Klein Karoo Wine tasting with 'Wine-Spit'

A few weeks ago I went on a wine tasting road trip with Nico of  'Wine-Spit'. He will pick guests up at their accommodation establishment. For bookings contact him at e-mail: winespit@gmail.com,but I will gladly make arrangements for you.

I loved the fact that Nico took us right into the vineyards to explain about cultivar and terroir, before the official wine tasting. And of course , the advantage of having a tour guide is that we did not have to 'wine-spit' all the time!

The first stop is  Herold Wines .

My favourite is a white that turned out pink by accident and was duly named:

.	Skaam Skaap ♦ Dry, fresh acidity of 42% Sauvignon blanc, strawberry cream tartlet & vanilla undertones from wood fermented 26% Chardonnay and 32% Pinot noir. An unusual and exciting blend. ♦ Alcohol 13% ♦Total acidity 6.8g/liter; pH 3.27 ♦ Total production 2400 bottles ♦ John Platter 31/2*

Appropriately the next stop was Karusa Wines. But not only do they make wine - Karusa is the first and only full grain Micro Craft Brewery in the Klein Karoo. Using locally grown hops (from Waboomskraal), malted barley from Caledon and the sweet water from the great Swartberg, Karusa produces complex aromatic styled ale. The climate of Oudtshoorn lends itself to the crisp refreshing style of ale produced at Karusa.
We had a leisurely lunch on the stoep overlooking the dam. What a lovely setting for a wine tasting.


After lunch we had one more wine farm on the list. Just outside Oudtshoorn, on the road from Calitzdorp, lies the vineyards of Sandkoppies, home of Grundheim Wines. Here six generations of the Grundling family have been farming for over a century. Renowned for its witblits made in a traditional brandy still, Grundheim launched its maiden potstill brandy in 2002. Grundheim's family recipes have ensured that their homemade liqueurs and witblits preserves have walked away with numerous awards. I bought a number of bottles of delicious white Jerepico - in summer I serve this on crushed ice, garnished with a sprig of lemon zest.
And then for dessert!

La Chocolaterie Rococo, 86 Langenhoven Road
Oudtshoorn.

At La Chocolaterie Rococo we were treated to a chocolate appreciation class. And then of course we had to buy some chocolates and pralines to take home : each piece of sensual decadence made from the freshest ingredients and  finest imported raw-materials from Belgium.

A day hike: Old Toll House - Montagu Pass - Cradock Pass

The river was not too high and we managed to come through with dry feet.

 Last weekend we hiked from the Old Tolhuis up Montagu Pass and then back to the Tolhuis via the historic Cradock Pass.

George - the home of Wonki Ware(Di Marshall Pottery)

 When our daughter moved into her first flat the two of us went to the factory shop in York Street to find a few basic items in their little 'reject' room. She was sitting flat on the floor, sorting the Wonki Ware into little piles of four. Di Marshall happened to walk in and gave her an amused smile at which the 18 year old, not knowing she was speaking to THE Di Marshall, started telling her what amazing crockery this was, pointing out the artistic designs, beautiful colours and delicate, yet durable quality of the items. Di graciously told her that it was her name on the bottom of every plate and kindly started helping her find 4 of everything. Today the shop is much better organized than those days and all the pottery is neatly stacked by colour and design. I still feel like a kid in a candy store when I walk in there though - can't make up my mind!
One of their bestsellers is called the lace design. They make this plate by pressing real lace into the soft clay before the plate is fired in the oven. Then, as it is placed in the oven, the lace design burns off, leaving behind a ghostly pattern. They are manufactured from non porous clay and the glazes are non toxic and lead free ; chip proof, oven, microwave and dishwasher friendly.

Wonki Ware is handmade by local skilled and trained craftspeople. She now employs more than 35 people and exports worldwide. And counts Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver amongst her fans - I often spot one of her large purple platters on Jamie Oliver's food shows.

Her tableware is also used by the Swedish and British Royal families. The business also have outlets in UK, Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and Ireland . So there you are all the South Africans in London - go and look at the Wonki Ware in Harrods when you get homesick! You can also go to their website and order your items prior to coming to George.

