CREATIVE TIMES WITH VIXY!

The festive season is upon us, it is time to be creative in a different way this year. Pull out your decorations, brighten up your home and celebrate like never before! 

" He who has Christmas in his heart, will find Christmas under the tree."

Anonymous.

Hi there CHOCOLATE, did anyone say " let's make some delightful, moist Chocolate Brownies." 

Every sweet, young girl wants to stir a pot and lick a spoon covered with smooth, silky, runny chocolate! Vixy was delighted to hear these words!The smile says it all........

David Lebovitz has the best tried and tested Brownie recipe.......I used his recipe, but did not add the caramel ( Dulce de Leche) or Pecan nuts.

Ingredients:

115 g Butter, cut into pieces

170 g Dark Chocolate, finely chopped

25 g ( 1/4 Cup) Dutch Cocoa powder 

3 Large eggs, at room temperature

1 Cup ( 200 g) Sugar

1 Teaspoon ( 5 ml) Vanilla Essence

1 Cup (140 g ) Cake flour

Optional: 1 Cup ( 100 g ) Toasted Pecans, chopped.

1 Cup ( 260 g ) Caramel

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F

Line a 20 cm Square baking tin with aluminium foil.

Continue preparing the batter as follows:

 

Sift the flour to remove any lumps. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the chocolate and stir constantly over a low heat, until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and stir in the sifted, cocoa powder. Stir until smooth.

Once completely cool, add the eggs one at a time. Stir in sugar, vanilla, sifted flour and nuts, if using.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared tin. If using the caramel, drop spoonfuls over the brownie batter. Pour remaining batter over the caramel and then stir in swirls using a knife. 

Bake until the center feels just- lightly firm, about 25 to 30 minutes. Do not over bake them! You want a soft, moist center. Remove from oven and cool. Cut into slices and enjoy!   

Be creative and sprinkle some edible glitter and balls over a sprig of cypress to create a festive table setting.

The Cypress gives a lovely festive touch, but please do not eat it!

 

Always on duty and watching, my Sweet Jade kept a close eye on the preparations....... and her ball. 

" Did you ever notice there are no recipes for LEFTOVER chocolate?"

Anonymous.

 

 

Time for some Italian inspiration!

Thanks to our Italian guest, we have been introduced to a new drink, Aperol Spritz or just Veneziano. This Italian wine - based cocktail is commonly served as an aperitif in  Northeast Italy.
The ratio for this aperitif is 3:2:1
3  Parts ( 75 ml)  Prosecco or any other Sparkling wine, 2 parts ( 50 ml) Aperol and then 1part ( 25 ml) Soda water  poured over ice blocks and a wedge of orange.



Aperol is a low-strength aperitif made since 1919 to a secret recipe including both rhubarb and orange together with a selection of herbs and roots.

Aperol Spritz became popular in the 1950's inspired by the Venetian mix of white wine and soda.

 

Valencia oranges are the best!

Tonight is first advent, so unpack your festive decorations, light the first candle on your kranz and celebrate with an Aperol Spritz!

 

In Italy, Aperol Spritz is THE drink of summer. If you nose the Aperol neat you will discover a complex progression of flavours. Zesty orange together with herbal scents are well balanced with vanilla.

Our Italian team!

 

 

 

Celebrate this festive season and play down at the V& A Waterfront. Enjoy Aperitivo time with " sunshine in a glass."



Cheers and enjoy this festive season .Celebrate with love and harmony.

 

 

 

 

 

Out and about in my garden.

So, Spring is around the corner! All that means to us gardening fanatics that it is time to dust away the cobwebs and get all our gardening tools out again and get busy in the garden. ( Not that we haven't been busy throughout the winter months!)

At the moment I am harvesting loads of lettuce, spinach, rocket and carrots. My rocket has gone crazy and my garden is white with rocket that has gone to seed. It is a truly a beautiful sight! I do not need Namaqualand daisies.......I have wild rocket!

