>>Pretoria Boeremark (Farmer's Market)

My very good friend Clarise took me to the Pretoria boeremark last weekend. This market has been running for over 20 years and is definitely worth the early Saturday wake-up call. The market only runs from 5h30 am to 9h00 am, but never mind...by the time you get home at 8h00 you'll feel like you've done so much,while the rest of Pretoria is probably only just waking up.oO

This is a real Afrikaaner culture bonanza, and I love it! You will find traditional moerkoffie, braai stands with hot meat and mielies, all kinds of fresh produce, hand made clothes and jewelry, and gorgeous flowers for dirt cheap prices. It won't be the most designy place you'll ever visit, but it is aethentic, which makes it nice.  Our day was kicked off with a cup of fresh coffee and pannekoek, and then we took a slow stroll through the market in the fresh morning air.

Definitely worth the outing if you've never been to this boeremark!

>> Recipe - Potato and leek soup

A couple of weeks ago, Johan and I got sick at the same time. Lucky us, the only not so bad thing about being sick, is if you get to stay home with your best friend for the day. I felt like making us something quick and easy for lunch, that will also make us feel a bit healthier too, and what is better than soup for the sick?

Potato and Leek soup is so tasty, and very simple to make. You just toss some potatoes and leeks in a pot with stock, puree and voilà! The French actually serve this soup cold, and call it Vichyssoise. If you feel like it, you can add some bacon bits for extra saltiness and crunch. I took a quick pic before serving, and it really tastes just as good as it looks.

Ingredients

2 big leeks, washed and chopped into circles
2 big potatoes, peeled and chopped into squares
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups of good chicken/vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
1 cup of milk
Some chives and sour cream for serving

Method

Place the leeks, potato and butter in a medium size pot and sweat off for a couple of minutes, or until the leeks start to caramelise slightly.  Add the stock and cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Puree the mixture and let it cool down slightly before adding the milk and seasoning.

Like I said, you can serve this soup hot of cold. Garnish with sour cream and chives and serve with hot and crunchy garlic bread and butter.

>> Skermunkil jewellery design

You may have noticed from my post about the Jo'burg neighbourgoods market, that I took some pictures of beautiful Skermunkil jewelry.

Skermunkil  is a small jewellery design and manufacturing studio based in Muizenberg, Cape Town, and I adore their designs. However, they also make a range of other beautiful products like painted porcelain cups and bowls.  Since the first time I saw their pieces, I was in love. I love the simple lines, geometric patterns and mixing of gold and silver. My favourite is the gold painted bowls (golden stuff is one of my current obsessions), and I'm insanely in love with the wood framed golden embossed "Afrikaans spreekwoorde" (proverbs)!
I want I want I want...3 of them!

I did get something though:-) Johan bought me a skermunkil necklace that I really liked, and I haven't been able to take it off. I got the half moon shape, which is part of the triangle and square set.

Designer, Marietjie, also runs a blog called eendag op 'n reendag, and you can check out the skermunkil website to see more of her fabulous designs.  I got the below images from these two sites.

I got the above image from lucky pony blog. I have the half circle necklace on the left:-)

>> Recipe - Spiced red wine pears with chocolate sauce and mascarpone

I have a very fond memory of one winter a couple of years ago... When I was a student, I spent a lot of time with Johan and his family at their home, since it could get quite lonely in my little 3 by 3. Johan's mom always made the best food, and one night I walked into her kitchen, the whole house smelling like heaven...she was making red wine spiced poached pears, and since that night I've never had a desert that I loved more.

So last weekend, right out of the blue, I decided that I must try making poached pears myself. I got the same feeling as that night when our house started to float with the smells of star anise, cinnamon and berries. It smells beautiful...

I whipped up some quick chocolate sauce and served the pears with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and some of the red wine syrup.
It was melt in our mouths, could not get enough delightfulness! And yes, this is the picture I took myself before serving it, not a stock image. I try my hand at some food styling every now and then:-) Yum.

 

Ingredients

500ml dry red wine

70 g caster sugar

2 whole star anise 

2 x 7cm cinnamon sticks

3 black pepper corns

1 bay leaf

2 cloves

1 vanilla bean, split

4 just ripe pears, peeled

For the chocolate sauce

1 slab of milk chocolate

20 ml milk

When the pears are ready, melt the chocolate over boiling water and add the milk. Stir until it turns into a smooth sauce.

Method 

Combine the wine, sugar, star anise, cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, bay leave and cloves in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add the pears and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, turning occasionally, for 1 hour or until pears are tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a heatproof bowl.

Increase heat to high and bring the syrup to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Pour over the pears and set aside. I like to serve the pears warm, but they can also be covered and cooled in the fridge for about 4 hours.

Make the chocolate sauce and smear some on a pretty serving plate. Place a pear on top of the sauce and drizzle with syrup. Serve with a dollop of mascarpone.

>>Jo'burg neighbourgoods market

Wow, I've had a long day at work, and I actually just want to go home, but I couldn't leave without doing this post. This weekend, we took my mother and sister in law to the Jo'burg neighbourgoods market. Just so you know, I was skeptical about Jo'burg when I first moved here...after all, everyone knows that to people from Pretoria, Jo'burg is like another country, and dangerous,,,very dangerous:-)

I soon realise that I  was an idiot for not traveling to Jo'burg more ofter before I moved here. Jo'burg is eclectic, vibrant and basically on fire with creativity. As part of this blog, I am actually going to do a series of "awesome places to go in Jo'burg" posts, of which this is the first.

This market is situated in Braamfontein (probably the hipster capital of Gauteng), and runs every Saturday, rain or shine. It was a cold and rainy day, but the market was bustling as ever. I love coming to this market every time, whether it's to buy something or simply to browse and people watch.  I took my camera along to take some pictures of what I saw.