Testing out our Afrikaburn Thai red curry on the family

Jo, Matt and Antony agreed to be willing guinea pigs for our Thai red curry we are planning to cook at Afrikaburn for our group.  We had fun cooking and then played a fun game with the family that involved throwing a stick at sticks. I absolutely sucked at it at first but then staged a comeback for the ages to reign triumphant at the end! Finally, we tucked into the curry and everyone agreed it was a great success. And surprisingly easy, a great dish to add to my repertoire.

The cooks hard at work!

Then a fun game with the family

Triumphant!

A great success!

Dumplings and a movie (Brothers Grimsby) at Rajesh

I had my first ever experience of making dumplings. They were delicious.  Then we watched a movie I had seen before (Brothers Grimsby) that has some of the funniest scenes I have ever seen.  Wonderful to see the reactions of those who had never seen it before.

Making dumplings

Eckhart evening

A fun evening with a very special group of people.  My oven roasted vegetables with smoked almonds was a triumph!

Utopia

Chrisel's family has a little bush retreat, just over an hour's drive out from Joburg, near the Magaliesberg Mountains.  It really did live up to its name and I loved my time here.

Highlights of the overnight stay included:

• Stopping off at The Hartbeespoort Dam on the way.
• Buying some delicious cheese from a local farm.
• Stopping at a huge African market and a distillery to get Chrisèl's family a thank you gift.
• Buying delicious berry jam at a quaint little farm stall on the way - maybe the best jam I've ever tasted.
• Feeling immediately relaxed as soon as we arrived. Such a gorgeous, tranquil setting right in the bush veld with the constant sound of birds calling.
• The view from the deck of the house, out onto a far away lake.
• Going for a walk along the river and stopping off to photograph white-fronted bee-eaters on the way back - one of my favourite birds.
• Making a delicious lamb potjie. We did one at The Amphitheatre, but this time I knew what I was doing and it was a considerably more relaxed experience!
• A stunning walk in the reserve next door along a dry river gorge, gazing in awe at some of the reddest and most ancient rocks I've ever seen. It certainly gives Australia's Red Centre a go for its money!

The houses in Utopia - built to meld into the landscape.

A big deck to admire the view out onto the bush.

A walk along the river.

The local white-fronted bee-eaters, the iconic symbol of Utopia.

Making a delicious lamb potjie.

Exploring a river gorge.  Aren't those rocks amazing!

Lots of wind and water sculptured rock formations.

A cute Vervet monkey along the way.

Srini helping me peel potatoes for Xmas

Srini popped by so I could help him with his GoPro.  He kindly offered to help me peel potatoes for potato bake for 20 people. Now that's what I call a real friend!!