Cooking demonstration exchange : Dolmathes for Bobotie...

I think I should offer cooking class exchanges officially on my website! I was delighted when Dani, who lives in London, but is of Greek descent, offered to teach me how to make dolmathes using the new leaves from our vine. Last year I exchanged recipes with  an Ukrainian guest  and in December we had guests from Mumbai who demonstrated and cooked us a traditional Indian meal. What fun! Not only do they learn something about South Africa food, but they get an opportunity to have a home cooked meal and we get an opportunity to eat something exotic. 

I never realised that Dolmades are cooked in a tomato sauce (either in the oven or on hob over very low setting) Dani showed me how to use two plates as weight to ensure that the Dolmades remain covered in this delicious, buttery tomato sauce.

Coffee - make mine a Nespresso please.

I love a good cup of coffee...Remember, we lived in Namibia for 13 years and there we were introduced to a European style cafe culture. Often the coffee there is served with milk enriched with evaporated milk. We could buy imported coffee brands long before our coffee taste buds were developed to the degree that they are today in South Africa.

At the breakfast table I will often have guests express appreciation at the good coffee I serve. We buy our coffee, freshly ground, on a weekly basis from a local roaster. Which also means that I can order coarser ground coffee to go with the plungers that I put out in the rooms and finely ground for my Bialetti pots - my preferred method of serving the coffee at breakfast.

The latest coffee buzz word is of course 'nespresso'. High on my wish list... We stayed at a small boutique hotel in Cape town and they had a Nesspresso machine in their foyer where you could buy the Nespresso capsules - for the discerning guest who frowns upon the instant coffee sachets that they offered in the rooms - I thought that was quite clever - what do you think?

But why the hype? Well, it comes down to top quality coffee , always fresh because the capsules are sealed in aluminium cases, perfectly protected from oxidation and light. A perfect cup with a perfect crema every time  as the worry about milk,steam,temperature, grind fineness or quantity is taken care of – with Nespresso, everyone’s a top notch barista.

My hot tips for a hot cuppa if you do not have a Nespresso machine:

• Coffee should be served as warm as possible, but never at boiling point.
• Do not make coffee with boiling water as this produces a burnt flavor, let the kettle stand for 1 minute after boiling.
• Coffee should not be reheated as it effects the flavor (which is why percolated coffee standing on the heating pad taste so vile after as short a time as 15 minutes from peculating) Keep it in a warm vacuum flask instead of on a hot plate.
• Peculated coffee should be consumed within 30 minutes
• A rougher ground is necessary for plunger coffee. 'grind' refers the the coarseness of the grounded bean ; 'medium','strong' etc. refers to the the length of the roasting process
• A good medium coffee suitable is French or continental blends.
• Java and Costa Rica coffee has a fuller flavor and therefore suitable for a stronger coffee.

In Europe coffee is often served in a glass

And last, but not least: watch this space as Desmond has planted his own coffee!

Cape Snoek...wolves of the sea (by Alex Benkenstein)

RECIPE for Snoek Spread: Saute 1 medium sized onion in 30ml butter until soft and transparent . Add about 200 gram flaked and deboned snoek, juice of a small lemon, 125ml creme fresh (or cottage cheese) salt and pepper to taste as well as a shake of Worcestershire sauce. Add fresh herbs to taste (we like dill and/or parsley) Blend and refrigerate until required. Delicious on wholewheat bread.

Alex Benkenstein

It is no wonder our two sons love the sea - they were brought up in Walvis Bay, Namibia, and were taken on fishing trips when they were still in diapers. Today I would like to share the following, written by our son Alex:

 We headed out from a launch near the Cape Town Waterfront to hunt for snoek, those nasty looking wolves of the sea – to most people the quintessential South African fish. We must have looked rather comic as we chugged out of the launch site, four big guys perched on a tiny, pink rubber duck. After cruising about for a while we spotted a group of boats floating together about two kilometers off shore and we immediately knew they were into the snoek. The adrenalin was pumping, but we had to keep to a pretty moderate speed as the small boat climbed up and down the swells. Eventually we joined up with the other boats and rushed to get our lines in the water.

