The ongoing Royal family hype has given us a hankering for classic, homely recipes from the land of bangers and mash. Ever looked at the queen in her snazzy get-up and developed a craving for jam and cream-smothered scones? Us too. We’ve selected some of the most iconic British recipes out there to honour the birth of the newest addition to the royal family. Try your hand at these classic English dishes to celebrate the Harry-Meghan baby, and, when reading the recipes, please do so in your best British accent.

Classic British Recipes fit for the royal family

Classic Tea Scones

There really isn’t anything more British than tea and scones is there? It’s quite impossible to not feel incredibly snazzy when sipping on English tea and eating scones.

All hail the scone: Scones are thought to have originated in Scotland in the early 1500s. As is often the case with food though, the exact origins can be muddy. Some say the name “scone” comes from the Dutch word ‘schoonbrot’, meaning beautiful bread. Another school of thought is that it comes from the Stone of Destiny, where the Kings of Scotland were crowned.

This teatime classic is baked to golden perfection, smothered in sweet strawberry jam and topped with whipped Chantilly cream. An impossibly delicious combination that will make you smitten for scones.

Recipe for Classic Tea Scones

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Beef Wellington

Beef wellie is a seemingly simple looking dish but this guy takes a bit of effort to perfect. The results, however, are 100% worthwhile. A beef Wellington is pretty much everything you want in a comforting dinner dish – juicy meat and umami mushroom flavour encased inside crispy puff pastry.

What’s in a name? Beef Wellington is said to have been named after soldier, Arthur Wellesley, who is famous for defeating Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. He was made the first Duke of Wellington in honour of this.

Our fillet is seared in a cast iron pan until caramelised, slathered with an English mustard paste and a mushroom duxelle, rolled in parma ham and housed inside golden puff pastry.

Recipe for Beef Wellington

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Yorkshire Puddings

Yorkshire puddings are the perfect vessels for housing all the delish gravy made with your Sunday roast. Another classic British recipe that is, in fact, savoury and not a pudding at all.

Catch the fat: Yorkshire puddings apparently came about when cooks in the 1700s placed trays of batter under meat cooking over a fire in order to make use of the drippings. These puffed up fat breads were often served with gravy as a starter as an inexpensive way to fill up diners before more expensive meat courses. Clever!

There are two secrets to making perfect Yorkies – the first is to wait for your muffin tin to be smoking hot in the oven before pouring your batter in. This results in the bowl-shaped effect of the puds, which is necessary for holding all that gorgeous gravy. The second is  to leave the batter left in the fridge overnight – no one knows exactly why, but this seems to yield the best and fluffiest pastries you can get.

Recipe for Yorkshire Puddings 

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Eton Mess

This classic British dessert is the epitome of ‘less is more’. The best thing about an Eton Mess is that there’s really no right way of doing it, you basically throw it all together and it tastes amazing.

Getting schooled: Eton Mess, as you’ve probably guessed, is linked to Eton College, the school most famous for its history of royal scholars. The dish is said to have been served from the school tuck shop and other stories have it as a traditional dish served at an annual cricket match between the school and rivals, Harrow. Some say the original dish was dropped and what was served was the scraped up version. Since no stories can be proved we’re content to live with the legend as is.

We layer sweet strawberry compote, chewy meringue, chantilly cream and fresh fruit to form one of the simplest and tastiest desserts.

Recipe for Eton Mess

Love entertaining? Check out these delicious braai sides and our favourite recipes for dining al fresco.

Easter is another smashing holiday in our calendar where food takes centre stage. It’s a time where families come together to celebrate the simple pleasures of Easter egg hunts, entertaining the kids and most importantly: the Easter Feast. We have four courses of Easter deliciousness that you can make for your day of celebrations.

A Glorious Easter Feast with Miele

Cream Cheese and Pancetta Surprise Devilled Eggs

Devilled eggs are a party favourite, yes, they’re a legacy from the 70s party scene but they’ve stood the test of time for a reason – they’re delicious. This Easter we’re giving our devilled eggs a Kinder Egg kind of surprise by popping a sneaky piece of crispy pancetta in the bottom before adding the filling, yum!

Recipe for Cream Cheese and Pancetta Surprise Devilled Eggs

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Honey and Chilli Roasted Carrots with Bacon and Cashews

An Easter meal wouldn’t be complete without a carrot side. These honey and chilli carrots are roasted to charry perfection and then topped with crispy bacon and cashew nuts for crunch. They are the perfect accompaniment for your Porchetta main.

Our carrots are golden-roasted in a mix of honey, chilli, lemon and olive oil and served with toasted cashew nuts.

Recipe for Honey and Chilli Roasted Carrots with Bacon and Cashews

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Pork Belly Porchetta with Roasted Pears, Fennel and Onion

Leave it to the Italians to take roast pork, which is already amazing, and bump it up to legendary status with the Porchetta. It’s everything that’s good about food all rolled into one crispy, herby, succulent flavour bomb. If you’re looking for an Easter showstopper centrepiece then look no further.

Our pork belly is butterflied and smeared with a delicious spread of herby goodness, rolled up nice and snug and popped into the fridge overnight. Once rested and at room temperature, the pork is roasted to juicy, crispy perfection together with our onions, fennel and pears.

Recipe for Pork Belly Porchetta with Roasted Pears, Fennel and Onion

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No-Bake Hot Cross Crème Brûlée

Baked crème brûlées are notoriously troublesome. If you’re catering an Easter meal and don’t want the hassle, try this easier-to-master no-bake version. We make the custard stove-top and set in the fridge before bruléeing.

We’ve combined two of our fav treats by infusing the custard of the crème brûlée with the flavour of Hot Cross Buns, with the added surprise of currents hidden at the bottom. Delish!

Recipe for No-Bake Hot Cross Bun Crème Brûlée

For more inspiration for your Easter feast, check out our list of delish holiday food including a stunning Beef Wellington and Classic Tea Scones for Easter brunch.

Designed to exceed your expectations, the Miele MasterCool range comprises fridges, freezers and a wine storage unit that offers best-in-market functionality, style and efficiency.

Says Miele’s Liam Gawne: “Simply put – you know you have really arrived if your kitchen features Miele’s absolutely stunning range of MasterCool refrigeration appliances. Designed to last for a minimum of 20 years, the state-of-the-art MasterCool range is made of the highest quality materials, and features cutting-edge cooling technology and German engineering precision.

In every aspect, Miele’s legendary reliability is apparent – giving you peace of mind that your quality of food and valuable wines are protected.”

Miele’s Mastercool refrigeration appliances take cool to the next level

All Mastercool appliances offer only the best features that money can buy. They are super energy efficient, boasting A+ energy rating, and they feature SoftClose technology, which ensures that at an angle of 30 degrees or less, the self-closing doors close automatically in a soft and gentle manner.

BrilliantLight is another top-end feature ensuring that every corner of the interior cabinet is illuminated on each level to achieve maximum exposure of all contents, using uniquely engineered halogen lamps that cascade light from the top and sides of the appliance, eliminating blind or dark areas.

All Mastercool appliances feature the innovative Drop and Lock technology, which guarantees infinitely height-adjustable internal containers, notes Liam: “The containers located on the interior side of the doors are infinitely adjustable and easy to lock into place for maximum storage efficiency.” He says that maximum capacity is another convenient feature of Miele’s MasterCool range:

“MasterCool is well known for its large proportions, with refrigeration compartments as big as 675-litres, and its freezers of up to 495 litres – ensuring that there is enough space for all your refrigeration needs.”

Custom Compartments

Perhaps one of the most innovative features in the MasterCool range of fridges and freezers is the revolutionary food-driven menu system that is touch-based, easy to operate and has four independent cooling zones, adds Liam: “MasterCool offers an easy solution for the difficult task of choosing the proper settings for everything from fruit and vegetables, through to salmon and exotic cheeses, by automatically optimising the humidity levels and temperature in the individual storage drawers.

“In the humidity-controlled MasterFresh drawers, your food is stored in individual microclimates.”

“The temperature is kept at an appropriate constant level, and the humidity is perfectly adapted to suit the type of food being stored in each drawer. In this way, MasterFresh ensures that your food, especially fruit and vegetables, stay fresh for much longer. To operate, simply select the drawer location and the type of food from the Menu, and it will adjust the humidity accordingly.”

DynaCool is featured in all MasterCool fridges. It ensures an even temperature throughout the entire cooling cabinet, notes Liam: “It no longer matters on which level your food is stored because conditions are the same throughout the entire refrigeration cabinet. The familiar levels of ‘warmer at the top, cooler at the bottom’ in conventional refrigerators are finally a thing of the past with DynaCool.”

