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for you i always feel so peaceful after tai chi one of us was bound to say to the other and there we were anxious and enthusiastic beginners my 85 year old grandmother and i learning tai chi together this is how other days went we d have tea at her place while going through her latest emails photographs of her great grandchildren my daily drawing sent in the early hours or general news from the family in south africa the uk or australia we d talk about life the universe and everything but whatever we discussed i realise now my nan was always there completely present sometimes i d pop in with my dog mascara after a walk on the beach mascara a lightweight 25 kg bullterrier would always run up the stairs ahead of me to be the first at no 8 her tail wagging in anticipation as she faced the closed door patiently waiting for her great grandmother to open it and say hello mascara sometimes we d meet up at the end of the day and marion would pour us each a strong g t we d talk about the starling who had come to visit again at the same time at the same window as it had done for an age or a white feather she d found or she d remind me that no she could not do tai chi on friday because she had bridge but she could meet us for breakfast somewhere after art class another day sometimes we d talk about life and literature or how sad the sunset was that day when i think of her now i think of her presence her consistency how brave she was how objective and honest i think of her touching the ground legs straight hands flat on the ground i think of smoked salmon sandwiches and champagne of her christmas puddings and christmas cake and how her dining room and lounge would be transformed into one giant table every other year who could have known that this inspiring self actualised even tempered modern woman had once upon a time run off to join the army that she had fibbed about her age to get in who could have known that she would meet lad a fighter pilot in her late teens and find such a love that she d never known before that they would have six children together and raise them on their farm in magaliesburg and then who was to know that she would lose lad to a brain tumour when he was only 42 years old since then marion witnessed the cycle of life repeat itself many times her grandchildren would marry and they too would have children too many to keep up with there were more losses her mother her brother her sister some of her oldest friends and just recently her daughter candy one can think of it as terribly sad the loss of a close friend or family member but as her little great grandaughter chiara said the other day nan is in the clouds and i think nan is in love my grandmother left us one year ago on 26 april 2013 so many happy times shared cakes christmas my nan bakes her fruit cake in a shoebox 02 12 2012 18 03 2016 lana my nan has mentioned that she sometimes bakes her christmas cake in a shoe box i ve never seen this infamous shoe box cake tin but as luck would have it when i visited yesterday she was busy wrapping her christmas cake i walked into the kitchen to make tea and low and behold there was a shoe box sitting on her stove i looked inside to find no shoes only cake crumbs just goes to show that there s no excuse for not baking if you don t have a tin on that note my nan often bakes in a biscuit tin she uses about seven layers of greaseproof paper cut to fit and sometimes adds a couple of layers of tin foil see photo below she secures the paper to the box with clothes pegs before pouring the batter into the box once the batter has settled she removes the pegs and bakes her cake you can find her marvelous traditional christmas cake recipe here together with photos of the process click here for my snowman christmas cake where i take my nan s cake and decorate it step by step with plastic icing snowmen if you re keen to give small personal christmas cakes as gifts click here for an idea this post tells you how to lay the marzipan and shows how to create someone s name with royal icing have fun urban food gardening vegetable gardening edible garden by the seaside 02 12 2012 26 09 2018 lana this slideshow requires javascript the courtyard vegetable garden is blossoming in every way i m happy with the final layout hard to believe that all these plants fit into such a small space fruits passion fruit gooseberries with gorgeous hanging lanterns intact melon no fruit as yet blackberries and rasberries growing well but no flowers as yet baby avo tree grown by my sister forest of tomato plants around 2m high in places with flowers and green fruit baby grapefruit tree grapefruit flowers smell incredible but unfortunately every one of the tiny fruits that developed dropped off why i have yet to find out strawberries vegetables herbs broccoli cabbage spring onions rocket italian and wild watercress lettuce carrots radish potatoes celery brussel sprouts spinach mint three kinds but especially loving the spearmint lavender basil self seeded nasturtiums and a couple of unidentified plants the front garden is also pulsing with life it pretty much looks like a jungle though with blueberries leeks broccoli tomatoes basil spinach and almond trees all doing their thing everything has grown incredibly well except for the pak choi which was constantly nibbled at oh and the poor baby lemon tree which gets all the wind it has produced two flowers and one fruit nothing other than water and some salt from the sea breeze has touched these plants not a single drop of pesticide organic or otherwise especially for new vege gardeners vegetable gardening vegetable gardening how to prepare a trench bed 17 08 2012 26 09 2018 lana it may have taken what felt like a day to dig and prepare our first trench bed 45cm depth x 3m length x 0 5m width but what it did was get me in touch i now know the intimate details of the soil s make up and where the sunny spots are in the courtyard at various times of the day best of all there s no doubt that our vegetables and herbs are going to have a nutritious and balanced diet i attended the soil for life course recently so it s thanks to pat featherstone our inspired teacher who also wrote the manual and livingstone who got us involved in the practical side that i can confidently share the following information what is a trench bed you could think of a trench bed as a compost bin that s dug into the ground the bed is made up of alternate layers of fresh green organic material dead organic material manure and soil this organic base is pretty much a dream diet in the making for your future plantings of vegetables or other plants why a trench bed trench beds are a good way to go if you re living in a dry area or if you have poor or average soil the bed allows for excellent aeration water retention and a long term supply of nutrients for your plants it requires some muscle power to begin with but you won t look back once you ve started what you ll need a spade fork water newspaper sticks dead and alive organic matter manure and mulch you will also need compost if you want to plant sooner rather than later divide your organic waste into live waste green garden and kitchen waste moist seaweed horse or cow manure any fresh untreated organic matter and dead waste any of the former but dried out preparation meaure out your trench it can be as long as you like but shouldn t be wider than a metre to allow for easy reach dig out the first 30cm of top soil pile the soil