 Snoek are vicious fish that will take just about any bait or artificial lure, but the traditional way to catch them is a thick handline, a heavily weighted lure and a large hook. The heavy duty tackle is used to haul the snoek out of the water as fast as possible…no arching rods and running drags here. The commercial guys use the handlines so that they can catch as many snoek as possible in a short time, but also so that the fish don’t tangle all the other lines hanging from the boat. Then of course there are the seals. They drift around the boats and rip into the snoek as they are being pulled up. Unless you get your fish out of the water quickly you can end up losing a significant part of your catch to the seals.

 When you cook your snoek you occasionally find one that has a course, mealy texture. This is referred to as a ‘pap’ snoek (the word translates as soft/squishy). No one is sure why the occasional snoek goes ‘pap’, but I have heard a theory that if you fight them too long lactic acid builds up in the flesh, which spoils the fish. I’m not too sure I believe that theory, as there are plenty of recreational anglers who do catch snoek on relatively light tackle, but why risk it? (By the way, if there are any other theories on why snoek go ‘pap’, please post them in a comment to this article.

Cape Snoek

 The snoek weren’t in a concentrated school, but rather seemed to be moving about in small groups. The boats were spread out in an area the size of maybe six rugby fields, and from time to time the fishermen on a particular boat would hook into two or three fish as the small schools moved around in this area. We had a frustrating few minutes watching the guys in the other boats pulling up fish, but suddenly my brother and I hooked up almost simultaneously.

Eckart, the fish whisperer...

As my brother brought his fish to the surface a large seal grabbed it by the tail. The seal surfaced with the snoek in its mouth and a classic tug of war ensued, with the fish stretched between my brother and the seal, both equally determined. Eventually my brother pulled the snoek free, but now my fish was just approaching the surface and I watched helplessly as the seal dived toward it and ripped it from the line.Soon my brother had more fish on the boat, but I wasn’t having any luck and was still sulking about my stolen snoek.   The worst thing about fishing with my brother is not that he usually catches the most and biggest fish (although that is pretty irritating too), it’s the way he starts dispensing advice after he’s brought a few fish on board. I grumbled under my breath as my brother offered tips on retrieval speed, depth and other snippets of wisdom.Eventually I did get my snoek and we had an incredible day on the water, ending up with nine large snoek between the four of us.

 

 It was delicious braaied over the coals basted with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and apricot jam.

   

Lady Chatterley's lover...

Desmond, the plant collector

A few years ago a guest wrote in our guest book: Fairview = Philda. Initially I thought: "what an odd thing to write in a guest book", but then I realized that this man actually understood the essence of what it is about when you stay in a B&B opposed to a hotel: that  personal touch added by the owner. Whenever I show guests through our garden I feel such a fraud because if I am the one adding the special touch to the guest house, then our garden = Desmond.

Yesterday I asked him to move his activities to the front garden as we had two sets of guests arriving and I wanted him to let them in as I just quickly wanted to go to the grocery store. My instructions  that it was a couple for Room 1 and a family for Room 3 was met with:  " which one is Room 3 again?". So I patiently (or not...) explained for the millionth time: Room 1 is the yellow room to the right as you enter, as it has been since the restoration 17 years ago. Room 3 has been Room 3 since the boys left home more than 12 years ago...

When they arrived he told them he was not sure which rooms I had allocated and that it was best to wait for my return. The one guest told him that they were in Room 1, on which he asked if they knew whether that was a yellow room? In his defense I must add that he invited them into the lounge and offered tea and chocolate cookies! Our guest  came up with a super solution: why not ask him to name the rooms after flowers - the yellow room could be Sunflower Room, the orange room could be the Pincushion Room etc.

The incident  reminded me of another occasion when he was working in the front as guest arrived.  It was pouring with rain - not that the rain has ever  prevented Desmond from gardening. When I opened the front door it was to find Desmond and the guests  in a fit of laughter ; as he explained later -  he did not notice the guests initially and wearing  his bright yellow rain suit he must have looked quite a sight - they rang the front door bell and then asked him if the proprietor was in? He answered: " she'll be  down presently. Don't mind me - I'm just the gardener, but I do sleep with the proprietor".

