Almond Flour

Jul5

Almond flour is currently being promoted as a marvellous substitute for ordinary flour. Anyone in South Africa who is on a diet, knows about Tim Noakes. He advocates cutting carbs and using protein products instead.

I believe almond flour is high in protein and contains little or no sugar or fats which makes it the healthy option.

Because of all of the publicity, I wanted to try it. So, yesterday, when walking past our local health shop, I saw almond flour advertised on the blackboard outside the store and went into the shop and bought a bag.

However, I misread the sign! I thought it said R25.00 for 500g!  When the assistant handed me the packet of almond flour which I had asked for, the label said R125.00.

I nearly refused the flour but pride held me back. So now I’m the owner of a bag of almond flour and I’m not sure whether to store it in my baking cupboard or pack away in our household safe!

FullSizeRender

Daily Prompt: Motion

Apr25
Bubble Girls

Bubble Girls

Every child loves the motion of bubbles and these girls are no different.

Beside the Sea

Beside the Sea

The sea is the perfect example of motion, constantly moving and ever-changing.

Monkey Business

Mar30
Photo : BWP Pieterse

Photo : BWP Pieterse

Monkeys abound in our neighbourhood. They jump on the roof of our house, they eat guavas off our tree and, on occasion, they have come into the house and stolen our fruit from the fruit basket. They are such a nuisance. Some people have even resorted to poisoning the little creatures which I find disturbing and cruel.

A letter of complaint was published recently in our local newspaper saying that these animals should be “stopped”.  The rant was a repeat of the complaints by the locals and included suggestions for the eradication of the monkeys.

A couple of days later another letter was published, which gave me something to think about.  This letter contained a voice of reason which pointed out that the monkeys were in our neighbourhood first.  We came in and cleared the land, removing the banana trees and other sources of their food. We built our houses and simply expected the monkeys to go away. Well they have nowhere else to go now we’re stuck with them.

So we allow them to eat fruit off our trees but we make sure they don’t get into our house where they can cause havoc.

We all have to make sacrifices for the sake of harmony and if that means allowing the monkeys some leeway while taking care to restrict the damage they can do, it’s ok by me.

Photo : BWP Pieterse

Photo : BWP Pieterse

Reef

Mar30

Photos taken from the plane en route to Mauritius. The reef is beautiful and the snorkelling was amazing…

 

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Fresh

Mar22
Photo: BWP Pieterse

Photo: BWP Pieterse

 

Angel's Trumpet

Angel’s Trumpet

High Tea

Mar4
Maxwell Williams

Maxwell Williams tableware

Instead of seeing the New Year in in the traditional way, we chose to have High Tea at the Oyster Box Hotel early in January to celebrate the beginning of 2015.

The Oyster Box is a 5 star hotel bang on Umhlanga’s beachfront behind the lighthouse which gives the beautiful views a unique feel.

The colonial style of decor is lovely and so authentic that I almost expected to see Jay Gatsby arrive, with Daisy on his arm.

The concept of High Tea emanates from the English.  High Tea is different from Afternoon Tea in that it is eaten at a table.  Usually Afternoon Tea is to be had whilst seated in low, comfortable chairs.  The difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea is really the height of the table!

Me

Me

The Oyster Box uses Maxwell Williams settings and the pretty pink and white tableware complements the surroundings perfectly.  The service was excellent from the welcoming glass of sparkling wine to the farewells at the end of the afternoon.

The tea table was groaning with delicious food, from savoury to sweet.  I really enjoyed the bite sized eats which made to easier to try a whole range of foods without getting too full.

A highly skilled pianist provided the background music for a memorable afternoon in beautiful surroundings.

Colonial

High Tea table

Teatime treats

Teatime treats

Colonial style

Colonial style

This was my first High Tea experience and I’m hooked.  It’s certainly a great way to see in the New Year.

Travel Theme: Doorways

Feb3

A beautiful doorway at Caribbean Estates in Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal.

Caribbean Estates

Dead In The Water

Feb1

Recently there was a massive hailstorm in Pietermaritzburg. Hailstones, the size of golfballs, came hammering down.  They damaged cars, gutters, roofs, windows and terrified the animals. After the storm had subsided, we noticed a hadida (ibis) walking around our garden with a damaged wing.

There have been hurt birds in my garden before and they mostly just need time to rest before they go on their way again.  The bird was still there on Saturday and spent the day pecking at worms. We put water nearby and left him.  Fortunately our little dog was completely unconcerned about the bird so it was free to wander about.

When I went to collect the newspaper on Sunday morning, I searched for the bird. I was relieved that I couldn’t find it and hoped that it had recovered sufficiently to move on.

Then I looked into the swimming pool and my heart sank. The hadida was floating on the surface. The bird must have managed to get over the fence and somehow fall in – it couldn’t help itself because the hail had broken one of it’s wings.

Last time a hadida died in our garden it crashed into the outside wall of our double storey house.  On this occasion there were two hadidas flying together and the one flew straight into the wall.  It died instantly.  I believe these birds mate for life and its mate circled our house for ages, screeching in distress at the loss of its partner.

The mate of the bird who died in our pool must be grieving over the loss of its missing partner.  Collateral damage caused by global warming and man’s inhumanity to our environment.

”Global warming isn’t a prediction, it’s happening.” James Hansen

hailstones

Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity

Jan21

 The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity 
To accept the things I cannot change; 
Courage to change the things I can; 
And wisdom to know the difference. 

Reinhold Niebuh

Photo: BWP Pieterse

 

Companions

Nov17
"I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude." Henry David Thoreau

“I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.” Henry David Thoreau