The beautiful colours of autumn in Franschhoek, close to Cape Town
Autumn is my favourite season. Ok, so getting up in the mornings for work while it is dark is not the greatest – nor is getting home and it being dark again – but it still does not take away from the things I love about this time of the year:
The sun rising over the mountains while I travel to work (no matter how bad the traffic, it brings a smile to my face)
The beautiful orange, yellow, red and brown leaves on the trees
Lighting the fireplace for the first time since the previous winter
Snuggling under a blanket on the couch watching my favourite sports (rugby, the Tour de France and F1)
But the best of all… gorgeous blue sky days that are not too hot or too cold so that a person can just laze about outside while soaking up a bit of sun and breathing in the crisp autumn air
And even better, we are always lucky that the best of those days are seemingly reserved for a Saturday or Sunday, which means that I have the pleasure of enjoying it for myself, instead of just staring at it longingly through the window by my desk!
Days like this won’t be complete without a perfect little lunch to go with it (and some bubbly of course!) And is there a better way to celebrate the outdoors than by having a braai (or a barbeque for those not from SA)?! So looking at the weather for the weekend it seems like we are in for another stunner of a day on Sunday. And while I don’t know what will find its way on to the lunch table this time, I still have fond memories of what hubby made last Sunday – inspired by a South African chef, Ruben Riffel. Let’s just say a fire was lit, a braai was made and a good time was had by all! Yum!
So if you are looking for something light and delicious to enjoy this weekend, how about giving this salad a try? Whether you make it on a braai, use your barbeque or a grill, get out there and enjoy!
Seared steak with horseradish, fig and rocket salad
(serves 2)
For the meat:
300g sirloin steak
Freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste
For the salad and vinaigrette:
Big handful of rocket leaves
4 ripe figs
12 caper berries
½ cup parmesan cheese shavings
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lemon
For the horseradish cream:
2 tablespoons creamed horseradish
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Method:
To make the horseradish cream, mix all the ingredients well and set to the side.
Remove the meat from the fridge at least 20 minutes before putting in on the braai/barbeque. Season with freshly ground salt and black pepper.
Place the meat on the braai/barbeque and cook over a high heat on both sides until seared on the outside. Best served medium, which should take about 8 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat, wrap in foil and rest for 5 minutes.
Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic together
Slice the figs and capers
Place the rocket at the bottom of your serving dish.
Slice the meat in thin slices and arrange on top of the rocket.
Scatter the figs, capers and parmesan shavings over the top.
Drizzle with the vinaigrette.
Squeeze over some lemon juice and serve with dollops of the horseradish.
If you have any recipe ideas that I could try on these beautiful autumn days, feel free to comment and let me know!
The past few posts saw me being in a bit of a pensive mood so it is probably no surprise that during this past week… I celebrated my birthday! And with so many people wishing me that “all my dreams may come true”…what better way to let my imagination run wild than to imagine that on my birthday one of my biggest dreams finally became a reality? Yip, hubby and I can at last teleport to anywhere our heart desires! So, with these abilities, just what would an ideal birthday day look like…?
Sunrise over the Amalfi Coost
How about waking up, being able to look out over the Mediterranean? On Italy’s Amalfi Coast, of course. It will be a peaceful moment, hubby and I getting out of bed and sitting on our balcony; me quietly reflecting on the year that was and being grateful for all the good things in my life. In the background we will hear the faint sounds of the waves gently breaking on the shore and we will watch the old fishermen pushing their little boats out to sea. Their faces, weathered but content, for they are leading the life that they want. And in this quiet time I would aspire to do the same during the coming year.
Mural of fishermen on a church wall in Praiano
Mural up close
But what is a birthday without a special breakfast, so out the door we’ll go and step onto the streets of Paris. Stall holders will be packing out their fresh produce while cheerfully chatting away, and the air will hold a sense of anticipation for a great day ahead. The streets will still be quiet… Quiet enough so that I can run into the middle of the road to get a perfect shot of the Paris Opera house at last! Breakfast would be in a quintessential little side street cafe with a great view of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, while Parisians quickly rush in for their morning cup of coffee. What’s for breakfast? Croque Monsieur! But it must be the same croque monsieur hubby and I once had in the train from Narbonne to Avignon! Yes, it was on the a normal train from the national French railway and we ordered it from the canteen…. but of all the croque monsieurs I’ve ever had in France, it was THE best one! (Who says I can’t teleport a sandwich?!) And of course it would be delivered to the table with the same French flair reserved for announcing the arrival of a Michelin starred meal or just a simple piece of bread – voila!