We have pets....

  

Nelleke and Misty

  This December I've had a guest make the booking and then mention as an afterthought that she had a little Yorkie and surely I would not have a problem with that? My reply : " If your little Yorkie can handle my big Bull Mastiff then we do not have a problem... ". I've had guests threatening to sneak our one year old Bull Mastiff into the bedroom and I've had guests reeling back in horror at the sight of a dog. Bull Mastiffs turned out to be perfect guest house dogs : they are non territorial , not unnaturally aggressive and hardly ever bark. Our Fawn colored Misty (registered name Madame Mistique) would greet guests with her exuberantly wagging tail - I would always say one would swear the only attention she ever gets were from guests. When we got her as a puppy we also got a small Ginger cat (called Garfield, what else) and the two had a very special relationship. They slept together , would groom each other and the favourite party trick was for Misty to carry the cat by her head in her mouth ! When I heard a guest frantically shouting for me I'd know - they're at it again! Of course Garfield only had to give Misty a gentle whack with her nails out to be let go of. She died shortly after her 12th birthday - a good age for a big breed.

Umbi

When Misty turned ten our daughter, Nelleke, brought a new Bull Mastiff puppy home. I took one look at this ugly brindle pup and Eveline commented in Xhosa "Inja m'bi" (ugly dog). She was promptly named Umbi , but she grew in our hearts and turned out to be the most beautiful dog anyone could ever wish for. So sweet natured, intelligent, sensitive and incredibly loving. We were heartbroken when she died of cancer in June 2009, not even 3 years old.

Our daughter Nelleke was also the one who arrived from school one day with a little abandoned kitten - curled up in herhands it looked exactly like a giant mushroom! At the ripe age of 15 Mushroom is still around - half blind, but still - a beautiful cat.

Mushroom

The latest addition to the Fairview yard is Juno...

  

Philda's favourite Fish Pie

Our son Eckart is a spear-fisherman of note.
His dad and brothers are not too shabby as sea-hunters either.
When the Benkenstein men bring home  fish we eat fish for three days in a row. This is one  recipe that I can honestly claim as my own and it works perfectly with frozen fish too.  I've even substituted fresh fish for tinned tuna and it is still fool-proof - let's face it: every fish brought home represents 3 that 'got away'! This is just one of those recipes you are going to write and thank me for sharing...

Crust:
500 ml cake flour
20 ml baking powder
2 ml salt
125gram butter
150 ml milk



Sieve the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then crumb the butter into the flour  with your fingers. Add the milk and use a metal spoon to mix it to  dough consistency. Cover with cling-wrap and leave to rest in the fridge.
Filling:
About 2 cups of stir fried vegetables: I fry  a sliced onion, about half a cup of celery, half a cup of carrots that are cut in thin circles. Then I add baby marrow, green-pepper,pineapple - whatever I find in my vegetable basket ...


Add about 2 cups of flaked fish. Any fish will do - I have even used tinned tuna and still managed to turn out a pretty decent fish pie.

Half a cup of coarsely grated cheese (Cheddar, but hey - whatever you find in your fridge) and half a cup (125 ml) Creme Fresh, 7ml hot English mustard.

Mix together, but do not over mix. Add some seasoning to taste and because we love dill  with fish , I add a good 80ml of finely chopped fresh herbs. (For a variation you can add lemon zest and parsley) Chill in the fridge.

About 2 hours before your guests arrive you roll out the dough on a flour dusted surface  into a big rectangle. Put your filling down the center and fold over the sides. Roll it onto a baking tray with the sealed edge to the
 bottom, cover with cling and refrigerate.
  .
Half an hour before you would like your guests to sit down for dinner you preheat the oven to 200ºC. Cut 2 cm slices through the pie, brush with milk or egg white and bake for about 25 minutes. Do not over bake!

Serve with green salad and crispy white wine.

Of Studebakers and old cars...

