A new year, a new outlook

Although we are already well into this (not so) new year this is my first blog post for 2011 and quite a lot has happened in the past few weeks and months.

I ended 2010 by living out one of my biggest dreams as our family got to spend about three weeks touring the UK with my mom. We left Cape Town on my son's 13th birthday and after a brief stop over in Johannesburg and a loooooooong flight right through the night, we finally made it to Heathrow early the next morning.

The UK is everything we hoped for and more; there was history and wonder waiting for us around every corner. I felt like a weary wanderer coming out of the desert and stumbling into a pool of clear, sparkling water - I can not get enough of this country or its people and I wanted to drink it all in and store it away safely so I would never forget a single moment.

In London we spend two days on the Big Red Bus having all the best-known sights pointed out to us by our friendly, helpful tour guides and then ended our second day with a Thames River cruise. The great thing about the Big Red Bus is that you can get on or off as many times as you want while your ticket is still valid, so when you see a place you want to investigate, you just jump off and then catch the next Big Red Bus that comes along.



Before going to the UK, London was the place I was least excited to visit. I thought it would be just another big city and they are all pretty much the same. I was so wrong, I don't think I could ever get tired of London; whether it's walking in St James' Park and feeding the cheeky squirrels, enjoying the festive atmosphere at the annual Hyde Park Christmas Market (where we had roasted chestnuts), standing next to the 900-year-old Tower of London or finding a favorite pub where you can warm up over a bowl of hot soup and a generous glass of mulled wine. As Samuel Johnson once said; "When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."



From London we traveled north to the breathtaking town of York, with its rich Roman and Viking history. We walked along its ancient wall, sipped mulled cider, climbed up to Clifford's Tower and learned more about the Vikings at the Norvic Museum. In the evening we were privileged to celebrate mass at St Wilfrid's, which dates back to 1864 and stands not far from the York Minster cathedral.





My daughter and I could have spent an entire day at the Beatrix Potter gift shop with trinkets and collectables to suit anyone’s budget. However, a visit to York would not be complete without lunch at the famous Golden Fleece, the most haunted pub in York; but we were not there for the ghosts, we wanted to try their legendary Yorkshire Puddings. I have never seen a Yorkie that size before, it was as big as a dinner plate yet as light as a feather. We decided we had to go try these out at home.



Saying goodbye to the magical town of York, we continued North to Edinburgh in Scotland where we finally caught up with the snow. The kids (and us) loved the fluffy, freshly fallen snow and they played outside till we finally lured them in with a cup of hot chocolate.



We stayed in a lovely holiday apartment on the Royal Mile half way between Hollyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle in a street called Old Tollbooth Wynd. The first night we got there we had supper at the Old Tolbooth Tavern just a few slippery steps away from our front door. This was where we had our first taste of the famous Scottich Haggis, and to our surprise we found that we all loved it. We spent the rest of the week eating Haggis at some of the pubs up and down the Royal Mile but in the end we all decided that our favorite was still that served at the Old Tolbooth Tavern.





We shopped along Princess Street, spend a morning exploring the majestic Edinburgh Castle, admired the dark stone buildings and looked for treasures in the interesting little gift shops.





The only thing we did not like was the place where we had planned to have our Christmas lunch. The pub was called The Bank Hotel, they were completely disorganised, rude and unfriendly, however we were not going to let them upset our Christmas so we ended up going to the Bay of Bengal where we had a fantastic lunch and the staff were eager to please. The atmosphere was warm and friendly and we enjoyed the most delicious curries and biryani, a great alternative to our usual traditional Christmas lunch.

After Christmas we were back on the road, this time to explore Shakespeare’s place of birth, Stratford-upon-Avon. We stayed at the New Inn Hotel in a little village just outside of Stratford called Clifford Chambers.



We met some of the villagers one morning as we were heading into Stratford. We were amazed to be told by one very elderly lady with a twinkle in her eye that she only went home after midnight on Christmas eve as she was playing cards with her friends and lost track of time. This pretty much sums up most of the local people we met in Clifford Chambers, friendly, fun and with a mischievous sparkle. We went on long walks around the Village and took some photos of the local Manor House that dates back to the 15th or 16th century and was redesigned by Edwin Lutyens after it was badly damaged in a fire in 1918.



