Avo Pit Growth update

Howzit

Holy moly the stem is growing taller and taller and still no leaves, perhaps I should place it somewhere with more sunlight. It is still freezing temperatures outside so I have to keep it indoors till spring perhaps. 

                                      

At 9weeks

If you have any previous experience growing an avo tree from its seed, please don't hesitate to leave a suggestion or advice in the comments below, it would be much appreciated.

         Happy Days

Romany Creams

Awe Awe

Romany Creams are popular in South Africa and are coconut chocolate based biscuits. It is sold there in all supermarkets and used in many dessert recipes. So as it is one of my favourites, I have decided to make my own since I cannot find it  anywhere here in Italy, "for the love of lemons!" Here is my take on it. Found this recipe in a cook book and tweaked it to my liking. Made 84 biscuits and 42 romany creams. Wow! Mind you, this was my first attempt at baking Romany Creams!

Ingredients

200g sugar

200g butter or margerine

65ml corn oil 

2 eggs

500g cake flour

65ml cocoa powder

5ml baking powder

pinch of salt

200g desiccated coconut

200g dark chocolate

Set oven to 180°C

Cream together sugar, butter and oil then mix in eggs, combine well.

In a seperate bowl sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt then add coconut

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed sugar mixture and mix until you have a stiff dough

Roll out on a floured surface to about 5mm thick and cut out rounds about 5cm in diameter. I used a tot glass. Scrape the top with a fork for a rough texture. 

Place on a baking sheet with baking paper and into the heated oven for 12-15minutes

Cool the baked biscuits on a rack

Melt the chocolate on a pot of boiling water

Between a pair of cooled biscuits add about a teaspoon of melted chocolate.

Set aside and let the centres to cool or place in the fridge for 10minute. And then nom nom!

CHE BON!

Happy Days

Nutrition: 100g dried coconut. It is very high in saturated fat 285%

• Fibre 65%
• Total fat 99%
• Iron 18%  

% Daily Values* (these are approximate amounts)

Stuck in a moment

I'm in this really weird point in my life where I don't know who I am or where I'm going. I find myself waking up at strange times with a knot in my stomach, a feeling of concern, wondering, Who am I? Where am I going? One thing I know for sure is that I am not happy with where I am at this point in my life, at this age. I had different plans for myself, which hasn't come to be. Where do I go from here?

Feeling like I'm back at square one, like a teen, I'm all over the place, going back and forth with ideas... the indecision. So here I find myself, a blogger, hoping to come to be. Doing what I know, to have patience and keeping the faith. Practicing what I don't, to be determined and self-disciplined, which is totally against my nature however I need to make up for a lack of natural ability by making good use of my virtues.

Capetonian

Awe, howzit!

*Awe - pronounced 'ah weh', is South African slang for hello; yes; or an expression of excitement.
*Howzit - South African slang for how are you; hello; or what's up.

Let me define what capetonian is and a bit about where I come from. Capetonian is the name for locals living in Cape Town, the 'Mother City' of South Africa, which is where I am from, the city in which I was born, grew up and spent most of my life living in.

As you can see the header of this blog is a photo of Table Mountain, the most prominent landmark in the city. Oh what a facinating city it is with its mediterranean climate, several beaches, vast and vibrant culture, precious flora and fauna and much more. Anyone who comes from or has been to Cape Town will tell you, it is a place that takes a piece of you, there's no place like it and you will always want to return. It is a bustling city with lots to see and do but the city also has a tranquil and chilled out(relaxing) vibe. I love my motherland.

And this is only the beginning, only a part of my beautiful country,  it is a dream of mine to thoroughly travel my country, I have yet to see it all...

*In future I plan to blog about my favourite recipes which I grew up with and more on Cape Town and its surroundings.
Stay tuned

                                                                                                                                        Happy Days

Venezia

Awe awe

Caught the 10h15 train and it takes us about an hour to reach Venezia Santa Lucia. Today was one of those, no pressure just take in every moment kind of days, with near perfect weather conditions and low tide. Decided to walk from the station to Piazza San Marco via Rialto Bridge. It should be a 25-30min walk however with the tourist crowd and the January sale that has started we encountered lots of stopping and window shopping. I've been to Venice several times and I usually take lots of photos, not this time though, just enjoyed the slow walk and took in the impressive scenery.

