Forever trying to figure out the demon on my shoulder.
Tuesday, November 3rd. With sleep dust caked in the corners of my eyes, I blearily fell out of bed at six fifty this morning to the sound of the bleating alarm clock and out of an annoying habit, turned on the bathroom light to weigh myself. Yes yes, I know what you’re thinking. “Ditch the … More To Run or Not To Run.
Hello there my lovelies! How are you all doing? I wish that you could be here with me right now- the weather is as grey as a sink of dirty dish water, but the trees in my garden have turned yellow and dropped those leaves like a yellow-ochre carpet. I wish you were here on … More The Second Wave.
Have you ever wondered what life would be like in another country? Meet expat, Gaenor du Plessis from KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, currently living … Life in Strasbourg, France with Gaenor Hey hey, just a little post-script; I’m sharing this blog post which is an interview I did with a fellow South African lady living … More Life in Strasbourg, France with Gaenor
My dear friends, I trust this month of September has been treating you well. I am currently only working half time so I have launched an Instagram page sharing my food journey. It includes some stories, and some recipes where I can fit it into that medium, but sometimes it’s not possible, so you can expect … More Recipe: Miso Pork Belly with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach
Autumn. Fall. Both words have been rolling off my tongue all week. Which do you revert to normally? It’s Tuesday, week 2 after the schools reopened, and life is almost back to normal, barre the lingering signs of Covid barrier precautions. I crossed into the city this morning after school drop off and found myself … More Fall, 2020
All over the world there is sh*t that divides people. There are the big divisive subjects: sex, religion, racism, politics, culture. The ones which, arguably, lead to the biggest problems: terrorism, fear, injustice, inequality. In the lesser divisions, generally fought no less fervently, one could list sport or social media, school systems, sneaker brands; although … More The Polarisation of Food
Okay, so I lied last week when I bragged about my OnePotWonder lunch for the family. The truth is I am not a typical ‘1 pot wonder’ kinda-woman, particularly when it comes to writing up the recipes. What I am good at is fairly adept at creating meals from leftovers and a scratch of gnarly … More (Almost) One Pot Wonders
Who Am I? I am Gaenor. I am a child of a farming community. I’m a chef. I’m a wife and a mother. I live in a foreign country. I am lily white naive. And I have privilege. Who Am I Not? This is where it really gets heavy. Because I am not anything … More Lady Macbeth On Her Stage
Perhaps I should rather title this post Recipe: My Take On An Empanada, because the recipe I’m furnishing you with today is possibly not true to the Galician version of this pastry, and I don’t want to tread on toes for culturally appropriating something that is not mine to appropriate. A quick Google and Wiki … More Recipe: Empanadas
Erm, I’m sorry about that! :idsu;;er 2020 is what my keyboard types when its’ language choice is set on the English keyboard. What I really wanted to title this was Midsummer 2020, but when I saw those letters and grammatical icons on my screen, I remembered something that I wanted to write about. No, it’s … More :idsu;;er 2020
One of my peeves about South Africans who have elected to live outside their homeland is when they lament the absence of certain homegrown treats that they can’t get. The list is endless: Cream Soda,NikNaks, Ghost Pops, Peppermint Crisps, Ouma Rusks, Mrs Balls chutney, the list goes on and on. Oh, and Biltong and wors, … More Not Mrs Balls
6 weeks ago, I sat on on my terrace and shared this photo: It was Sunday morning, and what should have been a morning filled with the expectation of me heading to work in the evening turned out to be a day filled with sweet Sunday bliss. A mild wine hangover to deal with- cured … More The CovidTimes
Another recipe quickie. This has been put on my meal plan every other week since we have been home. It’s quite adaptable if you know what you like to eat and can mix it up depending on the contents of your fridge. Last year I discovered quinoa after spending quite a few shopping hours with … More Recipe: Quinoa Salad
Nostalgia. I got hit with it this morning, and it’s been good to bring me out of a little funk. Here’s a story for you. “Where are you going?” I jumped at the sound of her childish voice as she (rather stealthily) crept up behind me while I was raiding the great box of apples … More The Spider Gang
Good morning friends! I’m going to cut to the chase this morning, and try to keep this one short and simple. I made fishcakes this week- a first for me. Well, a first for a very very long time. We don’t eat much fish here at home. If I can get my hands on some … More Recipe: Fishcakes
I feel like I have written this blog post up already over the nearly 7years I’ve been here. Going through my archives, I see that I haven’t, but I do know for certain that I have posted photos on Facebook every single Easter that we have been here, sharing my homemade Hot Cross Buns. I’m … More Recipe: Hot Cross Buns
Day 16, and the fairies in my head are beginning to lose the plot. Despite the last weeks worth of evening walks in the most golden of gin hours, they (the fairies) have chosen to bemoan the dry papery wind that is howling over the wheat pastures from the beckoning Rhine. I’ve run out of … More Recipe: Grilled Vegetable Salad.
My Mom used to make a soup for dinner, way back in the days when we were kids. It was tomato and barley with bacon chopped into it, and I absolutely loved it. But she made it so seldom that I never had a chance to ask her about it. Barley wasn’t prevalent in our … More Recipe: Beef, Bacon and Barley Casserole
I saw a post on Facebook early last week that made me scratch my head in disbelief. At first I couldn’t decide if it was a tongue in cheek article, or if it was genuine display of solidarity. It was a local Strasbourg blog where the authors shared their admiration for the continuation of work … More Recipe: 4 Bean Salad
If you remember, I spent 12 years eating food at boarding schools. 1980′ and 1990’s government boarding schools mind you; not private boarding schools with a veritable buffet selection, but a ‘eat what we put in front of you‘ selection. At HHS (Howick High School) where the food was literally 100 times better than RPS … More Recipes for Lockdown: Chicken Curry
Pinot, Bretzels, and Cathedrals 