Lamb Chops with Potato

Today's lunch... Feel free to try it out yourself. ^_^

Ingredients:

Lamb chops
Herbs, spices, black pepper & salt
12 new potatoes (baby potatoes), peeled
Half a large onion, chopped
A tin of creamed mushrooms
1 teaspoon of garlic
Olive oil
1 teaspoon of margarine

Directions:

1. Boil the baby potatoes until mostly cooked.
2. Add the spices, herbs and black pepper (whichever you like) to your lamb chops, and then place on a grill pan in the oven at 190 C. (Turn at least 4 times while cooking. Cook for about half an hour. 10 minutes of baking at 190 C, 15 minutes of grilling, and about 10 minutes of baking at 220 C).
3. Lightly cover the base of a large saucepan with olive oil, and fry up the onions and garlic at a medium heat. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
4. Drain the baby potatoes, and throw them into the saucepan with the onions. Break them into halves with your wooden spoon.
5. Add more black pepper to taste, and fry at a medium heat for about 7 minutes.
6. Add the teaspoon of margarine and mix in.
7. Fry for about 2 minutes and then add the tin of creamed mushrooms.
8. Lower the heat to the lowest, and allow to simmer while you wait for the chops to cook.

And that's it.. Nice and simple... Enjoy! ^_^

Pasta & Tuna

Here is another recipe to try out...

Ingredients:

500g of wholewheat fusilli (pasta screws)
1 tablespoon of margarine
1 teaspoon of garlic
Half a large onion, chopped
1 tin of tuna in brine, drained
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Black pepper & salt

Instructions:

1. Start cooking the pasta by following the instructions on the package, while that is cooking, continue with the following...
2. Melt the margarine in a small non-stick saucepan, add the garlic, and then the chopped onions. Fry the onions on a medium heat for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the tuna, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon of ground sea salt to the mixture.
4. Keep stirring and turn down to a low heat to simmer.
5. After about 5 minutes, add the mayonnaise and bring to the boil, then lower the heat again, stir and allow to simmer.
6. Add more salt and black pepper to taste.
7. Drain and rinse the pasta in running, hot water, and then return it to the pot.
8. Throw the tuna and mayonnaise concoction over the pasta, and mix in.
9. Serve and enjoy!

You may want to use 2 tins of tuna if you want it to go further. ^_^

Benny & Joon

Last night I finally sat down to watch my DVD of Benny and Joon
The movie stars Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson and Julianne Moore. It is an absolutely stunning, quirky, romantic comedy.

Mary Stuart Masterson plays a young woman dealing with certain mental problems and random outbursts, including setting things on fire. Johnny Depp, as usual, plays an eccentric man who comes into town - he is not very educated, and just as "unusual" as Mary's character. Needless to say, they fall in love.

I would definitely recommend watching this movie for many reasons. It is funny, quirky, romantic, and really just a "feel good" movie. I was definitely very impressed by it. It's one of those movies that finishes off with an "awww" moment.

9/10 score from me! ^_^

Around The Kitchen

As some of you may already know, I absolutely LOVE cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. Yes, I do enjoy trying out new recipes sometimes, but what I enjoy the most, is creating my own concoctions.

I'm going to start uploading "recipes" of mine as I make them, along with pictures of the meal. You're welcome to try any of them out!

Last night I prepared a "stew" of sorts with the following ingredients:

Half a large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons of garlic
1 tablespoon of margarine
500g of cut, cubed beef pieces
1 tin of onion & tomato mix
1 small tin of creamed mushrooms
1 tin of cooked chick peas
1 cup of uncooked brown & wild rice with split peas
Salt & black pepper

Preparation:

1. Bring the rice and 1 teaspoon of salt to the boil, then turn down the heat and allow to simmer, covered, for 35 - 40 minutes.
2. Melt the margarine in a large, shallow saucepan, add the garlic, and onions. Sautée the onions for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the cubed beef pieces, and "fry" on a medium heat.
4. Add some black pepper and salt.
5. When the beef is lightly browned on the outside, throw in the tin of onion & tomato mix. Bring to the boil, and then lower the heat to a very low heat.
6. Allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Throw in the tin of creamed mushrooms, mix in, and allow to simmer for a futher 10 minutes.
8. Throw in the tin of cooked chick peas, mix in, and then add some more black pepper and salt to taste.
9. Allow to simmer, covered, for a further 5 - 10 minutes, at which time the rice should be cooked, and ready to drain.
10. Drain the rice in a strainer, and rinse under running, hot water.