In Stratford we got to see The Holy Trinity Church where William Shakespeare was baptised and later buried. After exploring the church we went for a walk in a beautiful park, it was covered in a light layer of snow and ice and there was a soft mist in the air that added a real storybook feel to it. Walking in that park was one of those moments in life that you want to bottle and keep forever; it was the place of dreams.





We loved our time in Stratford and Cliffords Chamber but all too soon it was time to pack our bags and head back to Heathrow for our flight home.

When we booked in for our flight the friendly ground hostess offered to change our tickets as there were a few open seats available on a direct flight from London to Cape Town, which would cut five hours out of our traveling time.

By the time we landed in Cape Town we were all ready to turn around and go back, the only thing we knew for sure was that we had all left our hearts in England and we can't wait to go back.

England is a magical country and it is clear where authors like Terry Pratchett and J.K. Rowling get their inspiration. Surrounded by all that history, architecture, parks, museums and cathedrals it was like stepping right into one of their books. Walking around the outer wall of Buckingham Palace, all I could think of was the wall around the Unseen University and I wanted to look for the 'secret' back entrance used by the students who return after curfew.

We have now been back for almost eight weeks but it feels like it's been a life time, as Tiffany says in A Hat Full of Sky; "Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." (Terry Pratchett) This trip has changed us all and forced us to take a long hard look at our life and where it is going; we know now where we want to be.

I am your cake!

Darth Vader eventually went off to conquer another birthday party and overall I think he turned out quite well - not sure if I would ever want to make another one but it was lots of fun and a huge learning experience for me. My client and the birthday boy were both happy with the end result. I was a bit disappointed that due to the size, and having to start baking him so far in advance the cake dried out a bit and was not as moist as usual. I think next time I end up doing a really BIG cake I might freeze the cakes before hand to keep them moist for longer.




The same day Darth Vader left my house I got another call from a lady who was looking for some black and white cupcakes for an adult birthday party as well as a few kiddies ones. She was very specific about the kiddies' cupcakes and only wanted a thin outline of a car on them so that there would be the minimal amount of icing used. It took a bit of practice but I think they turned out really well and my client loved them, it was just what she wanted. For the 'adult' cupcakes I used a black and white swirl pattern with just a touch of edible glitter, they looked very 'grown-up' and she was very happy with them.




I had some black and white icing left after making the cupcakes so instead of wasting I decided to have some fun and play around with some cupcake stencils I got from a company called Paperkutz. I still need to play around with them a bit more but they are a really easy and fun way to decorate cupcakes.




Fun with food

Having fun is what cooking, baking and eating is all about.

I'm the type of person if you invite me to a party I'll spend more time in the kitchen picking up tips from the chef than mingling with the crowds. However, even I sometimes get stuck in a rut and then cooking seems like a chore or even a punishment, I get frustrated, tired and start thinking take-outs. Lately I have been trying to help my kids get through their exams, find ways to promote my business and finishing off arrangements for our Christmas holiday so its no wonder that after a very long day the idea of making dinner has just not filled me with joy and excitement. That was until my Hubby misunderstood a message from my mom.

My Mom lives in England and we communicate mostly through SMS or email, yesterday my hubby was reading one of my mom's emails in which she talks of the Squidlies that she saw. Now I know that, that is our 'pet' name for Squirrels but my hubby was a little confused so he did what we always do when faced with something unknown - he googled it and what he found turned supper into a big laugh.

It seems that Squidlies are one of the names used for a very interesting fun food dish where you start by sticking dry, uncooked spaghetti into hot dog cubes. You then boil theses little 'creatures' in a big pot of salted water till the spaghetti strands are soft and serve with a sauce of your choice.

