Diary of an Adventure

Harbour Town Adventures

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The first batch of scarves from the ‘Wearable Art’ range sent to their new homes. The sample of the ‘Coral Tree’ scarf finally released through customs. Vibrant, with the smudges from my fingers in the painting, creating pattern waves on the silk. Orders placed with delivery scheduled for end of Nov, early Dec.

Chef Hirsch. Starter of salmon on cucumber rounds with a zezty avo topping served with an excellent Newton Johnson Albariño. ‘It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine’ Vivino. Kingklip in a tomato sauce, beef fillet and a heap of greens ensured we didn’t go hungry.

Bunch of small paintings to replace those that have sold. A series of elephants in acrylic, and one of a rhino based on the larger painting ‘unicorn’.

Managed to get out early for my ride up Phantom and then decided to see how things were at Homtini after the fires. Lots of smoke over Sedgfield way and a bit of smoke sitting in the valley, trapped by the cool morning air. My ‘thermometer toe’ registering that it was still chilly out! Monkeys and birds around. Perhaps driven to this part of the Forest that hasn’t burnt?

Passing the yellow and green clad ‘Working for Fire’ warriors, faces daubed with anti-burn cream heading out for a new shift at first light. Columns of smoke against the blue skies and green farm lands as much a indicator of the threats to be faced, as gunfire in conflict states.

Quick visit from Lesa and Alan gave me another opportunity to use the Kamado Jan. Nothing too crazy for this cook given that the studio was busy with tourists. We still managed to keep the bottle recycling plant working at full pace.

Diary of an Adventure

Harbour Town Adventure

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Cooling morning mist lifting, sun already hot. A dramatic change to the apocalypse skies with fires again burning through the Forests. Blankets of ash carried by the winds.

While it would be good to use these crazy times to account for my laboured running, it’s probably more a result of too much red wine and the overpowering scent of the star jasmine seizing my sinuses.

Hands cramping with the small paintings I’m busy doing. A series based on the King Protea flowering on Thesen and the stunning display of Pincushion Protea at Pezula.

A gazillion delays in getting the latest scarf order cleared through customs. Unexpected, frustrating and expensive. A good response to them with only a couple left from the first order. Hopefully the next bunch will arrive before the holiday season.

Ceviche with avo Cote de boeuf and the sweet potato gratin all cooked on the Kamado Jan. Some of the beef was tough Dissapointing.

Diary of an Adventure

Harbour Town Adventures

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Calf muscle a tad unhappy. Singed fingers from a super hot braai grill that was engulfed in flames from the burning duck fat. This cooking is dangerous stuff.

Beach walk with Prince at the Wild Side. The sea rough with deep pools that kept him out of the water for most of the walk. Probably not as much fun, but at least he hasn’t been ill.

Crusted lamb ribs with anchovy and parsley salsa. 2 hours on the Big Red Egg in a tinfoil bath, before letting them cool (another 3 hours) and then grilling them over the fire on a Teflon sheet with their crust of Parmesan cheese, rather than the flour and bread crumbs of the recipe. Rosemary rather than celery, as I don’t like celery. And it’s lamb after all.

‘Reading’ my painting of a woman sitting at the ‘Reflections Seed Pod’, in Steenbok Park. Under blue skies, summer flowers amongst the new green grass. The Reflections Seed Pod statue commemorates the June 17 fires that swept through Knysna. A sacred space for remembrance, gratitude and reflection.

http://www.steenboknaturereserve.org.za/news/

Despite the early hour, it was already warm on the a ride up Phantom Pass. My legs fatigued from running. Lungs gasping, which only resulted in a mouthful of bugs! Fortunately our breakfast stop, at the newly opened Knysna Hollow, was much tastier.

The hotel burnt down in the fires and has been transformed in its reconstruction. Elegant, clean, light-filled and comfortable. One of those places where a morning. Or a day?, will disappear. A tad sad that they haven’t managed to bring in any large trees to soften the harsh lines of the new buildings. Envious that my paintings aren’t on the walls.

The studio has had a busy month, after a quiet winter. Hopefully a good indication of the months ahead. Still waiting for the next bunch of sample silk scarves to arrive. Holidays, customs and the unexpected have delayed things by a few weeks and I’m starting to wonder if I will get the next order sorted in time for Christmas? Guess it’s all a learning curve, and there will be next Christmas. I have decided to do a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge to make sure I have enough small paintings, for those ‘unique Christmas gifts’ as this week has seen a bunch leaving the studio.

The smell of salt on the air. Entwined with the heady scent of the star jasmine flowering on the patio.

