Condensed Milk Cookies for the Soul

There is nothing like a cup of tea and biscuits. The whole process of baking them and then sitting down to let one melt in my mouth with a cup of tea makes my soul happy! My sister used to bake these for her husband when he was in the army and they have always been a family favourite. I remember baking these biscuits from a very young age!

Ingredients

220g butter, slightly softened

1/2 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of condensed milk

1tsp vanilla essence

2 & 1/4 cup of cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Cream butter and sugar together. Add vanilla essence and condensed milk and beat well. Stir in the flour and baking powder until mixed well. It should have a crumb like consistency. Kneed the dough together and form a ball. Lightly grease a baking tray. Roll dough into small balls and place on baking tray. Press down on each ball with a fork. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 mins or until golden on the edges.

Life Happens While You're Busy Making Other Plans

It has been a while since I have posted anything, life has been a bit hectic over the last few months, in fact it feels like life has turned upside down! Jared's company wants to open up a branch office in Kenya, Nairobi. They employed me in July and want us to move to Nairobi to open the office!!! So we packed our bags at the end of June and moved to Joburg for training for two months. Since we have been in Joburg we have traveled to Kenya and Namibia. Things are not happening as quickly as we thought they would with regards to Kenya, which can be frustrating at times, however we have to remind ourselves to take each day as it comes. Our boss has a saying: "Life happens while you're busy making other plans". So we are trying to just let life happen, all the "plans" we seem to make end up changing, so it's best to enjoy each and every moment and soak up as much as we can from what we experience on a daily basis. So far it is working out pretty well for us! We have experienced some amazing things since we have been in Joburg, and although I miss home terribly, I am REALLY enjoying my job for the first time since I started working. Life can be BITTER SWEET :)

More on our Namibia trip soon....

Surely I don't need a bigger size!!!!

For any woman reading my blog I am sure this has happened to you at least once....

I decided on the weekend to run into Edgars quickly and buy myself a pair of black tights. In my mind this would not be a long procedure at all, except I got a little side tracked in the store...there was a really nice short skirt to wear over the tights as well as various different colour's, styles and so on. So my 5 minute run into Edgars ended up taking a little longer than expected (much to my husband's horror). He lost interest after 5 minutes and said I should call when I'm done (so typical).

So off I want to the change rooms with 3 pairs of tights and a skirt that looked like it belonged to my 16 year old niece (yes I thought that it may look good on me, how foolish!) I stood in a long cue waiting to get into the change room, sweating my ass off in the Durban humidity. I finally got into the change room, stripped down and started pulling the black tights up me leg. I think I made it to just under my knee cap when I realised that they were so tight that I would have to cut them off if I ventured any further! I then proceeded to try the skirt on which looked totally ridiculous! So my shopping spree was a complete failure!!!!

I don't exactly consider myself to be large. I know that I could probably do with dropping a few kilos and toning up a bit, but I really did not think that I was large! After the "tights debacle" I am a bit concerned. You see, I had a choice between a small/medium pair or a medium/large pair, so naturally I went for the small/medium. I am only about 156cm tall....so the medium/large would have had to be pulled up under my arm pits to look anywhere near normal! So with the smaller pair not going anywhere higher than my knee and the larger pair being so long, I walked out the store with nothing! My husband, being the good man that he is, insisted that the tights were obviously made for small Chinese people and that I should not be concerned at all that they did not fit. So, instead of getting depressed about it, I am going to go with that theory!!!

I say we boycott small Chinese made tights...because surely I don't actually need a bigger size!!!!!

Peppered Fillet Steak

Every weekend I seem to get an urge to find a new recipe and cook! I don't know if this is what they call "nesting" or whether it is just an obsession to eat seriously good food! Last weekend I went searching the internet for a fillet steak recipe. As usual I stumbled upon Jamie Oliver's website... (I can't help my love for his recipes!!!!) So this recipe is inspired by one of his recipes. It tasted really good, but is not something you could eat often. First of all fillet steak is very expensive, and secondly the creamy sauce is extremely rich. In saying that, if you want to spoil your selves this is an excellent quick and easy recipe!

Peppered Fillet served with roasted baby potatoes and a garden salad.

