Kitchen Demons

Xperience 76

I’m not to keen to share this one, as it’s contradicting my previous xperience, but freaking hell, here goes.

Contrary to believe, I’m pretty good in the kitchen. I like trying new recipes or even some older traditional ones and then adding my own little twist. The best thing I ever baked was bread (so rewarding!) and I’ve been craving “pampoenkoekies” for a while. If you don’t know what this is, it’s in essence a pumpkin flapjack, something I grew up with, but never made myself.

I found a recipe and some leftover butternut and there I went. I’ve had some less successful ventures in the kitchen, but none that was completely inedible. Somehow I could always save it in some way, but this time, my luck ran out.
It was horrible, inedible and actually quite disgusting.
I’m not sure what was the worst, not having what I craved? Or the fact that I had my first (total) FLOP ever.

I felt so bad I made a whole pot of “melk kos” and ate the biggest part by myself (I’m going through a winter Afrikaans comfort food phase). Quite frankly the only way to flop it is by burning it… And sure as hell, I slightly scorched it.

I might be a genius at sorting my minimal computer problems, but apparently I lost my touch in the kitchen I refuse to believe that, so now I’m convinced there is a kitchen demon residing in my stove. Wonder if I can find an exorcist on Gumtree?

 

I am a Genius!!

Xperience 75

Have you ever painstakingly followed a list of instructions to fixing/adding some kind of application on your PC? This list, by the way you printed, because somewhere in all this you have to restart your PC about 39 times and then you have to open again wherever you saved it and pick up where you left, enough to drive me to a bottle of wine. Or you’re trying to do some strange SEO black magic and once again have this list of places to click, copy & paste, search, apply and what-not?

Well, I knew that somehow I could use my BlackBerry as a modem. But like most things electronic in my life, it just isn’t “plug & play”. So I went to the all-knowing wizard of life, Google. As always he had an answer, a few million actually and I chose my favourite and printed the list of steps.

In all the moving I did since getting my BB, I’ve misplaced the Desktop Manager CD, so step 1 was to download it again. This was quite easy, I restarted and went on to step 2. Click here, click there, look for Standard Modem. Huh? I have some other modems, but no Standard Modem. Then I couldn’t find the program I downloaded. I uninstalled it and tried to find another one. An hour or a few days later (it felt) I found another one, downloaded it and the ran it and that took AGES. I restarted again and tried my luck. This time after I clicked and clicked, there was a Standard Modem… and down the steps I went. I couldn’t believe my luck, so I tried to connect and Failed!! Because I didn’t read the last damn step! After I corrected me mistake the wonderful yellow thingy popped up at the bottom of the screen, I was connected and the heavens rejoiced.

The first time I changed a tire by myself  I had to exclaim “I am Superwoman!”. In all fairness I was wearing heels and on my way to an important meeting, so just give it to me. The second time I did it without getting any kind of black grub on my face and all my nails survived, I just had to confirm by saying “I’m still Superwoman!”

I think after all this I can now state, “I am a Genius!!” (frankly if you’re rolling your eyes at all this, you’re most probably some internet/computer geek, deal with my short comings and triumphs).

 

 

Beer & Aprons

Normally these would go together on a German Bar Maid, but in this case… well maybe we should have worn aprons.

Xperience 73

I’m seeing a worrying trend in the office. A few weeks running now, somewhere around afternoon tea-time someone would go “So, are  you going straight home after work?” The answer would go something like this, “Why? You feel like having a drink?” and the resounding answer to that would be “Gosh, yes please”. It takes about 30 seconds to decide where, based on the time of the month (our financial state) and weather.

This time though, I suggested &Union. I’ve heard of it so much and honestly my FOMO (fear of missing out) was getting out of hand. Straight after work, Ronel and I headed down Bree street. I have to admit we were stumped when we tried to order, but &Union came to our rescue with their special for the night. 3 beers for R100. To make things easier, we chose three different ones and started tasting. Oh Boy! I can now mention, I’ve always liked German beer and have spent many summer afternoons at the Paulaner Brauhaus in the V&A Waterfront. &Union is even better, less tourists, more young professionals and there is live entertainment on Wednesdays! We even convinced another friend to join us (it was supposed to be a business meeting…), I think we might have converted him too.

Xperience 74

On our way back from cutting keys (I refuse to explain, make up your own story), Kim and I decided it’s time for lunch. As always I insisted we have a look at the new place in 210 on Long Mall (I have to get my quotas!) and dragged Kim in.

The Chef’s Apron greeted us as if we were the only clients they’ve ever had. The Head Apron patiently took us through their whole menu, explaining all the options (I liked the part where you can bring your own dish). We settled for a Lentil Cottage Pie to share, even though we were assured it was a single portion, to us it was way more. The HA (Head Apron) still tried to sell us some cheese rolls, if the Pie wasn’t enough, we were sure.

The cottage pie was almost as good as my mom’s (c’mon, she’s reading this!), but believe me I’ll be back for more. Remember them, if you’re having some people over for dinner and don’t have time to make that lasagna? They’ll do it for you in your own dish, no-one has to know…

 

Plan B

Xperience 68, 69, 70, 71,72

I’ve tried to get my friends from work to stay over at my place in the Norf for a while. At last we got a date, so I organised their Visas and welcoming letters to pass through the Boerewors curtain, when Kim broke the news. She’s got to house-sit over the weekend.

But, like the women we are, we just moved the girls night to the new house, easy-peasy. And Plan B worked out better, as there was more space for more girls!

Saturday morning broke with sunshine, which meant only one thing – markets! I collected my friend Renée from home and off we went to the City Bowl Market on Hope. Oh my hat, what an amazing “new” market, which quite reminds me of a bazaar, the kind churches and schools in small towns have.

Then off we went to trusty Biscuit Mill. A little while ago I drove past and was happy to see many new businesses opening around the Mill. It was time to explore.

I think one of the best finds for the day was WeWood and Cameron Barnes Sustainable Furniture both in the same shop. I’ve always liked the idea of complementing products under one roof and these just shows how far one can go with it. I can’t wait to buy myself a time piece from WeWood (make sure to look out for that post!)

By this time I had to get myself over to the other side of the peninsula for an afternoon and evening of…. Plan B.

So what happens when a bunch of girls finish off all the wine and snacks in the house before 6pm? They splash on some lip gloss and paint the town red and blue (pink – whatever makes you happy).

I’ve never partied in Table View (nothing against them, it’s just not in the top whatever) and now our group has grown to include Nicolet (fresh from Miami) and suddenly I was drinking Kinky Goblins (please note no magical beings was harmed for this post) and paying entry to Medleyz (please don’t judge). If you think that sentence had a lot of information, well that’s how the night went. If I had to choose a few words to describe the night;

drink, drink, snacks, drink, car, cubana, drink, kinky goblin, drink, medleyz, drink, dance, dance, blue, dance, blue, dance, drink, home, laugh, laugh, crash

Plan B day was one epic success. From waking up and deciding to abandon my domestic responsibilities and spend the morning with a great friend to finding new (somewhat dingy)  places to party with the girls, I went to bed very happy.

 

A Marathon

No!! Don’t worry, I’m not running one. Just writing one in xperiences…

Xperience 55

I found myself fed and with a clean apartment, with nothing to watch on television around 7pm. What is a woman to do? To early to go to bed, not feeling like going out I remembered something I saw on television. An interesting way to convert your plastic bags into coasters and all sorts of useful things. I have a lot of bags lying around and our office needs coasters.

So I poured a glass of wine, got the iron,the mountain of bags and almost burnt down my apartment. But I made some really pretty coasters and did my part for recycling.

Xperience 56

Another xperience in the tasting category, but honestly will you say no to Baby Marrow & Brie soup from Jason? I thought not.

Xperience 57

Maybe I should also pledge to start jogging, or something exercise-ish. Seeing that I saw a new chocolate flavour and had to try it. Don’t try the Triple Delight Chocolate with the pear in it…take this tip and buy something else.

Xperience 58

Drinks at Neighbourhood again, but this time I met 2 new amazing ladies to add to my friend list. In my opinion still the bestest new xperience.

Xperience 59

One of my favourite eateries in Cape Town is the Eastern Food Bazaar. I’ve tried just about everything on their menu, but not the Chicken Kofta Balls yet. In essence it’s chicken meatballs, but done the curry way. Yummy enough and something I’m going to try to make myself.

Xperience 60

One of the best exports from India is Chai Tea, but finding a good one isn’t that easy. I have! It’s called Drink Me Chai Tea, sold at Pick ‘n Pay and comes in different flavours, now go forth my friends and indulge.

Xperience 61

I’m blessed to live in an area where there is no shortage of inspiration. So I drove to one of my favourite spots hoping the canola is already in bloom, but no such luck. Instead I decided to turn right down a road I’ve never taken, a new xperience completely unplanned and so exhilarating. I was technically “lost” for a while, but I found some cows and had a wonderful photo shoot with them…

Xperience 62

I’ve been to Philadelphia before, but quickly to pick something up from a house, so it didn’t count. While I was “lost” I drove into this little town. Parked my car on the church square and took my camera for a walk.

Wow, what a little gem of a place. Other than the 2 or 3 full restaurants in the centre of the town, the rest was quiet and exactly the way one think of small little towns in the middle of nowhere. I can’t wait to go back and take some friends with.

Xperience 63

Mondays should be called black, not blue. What’s the best way to cure a new week born wrong? Have a bottle (or 4) with your girlfriends. It’s even better when they are also experiencing this dark Monday…as no-one sympathises better than girlfriend working in the same offices.

They did one better even and took me to a new pub, Brassiers. I have a feeling they will see much more of us.

