Cooking with Livia

I spent the morning with my cooking club today and Livia came with for a change of scenery. There was a constant stream of entertainment as she was passed from one adoring aunty to another and showered with love by her godmother Vicky. She should be a junior Masterchef in the making with all the food loving ladies she spends time with! With the temperatures rising, we decided to focus on a summer theme of salads and ice creams. I cannot think of many better ways to spend a Friday, cooking with friends, eating good food and delicious ice cream!

Heidi and Vicky made some great dishes with cheese and pears – the one was a fresh pear wrapped in home made ricotta, drizzled with honey and served with caramelised onion focaccia, the other was poached pears stuffed with camembert ice cream. Wow, what a treat!

I made brown bread ice cream with a butterscotch sauce, which I saw in an old copy of Vogue Entertaining and Travel from 1999. I’ve been doing a major spring clean at Vastrap which has led me to rediscover many gems that have been gathering dust under counters over the past few years. These magazines are such a treasure trove and I’ve dusted off all the summer ones to use this season. To be honest, brown bread ice cream doesn’t sound like it has much going for it, but the bread crumbs are toasted and caramelised in sugar, which makes it crunchy and delicious. Click HERE for a great recipe and serve it with some butterscotch sauce. Lucky for Quentin, I’ve come home with a whole tub full as there was so much to taste that we hardly made a dent in it. Wishing everyone a very happy weekend!

Assessing the damage

Last Sunday, the afternoon we returned from our holiday, a fire started on the mountain behind Vastrap. It is peak fire season in our area and everyone will be on high alert for the next month or two until the summer rains come. The veld is extremely dry and dusty and the smallest spark can set things off. Strong winds add to the danger. Of course we are happy that it’s spring, but until it rains the drab brown landscape and hazy air makes it hard to get too excited.

Thankfully the worst of the fire was on the mountain and there happened to be no wind for two days, which made it easier to control. At one point my parents-in-law panicked that their house might be in danger as the flames neared the trees behind their property, but with the help of our neighbours and the fire department who went above and beyond to come out to us at 9pm on a Sunday night, the fire was contained. In the end we lost about 200ha of grazing, but we don’t use this part of the farm often because there’s not enough water for the animals up there and no trees for shelter from the heat.

With Livia in a sling, we traversed the length of our mountain property this morning until the stone fence post which forms our boundary with three other farms. It was very crunchy underfoot and our legs were black by the end of the walk. The dogs had a ball, but they all needed a bath when we got home! Amazingly, there are already green shoots coming up only a week after the blaze. It will be interesting to see how quickly the veld rejuvenates after a bit of rain. Our thoughts are with all the other farmers that have been and will still be affected by bad fires this year.

Pass the parcel!

We’ve just returned from a two-week overseas trip to Venice and Istria in Croatia. It was a big family affair organised by my step-father, Charles in celebration of his 70th birthday. There were 22 of us including kids and babies! I was slightly apprehensive to travel with a 7 month old, but my fears were completely unfounded. It was an absolute joy to have Livia with us, made all the more special by the fact that she could spend some real quality time with her grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins and her sister Ashley. The kids had an absolute ball and Livia was happy to be dragged along wherever we went. She explored new food and the joys of gelato; discovered her little boy-cousins Tom, Ollie and Alexander; and seemed to love being passed from one adult to another, especially her granny Sussie, her aunty Hannia and her cousin Sibella. She turned 8 months old towards the end of the trip and since we’ve got home her development curve has just skyrocketed! It’s such a joy to watch.

One of the hardest things for me living on the farm is the fact that my closest family don’t live 5 minutes’ drive away, as they have done for most of my post-university life. It is so important to me that Livia has a good relationship with all of her grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins and that she should feel totally comfortable and relaxed in their company. The kind of family time we just spent together is invaluable to cement these relationships and I’m incredibly grateful for it. Here are some of the photos showing what a trooper she was and how much my precious little girl is loved by everyone. A very big thank you to Charles for bringing us all together in such special places and facilitating some very happy family memories. xx