Serving:

Dish up the rice onto a plate first, and then dish up the "stew" onto the bed of rice. Enjoy!

What Is This World Coming To?

What is this world coming to, I ask... But more importantly, what is this COUNTRY coming to? I have never understood violent crimes, and I never will. Can we never get a break?

Let me share with you some stories my family and close friends have had to go through in the past few years...

When I was a baby, people would break in when nobody was home. If they found somebody home, they'd just lock them in a bathroom and that would be it. No longer is it that "painless".

One of the first bad crimes I can remember in my lifetime, is when my mother's best friend was almost hijacked on the road at gunpoint. I can't remember the details of the story, but she managed to get away with her car - and unharmed. As you can imagine, that is still extremely traumatising!

I don't think long after (or perhaps not long before), my aunt (who is an epileptic and cannot drive) was walking home from work one day. She had just come to the gates at her block of flats, when a man came up behind her and put a knife to her throat. He stole her handbag only, but left behind a lot of fear.

In February 2008, my mom's boyfriend stopped at a robot (traffic light) after coming off the highway, and noticed the car in front of him putting its reverse lights on. He was wondering if they knew they had done it or not, but with being distracted, a man came up on the passenger side, smashed through the window, and tried to grab what was on the seat next to him. My mom's boyfriend grabbed toward the pile on the seat, but only managed to get his jacket. The other man got away with his bag, and everything inside!

The next thing happened in June/July 2008.. This time, it was personal. As I was driving home from work, I pulled off of the highway and had to stop at the robot (traffic light). As I glanced to the side, I noticed a man standing there with what looked like a crowbar in his hands. He started coming toward my car, so I just drove right through the light and straight home. We called the cops to report the incident, and we thought it was over. My mother and I went to bed, but we were woken around 5am in the morning with the sound of shattering glass. We both knew this wasn't an ornament knocked over by a pet - this was something serious. My immediate reaction was to lock my door, which I did.

I could hear my mother banging on her window and yelling at them to go away. Next thing I heard her come out of her room and head over to the room they'd smashed the glass in. From then all I heard was her screaming for help, yelling at them to leave - all I could do was scream out my own window to try get help from the neighbours.... No reaction from anyone. I was standing there in such confusion - was she yelling "help" for me? Or was she yelling "help" for the neighbours? What to do? Do I go out there and possibly get hurt, or do I keep myself safe in my room? What are they doing to her? I have no idea what's going on - I only have sound effects.

A moment later my mom was telling me it's ok, they're gone, and I can come out. At first I wasn't sure if she meant it, or if these people were telling her to say it. Eventually I realised that she meant it, so I came out, and saw her in her bedroom trying to get her gun together. She was bleeding from the head - very badly. I still had no idea what happened, but I called for the police, and she called her boyfriend. The cops arrived quite quickly - I was actually quite impressed with their response time, because in this country, you can wait hours and hours before somebody comes to you.

The first 2 cops immediately came in and tried to check if there was anyone in our house, but what seemed like seconds later, a huge truck of cops in bullet proof vest and huge guns appeared at the scene too. I was incredibly impressed! I felt like I was in a movie! They all ran around the entire complex, jumping over walls, shining flashlights trying to find these guys. Sadly, they couldn't find anyone, and the large group left us with the first 2 cops, to make our statements.

After that, I managed to get the whole story of what happened. When Mom looked out her window, she only saw 1 man, and it looked as though he was about to go into the house - her immediate reaction was "oh no you don't!" She never realised there were more already in that room. She stormed through there - in her underwear and a vest, I might add! Only to realise there was already a man in there, and he was trying to get my computer. For some reason her protective instinct took over, and she decided there is no way in hell she's letting these people take her daughter's computer - knowing that my life, my photographs, my career, everything.. is on that computer. So she grabbed onto it, and wouldn't let go. As she's having a tug of war battle with this man, she is yelling for help from the neighbours, and yelling at them to go away.