next to your trench and remove any stones dig out the the next 30cm of sub soil place it in a seperate pile and remove any stones use a garden fork to loosen up the base of the trench cover the bottom and sides of the trench with newspaper or cardboard moisten the paper with a sprinkling of water i skipped this step because the base of this trench is like solid rock and it is the rainy season so no need to use paper to retain extra water layer the organic matter lay sticks or other course material over the base of the trench aim for a height of 20cm lay 10cm of subsoil over the sticks and water lay 10cm of dry brown material over the subsoil and water well lay 10cm of wet green material over the dead dry brown material and water sprinkle horse or cow manure over the top and water repeat this layering process leaving out the sticks and newspaper at this point until the trench is full final steps insert 1 2 metre long marker sticks into each corner of the bed lay the topsoil over the last layer the surface will be about 20cm higher than the surrounding ground at this stage it will drop over time cover the topsoil with a mulch of your choice eg straw or leaves to protect the area from the elements i used seaweed but beware of sand fleas let the bed rest for a month before planting alternatively you can speed up the process by working compost into the topsoil before mulching use a bucket of compost per square metre level the area out water well and begin planting ps avoid walking on the bed also even though you have given your plants a great start keep feeding them with a weekly liquid natural home made fertiliser and keep composting every now and again bread white bread recipe use for baguettes or shape it how you like 03 08 2012 04 07 2016 lana here s the traditional baguette recipe that we practiced at pastry school it s the bread recipe i use most often and not just because it s sugar free and fat free besides being straight forward and clean tasting it gives lots of crunch and is delicious there are three ingredients besides water bread flour yeast and salt the method involves mixing the dough allowing it to rise strengthening the dough and shaping it and then leaving it to rise again before baking it it will give you two medium sized loaves or four smaller baguettes it s a perfect recipe to prepare on a warm expansive sunday especially since i m providing a rather detailed account of how to prepare it alternatively click here for a shorter version but note that the ingredients are halved ingredients 1 kg white bread flour 20 g live yeast reduce by 25 for dry yeast 20 g salt 700 g warm water comfortably warm not hot if you have a teeny oven or you re new to baking bread rather halve the recipe in which case you ll have two small loaves or one medium sized loaf bread making isn t difficult it just takes a little practice method mix the ingredients together place the flour in a bowl with the yeast rub the live yeast into the flour with your fingertips or simply mix in the dried yeast pour in the warm water and mix using your hands or a wooden spoon finally mix in the salt once everything is roughly combined the mixture will be messy and sticky at this stage knead the dough turn the mixture onto a warm work surface warm up a cold marble surface for instance as yeast needs warmth now pull the dough towards you and slap it down onto the counter while trapping in as much air as possible work your dough for ten minutes or so until it feels light and silky smooth the dough should be coming off your hands as you knead at this stage if you haven t kneaded dough before don t think the stickiness is going to last forever see this post which links to a great demonstration by the master baker richard bertinet now work the dough into a ball shape sprinkle some flour or rub some olive oil onto the bottom of a large bowl big enough to allow the dough to double in size gently place your dough inside crease side down smooth side up give a light sprinkling of flour over the top of the dough cover with a dish towel a towel or some plastic rest the dough place the covered bowl in a warm draught free place let the dough rest for 45 minutes to an hour until it has doubled in size a word on timing we were never given cooking times at pastry school it s ready when it s ready is what chef tim always used to say this approach caused anxiety at first but it forced us to develop our powers of observation as a result we developed a feel and came to trust ourselves more failures were mostly still edible and that s how we learned strengthen and shape the dough divide the dough into same sized portions depending on how many loaves you re making fold each piece of dough into itself in order to strengthen it fold the outer area towards the centre of each piece this should only take a couple of minutes once the dough is tighter or stronger you can go ahead and create the shape of your choice to make a baguette shape work the dough into a sausage shape and then roll both ends into narrower sausage shapes you could create a simple ball shape or a rough ship shape have fun with it rather than strive for perfection keep a light touch and don t overwork the dough rest the dough again sprinkle some flour on your oven tray before gently placing your bread on it use a sharp knife scissors or a razor blade to slit the top of the bread this releases pressure cover it and place it in a warm draught free place to rest again for half an hour or so pre baking pre heat your oven to 200 degrees celsius if you want a good crust then spray some water over the bread and into the oven before baking i often rub olive oil and some salt over the dough at this stage this adds to the flavour baking gently place the oven tray into the centre of the oven close the door quickly so you don t lose too much heat turn the temperature down to 180 degrees celsius after about ten minutes bake for a further 20 to 45 minutes depending on how many loaves you have in the oven a golden brown crust tells you that the bread is close to ready to check tap the underside if there is a sharp hollow sound then it is ready if not place the loaf face down onto the oven tray and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes place the bread on a rack to cool down a little before serving it a little olive oil rubbed over the bread will enhance it s appearance taste and smell and if you want to give some to family friends or neighbours simply wrap in some wax paper or pop it into a paper bag x ps warning to other food bloggers this post has been copied and pasted in it s entirety by a content scraper thief bocata com they posted it as their own at http bocata com p 181 desserts a custard prune pudding like bread butter pudding without the bread butter 30 07 2012 26 09 2018 lana if you re a baked pudding fan then you re probably going to love this custard prune pudding or should i say this bread and butter type pudding minus the bread and butter or should i say crustless milk tart type pudding with fruit in it known as far breton in france where it originates it is incredibly quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious i delivered a slice to my grandmother who is not known to repeat the words this is absolutely delicious several times in a row she insisted that i bake it for our next family get together she promised in return that she d show me how to prepare her very own one of a kind non bake rice pudding recipe i used richard bertinet s recipe from his brea...