foodie, please!

   Now I'm sure at least a few of you have been wondering for some time what the food here has been like.  Well, I can completely assuage any fears or doubts with assurances that all the food has been fantastic!  On the home front, there are no concerns to be had: Carina is a fabulous cook and the produce here is to die for fresh and varied.  Right now, we're in the middle of mango, pear, and avocado season-- can you say scrumdiddlyumptious?  Check out the magnificent Mexican dinner we had tonight:

can you say fresh cilantro, grilled [red, yellow, & green bell peppers], onions, garlic, brown rice, italian import beans, local grown avocado, fresh squeezed lime, chopped tomatoes, and [hand-shredded by yours truly] white cheddar cheese?  Seconds, please :]

   As for the food beyond our home on the hill, it too has been exceedingly exquisite.  This past Saturday was one of many occasions so far for me to "ooo" and "ahh" and take a few inconspicuous pictures while browsing.  The event is called "Shongweni" (sh-ung-way-nee).  It's the local farmers's market and is held every week!  It felt like a smash-hit-mash-up of the Alameda Park Street Fair and Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue.  There was a whole stand just for tie-dye clothes and accessories-- whoa!  The whole thing is set up in wooden stalls in a huge grassy plain.  I didn't find out until afterwards that Shongweni is a weekly event; it was impossible to see it all in one visit so I'm definitely going back!


   It reminded me of the Park Street Fair in that there were multiple stands for homemade jams and olives and other small tasties for sale.  Over on the far side of the field, the "Strawberry Lady" sells her wares in little boxes, ripe and plump and reasonably priced!  

   The Telegraph vibe came from, obviously, the tie-dye stand, but also the booths of original paintings and other artwork, woodworks (there was this incredible clock carved into a tree trunk!), and funky jewelry stands.  There are also a few troubadours scattered throughout the place, lending the space plenty of good vibes :)  When I took Natalie for a little while, we stopped by the all-organic, no-preservatives ice cream booth.  In addition to their long list of flavors and free samples, they were also big on advertising that their milk was from grass-fed cows, their eggs were from free-range chickens, etc.  SUPER sustainability and naturally oriented stand, like many of the others.

   There are also about a million pastry stands-- not just at Shongweni, but all over ZA so far!  And not lame like, "oh, I got you these cookies from Safeway/Ralphs..." treats.  Like, legitimately glorious cream-filled pastries and tartlets galore!  So, naturally, seeing as this is a national theme, there were several cupcake and patisserie stalls on the field for my perusing and tidbit-tasting pleasure.  Natalie particularly enjoyed the carrot-cake-with-raisins mini-cupcake with lemon icing; the base of the cupcake was about the size of a bottle cap, to give a point of comparison... so when I say "mini,"  I mean it!

   On the more savory side of things, we also paid a visit and a few dollars to the vendors at two stalls.  The first was owned and operated by "the Cheese Lady," from whom we purchased a block of three-year old sharp white cheddar (mmmmmm!)  I also keenly feel the need to mention that the stand beside hers sold locally produced wines-- perfect sampling combos, right?

roses and lilies?  sound familiar to anyone?  all they need now are some jonquils!  I know from the owner that next season, one of the labels has a blue orchid-- great theme choice for their labels.  Eye-catching and attractive = sales points

   The final stall truly meriting attention at this point entitles itself "Salt of the Earth" and sells all kinds of artisan breads at amazing prices!  Everything was made fresh that morning.  Our family bought two ciabatta loaves for about the equivalent of 1.25 USD (U.$. Dollars).  Talk about a fantastic deal!

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   One day last week, we also took the girls to a frozen yogurt shop as a treat: less sugar than ice cream, but just as pretty!  The place we went was called Wak-a-Berry (the "wak" is pronounced like "wok").  I remember sitting outside spoon-feeding Natalie and having Maggie ask me, "Cousin Lily, what's in this?"  And I look at my mixed berry froyo, which was an outrageously saturated magenta, and answering "lots and lots of food dye."

   Another lo-cal for fabulous eats and treats that I have visited plays many roles: spa, resort, botanical garden, playground, patisserie, cafe, and general getaway spot.  Name?

Makaranga

"mock-uh-wrong-guh"

Of course, I was a complete ninny and didn't bring my camera, but I promise to do so next time!  Truly!  This place, like the others, had incredible pastries and divine views.  Carina and I sat on the deck overlooking the forest, drinking coffee and munching on the pastries.  I got a miniature peacan pie like thing, she had a super moist chocolate muffin, and the girls split a savory kind of scone with some strawberry jam.  Fancy lady time, right?

   It's funny because when you look out across the pools of the spa into the gardens and trees beyond, you feel so removed from society.  But... Carina was telling me how just behind the tallest line of trees, there is another normal residential area.  So sneaky!  

   After our delectable snack, we took the girls to the little park and then Maggie and I took a leisurely stroll through the Japanese garden section.  To walk through all the grounds would quite easily take more than a day, in my opinion and on my kind of timeline.  The garden we did stroll through had several interconnected coy fish ponds with water lilies and other small fish.  There were even little stepping stones and bridges that led us across the waterways.  It felt so secluded and peaceful... I swore we were leagues away from another breathing body sometimes-- an amazing experience.  One I was glad I got to share with Maggie...

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   On a completely unrelated note, I've had my first driving lesson from Carina in driving stick-shift... aaaannd driving on the left side of the road.  It was funny, in that the parts I thought would be really challenging (you know, like driving from the other side of the car and on the other side of the road!) were fairly easy to get the hang of; whereas some of the finer points proved more challenging.  The car is really great though and I'm sure I'll be a pro in no time!  Well, maybe after a few more lessons... :]