Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Potcake

Serving size Dessert for 4 people
  • 5 Tbl Spoons Sugar
  • 3 Plums (or apples, nectarimes, peaches, mirabelles....)
  • 1 large Egg
  • 65g Sugar
  • 65g Flour
  • 65g Butter
  • 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
Instructions

Use a small pot (diameter 15cm, high around 6cm) for this amount of ingediences - if you increase them, get a bigger pot. Make sure you can cook in the pot AND put it in the oven (so no plastic handles...). I use a glass form.

Cut the plums (or other fruit) in half and take out the stones.

Add 1/2 cup of water to the pot and mix in the sugar. Stir until resolved, only then bring to the boil. Do not stir any more once the syrup is boiling. Let reduce until you get a brown, thick caramel.

While the caramel is cooking, mix egg, flour, sugar, butter (you can liquidize the butter in the microwave) and baking powder to a batter.

When the caramel is ready, take the pot off the heat and add the fruits (cut side down) into the syrup. Now cover the fruit with the batter - spread evenly.

Bake at 170 degrees celcius for 30-35 minutes until the sponge has risen and is nice golden on top.

Immediately while hot place the cake on a serving plate - fruit side up! That makes sure the syrup will soak through the upper part of the sponge.

Serve while warm with a dollop of cream or creme fraiche.

Et voila...

Posted by at 08:42:50 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, January 07, 2008

Vacation in Snake Central

Here we are in 2008 - and Happy New Year to you too!
We spend the change of years in the bush (www.bushfellows.co.za), and while having loads of time to reflect I wondered about the following: Is it only me fearing for my life when on vacation in the bush or do other people also get the creeps between insects & lions?

Now where we were - no lions. Around our tent in the middle of no-where only buck, zebras, giraffe and crawlers had their home, BUT: what about getting bitten by a puff-adder (of which there where plenty we were told)? Puff-adders are unfriendly, lazy buggers lying in the bush waiting for (german) tourists to step on them and SNAP! And then what - hours of drive away from hospitals. In my nightmares I saw myself saying words of goodbuy to my beloved while the helicopter was (not) coming....Anyway, I developed a strategy: always have somebody else walk in front when needed (see picture, poor man, I know, but he did'nt know he was my "victim" and other family members obviously had the same idea, making sure I am always in front of them, so could not 'mis-use' them....not that I would ever do that anyway!)


Maybe I am exaggerating with the snakes. BUT then what about spiders - there are weird creatures out there, and given the fact that creepy crawlers and mozzies like to bite me even with plenty of other choice around (see picture, ouch!), spiders might chose to do the same. And now look at this one! The ranger said it is venomous - anybody out there who knows it's name? Cause there were thousands of them where I was......


In the end I survived our trip - again ;-)
Gotta loooooooooove the  bush!

Other crawlers from our trip:
Posted by at 16:21:49 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Monday, August 20, 2007

Unwanted visitors...

...tried to intrude on Friday night through the sliding door (with the help of a screwdriver or so). Luckily they got repelled by our alarm, which went of immediately.
Not so immediately was the response of the security company (10 minutes can be bloody long!) and even more scary is the fact that the alarm in our complex was activated in the guardhouse a full 4 minutes before our own alarm went off, BUT the guard has been sleeping. Great!
Ford Knox feels not so save any more.....
Posted by at 13:55:05 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday, July 19, 2007

My boyfriend looks like..

....oooooh, so good!! Like JBJ and Paul Walker and Alan Rickman! Check your own man here.

Posted by at 13:31:43 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, July 16, 2007

The Jo'burg sun...

...drives me up the wall!!! TOO MUCH NOW!!!!!

People always rave about the great weather in South Africa compared to Europe, but I have had ENOUGH!!!
Sun, sun, sun, every morning I open my eyes an it is blue sky & sun. And guess what happened this morning? I opened my eye and there it was again: blue sky & sun! No surprises!
It is winter here now, but in the 10 month I live here I have seen rain maybe 4 times. And yes, it is cold at night, sometimes even during the day, but that does not change anything on the fact that then there is still blue sky & sun!

So when the temperature drops and I want to light a candle for a romantic stay-in while it is grey and foggy outside, slurp hot chocolate and watch a fairy-tale movie ... DREAM ON! I can't even see my candle, cause the sun burns in my eyes (and through the blinds). And forget about the movie, sun also blinds the TV...

I want the european change of season back....sniff!

...still no grey day in sight

Posted by at 14:54:33 | Permanent Link | Comments (2) |

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Michael's 9th Birthday (7. July 2007)

Okay, it was a week ago, but still - it was Michael's Birthday then, and now he is a biiiiiig boy of 9!
And these are lemon-poppyseed-muffins with mascarpone-sugar-glazing - the more funny decoration on the plate-sides and the 9th are from Mr. J who felt very creative that day, the brilliant writing on the muffins is my piece of art...

 

 

 

Posted by at 15:57:51 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Happy Bastille Day

Yes, even 11.000 km away we were still remembering & celebrating a little Bastille day (the proof is in the photo!) with a braai (BBQ) and stories from our good old life in Paris.
Vive la France!

Posted by at 15:48:47 | Permanent Link | Comments (4) |

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

SA Work Life I

Let's have a look today at the work life in SA - now that I joined in a few weeks ago.

Phone manners
Phone what? Well, not existing! The "introduce yourself when you call somebody" has obviously gone extinct in SA, so if you do not have a chance to interrupt the caller early to ask who's speaking, you have to guess. And people assume you can guess them on their voice easily, especially if you have talked to them before. (Impossible by the way!)
If you however come across a person who is willing to share his/her name, then it is mainly because the name is something along the lines of Nkululeko, Nthutuko, Tsholwane or Shwelezane...a.k.a hae? And these are only the first names...

Email-Communication manners
Another myth! You are lucky if you have discussed with the person who is sending you a file what to do with it before in some way, otherwise - guess again. Emails only contain attachments with no FYI, action or any other necessary information on what is expected from you what-so-ever. Signatures are a luxury...

Office hours
Well, finally something working well: 08:00 to 17:00 incl. 1 hour lunchbreak in most employer/employee relationships. The home office (or "working from remote location") I am busy introducing here by being a role-model in practicing it is still scowled at with doubt. Will get there eventually...

(Disclaimer: Of course these are only my humble and non representative opinions which might be revised once I am working for a longer period or in a different environment.)

Posted by at 11:07:34 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Monday, July 02, 2007

Really?


Try your own - but let me know!!! http://www.myheritage.com/

Posted by at 16:14:26 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Sparky

This is the newest addition to the wildlife in our complex: Sparky!
Loves potatoes and his favourite game is nudging people, which he does quite gentle with the boys of the house, but he knocks me over full blast.
Rchhhhch, rchchchc!

Posted by at 16:43:47 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |