I had a happy “kuier” (visit) with some good friends yesterday, and even though I knew they were coming I didn’t think to make something yummy until they got here.
It’s for that reason and those moments when you’re caught by surprise that classic scones are the perfect rescue! They’re delicious, quick and generally all the ingredients you need should be at hand so with minimal effort you have tasty treats.
There are numerous recipes for scones available and I love making different variations of the original such as lemon-blueberry or chocolate chip but as mentioned this is the quickest surest thing! There are numerous variations of the traditional scone recipe and I have tried a few, the recipe that I use is a combination of a few attempts and various recipes.
Recipe: Quick Classic Scones
Prep: 10 min Cook: 15 min
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup self-raising flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup butter, cut into cubes
3 tbsp icing sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
To Serve:
Butter
Jam
Whipped Cream
Grated Cheese
Method:
Heat oven to 180C/200C. Mix flour with salt, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Using a grater, grate butter into mixture. Using your hands mix the butter into the flour mixture until it’s crumbly.
Put the milk into a cup and add vanilla and lemon juice. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix and combine the liquid using a fork. The mix will initially be a little sticky.
Scatter additional flour into the bowl and fold the dough over a few times until the dough forms a smooth pliable shape. Scatter some more flour on teh work surface and tip the dough onto the work surface. Pat it into a circular shape roughly 1 inch thick and using a round cutter (5cm diameter) cut circular shaped scones.
Reshape the remaining dough and repeat the process until you have between 6 or 8 scones and you’ve used all the dough. Brush the tops with beaten egg, then place onto the baking tray.
Bake for 15 mins until risen and golden on the top.
Devour!! You can have these fresh out of the oven with an assortment of condiments as above or whipped cream with a splash of honey which is my current favorite . Or you can save it for later…which is unlikely.
This past week has just gotten away from me, I haven’t had a moment to blog and I meant to post this before the big wedding weekend.
Exciting times since this is my first craft DIY post!
Cute Personalised Enamel Mugs with mini hot chocolate bags
I am really happy to share this craft with you, it was a project we did to make wedding favour’s for my good friend’s upcoming wedding.
In light of that we made about 120 of these, which took a while…a little bit. This is a great inexpensive gift idea and if you’re making a few it’s relatively quick to make. There are many tutorial’s on pinterest and online for personalised mugs, in South Africa we do get a variety of marker’s including Sharpies that are becoming more readily available. For this project though I wanted to achieve a paint effect that had some texture. I scoured online and eventually ended up at the Herbert Evans in Rosebank, where a wonderful guy named Henry helped me find what turned out to be the perfect solution.
To make these cute crafty personalised enamel mugs you need the following products:
Paint and tools for the project
Enamel mug which is easily available at major retailers and come in a variety of colors. (R10.00)
Americana Writer paints (Red and Purple in the picture) by Deco Art. They come in a variety of colours and in a tube with an applicator. (+/- R 30.00)
Americana Gloss Enamel in black also by Deco Art (+/- R30.00)
Toothpicks or painting utensils that you are comfortable with.
Once you have all the necessary tools, it’s actually very quick and easy to make a personalised mug. A few things to note before you start is that you should decide on a design or concept before since writing on a curved surface can be tricky. Also, although the paints come with applicators on application it was quite thick so for our design and purpose it worked out better to use toothpicks as a drawing utensil.
Painting on the black
Since we were doing multiple colours we first did the black which was the basis of the design and outlined the cute heart accents.
We then left the black paint to dry for a few hours before applying the colour paint. Overall the process of painting on the mug takes less than 15 minutes.
Painting on the Colour
Once all the painting was done we left it to dry overnight before baking the mugs at 180 C for 30 minutes. And that’s it!!… we have 120 personalised mugs to give all the wedding guests. We filled each mug with a tasty single serving size hot chocolate complete with cookies and mini marshmallows.
Cute Personalised Enamel Mugs with mini hot chocolate bagsFinal Product – Cute Personalised Enamel Mugs
Along with my baked good’s addiction I have a small travel problem. If it weren’t for my sane and responsible husband I could easily spend every last cent travelling to new and exciting places. My last few trips were all out of South Africa and they were amazing, I will blog about them in elaborate detail in future post’s.
Landscape
Lately, however I have an overwhelming need to take a good old fashioned road trip. South Africa is a beautiful country, from the coast’s to the Kruger park and the Karoo it really is breathtaking. In honor of my edginess to start driving I thought I’d revisit a weekend trip I took with husband to the Golden Gate National Park.