Quiet Paris streets on an early morning with the beautiful Paris Opera House in the background
Best croque monsieur ever!
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame up close
The view from the back
Breakfast done and dusted and definitely time to appear on the steps of the Sacre Coeur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris). Not only because from its steps you have breathtaking views over the city, but because I would hope to hear the same choir sing as we did when we entered the church late one evening. It honestly did sound like a heavenly choir and it was a real spiritual experience. So on this day of celebrating my birth it would be the appropriate time to give thanks and to pray for wisdom, guidance and blessings in the year to come.
Beautiful Sacre Coeur
The view from its steps over the city
Now with both tummy and spirit satisfied, it would definitely be time for site seeing, and what better place to start than one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world! As we arrive at the bottom of Table Mountain in my home city of Cape Town, it would be a perfect blue sky day, ensuring that we will have uninterrupted views of across the city. Excitedly we will wait at the lower cable car station to make the trip up by cable car (it is a huge thrill going up that I would definitely choose the old fashioned way of going up in lieu of my new teleporting abilities just placing us at the top!). The floor of the cable car turns around as you go up, giving 360 degree views of this natural wonder. The closer we get the top of the mountain it seems inevitable that we will end up crashing against the sheer rock face, but just as I wish that perhaps we took the teleport route, we safely make it all the way into the upper station. And what greets us is the most amazing views, no matter in which direction you look. Down the city, over the Cape Town Stadium built for the 2010 soccer world cup or across the ocean towards Robben Island… breathtaking! Standing on top of this mountain I would realise how small a person is in this big world and I would also be thankful that I can call this place home.
A cable car going up Table Mountain
One of the 7 natural wonders of the world!
View of Cape Town, Cape Town stadium and Robben Island from the top of Table Mountain
More stunning views
View from inside the cable car, going down
But what woman would not want to feel like a princess on her birthday?! So to fulfil my regal fantasies hubby would transport me from the top of Table Mountain to the beautiful Loire Valley in France, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The valley is filled with beautiful chateaux, fit for a fairly tale. Hubby will choose to take us to Chateau de Chenonceau. We would have time to explore the castle and its beautiful grounds and I would stand on the balcony, hand in hand with my prince charming! It is hard to believe that people could live in such opulence! Oh well, I can’t complain. I have always been treated like a queen in my own home!
Chenonceau – what fairy tales are made of!
Picture perfect!
Bedroom fit for a queen!
I’m sure that by now we would have worked up quite an appetite, so for a real splurge we would pop up in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London…with lunch reservations at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal! Hopefully this time I would be better prepared than 2 years ago when hubby took me there, coincidentally also for my birthday. At that particular occasion I was so gobsmacked by where we were that it took me 30 minutes before I could even order water! It was a fantastic meal, and the highlight was ordering one of Heston’s tricks of the mind – ‘meat fruit’. What appears to be a beautiful little mandarin is in fact… chicken liver parfait! The orange colour is a little jelly that is transformed to look like the skin of a mandarin and it wraps the parfait beautifully. Amazing! And so was the special little dessert they sent out for me. Yip, we would do it over again and make toast to good food and good health!
At the entrance to the hotel
DINNER by Heston!!
The famous man fruit!
My special birthday treat from the kitchen
After lunch it would be time to soak up a bit of culture. Call me a nerd, but I love museums! So seeing that we are in London we would head to the British Museum. We’ve been there twice already and we have not yet managed to get through the whole thing. The first time I loved the Egyptian section and spent the better part of three hours there. More recently I didn’t get sucked in by the Egyptians again, but this time got stuck at the Aztec section! Every time I experience a bit of history like that I feel truly blessed that I have the opportunity to look back in time. It also puts our lives into perspective and on this day, marking another year of my life, it will make me think about what legacy our generation will leave and what my part in it will be. It better be a good one!