I love Vintage vehicles.As the proud owner of a 1958 Volkswagen and belonging to the local Old Car Club, I am forever encouraging guests to visit the local Railway Museum just up the road, where private vintage car owners can display/store their vehicles amongst the Railway exhibitions. I chanced upon the following passage in the delightful book by Victor Smith called 'Open Cockpit over Africa' in which he tells of his adventures flying more than 13 000 miles from George to London and back. Arriving back in George he was welcomed back as a hero by the locals. (Fairview is of course the Mayoral home mentioned...)

"Uncle Jack Smith (JK), who had once claimed expenses from the tax-man for 'lubrication of the best machine in the factory' (brandy for himself), arrived in great style in his new six-cylinder Studebaker. But, despite his weakness, never let it be said that my uncle Jack was not a man of his word. I think the reader will agree when he or she reads the story which I will now have to tell.

Oom (Uncle) Koos Stander, Mayor of George, paid me the honour of a handshake with hands the size of boxing gloves. Oom Koos, with JK Smith, had been two of the most enthusiastic supporters of the bar in the old Victoria Hotel at the top of York Street - now the George Museum.

Said my uncle, after his fourth brandy, to the ex-mayor who was holding a cigar in his left hand and a brandy in his right: "Koos ou swaer (old brother-in-law) I think you are becoming a bit of an alcoholic!"

"Nonsense, I can give it up anytime I want to. I'll bet you five pounds I can go without a drink longer than you can."

"Taken", says JK. " I'll bet you my brand-new Studebaker I can abstain for longer than you can; we start from tomorrow."

Six weeks, or it may have been six days later, Uncle Jack decided that one small brandy would be very nice, and no one would notice. After looking round the bar he walked in and ordered a double. Great minds think alike, and before JK started to settle down to business, Oom Koos with the same idea in mind peeped around the door and walked in.

Uncle Jack paid up - but the ex-mayor never learnt to drive. It was always to be next week. The brand new Studebaker could be seen for many years corroding away beside the ex-mayoral home."

My Favourite Cheese Cake Recipe

Secrets first: we cook apple slices in a small quantity of water with one heaped teaspoon of sugar. These apple slices go into the bottom of the cake tin. This is how Probst Bakery used to do it in Walvis Bay and the Benkies love cheese cake this way. Bake a day before you want to serve it to allow the flavour and texture to develop.
Geheime eerste: ons kook appelskywe (so 2 appels) in bietjie water met 1 opgehoopte teelepel suiker in en sit dit onder in die koekpan. Dis soos Probst Bakkery in Walvis dit maak by en vir die Benkies net 'n lekker ekstratjie. Bak dit ten minste een dag voor jy dit wil bedien sodat die geure/tekstuur kan ontwikkel.

 Initially apples were farmed on the grounds of Fairview. We were told by old doctor Tiensie Stander that when the ground for the development of Bergsig was subdivided, serious consideration was given to the name Appelboord, but because the apple orchards had to go for the development it was decided to name the new suburb Bergsig. Today we have apple tree left on the yard and it hardly ever bears more than 5 apples per season!
  My Favourite Cheese Cake Recipe
1.Place ½ packet Tennis Biscuits biscuits in a plastic bag and roll to fine crumbs with a rolling pin (a bottle also does the trick) Add to 80ml melted butter and press the mixture onto the base of a lined 20cm spring form cake tin.Make sure the sides are well coated with Spray 'N Cook.
2.Refrigerate. Preheat the oven to 160°C ;
3.In a bowl: 3 cups ricotta cheese (600g) , 125ml cream , 180ml castor sugar , 15ml cake flour , 30ml cornflour (maizena) + 3 extra large eggs Beat together until smooth (bearing in mind that ricotta is a crumbly "cheese" and the texture will remain slightly crumbly , but smooth - you get it?) Stir in juice and zest of one lemon
4.Pour into cake tin and bake for one hour ; then increase temperature to 180°C and bake a further 10 minutes. Take out of oven, put on rack and allow to cool in cake tin, remove and keep in fridge overnight. Serve at room temperature (that's important!)

bargain, no; barter, yes!

