On Recipes: Easy Caramel & Toffee Fridge Cheesecake

Posted on May 8, 2012 by ExMi

I’m a huuuge cheesecake fan. In fact, it’s probably the only kind of cake/dessert/sweet thing that I actually like. (Aside from Angel’s Cupcakes, of course!) I think I like cheesecake, because it’s not actually that sweet and it’s not actually that cake-like.

I’ve never tried making a refrigerated cheesecake before Sunday – I’d always thought that it was seriously difficult to get right, and was too scared to actually try it – I’d always stuck to making baked cheesecakes (see the Cookies & Cream Oreos Baked Cheesecake recipe) because I thought they were easier.

Turns out I was wrong. The recipe for the cheesecake I made for my father-in-law’s birthday lunch on Sunday couldn’t have been simpler.

Preparation time: 30-40mins
Setting time: overnight

Ingredients –

  • 1 x packet of Tennis Biscuits
  • 1/2 packet of Choc-kits biscuits
  • 1 x tin of Caramel Treat (PLEASE NOTE: Caramel Treat and tinned caramel are NOT the same thing – Caramel Treat is solid, which is why it needs to be melted and mixed with cream – it will also re-solidify in the fridge, which is why it makes a good topping)
  • 400ml full-fat cream – 200ml of which you must whip until thick
  • 150g icing sugar
  • 90ml lemon juice
  • 2 x 250g tubs of Mascarpone cheese
  • 1 x 10g packet of gelatin
  • 15ml/1 tablespoon warm water
  • 100g melted butter
  • 1 pack of chocolate-covered toffees for the topping

Method:

  1. Put the biscuits for your base, in a blender/food processor and whizz until they’re thick, chunky crumbs (not fine, dusty crumbs – then you’ve done it too long).
  2. Pour the melted butter over the cookie crumbs and mix until it’s all coated in butter and sticky.
  3. Spoon the mixture into a springform pan (pre-greased) and press it down well with your fingertips, ensuring that it’s evenly spread. Put this in the fridge to harden, while you carry on making the filling.
  4. For the filling – mix the mascarpone cheese together with the lemon juice and sieve the icing sugar into the mixture – and blend it until it’s fairly smooth.
  5. Mix in 200ml of the cream you mixed earlier.
  6. In a double boiler – heat the gelatin and 15ml water until the gelatin has completely dissolved. While you’re doing this, you’ll need to put another saucepan on the stove, and heat up about a cup of your cheese-and-sugar mixture, until it’s runny and hot.
  7. You’re then going to pour the gelatin mix into this saucepan, mix it thoroughly and then transfer it back to your main bowl and mix it slowly into the rest of the filling mix – make sure that you pay serious attention to mixing it thoroughly – in order for the cheescake to set in the fridge, the gelatin needs to be distributed throughout the mix.
  8. Let it cool down for a few mins before pouring it into your springform pan, and smoothing it out with a spatula. (If you look at my pic I didn’t do this very well, thinking it would settle – it doesn’t, you need to smooth it by hand)
  9. Put the pan in the fridge, and get on with making the topping.
  10. For the topping – dump out the contents of a tin of Caramel Treat, and add 200ml of  cream, slowly, until you have a thick, liquidy caramel mixture.
  11. You’re going to pour this mixture over the top of your cheesecake and then place the toffee balls on top.
  12. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 2-3hours.

Reading over the ingredients for this cheesecake, you might be tempted to think “shooweee, this is going to be sweet” – but it’s not. At least it’s not overwhelmingly sweet. There’s enough lemon juice and mascarpone cheese to cut the toothache-inducing sweetness of caramel and toffee – making for a delicious (but dangerous for your hips) dessert/tea-time treat.

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On Recipes: Pizza From Scratch

Posted on May 7, 2012 by ExMi

This recipe is one of my absolute favourites. It’s great for when you’ve got people over – make the bases and let them choose their own toppings and create their own pizza masterpieces. You could always buy pre-made bases, but I prefer to make my own. It’s also a good idea to get special perforated pizza trays – this makes sure that the base isn’t soggy after being cooked in the oven.

Preparation time: 40 mins
Rising time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius

Ingredients:

For the dough – (makes one base)

  • 1 tablespoon dried yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 200g flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon oil

For the toppings - you can choose your own, but these are the toppings I used for the pizza in the picture above.