For two people  you will need -

For the Peppered Fillet -

Two pieces of beef fillet (about 250g each depending on how hungry you are)
1 Packet of mixed peppercorns
100ml Fresh Cream
A few sprigs of Rosemary
Canola Oil
Butter
Salt & Pepper to season

For the side dishes - 

10 baby potatoes

Lettuce

Cucumber

Smoked Pancetta / Bacon

Olive Oil

Balsamic vinegar

Method -

Take the meat out the fridge and allow to stand for at least an hour so that it reaches room temperature.

Cut the baby potatoes in half and par boil them until they are slightly soft. Then drain off all the water and pat dry with a paper towel. Put them into a roasting pan and toss with canola oil, chopped up Rosemary (Season with salt and pepper). Roast in the oven until golden brown and crispy.

Season the fillet with salt and pepper and rub with canola oil. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes. In the meantime heat up a non-stick frying pan, add one teaspoon of oil and two sprigs of Rosemary. Allow the Rosemary to fry in the oil for a few seconds and then remove it from the pan. This gives the oil a lovely flavour which transfers to your meat. Coat your pieces of fillet with pepper corns. Don't be shy with this, you can literally completely cover them with peppercorns. Then lay them in the pan with a knob of butter and fry. You can leave them for about 5 minutes on each side, depending on how your like your steak done. We like it medium so about 10 mins in total is usually okay. Once the steak is cooked remove it from the pan. Turn the heat down and add your fresh cream to the pan. Allow it to simmer for about a minute then pour over the fillet steak to serve. 

For the salad simply chop up lettuce and cucumber. Fry the Pancetta or bacon until brown and crispy, serve on top of your lettuce leaves. Dress with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Enjoy!

U2 360 Tour Johannesburg

People have described the U2 concert as "a religious experience" - religious or not....it will definitely go down as one of my most memorable experiences! We cued for ages, drank loads of beer, ate lots of junk, walked for miles, screamed till we were blue in the face  and felt worse off for it the next morning!!!! BUT ...it was well worth it, and I would do it over again in a heart beat.

There has been a lot of negative feedback around the organisation of the concert. People have complained about terrible cues, beer running out, food running out, transportation issues (just to name a few things). I think if one considers the fact that this is the biggest concert that South Africa has ever seen (nearly 100 000 people) it was a phenomenal feat to put on a concert of this magnitude. The logistics that go into it must be scary! It wasn't great having to cue for things, but then what did people expect??? This is a learning curve for the concert organisers and perhaps next time things will run smoother. I know that I am so grateful to have been a part of this experience and despite all the negative aspects, I thought it was worth it.

Although I did not know all the songs that U2 played, I enjoyed every one of them. Of course they played the favourites like "With or Without You", " Beautiful day" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday", but ALL their songs were amazing! There is something to be said for a band that has been going for over 3 decades! This was evident from the diversity of the crowd - there were very young people as well as very old people and everything in between. This just shows that U2 has captivated that attention of a very wide audience. Not many bands can say that. For me they are right up there with the legends - The Beatles and Queen.

I think one thing is clear - U2 have a message.

They have become very political, and Bono is a well known activist, and I must say that I never quite understood it until I watched him in action. On Sunday night as I sat there watching Bono speak and sing to thousands of people about Mandela I got goosebumps. I felt a sudden surge of patriotism, I felt proud in that moment to be South African, if he could rouse this feeling in me, imagine how many people in the audience must have felt the same way! I understood in that moment that U2 have this amazing opportunity to reach millions of people around the world, why wouldn't they have a message more meaningful than music alone! They have a platform from which they can send a message out to people all over the world, and I think that it is commendable and wonderful that they do so!!!!

For me the most memorable moments were seeing the picture of Mandela on the screen and hearing Bono sing Amazing  Grace, these two moments brought me to tears and made me realise that I am a proud South African, Christian woman!!!!

U2 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I will try post some pics later)

Melancholy Wednesday.

"Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other."
-- Stephen L Richards 

This was the quote at the bottom of the page in my diary today. Normally I would read over this quote and think to myself "well that's quite profound" and then move on. For some reason today was very different. This quote got me thinking! It was probably due to the fact that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and was feeling sorry for myself that I let my mind dwell on the meaning of life. 

I don't cope very well when things in my life are uncertain or when I am required to relinquish control to a higher being. (Yes they say that being a control freak is a problem...) Unfortunately there are just some things in life that we have no control over...this drives me insane. I like my life to have some sort of plan...that I have thought out and can manipulate. However, I realised today that there are certain things that require me to dispel all doubt and just take a leap of faith. As difficult as this is for the control freak in me to handle, I am beginning to understand that my happiness depends on it! 

