Toothless (almost) by washing basket

OK, stupid do as stupid does... Forest Gump had NO idea that these words will be applicable on A LOT OF PEOPLE around the world, INCLUDING ME!!!!!!!

So, what did I do this morning? 

Busy washing blankets and tipped over the washing basket to get rid of all the leaves that gathered in it (while I was busy hanging up some other washing). I've done this hundreds of times, so what went wrong this morning? I can't tell you! But the next thing I know is me being attacked by the washing basked.

It slipped right out of my hand and smacked me full on the mouth! My nose and eyes started tearing up involuntary and my husband and I stood there laughing uncontrollably for the absolute stupidity of the whole situation! (I think his was more in utmost disbelieve that someone can be SO SOOOOOO stupid!)

Now I have a slightly swollen lip, a sore tooth and gums. I'm just thankful that I didn't hit out all my teeth... going to the dentist with a "toothless by washing basket" ... I think that would have been a first!

Some great (fast) food ideas for the lazy cook!

I'm not Wonder Woman.... or perhaps the "Ideal Wife" type... It's just, some times I'm not really in the mood for cooking (and making a mess of the whole kitchen)!

Luckily for me I have the following counting into my favor!

1. My husband can cook! I will not go into the "Kitchen War" details... just say, after he's done I'm VERY glad for a cleaning solution called Blade Cleaner! (He normally only uses one pot, but the whole stove and even sometimes the wall ends up splattered with sauce :-) )

2. My husband doesn't nor really mind what I serve up for a meal. He eat what he gets!

Well, for those of you who want Fast Food, without the hassle of losing all the McDonald, Steers and KFC weight afterwards... here's a few ideas!

• WOOLIES FOOD is your new best friend this coming Winter. With little effort you can transform their soup into something great! Basically just heat up and serve!

Pumpkin soup with some pumpkin chips, crumbed feta cheese and pumpkin seeds for garnish. You can even add some parsley or something green to it for a bit of color!

Tomato soup with grated Parmesan cheese,  sun dried tomatoes & a bit of sour cream.

Add a bit of love :-) take out your cookie cutters and toast some hearts to add to the soup :-)

•  BREAD and cracker ideas

It doesn't take much to make something wonderful out of bread. With a little imagination you can serve up a storm!

1. This is an easy 4 ingredient dish. WONDERFUL for a side dish when you have a braai, or for breakfast
   
   You will need:
   1 French loaf - sliced (or some bagels, sliced in half)
   Onions - grated
   Cheddar cheese - grated
   Mayo for mixing
   
   Method:
   Lightly toast the bread / bagels
   Mix the grated onions and cheese (approx 4 - 6 BIG onions) with some mayo
   Spoon on toasted bread and add little cheese on top
   Toast for few minutes until heated and cheese melted
   
   
2. Biscuits, cheese, biltong and wine!
   
   You will need:
   Saltine cracks, cream crackers, cracker bread and what ever else you fancy!
   Add some cottage cheese, cream cheese, blue cheese (any other cheese), sliced biltong and some droë wors into the mix and even some picked figs and a nice bottle of wine.
   
   Your friends and family can mix and match as they please. It's fast, easy, filling and every one enjoys it!
   
   
3. Good old faithful - French Toast
   
   You will need:
   A few eggs with a bit of milk and.
   I prefer white bread, but what ever tickles you fancy (suppose brown or whole wheat is just as good!)
   Add some cheese or maple syrup and supper / lunch / breakfast is done!
   
   
4. The fast and easy! Hamburger in 15 min!
   
   You will need:
   Hamburger buns (For those of you in PTA, The Panty in Cliffendale street Faerie Glen and the Spar at Glen Fair shopping center have the best hamburger buns!)
   A tin of pineapple rings
   A bag of ready washed and shredded lettuce (available at any food store... except when out of stock!)
   A few tomato's
   Ready made patties from your local butcher (defrosted!)
   
   The only work in it for you:
   Open and drain the tin of pineapple rings
   Open bag of lettuce
   Slice up a tomato
   Butter the buns
   Fry the patty with bit of extra salt, pepper and some mixed herbs

• For the EXTREMELY lazy ones who likes SUSHI! In Cliffendale Street, Faerie Glen, is a small complex (where Pascali Restaurant is situated). There is a Chinese Restaurant & Take Away which makes some of the best Sushi in Pretoria!
  
  
  
  
• SOME SWEET ideas

1. Instant pudding with a twist
   
   You get the most amazing flavors of Instant pudding. (Just don't try the apple tart flavor! ... that's to say if they still make it. The milktart and blueberry cheese cake is divine!)
   