My hubby decided we simply had to have these for dinner so promptly went on a grocery run after work to get all the ingredients. They were very easy to make and we all loved the end result, they look like little squid creatures and they taste great. My hubby served them with a plain tomato based pasta sauce (or as my daughter said, Squidlie blood) and we will definitely be making these again in the future.






Finding something new and unusual to make with everyday ingredients have once again sparked my imagination and this morning I found myself planning dinner at 8am.

Wonder what it will be.

Stressed? Just read a blog

This week I am taking on my biggest baking challenge to date, I have been asked to bake a Darth Vader cake and a few Star Wars cupcakes for a young boy's birthday party. At first I was not too worried about this but as the big day gets nearer I find myself obsessing about this cake 24 hours a day. I have worked out the basic shapes I want to use to build him but I'm still very worried about getting his facemask just right.

To top it all off my darling hubby has had to go on a business trip so I don't even have him here to calm me down and stop me from turning into a blubbering, icing covered wreck. To stop myself from going totally crazy I decided to peruse my favorite blogs to see what everyone has been up to. This is when I stumbled upon a 'new' blog, not new as in 'just started' but new to me.

Its called Life as Mom, its written by another busy mom trying to find "the road to joyful motherhood". As a Christian, daughter, wife, mother and friend, I'm always trying to do better, help more and be there for others but often this means forgetting about what I want. Don't get me wrong, I love every second that I can spend being there for my family and friends, the rewards I get from them are worth more that all the money in the world. I just think it is important every now and then to remember to look after myself and to find out what it is I need to keep me going. Reading through the Life as Mom blog I found myself smiling, its great to find that there are other moms out there also trying to find that balance between looking after others and looking after yourself.

If you are looking for some inspiration today, go read this blog. I know I will be back there soon.

What we all need

On Saturday I made a Manchester United cake for a 15-year-old fan's birthday. He wanted it kept simple so I just made it a square vanilla sponge cake, covered in white butter icing, then colored and rolled out some plastic icing to cut out the Man United logo.

I had a great time trying to get the logo just right and what made it even better was that my hubby decided to help out - so he cut out the soccer balls in the logo. He did an amazing job and the soccer balls rounded the logo off perfectly. He first tried to cut the red stripes using a template but eventually just cut the design by hand and it looked great.

Its such a blessing to have a hubby that is so supportive and creative - he always believes I can do anything no matter how big or small, complicated or simple, even when I am full of doubt and have no idea where to start - he just smiles and says he knows it will turn out great.

My hubby is no push over though, I always ask his opinion when I'm done with a cake as he knows I prefer to hear the truth - he has very high standards and will tell me quickly if he feels there is something missing or not quite right - but because of this I know I can trust his judgment and when he says its great; I have to believe him.

I know I am very, very luck to have him in my life, we all need someone who believes in us even when we don't, who loves us even when we are slumming it around the house and who is always there to make us smile when life gets in the way.


(and lets not forget; to taste our latest kitchen experiments)

Party Time

When birthdays come around some moms prefer to arrange the entire event via credit card, while others go the DIY route and try to make most of the decorations themselves.

Now while there is nothing wrong with either of these approaches and I'm more in the DIY category, I will sometimes buy a few extras if they really catch my eye. I always spend days and weeks before the party looking for inspiration on the internet or in old magazines and usually have so many ideas that I run out of time and only end up using a few of them.

That was until my daughter decided to have a 50s Rock and Roll party for her 11th birthday, everything from the decorations to the birthday girl's outfit turned out to be a challenge. I got some great decorating ideas from my mom but my big concern was sewing her party outfit.

I googled 'Poodle Skirt Patterns' and started working my way though all the links, by the time I was done I knew all there was to know about the history of the poodle skirt, but still had no idea how to actually make one. A few days later, totally stressed out, I finally turned to my facebook friends for help. An American friend (who is now living here in Cape Town) told me her mom made a poodle skirt by using a round table cloth and cutting a hole in the center.

This worked like a dream and since the bottom (outer edges) are already hemmed it meant a lot less sowing on my part. For the waist I decided to use wide black elastic to make it look like she was wearing the traditional elastic belt that often went with the poodle skirts.