On the bright side, my Cycad still has two large beautiful cones on it and a baby cone on the side. 
My clivia's have plenty of buds on them, so I cannot wait for their vibrant, orange glow in the garden.
 

ALWAYS  a beautiful sight, this prehistoric plant, the Cycad.

A lettuce a day should also keep the Doctor away?

Lovely, lush lettuce..... so easy to grow, and a delight to eat! Remember to plant marigolds between your vegetables to chase the bugs away.

Growing in harmony...... lettuce, carrots and tomatoes with marigolds in between.

Cabbage seedlings almost ready to plant out.

What a delight, my Sweet Pea ....... Spring must be on it's way!

Lush carrot greens have been keeping my friend's rabbits happy and healthy!

Love at my front door...... what a welcome!

Rocket gone crazy in my front garden!

 

Clivia's soon to bloom......

Some inspiration for Father's Day.

"One of the nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."- Luciano Pavarotti

"If you don't have emotion you can't cook."- Marco Pierre White

"No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing."- Julia Child

"The greatest dishes are very simple."- Auguste Escoffier

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."- Virginia Woolf

"Cookies are made of butter and love."-Norwegian  Proverb

I trust that these quotes and images have inspired you to launch yourself into the kitchen and be creative....if only for Father's Day!
Have fun, put your fear aside and enjoy the experience!
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL SPECIAL DAD'S READING THIS MESSAGE!
WE LOVE YOU!

More Easter inspiration for Easter 2016.

I love the way that Easter always introduces both bright and gentle colours into our world. Enjoy and celebrate life with more colour in your world.

Use colour from nature in your kitchen. Boil your eggs in onion skins for a spectacular result. Polish the eggs with oil afterwards to make them shine.  

Be creative with your button collection and create button eggs, believe me, the bug will bite once you start playing with buttons! It brings back happy childhood memories of sorting out buttons! You will soon be collecting buttons in gentle colours from friends and family.

Use wooden beads to create Easter characters. A little glue, some string and a bit of patience will go a long way!

What would Easter be without raisin studded breads and buns? Be brave this year and accept the challenge and create your own Easter masterpieces.  Your home will smell wonderful and your hands will be soft after kneading the dough! 

Collect foliage and flowers from your garden and create a wreath or a simple bunch of flowers to welcome your guests at your front entrance. A warm welcome is always a good sign of hospitality!

Always a family favourite and a winner at any time of the year, German marble cake. Each creation is different depending on the marble effect created by mixing the chocolate and vanilla batter together.

I love these wise words by Irish chef, Darina Allen: "Teaching someone to cook is like giving them a gift for life."

So, if you have taught your kids to grow simple herbs and salad leaves in the garden for starters, they will be encouraged to be creative and grow other crops. Spinach and radishes are both fast growers and rewarding for first time gardeners!
Soon they too will be running around saying, so many seeds - so little time!
So, hop on back into your garden and get planting....... Until next time, happy gardening!

Easter magic at home.

The countdown to Easter 2016 is upon us, so quite simply that means it is time to unpack the decorations and get creative for the 2016 Easter edition!
To set the scene and tempt your creative juices, I will look back at images taken over the years.
So, today I will highlight inspiration from the kitchen for your Easter entertaining.

Classic and simple to prepare, Chocolate Cups.

Be creative and use different cups. I have a collection that I have treasured for many years. 

An absolute treat as the ultimate dessert.

Herewith the recipe for these Heavenly Chocolate Cups from the recipe book, Delectable by Marlene van der Westhuizen.

500 ml thick cream
250 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
5 egg yolks, beaten
zest of one orange finely grated

Place the cream and chocolate into a saucepan and heat slowly until the heat of the cream melts the chocolate.
Remove from the heat and cool before adding the egg yolks.
Stir in the orange zest.
Pour into beautiful tea cups and refrigerate.
Serve with fresh berries on the side.
Enjoy! 

A family favourite, sweet and simple, German Marble cake.

Only happy memories surround this cake.

Always time to be creative in the garden.
"Why try to explain miracles to your children when you can just have them plant a garden."
- Robert Brault.