This brings me to my melancholy mood today. You know when you just wake up feeling that you are somehow hard done by, that your life could somehow be better or more certain? As selfish as that sounds, everyone feels like this at one point or another. I know that I am not the most positive person, hence i like to surround myself with people that can pick me up when I am down, because I do tend to dwell on the negative a bit. Today I woke up, feeling like  I had the world on my shoulders. I walked into work this morning and you didn't have to ask me how I was feeling to know that I was unhappy, my face says it all! I have never been the best at hiding my emotions. However, I realised as the day went on, that as much as other people can shed some light on my dark moments...it is really up to me to change my mindset. You can't always rely on other people to pick you up.  

So when I read this quote I didn't just brush it off as "just another profound quote to make us all feel better for a brief second", I actually pondered on it. It is true that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, because doubt creeps in slowly but surely and before you know it you have no faith left at all! 

The dictionary meaning of faith is a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing OR secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.

I think to have faith would mean that you would automatically dispel any doubt that you may have in your mind. It is doubt that makes us fearful of change, it is doubt that makes us scared to let go. Only by having faith can you let go of all your doubts and start believing that although life may be uncertain and change may be scary things will turn out okay. It is this "secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of His will" that will allow us to embrace life's uncertainties and challenges. 

I think I sufficiently managed to change my mindset today. Although things can seem tough when they are happening, there will always be someone out there experiencing far greater challenges in their life! 

So heres to "blue Wednesday" and waking up on the RIGHT side of the bed tomorrow :)  

Ham Tagliatelle Recipe

This recipe feeds 6 people. I made this the other night for dinner at my parents place so I had to cook for more people than I am used to. It is quite a rich meal though, so suggest having it with a side salad.

Ingredients:

500g Tagliatelle Pasta

500ml Fresh Cream (reduced fat if you can get it)

1 packet of diced bacon (optional, adds more flavour)

10 slices Cooked Ham

! red pepper

1 green pepper

2 Tsp crushed garlic

Buttom Mushrooms ( I used about 6, but you can use more)

Paprika 

Origanum

Black Pepper

Parmesan to season

Method:

Chop red pepper, green pepper, mushrooms and ham into pieces. Use a large non-stick frying pan. Put a teaspoon of oil in the frying pan and then add the red peppers, green peppers and two teaspoons of crushed garlic. Fry them up a little and then add the paprika. You would use quite a fair amount of paprika as it gives the dish some flavour, I would say about 4 heaped teaspoons. Frying the paprika in the beginning with the peppers brings out the flavour. You can then add the bacon and mushrooms and fry up until bacon is golden. Then add the cooked ham (the ham doesn't need to cook, so it can be added last). At this point you can start boiling your pasta in water, with a dash of oil and a pinch of salt. The oil helps the pasta not to stick together or to the bottom of the pot, and the salt just makes it taste good. Make sure the heat for the frying pan is now turned down. Then add the cream to the frying pan with all the other ingredients. Let it simmer.

Once the pasta is cooked al dente I would suggest draining the water and then putting the pasta in a Pirex dish. If you were only cooking for two you could add the pasta to the other ingredients, but in this case there is just far too much food! Once the pasta is in the Pirex dish you can pour the ingredients from the pan over the pasta and mix it up a bit until all the pasta is coated with the creamy sauce. I then sprinkled the top of  the pasta with some grated Parmesan.

Serve with a side salad or Ciabatta bread (if you are really hungry)

Hollywood Nights at Zimbali Lodge

 I am still exhausted after a very eventful weekend, hence the reason it is already Wednesday and I am only posting this blog now! Our work function on Friday night was a huge success, but left me wondering why I didn't decide to stick to having two drinks and only getting tipsy. As we arrived at work to catch our bus on Friday afternoon we were met by some legendary Hollywood characters, they included the likes of Charley Chaplin, Ozzy Osborne, The Godfather, Hugh Hefner, Maverick (Top Gun), James Bond and of course the Playboy Bunnies! We were loaded on to two buses and as we started to make our way up the North Coast Highway there was much speculation as to where the event was being held. It was only when we pulled into the driveway at Zimbali Lodge that true excitement mounted as we realised that we were in for a very elaborate evening!