Standout features

The MasterCool freezers include a built-in ice maker and NoFrost technology, notes Liam: “With the IceMaker, your fridge-freezer produces up to 100 fresh ice cubes a day, fully automatically. With a mains water connection, ice cubes are constantly produced until the ice cube container is full.

This gives you more time to enjoy iced drinks. With the NoFrost system, you never have to defrost your Miele refrigeration appliance again.

The NoFrost system distributes cold, dry air evenly so that ice cannot form in the interior cabinet. Furthermore, ice deposits do not form on your frozen food and, without layers of ice on the interior, drawers can always be opened and closed easily. NoFrost offers maximum convenience for freezing food and saves you the hassle of defrosting – forever.”

When it comes to MasterCool wine conditioning units, temperature is ultimately the most important factor, says Liam: “The optimum temperature for storing wine is between 10°C and 12°C. Any change in temperature on a daily or weekly basis can have a detrimental effect and cause it to age prematurely.

The MasterCool makes certain that temperature fluctuations will not occur, and they are fitted with up to three temperature zones that can be controlled separately. Up to three different types of wine such as red wine, white wine, champagne or sparkling wine, can be stored at the same time and under perfect conditions.”

UV rays can cause chemical reactions in wines, which is why Miele’s MasterCool wine unit boasts glass doors that are made of tinted safety glass with integrated UV filter – protecting your wines from harmful UV rays.

Miele’s Active AirClean Filter ensures odourless storage conditions for your wine, Liam explains: “The innovative combination of active charcoal and chitosan, a natural product, eliminates virtually all odours in the refrigerator section. The filter is quick and easy to fit and is ready to be used straight away.”

Liam concludes that if you would like the best refrigeration that money can buy, then you need to look no further than Miele’s MasterCool range:

“MasterCool appliances offer the best in terms of convenience each and every day, such as ideal food storage conditions, dispensing of ice and water, and fast and convenient handling.”

Try your hand at this delish White Chocolate Semifreddo with Pistachios and Rose Syrup that you can set in your MasterCool Miele fridge

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The Cape Town creative space is unequivocally beaming with young, unique and talented individuals. Ashlee Lloyd is one such creative who is pushing the boundaries of traditional lighting design by combining her love for artisanal crochet and industrial design.

Ashlee speaks to us about growth and struggle, as well as her journey of self-discovery through using her hands and her medium of crochet and lighting.

Bolts, Nuts and Necklaces

From the moment Ashlee Lloyd was introduced into this world, her environment has been a creative catalyst, laying the foundations that she has built her career upon. Her mother, a creative art director in the film industry, and father, a quirky mechanical engineer, brought Ashlee up in a slightly unconventional way.

Her childhood was less about Barbie dolls and more about absorbing the ongoings of her parents’ projects in the family garage – a pivotal location for learning in her life. Her dad would be spontaneously disassembling machinery with no intention of putting it back together and her mom would be immersed in the intricacies of her creative restoration projects.

“I was one of those kids playing in the garage with nuts and bolts making necklaces,” says Ashlee.

Through the processes of her parents’ respective passion projects, Ashlee started to pick up on the things she loved about textures, design and practical mechanics. She began adopting a beautiful combination of feminine creativity and masculine practicality, which are both evident in her work today.

Going Against the Grain

From her early school days, Ashlee knew she wanted to follow her own direction and create using her own unique form of expression. She took design as a subject in high school and used the crochet skills she had learned from her mother to design various forms of furniture for her school projects. Her work, however, wasn’t always well-received.

“I wasn’t always the most liked student in school by my teachers. They would always tell me that my work wasn’t practical or that it wouldn’t work out or that it was going to get dirty, but I just did it anyways,” Ashlee says.

She continued to defy her teachers’ sense of practicality and created pieces that resonated with her own aesthetic. In lieu of receiving top-marks in her class, she was able to express her own creative direction that best suited her style and it eventually paid off.

Ashlee went on to complete her Btech Honours in 3D Design at CPUT and focused on lighting in her third year. This, she told us, was due to her infatuation with light, electricity and how things are wired together.

Her final year presented similar challenges in producing work that wasn’t sufficiently tactile, creative, nor that she found synergy with. Disconnected from her thesis project, she decided to submit some of her personal work to the Southern Guild and their positive response sparked a turning point in her career.

“They loved my style and the work that I submitted but they wanted something completely different. That’s when I realised I wanted to go big and that’s where Molecular was born.” says Ashlee.

Enlightenment

With the money she’d saved, Ashlee purchased the materials to create her Molecular chandelier and returned to her family garage where it all began.

For three months, Ashlee faced the trials and tribulations of taking on a new creative process. After multiple changes, one broken structure due to the unexpected material weight, and countless hours of crocheting, Molecular was ready to be revealed in A New Wave, a Southern Guild art exhibition.

The entrancing piece spanned 2,8 metres in width and hung just over three metres in length, supported by a copper-plated mild steel frame that was designed and hand-crafted by Ashlee. The hand-wrought creation was crocheted with over a kilometre of various blackened materials and textures with both intricate and elaborate loops.

The piece, although seemingly dark and eerie, was designed to provide a sense of warmth and nostalgia for the viewer and to play with the light and refraction with the shadows on the walls.

“I wanted to create a tactile experience for the viewer as the pieces themselves always draw the viewer in to have an immersive experience by touching them,” says Ashlee. “It’s a really personal form of self-expression so not everyone is going to like it, and I’m okay with that.”

Looping and Learning

Expressing one’s creativity can be a way of healing and growth and crocheting has taught Ashlee more than just the art of weaving. It’s a process of reflection that’s been significant throughout all of her projects; it has that’s taught her to keep moving and that something greater is always waiting for her.

“There’s a lot of emotion that I’ve poured into my pieces. With Molecular, it was going through that phase of trying to find out who I was and most recently, working through my new pieces, I was dealing with the loss of somebody and not able to do anything about it,” says Ashlee.

This healing, moving and reflection process has evolved the amelioration of Ashlee’s skill and talent, which is reflected in her work. Sometimes she gets lost in crocheting for up to 10 hours straight, captivated by the result of her work which motivates her to continue moving.

“The pieces really have a life of their own in some ways, there is no pattern or template that I follow and that’s what is so special about the process. I give into what the material is doing and almost work in its favour,” she says.

Ashlee’s latest chandelier can be found hanging above diners in The Skotness Restaurant at the Norval Foundation. The crocheting of this incredible piece took Ashlee a mere two weeks to create. Like most of her pieces, this uses an array of polypropylene multifilament rope of various thicknesses, flat tape and beads.

The Future of Ashlee Lloyd Design Studio

For the next while, Ashlee will be working on her new structured range of chandelier pod designs for restaurants, stores and game lodges, as well as a range of oval, circular and elongated pieces that reflect elegance and timelessness.

“I’m only 25 and everything is pretty exciting, but it’s not growing quick enough for me. My goal is to do 100 more large feature lighting installations in the next five years,” says Ashlee.

She’ll also be tapping into more accessible and budget-friendly designs for residential spaces. Whatever the direction, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for this incredible young woman.

Quickfire Questions for Ashlee Lloyd

Fav restaurant: Hesheng, Sea Point
Summer or winter: Winter
One food you could never live without: Fresh tuna
If you could teleport anywhere in the world just for a day, where would you go? My grandmother’s house in Holland
Something small that makes you really happy: My miniature golden retriever.
Even smaller? Staples in a stapler – they soothe my OCD.

ashleelloyd.com | Instagram

This year, skip the hoo-ha of Valentine’s day and stay in, and make the night special by cooking your own romantic dinner together. We’ve put together a simple menu that features some delicious dishes that are easy to prepare together as a team and will keep you both busy in the kitchen. This menu is fun and easy enough to ensure that no plates end up being thrown – we hope!

ROMANTIC DINNER MENU FOR TWO

LET’S START WITH A DRINK SHALL WE?

It is, after all, a celebration of your love and no celebration would be complete without something bubbly. The French 75 is a classic cocktail, made traditionally with gin and champagne but we’ve reworked this one slightly to better reflect the loved-up mood of the evening.

This version features pink gin from Hope on Hopkins and grapefruit juice in place of lemon (check out these other local craft gin options). The result is a rose-coloured drink that is tart, sweet and sparkly in all the right places. Be warned, though, this drink is rather potent, so maybe don’t drink more than two if you plan on cooking the rest of this meal successfully.

Recipe for Pink French 75

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TO START… SHARING IS CARING

Right, now you’re all loosened up, it’s time to move on to making some food. This dish of Labneh with Dukkah and Flatbreads is the perfect way to kick off a meal for two. It’s also cleverly prepared in that you’ll need to start hanging your yoghurt a couple of days before you wish to serve it.

This means on the night of Valentine’s you can just prepare your dukkah and make your bread. Easy peasy.