The imposing British Museum
The roof inside the foyer
Aztec masks, based on real human skulls!
More scare Aztec masks
A birthday is sometimes also a perfect excuse for those once in a lifetime treats. So next stop? Why not the playground of the rich and famous – Monaco! We’ll be teleported to a place that was never even on my bucket list because it never seemed a reality that I would ever set foot there. But unlike last year, when we managed to walk on the hallowed F1 street tack, we will trade the red city bus for a red Ferrari and cruise the streets in style! We would park up in front of the Monaco casino and sit down in one of the beautiful cafes and sip French champagne – because you only live once! And as we sit back and take in the multi-million dollar yachts in the harbour, the strings of sportscars driving by, I will be reminded to dream big dreams, as I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
For F1 lovers, uphill from Sainte Devote, along uphill along Avenue d’Ostende
Not a Ferrari spotted in Monaco, but I’ll take it!
Casino de Monte CarloMonaco, the playground of the rich and famous
And as dusk slowly settles on an amazing day, we’ll be transported to a gondola on the Grand Canal of Venice. With romance and wonder in the air, our gondolier will sing Italian love songs and hubby and I will look lovingly in each others’ eyes and stare in amazement at the splendour that is Venice. Dinner would be at a romantic restaurant on the Grand Canal and as we watch the lights of Venice glitter in the water we will sip on some prosecco and say cheers to my birthday. Main course for me would definitely be some seafood pasta – probably a vongole, simple pasta with mussels and clams. And we would stay there until just about all the tables are empty.
The Grand Canal of VeniceVenice at sunset – truly one of a kind.
But the last stop on our day would also be the best stop – home. Where we will light a fire in the fireplace, have a last glass of wine for the night, snuggle on the couch with the dogs, and maybe catch the last bit of House Hunters International…! Because here is where real life happens, and I am truly grateful for the wonderful year that was.
Here is to a great new year ahead in which I believe that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. (And that someone out there will now just develop this teleport thing already!)
Where is it all going? The stairs down from the top of the Arc de Triomphe!
So it’s official – here is it is.
A mid-life crisis. Or something of the sort. Definitely a crisis!
Where shall I start?
There is the disappointment that I seem to be average! Psychologytoday.com says it is typical for the average 30 year old woman to, “as their career focus narrows, to seek meaningful and challenging work. For smart, goal-driven women, a mid-life crisis isn’t about recovering lost youth. It’s about discovering the application of their greatness. The problem is that no one has defined what “greatness” looks like so the quest has no specific destination.”
So here, as I stare my mid-thirties in the face, I thought it was only me. But no, seems like I am just average. Seems I can’t even claim this crisis to be my greatness! But then, where are all these other average women? Everyone around me seems like they have it all together; all figured out and well on their way. In fact, most seem pretty great already! Who else feels like me? Agonizing about where I am in my career, if I am in the right place, at the right time. If I have done enough, worked hard enough, saved enough… if I should not have achieved more by now? What if I don’t even want to be in the corporate world? Is this the time to take risks? To pack up with hubby and the dogs and move to Italy to start our little restaurant? But it seems even rich and famous suffer the same fate! Look at Justin Timberlake – singers want to act, actors want to sing! Bad example, he’s a man! Wait, what? This isn’t even a woman thing?! How about JLo – she was an actor before she became a popstar. Jeepers – now to find greatness (and a body) like that!
But never mind about actually really having the time or the luxury to focus on finding what my greatness might be – because what about retirement? Come to think about it, it seems that corporate job is here to stay. Nevermind greatness! And we definitely need additional income, which of course necessitates me having to come up with the most brilliant invention the world has ever seen. Yip, there are those sleepless nights, staring at the ceiling wondering what it might be. Could it be chocolates that don’t make you fat?! YES, I would buy that. Truckloads of it. Or miracle weight loss pills! Let’s be honest, I’ve tried a few… I have yet to find the miracle. I wonder if a non-famous person could become famous for not being famous… then I could also have an emoji app! Maybe anti-wrinkle creams that really turn back the clock 10 years. (Yep… tried those too.)