Ending up at the Hard Rock Cafe  for lunch. While waiting to be seated I browsed the store and found this brass peace mood ring which, after contemplating for a quite while, I eventually purchased. Had myself a yummy hickory bacon cheese burger with a side of fries and crumbed onion rings and a Pepsi (I ordered a Coke and I hate that people think its the same thing, not a fan of pepsi, just saying).

Then we decided to take a different route back to Ferrovia where the train station is, and ended up being lost. Thats just great because being lost in Venice, with time to spare, is probably one of the coolest things, this is when you find the best little canals, bridges and alleyways, the true splendor of Venice.

Yes it was a short visit to Venice as the sun has set around 17h00 but I live an hours train ride away and will  soon be on another Venetian adventure.

                                                                                                                                              Happy Days

*Bear with me as I'm still getting the hang of this blogging business, recording events in detail with photos and such.

Avocado pit growth

Hi, howzit?

As I am a lover of avos I end up with many pits thrown away. So about 7weeks ago I decided to try growing one and thus far it is making progress, much to my surprise. It is winter here in Italy so it is kept indoors at around 20degrees celcius. *I usually find that the avos here in Italy are imported from South Africa, Mexico, Brazil or Israel. This specific avo was imported from South Africa.

At 6weeks 

I will keep updating on its progress every few weeks

*Will try to grow another soon, with step by step guide*

                                                                                                                                        Happy Days

Guacamole

Howzit?

So today I thought I'd share my Guacamole Recipe. I love guac or anything edible with avocado for that matter, it is not just great tasting but nutritious.

Ingredients
2 Avocados, peeled and pitted
1tblsp Onion, diced
3\4 Garlic clove, minced
1tblsp fresh Coriander , chopped
1 Tomato, diced
1\2 Lime, juiced
1tsp Salt
Pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper or paprika (optional)

Mash all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Refrigerate an hour before serving for better flavour.

*Adjust ingredients to your taste                                                                                 Serves 2-3

*Save the pit and store with leftovers to keep the guac from turning brown

Nutrition: 100g Avocado - it is great for the skin, protects the liver, helps to lower cholesterol, an excellent antioxidant and contains good fat (monounsaturated).

• VitaminE 10%
• VitaminC 17%
• VitaminB5 14%
• VitaminB6 13%
• VitaminK 26%
• Potassium 14%
• Folate 20%
• Fat 23%
• Fiber 27%

%DailyValue*

It is an all round nutrient dense fruit, which puts it on the top of my favourites list.

                                                                                                                                       Happy Days 

Just Peachy!

Finally I have arrived in the world of bloggers. Finding my feet won't be easy however I feel the time has come to find my own space on the World Wide Web. Still deciding on what the content might be based upon because I am a lover of many things : Travel, Cooking, Yoga, Nutrition, Fashion, Beauty, Dogs, Gardening, Psycology etc. So perhaps a general lifestyle blog. By no means am I an expert on any of these subjects, it will be based off of my personal experiences and knowledge, an honest overview and opinion. Here we go!

Lets start off with one of my many favourite recipes, Peach Cheesecake

Ingredients 
 350g Condensed milk
 200ml Fresh cream
 250g Philadelphia cream cheese
 420g Canned peach slices, drained
 2 Lemons
 2 tsps Gelatine
 80ml Hot Water
 200g Digestive biscuits

Combine condensed milk, fresh cream and cream cheese in a bowl.
Puree the sliced peaches in a blender and add to mixture.
Squeeze the juice from the lemons, removing any pips and add to mixture.
Soften the gelatine in hot water and mix well, then add to mixture.
Mix cheesecake until smooth  *Adjust sweetness to your liking
Crush the biscuits

Place a layer of biscuits then cheesecake mixture in tall glasses or dessert bowls (as I have done) and allow to set in the fridge for an hours or more. *I filled up 10 dessert bowls

Enjoy!



Nutrition: 100g peach                                  

•  Vitamin A 7%
•  Vitamin C 11%
•  Calcium 1%
•  Iron 1%
•  Potassium 5%
•  Fibre 6%

 %Daily Value*