Recipe for Labneh with Dukkah & Flatbreads

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THE MAIN EVENT…

For mains, you’ll be cooking these gorgeous Harissa-marinated Lamb Loin Chops and serving them alongside this refreshing Grilled Peach Salad. The marinade itself is easy to throw together so you and your significant other can make it on the night.

But, if you’re looking to streamline your evening, make it the night before and pop the chops in it for a couple of hours before you want to serve them. The salad will require a little bit of prep but will take you no time at all if your paramour helps you.

Recipe for Harissa-Marinated Lamb Loin Chops

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ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END…

This veritable feast that you’ve put on will have to eventually end. Luckily, though, the ending will be a sweet one with this White Chocolate Semifreddo with Pistachios and Rose Syrup. This is also a cinch to prepare, it just needs overnight freezing time, so you’ll be able to pull it out of the freezer once you’re ready for it.

By this stage of the evening, we imagine that you will be quite full and wouldn’t have listened to our advice on the Pink French 75 (we told you not to drink more than two!) so you’ll be able to relax and simply enjoy your dessert, without any work necessary.

Recipe for White Chocolate Semifreddo

Need some bubbly to go with your meal? Check out our top MCC and Champagne picks for 2019.

The weather has been exceptionally hot lately and if you’re spending lots of time outside in the sun then taking care of your skin with a moisturising after sun should be a major priority. Instead of buying something laden with chemicals and other nasties, try your hand at this quick and simple after sun soother and rest assured knowing that you’re exposing your skin to only the best ingredients.

What You’ll Need

2 Tbsp (30 ml) organic coconut oil
lavender flowers, de-stemmed (about a handful)
3 Tbsp (45 ml) natural body butter*
3 Tbsp (45 ml) aqueous cream
3 Tbsp (45 ml) organic shea butter
2 Tbsp (30 ml) Bulbinella plant, finely chopped (or Aloe Vera gel)
4 tsp (20 ml) olive oil

250 ml glass jar (alternatively an old lotion container, tin or pump bottle)

*Note: any of your favourite body creams can be used, but since the goal is to soothe the skin, a natural, un-fragranced option is a better choice.

How to Make

Place the coconut oil in a glass bowl and melt it, either over water or in the microwave. It melts very quickly, so don’t overdo it. Toss in the whole lavender flower heads and set aside to steep for at least an hour and a half.

Mix all of the remaining creams and the olive oil together. Depending on the consistency it may help to heat the mixture in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Whisk the mixture to combine, alternatively transfer to a sealable tub or jar and shake vigorously.

Chop the bulbinella leaves as finely as possible (it will infuse into the cream over time).

Once the lavender has infused for some time, remove it from the oil and crumble the flowers so that they separate from the stalks. The stalks can be discarded. Add the oil and lavender blossoms to the rest of the mixture; give it a good shake/mix and transfer to a clean jar or container for storage.

Store the lotion in the fridge, the coolness will help soothe the skin after sun exposure.

To use apply generously after a cool bath or shower.

TIP: If you prefer not to have pieces of flowers in the lotion, use aloe vera gel instead of Bulbinella and simply remove the lavender flowers from the oil before mixing. A good quality essential oil can also be used in place of the real flowers.

Our sizzling SA summers leave no space for holiday blues. The festive season may have come to an end but we still have plentiful balmy days drenched in sunshine to soak up before the long winter hits. And what better way to celebrate the remaining warmer days than taking your celebrations outdoors?

We’ve created four fresh and simple al fresco recipes perfect for the remainder of the summer season that you can take outside and enjoy under the summer sun.

Four Simple Al Fresco Recipes with Miele

Basil Pesto, Pea, Pine Nut and Pecorino Pasta Salad

Everything about basil pesto says summer. The light, fresh, herby flavours, together with a zing of lemon and punch of Pecorino are the stuff dreams are made of. Cool pasta salads are also a great go-to summery side dish that everyone loves to tuck into.

This gorgeously green pasta salad swaps out the classic creamy mayo-based dressing for a light and summery pesto with fresh greens. This tasty pasta salad is comprised of blanched peas, spring onions, fresh basil shoots and leaves, freshly squeezed lemon juice and a generous serving of shaved Pecorino cheese and toasted pine nuts.

Recipe for Basil Pesto, Pea, Pine Nut and Pecorino Pasta Salad

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Toasted Panzanella Salad with Burrata and Thyme Vinaigrette

This classic Italian salad is probably one of our favourite salads of all time. The simple ingredients work together so well to bring a combo of delicious and summery flavours.

This easy salad is assembled with a mix of exotic tomatoes, fresh basil and chives, dreamy burrata, shavings of Pecorino, crunchy croutons and the most divine thyme vinaigrette. The perfect outdoor summer salad.

Recipe for Toasted Panzanella Salad with Burrata and Thyme Vinaigrette

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Chargrilled Potatoes with Horseradish, Herb and Caper Drizzle

There’s honestly nothing more satisfying than perfect fluffy-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside potato wedges and these are exactly that. Potatoes are so versatile and, whilst they’re usually a winter staple, these chargrilled potato wedges are definitely on the summer side.

Our wedges are drizzled in olive oil and chargrilled on a griddle pan resulting in at the crispiest, smokiest potatoes. Light and delicious topped with a dressing made of crème fraîché, creamed horseradish, chopped chives and fresh capers.

Recipe for Chargrilled Potatoes with Horseradish, Herb and Caper Drizzle

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No-knead Pizza with Charred Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Wild Rocket

Making pizza at home has never been so easy with this fool-proof no-knead dough. You also don’t need a fancy pizza oven to enjoy perfect pillowy pizza at home.

Our no-knead dough is topped with a charred tomato sauce and slices of mozzarella, popped into the oven and grilled for 8 minutes until bubbling and golden. All you need to do then is assemble with beautiful twirls of prosciutto, wild rocket and a drizzle of olive oil.

No-knead Pizza with Charred Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Wild Rocket

Like these al fresco recipes for balmy nights outdoors? Check out some of our favourite Braai Sides for your cook-ups over the coals.

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We’re edging towards the middle of January dreaming of the holiday behind us but gearing up for the year ahead. To help refresh your mindset and kick it into work mode, make sure that your desk or workspace is clear and ready for you to tackle 2019. If it has, here are some easy ways to practice good ergonomics in the workplace and optimising your desk and space.

Check your desk ergonomics and adjust seat height.

If you’re going to be productive, you need to be comfortable and the first thing to look out for is your office chair. You need to make sure you’re sitting in a proper office chair, one that is well-cushioned and supports your lower back. Desk-wise, you’ll need a sturdy surface to work on that suits your height.

The average office desk sits at 75cm but if you’re very tall or short, you may need to try out a couple of desks before you find your perfect fit. If you’re very serious about your posture, you can always try a pilates ball. This will ensure you stay upright and will help engage your core muscles to improve your overall posture.

Clear out the unnecessary and organise your desk space.

Look at what you’ve got on your desk, how often do you use these things? Get rid of the unused clutter and store the things you do use somewhere easy to get to. If there are pens and pencils scattered across the desk, gather them up and place them in a cute pen holder.

Get rid of scraps of paper in place of one large notebook, so that you can jot ideas down as they come to you. Make sure that you only have things around that add value, and that there’s nothing weighing down your mental space.

Make sure you have water on hand.

To keep yourself focussed and at your desk, make sure you have a big bottle of water. Treat yourself to a handsome glass bottle so that your water stays clean.

Keep fresh flowers or plants in your space

The smell of fresh flowers can energise and refresh us, so if you’re desperately in need of a boost, add some to your desk. Even simple herbs like lavender can change your headspace, so don’t be scared to get creative. If you’re more of a pot plant person, adding a small house plant to your desk can boost creativity and will help with the air quality in your office.

Go with some simple decoration to keep you motivated.

Lastly, being at work means being away from those we love, so why not bring your loved ones to the office in the form of simple decoration? Get a small framed image of your partner (or dog!), it will bring a smile to your face and remind you of why you work so hard.

Have a change of scenery every now and again and work remotely.

If you’re looking to get away from your desk, working remotely can be difficult to manage. Recently, however, Cape Town seems to be embracing the mobile desk movement with many establishments welcoming people who want to sit and get some work done. Here are some of our favourite places to work across the city.