Sadly, when she swore at one of the men standing at the window, he lost his temper, swore back at her, and threw a brick at her head. The brick hit her right in her hairline, causing a lot of blood... But she never gave up, never dropped down or stopped fighting. I think that's what scared these guys off - even after hitting her in the head with a brick, she wasn't going to stop, so they ran off. Unfortunately, as the man holding the computer ran off, he dropped it, and it fell down my mom's leg, also hurtig her quite badly.

While we were making our report to the police, we somehow got around to talking about other things they'd responded to that night... Incredibly enough, they were the very same cops who responded to our call about the near hijacking I had the previous night. I thought that was fascinating - that these very men were the ones who'd helped us twice!

A few months later, we found out a bone and some ligaments in her wrist had been broken from the fight, and she had to have surgery - to this day she still struggles with that wrist.

I had also been told a story by the blind girl I used to drive to university, that her friend had a terrible break in themselves. They had been renovating their home, and a safe was brought in and installed. Clearly they must have been watched by someone, who now knew there was a safe in this house. When they came home from an outing, there was a huge group of men with guns (AK-47's included), demanding that the safe be opened. The father explained that there's nothing in the safe, but they didn't believe him. They beat him with their guns, tied everyone up, yelled at them, spat at them, kicked them, and held guns to the backs of their heads - claiming they would shoot them one by one until that safe was opened. The father opened the safe, and showed them it was empty.. This just made the intruders angry. They beat him more, and told him they're going to rape his daughter in front of him, and there's nothing he can do about it. They kept yelling they're going to kill them. I don't know why or how it ended, but eventually the men left, and the family was ok. HORRENDOUS!

The next thing happened last week, while my mom's boyfriend was at the coast visiting his mother. His father had just passed away, and so he went down there to comfort her. He was walking on the beach one afternoon - all he had on him was his cellphone. He noticed these men coming toward him, he thought perhaps they were just going to ask him for the time. The next thing he knows, one of the men lunged at him with a knife - aiming for the heart I think. Luckily he lifted his arm up in time, and the knife cut through his wrist instead. They grabbed his cellphone and ran away. He had to try get himself back home, and back to the hospital, but he was losing a lot of blood! By the time he got to the hospital, and they stabilised him, they said he lost at least a litre of blood. He has 12 stitches, but thank God he is alive!

And now.. The worst.. And this is what completely ticks me off about this country!

Last night, our dear family friends were spending time as a family on their patio having a braai (barbecue). My mother's best friend was there, with her 2 daughters, the 1 daughter's husband, and all their kids. The next thing they knew, a group of 3 men with guns were in their yard. The men held guns to the 10 year old twin girls' heads, and told everyone to be quiet. The 16 year old daughter refused to allow anything to happen to her sisters, and threw herself over them, told the men NO! and called for their father. Their father had been sleeping on the couch, but woke when he heard his daughters screaming. He rushed through toward the door, and they shot him... In the heart... And ran away. My mom's best friend, and her daughter tried to resuscitate him, but it was no use. He was probably dead before he hit the ground. How pointless was that?! You come there to rob people, and instead, you shoot and kill a man - in front of his wife and his children... And run away, because you can't deal with what you just did! Please read this article about the incident: Dad Shot In Front Of Family.

I just cannot believe the horrendous things that people are doing to each other in this country. Then people wonder why I want to leave!

Back To School

Over here in South Africa, schools re-opened yesterday. What a nightmare! School kids running around everywhere, and parents/au pairs such as myself trying to run around and buy everything the kids need off their "stationery lists".

I cannot believe how expensive stationery has become since I was in school. We bought 2 small bags of stationery yesterday - simply pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, books, files, paint, etc - and it cost a whopping R740 (close to US$ 100). I couldn't believe my eyes!

Anyways, in some ways it is nice to have the kids back at school. Afternoons are filled with homework, studying, and everything else.

All the youngsters started Grade 1 - some excited, and some hanging onto mommy for dear life. I know when I started school, I was both excited and nervous. Sadly, school is a necessity for us all - we either love it or we hate it!

Well anyways, that is all I have to blog about for now. Catch you later! ^_~

Mafia Wars

So I decided 3 days ago to start playing Mafia Wars on Facebook...