Then there was still the issue of the tulle petticoat; let me just say here that I am no seamstress. I do own a sewing machine but usually it comes out of hiding once or twice a year when I have to shorten new jeans for my hubby or kids, the rest of the time it just sits in the corner and grins at me. I turned once again to my trusted google for petticoat ideas and while I could find plenty of beautiful pictures an actually, easy to make, pattern was nowhere in sight. Two days before the party I finally decided it was now or never, somehow I had to get this done - so hubby patiently took me to the local fabric shop for supplies and once home I sat down and made a petticoat my way.

I was rather surprised at how well it actually turned out and the best part was that the birthday girl loved her outfit. After the entire 'skirt' issue the cake and decorations seemed really easy and the party turned out great. We were lucky to end up with a bunch of really sweet and well-behaved kids who all seemed to have a great time. I have to take my hat off to my darling Hubby and say a big THANK YOU to him; by the time the party started I was pooped so he took over and kept everyone entertained with SingStar and Buzz (a PS3 quiz game) competitions. This way I could look after the 'Milk Shop' serving ice cream and soda floats.



And what is a birthday party without the birthday cake?



Keep an eye out for my new party pages on this blog where I will share more detailed ideas for decorations, cakes and outfits for different themes I have used over the past few years.

Change vs Holiday

They say a change is as good as a holiday; well that might be true most of the time but sometimes there is just no substitute for the real thing.

I’m not talking about staying home and trying to catch up on all those chores you don’t usually get time for; a real holiday is when you get to close the door to your house behind you and go away for a few days. Away from the dishes, the homework, the washing, dusting, sweeping and all those other little things that prevent us from really relaxing at home.

We just got back from a short family holiday and I must say that I don’t believe any amount of change could have meant so much to us. It took us just over two hours to fly the 1 600km from Cape Town to Johannesburg and from the moment we got there we could sit back relax and let the fun begin.

The kids spend the week living in the freezing pool and soaking up the warm rays of the sun to celebrate the end of a long cold winter. While the adults chatted and relaxed in the shade enjoying coffee and fresh baked goodies from my mother-in-law.

I am one of those lucky women who actually love spending time with my mother-in-law, she is very creative and understands my passion for baking. As a treat she took me to a baking specialty shop and bought me a few new toys to come try out at home. I was like a kid in a candy shop, there was just to many wonderful things to look at but eventually I chose some new flower cutters, a JEM baby mould and a few other bits and pieces. I loved the shop so much my hubby took me back there the day before we came home and we also got a set of butterfly cutters and some edible music notes I want to use for our daughter’s birthday cake next week.

My only complaint is that the week went by far to quickly and before we knew it we were back on the plane and on our way home. We landed late Sunday afternoon and by Monday morning it was back to work and school (and washing, dusting, sweeping, etc) but somehow all those little things seem easier to deal with and besides, I still have a bag of new goodies to go experiment with.

A loaf a day keeps the blues away

Today has been another normal run-around day, and to top it off the weather outside has been gray and wet all morning.

I had to go to the shop to get a few extras for a cake order I’m making tomorrow and even though I made a shopping list, I still ended up forgetting half the stuff I wanted to buy, including bread for home.

This is when being a Kitchen Gadget Nut really comes in handy, I unpacked my poor neglected bread maker from the back of the cupboard, gave it a good dusting chucked all the ingredients in for a ‘small quick loaf’ and carried on with my normal life while trusting my little machine to do the rest.

Within minutes I could smell the yeast starting to work and could not resist going right up to the machine and having a good sniff. Less than an hour later the polite little beep informed me that my bread was ready to come out.

There is just nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread, still warm and crispy, to get the taste buds jumping up and down and begging for a slice. Walk into any bakery or local shop just when they are taking the freshly baked loafs out of the oven and you will see people sniff the air and smile to themselves, it’s the smell of comfort and warmth, even on a cold, gray day like today. The only thing better is when that smell is coming from your own kitchen, I think I better go put another loaf in the machine, this one is not going to last long once my kids get home.