Places to Work Remotely in Cape Town

The Field Office

As the name suggests, it’s a home away from home for freelancers. Serving great coffee and bites to eat in a cosy environment that is geared with plug points and wifi. They have two branches, one in Salisbury Road and one in Albert Road, both in Woodstock.

fieldoffice.co.za

Jason Bakery

His croissants and coffee simply can’t be beaten, and considering the free wifi is really good, this is the ideal place to nestle down and get some serious work done. Locations on Bree Street and in Greenpoint.

jasonbakery.com

Loading Bay

Every cool Cape Town freelancer knows that the best ideas happen at the Loading Bay. It really is the best place to sit quietly for a couple of hours, while keeping yourself powered with their famous matcha lattes.

loadingbay.co.za

Bootlegger

As if you needed another reason to visit this quality chain, the wifi and comfy seats will ensure your productivity never falters. Plus, so many options to choose from around the city.

bootlegger.co.za

The Mojo Market

As long as you aren’t trying to work on a Friday night when a live band is playing, Mojo Market is easily the coolest spot to get your stuff done. Choose something to eat from the wide range of vendors, connect to the free wifi, and set up in one of the booths which are equipped with plug points.

mojomarketplace.com

Cape Town’s delicious summer season is just around the corner and with it brings a myriad of happy folk from all over the country and the world coming to visit our white sandy shores. With the crowds come a commingling of individuals looking to soak up the South African sun in their own unique way. Don’t know which beach to perch your toosh on this summer? No worries, we’ve selected some of the finest Cape Town beaches for every personality type.

A Guide To Cape Town Beaches Based On Your Personality

We narrow down some of the classic white sandy Cape Town beaches for every kinda holiday-goer.

The Good-Time Charlie

Let’s face it, for you, holidays are a break to let loose and you want to utilise your free time to show up and throw down. You want to mix, mingle and make merry with your little slice of holiday – and we’ve got the fezzy beach just for you.

Camps Bay Main Beach

This is the social hub of Cape Town’s seaside during summer. The long white sandy stretch of beach offers plenty of space for you and your crew to hop, skip and run around in the sun. Camps Bay main beach is also host to numerous interactive volleyball tournaments sponsored by Savanna and hosted by Caprice for some competitive ball-bashing, drinking and bikini standoffs.

Opposite the shoreline splendour is the Camps Bay strip, which is strewn with countless establishments for you to peruse and booze at to your bar-hopping-hearts content.

When you’re done soaking up the scorching sun, you can stroll over to one of the many cafes, restaurants, bars or clubs – and don’t forget Caprice on Sunday, babes!

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The Social Media Influencers

You’re looking for the best beach for the backdrop of your next Instagram photo shoot with plenty of equally gorgeous people around your surrounding snap-worthy scene.

Clifton 4th

Clifton 4th beach is the beach to be seen. The Clifton beaches are famous for their brilliant blue seas and white sand, interconnected along the Atlantic seaboard between Sea Point and Camps Bay. You’ll find the quintessential bright yellow brolly’s dotted along this beach and in and amongst the beachgoers will be a harmonious hum from the beach vendors offering you a lolly to make you jolly or perhaps a water for your daughter.

The gorgeous backdrop of the Twelve Apostles mountains, the stunning beach bungalows and turquoise sea afloat with snazzy yachts all make for a picture perfect beach setting.

Here you’ll happen upon numerous impromptu photo shoots and copious gorgeous girls and boys frolicking around showing off what their mama’s gave them.

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The Hip Kids

If huge crowds and mainstream stuff isn’t your vaab, then the popular Cape Town beaches like Camps Bay and Clifton aren’t going to be your cuppa tea. If you want to be surrounded by young, artistic and interesting millennials, Bakoven and Beta beaches are your best bets.

Bakoven and Beta Beaches

These are the Goldilocks beaches of Cape Town – not too busy, not too empty – and this is where all the cool kids hang out. These beaches are always filled with a melting pot of young trendy and friendly-folk with gorgeous boulders perfect for climbing, lying on and exploring. You’ll be hard-pressed to find beaches with more creative diversity, 60s attitude and young individuals covered in tattoos.

They both also sport nice little bays perfect for classic Cape Town 10-second dips in the freezing ocean aqua.

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The Mother of Doggo’s

You’ve got some fur babies and your beach time means bringing them along for the fun. There’s nothing quite as frustrating as taking your doggo to the beach and seeing a no-doggo’s-allowed sign.

For those who have the absolute fortune of owning a gorgeous fluff ball, you’ll know the unsurpassed delight it gives you to watch your fur baby propel themselves up and down the shoreline in complete psychotic ecstasy.

While many beaches don’t condone such behaviour, you’ll be happy to know that some Cape Town beaches accept your crazy mongrels for who they are meant to be – free! Until they need to be fed, then they are your responsibility again.

Glen Beach, Granger Bay, Sunset Beach and Clifton 1st

Glen Beach is a popular choice of beach for families, pooch-owners and surfers for its lovely semi-secluded bay, which is perfect for swimming too. This beach is right next to Camps Bay main beach and offers somewhat of a respite from the busy goings-on of main beach and Clifton. Clifton 1st, however, also allows full doggy-access off the leash.

Sidenote to those who want to surf – unless you’re a seasoned surfer, rather stay away from this spot which is dutifully protected by locals who take no nonsense from kooks! See further down for our best beaches for surfing.

Mouille Point and Sea Point are also great spots to take the pups for walks and playtime on the beach. Granger Bay and Sunset beach are both just off of the promenade, which makes them easy to pop down to on your daily doggy-walk. There are also plenty of little rockpools along these beaches for your floofs to explore.

If you and your fluff ball want to get out of the city, head on over to Hout Bay main beach or Kommetjie long beach for your beach excursion with your best bud.

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Babes on Boards

If your ideal beach day involves renting some boards for your activities on the water, then you’ll be pleased to know that Cape Town offers some sublime locations for ocean activities.

Surfers Corner, Big Bay and Beyond

If you’re looking for a chilled spot to test out your surfing legs, your best option is to hop in your car and make your way to Surfers Corner in Muizenberg or Big Bay in Blouberg. Muizies is the best spot for those wanting to learn how to surf or go for a SUP. The long and gentle waves are ideal for beginners or those looking for a relaxed surf, plus the water is warmer and slightly more bearable in these parts.

You can rent a board and wetsuit from the lifestyle shop for R120 bones.

Summer, however, can be tricky with the wind in Muizenberg. Check the wind direction and make sure you don’t have any pesky south easterlies otherwise you’ll have onshore winds and no fun times will be had on your board. If this is the case, head on over to Big Bay in Bloubergstrand which sports the same long and gentle waves and welcomes the southeasterly winds. The water here, however, is quite literally arctic.

For those of you a little more skilled on a surfboard, we have some more Cape Town beaches with advanced surfing spots to test your tenacity. Check out Dunes, Llandudno, Long Beach Kommetjie, Crayfish Factory or Scarborough Beach for some more intermediate/profesh material.

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The Agoraphobes (phobia of crowds)

If large crowds of people give you the willy-wobblies, fret not as there are numerous gorgeous beaches that offer a quiet escape from the hoards of holiday-goers. Sometimes you just want to sunbathe in peace without strangers running amok kicking sand on your beautiful clean towel. Lucky for you, Cape Town is blessed with many not-so-secret but lesser known shores to enjoy in peace.

Cape Point Beaches, Windmill Beach and the West Coast National Park

Cape Point has a number of unspoilt beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see. It’s also the most south-westerly corner of the continent so you’re sure to be as far out of everyone’s way as humanly possible.

There are a number of sweet stretches of sand along Cape Point’s shores and what makes them so unique is that most of them feel untouched. So much so that you could spend the entire day walking some of the beaches and not see another soul. The drive into Cape Point Nature Reserve also allows you to peruse the indigenous West Coast landscape of the mountains, with plenty of flora and fauna to inspect.

The most popular of the lot is Diaz Beach and, while it is the most popular, it’s still barren in comparison to most of Cape Town’s other beaches. Diaz Beach is unequivocally one of the most serene seaside settings in the whole of Cape Town.

The gorgeous high cliffs and turquoise water give a sense of serenity and foreignness.

If you’ve ever visited Cape Point, you would have seen this beach from the high point of the lighthouse. While there may be thousands of eyes on this beautiful beach every hour from afar, the 20-minute walk down and subsequent 40-minute walk up tends to deter most tourists from venturing down to this beach. So more often than not, you will have this beach to yourself to enjoy for most of the day.

Other quiet Cape Town beaches worthy of visiting are Windmill Beach in Simons Town and some of the lagoon beaches in the West Coast National Park.

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The Adrenaline Junkie

You love to feel fire in your veins and the best use of your holiday is grabbing life by the horns, reins or perhaps a kitesurfing bridal. You can’t think of anything worse than spending your holiday perched in one spot on the beach, you need to be out in the action with the ocean water spraying into your eyes – nice!

Kite Beach, Doodles, Big Bay & Langebaan Lagoon

Bloubergstrand is home to some of the best Cape Town beaches for kitesurfing with ample perfect wind conditions and heaps of space. It’s home to the aptly named Kite Beach as well as Doodles and Big Bay, which are all prime kitesurfing spots. You’ll find a number of kitesurfing schools that offer camps, group lessons and one-on-ones if you’re wanting to learn, and according to the teachers, you’ll be up and at ‘em in no time with professional instruction.