Hugh Hefner and The Playboy Bunnies

We entered the venue on a red carpet, and were met by life sized Oscar statues as well as photographers to capture our true Hollywood moments. The evening started off with champagne which was followed by the most delectable appetizers. At this point the cocktails started to flow and everyone started to feel far more relaxed and sociable. This was followed by a rather embarrassing moment for one of my colleagues who ended up in one of the ponds on the deck. This was only at about 8pm, so you can imagine how the rest of the evening turned out!

The food was magnificent and the DJ had everyone on the dance floor the whole evening. A few too many shooters were had by all as well as a few too many embarrassing moments. I woke up the following morning with a very fuzzy head trying to recount the events of the previous evening to make sure that I had not embarrassed myself. Fortunately I don't think I was the only one who was a little over zealous with the tequilas!!

The Bunny's are on the dance floor!

Pictures speak a thousand words, so here are a few of the decent ones. (I didn't think it would be wise to post too many of the incriminating photos!)  

Later on in the evening

Charlie Chaplin

  

Charlie Chaplin has passed out in the bus on the way home

  

Office Party 2011....The Build Up

Most office parties / year end functions happen at the end of each year, however my company works slightly differently. Due to the fact that we are very busy at the end of each year, we have a "New Year function" instead of a "Year end Function". This year our theme is Hollywood Nights....all we have been told is to dress to impress and be at work at 4:30pm, where a bus will await to take us to a "secret location". The idea of not knowing where we are going is killing me! Myself and a few colleagues have been thrashing out ideas for weeks now as to where the function might be. The organisers must have done a fantastic job though, because we still have not figured it out. However, we have figured out what we will be wearing...our immediate boss will be going as Hugh Hefner and all the girls in our department are dressing up as his Playboy bunnies. (It should be an interesting evening!!)

The questions that always come up before work functions usually involve how much alcohol one should consume and how much alcohol it is appropriate to consume (please refer to my poll). I have researched this and most people strongly advise one NOT to drink too much as things may happen that leave you never wanting to face your colleagues and boss again! I am sure most of you have seen the clip below, however I thought it really illustrated why one should NEVER drink too much at a work function! 

Another interesting example is based on one of Jared's experiences...He attended a "themed" work function at Monte Casino last year and had to give a speech to well over 200 people. Naturally, he was quite nervous so thought it would be a good idea to have a few drinks to calm the nerves...this seemed like a rational though at the time. His speech went down very well, so in the spirit of celebrating he had a few more drinks, followed by his customers buying him yet a few more drinks. By the end of the evening he was being led by his boss through Monte Casino while dressed in an Uncle Sam outfit (complete with the top hat!) I wish there was video footage of this as I am sure  it was quite a sight to see!! Moral of the story: never drink too much at a work function. 

In saying this, when I came up with the poll questions and I thought about which answer I would choose, it would definitely be..."Just have fun, who cares!" Not to limit yourself is a risk, however why put a limit on the amount of fun you are allowed to have!!! Embarrassing things may or may not happen, but at the end of the day the whole idea behind having office parties or functions is to boost the morale and comradery between employees and what better way to do so than over a few tequilas!!! 

So stay in touch to see the photos which will follow next week Monday. I am sure they will be extremely entertaining to say the least!

If anyone else has a funny story to tell about an embarrassing moment at a work function please let me know? 

Welcoming Baby Bug into the World

*For the purpose of this blog names have been changed* "Chinrest" refers to our friend who was pregnant and "Chommie" refers to her husband.

In June last year our group of friends were standing at the Kosi Bay boarder post waiting for a boarder transfer to pick us up to go to Ponta Do Ouro in Mozambique. Most of us were drinking a cold beer and laughing at the fact that we were now working on "African Time" and could wait forever to get picked up. Little did we know that one of the couples that we are friends with were about to give us the most exciting news of the year. We all stood in disbelief staring at "Chinrest" and "Chommie" as they told us that "Chinrest" was 12 weeks pregnant!!! In an instant all the guys were offering her everything from a chair to a cool drink and asking if she was feeling alright while all the ladies went week at the knees at the thought of having a baby in our group. It was a truly special moment and we celebrated well into the evening (many R&R's were had by all!)

