once ready to serve, cut in half diagonally.
4. Arrange the springrolls, noodles and salad on a large platter. Serve the sauce in a bowl.
5. To eat, wrap a springroll, in a lettuce leaf, with a choice of herbs, and dip in the sauce.

Vietnamese dipping sauce (Nuoc cham)

A basic dipping sauce found on the table at almost every Vietnamese meal. The sauce brings out flavours and sparks the appetite. The sauce will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

1/4 cup lemon or fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup water
2t rice or cider vinegar
1T sugar
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 small bird’s eye chilli, minced
1 small carrot, finely grated

1.    Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved

Columnist, nah, just an old hag

I’m going to be writing a regular column for a  B&B travel site.

The first article is about enjoying a lazy weekend in Joburg. Please check it out.