Golden Gate National Park
The Golden Gate National Park is situated about 320km from Johannesburg in the Free State at the foot of the Maluti mountains, it is run by SANParkS . It is also about 40km from the quaint town of Clarens, however Clarens deserves it’s own post. What made the Golden Gate National Park special for me was the overwhelming grandeur of the sandstone cliff formations that stand guard. The colors of the rock formations cross varying hues of reds and purples and the sheer beauty that it creates is wondrous. In addition to the magnificent landscape that lends to exhilarating hiking, the national park also has ample bird and wildlife. There are other activities on offer such as horse riding, abseiling and canoeing.
Accommodation options in the area are varied, in fact since Clarens is so close, the options are endless. The park itself however has numerous and varied accommodation options such as camping facilities, self catering lodges and a newly renovated luxury hotel. We chose to stay at the Highlands Mountain Retreat which is a small collection of log cabins that sit at 2200m above sea level, which from what I understand is unique in South Africa. The view from our cabin was serene and stretched for miles. The self catering log cabins cater to couples and families and were spacious and clean. The undoubted star being the view, when you look out from your balcony perch you can easily get lost in the overlapping mountain range. The romance factor is exponential! When the weather turned the clouds descended on our cabin, it felt like we were the only people around for miles!
The Endless and Majestic view from the Cabin.
We did a good amount of hiking, the various trails in the park range in difficulty but every option is beautiful.
Hiking trails along Colourful rock formations.Sandstone CliffsHiking Trails
Pretty Colors
While our cabin was self catering the hotel has a restaurant and bar. The nearby town of Clarens has a variety of restaurants on offer. Overall the Golden Gate has a lot to offer, if you need a short trip out of the city it’s the perfect spot to spend time in the quiet wonder that is South Africa’s landscape.
A few years ago I was unhealthy and unfit, to be totally honest eating right and working out were not high on my list of priorities. I generally ate everything and as much as I wanted and I couldn’t run 500m let alone 5km/10km. I’m sure at some point I made a resolution to lose weight like so many people do. However, what that entailed and the journey that has extended from that is far removed from the concept of weight loss.
When I think about weight loss now, it doesn’t have the connotation of a decreasing value on a scale, but rather a direct link to health and fitness, and by that I think about eating properly and working out in a healthy way, I don’t really constantly focus on weight loss. A few years ago I didn’t understand much about nutrition or eating in a healthy way, since then I have learned a lot. No fad diets, which I’m sure I have tried many, nor quick fix workouts that will give me washboard abs in 6 weeks. Nutrition and eating properly is a constant work in progress for me mainly because I have a small cake and baked good’s problem. I am no fitness model, I’m not a size 0 and I don’t have a 6 pack. But I have made positive changes to my lifestyle and the benefits have far outweighed a quick fix or just changed the number on a scale.
For this blog post I am going to focus on fitness or working out. I am sure anyone who has read anything about fitness or weight loss has heard the simple words of “lifestyle change”, for me it was a complete lifestyle change. At some point I decided to start working out and I tried a multitude of different programmes and routines from boxing to water aerobics and joining the local gym, none of these really stuck but I kept trying different things until I found something I was comfortable with and noticed vast improvements in my fitness. I must admit that at that point my focus was on fitness, eating properly and losing weight were on a back burner until I could get myself to a point where working out was part of my everyday lifestyle. That approach worked the best for me, changing one aspect of your lifestyle at a time is more manageable and it gives you the ability to be positive about small changes rather than feel pressure to keep up with multiple changes at the same time.
Adventure Bootcamp for Women
The “miraculous” exercise programme that worked for me was Adventure Bootcamp. Initially I signed up at around 3am on a Sunday morning because I felt like crap. It was conveniently located around the corner from where I live and it was outdoor’s which was different to so many other programmes. I remember that first class like it was yesterday mainly I remember struggling to get up the stairs the next day. I kept going though and three years later I’m still a dedicated member. In the last three years with the help of Bootcamp I have trained myself to run and explored other types of training like weight lifting in addition to bootcamp. Bootcamp however has remained a staple.
I have seen many blog post’s about Adventure Bootcamp as an experience, I like to consider this more of a testimonial. Adventure Bootcamp is a company that has multiple franchises through many South African cities and town’s. It’s a womens only programme and it happens outdoors; summer, winter, light or dark outside; everyday. Each franchise has class times that vary and a trainer specific to that franchise. Classes are limited to a maximum of 45 people per class and each camp is scheduled in 4 week rotations. The workouts vary everyday but work along the focus guidelines of General body days, Upperbody and core and Legs and Cardio days. Regardless of the day, each workout is challenging and the trainers design them to keep it interesting.