Since that day we have been waiting in anticipation for "Bug's" arrival. Up until the 21st January 2011 it was a surreal thought that we would have a baby at our next get together. We received a message on Friday the 21st to let us all know that "Chinrest" had finally gone into labour and that it would not be long before "Bug's" arrival. Now most people are not as brave (or as crazy) as "Chinrest", as she decided that she would have an "all natural" water birth!!!! FREAK OUT!!!! I would be saying "bring on the pain meds doc!!!!". However, she bravely contended with hours of painful contractions until eventually "Bug" was in distress and had to be removed by an Emergency C-section.

Last night our entire group of friends (which consists of 10 people) stood staring through the nursery window at the wonderful miracle of life that presents itself in a beautiful, healthy baby boy! I felt as if I was having some sort of outer body experience as I watched us all crammed into a hospital room discussing labour pains, babies winds and of course which sport baby Bug would grow up to play! It felt as if I was a child watching a bunch of grown ups discussing babies...until I realised that it was me sitting in that room and that I am the grown up!!!!

Although last night did not make me broody, seeing my two special friends so proud and beaming with joy and love over the birth of their baby boy made me realise that I am a grown up and this is my life and I am so grateful to be able to share in such a life changing moment with my dearest friends!!!

***For now the "baby braai tongs" are in the process of being made in anticipation of "Bug's" first braai next weekend.***

xxxx

Quick and Easy Bacon & Pea Pasta

All my recipes are made to serve two people, however there is usually left overs for lunch the next day.

This is one of my favorite pasta recipes to cook! It is so quick and easy. I know it sounds strange to use peas in a pasta, but the combination of bacon, peas and mint really compliment each other. Jared loves this dish and calls it my "signature dish". I can't take all the credit though, it is inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe. Yes, I am a HUGE fan of the Naked Chef :)

Preparation Time: About 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins max

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of lean, diced bacon (you can use Pancetta, however I find it too fatty)
• 150g Young and Tender frozen peas
• 250ml fresh cream (you can use 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche, however it is hard to find and quite expensive)
• a bunch of fresh mint leaves (chopped finely with no stalks)
• 100g mini-shell pasta
• 10ml Canola oil
• 100g grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic
• salt and pepper to season

Variation:

• Add some chicken to your sauce (chicken breast strips work best)

Method:

Add 10ml oil to a non-stick frying pan, once heated add the bacon bits with a bit of ground black pepper and ground sea salt. Fry a little, then add the crushed garlic. Fry until bacon is cooked through and slightly golden. Next add the peas and turn the heat right down. At this point you can boil your pasta shells in water with a pinch of salt (cook until al dente). Take the pasta off the stove and drain most of the water, reserving a bit for later. Next add the mint to the bacon and peas, fry for a few seconds and then add the fresh cream. Let the sauce simmer for a little while. Next add the pasta to the sauce, you can add a splash of the reserved cooking water to thin the sauce out a bit. Mix the pasta in with the sauce well and then stir in the Parmesan cheese. Your pasta can now be served. (Season with salt and pepper to taste)

(This dish is delicious served with a fresh green salad.)

Enjoy!!!!

For some awesome pasta recipes check out:

www.jamieoliver.com

The meaning behind Mrs Double D

Before you all jump to conclusions...I do NOT have big boobs, I am not blonde and I hate everything about those stereotypes (I will save that for another post!) I got my recent nick name from my husbands Uncle. My husband, Jared, and I went out a few weeks before our wedding and bumped into his cousin and Uncle. We had been at the Keg all afternoon...and needless to say I was feeling very over zealous and had a fair amount of "Dutch courage"!!!! I suppose my pending nuptials made me very excited to announce to everyone that I was going to become "Mrs Doig". My maiden surname is Dauberman....hence if I was crazy enough I could double barrel my surname...and I would then become Mrs Dauberman-Doig. Between myself, Jared, his cousin and Uncle we came up with the theory that if I had to do this they could just call me "Mrs Double D". I woke up the next morning with a HUGE headache and a nagging feeling that I had embarrassed myself terribly the night before. The name Mrs Double D has stuck! I have to explain this story to everyone when I am in the presence of Jared's Uncle Cliff...as he does not seem to call me by my name anymore. To him I am Mrs Double D...and now that we are married it could not be more fitting!

P.S. I have not actually double barreled my surname as it would cause me years of embarrassment :)