  • 1 cup Napolitana sauce or a can of tomato and onion mix – the All Gold Mexican tomato mix is good.
  • 150g mozzarella cheese grated
  • 100g salami, sliced and diced
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • onion slices
  • green pepper slices
  • sliced mushrooms (precooking these is a good idea – fry them in some herbs)
  • avocado slices (put on once the pizza is cooked – warm, cooked avo is just vile)
  • crushed garlic and herbs/spices – I use origanum, basil and thyme

Method:

  1. Mix the yeast and sugar with the warm water, in a large bowl. Let it stand for 10-15 mins or until frothy.
  2. Sieve half the flour into the bowl, add the salt and mix until smooth. Mix in the rest of the flour, add the oil and knead until smooth.
  3. Leave the dough for about 20mins, to rise and then roll it out with a rolling pin (I don’t actually have one, so I usually use a wine/vodka bottle). Here, you’re going for a circular shape and you’ll be wanting to fit a 23cm pizza pan.
  4. Once you’ve rolled out the dough, you will spread the sauce over the base and sprinkle on your garlic, herbs and spices.
  5. Then add the tomato, peppers, onion etc, ending off with the cheese – the cheese on top ensures that all the toppings don’t slide off.
  6. Stick this on the lowest shelf of your (pre-heated) oven and bake for 20 mins or until the crust is lightly browned and crisp. The last couple of minutes, you can turn the oven onto grill, just to ensure that the toppings are well-cooked.

Once you’ve tried making your own pizzas – you won’t be in a hurry to return to chain-store pizza restaurants – their pizza simply won’t match up to yours!

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Foodie Celebs, Kitchen Ninjas and Masterchef-Inspired Dinners at MondoVino, Tsogo Sun

Posted on May 3, 2012 by ExMi

1. It’s about two weeks later, and I can still taste the deliciousness of every morsel that passed my lips at the Masterchef-inspired dinner I was invited to at the MondoVino restaurant at Sunsquare, Montecasino.

2. Tired of watching Masterchef and drooling over the food they prepare on the show? Your own supper seem dismal in comparison to what they whip up on set?  You can get your taste on, by popping down to the restaurant on Wednesday nights. Once a week the talented staff at MondoVino go all-out with a delicious menu inspired by the previous night’s episode of Masterchef. What does this mean? Food, glorious food. It’s no secret I’m obsessed with cooking and recipe books, and that I consider myself a bit of a kitchen ninja. I probably should have auditioned for Masterchef, but quite honestly – I don’t think I could handle the pressure. So I’ll leave it up to the professionals (and the would-be  professionals on the show) and simply be a spectator. And a taster. Yum. The food was freakin’ delicious.

3. As was the wine. I swear I only had one glass. Except the service there is so excellent, that every time I took a sip, my glass magically re-filled itself. But I’m totally sticking to my story that I only had one glass.

4. The specialty dish of the night, as presented by Executive Chef, Kenneth Ngubane. The theme was “Harvest Time”. As it was a fish-based dish (I just can’t bring myself to eat it) I opted to dine from the restaurant menu.

5. The starter I picked was a Sweet Chilli Grilled Halloumi with a Pineapple Marmalade. Seriously? Wow. My favourite squeaky cheese was grilled to perfection and dripping in sweet chilli stickiness. Normally not a fan of sweet chilli, but paired with the pineapple marmalade and the saltiness of the cheese, it was superb. I could have just eaten 3 servings of that and have been happy to skip mains and dessert.

6. Not that the mains wasn’t delicious. It totally freakin’ was. Pizza with roasted butternut, feta, cashews and peppers. Crispy crunchy base – just the way I like it. I also enjoyed a non-conventional combination of toppings on my pizza – and not just your average, boring vegetarian pizza.

7. By the time dessert rolled around, I wasn’t sure I could actually manage another bite. But when I saw it, I couldn’t resist. A Berry & Plum Amaretto-infused Medley – tart and tangy berries combined with a sweet, crispy and sugary pastry? Insanely excellent.