Another great kitesurfing spot for beginners is Langebaan Lagoon which has beautifully warm and crystal clear blue water that’s usually flat and favourable for beginners. This technically isn’t a beach but it’s technically fed with sea water so it technically still counts.

For those with a fear of getting lost at sea, a lagoon is an ideal spot to learn.

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The Happy Family

Nothing brings the family together quite like being at the beach. As a kid, beach days were the best days and they always involved a gazebo, multiple cooler boxes, the essential beach chairs for mom and dad, boogie boards, frisbees, bat and ball and multiple bodies scattered across the beach buried in the sand.

Oudekraal, Llandudno, Noordhoek Beach, Dappet Se Gat

Considering the above, having large families often means there are a few tiny tots and energetic kids that need entertaining and plenty of space to go full-tilt without causing havoc to other beach-goers. Your ideal Cape Town beaches are those with ample sandy-stretches for beach games and suitable settings for the whole fam.

Llandudno is just outside of Cape Town on the route to Hout Bay and is home to a superb beach for the whole fam with so much space and rocks for the kids to explore. Oudekraal beach is another super popular spot for families thanks to their picnic spots, sweet beaches and braai areas so you can take your cook up over the coals to the seaside.

Noordhoek Beach has to be one of the best family Cape Town beaches with an expansive stretch of sand over 8 km long. Here, your kids can run wild like rampant lunatics while you watch from afar. You can also take long strolls to the shipwreck on the other side of the beach or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can go horse riding along the shoreline – yeeha!

If you’re feeling up for a drive, Dappet Se Gat, next to Kogel Bay beach, is one of the best beaches around Cape Town. This beach is easily missed and requires some navigation down a relatively short path off the R44, but when you reach the bottom you will be singing praises to the heavens for blessing the earth with this beautiful beach. Huge spaces, ample coves for exploration, warmer water and high cliffs that offer shelter from the wind are the ingredients for a smashing day at the beach for the whole fam.

Now that you know all of the famous Cape Town beaches and which one to slot yourself into this summer, make sure you take ample care of your skin with these Summer Skincare Tips.

We chat to David Rajuili, former World Boxing Federation (WBF) International Super Featherweight title holder, former WBF All Africa champion and former WBF International champion, about life as a professional boxer. Rajuili’s boxing journey has displayed a strong theme of dedication from the moment he put on his first pair of boxing gloves as a 9-year old boy to today, where he is one of the best featherweight boxers in Africa. Rajuili steps out of the ring to give us the lowdown on what it means to be a pro boxer.

The life of a Pro Boxer with David Rajuili

Crush: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what made you decide you wanted to be a pro boxer?

David Rajuili: I grew up in the Southern suburbs of Johannesburg and started boxing when I was nine years old. I clearly remember being inspired when my mother woke me up one morning, sat me down in front of the TV and said, “I want you to watch this man, this is a great man.”

What I watched was a documentary called “The Road Warrior”, which was a story about Brian Mitchell, South Africa’s greatest boxer and to date the only South African boxer to be inducted into the boxing hall of fame. The next day I started my journey in boxing.

Crush: People may perceive boxing as a violent sport – is this true?

David Rajuili: No, I disagree, I would say boxing is a gentleman’s sport. You can fight against your opponent but at the end of the event, you can look at him, shake his hand and go for a beer. After a while, you start to become friends with a lot of the guys and we land up helping one another after fights and with training.

So it kind of starts off with opponents wanting to kill each other, but then we become friends (laughs). So I’d say that boxing is more of a gentleman’s sport and not a violent sport.

Crush: Can you give us a rundown on your training regime?

David Rajuili: For the past 20 years, I’ve made boxing my life. I officially went pro when I was 23 years old and have been boxing since I was 9 years old. Since going pro I’ve had over 25 fights and seven title fights.

My training consists of 10 to 20 km runs on a daily basis, functional training, boxing training and sparring which consumes around 6 hours of my day.

My pre-fight 12-week training camps can be broken down to fitness training, sparring and functional training. My functional training consists primarily of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in the early mornings and late evenings and is instructed by Gary Barret from True Muay Thai gym in Cape Town.

My boxing training is between week 8 and fight night which consists of boxing, hand pads, sparring and technical work. I do this with my coach and former two-time world champion, three-times international champion, four-times South African champion and four-times boxer of the year, Cape Town’s very own “Rose of Khayelitsha” Mzonke Fana.

My program also includes heavy dieting consisting of high protein, no carbs, and superfoods which help me through my events. My training is basically 80% diet and 20% in the gym.

Crush: Boxing can be a gruelling sport, how long does it usually take you to recover after a fight?

David Rajuili: After a fight, depending on the number of rounds we fight, I usually take off between a week or two, but other times I’m back in the gym as early as the following Monday.

Crush: Technique and fitness are obviously crucial to this sport, what other things are important in becoming a better boxer?

David Rajuili: Running is definitely the most important part of boxing hence having to do 10-15kms a day and lots of hill sprints during our training camp. Running obviously gives boxers the stamina that they need to get through multiple rounds. Mental preparation is another key factor in making me a better boxer. To mentally prepare for fights, I read a bit of the bible, watch some boxing fights and listen to classical music which calms me down while I prep for the fight.

Crush: Is there a way to anticipate your opponent’s next move? Are you constantly thinking about this in the ring, or is it more important for you to focus on what your next move is?

David Rajuili: During my training camp, I sit down with my team and we watch videos of my opponent. We focus on his strengths and weaknesses and use this information in strategising my game plan. When I’m in the ring, I tend to focus more on trying to execute all the training I’ve done in my training camp. Also, often when you step into the ring it lands up being completely different from what you anticipated or how you trained, so you need to adjust accordingly based on your instincts and make the fight your own fight.

Crush: Who has been your toughest opponent?

David Rajuili: My toughest opponent to date was former South African jnr. Lightweight champion Jasper Seroka for the South African Jnr. lightweight title.  At the time, I only had 6 fights behind my name and he had 45 of which he had only lost 3. He was also top 50 in the world and far more of an experienced fighter than I was at the time. I lost the fight, but I learned more from that fight than I had ever learned before so in a sense, I still won!

Then I fought Lunga Stimela for the ABU (African Boxing Union). He was a very tough fight and is one of the top rated fighters in Africa at the moment – he was also awarded Prospect of the Year in 2017.

He’s known as the ‘Pressure Cooker’ and we are both come-forward fighters so it was a tough match. Who knows, maybe Lunga and I will step into the ring together again soon.

Crush: What’s been the toughest point in your boxing career?

David Rajuili: Losing my WBF all Africa title. I won my first title in 2016 in Slovenia and thereafter went up a division. I had to defend my title against Jonas Segu in September this year and I lost. I felt like I had done enough to win that fight but unfortunately, the judges didn’t see that I did so I needed to go back to the drawing board.

Segu and I will fight again next year in February for my title again and I’ll make sure that I win it this time.

Crush: Do you have a sporting hero that you look up to or who has influenced you in some way?

David Rajuili: Yes, as I mentioned in my childhood story of how I decided I wanted to be a boxer, Brian Mitchell definitely influenced me the most.

Crush: Do you have a boxing nickname?

David Rajuili: The Dangerous Darkie.

Crush: What are you doing in your spare time when you aren’t knocking out your opponents?

David Rajuili: (Laughs) Well, I haven’t really knocked down any of my opponents but in my spare time I love to give back to the community, I love fishing and watching movies and just being the best I can be in the moment.

Crush: What advice would you give to young/aspiring boxers wanting to follow a similar path to you?

David Rajuili: I would say never give up. Boxing is a really tough sport but you need to follow your dreams live in that ambition and just keep pushing, the world is your oyster. Work hard and train hard because hard work always pays off. Always be in the gym and working to your best, and dream for the biggest because anything is possible in the world of boxing.

Don’t let anybody tell you can or can’t be a champion – implement hard work and dedication and you can become the best boxer that the world has ever seen.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

If you won a million Rand what would be the first thing you’d buy?  An Orphanage.

Your biggest fear? God. And admin!

Cats or dogs? Cats and dogs, ginger cats and Dobermans.

If you could visit anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? Amsterdam – Holland.

What is your favourite cheat meal? All types of junk food.

danedwardsphotography.com

Summer is finally here and that means sand and surf for all us that are lucky enough to live on the coast. For those of you inland, pools are ideal for a seasonal splash. It’s time to get outdoors and replenish the Vitamin D that we didn’t get enough of in winter. In anything we do, accidents are inevitable, and it’s always a good idea to brush up on how to treat any accident that may occur. Here are a few basic first aid tips to help out with your summer accidental mishaps and knowledge on when to get to a doctor.

