This very energetic couple met years ago when Jana’s ‘’volla’’ decided not to start on a rainy day in Cape town. The pound was calling and they decided to move to London to explore the flip side. After living in London for 8 years it was time to say goodbye to the underground, rides on the red bus, have their last sip of Starbucks coffee, last stroll along the Thames River, wave their last wave to the Queen and return to sunny South Africa.

When you enter their beautiful farm cottage you walk into a wall of memories with photographs of all their travels over the world.   Antique furniture welcomes you into their home and the smell of freshly brewed coffee which is right up my ally.

Jana’s style is simple yet sophisticated with a fun flair here and there. Her passion for good food and produce are quickly noted and you can see…this girl loves cooking and entertaining…and she does not hold back!

The picturesque of blossoming trees, dust roads and perfect blue sky screams the start of spring! We could not have asked for a better setting.

It Must Be Spring

Hush, Can you hear it?

The rustling in the grass,

Bringing you the welcome news Winter’s day is past.

Soft, Can you feel it?

The warm caressing breeze, Telling you the sticky buds Are bursting on the trees.

Look, Can you see them?

The primrose in the lane, Now you must believe it – Spring is here again.

Beetroot & Mint juice

For all my vegetable juices, I use a Masticating juicer to get the most vitamins and minerals out of the vegetables

Ingredients:

6 -7                         Fresh Raw Beetroots (washed and peeled)

Fresh Ginger (about a 2cm piece)

Handfull               Fresh Mint

1                              Ripe Pear

1                              Whole lemon (skin and all)

Method:

Simply cut all the ingredients into chucks and juice…. The great thing about any juice is you don’t have to follow a recipe. You can add as many or as little fresh ginger and fresh mint according to taste.  The sweetness of the beetroot and the tanginess of the fresh lemon is the best combination.

Try to serve immediately and enjoy!

If your hands become stained during preparation and cooking beetroot, rub some lemon juice over them to help remove the colour

 

Beetroot’s deep, overpoweringly red juice has earned it the reputation as the most bossy of vegetables…..

 

Other ideas for fresh beetroot apart from roasting, baking & juicing:

Beetroot greens can be used in salads in place of lettuce or spinach leaves…

Beetroot loves strong and salty partners – think smoked fish, goats cheese and capers…

Beetroot & Chocolate cake…

Beetroot with melted brie on toast

 

Drinking Coffee can help you burn fat!!  Studies have shown that drinking caffeine can increase your metabolism 3 to 11%. It’s one of the few chemicals that can actually help with fat burning, so might as well drink up!  Once a coffee-lover made a world record of consuming coffee. He drank 82 cups of coffee in 7 consecutive hours. WOW!!

 

Homemade Granola

I like to make a big batch at a time, as you can keep it for long and you will see, it is so much nicer than normal store-bought granola that before you know it, it will be all gone.

Ingredients:

8 cups                   Raw rolled oats

½ cup                   Wheat germ

1 ½ cup                Sunflower seeds

½ cup                   Flaxseed

2 cups                   Desiccated coconut

2 teaspoons         Fine Cinnamon

1 Handfull           Mixed raw nuts

¾ cup                  Honey

2 tps                     Vanilla

3 tbsp                  Canola oil

1 tbsp                   Water

1 Handful           Dried cranberries/raisins

 

Method:

Mix all the dry ingredients together (apart from the raisins/cranberries). Heat the honey, vanilla, oil and water until it boiling hot and drizzle over the dry ingredients. I always add extra honey as this recipe doesn’t contain any sugar. Bake at about 180 degrees C in a shallow baking dish until the colour change and the oats becomes crispy. Remember to stir every now and then ensuring that the whole batch gets light brown and crispy.Once you think the granola is nearly ready add the raisins or cranberries for the last 15 minutes.

 

The first day of spring in the Southern Hemisphere is the first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere

Children actually grow faster in the spring than during other times of the year.ⁱ According to a Facebook study, couples are most likely to break up in the spring and two weeks before Christmas. The lowest breakup time was Christmas Day and from August through October

 

Savoury French Toast with feta & thyme

Ingredients:

1                              Stale French loaf – sliced

3                              Eggs

100g                       Crumbed feta

Fresh Thyme

Freshly ground salt & pepper

1 knob                     Butter

 

Method:

Simply whisk the egg, add some thyme leaves, salt and pepper and soak the bread on both sizes for a few minutes until nice and soggy. In the meantime, get your pan nice and hot with some melted butter.

Pan-fry the toast until lightly browned on both sides for about 3 minutes on each side.

Once the French toast is ready, scatter with lots of feta and some more thyme leaves. The cold feta cheese will start to melt on the warm French toast making it soft and adding a salty savoury flavour to the hot French toast. To make the French toast even more Moorish, scatter with chopped olives and sundried tomatoes.

 

In France, French Toast is often called pain perdu, or “lost bread.” French bread goes stale and hard, or is “lost” quite quickly, but a few hundred years ago, poor French families had to use it up anyway. They soaked their stale bread in eggs and milk before frying, making it easier to chew.

 

Bread is probably the one food eaten by people of every race, culture and religion….

Murphy’s Law dictates that buttered bread will always land buttered-side down….

Breaking bread is a universal sign of peace….

 

During the spring, birds are more vocal as they sing to attract mates and warn away rivals

Jana & Jaco Lategan