Summer in Cape Town is always about a month behind the rest of the country, but at long last it’s here and I can pop on a cheery summery frock. The way I eat is definitely very seasonally influenced. In warmer weather I want lighter, brighter, fresher food and salads are top of the list. When they are a [...]
I don’t know about you but I am more than ready to kiss 2020 goodbye. And I’m going to do it with extra festive season cheer this year, because that’s what I need. So this Christmas it’s loads of fairy lights, absolutely everywhere. Loads of white Iceberg roses and masses of blue hydrangeas in giant glass vases, absolutely everywhere. [...]
Spring is being a bit coy in the Cape this year. When I look at the weather report I see the rest of SA is starting to flirt with pretty summer frocks. Not so much the case down south. I live in hope that I’ll be able to put a match to the ugly Uggs in the next week [...]
Weather wise the Cape always lags behind the rest of the country by a good month. So while everybody upcountry is swimming, I’m still turning my electric blankie on at night. But now summer has finally made its way to Cape Town too, and I’m thrilled as a 10-year-old on the last day of school. Gone is my craving for [...]
Provençal tomato salad – it’s not actually a ‘real’ Provençal dish, not in the way that pissaladière, aïoli and ratatouille are. But for me this recipe encapsulates the essence of southern France. Ripe-red firm tomatoes, bursting with sunshine. Pungent, juicy rose garlic. Anchovies, salty, rich and deep. It makes me think of rolling purple fields, cicada song at midday, and [...]
There are ping-pong balls secreted away under every bed, chair, cupboard and couch in my house. Do I have a fetish? No, I have a cat. Which means soccer games at odd times, day and night, up and down the passage. The floors are wooden. The racket is frightful. The excitement is fever pitch. I can identify with this kind [...]