Stings (Bees, Wasps and Hornets)

Summer has broken; bees are buzzing around to get pollen and stings can happen. Before you even get to the sting stage, remember that bee numbers are under threat, so do anything you can to avoid being stung in the first place, as the bee will die once it has stung you. Bees are critical to pollination and food production so take care to avoid a situation which may end in the death of a bee (and please don’t kill them!).

Here’s what to do if you just happen to get stung:

Stay Calm: Although bees can only sting once, wasps and hornets can sting repeatedly.  If you get stung, calmly walk away from the area to avoid more attacks.

Remove the Stinger: If the stinger remains in your skin, remove it by scraping it with gauze or your fingernail. NB: Try to avoid using tweezers to remove a stinger as squeezing it can cause more venom to be released into your skin.

Wash the sting area with soap and water.

Apply a cold pack to reduce swelling: NB If swelling moves to other parts of the body, i.e. neck or face, get to the emergency room immediately, as you might be experiencing an allergic reaction. Other symptoms include difficulty breathing, nausea, hives, or dizziness.

Pain Meds: Consider taking over the counter pain medication, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen as stings be painful!

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Sunburn

We all love soaking up some sun and brushing off the chill left behind by winter. It is extremely important to use sunblock when out in the sun. If you don’t, sunburn is what you can expect to deal with. Here are a few tips on how to care for your sunburn.

Take frequent cold showers or baths to cool the skin (really short ones if you’re in the Western Cape!) When you get out of the bath or shower, pat yourself dry, but allow a little bit of water to remain.

Apply moisturiser or specially formulated aftersun cream, specifically something that contains Aloe Vera or a similar ingredient that soothes sunburnt skin.

Consider taking painkillers if you’re really struggling – ibuprofen or aspirin can help with the reduction of discomfort, swelling redness.

Drink plenty of water for hydration – sunburnt skin draws fluid to the skin’s surface from the rest of the body.

If the skin starts to blister, don’t pop the blisters – if these appear it means you have a second-degree sunburn. Allow the blisters to heal; they are your body’s natural protection against infection.

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Stepping on a Blue Bottle or a Jellyfish Sting

If someone suggests applying vinegar or peeing on you to help with a blue bottle sting, kindly refuse. Vinegar and urine have been proven to be more damage than good for a blue bottle sting. So skip the vinegar and get into some hot water! No, it really does work, just follow the steps below.

Wash the tentacles off the body with seawater and pick any remaining tentacles with your fingers (don’t worry your fingertips have some of the toughest skin on your body, they can handle it!).

The best course of action would be to submerge the sting in the hottest water you can tolerate. If hot water isn’t handy immediately apply an ice pack. NEVER apply bleach, urine, vinegar or alcohol, as they are ineffective, as is using a towel to rub the skin, or using sand.

For jellyfish stings you should take a slightly different approach; here you can apply vinegar, but very briefly.

Get out of the water. Rinse area in vinegar for more than 30 seconds.

Remove tentacles with tweezers. (DO NOT use bare hands)

Soak the area in hot water, a shower can also be taken. Note the water needs to be hot, not scalding. Stay in the water for 20-45 minutes.

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CPR in Case of Drowning

It’s always handy to know how to properly do CPR when around large bodies of water like the ocean or even a swimming pool – you could just save a life. The acronym CAB, which stands for circulation, airway and breathing, is used when CPR is about to be performed to help people remember the order.

The following is done:

•      Hard chest compressions.
•      Tilting the head back to clear the airway.
•      Breathing, giving mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths.

For more info on where you can receive proper CPR training visit Action Training

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Mosquito Bites, Ticks and Other Bug Bites

With temperatures rising, mosquitos are out with a vengeance. To help prevent getting bitten her are a few natural remedies that act as a natural repellent:

•      Cinnamon oil
•      Citronella oil
•      Eucalyptus oil
•      Castor oil
•      Rosemary oil
•      Citron grass oil
•      Cedar oil
•      Oil of cloves
•      Geranium oil
•      Peppermint oil

If you happen to get bitten here are a few tips to help:

•      Wash the area with soap and water
•      Cold compress or ice may help with the swelling
•      Apply calamine lotion that is readily available over the counter at your local pharmacy.

Ticks

Ticks are another pesky bug that makes its presence known in summer, particularly if you love hiking or any outdoor activity. To take care of a tick bite:

Carefully remove the tick immediately. Use a set of tweezers to grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible. Gently pull the tick out using a steady, slow upwards motion. Avoid twisting or squeezing the tick.

DO NOT handle the tick with bare hands (experts do not recommend using a burning match, nail polish or petroleum jelly to remove ticks.) If possible seal the tick in a container. Put the container in the freezer. Your GP may want to see the tick if you develop new symptoms.

Wash your hands and the bite site. Use warm water and soap, rubbing alcohol, or an iodine scrub.

When should you seek emergency care?

If you develop these symptoms seek emergency medical assistance immediately:

•      A severe headache
•      Difficulty breathing
•      Paralysis
•      Heart palpitations

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Heat Illnesses

Heat illness is an encompassing term for several conditions when exposed to high temperatures for a prolonged period of time.

Heat-related illnesses include:

Heat Stroke: a life-threatening condition in which the body temperature may rise above 41°C in minutes. Symptoms include a strong rapid pulse, dizziness, dry skin, nausea and confusion. Seek medical help right away if these symptoms appear.

Heat exhaustion: This can happen after several days of exposure to very high temperatures and not enough fluids. Symptoms include heavy sweating, rapid breathing, and a fast weak pulse. If not treated, can turn into a heat stroke. The best course of action is to get into a cool place and consume salt and mineral replacing drinks such as Powerade or Energade.

Heat cramps: muscle spasm or spasm that happens during exercise. It usually occurs in your abdomen, arms and legs. Follow the same methods if you have heat exhaustion.

Heat Rash: Skin irritation from excessive sweating. This is more common in children. To treat heat rash: Bathe or shower in cool water with a non-drying soap, then let your skin air-dry instead of towelling off. Use calamine lotion or cool compresses to calm itchy, irritated skin.

Avoid using cream and ointments that contain petroleum or mineral oil, which could block pores further.

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Splinters / Thorns

Splinters and thorns aren’t really limited to the summer season, but if you do enjoy doing some handy DIY work while it’s hot out, or maybe just a light hike in the woods or running around a park, splinters and thorns can happen. If you do end up getting one, here are a few handy tips to get those annoying little things out:

Clean the area with a mild soap and water. If it’s a small splinter and if it doesn’t hurt, allow the splinter to work its way out over a few days. For a large splinter – clean a small needle and tweezers with alcohol. If you can see the end of the splinter, grip it with the tweezers and gently pull out the entire splinter. If none of the splinter is sticking out, follow the path of the splinter with a needle. Open the skin and expose enough of the splinter to remove it with the tweezers.

If you are having trouble seeing the splinter, use stronger lighting or a magnifying glass. Clean the wound area again. Apply an antibiotic ointment and a bandage.

For thorns follow the same procedure, being careful to try and not break the thorn in the skin.

When to call your GP

Almost all splinters/thorns do not need medical assistance. However call your GP if:

•      You can’t remove the entire splinter/thorn.
•      The splinter/thorn is deep in the skin or the wound is bleeding heavily.
•      The splinter/thorn is underneath a fingernail or toenail. Your GP may need to cut a notch in the nail to remove.

These we just a few handy tips to keep you and your family safe this summer. Remember always wear sunblock when outside and drink plenty of fluids when temperatures are hot.

Enjoy your fun in the sun this summer… safely.

Holidaying away this summer? Check out these tips for travelling with kids.

Beef & Vegetable Taquitos

Serves 4 | Cook time 20 Minutes

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Taquitos

½ (80 g) large red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 green chilli
1 Tbsp (15 ml) origanum
1 tsp (5 ml) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) coriander seeds
1 tsp (5 ml) smoked paprika
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
pinch pepper
1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
400 g beef mince
600 g Findus Farmhand Mix, defrosted
1 C (200 g) white cheddar, grated
8 x 40 g soft corn tortillas
sunflower oil, for deep-frying

Guacamole

2 (500 g) large avocados, chopped
½ (80 g) large red onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp (30 ml) lime juice
2 Tbsp (30 ml) coriander, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Salsa

3 (450 g) medium tomatoes, diced
3 Tbsp (45 ml) sweet chilli sauce
1 Tbsp (15 ml) lime juice

To serve

1 C (250 ml) sour cream
2 limes, cut into wedges

WHAT TO DO

Taquitos

Combine the onion, garlic, chilli, origanum, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until fine.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the spice mixture and the meat and fry until browned – about 5 minutes.
Roughly chop the Findus Farmhand Mix in a food processor. Add the Findus Farmhand Mix to the meat and fry for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the cheese.

