puddings, slabs, biscuits and all things decadent

Christmas brings biscuits.  In every form and shape with fillings that are so comprehensive they would require a blog on their own.  I am a biscuit lover - but I have a very precise group of biscuits that I love.  Iced Zoo Biscuits?  Bakers this is top of the list.  And you don't simply shove the entire biscuit in your mouth, or bite off a piece.  There is a Zoo Biscuit protocol - you first lick the icing sugar animal on the top.  Then you scrape off the remainder of it with your teeth.  Then you eat the biscuit off all around the side and then, and only then do you eat the main part of the biscuit.  Go figure ... you got a good thing going.  

Then Enter Cadbury's Luxury Cookies.  An import yes, so the price is higher than normal biscuits, but got a good deal from a specials basket at Pick 'n Pay today.  Their claim to fame is real chocolate chips ... from Cadbury's obviously.  Do you taste the difference?  Is riding in a Porsche better than riding on a bicycle?  Yes - deeply decadent - creamy and very very chocolate-ish.  Have to pace myself. 

Whilst on chocolate let us move to an old childhood favourite of mine RUF Schokolade Mandel Feiner Pudding ...... simple to make - just like custard made on the stove - I use the microwave because my stove seems to be on some sort of go slow action.  This pudding has been a favourite of my dad and I since I was a little girl and yes, it has an eating protocol.  One does not simply hack away with a big spoon from anywhere.  You take a teaspoon and take a small mouthful from the side (note) and then the piece next to it, and so on and so on.  My hubby broke the circle of trust when he grabbed a soup spoon one day and scooped from the centre.  Available from German Butchers and deli's and selected Spar shops.  Also available from Dr Oetker ... but scarce to find. 

And finally .... Milka ..... seriously lekker chocolate from Germany.  It comes with all the normal fillings but Hazelnuts and the one with the Daim honeycomb pieces in it are top of my favourites list. You also get with Oreo filling, Bubbles and much more. Competitively priced and perfectly affordable it should definitely be on your shopping list - it melts well too in the microwave and when you have done that ... pour it into the ice tray ... freeze and drop into warm milk as needed.  Voila!!  Overseas they are available in at least 4 dozen more forms than here .... so importers, come on, get the good stuff over here. 

So it's chocolate all around this week.  Enjoy!

till soon
K xx

fly away ..... if you can afford to

Airline travel.
Always costs an arm and a leg unless you -

a)  log on at the right time - tricky
b) find a sale and want to travel within 3 weeks - always sold out
c) want to travel before 5am and after 9pm on any day of the week that does not have a "Y" in it and only if you want to fly half the route and walk the other half
d) don't want to go there or return on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday
e) have a gazillion Voyager miles
f) book 3 decades in advance

or actually don't want to go at all. 

Having a daughter living in CT means that I and she are regularly perusing the airline pages - Nic has been down to see her, I am going tomorrow and she has been up and down twice.  

To find the best price is not, contrary to what they let you believe, clicking on the "when would you like to leave and return" button and waiting trustingly for the best price.  You have to take into consideration school holidays, public holidays, the moon's position, the MD's mood and much more. 

I am all for free trading and I completely get the supply and demand thing, however what I do not get is the reason why the price can be R699 all day on a Monday and then on Tuesday because the schools closed it is R2100.  These are one way prices.  I know perfectly well what a "lost leader" item is in marketing, but you do not have your lost leader of R699 to R849 running all the time and then BAM.  It is insane.  Milking the consumer are we?

I have also discovered that sometimes you need to mix it up ... go with one airline and return with another.  And be flexible to travel very early or very late.  And be prepared to spend 2 hours hunting for best prices.  Also be aware that Travel sites offering the "lowest prices by searching across all airlines" ... not always so. 

You are lucky if you are one of those people who simply just book.  Log on .. put in dates ... book. BAM - costs what it costs.  

For me and my bestie to visit my chefgirl was a whole logistical exercise involving 1 laptop and 2 cellphones as we went back and forward.  So by flying at 5am we managed to get sorted, but have to come home 12 hours later on the day we want to, due to pricing.

Please also remember that when you get the best price be very sure about the extras ... I know the pitfalls but not all do ..... don't get to the checkout and find that you have to add on R100 for your luggage each way ...... One airline does this and so another one cleverly made their tag line "we take your luggage for free" ... 

Wonderboom Airport is right near my house ... as opposed to ORT which is 40 mins away.  Wonderboom introducted flights to CT and back.  YAY I thought.  Bleh. 

I am going with SafAir for R1750 return .... the cheapest flight via Wonderboom with SA Airlink is R3400 return currently.  I called and checked.  Brilliant marketing ..... lets make flights from Wonderboom and then lets charge so much that only people whose companies are paying can afford to fly from there. 

So shop smartly fellow flyers ........ else you may just have to stay at home. 

till soon 

K x

and boom .... i am a penshioner

It is winter.  My office is freezing.  Outside it is freezing.  And my head of very short hair .... is freezing.  So beanies or whatever else they get called by youngsters, are my thing ... and in typical Karin style mine has bling (yes blah blah blah I like bling get over it).  