8&9. It was also super-cool to get to meet Benny Masekwameng – he’s head kitchen ninja and one of the judges on Masterchef SA. A big smile, a big heart – it’s so awesome to see someone loving all his dreams coming true, and all his many, many years of hard work paying off. He spent the evening socialising with guests – flitting from group to group and joking about how now that he’s a celebrity chef, he feels like he needs rollerskates.

9. He’s leaving some incredibly big shoes to fill – the winner of this season’s Masterchef SA will get to take over his restaurant. That chef is definitely going to have a hard time topping Benny!

Thanks to Tsogo Sun for a delicious food-filled evening – I thoroughly enjoyed myself. As much as I love cooking – it’s awesome every now and again to eat something that I haven’t prepared myself!

Tsogo Sun: Facebook and Twitter.
Chef Benny M: Twitter (and he’s “chef_bennym” on Instagram, too!)

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On The P-Word: @ColCacchio’s #PriceSlice Deal = Yum Yum for Less

Posted on March 19, 2012 by ExMi

Friday was a busy day for me. So busy that there was no time to have breakfast. So I was muchos-grateful when the divine people from Col’Cacchio arrived on my doorstep, holding a beautiful box of…..pizza. Yum. My absolute favourite food. Just in time to save me from a hunger-meltdown. Needless to say, my tummy was happy. Very happy.

Turns out Col-Cacchio’s hot delivery was all in aid of raising awareness about their intention to put a new face on social buying/discounts. How so? They’re offering discounts on their pizzas the more we tweet about their pizzas, using the #priceslice hashtag.  How’s that for a win-win situation? Cheaper pizza for us, and more people getting to enjoy their delicious pizza/more bums on seats for them. The more the tweets stack up, the bigger the discount. How do you know where the discount is at? Easy. They have a tweet thermometer on their site.

How the Pizza Price Slice works:

  • You feel a sudden craving that nothing but an authentic Col’Cacchio pizza can cure. (trust me, nothing but the best will do)
  • Tweet using the #priceslice hashtag as many times as you want to increase the discount. (it’s so easy, you can even tweet off their website)
  • Head to your closest Col’Cacchio pizzeria.
    (*Excludes Col’Cacchio pizzeria Lynnwood & Brooklyn – Pretoria)
  • To get your discount, show your waitron your #priceslice tweet on your mobile phone and utter the magic words “Price Slice please”!

There are certain terms and conditions that apply to this promotion, of course and it runs from the 16th-22nd of March 2012. So what are you waiting for?

Tweet tweet, so you can eat eat!

  • Drool over their menu here.
  • Like them (and like them a lot) on Facebook.
  • Follow them and tweet them, on the Twatter.
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On Taking to It Like a Duck to Water: My Kid’s Top 5 iPhone/iPod Games

Posted on March 15, 2012 by ExMi

My Kid has taken over my iPod. When his PSP is charging or he’s tired of it, he picks up my iPod and gets wrapped up in the touching, swiping, jumping and shooting excitement of it all. He’s only needed to be shown a few things in certain games – most of them he’s figured out completely on his own. Am constantly amazed at how quickly small ones take to touch technology. As Nicki pointed out, our kids are totally the iGeneration.

He’s four and totally loving on these games, so I thought I’d share. Bear in mind though, that these are purely for entertainment – for those times that you just need 15 minutes quiet/or you just want him to sit still (like the doctor’s waiting room etc).

5. Rocket Chicken:

A chicken that flies, without wings. All you have to do is boot it up the backside (my Kid finds this hilarious) to get it going. The point of the game? Help the chicken escape the factory. All you have to do is collect corn, use the hills to jump and jump on the bombs to fly faster and further. Ultimately, it’s a race against getting roasted by a flamethrower.

Pros: Extremely entertaining and very easy to play. 14 different themes and unlimited worlds. Price: $0.99c (it was free when I downloaded it)

4.  Mouse Maze:

The only reason why I think my Kid enjoys it is because it’s pretty much a PacMan-like game. And what’s not to love about a game that’s based on Pacman? All you have to do is help the mouse eat the cheese and  avoid the cats. Drink magic potion to knock the cats unconscious. Earn stars to unlock more stages.

Also dead-simple to play. Touch the screen and the mouse will follow your finger.

3. Jetpack JoyRide:

(my Kid just saw the game icon while I was writing this post and just exclaimed “that game’s awesome mommy, I have it on my iPod!)