Heat the tortillas in a microwave at high heat for 6-8 seconds until pliable. Lay the corn tortillas out on a clean surface. Divide the filling between the tortillas and place the filling at the bottom of each tortilla. Roll the tortilla up enclosing the filling and secure the seams with a couple of toothpicks. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil for deep-frying to 180 °C. Fry the taquitos in batches until golden and crisp (2-3 minutes each). Drain on kitchen paper and remove the toothpicks.

Guacamole

Mash the avocado and stir in the remaining ingredients. Season to taste.

Salsa

Combine all of the ingredients and season to taste.

To serve

Serve the taquitos with the guacamole, salsa and sour cream, for dipping. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

TIP: The taquitos can be baked instead of fried. Brush the taquitos with oil and bake, seam-side-down, in a preheated oven at 200 °C for 15-20 minutes, until golden and crisp.

Love these Beef & Vegetable Taquitos? Check out this Spinach Smoothie.

Asian Noodle Broth with Tempura Vegetable Cakes

Serves 6 | Cook time 30 Minutes

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Broth

8 C (2 L) vegetable stock, warm
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ C (60 ml) hoisin sauce
3 Tbsp (45 ml) soy sauce
1 tsp (5 ml) tamarind paste
300 g egg noodles
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
pinch dried chilli flakes
salt and pepper

Tempura Vegetable Cakes

600 g Findus Farmhand Mix, defrosted
1 C (125 g) cake flour
½ C (40 g) cornflour
¾ tsp (3.75 ml) salt
1 C (250 ml) sparkling water, chilled
1 large egg
sunflower oil, for deep-frying

To Serve

handful mint leaves, to garnish (optional)

WHAT TO DO

Broth

Combine the stock, garlic, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and tamarind paste in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the noodles and simmer until tender (2-3 minutes). Stir in the spring onion and chilli flakes and season to taste.

Tempura Vegetable Cakes

Toss the Findus Farmhand Mix and half of the cake flour together. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining flour, cornflour and salt. Whisk the sparkling water and egg together and add to the flour mixture without over mixing. To ensure that you do not over mix, stir with a chopstick. Stir in the flour-covered vegetables.

Heat the oil for deep-frying to 180 °C.

Carefully add large tablespoonfuls of the vegetable mixture to the hot oil. A small to medium ice cream scoop with a lever works well for portioning out the tempura vegetable cakes. Fry the vegetables off in batches until golden and crisp (1-2 minutes each). Drain on kitchen paper and season lightly.

To serve

Ladle the broth with the noodles into serving bowls. Add one or two tempura vegetable cakes on top and serve the rest on the side. Garnish with a few mint leaves (optional).

TIP: Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savoury soybean-based Asian sauce and can be found in certain supermarkets and Asian supermarkets.

Love this Asian Noodle Broth with Tempura Vegetable Cakes? Check out these Beef & Vegetable Taquitos.

There’s no doubt that for us foodies, the festive season is a lot about what we’re eating. The holidays are the perfect time to try out new recipes and create things that our family and friends love to eat. Festive food has to push the boat out a bit and so to inspire you, we’ve created four fabulously festive recipes that are sure to knock the socks (or Christmas stockings) off your guests

Four Fabulously Festive Recipes

Chevin and Cream Cheese Truffles with Melba Toast

When preparing food for party guests over the holiday season there are a couple of key factors – simple dishes that are easy to prepare that can be made ahead of time are always great options. These truffles fit that bill; they’re super easy to make and can be refrigerated until ready to serve, you can then just pop them on a platter and put out to be gobbled up.

Festive season gold!

If you’re short on prep time you can serve with your favourite crackers, or if you have a little spare, you can make your own easy melba toasts. The Christmassy colours are the final tick, making these truffles festive season gold!

Recipe for Chevin and Cream Cheese Truffles with Melba Toast

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Savoury Blue Cheese Cheesecake

The cheesecake you’re used to is usually a dessert course but in this instance, it’s a great savoury dish, perfect for your festive party. A decadent combo of rich blue cheese, cream cheese and herbs makes up the filling for this beauty, it’s then baked to perfection before being loaded up with complementary toppings.

A soon-to-be party favourite!

We’ve opted for baby beets, preserved figs and caramelised onions but you can use your imagination and create the combo of your dreams. The sweetness provided by the figs and onions is the perfect balance to the rich cheesy filling, with walnuts providing crunch and microgreens for freshness. We think this cheesecake has the potential to become a party favourite.

Recipe for Savoury Blue Cheese Cheesecake

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Festive Black Forest Pavlova

Pavlova is one of the most underrated desserts out there. It’s perfect for our summery Christmas celebrations as it’s light yet rich, so a small portion of deliciousness goes a long way.

For this one, we’ve been inspired by another one of our fav desserts, a classic Black Forest Gâteau. We’ve used cherries and chocolate to create this marbled beauty and added an extra level of indulgence with malted puffs and a sprinkle of edible gold dust! Don’t fear meringue, it’s actually really easy to make and we have some really helpful tips right here.

Recipe for Black Forest Pavlova

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No Churn Mince Pie Ice Cream

Mince pies are a bit like Marmite – notoriously polarising, you either love them or hate them. We are for sure on the love-them side of the fence and we dig this festive inspired ice cream with chunks of pie inside.

A creamy ice cream chock full of festive flavour at a summery Christmas celebration is a win-win for us. The best part is that you don’t need a fancy machine to make this no-churn version and it’s just as yum as the real thing.

Recipe No-churn Mince Pie Ice Cream

Braaing over the festive season, see these amazing braai sides that will take your next gathering from good to totally awesome!

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This wholesome Millionaire’s Shortbread Tart is packing some serious flavour from all the delicious and natural ingredients. A deliciously decadent take on the original Millionaire’s shortbread with healthy and nourishing ingredients.

Millionaire’s Shortbread Tart

Serves 4-6

WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR THE PASTRY

100 g almond flour
50 g coconut flour
100 g cold butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp coconut sugar (or alternative healthy natural sweetener of your choice, such as stevia, to taste)
pinch of salt

FOR THE CARAMEL LAYER

1/2 cup pitted dates, soaked in 1 cup hot water for about 10 minutes
¼ cup coconut cream
¼ cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid
¼ cup nut butter (I use macadamia or cashew)
3 Tbsp maple syrup (or honey or rice malt syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE SALTED DARK CHOCOLATE LAYER 

¼ cup raw cacao powder
¼ cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid
¼ cup coconut cream
2 Tbsp maple syrup (or honey, or rice malt syrup)
½ tsp sea salt flakes

TO SERVE

¼ cup roughly chopped toasted pistachios
1 cup fresh raspberries
pretty edible flowers (if available)

WHAT TO DO

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Lightly grease a 20 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, or just a fluted tart dish.
2. Prepare the pastry by blitzing the ingredients together in a food processor (or mixing by hand) until it comes together in a rough ball.
3. Press the pastry into the prepared tart tin, prick a few times with a fork and bake for 15–20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove and set aside to cool.
4. While the pastry bakes, prepare the other layers. For the caramel layer, drain the soaked dates, reserving ¼ cup of the liquid. Add the dates and the remaining ingredients to a food processor and blitz until smooth (add a little of the reserved liquid to loosen further if needed – it needs to be quite thick though, otherwise it won’t set).
5. To make the chocolate layer, warm all of the ingredients except the salt together on the stovetop until the chocolate and coconut oil have just melted and the mixture is silky smooth. Be careful not to overheat or the mixture will split. Remove and set aside to cool.
6. Add the caramel filling to the cooled tart shell, and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until just set.
7. Remove the tart from the freezer, pour over the chocolate filling, sprinkle over the sea salt flakes and refrigerate again until set, or until just before serving. Garnish with the pistachios, raspberries and flowers just before serving.

If you liked this Millionaire’s Shortbread Tart, try Sarah Graham’s Milk Tart Crème Brûlée with Honey and Almond Praline.

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‘Tis the season to be jolly, and what a better way to put a smile on your face than something sweet and decadent. Sarah Graham takes two amazing desserts and combines them into one that’s bursting with a multitude of flavours. A Milk Tart Crème Brûlée with Honey and Almond Praline.