Well, I can tell you, it is quite an addictive game! I have been playing it a lot over the past 3 days, and I almost have a full mafia, and am already on level 48!

It's a pretty simple strategy game, there are no real graphics, but it's free, it's fun, and it's interactive.

I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and I'm sure anyone else on Facebook would enjoy it just as much. ^_^

So to all those Facebook Application Gamers out there - Have fun! 'Cos I sure am! *grin*

Spring Cleaning

So I decided to carry on with my "spring cleaning" around my house. I can't explain it, but it is such an incredible feeling for me to throw away or give away things. It's absolutely incredible how much junk we accumulate over time. When do we ever really use these things?

I'm trying to sort through it all, and it always makes me feel so wonderful when I have either bags of rubbish to throw away, bags of goodies to give away, or bags and boxes of goodies to donate to charity.

I've been donating to the local hospice at the moment, and it really does make a person feel incredible. You should give it a try!

My house is still really full of things, and I think it will take quite a long time to sort through it all. But I have come to the realisation that material things don't really mean anything. If it doesn't have a use, some sort of sentimental value, or be able to put a huge smile on your face.... GIVE IT UP! Somebody else could use it, and they may appreciate it far more than you ever could.

So my advice to everyone out there... Sort, Throw Away, Recycle, Pass On and Donate.

ENJOY! ^_^

Back To Reality

So... Today is back to work - "back to reality" - for most of us. Sadly, I've been back at work since the 29th of December, but I am very fortunate that I enjoy my job.

At the moment I am working as an Au Pair for 2 wonderful girls who are living in South Africa with their father, who happens to be the chief co-ordinator for the UN. They are a British family, and an absolute pleasure to spend each day with! The girls are 10 and 12, and very mature and respectful for their ages.

I absolutely love spending time with them, and each day is a real treat. I think it's important to enjoy one's job - even if it's not exactly what you'd planned on doing with your life.

^_^

Enlightenment

When it came around to Christmas time yet again, I felt a sudden urge to read through the bible. On my 21st birthday, I received a beautiful bible from my grandparents, and never got a chance to read it. It had been sitting around for almost 2 years, before I decided to pick it up.

The bible they gave me is the Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version.

It is a new translation from the old texts, and it is written in a way that people of modern times can follow it more easily. They actually specified that they took into account that far more people only HEAR the bible read to them, and so it was very important to find a way to word things (along with grammar) to make sure the reader would read it out loud correctly; as that may be the only time the listener ever hears the story, and they need to be able to fully understand and interpret the story right then and there.

I sat for a couple of days before Christmas, and literally read the entire bible from cover to cover. I must say, I am highly impressed by this version of the bible. It gave new meaning to Christianity and faith for me, and answered questions I had that I never thought the bible would be able to answer.

This version so intrigued me that I immediately wanted to find out even more information about these times in our human history; and about our religions. I then remembered having heard a few years ago about the “gospel of Simon”, and so once I came home from my wonderful visit with my grandparents, I came online and got “digging”. I found these four books in my research, and I have ordered them all for myself:

The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
The Gospel According to Simon of Cyrene: What Every Catholic Should Know

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed
The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot
I can’t wait for these books to arrive. I am so keen to read them. I am an avid researcher just by my very nature, and once I stick my nose into something, I need to go all out for it. They sound like fascinating books, and even though I have not read them yet, I would most certainly recommend them to others!

So, all in all, I found that the last few weeks of 2009 were very inspiring for me. If you have read the bible before, and not found much meaning to it, or not been able to follow it completely – please consider checking out the new Contemporary English Version. I give it a 10 out of 10!

•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*• Welcome 2010 •*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•

Well, what a wonderful way to begin my blog. Hello world, and hello 2010!

Although the past years have put us all through many toils and turmoils, I have a very good feeling about this year...

I have been so blessed with having so many wonderful family members and friends, I have met new people, and I have lost some people.

To all the new people in my life - thank you for coming into my life, and providing your own special ray of sunshine in my world.

To all those I have lost - R.I.P. and I will always love and remember you!

Here's to the best year yet!

•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*• HaPpY nEw YeAr •*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•