However, it is clear that when your hair is a silvery platinum colour like mine (by choice - it was black before and red before that) and you wear a beanie (although my son says the small one that I wear is called a doek) that there could be some misperceptions about you as I learnt at the Spar this week, much to the amusement of all who have heard the tale. 

I went to the Superspar with my son, to get a few things for the office, and his lunch .... when we had paid and were walking to the car, I noticed that I had a pensioner's discount on one of the items.  I giggled.  However it changed to hysteria when I noticed that I had a pensioner's discount listed below every item they had scanned.  At the top of the slip it appears I was logged in as a pensioner. 

Really?  REALLY?  Now there is my son ... simply abandons the trolley in the middle of the mall, lies against his arms on one of the pillars and howls.  I come back to work and tell my friend Makomo and she lies on her arms on the kitchen counter and cries with laughter. My friend Justin then sees that the Spur has a pensioner's special on certain days and cannot wait to tell me and my son reminds me that I can now watch movies at Ster Kinekor way cheaper and ride the bus for free. My husband now calls me Penshi and yes, my friends are a great source of amusement ..... and support as you can see. 

Now the silver hair, I get that.  The knitted doek ... I get that as well.  But my face.  Do I have the face of a 60 year old.  Below is a pic taken about 3 weeks ago.  Now imagine a beanie on that ....... do I look like a pensioner?  And yes, I can hear you laughing .... all of you. 

But when I take my free bus ride to see my discounted movie whilst eating my cheaper chocolate from Spar, I will have the last laugh whahahahaha 

Till soon 

K xxxx

the mystery of the tomato sauce bottle & the cutlery

The family tomato sauce bottle.  Firstly there is never ever only 1 bottle in the fridge. Usually there is a sealed one, a half full one and then my all time favourite, the one with 1 tsp worth of tomato sauce left in it.  Now understand ... no-one is ever responsible for opening a new one before the old one is finished ... the bottles just mysteriously move from pantry to fridge.  And no-one ever thinks to finish the other 2 first ... no we just march forward with the fullest one.   And the lid ... why can salad dressing, chutney, tabasco and a myriad of other sauce friends make it cleanly out the bottle, but the tomato sauce always has to be in full presence around the bottle top and cap.  

Knives and Forks .... I am pretty sure that I buy them in pairs.  Like socks.  But over time I also buy other sets.  But we use them in pairs.  Matching pairs.  So how is it possible that I now have set # 1 made up of 6 forks and 2 knives, set # 2 having 5 forks and 7 knives and set # 3 having only the knives.  The damn things must be eloping with the socks!!!!!!  And that sorter thing in the drawer ... it has 3 divisions ... why can the knives, forks and spoons not just lie in their divisions instead of this continual co-habitation. I would be more tolerant if it at least produced more knives and forks. 

Then the loo paper.  The rule is simple ... I don't care if you want it to roll over or under.  If I get to the loo and you have it under I will simply turn it around .... I am OCD like that .... but when I made the rule in our house "if you finish the loo paper then fetch 2 more rolls and put it in there" I should have thought it through.  Because now I have unleashed the *we go to the loo but then we ensure we leave only one block which technically means we have not finished the loo paper and are thus exempt from fetching more* monster.  Give me strength!!!!! 

And what is it with data usage alerts from Cellular companies?  When you start running out of fuel, you get a light that tells you that it is going to happen ... within a reasonable amount of time .... but somehow with data .... 8pm you are on social media ..... 8.01pm you get a sms "you only have 4mb of data left" and then 8.01pm and 9 seconds later ..... BOOM.  

...... on the subject of petrol and petrol lights ...... mmmmmm ....... that is going to be a story you will really enjoy!!! 

Till soon 

K xxx

malls. maniac face cream sellers & dodging techniques

If you live in SA you must recognize the following scenario ... 

You are walking in a mall ... no matter whether it has 5 or 305 shops in it ... and suddenly there is a blur of movement next to you and a young person jumps out in front of you brandishing either a strip of cardboard with a scent on it, or a tiny jar containing a sample of eye/lip/cheek/face/knee/thigh/arm cream which will change your life.  At the same price as a bond payment.

With all due respect, they have a definite profile when employing their staff - the ladies must have long black hair, good figures and the tenacity of a pitbull.  The men must be slim, look good in black pants and have black hair.  Also here the tenacity of a pitbull is mandatory. 

The jump in front of you comes with the words "try this cream to change your face, you have beautiful skin this will make it better" or my all time favourite slung at me in Menlyn "this will make you look younger" ... that is always a brilliant sales pitch to a 49 year old.  

The problem is that if you say "no thanks", as most do, they then go into full jawlock mode and start following you for a few steps.  This is where it gets awkward.  I have now found the following to be slightly effective: 

• Do NOT make eye contact ... at all.  Whether this means you must burrow in your handbag, adjust your pants zip, walk sucked up against the store windows, get hiccups or vomit ... do not engage them in any way. 
• Put your cellphone against your ear ..... you will become the master of speaking to yourself. Just ensure it does not ring whilst you are doing this. Have an animated conversation ... wave your arms, shout if necessary. 