Adventure Bootcamp
My trainer is Michelle who really puts a lot of thought and effort into her daily plans and extra activities for our camp. Over the last few years she has driven our camp to achieve amazing results not only in our personal fitness but also in terms of community and charity. I attend a class that is relatively smaller which suit’s me perfectly, over time I’ve gotten to know the ladies in my class and have really appreciated their support with every improvement and stride I’ve made. Working out outdoor’s is not common in Johannesburg and is one of the best things about bootcamp, that hour in the boiling sun, summer rain or frigid cold is an additional plus. I learned to challenge myself on a personal level and try my best as much as possible. After a few months of bootcamp, I was able to do things I never thought possible for myself, I was surprised that body was actually capable and at changes to the shape of my body. With the encouragement of our trainer and the ladies at bootcamp I’ve since done a few 10km runs and the Impi Challenge trail run, which are all things I would never have even considered previously.
Working it out!Adventure Bootcamp – Stretching at Sunset
For me fitness and working out is a constant evolution, my needs and interest’s change and that drives me to try different things but bootcamp has been a staple, it has undoubtedly been the one activity that has contributed to my lifestyle change and at this point if I don’t attend a class for a period of time I get a bit edgy. The serotonin alone makes me a bit of an addict, also that hour is my personal time where all the “stuff” just goes away. I can recommend Adventure Bootcamp regardless of your age or fitness level, there is a lot to be gained.
Coming up very soon, is the nuptials of a very good friend. As a pre-wedding/Bachelor party we celebrated at Beefcakes in Illovo this past weekend.
Beefcakes – Illovo Johannesburg
Beefcakes is a restaurant and entertainment venue synonymous with a retro 50’s Miami beach vibe enhanced by the madness of a glamorous drag show, sexy male waiters and delicious burgers. It’s camp chic at it’s best.
Pink and White Flamingo’s
Think flamingo’s, glitter, pink drinks and boy’s! As an entertainment venue it’s popular with bachelorette parties; however birthdays, baby showers, divorce parties and like us a Bachelor’s & Bachelor’s (which we later found out was the first at the venue) worked wonderfully. They have other themed nights through the week such as “Bitchy Bingo” on Tuesday’s and “The Dreemz Drag” on Thursday.
Lights, Sequins…Show!!!
The vibe and layout of the venue is very fun and friendly, everyone from the waiters to the vamp’s are absolutely fantastic. One of the clear highlights of the evening was the drag show put on by “The Vamps” who did a varied, current and entertaining music montage, accentuated with hair, makeup, sequins and extravagant costumes.
Beefcakes Burger
They are pretty famed for the beefcakes burgers, which are actually extremely tasty and are accompanied with fries and a selection of burger additions, such as guacamole, salsa and cheese’s. They do offer an a la carte menu with a more detailed offering. The Cocktails are pretty pink and yummy!
Pink Drinks
Topless Waiter’s anyone?
Finally, the evening end’s off with all the waiters stripping off their top’s revealing buffed, toned bodies that are up for body shot’s. A particularly popular offering especially for the brides-to-be.
Overall, beefcakes is a good, fun night out! It provides an evening of food, laughs, drinks and fancy entertainment!
Beefcakes is located in Illovo next to the Thrupp’s centre and they have an alternate branch in Bedfordview.
My Husband and I just celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary!
To celebrate the event we booked for dinner at the level 4 restaurant at the Tsogo sun’s 54 on bath hotel in Rosebank. I was super excited as I hadn’t been yet and I’d heard great things about it.
The Outdoor Terrace seating area
The restaurant is stylish and contemporary, it’s located on the terrace level, and has seating both indoors and outdoors on the terrace. We chose to be seated outside with the hope that the warm weather would hold out and we’d avoid a summer thunder shower.
Before I proceed I must admit that I played a rookie move and was armed with nothing but my Iphone camera, and the combination of romantic outdoor lighting, whilst wonderful for us did nothing for my photo’s. I ode to do better next time.
Complimentary Champagne to celebrate 8!
We decided to go all out and get a full 3 course dinner. Since we were celebrating the restaurant kindly provided a complimentary glass of champagne, which was a wonderful touch.
