Agreed

Oyster, food and wine festival

Something happened this past weekend. I fell in love... with oysters! :-) :-)

The festival took place in Randburg this past weekend and was a little overwhelming. There were just too many people all a little too excited to be enjoying the slimy delicassy. We soldiered on nonetheless.


I've had oysters a few times before and never took a liking to them. I kept consuming them though, hoping I'd acquire the taste but it never happened. Not until this weekend :-). A bit of salt, pepper, Tobasco sauce and vinegar did the trick.

I must say though that I didn't enjoy them quite as much Kea did. She was all giddy, jumping up and down - in oyster heaven for sure. It really was quite a site and so cute to watch.

Dessert, as always, was the highlight. The Cupcake Lady was one the of busiest people at the festival and we soon discovered why. She had these gorgeous profiteroles and berries in a gooey chocolate sauce.
 
 
 

 
We each had two. They were that good :-)

Le Quartier Français

I finally made my way to this beautiful part of the country. Franschoek is breathtakingly beautiful and restaurants are fabulous.

Our first stop was Le Quartier Francais - an award winning restaurant run by executive chef Margot Janse. She unfortunately wasn't in that day but we still had a lovely experience.

I ordered from their tappas menu and thoroughly enjoyed all but 1 of my choices.

Delectable and fresh mussels

Goat and ham crumble, caramelized onion pizzette and Cesar salad

The crumble didn't agree with me at all. I only had one spoonful and had to give it up. The pizzette was great and the Cesar salad was the best I've had to date - I think it had a lot to do with the dressing.
 
My food buddy had a typical man's meal. Steak and veggies. He was pleased with it.

Sirloin steak with buchu bearnaise

 
 
The staff at the restaurant was great to us. They showed us around the estate which boasts a cinema, gorgeous rooms and an art gallery. We were even allowed to visit their kitchen where all the magic happens. Elrishka (the lady in the picture below) was particularly intrigued by us and asked for the blog details. :-)
 

 
What a lovely restaurant, setting and staff.
 
After lunch, we went sightseeing and took in the lovely scenery. We drove to one of the mountain slopes and got a full view of the town. This picture was taken there. Truly magical
 

We also made our way to the Huguenot Monument - Franschoek's very own Taj Mahal(I am quoting one of the locals we met at the monument) :-)

 
We agreed that we'll be making our way back there again very soon. Hopefully to stay a little longer next time
 
 

Le Quartier Francais

16 Huguenot Road Franschhoek 7690

021 876 2151

http://www.lqf.co.za/

Good food and wine show - Cape Town

I went to the Good food and wine show in Cape Town last week and Buddy Valastro was the star attraction.

He was charming as ever and told stories of his work, home town and family. He even took a few questions from the crowd and was entertaining. Sadly, he didn't wow us the way I expected him to. He decorated a cake very simply and called it a day. Perhaps I was expecting  a little too much and left the theatre disappointed. He's still my hero...

The rest of the show made up for it though. I sampled all my favourite things to eat and left very satisfied :-)

Macaroons are my new favourite thing. I had blueberry and lemon meringue...awesome

I also had the most amazing spinach and feta quiche. It had the yummiest flakiest pastry with the richest filling. That was awesome too

And then...the highlight...the prettiest, tastiest chocolate mousse cake ever

It had a wonderful biscuit base, chocolate mousse outer layer, custard centre and wrapped up in a rich chocolate ganache layer. I did feel a little queasy after it all but it was well worth it

Hermanus

I fell in the love with the Western Cape all over again this weekend. I even wished, just for a moment, that I lived there...

We spent a better part of Saturday in Hermanus which is about an hour outside of Cape town. What a cute little town this is. Picturesque and so laid back.

The town also has a lot of interesting restaurants but the main reason for our trip there was the Hermanus Fish Shoppe.

It's nothing glamorous and has very limited seating. Service isn't their strongest point either but boy do they make a mean fish and chips. The batter was awesome and the fish so fresh and cooked to perfection.
We had it as it should be had - with salt, vinegar and your fingers. Joy... :-)

 
The portions were very generous as well - one serving was more than enough for two.

I would've licked my fingers if there weren't any people around...

Cute

Source: Pinterest

Passion

I made red velvet cupcakes and thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. They turned out well too :-)

I often find myself baking for no real reason other than the fact that I want to. That makes baking [and cooking] a passion. I always wonder though if it would remain as exciting and interesting if it became my job and no longer a hobby - like a regular 9 - 5. I've had this discussion with many people about living your dream and following your passions but really wonder if that would be wise to live it constantly. What would you do for fun or relaxation? Surely it can't be your job/hobby all the way, can it? In my mind, it makes sense to have something to do, outside of your passion/hobby, so that you have your passion to run to for inspiration and renewal. Right?

Kahlil Gibran has the following views on passion and reason:

Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.

For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.


I think doing what you have to do and what you want to do can easily, and should, coincide - it doesn't necessarily have to be either/or. I think the trick is finding a 'have-to' that's not as soul-destroying as most people find their jobs to be while enjoying your 'want-to's' in between. I think...