I remember in December (sounds like lyrics) when Jess, Nic and I were in the mall somewhere.  We spotted aforementioned salespersons (always be vigilant!!!) and Jess and I immediately did the phone to the ear thing.  Nic did not have his with him and started to look around panic stricken.  "Just leave a guy hanging", he muttered before grabbing onto his sister's arm and developing what appeared to be temporary blindness - also meant with great respect. 

So imagine my horror when I was at OR Tambo at the end of May, and whilst walking from Fournos above the arrivals hall, I saw that blur (too late) and ta da "would you like to improve your skin" jumped out of nowhere.  This is an airport, an international one at that.  There are stores, yes, which people CHOOSE to go into.  There are plenty of other vendors in that strip, yes, but they wait for you to approach them.   So I was disappointed to find this there.  Also international visitors, made skittish by the media, may think they are about to be mugged. 

And I tried to be nice, really, but I did tell her where to put that damn cream.  And followed a few steps ....

Till soon 

K xxx

salt, soup and a dash of coffee

There are a number of products leaping onto the market lately and I have been looking at several of them.

First off …. Makro has launched their own brand of cleaning materials with some great packaging labels.  Definitely worth a mention here is their dishwashing liquid, particularly in the Pomegranate scent …. I swear it smells like opening a container of that fruit in a popular supermarket.  Nice and foamy and deep cleaning without that horrible slick little oily layer staying behind that some of the “in house branded” products give. 

Next up is the Salt ‘n Pepper mixed grinder at Woolworths.  I do not know if it has been there for long, but it is a serious step up from the S & P mixes of some other brands.  It has exactly the right proportions and grinds in a reasonable size so that you neither end up with finely crushed powder or great globules that you have to bite through.

Lastly House of Coffees has finally jumped onto the bandwagon of the instant cappuccino sachets idea.  Nescafe firmly leads this market in my mind, with their rich and strongly, very foamy and seriously delicious product.  House of Coffees  has a very aesthetically pleasing box …. Quirky name, bright colouring, but the sachets, as pretty as they are, remind me of cup a soup.  Some of the brands of soup sachets do not use little square packets, they use sachets that look exactly like this … and that is all I could think of.  Sadly I was disappointed by the actual product.  The foam is thin and when you are sipping the coffee, the foam disappears within a couple of sips, leaving you simply with coffee with milk.  A perfect cappuccino keeps foam almost to the end,  so for a coffee snob and somewhat of a fundi like me …. Disappointing.   I will however say that the actual coffee was a good strong one.  And I drink great coffee at home via my Nespresso machine, great coffee at work and spend a lot of time in good coffeeshops. 

 Till soon 

K xxx 

All things in the mouth and on the mouth - choc & lipbalm

Now let us talk about chocolate.  And Cadbury's springs to mind.  Their slabs have always been sublime .... and then came their Oreo slab.  I bought one and cried for a week ... not from toothache but from the emotion of discovering something so decadently wicked and delicious.  And then ....... I have since childhood been a great fan of that granule candy that you put into your mouth and then it makes that popping sound and sensation in your mouth. This is something that has made the subject of divorce raise its head in our house each time I do this .... my husband gets a fit. 

So imagine my delight when I spotted 2 new slabs released from the Cadbury's fold.  I have only seen them once .... in the Superspar in Queenswood and have not found them in any supermarket since then.  They do not appear to be imports and they were priced at less than the Oreo one, so I assume they are yet to reach other supermarkets ... I hope so. Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations .....The one has little jelly and popping pieces .... yes you bite it and then if you open your mouth it makes that sound ..... and yes I am a grown up woman with 2 kids but man I love it .... and the other one has jellies and little caramel bits.  You have to try it .... sometimes you have to be wicked.  Just have to. 

Then on to the new Lipice release ....available in 4 different "flavours" it is a lipbalm, lipgloss and liptint in one.  The packaging is vivid and bright and it looks very very appealing.  Well named flavours and at R20 it is not that expensive compared to some of their Labello counterparts.  I have only been able to find it at Pharmavalu so far, not even Dischem or Clicks up to yesterday, seemingly because it is still a very new release. 

I went for the luminous orange packaged one .... and got my daughter and I each one. Called Summer Melon, it would give the lightest coral tint to the mouth.   They say "subtle" - which means it is "faint", "understated" but very much there!   I was really disappointed by the "tint" part.  It is a balm yes, although I found that after less than half an hour that feeling had disappeared from my mouth and I had to reapply.  The gloss part is ok, not spectacular but a little glossy.  However the tint was non existent.  It looked like absolutely normal lipice on my mouth.  I found this strange as the Labello tinted one definitely leaves a red or pink stain and a long lasting one at that and the Clicks brand leaves a very distinctive tint of sheer pink and that one in particular is great as a lipbalm.  Their pricing is also very competitive. I kissed the mirror to check the colour.  It was simply a mark on the mirror. Nothing even subtle. 

So it was all things "mouthy" today .... choc and gloss. 

Till tomorrow, 

K xxx