Basically, you’re playing as this dude on the left – Barry Steakfries – and you’ve got a stolen machine gun jet pack which you have to use to hover under and over lasers and missiles without getting electrocuted to death. The aim? Escape the evil scientist’s lair. My Kid has yet to escape, but he’s having a thrilling time firing and dodging missiles.
Controls are simple and it’s easy to work -  tapping or holding the touch screen fires the guns, lifts the small dude into the air; releasing the screen  then obviously makes him drop. There’s not much more to it than that.

Pros: Super-incredibly easy to play and incredibly addictive. Cons: Super-annoying soundtrack.

2. Monster Mayhem:

A total hack and slash game. Stop the zombie onslaught before it breaks down the graveyard gate you’re guarding.

As for weapons, you start out with a knife and have to hack the zombies apart, but as you progress, you get the option to upgrade your weapons or get more ammo (another opportunity to buy upgrades and spend money, too).

The monsters are also varied in strength, speed and ferocity. Each time a new one appears, it’s added to your Monster Handbook, which gives you spec sheets on all your enemies.

Pros: quite a challenging game, loads of cool monsters that have loads of character. Cons: Wrist can get a bit sore with all the hacking and slashing you have to do with the knife.

1. Fairy Fail:

An Angry-Birds-vibed game.  Free the kind brown bears from their cages, by shooting bats at them to break the cage – they’ll float to safety on balloons. Avoid the red bears, which are essentially dynamite – the minute they touch a kind brown bear – there’s a huge explosion of stuffing.

Black bears are kamikaze bears and will explode everything they touch, and can be used to kill the red bears. There’s also a bear-eating spider on some levels to help you out. Loads of challenging formations and levels. Once you’re finished the bears, it goes onto lightning bugs.

Pros: as an adult, I find this game easier to play than Angry Birds. Cons: it took a bit of explaining – the difference between the bears and what they do and how to use the spider, but once my Kid got the hang of it, he loved it!

What apps/games are your kids addicted to? Got any suggestions for more games my Kid might like? Add some to my list, please!

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On Being Mother to a Boy: It Involves Trips to the ER for Strange Things

Posted on March 14, 2012 by ExMi

As parents, we all dread that call from the school, during the day. That call that interrupts us and tells us to drop what we’re doing and rush down to the school, there’s been an emergency.

That was my morning. I was halfway (15 minutes into, and actually quite surprised I was finding it interesting) through watching a video of a meeting of a panel called “The Future Across Generations” from the 2012 World Economic Forum. (As part of research for a profile piece I’m writing for Brainstorm Magazine) when my phone rang, and it was the principal of The Kid’s school. Sigh. Promising to be right over, I dropped everything and dragged my Kid off to the emergency room.

What for? This.

Yup. That little black speck is a stone. Removed from my son’s right ear. Why he decided it was a good idea to stow it there, I have no idea. Kids are funny creatures. So it was a quick, painless procedure – it was syringed out with warm water, and he received a lollipop at the end of all of it, so he’s completely ok.

And I’m completely relieved. It’s pretty much one of my biggest fears that my Kid will do something or hurt himself somehow, and require surgery. Having had more operations than I care to count, it’s not something I want for my child.

He’s now napping and I have the next hour or so to get some work done. I just wanted to say before I did – that boys are very strange. Why stick something in your ear? I just don’t get it.But… I guess it makes life interesting.

Have your kids ever done something similar? Or….heaven forbid….did you do things like this as a kid?

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On Reviewing the Toshiba Portege R700-15X: It’s Slim, Shiny and Super-Durable

Posted on March 14, 2012 by ExMi

It’s all about the details:

  • Ultraportable, super slim – 1.4kg
  • Intel Core i5 processor
  • 13.3in, 1,366 x 768, matt screen
  • Loads of perks, bells and whistles

It’s been so long since I’ve written a review, I’m not sure I even remember how. ;) A couple of weeks ago, I arrived home to an electronic surprise – the Toshiba Portege R700 notebook to play with.

First impressions – make them count - It’s slim. Super slim. Very lightweight. Perfect for mobility. I packed it in my hospital bag, and barely noticed it was there. So if you’re a frequent traveler, this little machine is worth checking out. It’s durable. If knocked or bumped, the R700 will move the hard drive to a safe position – this little beast has a 3D sensor to protect it against drops and shocks.