If there is one thing that gets me hot under the collar it is when a prospective guest wants to bargain me down.  In the winter it actually costs me more to run my guest house - the rooms need heaters, electric blankets and the linen have to be tumble dried- so why should I lower my rates in the off-season?  There are far over 150 accommodation establishments in George covering the full price range, is it even fair to lower my price and in that way take the business away from another establishment and forcing them to lower their rates to the point where it is actually costing them to fill their rooms? (I'm not exaggerating - I know of one B&B that cut her prices to the point where she was actually subsidizing the guests sleeping over - how crazy is that?)
Yet, I have just  exchanged  3 boxes of wine from a well known wine estate in exchange for a weekend's accommodation. Sitting in front of the fireplace with a glass of excellent Pinotage,  which we would otherwise never have sampled as it falls into a price range we consider above our limit, I just realized what a clever concept this really is. It's a win-win situation. Being a  strictly a one-glass-girl already half a glass above my limit,  I drew my little laptop closer to research this bartering story further. That left Desmond obliged to sample the Pinotage further and his nods of encouragement at my excitement over the bartering system  just became  more encouraging  as the level of the bottle dropped. (Understand, this is a man who is cheeky enough to walk down to the corner deli with a bag of home grown peppadews and come to an agreement to exchange it for our daily bread and milk! According to him he was just desperate because I was too lazy to bottle his abundant harvest of peppadews, but that's a story for another day...)
The definition for bartering reads: Bartering is a trading system in which you offer products in return for credits to purchase other products and services in your barter group.
An  American girl innocently required:  "im doing a travel project for school and i need to know if you have to barter in South Africa? " (At least she had the good sense to use capital letters for South Africa...)
To this naive question she received two rather indignant replies:
"NO, we do not barter! South Africa has a very welled developed economic system, while the country was very socialist during Apartheid, the country is now far more free market. We have our own currency, the Rand, which trades at about R7.50 to a $. We also have one of the best banking systems in the world, ranked ahead of the USA and many European countries."
"we aren't a group of uneducated idiots who live in huts and hunt lions and sh*t. South Africa if the richest country in Africa and one of the most watched developing to become a world super-power, next to Brazil, India and China. We actually have a currency, its called the Rand."
And then from someone calling himself Bob Mugabe : "I do not barter. I take."
Well, it's certainly true that we have a well developed financial system here in South Africa and we rarely barter, but perhaps we should not be so quick to turn up our noses at the time-honoured tradition of bartering.
There are not that many official bartering companies in South Africa, but in the rest of the wide world there are a number of bartering groups going. As a family we have done a number of International  hospitality exchanges with www.homeexchange.com as well as www.homelink.co.za . As a Guest House I joined   www.accommodationswap.com , which is a bartering group for accommodation providers.
I have come to the conclusion that a good barter system must have the following:

• Businesses with products and services you will want to spend your credits with.
• Fully automated computer system
• A clear policy – you do not want  to find out later that you have to pay a 20% commission on top of your membership fee
• An active Facebook Page or Networking events where you can make contacts and promote your business.
• Plan your barter agreement  with the business of your choice in such a way that you can service them suitably – it has to be a win-win situation for both parties.
• A benefit often overlooked, is that of establishing a network relationship with another establishment that you feel that you share a customer profile with.

I'm sold on the idea of bartering! But not on bargaining my rates down - bargain, no; barter, yes!

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An arsenal beneath the fourposter bed...

Guests I'll always remember? Well, shortly after I opened doors I received a booking for three policeman to share the family room. Now that sounded a bit weird, but the agent confirmed: three gentlemen and they had to share a room and could I please confirm the private entrance and secure parking...

It was just getting dusk when my front door bell rang and there were the three "policeman": one smelling of beer but accompanied by two overly charming gentlemen. Dressed like gangsters, I thought, but charming gangsters. Parked in my driveway - a dented rust tin of a Kombi van.

On my request to see some ID, the one chap flipped open his ID badge, but much too fast for me to really see whether it was authentic. He then explained that they had to share the room because they were transporting ammunition and that they were here to assist the local police. Well, that just freaked me out - we do not even own a gun and here I had to watch three men store an arsenal of guns under my beautiful antique wrought iron and brass four poster bed!