Coal fired peri-peri prawn , avocado, coriander and lime dressingStarter – Calamari variations (Ceviche, grilled and fried) with corn salad and kimchi
For starters my husband went with the Coal fired Peri-Peri prawns, avocado, coriander and lime dressing and I went with the Calamari variations (Ceviche, grilled and fried) with the corn salad and kimchi. The Calamari was tasty and the kimchi added a wonderful dynamic. The prawns were absolutely delicious the flavour combination of the peri-peri prawns with the avocado were on point.
Sustainable farmed sea-bass, artichokes, smoked olive salsa and dill cream
For mains we ordered the Sea bass with artichokes, smoked olive salsa with dill cream and the Afrikaner cattle rib-eye, with baby vegetables (as per Andre, our server’s suggestion) . The fish was perfectly prepared and the olive salsa really made the dish. I ordered the rib-eye medium rare and it was prepared to perfection. It was served with a bechamel sauce, and although it was a simple dish it was rich and wholesome.
Afrikaner cattle Rib – eye with baby vegetables and bechamel saucePistachio Molten Cake dessertCheesecake dessert
Finally for dessert…(yes we went all out)… between us we ordered the Pistachio Molten cake which is Grand Cru 64% Manjari chocolate & pistachio molten cake with fig, rose pearls &
pistachio ice cream and the cheesecake. The cheesecake was a vanilla cheesecake with stone fruit carpaccio, plum sorbet & grapefruit meringue. The cheesecake was a deconstructed cheesecake with a plum sorbet and peach slices, so it wasn’t a heavy or overly rich dish but was appropriately sweet. My husband devoured the Pistachio molten cake, I just about barely got a picture so I infer that he enjoyed it a whole lot.
Overall, I would say level 4 does a wonderful job of providing good food, great friendly service and comfortable surroundings. I would definately make my way back for brunch or even afternoon drinks with friends (a la the Veuve Cliquot champagne bar). The terrace itself is relaxed and the little garden fit for a game of croquet would be an interesting afternoon activity.
View from terrace
The stand out meal for the evening was the Coal fired peri- peri prawns and Andre who was stellar.
2015 started for me in an unexpected hospital visit, so my plans of a 1st day of 2015 blog post were slightly thwarted.
Alas all is salvaged and I’m back at it:) One of the most frustrating things about my hospital stay, (other than the fact that it’s a terrible way to spend new years…and, well the hospital part…) was the notification of a lovely little blog nomination!!!(frustrating because I couldn’t do anything about it!) How extremely exciting?!! I cannot even begin to explain how my inner excited child self was turning cart wheels!! Thank you so very much Justina Luther.
Let me take this opportunity to warn you of a very long blog post.
For a few months I’ve been trying to incorporate meditation into my daily routine. I thought it would be a good way to incorporate relaxation, positivity and focus into my sometimes haphazard way of going about things. Also, I feel like it can get loud in my head and meditation is one of the methods I really wanted to commit to, if not for balance just as a personal experiment. So I scoured pinterest and read books on different meditations and mindfulness and some were relatively simple and other’s were varsity level. None of them felt right for me though, for some reason it felt too forced or just too much.
Wondrously last week I was scrolling through my pinterest feed and
6 Phase meditation infographic, Mindvalley academy
came across a pin from the mindvalleyacademy.com blog. I found an infographic (I have, like a lot of people a deep appreciation for infographics, so much info in an entertaining image!) it was a 6 phase meditation. The blog provides the infographic and a video for guided meditation. I initially tried the guided meditation video and I have to be honest even after my first meditation I loved it!! In fact I liked it so much I immediately downloaded the Omvana app, which is currently free on the Iphone app store and comes with a few free mediation audio’s one of which is the 6 phase meditation.
Meditation to me is something every person experiences in a different way so while I don’t want to go into in depth detail I do want to suggest you give this mediation a try. Also although I’m new to the Omvana app I have to say thus far that the app itself is a wonderful resource for beginner meditation. The store is really comprehensive so I’m sure as you progress and your needs change through the process the app allows for easy navigation and self designed advance. Additional meditations can be bought off the app and prices range from $0.99 to $7.99 (that I’ve seen so far) the range is extensive and I’m pretty sure you could find a meditation fit for you.
Ok so this post has gone on long enough, I will continue to use this 6 phase meditation for the time being, but I know that I can easily adapt with the app. I probably will also try a few group meditation sessions in Johannesburg and when I do I will let you know. 🙂
Life.Lights.Love 