Despite being so skinny, the R700 hasn’t sacrificed on anything – there’s an optical drive. Most small computers achieve their petite status by sacrificing the optical drive, but not the R700. This is not an important feature for me, but because I can see it being useful for others, I’m pointing it out. I’d also like to point out that it doesn’t just end with an optical drive. Yes, Toshiba added a little flourish by making this a DVD burner as well.

While I can’t remember the last time I used a CD or DVD in my computer, I am quite big on sticking other things into my laptop. It’s true, I love peripherals and I’m pleased to tell you that the R700 is well-endowed when it comes to ports. Yes, ports are important.

A USB on either side (nice, smart – I hate that both of my USB ports on my mac are on the same side – and right next to each other – who’s bright idea was that?) – which means that I can actually use both USB ports at the same time. There’s also a eSATA port (no idea what one does with it, except I see it also doubles as a third USB port – score!) an HDMI port which you could use for hooking up a HD monitor and a VGA adaptor as well, which I’m told is for old-school devices.

It has flashing lights. Yeah, that’s not really such a big deal – except I think the little light that pops on when you’re connected to Wi-Fi is pretty nifty. Aside from flashing lights, this machine has stamina. Battery life. It lasts and lasts and lasts. Longer than the Energiser bunny – it just goes and goes and goes. This is what makes it a worthwhile consideration if you spend a lot of your day outside of the office, and your computing needs extend above what a tablet can offer.

The screen resolution/picture quality is pretty superb - the first thing I did was watch a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother – even in full-screen, there’s no pixelation/distortion. The 13,3-inch matt screen has a resolution of 1366×768 and the  is viewable from most angles and in sunlight. Good enough for watching movies and series when you can’t get to your HD tv? Definitely.

It thinks fast. Programs open quickly. That’s the Core i5 processor doing some major work there.  There’s no sitting around, watching the hourglass, waiting for something to happen. Seconds after I’ve plugged in an external (like a mouse or a USB drive), it’s recognised and everything just works. (Look, I’m a total mac fan, but I’ve spent many a frustrated hour with my mac, trying to make it play nicely with something else.) It hooked up to my home Wi-Fi network, no hassles – something that’s very important to me -  if I can’t access the Internet in under a minute, I lose interest very quickly. All of my other devices on my home network could find the R700 without fuss as well. Which is great for media-sharing and print-sharing and the like.

The one bummer of it all for me is Windows. But that’s just because I’ve used nothing but a mac operating system for the last four years. The R700 comes bundled with Windows 7 Professional (32 bit) and, of course, this means Internet Explorer (shudder). But everything got a lot better once I’d downloaded Firefox. It took a while to get used to the Windows menu all over again, but it’s like riding a bicycle (apparently) and I managed it all with a minimum of whining.

In terms of other bells and whistles, there’s a webcam (uses for which are self-explanatory) and a fingerprint scanner, which I’d imagine is for security purposes – handy (hahaha) if you have a lot of confidential/top-secret information to protect, or if you want to feel a bit Bond-ish. There’s also new technology inside this little beast, as it makes use of a new thermal management system called Airflow Cooling Technology (Toshiba and Intel worked hand-in-hand to make this happen) that prevents your thighs from crisping and your laptop from overheating. Which means you can use your laptop on your lap, safely.

As for the other important specs, there’s a 320GB hard drive and 2GB RAM. While this might seem a bit stingy on the RAM side of things, the Core i5 processor was so speedy and efficient that I never even noticed the deficit.  Let’s think about it logically. If you’re a gamer you’re not going to be buying this laptop – gamers generally want more viewing real estate and require a dedicated graphics card with some ooomph. Chances are, you’ll be buying this because of it’s ultra-portability and the fact that such a small, light notebook is crammed with so much functionality – you’ll love this machine if you’re on the move a lot, and you have a variety of web-based tasks and assorted business admin that you need to complete, with some light multimedia entertainment thrown in to spice things up.