Which I clearly need! Because a night of little sleep, in which you lay contemplating how you can turn your yet-to-be-discovered greatness into a million dollar money making scheme, can evidently take its toll. Because on some of those mornings you get up, get dressed, put on your make-up and look at yourself in the mirror – and then it happens – rarely, but it does – it happens that you think “hey, I actually goooood today”… only to be greeted with a concerned colleague asking you as you set foot in the office “shame, are you ok? You look so tired today?” Never mind that being a crises, that is a disaster!
So where to from here? I’ve never been a person that enjoys a pity party so there is no time to feel sorry for myself! I’m normally the one with the positive word and the encouraging talk for anyone else that needs some advice. So what do I have to say to this face looking back at me in the mirror? The one with the slightly bemused look on her face, a few wrinkles around the eyes (I need to start smiling less!) and a few grey hairs growing out?
I look up from the computer at our home that I love… and I see hubby lying on the couch while my one dachshund boy is trying to look all cute so that he can be allowed to jump up as well. The other one has snuggled himself under his blankie in their basket – he is 14 years old already! I see our holiday photos on the wall and my favourite poetry and recipe books in the bookshelf. Some I’ve had since I was 16! Our family and friends are healthy and safe. And as soon as I am done writing here, hubby and I will prepare one of my favourite meals… plus it is just about time for a glass of wine!
All of that is pretty great…
So yes, face-in-the-mirror… you might not have it all figured out today. You might not know exactly what yet undiscovered greatness lies inside you, where the road you are on is leading or what tomorrow might bring. But you have the things that make life great around you every day right now and that is already a great place to be… Just let your journey continue.
The journey continues. Sunset – taken close to Trebes on the Canal du Midi.
Hubby and I made full use of the two public holidays in the past week and it allowed us time for some much needed rest and relaxation.
About 180 km from Cape Town, lays Montagu and the beautiful Koo Valley beyond. Here, nestled at the foot of the Langeberg mountains, you can find Langdam Guest Farm which was our home for three wonderful days! It is 30 kilometers from the closest town so you are guaranteed to leave behind the pressures of the everyday rat race and just enjoy the farm experience.
Our beautiful little cottage
The view from our cottage stoep (patio) was spectacular. In the mornings we sat with our coffee and rusks and just stared out into the valley below and at night, glass of wine in hand and with no city lights to wash it out, the uninterrupted view of the stars in the sky was astonishing.
The view, late afternoon
Views for days…
Do you need anything else?
But don’t for one moment think because you are on a farm there is nothing to do. Firstly, with scenery like that it is a photographer’s paradise. There are also two walking trails up the mountain that offers a good bit of exercise but rewards you with dazzling views. Walking this with the 4 farm dogs was great fun and I must admit that when there were times when the climb got a bit tough on the legs I wondered if a great dane could carry my weight! (What?! I’m not all that tall, so to me those dogs are the size of ponies!) There are also dams in which you can fish and I actually caught my very first fish there! Not a big one, but big enough to give me a huge fright when I felt the pull on the line! I felt so bad when I reeled it in; I don’t think I am a born fisherman and hubby helped to get the poor fish back in the water as quick as possible. I felt guilty for hours afterwards about how much his mouth must be hurting!
Start of our mountain walk with my little pony!
Beautiful wild flowers
Beautiful
Our companions
Stunning!
Such diversity in plants
From fynbos to a complete different landscape
Mountains and blue sky
The scene of the crime – caught my first fish here!
I loved our time there; peaceful and quiet and really one with nature. On our last morning I told hubby that I couldn’t believe that a place like that could be so beautiful day in and day out and that not more people could witness its splendour every day. But that is exactly what makes it so special. And when it is your turn to experience it, it is like you experience a special little gift, granted just to you.
My shoulders felt much lighter when we left.
But it got me thinking about a simpler life. Where there is less traffic in the morning, no worrying about office politics or climbing the corporate ladder. Where deadlines are my own and the only person I have to manage is myself! Where I have more time to do the things that I really love.
What could it be? If I close my eyes I see a little place in France or Italy, overlooking a river, a vineyard, maybe an olive grove. Where hubby and I can have a small restaurant, serving simple but delicious food, and who knows, maybe even a B&B. Where people come to make their shoulders lighter. Where, when they leave, they feel as if the experience and the people they met made impact on their lives and they will forever remember it.
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