Super Easy Sticky Date Bars

I made these for our weekend away we had SUCH a blast! Will post a review of the place we went to soon.

This recipe is in the “Recipes from the Royal Kitchen” supplement that came with the June issue of the Food and Home Magazine, and they are divine!

Sticky Date Bar Ingredients:

250ml / 1 cup Cake Flour 

8ml / 1 ½ tsp Royal Baking Powder 

2ml / ¼ tsp Salt 

5ml / 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon 

60ml / ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar 

60ml / ¼ cup Digestive Bran 

100g chopped pitted Dates 

50g Pecan Nuts (you can leave these out if you want)

80ml / 1/3 cup Golden Syrup / Honey 

80ml / 1/3 cup Milk 

Sticky Date Bar Method: 

Sift flour, Royal Baking Powder, salt and cinnamon together Add sugar, bran, dates & nuts Add syrup and milk and mix well Press mixture into a greased 20 x 20 cm baking pan and bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 – 25 minutes. Leave to cool before cutting into squares.

I added more dates, and I would advise you not to let the date bars cool completely before cutting them into squares.. it was quite a mission! Super easy and delicious!

Dreaming..

Super Easy Braai Bread - Roosterkoek

My darling Stu makes this lovely braai bread or “rooster koek” quite often when he braai’s for us. It is really simple to make (or so he says) and all you need is self raising flour and beer. I tried to find out what the ratio of beer to flour is, but being a “pro” at making this it seems there is more to making the braai bread than simply combining a few ingredients. 

Super delicious Braai Bread Ingredients:

• Beer
• Self-raising flour

Combine the self-raising flour and beer until a dough consistency forms. The dough should not be too sticky and stick to the bowl and your fingers or too dry - i.e. it should not crumble apart.

Knead the dough adding more flour or beer until the desired consistency is reached. Roll the dough into balls – about the size of a small(er) tennis ball and place on a floured surface. Allow to rise in a warm place.

Braai Bread rising!

After you have braaied or cooked all your meat on an open flame, place the braai bread on a grill over medium heat. Allow to cook until cooked through – turning regularly.

Yum!

Once done serve warm with butter and JAM!

Lola

I took these photos of Lola today.. oh man she is too cute! I've been struggling to take photos of her with my phone because she is just too quick! Luckily I hauled out the camera today and got these great shots of her! Gorgeous.. I know! xx

On 4x4 (ing)

I know .. I know.. I am yet another post behind schedule.. so that makes three now.. (yes I have been keeping track)

Yesterday (Saturday) we went on a 4x4 training course. I was merely a “spectator” and did not do any driving but wow! What an experience!

I learnt more about how a car works in those few hours than I ever knew before! I can now tell you what a “diff” is and how it works and I could *THEORETICALLY* do some basic off-road driving if I had to.. like if I really needed to get out of a blood thirsty giraffe’s way in the Kruger Park or if I had to manoeuvre a car onto a sidewalk at a massive shoe sale due to lack or parking space. Yes, I am sure I could manage that. 

Did you know that when you are driving your car on a normal tar road you are driving in what is called “High Range” using two wheels powered by the engine. So that would be H2 ok.. I don’t know what exactly the “High” part means, but I can tell you that when you are driving off road.. like on a dirt road for example you should put your car into high range but drive it with all for wheels receiving power from the engine.. which means H4.

If you want to tackle an obstacle, that is obviously when the fun begins.. you will need to get into what us called “Low Range” - again I have no idea what the “Low” means, but all I do know is that it will give your car far more power from the engine. This power will go to all four wheels of your vehicle when you …. (drum roll please) have your diff lock on, which means…. If one or two wheels are off the ground and have no traction (another new one) the engine will send the power to the two wheels which are on a surface and …. Ta-daaaa! The vehicle will move!

Wowsers.. Who would have guessed I could actually find all this so so very much fun and interesting! Being as my friends like to say a “girly girl” they would probably not believe that I could enjoy something like this. I must say that I did (naturally) paint my nails bright pink the morning before the 4x4 course! 

All you need to remember is “keep it low and keep it slow”.

A Fab Friday

My first lamb chop!

Kitten Tales

Today Alex and I made a box house for Lola. With her becoming more boisterous every day we have had to resort to all sorts of tricks to keep her occupied. We took a simple box, made some holes in it, connected these holes to other boxes and voila! “Lolatropils” as Alex calls it. I took some scrap pieces of felt and tied them to some string and hung them from the “roof” of the main “city” as Alex named it and she just had the best time ever!

If I have time I will make her some more toys this weekend.. although she just loves a simple toilet roll with the edges cut and turned up, and a simple ball of crumpled paper!

She is bringing us all such joy and we love her so very much! Oh no.. she’s climbed onto my laptop again and awo’m P[dvs;LEFSDF DSVSE-36