Milk Tart Crème Brûlée with Honey and Almond Praline

Serves 6-8

WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR THE CRÈME BRÛLÉE

6 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
750ml cream
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
1-star anise
1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways
Extra caster sugar, for dusting

FOR THE PRALINE

¼ cup honey
1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds

WHAT TO DO

1. Pre-heat oven to 150°C.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan until bubbles start to form (do not allow to boil), then remove from the heat, add in the caster sugar and spices and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
3. Whisk the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy, and then slowly pour in the cream, whisking continuously.
4. Pour through a sieve into 8 small ramekins. Transfer the ramekins to a deep baking tray or dish, and pour in enough warm water come halfway up the sides of the dishes.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until just set, and then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the fridge.
6. Meanwhile, for the praline: heat the honey in a small saucepan until bubbling and golden, and simmer gently for 3-4 minutes. Place the almonds on a non-stick baking tray or silicone mat, pour over the hot honey and leave to cool completely before breaking into rough shards. Store in an airtight container.
7. Just before serving, sprinkle 1 Tbsp caster sugar over each pudding and place under a hot grill until the sugar has melted and is golden.

Indulge your sweet tooth this festive season and spread the joy with this truly decadent dessert, I know we will! Want to satisfy your sweet tooth, find more dessert recipes here.

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Miele appliances have always stood for quality and the new-to-market CulinArt oven is no exception. We speak to Mercia de Jager about what makes the CulinArt oven such a great choice for chefs, foodies and amateur cooks alike. 

The Miele CulinArt oven is designed to be simple to use, delivering perfect results every time. Professional chefs have been using moisture to cook for a long time and now the CulinArt oven from Miele brings this success into the reach of the amateur cook as well.

Says Mercia de Jager from leading appliance manufacturer, Miele:

“Moisture is a buzzword amongst professional and culinary enthusiasts at home. It means cooking with the support of added moisture, producing delectable results when baking and roasting. Miele’s newly launched CulinArt oven offers a built-in feature called Moisture Plus, which makes cooking with moisture a cinch.”

MOISTURE PLUS IN THE CULINART OVENS

Each type of food has its own specific properties. Knowing them and making the most of them is the true art of cooking. Increasing the humidity in the oven optimises cooking of a variety of foods: soft and delicious smelling bread with a shiny, appetising crust; bread rolls and croissants as if they were from the local baker; succulent, tender meat with a nicely browned crust, perfect oven bakes and delicious soufflés.

In the past, the baker held the monopoly on baking perfect bread and rolls. However, with Moisture Plus – exclusive to Miele – now you can too. Mercia explains: “With Moisture Plus, the dough rises to perfection when exposed to moisture and, towards the end of the process, higher levels of humidity lend bread and rolls a crisp, glossy crust. During roasting, adding moisture at the beginning of the cycle ensures that fat is released and that the roast later becomes beautifully crisp and succulent.”

Moisture steam works by dispensing 1, 2 or 3 bursts of steam during the cooking cycle. The bursts of steam in Moisture plus mode can be entered manually, programmed for greater convenience, and it is also used in various automatic programmes.

OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES

However, it is not just the MoisturePlus functionality that makes the Miele CulinArt oven so desirable, it offers a number of other groundbreaking features as well, including:

• Automatic programmes: With electronically regulated programmes for over 100 different foods you can cook poultry, meat and fish, and bake cakes and loaves of bread to perfection every time. No need to select the operating mode, temperature or cooking duration. Even the degree of cooking and browning of meat can be defined to taste.
• Efficiency and sustainability: The Miele CulinArt oven has an A+ energy efficiency rating, which ensures that you conserve energy, save money on your utility bills, and it is a better option for the environment. Also, like all Miele appliances, it is designed, tested and manufactured to last for 20 years, which further reduces its overall carbon footprint.

CLEANING WITH EASE

With Miele ovens, the food is guaranteed to be simply delicious. However, what about the cleaning? In this regard, Mercia notes that Miele offers two different systems which make cleaning extremely simple: PerfectClean and pyrolytic cleaning:

• PerfectClean finish: Cleaning made easy – many components in your Miele oven, such as oven interior, baking trays, and so on, feature a patented surface finish with unique non- stick properties called PerfectClean. Persistent soiling is easily and quickly removed from this finish using water with a dash of washing-up liquid and a sponge.
• Pyrolytic cleaning: Pyrolytic cleaning is an automatic process in which residue in the oven is incinerated to ash at a very high temperature. The pyrolytic self-cleaning feature turns all food remains into ash, which can be easily removed from oven surfaces with a wipe of a cloth. With Pyrofit accessories, such as side runners, racks and FlexiClip fully telescopic runners, for example, all come out beautifully clean after every pyrolytic cleaning process. During the pyrolytic cleaning process, Pyrofit accessories can remain inside the oven to be cleaned at the same time as the oven cavity.

CULINART SPECIAL OFFER

As part of the launch special, running until mid-2019, when you purchase a Miele CulinArt oven, you will be given the following added accessories to the value of R4000 free:

• A perforated baking tray: The PerfectClean perforated baking tray from Miele has small perforations for optimum heat distribution and for even cooking on all sides – ideal for achieving professional results when baking bread, rolls or cakes made with yeast.
• A pair of flexi clip runners: Exclusive to Miele, fully telescopic runners allow baking trays, universal trays, racks as well as Miele Gourmet oven dishes to be safely pulled out of the oven. This allows you to baste or turn a roast outside the hot oven without the risk of getting burned. They can be used on all shelf levels.
• A Voucher inside the Oven – Which you can redeem online for a Miele medium hub dish: Comprising a deep-sided oven dish with a capacity of 5 litres, manufactured from high quality cast aluminium, which sits on runners and racks within the Miele oven. It can also be used on conventional ceramic hobs as well.

The Miele CulinArt oven retails for R29 999,00.

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Lizette Chirrime is a Mozambiquan born artist who has made powerful waves on the art scene both in Cape Town and internationally. Her style brings a fresh and inspiring approach to art using African textiles and recycled materials.

Chirrime comes from a background with no formal schooling or training in the field of arts. She began her relationship with art as a young adult using only her instinctual connection to fabrics, canvas and recycled material to create her symbolic abstract pieces. Over the years this has culminated into her developing her signature style of using found objects and textiles to create abstract pieces that reflect her past experiences, dreams and emotions guided by water and the female form.

Q&A With Lizette Chirrime

We chat to Lizette Chirrime about her relationship with art, her inspirations and her achievements.

What was your first exposure to/memory of art and design?

My first exposure to art was through my father. He was an art collector so I grew up surrounded by art, sculptures and a collection of African masks in my home.

Is this what inspired you to become an artist?

No, not really. I don’t think that I ever needed to be inspired.

I believe that I was born an artist, and when the time came for me to explore this innate talent, it just manifested naturally.

Inspiration is very broad and different for every artist; does your inspiration change depending on time and place?

Yes, my inspiration does tend to change depending on time and place, but the core essence of my inspiration always remains the same.

Working with textiles is very tactile versus perhaps painting or drawing; what connects you to this medium?

I like to feel and touch the materials that I’m working with. I also like to recycle. The first fabric I ever used was related to my childhood story.

The inspiration behind each exhibition must be very different but is there a common thread that links you as an artist to each piece and collection?

Yes, it is always different. The common thread is to communicate and inspire others as well as raise awareness for people.

How do you begin creating a new piece of art; is it a purposeful process, i.e. do you sit down with intent and get started immediately or do you wait to feel inspired or connected to something?

Yes, I need to feel inspired and connected. Or, it’s about communication.

Why do you think art is so important in an age where everything is immediate and available at the touch of a button?

In my opinion, I feel that predominantly what is immediate and available is not what makes us happy.  Art is incredibly important because it reminds us where we are coming from, what we are doing with ourselves and where we are going.

You recently partnered with Duvel’s Art of Glass project, can you tell us a little bit about this and the piece ‘Madonna’ that is depicted on the glass?

I was very happy to be the first African artist that Duvel collaborated with because it was a bridge for my work to become known internationally. Now many people can have a copy of Madonna in their homes, a piece that I created to represent the spiritual and sexual side of the human.

Art, like many creative fields, can trigger vulnerability; are you ever concerned that people won’t understand what you are putting out there?

No, not really. Art speaks differently to different people, so most of the time people relate to what they see or feel from art.

What do you hope that your art evokes in people?

I want my work to evoke the beautiful side of life and the light side of the dark. I want my work to be an inspiration to embrace your reality and be true to oneself.

What would you tell your 10-year-old self now?

To stay strong. To not be afraid of life or nature. To not believe in what people say about you and who they think you are but to instead follow your instincts and believe in yourself.

Quickfire Questions for Lizette Chirrime

Last book you read? The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Flavour of ice cream that represents your personality? Chocolate
Favourite junk food indulgence? Caribbean Onion and Balsamic floured Lays Chips
3 people you’d like to have lunch with right now (dead or alive): My mother who passed away on May 17 which happened to be on my birthday, Bob Marley and Michael Jackson
Proudest moment in life so far? I’m proud to have found my path and to be walking on it, it gives me lots of joy. It’s one of the best things I have done with my life.

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