Namibia~ Embracing life!

A little of my travels for this post makes a fresh change from my last few posts....
some great friends and us decided on the spur of the moment to explore the south of Namibia.....

An extrodinary country it is with vast areas of uninhabitable land.....
the scenery is breathtaking ......
not for the shopper though....
miles and miles of forgotten land,
by far the best gravel roads I have yet travelled on........
and a desert of absolute awe!

Alas, time only permitted us to travel for just over a week......
covering a jaw dropping 5700km!!
Here are some of the highlights along the way.......

                              The Augrabie Falls which lies on the border but still in South Africa....

Then onto the adventure in southern Namibia........

On Dune 45.....

 sheer magic.....

On top of the world......I'm certainly not fit when I think about it....the others climbed it with ease...

A lone oryx.....

And in the Dead vlei......

Then these amazing "fairy circles" ...... just outside the desert on our way to our lodge....
where nothing grows and then they grow smaller over many years and eventually "die"!
Unexplainable??? They gave me goosebumps....

These were taken in the Namib Desert....an eery difference to anything else I have seen.....
it was raining too!

Another highlight was the Fish River Canyon....the second largest canyon in the world.....

This was my most favourite photo I took of my friend....it says it all!
 Embrace life everyday to the fullest!

A strange one street town...Helmeringhausen...where they served the' most delicious apple crumble!

We were treated to many wonderful foodie experiences....

Slept under these romantic mosquito nets that do serve a purpose!

 Celebrate life everyday!!

 

Should this beautiful land tickle your fancy and you would like to experience such a trip, please feel free to drop me a line at my email address or you could go to this website...they were very helpful.

 

Just a few pointers:

 

1. The south of Namibia is malaria free...

2. There are few, if no shops in the rural towns and poorly stocked.....

3. Lots of dust roads....

4. Take clothing that is light with warm, long sleeve tops for the evenings, lots of block out and hats.....

5. Make sure you have a good camera with spare batteries, memory cards etc as there are few towns where you could stock up!......and these will be your only souvernis....

5. The cellphone and internet coverage is very good in the lodges and nearer towns....

6. Prepare to spend many hours in the vehicle travelling from town to town.....distances are vast!

7. Stock up on waters and snacks and happy faces to make it a great trip !

 

Thanks to my wonderful friends and Eddie for this experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, as the  sun set on a wonderful holiday, I am reminded that all is good in AFRICA!

 

  

 

 

Shel

Portuguese Custard Tarts~

Enjoyed these!...
the best when eaten straight from the oven~  yummy!!!

the recipe~
for the pastry~
1 roll of prepacked puff pastry
1 egg yolk
dusted with castor sugar and cinnamon mix
roll up , then cut into approx 2.5cm pieces.
Press down into muffin pans
brush with egg yolk
Bake in hot oven blind at 200deg C til nice and golden and puffed.
Remove from oven.

filling for cases~ (custard)
6 large organic eggs
runny honey 4 dessertspoonfuls
dash of good vanilla
zest of lemon
4 tsp lemon juice
565ml cream
Whip up eggs, honey, vanilla and zest in a bowl.
Heat cream til nearly boiling point. Add it immediately to the rest of the ingredients while whipping and whisking for about 30secs.
Add mixture back into pan over heat stirring continuously . It turns thick very quickly so do it vigourously to avoid lumps!. When as thick as yogurt, spoon into pastry cases and I baked them for 10 mins with a dash more of cinnamon sugar mixture!
However, I ate them at a tea and their's were more runny because of not baking them with the custard inside~  a matter of pleasing one's own pallet~

We enjoyed ours with a good cup of coffee whilst watching the sun rise from our balcony over "Chloe's Field"!
A mild winter's morning with the temperature reaching 31deg C that day!!

Bon Appetit!

Bread ~

I have this new passion...to master my skill of bread making~
I have a mental block...I'm sure of that~
either the yeast is not correct or I'm not kneading correctly~
anyway I feel I'm slowly getting there~

For the focacia I used cake flour for a softer texture and sprinkled herbs and feta and baked it...

I found these adorable wrappers here  via my blogging friend Monique....their breads look lovlier than mine....I decided to print my wrappers on baking paper... it turned out well...

 

Then I tried the baguettes.....lots and lots of practise is still required but I will get there soon....

they were however so tasty when dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar....

 

 

 

 

 here is the basic recipe for bread I used from my favourite English baker... Jamie....

 

Recipe~

3 x 7g sachets dried yeast

30g of honey

625ml tepid water

1kg of strong bread flour...(for the focacia I used cake flour....I also 1/4 the recipe for that)

1 level tablespoon salt

extra flour for dusting

 

Dissolve the yeast and honey in half the tepid water

Make a pile of flour and salt on a clean surface..

Make a well and pour in half the yeast water misture and make circular movements with 4 fingers, slowly bringing more flour to the centre until all the yeast misture is soaked up,...then pour the other half of the water into the centre and gradually incorporate all the flour.

KNEADING!

Keep rolling, pushing and folding the dough over and over for 5 minutes to develop the gluten and the structure of the dough.. Rub your hands together with extra flour.

Place on a greased baking tray and allow to rise in a warm place.

Knock back and shape into the baguettes allow to rise again for 20 minutes, brush with milk and make slits along the top, sprinkle with flour....pop in a hot oven at 200deg for around 20minutes until browned and crisp and when complete the bread will sound hollow when tapped.

 

 

Photo credit:The right hand corner photo of the wrapper in detail from Heather's blog.