Xperience 64

I’m happy to say I haven’t  picked up that much weight at all, a bit on the sides, but I’m still fitting into my skinny jeans without looking like a Mugg & Bean muffin.

So I had Kickass Pie at Jason and the new variation was Chicken & Veg with Marsala. Bliss.

Xperience 65

Ever wondered if you get Gypsies in South Africa? Maybe not in the European sense, but the wonderful people from Balkanology think we should at least enjoy their music.

I was fortunate enough to work in the bar at last production at the Zip Zap Circus Dome. The first time and lemme tell you now, the next one I’m so not working!

Xperience 66 & 67

I think one of the worst things one can do, is walk past a place weekly and never pop in. Or taste for this matter. Unfortunately I have a bad habit of never walking past Jason for obvious reasons, but the other day Ronel and I walked all the way down.

We were richly rewarded for stopping at Crema! and trying their Cauliflower & Spinach soup. Two xperiences rolled into one… and they will see us way more! You can find them in Bloem Street almost on the corner of Long.

I think I should have done some carb loading before this marathon.

 

History is bound to repeat itself, again and again.

I suppose I should stop this from happening, it is after all within my powers (yes, apparently it’s a power, I just have to own it, or something like that). So here’s the low-down on what I’ve been up to lately.

Xperience 51

I’m sure I’m going to sound like an A-class brat, but seriously, public transport in the Northern suburbs is a joke. Catching it you need to first drive or walk or fly or in this case swim at least 2km. I’ve walked to the station before, when I was 19, from my parents house and it was closer (I’m dead sure). So stuff it, I’m claiming this one, first time I had to walk from my place to the closest station.

And then I had to find a place in town to revive my dead remote. All in a day’s work….

Xperience 52

I like to try new flavours, sometimes it’s a huge mistake (don’t try the aniseed flavour anti-acid, you will regret it, stick to the peppermint) and sometimes it will be your new favourite.

Popcorn is a great snack with a lot of flavours and it’s not fattening (seeing that I’m forever eating). I saw a while ago Jalapeno flavoured popcorn, threw it in my basket and then forgot about it. Until the other night. It burned the living daylights out of me, but boy, it was amazing!

Xperience 53

Have you ever seen a baby get an injection? We first feel for them when they cry and then we laugh, it’s just an injection after all. That’s until you’re on the receiving end…

Kim and I decided last week it’s time to go for another vitamin B12 injection, a wonderful idea at the time. But afterwards we both walked in the centre with a lame leg and felt very sorry for ourselves. Since neither of us cried or threw a tantrum we felt we deserved a treat. Kim’s never tried a macaroon before and with a selection of about 15 different flavours, she had a hard time deciding what to go for. I went straight for the new flavour, orange and chocolate.

Xperience 54

Friday’s apparently means one thing only…drinks after work.

Straight after  work (and I mean, at 5pm we locked the door) we went to my friend Ronel’s place. As we got there we realised, one three-quarter bottle won’t do between three really thirsty girls. So off we went to the quaintest little liquor store ever! Think about the size of a container, but three times higher and stacked to the ceiling with alcohol. Add to this friendly staff and a string of locals and regulars greeted by name and voilà, you have the Castle Bar’s liquor store.

All I can say, customer satisfaction.

 

Not even the kitchen sink would help…

Xperience 49 & 50

I’m sure I will be forgiven for sleeping the whole of Sunday, after partying like a Football Star on Saturday. Although this way of doing things doesn’t bode well for my challenge.

Monday I was invited for lunch at Yourstruly, a very nice little place on Long Street selling very good sandwiches. Unfortunately Yourstruly itself isn’t a new experience, but I haven’t tried their espresso yet. So sitting next to their counter on the sidewalk we were looking at the rain when I had the worst espresso (no 49). Please take note, an espresso should never be luke warm and watch the beans while you’re roasting them!

Mondays, in their essence are horrible days. Now please keep this in mind for the following. After working a bit later, I timed the intervals between the rain perfectly (bonus points for me), got to my car, pressed the alarm button and… Nothing. Perfect I thought. Blonds prevail, I’ve left my lights on again, but I didn’t. For once carrying everything but the kitchen sink in my bag paid off, I had the spare remote in my bag too.

So down the road I ran, back to the office to figure out what is wrong with this damn remote. What I didn’t have in my bag though was a screw driver and to be more precise, a phillips screw driver. After begging the security guards, they came up with a tweezers to help me. I know, major FAIL. I’m a chick with a bag and no tweezers… I’ll just return my status as a woman now.

My dad is an electrical engineer, so watching him play around the insides of a few radios and-what-not my sister and I broke over the years, I’ve learnt a few thing. But alas none of it would work, the remote…it is dead.

So what does a girl in distress do? Wait for a knight on a white horse? No sir. She phones her friend in a silver polo! Who needs men? Thanks Janine for rescuing me and then feeding me as well!

What’s the xperience? Jeez, do I have to point them out to you with a laser? How many time do I get to try to fix a remote with a pair of tweezers? So far only once.