When my husband returned from work, I related my story of woe. He took one look at the van with the tinted windows and declared: yes, tonight they are going to rob a bank and it will be all over the papers, 'robbers stayed at four star guest house in George'. (At that stage he was still not so convinced about this B&B thing that I wanted to try, so did not offer me too much in the line of sympathy...)

I rushed off to phone the local police station to find out if they were expecting three policemen and couldn't say that I was surprised that they were not. They kindly offered to send a patrol car around a few times in the night, but did not think it was wise to confront the men. They had paid cash on arrival and were now officially paying guests.

Thankfully I had no other guests to worry about and with hubby happily snoring away, I spent half the night peering into the parking lot to see if the kombi van was still there. The next morning my three bright eyed and bushytailed "policeman",once again in cicillian dress, tucked away heartily into bacon and eggs, served them by a not-so bright eyed and bushytailed hostess.

With great relief I saw them off. Within minutes I got a phone call from the local police station to say that I had nothing to fear - they were expecting 3 officers, but that the police station had not been ntotified in advance as it was an undercover operation.

When Desmond came home for lunch it was to find a note on the table telling him to make himself a sandwich and not to wake me up - I was making up for lost sleep!

the suburb of Bergsig

Bergsig developed out of the farm Niepothsdale - in 1894 the property was sold to Koos Stander, mayor of George from 1926 to 1932. In those days it was a big apple and cattle farm on the Eastern edge of George. The homestead was named Fairview and the house stayed in the Stander family from 1894 to 1974. By 1936 the farm still supported a substantial apple orchard, but was already surrounded by a number of subdivided smallholdings. When it was finally decided to develop the suburb of Bergsig there was much debate whether to call the suburb Appelboord or Bergsig.

The apple orchard made way for the development of Van Kervel School (there are a number of other schools close by : Outeniqua High School, George High and Glenwoodhouse . In 1976 Mr. Swallow bought the historic home in Stander Street for R33 000. Today the fully restored historic homestead is a Guest House, centrally situated in Bergsig on grounds measuring 3800m².

The Garden Route Mall is 3 km away and Victoria Bay, known for its excellent surfing, 8km. The eastern edge of town is also home to the very popular Outeniqua Farmer's Market, held every Saturday morning amid lush greenery, next to the Old Saw Mill and opposite the Garden Route Mall. On the other side of the Saw Mill is Maurits Lammers Antiques - Maurits is a descendent of the Cape Town Antique dealer Mr. H A Lammers who was mentioned in The Oudshoorn Courant and Het Suid-Western on Wednesday September 27, 1978 : GEORGE: A magnificent leather-bound 260-year-old Bible was sold for R535.00 after brisk bidding.... The Bible was bought by a Cape Town dealer, who flew to George especially to attend the sale. Most of the goods on the auction were bought from the estate of the Stander twins, Blanche and Ethel.

Bergsig is the suburb closest to the Outeniqua Railway Museum (2 Mission Road, George, phone 044 8018288, open Monday-Saturday). The museum houses a collection of restored steam locomotives and railway coaches. There is also a collection of privately owned historic vehicles, including a rare Brill SA Railways bus. The museum is the departure point for the Outeniqua Power Van, converted railway inspection trolleys, which runs up Montagu Pass. The van makes day trips up the Outeniqua Mountain, stopping at "Topping" for the passengers to enjoy their picnic. E-mail opv@mweb.co.za or phone 044 8018239 for bookings.

When Winnie and Robert came to stay....

Certainly one of the joys of running a guesthouse, is that you never know quite who will walk through the door...

One of my favorite stories is of when I had Robert Redford and Winnie Mandela staying over - well, maybe not quite: I received a call from a gentleman in San Francisco with a voice a smooth as Robert Redford's (I love Robert Redford...) He told me that he had just e-mailed me a request for accommodation, but that he was phoning to make sure that I would not have a problem with his partner being black. That's where Winnie comes in.