   What you will need:
   1 pack of instant pudding
   Merringue cups that you can get at Spar / Pick 'n Pay
   Some fresh fruit / flake to sprinkle over desert / Italian kisses - this will depend on flavour of desert selected.
   
   The end result! Amazing!!
   
   
2. 3 Ingredient desert
   
   What you will need:
   1 tin of condense milk
   1 litre of smooth yogurt
   1 pack tennis biscuits
   
   Method:
   Use tennis biscuits as a base for the tart.
   Mix condense milk and yogurt and pour over base.
   Microwave for 6 - 10 minutes on high. Let it cool down and put in fridge.
   Best server within one day.
   
3. An old every time hit! - ice cream with a twist
   
   This is the one desert that you can dress up as you want. Use wafers, cocolates, cheries, cream. Just have fun dishing it up!

Fast scones

Ingredients

 

• 500 ml (2 cups) flour
• 20 ml (4 t) baking powder
• 30 ml (2 Tbs) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 50 g butter / margarine
• 200 ml (3/4 cup) milk (might use a bit more if needed. Can replace milk with cream if you want to)

Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

Method

• Sieve flour and baking powder into a bowl.
• Add the salt and sugar to it.
• Rub the butter into the mixture till it looks like bread crumbs.
• Add milk and mix it well.
• Press dough into a square, approx 3 cm high.
• Cut into blocks and place on baking tray.
  

• Smooth corners with your fingers for a rounder feel.
• Bake for 10 - 15 until golden brown.
• DO NOT bake it too long, will dry out faster!

Pavlova oh pavlova...

I have a sweet tooth, but this was a bit tooooooooo much for me! (But it was divine!)

One of our assignments for photo club is food photography, what a good excuse to try out a new recipe every now and then!

I got the recipe in one of the Taste magazines of 2010. NEVER cooked/baked out of it until yesterday morning. According to them it serves 6, but I'd rather half the recipe if it's only 6 people eating from it.


Well, here goes:

Preparation time: 20 min
Banking: 1 hour, plus 3 hours setting time

Ingredients:

• 8 large (free range) eggs
• 440g caster suger
• 1 1/2 cups strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries
• 2 cups of cream, whipped, for serving

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius.
• Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper of a silicon mat.
• Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl (or if you have a Kenwood mixer or the likes...). Use a low speed setting while whisking eggs until foamy.
• Increase the speed and beat until stiff peaks from. Add caster sugar a little at a time until you have a stiff, glossy mixture.
• Spoon mixture onto the baking tray and bake on a rack in the centre of the oven for 1 hour.
• Turn off the oven but leave the meringue inside to dry out for a furtehr few hours.
• Crush 1 cup of the raspberries and fol into the remaining raspberries, along with the halved strawberries. 
• Once the pavlova is ready, top with whipped cream, fresh berries and a liberal dusting of icing sugar.

Hope you enjoy trying out this recipe!!

  

A very dear family: Marcia, Zwelakhe, Mpumi and Zolani

I've done quite a few photo shoots with the Davids family over the past year. How great it was to meet Zolani for the first time! Unfortunately we couldn't get photos with him and his big sister... Hopefully he'll be more happy in her arms with the next photo shoot!! ... Think I'll have mittens and a hot water bottle to warm up Mpumi's hands for the next shoot! ... Can't wait for it!

Marcia and Zwelakhe, hope your family will be blessed with love and happiness. 

The dog(ie)s, the pavement and the DOO-DOO BOO-BOO!!

I have two Jack Russel's, each with a personality of their own. I have to confess, I don't take them for a walk on a regular basis (which I should do, then both Gina and I can work getting into a shape that's not round ;-) ), preferring playing fetch with them.

This morning after gym I decided it's time for a long overdue walk. My normally well behaved dogs got over exited as I got the leashes out, and not moving fast enough to their taste (I started my computer to check my e-mails) the little rascal opened the safety door yelping and jumping, pleading with me to leave EVERYTHING and take them for a walk.

Things started to go down-hill (literally and figuratively) really fast on the return journey. Too late I realized the reason Jess isn't following me and the next moment the DOO-DOO made a big BOO-BOO on the sidewalk! (I'd like her explaining this one to Santa!)

There I stood, probably frozen with a expression of utmost horror on my face, with a dog looking at me with an expression of OK, I'm fine, now lets go... So I took a tissue out of my pocket, picked up the doo-doo and walked home, with two dogs at my side, one very please with herself, and a very bad smelling tissue in my hand, carried with the utmost care and a arm length from my nose!

Jess as a puppy

Gina as a puppy

Upgrading from their apple box since they stopped chewing on everything!

... and then they planted a tree in the pot, spoiling our fun!