Way to the (my) heart

      Warm weather is coming!! Yesterday my mom texted me she was sad that summer is coming to an end. I responded with "Yay! That means its coming here!" We have been having some pretty awesome weather lately. Averaging this month pretty much in the 70's. A handful of rainy days in-between but nothing to complain about. Now that we are getting closer and closer to warm weather we are planning a week vacation to go see some African wildlife. Hopefully next week we will be making final reservations. -- fingers crossed for nice weather, don't want to go in the rain--
      So this blog unfortunately isn't to show off sweet scenery or indigenous African animals. This time I would like to share with you my passion. FOOD <3!!! I am obsessed with food. They say the way to a mans heart is his stomach, but trust me, food is a direct route to mine. Bobby knows that all he has to do to make me happy is feed me. Everything else is secondary. ;) That being said, we have struggled to find food that taste as good as what we are used to back home. Which in turn has lead me to cooking, A LOT! The best way to to explain it just to show you. These aren't in any particular order just stuff I have made in the past few weeks.

4 types of chicken fingers.
Top Left- Italian-ish (tossed in olive oil, Italian
seasoning, paprika and oregano)
Bottom left- plain breaded
Top Right- Parmesan breaded
Bottom right- Ranch seasoningServed with homemade fries and ranch
I preferred the parmesan ones, B liked the italian ones .
 

My first attempt at making chicken curry. I bought the most
mild flavor I could get at the store. To me it tasted like nothing.
It wasn't bad, but I would try something else next time.

Sour Cream and Onion Lays Chip breaded chicken,
served with parmesan baby marrow (American name- zucchini) sticks.
This was surprisingly good. Great actually. Recommend anyone
 to try breading chicken with their favorite potato chip.

Brinjal/Aubergine Parmesan (American translation- Eggplant)
Too lazy to make homemade pasta sauce,
but it was my first time making eggplant. Really enjoyed it!

Dijon mustard glazed thighs with potatoes
(I dont remember exacty, but it was
 mustard, soy, italian seasoning,...with thinly sliced potatoes below it)
This was ok. Might change it up if I do it again. However it was
 nice to have dinner all in one pan. Really simple in that aspect.

Moms spaghetti recipe!! MMMmmm our favorite.
Amazing.

I made another curry. This time it was so good I forgot to get the picture. haha.
I am in love. It was so spicy that our
noses were running, but worth it. 

Eggplant Parm with homemade sauce
(Best part about making homemade sauce--it can last for numerous meals.)
This was the best I have ever made. Euphoric! 

I didnt make this, but included it because it's the
Best hamburger in Cape Town.
(A place called NOB burger, only serves 5 burgers, no sides.
It is gigantic, B and I usually split it.)

Pork Chops served with beans and corn
Pork was ok. Beans were ok. Corn was horrible.
I dont eat canned corn often/ever, holy cow that was gross.
We usually get the corn on the cob, this was late minute
thrown together. Never again.

Meatloaf with marrow chips
Good, but we were still hungry after. 

Mini meatball subs
Pretty good. We both ate them all up, no leftovers. 

     You can see that I love to eat. You may have also noticed, I don't like my food to touch. I am really bad at making a pretty presentation on the plate because it grosses me out. Hopefully we can look past that and just judge on the taste. hehe. Below are a few photos from... well just random really. Things we do and me trying to capture them. =)

Tableview. Just as it sounds. Its a place in Cape Town with
exquisite views of Table Mountain. Also you may recognize
 Lions Head, the little mountain to the right. That is where we live.

A few days ago it was just an average day. Within
minutes this fog rolled in and covered the city. It was
 pretty spectacular to watch being that we were above it.
I even had to Facetime Mom to show her. B wasn't
as entertained by it as I was. Guess I am easily impressed. 

Picture of the crowds below. That is a sure sign the weather is
getting warmer. Lots and lots of people out there.

Driving home from playing golf a few days
ago. I was able to catch the sun go down from the
car window. We were going to pullover, but it went too quickly.
Many more sunsets in our future. 

      That is all I have to say. Hope everyone at back home is enjoying life. Seems like this world is in a bit of chaos lately. Take time to appreciate the ones you have around you. I miss you all more than you could ever know.
***Mom please get your plane ticket soon, it's going on 9 months since I've seen you. I don't know how much longer I can go. =( ***

Cheers for now! XOXO from South Africa! 