Let me explain. When I was a young schoolgirl in Cape Town, I had a hostel roommate who stayed on Robben Island. Once she invited me to visit her for the weekend. That meant a trip down to the harbor and then by boat to the Island, the boat was called the Issey if I recall correctly. Just before we took off, the most beautiful, well dressed, regal woman that I had ever seen, gracefully walked past us to sit quietly downstairs. I silently mouthed to my friend: "who is that?" and she whispered back: "Winnie Mandela".

Now when Robert told me that his partner was black, immediately a picture of a young Winnie sprang to mind. I assured him that it would be no problem and that I would reply to his e-mail immediately. When I sat down at my computer I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion at the thought that this man even deemed it necessary to phone to make sure that the love of his life, who he was treating to a trip to Africa, would not be subjected to racism. So I wrote them a lovely letter telling them that they should come to South Africa with an open mind and not prematurely succumb to fear of discrimination, and that I was convinced that they were going to be bowled over by the hospitality of South Africans. I also added that they must remember that if people stared it could also just be because they made a handsome couple.

On the day of their arrival it was with great anticipation that I opened the door - to find an elderly gay couple, no resemblance to Winnie or Robert at all, but with huge smiles and a huge bunch of flowers to thank me for my lovely letter. We had a wonderful time together and I'm happy to report that they thoroughly enjoyed their South African experience.

Broad- and Green Beans

Our daughter Nelleke writes in her blog www.darlingnel.blogspot.com as follows:

Long before I knew I would make a career of my passion for food, my childhood summers were marked by warm evenings congregated around the kitchen table, top- and tailing beans. In winter, my brothers and I were asked to squeezed one litre of orange juice per day as part of our daily chores and together with the bean harvest, these were the rhythms that marked the seasons of my childhood.

As long as I can remember my father has been a keen vegetable gardener. He fought the odds in the harsh Namibian climate by building an elaborate shaded frame over his vegetable garden; and during one short summer spent in Canada, filled our basement with the sweetest sweet corn and buttery new potatoes.

My mother has had to become very creative with my father’s harvests, be it spinach, broad beans or rhubarb there is always more than needed! She’s had to come up with a number of ways to preserve and capture the deliciousness for another day or season and this broad bean and garlic spread is just one of those recipes.


This is an ode to my father and the love of gardening I’ve inherited from him.



Broad bean and garlic spread

Ingredients:
1 whole garlic head, cut horizontally
4 cups of beans (can be replaced with butter beans)
Salt and milled black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
Olive oil, to drizzle
A small bunch parsley or thyme sprigs
Day old baguette to make bruchetta
Optional: 2 rashers of streaky bacon, this gives the dip a delicious, smokey flavor.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Drizzle a little olive oil on the garlic and roast until it is completely soft.
In a small pot, fry the onion. Add the bacon, if you are using bacon and render slowly on a low heat.
Add the beans and the soft garlic puree; slowly cook with the lid on for 20 minutes. Mash the beans slightly with a fork, but keep the dip chunky. Remove from the heat add the chopped parsley or the thyme leaves.
When serving drizzle generously with olive oil and salt and milled pepper. Serve with char grilled brushetta.

Bruchetta:
1 mini baguette, cut into 1.5 cm slices at a slant.
¼ cup olive oil
Heat a griddle pan until it’s smoking hot. Brush the brushetta with olive oil and griddle until toasted and slightly charred.



Green Beans Marinated in lemon, chili and coriander served with Quinoa

Quinoa is available in selected super markets, but can be found in health stores and specialist food stores.
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
250 ml quinoa
300g green beans, tossed in oil
60 ml olive oil
Juice and zest of a lemon
1 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chili, seeded and finely chopped
A bunch of fresh coriander
50g toasted pine nuts
Salt and milled black pepper

Method:
Cook the quinoa in salted water, following the instruction on the packet.
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, chili and fresh coriander to make the marinade.
Char grill the beans very quickly on a hot griddle pan and while they are still hot, toss them in the marinade. Allow them to cool and marinade for 20-30 minutes.
Season the quinoa, and serve with the marinated beans and toasted pine nuts. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with lemon wedges.