The only real quibble I had with this machine was the keyboard. My quibble stems (in part) from the fact that I have simply grown so used to my macbook keyboard, that using anything else just seems awkward. That, and the fact that using the keyboard is in fact awkward as some of the keys (like the @ key) are located in unfamiliar positions. The Return/Enter key is also a bit too skinny, which means that I landed up hitting other keys randomly. I do know that it is possible to get used to this keyboard layout, as I spent many a month using my mother’s Toshiba laptop in my pre-macbook days – so the keyboard needn’t be too much of a worry.

Long story short: this is a solid, dependable, utterly portable machine that will more than likely perform every single task you require of it extremely well. If you’re looking for longevity, functionality, durability and practicality, look no further.

Tickled my fancy:

  • Loads of ports and everything is plug-and-play
  • Muchos thinking power, efficient multi-tasking
  • Skinny, but utterly functional
  • Durable and lightweight

Made me shudder:

  • The lid attracts fingerprints like you wouldn’t believe
  • The keyboard feels awkward
  • Internet Explorer

Rating: 3.5/5

Wanna read a funny review? I wish I could write like this.

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On Crowd-Sourcing, Twitter And Car-Shopping

Posted on March 13, 2012 by ExMi

We’ve been umming and aaahing over cars lately. The time has come to trade in the Honda Jazz, apparently, as it’s currently sitting on just under 100,000km on the clock. Now, if it were up to me, I’d hang onto this car and drive it until it falls apart. But my fiance won’t hear of it, and he’s been hunting high and low for a replacement car for me.

Currently I’m driving a 2005 Honda Jazz 1.4 automatic, it was pre-owned and only had about 60,000km on the clock when we bought it in 2009. Finding a replacement Jazz is turning out to be difficult – there are loads of the manual versions, but honestly? I don’t think I can drive a manual car. I really don’t have the co-ordination to get my head around the clutch control/change gears/use both feet to drive thing. I like automatic, I like to put my foot down and drive. I like not stalling and I like not getting an aching left foot in traffic.

So that limits my options a fair amount. Currently, we’re considering a pre-owned 2011  Honda Jazz V-tech 1500 with 26,000km on the clock and a brand new Hyundai i20 1400 automatic. (There’s a 10grand difference between the 2nd-hand Jazz and the brand new i20 – yes, a second-hand Jazz is more expensive than a new i20). I’ve driven and loved the hell out of my Jazz and it’s proven itself safe – having been involved in numerous prangs blonde moments – and it’s an absolute pleasure to drive. It’s fairly light on fuel, it’s easy to park (I don’t hazard parallel parking/alley docking) but it’s expensive to service. One service cost us six grand.

As I’ve already established, I really love my Jazz and I have absolutely no idea about the i20 – I’ve seen them on the road, but I’ve never been inside one, or even seen one up close. So I consulted Twitter this morning, and was absolutely overwhelmed by the responses (of which there were over 100). The question I posed:

Honda Jazz 1.5 v-tec vs Hyundai 1.4 i20 – which is better?

I’ve decided to make a list of (some of the best) responses:

HONDA JAZZ:

  • “IMHO, the new Jazz is a better bang for buck than the i20. But test drive both. Me, I would go for the Honda.” – @therealgeorge
  • “Jazz has slightly more storage space (back seats fold down true flat because of void under rear seats. but they are close..” – @darwinshome
  • “I’d go with the Jazz. Strong engines, reliable, flexible interior. Popular octogenarian wagons though :/” – @theurbandriver
  • “Honda VERY reliable, reasonably cheap to maintain. Better build than Hyundai….” – @blackburnmike
  • “personally I would take the Honda. I did my license in an i20 that was brand new and it lost its gear box” – @tln101
  • “Honda. the motor is so much better. Less problems and will last for years.” – @GrahaminAfrica
  • “honda has a better resale value :-) ” – @karendenny (Sidenote: I don’t even know if this is true or not – can anyone tell me?)
  • “I’d go the Honda route. Nothing against Hyundai, but Honda make really good, solid cars.” – @lizlaughalot

HYUNDAI i20:

  • “Good Car. Good Value for Money. Bigger than the i10. A good overall car. it is a good seller and should have a good resale value” – @therealgeorge
  • “Only used the 1.6 manual with low profile tyres – A great car, great specs, and good price – but with the tyres it was painful to ride” – @darwinshome
  • “I love it. Best buy yet! Leather seats are a nice extra to add.” – @MeggGeri
  • “No probs with Maint and services (get the motorplan). It is better than the Jazz” – @therealgeorge
  • “i20 is good. Hyundai has excellent service/maintenance packages. Can’t tell you about resale values though. Check the Ncap rating tho!” – @CAPT_PiCKles
  • “A friend has the manual version, he is loving it, no issues in the past year or so.” – @NoodleZA
  • “I had the predecessor, the Getz. Cheap to maintain, not a single mechanical issue yet I bought it second hand. I really loved it!” – @nafisa
  • “i20 is good. Decent warranty, quite nippy to drive and safe too. If I recall correctly it was a finalist in the Car of the Year 2010” – @davethecarguy
  • “@F1sasha says the Jazz will be built better, but more expensive to run. Says i20 is a very good car, albeit a bit plasticky.” - @kimschulze
  • “The jazz is a good car but long in the tooth. Good service support. i20 is much newer and Hyundai have great service support.  Go i20.” – @NoodleZA
  • “Yes, but the i20 has a 5 star rating too. Honda has a standard 4yr/60 000km serv plan, Hyundai only a 3yr/60 000km plan.” – @CAPT_PiCKles
  • “BUT, you’re looking at the 1,4 Auto. I suggest the 1,6 GLS @ R169 900 because the jazz has a new look due in about 2 years.” – @CAPT_PiCKles
  • “I think the i20 has a better motor plan/service plan.” – @ShannonS19
  • “My aunt constantly sings its praises: reliable, plenty boot space, not heavy on fuel. I’m thinking of getting one as well.” – @qudsiya
  • “My mom drives a Hyundai, she LOVES it, easy to maintain, decent service prices, zippy little car :) ” – @gnat_j
  • “Golf cart with a roof. Rented one once. Could barely fit two people’s luggage in it. So, fine for renting maybe, but too small to own IMO.” – @nickjackson
  • “we had a honda, brand new with motorplan – brakes needed to be replaced within 9 mths. R6k – not covered. I now drive audi – all incl.” – @karendenny
  • “affordable and Hyundai was good ito service” – @samanthaperry

But. As you can see – there is a lot of conflicting advice and  a pretty even spread between those who are pro-Honda and those who are pro-Hyundai. Which means I’m no closer to making a decision.

Which is where you come in, dear gentle readers. I need your help. Which car should I choose – and why? Help is URGENTLY required, as I have NO clue when it comes to things that are four-wheel related. (or even two-wheeled, for that matter!)

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On Recipes: Chicken, Zucchini, Feta & Roasted Butternut Pasta

Posted on March 13, 2012 by ExMi

Yes, I know I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I’m attempting to cut carbs. But this recipe is something I made on Saturday night, for dinner for my fiance and his BFF. It was the weekend and obviously a cheat day.

It was thoroughly-enjoyed, even by my fiance who is always skeptical of food with butternut and zucchini in it. So here’s the recipe, so that I can make it again some day. ;)

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced
  • 2 large onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1 pack zucchini, sliced
  • 1 large butternut, peeled and cut into rounds
  • 1 pack of pasta (I see this going well with penne. I used shells)
  • 2 Feta cheese circles/rounds cut into chunks

For seasoning:

  • Garlic
  • Thyme
  • Cinnamon
  • Cayenne Pepper and salt
  • Curry powder

You’ll also need:

  • Olive oil
  • White wine
  • Honey

How to make it happen:

  1. Line a baking tray with tin foil (this eliminates the hassle of having to scrape of burned/blackened bits from your baking tray later when you’re trying to wash it) and coat the butternut rounds in olive oil and sprinkle with cinnamon, garlic and cayenne pepper.
  2. Bake in the oven at 180degrees celcius, until they’re blackened slightly on both sides. When they’re done, take them out and cut up into small-ish cubes.
  3. While your butternut is in the oven, you can start doing the rest of the cooking. Pour some olive oil into a big saucepan and add about three-quarters of your chopped onion and some salt.
  4. When the onions have turned slightly translucent, add some garlic, curry powder (about a tablespoon) and the thyme and zucchinis.
  5. Mix well and then add the chicken. Once the chicken has started to cook, add a few splashes of white wine, and about a tablespoon of honey. Stir everything together, and turn the heat down low.
  6. In another pot, cook your pasta. Once the pasta is drained and the chicken is cooked – you can bring everything together.
  7. Using the pot you cooked your pasta in, pour some olive oil in the bottom and cook the remainder of your chopped onions. Add the pasta, butternut and chicken/zucchini/onion mix and stir everything well.
  8. Add the feta and season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Totally delicious! Let me know if you try it….

