In These Stilettos

I’ve been playing with what to write for my 3rd Blog for a while, I have no particular “trend” or “topic” in mind, all I know is it’s going to have one of my curry recipes at the end for my friend. In honour of my dad I’ve decided to go for one of his favourites: Lamb Korma!

So Major Trends in Africa this week?

• First of all EVERYONE has been talking about the man that got bitten by a white shark  on Fish Hoek Beach yesterday in Cape Town. I have a weird fascination with all things gory, I always have. Things like Sharks and Snakes I am obsessed with. I devour any programme or bit of news on these creatures.
• One of the things I love about Cape Town is the fact they have “shark spotters”. I LOVE THIS! Instead of damaging the ecological environment they have these dedicated spotters who sit at strategic points and keep their eyes out for sharks, the second a shark is “spotted” the white flags go up and the beach is closed. So the beach was closed yesterday when this man decided to go swimming, he knew the risk. I also follow “SharkSpotters” on twitter (follow me on BecksMCWilson) and you can see on their tweets at 09h25  it read “sharks spotted in FishHoek, Beaches Closed”, then at 12h20 “Beach still closed” then at 12h35 “shark attack confirmed on Clovelly beach, Fish Hoek”. Why would you swim KNOWING there have been sharks spotted?BUT did you know this shark was literally 15 m off shore?? that is so close.. Big Ups to the Shark Spotters, they do an amazing job. I would love to go and spend a day with them!

 

• The other thing that’s made the news is Kim Kardashian! No suprises there, but she voted as most annoying celebrity! (It’s still Paris Hilton in my eyes). There’s no denying that the Kardashian’s are extremely famous, with their faces plastered almost everywhere you turn. Yet I am one of those peoples who catch the omnibuses and have the Kardashian book. Kim, in particular, has been even more so in the spotlight with her recent wedding and honeymoon. Is there such a thing as over-exposure? Perhaps, as Kim as been voted the Most Annoying Celebrity around. Out of 60,000 people polled, she earned a whopping 29% of the votes.
  Charlie Sheen was a close second with 27% of the votes. Except this poll is just another piece of publicity so it can’t hurt?

1. Kim Kardashian 29%
2. Charlie Sheen 27%
3. Snooki 21%
4. Lindsay Lohan 16%
5. Donald Trump 5%
6. Brad Womack 1%  – (WHO IS HE?)

• Rumor has it Jessica Simpson is pregnant. But who really cares?

 

• Trends popping up everywhere seem to be Celebrities releasing books! From Cook Books to “kiddie’s books” the latest to jump on this band wagon is Taye Diggs! (Bet you never would have guessed that)
• “Chocolate Me” is about fitting in and excepting those who are different. Diggs said he wants kids to know that, “You should be proud and embrace your differences regardless if its race or religion or if something is looked upon as a handicap.”

 

• 3 of Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren are also set to star in their own “reality show”. “This is about three women… breaking away from the (Mandela) legacy to find their own feet,” said director Graeme Swanepoel. I think this is what you call “riding on a wave”.

 

• The last thing I want to mention this week is “staying young”. Not in the mind-set sense (I think I’m one of those eternal 17 yr olds). But more in the “body and aging” sense. I recently started Gym again after taking a 10 month “sabbatical”. I can never understand, I LOVE gym when I go back, I love that I can feel results after 1 trip (that’s not in my head, I can seriously feel a difference J ), so why then do we stop going? It’s the million dollar question I never have the answer to. I put it down to the laziness of getting in your car and driving there.
  Its simple! Work. Out. More. – A lot of young people get plenty of exercise but if you’re one of those naturally skinny types that doesn’t need exercise you’ll want to start now.  They “say” a person should walk 4 days a week. These walks should take a person around 40 minutes to complete because this is sufficient for losing weight and increasing energy. A person should maintain a brisk speed when they walk. Getting into a daily exercise routine tends to be easier when a person exercises daily with another person. This will help them stay motivated, energized and make the workout go by a lot faster than if they were doing it all alone. This year both gym “spurts” I’ve had a gym “buddy”. Yoga sessions were the best with my friend as together we would walk out in fits of laughter in the way the instructor spoke in her “soft” “sexual” voice… you are the light, and the light is you”

 

• OH BY THE WAY! Good Food and Wine Show was AMAZING, so glad I went! Came back a little bit “broke-r” than I intended on being  but I did come back with some very cool tools. I bought a potato-miller! Those Food puree thingys they used on Masterchef to make super fine mashed potato (amongst other things). A super cool Jamie Oliver Knife (I have a thing for good knives), a pan, and a very cool cupcake “Core-r”. See pictures below:

 

 

Recipe of the week

Kormas are typically made by marinating the main ingredient in yogurt and spices like ginger and garlic. It is then cooked in its own juices and a gravy made of onions, lots of tomatoes, green chillies and whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cumin, etc 1/4 cup (60g) ghee 3 brown onions, coarsely chopped 1 tsp ground turmeric 4 green cardamom pods, crushed 1 cinnamon stick 8 black peppercorns, crushed 6 whole cloves 1 tsp cumin seeds (or powder, i sometimes prefer powder) 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tbs finely grated fresh ginger 2 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp chilli powder 1 tbs smoked paprika 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped 1kg lamb shoulder, cut into 3cm pieces 2 cups (500ml) water 1 cup (250g) natural yoghurt Toasted flaked almonds, to serve ( I add a about a handful of diced ones to the dish as well) Naan bread, to serve Steamed basmati rice, to serve Heat the ghee in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until lightly golden. Add the turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves, cumin, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, chilli and paprika and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are pulpy. Add the lamb, water and yoghurt and bring to a simmer. I then add the diced almonds. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until lamb is very tender and sauce thickens slightly. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon lamb in bowl and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Serve with naan bread and steamed rice.

 Fare thee well friends, if there are any suggestions or you want any recipes. Until then one step closer to living your dreams ……xx