 

Happy baking!

 

 

Rolo Biscuits.

We have an Afrikaans foodie magazine, Kos, that I love to get my hands on.
The latest edition has so many wonderful recipes of biscuits....
I tried my hand at these....
they are a keeper......

 

Straight out of the oven.......

The recipe~
2 packets of Rolo Toffee chocolates
140g butter
200g brown sugar
200g white sugar
2 eggs
30ml milk
5ml good vanilla
100g cocoa
350g cake flour
5ml baking powder
1ml salt
castor sugar to roll the little dough balls in before baking

Method~
Put the Rolos in the fridge at least an hour before using
Heat oven to 180deg C
Put the butter in an electric mixer. Add the sugars slowly until light and fluffy.. Beat milk, eggs and vanilla together....add to butter mixture and sift the dry ingredients together and add slowly to this mixture until a dough forms.
Take out desertspoonful and form into a ball. Push a Rolo into the centre and shape into a ball.
Roll in castor sugar. The cookies must be 2cm apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 - 15minutes until they begin to crack. Take out the oven and allow to cool~
we loved them hot when the caramel oozed out the centre.~
Trick rather add 2 Rolos so the centre is nice and oozy!
Taste like lovely brownie biscuits with chewy centres...delicious!!

 

 

 

 

Hopefully I will be able to get up another post today!!
Shel :))

 

La Dolce Vita~

Beautiful living.....
a stunning weekend....
I spent Saturday tagging along with a very sweet girl ♥
to her modelling shoot and I really loved every minute.....
and then spent the rest of the day having a little fun in my kitchen baking...
arranging my window sill again with special gifts sent to me and other pretty pieces
 and then giving some loving attention to my kitchen garden...

In the yacht basin at the harbour....

 Really so many reasons to visit our beautiful city ♥

Something we really enjoyed were these dainty morsels....
cherry and choc  shortbread....

The recipe~

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 cups plain cake flour
1/2tsp salt
1 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
1/2 cup white/ dark chocolate chips
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
8 ounces white or dark chopped chocolate

In the food processor, beat the butter and sugar, dust the cherries with a little of the flour, sift the flour and salt and add to the butter mixture. Add vanilla and fold in the choc chips and the cherries.
Leave to rest in the refridgerator for 30mins
Roll into balls and bake at 180deg C for 15minutes until nicely golden.
They end up having a pink glow when baked. Drizzle with melted chocolate~
Awesome little biscuits~ ♥ that didn't last!

Have a wonderful weekend ♥
Shel

A little of Allsorts from February~

I've been missing my blog....sad that it's the last thing I get to attend to yet really it's what I get the most enjoyment from.....
Well, just for today I will take some time out to enjoy and just jot down a little of my journey through life at present........
Although missing here, life is far too hectic for this 50 something year old!
Last month there were so many occasions to celebrate and yet so many things that saddened me, all extremely close to my heart and also a lot of time still needed to heal my heart and theirs......
Those dear, both near and far away from me, know just how much I was and still am hurting....
alas ....life continues for me and for those who have been touched by life's unpleasantness!
What I did come to realise....is that I want to save and comfort all, but alas, it's  impossible to please everyone~
So from my ♥  ~Solomon and I will always be here for you ~

Somehow, my kitchen is always such a comforting place, even when there's hardly any groceries due to lack of time to shop and grocery shopping is my pet hate! We always manage to concoct a little plate of comfort or time for a quick pot of tea!

Eddie and I had time to slip away for a wonderful weekend with our friends and I really have to say, this place, so close to Port Elizabeth, is really a must for your bucket list! (However, just a little warning!!! please take insect repellants, lotions,etc with as we were struck by horrific Tick Bite Fever! ) This is just a fact of any bush or wild you might find yourself in...we were just a bit blase'... Still, it's a great place to walk, to meditate and just be left in peace.....surrounded by beauty! We were also so very fortunate to have the entire lodge to ourselves! What a bonus!

Here are some pics of the stunning Huntshoek Lodge !  (Huntsdrift)
perched high on top of a mountain overlooking the vast Fish River....

With the Fish River snaking its way below..........

There's just such peace and  beauty in the flora and the inquisitive  fauna.....

  

and this cute little guy appeared amongst the thorn trees too....

 And one for MY bucket list ....a Zip line just down the road....exhilirating .....

 really felt like Tarzan and Jane!

The inside is elegantly rustic! We weren't afraid to make ourselves comfortable .....

Our sleeping bungalow attached to the main lodge ...... 

The showers all had breathtaking views and nothing beats a steaming hot shower with the cold of the night air on your body! 

Glorious baths.... on our deck!!

But best of all....these awesome sunsets....

  My friend was teaching me some tricks....the wooden railing framing of the sun setting....
However....I really need her beautiful camera....mine is just really going beyond its means!!

with these glorious Caipirinhas she had made for us!

 Salute'

The lodge really has so many unusual finishes like these towel rails using warthog tusks! How cute....

And in the morning a beautiful birthday breakfast for someone!

 Don't you just love the flowers she arranged from the local flora!
and the All Gold Tomato Sauce especially for all our expats!

The boardwalk connects the main area to our little huts.... Africa is truly magnificent....blessed to live here!

Wonder where to next Mrs Westcott!!!!   Blessed beyond comprehension.....

See you soon!

Shel

  For more info on this place in the Eastern Cape, log on here!
I thought I'd share this at Tablescape Thursdays here...