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On Obsessions

Posted on March 12, 2012 by ExMi

A few of my favourite things:

If it’s blue and white, I’m all over it. I’m not really sure how it started, but I have a growing collection of Delft, blue willow and assorted other blue and white vintage crockery/vases etc scattered all over the house. (Yes, I even have it in my bathrooms)

I’ve spent hours trawling the interwebs looking for pieces to add to my collection. This weekend The Fiance and I stumbled upon a treasure-trove of vintage crockery.

Where? Memories in Midrand. Entire rooms filled with shelves upon shelves of teacups, saucers, teapots and the like. Gorgeous retro furniture, mirrors, antiques, rugs and collectibles. My eyes nearly had an orgasm over all the blue and white in there. Why were we there? To collect this bookcase/shelf thing that I snapped up for 300 bucks. I have big plans for this. Unfortunately it involves lots of sandpaper, which spells hard work, no doubt.

Which brings me to my next obsession: clever storage ideas and shelving space. We have a lot of stuff in our house – that the hoarder in me refuses to throw away. So I’m constantly looking for new ways to pack cupboards/store things/re-arrange things in the hunt for that ever-elusive thing called ‘organisational bliss’.

I bought the aforementioned shelf with the vision of using it to store DVDs and books. The DVDs belong to The Kid and his father, the books are mostly mine. The floating shelves that we put up a few months back are battling under the weight of the hefty fantasy novels that I love to read, so now I just need to figure out how to give this bookshelf a kickass makeover. Which means, of course, loads of time trawling Pinterest for ideas and how-to’s. Yay! (Sidenote: if you come across any rad ideas for shelving makeovers, please feel free to send them my way!)

I’ve also been severely into my cooking of late – although I must admit that my culinary skills and recipe book collection is taking strain since a homeopath recommended that I cut carbs out of my diet. Why so? It’s a long story, but basically it involves me being hospitalised for a monster 3 week (and counting) headache, sore eyes and general misery. During which time no doctors nor neurologists (with their MRIs and chest x-rays and blood tests) could tell me what was wrong with me.

So I’m attempting to cut down on the carbs. Which is kind of devastating to me, because I really, really love pasta. And potatoes. And mash. And spaghetti. And cous cous. And and and… You get the picture. This also co-incides with my fiance wanting to return to gym and a healthier lifestyle – so my recipe books have been well-thumbed these last few weeks. I’ve also recently discovered a fascination for these old-school recipe cards. Highly collectible back in the day, I’ve been promised a set by my mother and some from a china’s mom. (Sidenote: Anyone know where I can get more of them?) I borrowed a set (incomplete) from my mother in law, but had to return them when my sister in law requested them.

Guilt-free pleasures. In an effort to be more kind to myself, recently I have taken to indulging in:

  1. Reading the Game of Thrones series of books. I’m currently three-quarters of the way through the first book. I plan to read the first book, and then watch the tv series that I’ve got waiting on my hard drive.
  2. Watching How I Met Your Mother. So I’m a bit late to this one, but I’ve been watching this series, and have come to love it. It took a while to grow on me, and I’m now into the last few episodes of season 6. Despite being told that you never actually find out who the mother is, I’m keen to see how this one will end.
  3. Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream. My fiance (bless him) has a very sweet-tooth. Fond of white chocolate, nosh bars, ice cream and banana milkshakes – when I heard about Paul’s ice cream – I knew it would be something that he’d love. I ordered the Peanut Butter and Banana ice cream. It went down an absolute treat – it’s creamy beyond imagination and it’s thick, sweet and utterly delicious. If you’re an ice cream fan, you won’t regret the order you’re about to place.
  4. Long, hot baths. Particularly in Body Thrills Chocolate Pudding Bubble Bath. While I might not be a fan of eating chocolate, it sure is spectacularly awesome to bathe in chocolate.

And you? What’s on your current obsessions list? What are you spoiling yourself with?

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