CRUSTED LAMB RIBS WITH ANCHOVY-AND-PARSLEY SALSA

Woolworths TASTE1 Oct 2018

Serves 6 to 8

EASY

Preparation: 30 minutes, plus cooling time (another 3 hours)

Cooking: 2 hours 20 minutes

Woolworths free-range farm-style lamb ribs 1.2 kg

carrots 2, peeled and cut into chunks

celery 2 sticks, cut into chunks (I used rosemary as I don’t like celery. And it’s lamb after all)

leeks 2, cut into chunks

Woolworths organic beef stock 2 litres

sunflower oil, for deep-frying

flour 120 g

free-range eggs 3, beaten

panko breadcrumbs 200 g

For the anchovy-and-parsley salsa:

anchovy fillets 12

garlic 2 cloves,

chopped lemons 2, juiced

extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup

Italian parsley 30 g, roughly chopped

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the ribs into a deep ovenproof dish with the carrots, celery and leeks. Pour over the beef stock making sure that everything is covered.

2 Cover the dish with foil and braise in the oven for 2 hours, until soft.

3 Remove the dish from the oven, set aside and allow the ribs to cool completely in the liquid. (another 3 hours)

4 Once the meat is cold, remove it from the liquid and portion into individual ribs. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan.

5 Dip the ribs into the flour, then into the egg and the breadcrumbs. Deep-fry each rib until golden brown.

6 To make the salsa, place all the ingredients into a blender and process until chunky.

Serve with the ribs Waterford Kevin Arnol

Diary of an Adventure

Harbour Town Adventures

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Finally managed to regulate the fire in the Kamado Jan low enough to do a slow cook that didn’t incinerate the food. The ducks, after six hours of cooking, were crisp and succulent, although the recommended temperature of 120 C was still a tad high.

The duck is stuffed with grapefruit and lemons, then slow cooked until the meat is falling off the bones and the skin perfectly crisped. Instead of the cherries, Terry did blueberries in their own juices, which worked a treat. Served with Ceviche-style summer squash and fennel in butter.

Delicious starter, that also looked amazing, of Teriyaki salmon with cauliflower noodles.

‘Unicorn’ a painting of a rhino. Depicting uncertainty and vulnerability Heading for extinction as the scourge of poaching continues to decimate the rhino population.

Birthdays seemingly to merge into each other with care taken by everyone to ensure that my crazy diabetic restrictions were catered for. Burger patties with avo and a scrumptious chocolate mousse at the recently rebuilt Knysna Hollow Estate.

I certainly felt the effects of a tad too much Sarronsberg Shiraz on my run with Craig to East Head, in our scary ‘funky shorts’. The sea freezing. The run, a breather before his birthday and the superb J9 wine cellar.

Busy time in the studio, with paintings heading to their new homes. Amazing that hard earned money is paid for my smearing of paint.

Movement of light recalls impressionist and Seurat-like neo-impressionist landscaping in Trail Through the Woods as Jan Raats magnifies it handsomely with Forest Walk.

https://www.knysnaplettherald.com/News/Article/General/seeing-the-wood-for-the-trees-in-fine-forest-exhibit-201810101153

Diary of an Adventure

Greyton Adventures

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Oak trees, lavender, roses, birds. Mist, sunshine and butterflies. Horses, aimlessly wondering along the main road in the early morning.

A surreal world beneath the mountain. Immaculate and cared for.

‘Linda’s Breasts’, not on the menu. Definitely worth asking for at Via’s. A hint of warmth in the spices used on the chicken breast, transformative. While the chips looked impossibly tempting, there was nothing wrong with my roast veggies. Except, they were veggies! The aromas from the coffee roaster, intoxicating.

I did a morning painting demonstration. A floral painting of a lily, orchid sort of flower in my Mums garden. White flowers adding that touch of mystery as to the approach. The painting was influenced by the ‘Wearable Art’ range of silk scarves I’m focusing on, which influenced the colours. The influence of Van Gogh’s almond blossoms in the turquoise background.

“My work was going well,” he informed his brother, “the last canvas of branches in blossom – you will see that it is perhaps the best, the most patiently worked thing I had done, painted with calm and with greater firmness of touch. And the next day, down like a brute.”

Interesting to have artists painting their own pictures during the demonstration. I did get tied down a tad by the delicate fingers of the flowers.

Prince still struggling with the effects of ‘salt poisoning’ from our play on the beach, chasing stones into the surf and ingesting too much salt water. Will need to carry grease water to hydrate him and keep his playing along the sand, rather than in the water.

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Harbour Town Adventures

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Photo credit Elle Redman

Sunshine for a beach play at Buffels. Whales in the distance Prince not well. We can only guess that he ate something at the beach that made him so ill.

Defined by beauty, in the Forest, there is a world where imagination has no boundaries. ‘ForesTree’, the new exhibition at the Old Goal has beautiful works that captivate. Tranquil. Absorbing. Energizing. I didn’t find a flow through the curators hanging of the works. Something I will go back and search for. Thrilled that my paining ‘Forest Walk’ is part of the exhibition.