Not much for July

     Hey guys and gals. It's been a relatively boring July. We have had a lot of rainy days. It has also been very cold. (To our standards at least...being from the desert and all.) It also doesn't help that our house is usually colder than the air temperature outside. Our house is like a giant concrete box with single pane windows and no wall insulation. Africa =). The lack of central heating is also troublesome, makes it hard to warm it up. So we basically have our separate rooms to keep warm in. Bob stays warm in his office with his heater and I keep the bedroom warm with the gas heater running in there.
     Its impossible to heat the main living area. It is too big and too many windows. Our power bill is already 5 times the amount of the average Capetonian. I've been told its because I use the dryer to dry my clothing (most people put theirs in the sun) and because running the oven takes a lot of power. Oh well, I guess we are too American and stuck in our ways. I don't like clothing to dry in the sun because they feel crunchy afterwards, and I cant help that I like to make home-cooked meals. And cookies hehe.

   
     Well after being cooped up all month, we decided that we needed to find an activity to do together when the weather gets better. Today the weather was out of this world amazing! It easily was 70-75 ish (remind you this is winter). So we went golfing. It was technically a Par 3 course (They call it a Mashie course) either way it was an activity for us to do together. It also had great views of Table Mountain, Lions Head (right near our house), and Devils Peak. 9 holes for roughly $6.50. Cant beat that!

Bobby on the 1st tee

Cute little entrance =)

**Oh I beat him btw, in case you were wondering. Not like it was something to brag about. I haven't picked up a golf club in over 2 years. I was awful, but thankfully he was worse. lol**

After we got back from the course, we took a walk on the beach side. I recorded a small video so my people from the desert could see the pretty ocean. 

We do have some fun stuff planned for August. So I promise to get some more interesting stuff out soon. I was also thinking about doing a video tour of our place, since most of you guys haven't made your reservations for our guest room. =) That's all for now. XOXO from South Africa.

Best experience ever!!!!

     Yesterday we went Shark Diving!!! Not sure exactly why they call it shark DIVING, it's more like cage viewing. Doesn't really matter what they call it I guess, it's the coolest thing I have ever done! (Besides being on a boat rocking back and fourth for four hours...I could of done without that!) Great White Sharks are amazing!! I have been to aquariums that have sharks, but nothing compares to being underwater with them in their natural habitat.
     Originally we had arranged to go on June 14th, but the weather had other plans and we were rescheduled for yesterday the 28th. It could not have worked out better, the weather was amazing yesterday. Perfectly clear skies that allowed us to see nearly to the bottom of the ocean. In the bay area were the sharks hunt the seals, it is at its deepest about 90 ft. Now it's still winter here so the air temperature was 65 degrees. The water, we were told was about 60 degrees, but I would say otherwise. When we got into the cage it was shockingly cold! So cold that I couldn't even breathe correctly with the snorkel. Too much hyperventilation. I really am from the desert. (I couldn't stop thinking about how Jack froze to death because Rose wouldn't share that damn piece of wood with him!)
     We spent about 25 minutes in the cage watching the sharks. They throw out fish parts on a rope to attract them to the area. Then they quickly pull it away before they eat it. Sounds kind of cruel, but it's really for their protection. People aren't allowed to feed the sharks or the seals. They are still completely wild animals. I think they said we saw about 11 different sharks yesterday while we were out there. One of them was about 13 feet long! Terrifying! Not really--- but goodness gracious this beast was massive! Such a strange feeling to have your boat be completely surrounded by circling great white sharks.
     So anyway- we were on the boat for about 4 1/2 hours, 2 of those hours I was sitting in one spot concentrating on the horizon. Me and boats aren't friends. Thankfully I was able to hold it all together. I just wasn't able to look down at anything. But on top of all that, I still think this was the best experience ever. Bobby and I are already hoping that someone comes to visit us soon so we can go again. Next time i'll be sure to take the motion sickness pills. Bellow I have put together a little video. Just to give you all a small look into our adventure. And perhaps a little something to make you jealous.

**Due to human error, it appears that twice I wrote Sea Island instead of Seal Island. My apologies.**

The "selfie" I will be taking after all adventures!

(In the car after getting back from the boat)

Easily Distracted

    Today is Monday. Bobby goes off to school in Muizenberg. (Muizenberg is a small beach town in False Bay, about 30 minutes away) I get a chance to get some chores around the house done and try to work on my post to share what we were up to over the weekend. But...every time I try to do something productive, that freaking window sucks me in. I was minding my own business getting ready to do some Pilates when I saw a big fin flap down on the water. I quickly hurried to grab the binoculars and stood at the window and watched two families of whales swim by. Unfortunately it's too hard to get a picture of them. (So if you wanna see them you're just going to have to come over) Needless to say- this darn ocean distracts me. All I want to do is stare and wait for a Killer Whale to pop out so I can hurry downstairs and jump in the water with it!

     Over the weekend I decided we would take a trip to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. It is the most famous garden in all of Africa and well known around the world for its beauty. The park is nestled up at the bottom of Table Mountain spanning 88.9 acres. Those of you who know me, know that I am not so much a "nature" kind of girl. I unfortunately chose going to Tiffany's in Paris over the Palace of Versailles. Hindsight is 20/20. Oops. Okay I realize that visiting a palace isn't "nature", I'm just making the point. =) I also realize that visiting a garden isn't roughing it, but to me it practically was. This was my idea of seeing the sights and getting out of my comfort zone. 

     Getting dressed in the morning Bobby walks in the room with his hiking boots out. Puzzled...I decided to switch my shoes to sneakers too. (Of course I wasn't planning on wearing my tieks or anything....that would be silly) After squeezing into uncomfortable shoes we were off. The gardens are about 15 minutes from our house just on the opposite side of the mountain. We arrived, found parking, paid and walked in. Lots of plants. I mean LOTS. This place was just one big gigantic yard full of plants. For some reason I imagined a garden would be something similar to visiting an amusement park or a zoo. Stalls of junk food, shows, souvenirs, etc. I was wrong. It was just plants. 

     Okay okay don't get me wrong. It was pretty, kind of. It's also winter so all the flowers were mostly dormant. In the summer and spring I bet its much prettier. The views of the mountain and the city were pretty spectacular though!! I guess I'm just not into plants. The coolest part (inside the garden) was the smell/touch garden. It was this little walk path that showed off different smelling plants and different textured ones. I enjoyed that part. Also enjoyed walking out... mostly because upon exiting we ran into Romeel. (Bobby's boss) He told us about this restaurant called Moyo by the exit that had traditional African food. He had me at food. ;)

the view of cape flats and the garden

Bobby looking into the pond...

Sun shinning over Table Mountain

South African national flower. Protea

Don't know what it was, just pretty.

     

Getting my face painted

Bobby's appetizer
Pumpkin apple ginger soup

My appetizer
Spicy minced beef samoosas
**EXTREME spice**

My main course
Zulu chicken curry
**AMAZING**

Bobby's main
Karoo lamb
*not so good, we didn't eat it*

My dessert
Dom Pedro
***HOLY SMOKES GOOD***

Bobby's dessert
Cinnamon apple malva

Overall it was a successful trip. We will visit again in the spring. Hope to see more flowers. I wont wear perfume next time either. Enjoy your week everyone. I will have a new post next week if the weather is good this weekend. 

LOL <----as my mom would say. Lots of Love! 

Sunshine and chicken?? Yes please.

      Hi everyone. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." I'm serious I am freezing! Is this where the saying Christmas in July comes from? The southern hemisphere?? =) Most days have been in the low 60s and 50s. June is the rain season, so we have been seeing a lot of this from the windows.

     Thankfully the sun decided to grace us with its presence yesterday, so we took full advantage. It was a beautiful 70 degrees and no wind. I know that's something my friends in Las Vegas can really appreciate right about now, NO WIND. So we took to the streets. Well first we walked the boardwalk/beach then we doubled back on the main road to do some shopping. In total it was about 3 miles. Wearing cute shoes was a bad idea. =( I couldn't wait to get home to yank them off. 

Haha you think the wind blows here??

Sea Gull in flight! I didn't mean to capture that,
I was trying to get him sitting. Turned out better!

Best part of this photo: There is a man about
shoulder high to MY left sleeping on the rocks.
The saying we use for that is : TIA (This is Africa)

     By shopping of course I mean grocery. On such a beautiful day I had no choice but to make a yummy dinner and some chocolate chip cookies. Being the foody that I am, I am always trolling the internet for my next recipe to try. Last night I made baked sweet and sour chicken. (http://damndelicious.net/2014/01/18/baked-sweet-sour-chicken/)

     This was a successful dinner. 7 out of 10. The sauce was amazing and overall it's so simple. Well besides the mess! I always find that when you flash fry something, pour sauce over it to bake, it loses the crunch. Personally I'm all about the crunchy chicken. So next time I think I will just fry all the way and make the sauce on the stove top. I also added the pineapple, next time I will definitely add some bell peppers and carrots too.  

An empty dish is a good sign.

Cant forget the cookies!
(Ovens are only big enough to hold a pan that
 makes 6 cookies at a time. Lets just say
baking cookies becomes a 2 day event.)
On the bright side--warm fresh cookies are best.

That's all for now. We have some fun things coming up for the next two weekends so stay tuned. Love and miss you all. GO team USA!!! 

Oh and Happy 99th Birthday Great Grandmother!