First sea swim after a run to East Head. Fingers a tad transparent from the less than warm water.

Stomach muscles pulverized by the ride through the forest. The bicycle doing its best to throw me off through the wash-always, and drifts of sand washed down by the storms. Tree blocks and stretches of water – of unknown depth – keeping us alert. Valleys of yellow flowers and gazillions of butterflies. Spoilt we are.

Coconut-chocolate fudge squares a winner. Terry’s has been searching for a fuel ‘fat bomb’ that is diabetic sensitive for the afternoon blood sugar slumps and during long rides. That they are tasty enough for a coffee desert an additional bonus. A dessert spoon of local honey in the mixture, cut into 1 cm squares, ensures only a nominal amount of natural sugar in each square.

Dairy Free Coconut Chocolate Fudge

A delicious dairy free coconut chocolate fudge made with coconut oil and almond or coconut milk. This low carb chocolate fudge makes a tasty fat bomb snack.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword low carb candy

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 16 squares

Calories 77 kcal

Author Lisa | Low Carb Yum

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup coconut oil softened

• 1/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk. Can add 1/2 cup if you keep it in deep freeze. Don’t use coconut cream. Does not work.

• 1-2 tablespoons honey

• Depending on how sweet you like it

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Optional. A pinch of salt.

Instructions

0. Melt coconut oil and combine with cocoa powder. Blend well.

0. Add all other ingredients and use hand beater to blend well

0. Spread out into a small square or rectangular container lined with parchment paper.

0. Refrigerate until fudge is hardened.

0. Remove fudge from container and cut into squares.

0. Place in deep freeze

Recipe Notes

Makes 16 small squares

Diary of an Adventure

Cape Town Adventure

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The fire at Jakes on the Common welcome on a rainy Cape Town day. Books, wine, good food (grateful for the diabetic sensitive menu option) and easy company, insulated from the stormy weather. Energized, tranquility, looking through the fresh spring leaves of the ancient oak trees.

The building of the Norval Foundation is as impressive as expected. Vast gallery spaces for the large works of art. Most of which I found, disturbing.

They were changing exhibitions which was a tad disappointing as we could only access two of the galleries. The sculpture garden, impressive. My red face the proof to heed the warning about protecting yourself against sunburn. Even on a chilly spring day.

Prince still didn’t manage the crashing sea noise. Full moon. Spring tides. Howling winds. Beach not inviting. He did manage to walk to the Green Door. An achievement in itself.

The wind blew us back to Knysna. Roads busy with holiday traffic. Green, golden and yellow after the rains. We passed the ‘solar challenge’ cars – struggling into the wind – sandwiched between the hurtling steel of impatient road users.

Diary of an Adventure

Harbour Town Adventures

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‘At the Zeitz MOCAA’

Oil on canvas 90cmx60cm.

A random moment. ‘Tell me your story. My name is magic fused with life purpose…” Story telling by Vusumuzi Mpofu amongst the bricks of Kendell Geers’ ‘Hanging Piece’.

Poetry transcending the horror of the hangman’s noose. Red ropes made ordinary by the red of clothing. Bricks, of terror fading into life, with purpose.

One of those evenings when I have managed to break, mess, and destroy. Nothing I can blame on crazy blood sugars. Or even too much wine.

Temperature regulation quite an issue on my Kamado Jan. Once that machine gets hot, it’s kind of impossible to get the temperature down. The monster chicken, while full of flavour was heading towards the charcoal side.

Order placed for the first batch of silk scarves. Time now an issue to finalise designs, sort pricing (exchange rate more erratic than my blood sugars) and get delivery before the holiday season.

Sold. South Sudan. Exhausting.

Stunning cheese cake that is diabetic sensitive. Tasty, and indulgent. A taste sensation amongst the week of amazing food indulgence. Chicken livers (which I don’t eat) at Chef Hirsch. Subtly tangy and perfect with the Newton Johnson Pinot Reserve, as well as the Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon blend. Beef fillet curry at Chef Coreta with a Delheim Vaaldrei Cab Franc that was better than my favourite Raats Cab Franc.

Remarkably privileged to have my painting of the migration ‘On the Plains’, hanging in its new rebuilt home after the fires. Particularly after an evening visiting a home that proudly shows its scars of the fires that tore through Knysna.

Lemon Cheese Cake

This banting friendly lemon cheesecake from Jump on the Bant Wagon, by Nick Charlie Key, R265, (Human & Rousseau), is the ultimate indulgence, without the guilt

INGREDIENTS

For the crust

1 cup almond flour

2T melted butter

3T xylitol

For the filling

680g cream cheese, at room temperature

310ml xylitol

1t vanilla extract

A pinch salt

4 eggs, at room temperature

60ml lemon juice

1T lemon zest

60ml whipping cream

Topping

250ml sour cream

30ml lemon juice

1T lemon zest

4T xylitol

1/2t vanilla extract

Try this dark chocolate cheesecake recipe

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

2. Prepare a springform cake pan. Put some baking paper over the bottom of the pan

1/3

and snap it into place when you tighten the sides of the pan.

3. Grease the sides and bottom of the pan (and the baking paper) using butter.

4. Mix all the crust ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Once it’s a

doughy, crumbly and moist texture, press it into the bottom of the prepared pan.

5. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C.

7. For the filling, beat the cream cheese until it becomes fluffy, making sure to scrape

the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the xylitol, vanilla, salt and two of the eggs. Beat

well, then scrape the sides of the bowl again.

8. Add the remaining two eggs. Beat well and scrape once again. Add the lemon juice,

zest and cream. Beat well, scrape and pour the filling mixture over the pre-baked

crust.

9. Place the springform pan into a bigger pan that has been pre-filled halfway with

boiling water, and then place into the oven to bake for roughly 1 hour. The

cheesecake should still be a little wobbly in the centre when it comes out.

10. While the cheesecake is in the oven, mix all the topping ingredients together in a

mixing bowl.Get the recipe for the cheesecake topped with frilled honey buttered

peaches

11. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, spread the topping evenly over the

cheesecake and then return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

12. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it cool. Once at room temperature, pop

it into the fridge for a few hours to chill properly.

Serves 10–12 people

Diary of an Adventure

Harbour Town Adventure

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A dark, wet world with a power outage after a couple of days of water pouring from the skies. A tad bit more red wine than necessary, to accompany the Boeuf bourguignon. Prince, bouncing off the walls.

Beach walk. Sun doing its best to heat the snow wind from the mountains. Not enough to stop frozen feet and hands. The hot-water bottles at East Head welcome after our run and toe-testing dip into the sea. Much too cold for me.

‘Family Outing’ finally finished. Grateful for the extra paint supplies that eased the constraints of my acrylic paint options.

‘Côte de Boeuf’. A monster – first – experimental dish for the Kamado Jan. As advised, I let the steaks sit for two hours to reach room temperature before starting the ‘Reverse Searing’. Which is basically doing a slow cure (based on 4min per 100gram of the largest piece of meat) at 150 degrees.

I struggled to get the temperature down, having added too much charcoal initially. The heavy bone of the cut, rescuing me, as I did the initial cook, bone side down over the high rack position.

The meat then rested for an hour before winding the Kamado Jan up to its steak searing 400 degrees temperature. The rested steaks, seared for 4 minutes on each side, plus an additional 4 minutes, or so, to render the fat.

At the high temperatures care needs to be taken to prevent combustion and that ‘charcoal’ state. Having Coreta watching the meat, a necessity, as the high temperatures also evaporated the wine in our glasses.

The grilled hunks of steak were rested off the grill for the ten minutes it took to cook the green beans. The steaks were separated from the bone and cut into slices. Bones, then grilled for an additional ten minutes, adding that last ‘curtain call’.

Sweet potato gratin. 2011 Grace Land and Black Rock, special on their own. With the Côte, spectacular.

Dad on a surprise visit for his 85th birthday. Very special.

September, ‘10-mile’ challenge, with the sunrise. Something conjured from nowhere definitive, on a beautiful early summer morning. Long time since I have run that far. That easily. That quickly.

Diary of an Adventure

Harbour Town Adventures

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The clock is reset. Washing machine rumbling. Empty wine bottles. Fire light. A touch of jazz, above the laughter. Smell of paint in the studio. Rain against the windows. Wind searching for gaps.

Home. Breathing life after the week away.

Wet dog smell, combined with a tinge of lagoon mud, and sea salt. The dust of the Karoo, replaced by mud.

Thrilled to receive a Special Merit Award for ‘Art of Outstanding Quality’, at the 2018 LightSpaceTime open art competition for my portrait of the Vietnamese woman in Hoi-An, ‘Crumpled’. This is the second time I have receive an award from LST, the first being in 2016 for my painting of the car-guard, ‘Jazz Man’.

Gouna river flowing strongly after the rain. Startling clear amber waters, an ancient mirror for the delicate water lilies opening in shafts of sunlight. The joys of being out on a bicycle in our paradise.

My painting of the elephants at Addo, a tad somber with the news that 90 elephant carcasses were found in Botswana. Elephants have always moved into the protected areas of Botswana, away from hunting guns of Namibia, Angola and Zimbabwe. A haven shattered by the slaughter of poachers. Incredibly sad.

SOLD

Water Carriers

Oil on linen 40cmx30cm