Amphitheatre - 18 June 2011

Some friends from Gauteng came to visit me and we went hiking to the top of the Tugela Falls, the world's second highest waterfall.

We had some snow a week ago (8 June 2011) 

The route begins at the car park about 7km from the Witsieshoek Mountain Resort. The path winds up the mountain and around Sentinel Peak. We took the Beacon Buttress Gully to reach the escarpment.

On the escarpment was lots of snow and the Tugela River was frozen over.

We took the chain ladders to get down from the escarpment and started the long walk back tot the car park.

Eggnog

Living in a very cold place I decided to try out the beverages that people in cold places drink. Gluwein turned out to be a big success, so I tried my hand at eggnog.

Ingredients

• 12 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups of sugar
• 1 litre of milk
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 1 cup of cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups of rum

Wash the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. The whites can be frozen and used for baking at a later time. Beat the sugar, salt and egg yolks together until creamy.

Heat the milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and bring to the boil. Let it cool down for 1 minute or until it forms a layer on the top. Scoop it off and remove remaining spices.

Wisk the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture. Place the mixture in a double boiler and bring it to just below boiling point for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool down. Add vanilla, rum and cream to the cold mixture. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Serves 6

    * 1 1/8 cups of flour (185 grams)
    * 1 teaspoon of baking soda
    * 1/2 teaspoon of salt
    * 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (113.4 grams)
    * 6 tablespoons of light brown sugar
    * 6 tablespoons of white sugar
    * 1 teaspoon of vanilla
    * 1 large egg
    * 6 ounces of chocolate chips - semi-sweet
    * 1/2 cup of nuts - optional

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix large egg with vanilla and set aside.

In a large bowl, blend together softened butter, white sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Mix in the egg and vanilla and blend well. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts).

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Cut the cookie dough into 12 even cubes.

Roll each cube into a ball and place on a 14 by 15 inch cookie sheet.

Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 17-19 minutes or until golden.

Let the cookies rest 2-3 minutes before removing from the tray onto a cooling rack.

Makes 12 cookies.

Tony Gemignani's Pizza Dough Recipe

Tony Gemignani is a world pizza tossing champion. This is one of his recipes that makes about four 30cm pizzas.

Ingredients:

    * 1  package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
    * 1  cup  warm (32°C) water
    * 1  cup  ice-cold water
    * 1  tablespoon  sugar
    * 1  tablespoon  salt
    * 2  tablespoons  olive oil
    * About 5 1/4 to 5 1/2 cups bread flour

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, with a fork, stir yeast into warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

2. In another bowl, mix cold water, sugar, and salt until dissolved; stir in oil.

3. Place 5 1/4 cups flour in a large bowl. Stir the yeast mixture again to blend, then add to flour along with cold-water mixture. Kneed until mixture is smooth and not sticky, 14 to 16 minutes. If dough remains sticky, add 2 more tablespoons flour and beat 2 minutes longer; if still sticky, add another 1 to 2 tablespoons flour and kneed until nonsticky and smooth.

4. Scrape dough onto a lightly floured board; cut in half. With floured hands, pick up one portion of dough; pull opposite edges together toward center and pinch to seal. Repeat all around circumference to form a smooth, tight ball. Place each portion in a 1-gallon plastic bag. Squeeze out air and seal bag, allowing enough room for ball to double. Chill at least 10 hours or up to 2 days.

Boyden Observatory 22-08-2010

The Boyden Observatory just outside Bloemfontein had an open night to show the public what they do there. I attended with some friends to see for myself.

Boyden Observatory was originally founded by Harvard University and placed near Lima, Peru in 1889. In 1927, it was moved to its present location just south of the small resort of Maselspoort. In addition to its role as an astronomical research station, Boyden Observatory also has a Science Education Centre, under the auspices of the University of the Free State and with the support of its donors and the Friends of Boyden.

We watched Saturn, the surface of the moon and Alpha Centauri through the 13" telescope shown below.

13" Telescope

13" Telescope

It was almost unreal seeing the rings of Saturn with my own eyes.

Boyden also houses the 1.5 meter Boyden-UFS reflector (60" Rockefeller). It was one of the telescopes used during the 2010 Pluto Occultation. A lecture was given about this event and I found that very interesting. It makes one proud to know that your country and University is involved in research of this magnitude.

60" Rockefeller

Dome housing the 60" Rockefeller

Pelonomi Trauma

After a long and hard weekend at Pelonomi trauma unit I came to the conclusion that domestic violence and drinking games should qualify for Olympic items if we were to host the Olympic games.

Trauma/Resus Trolley: Always have a Plan-B

Mortuary - Visit Hours

South African Pancakes (Pannekoek)

An integral part of the Afrikaner culture is pannekoek. At church functions, sports days and mostly every social event pannekoek is made and sold. The Afrikaner reading of Scripture states: "For where two or three are gathered together.... there will be pannekoek." It is also regarded as rainy-day food.

Pannekoek

South African pancakes are simmular to crêpes. It's a thin pale pancake with dark spots where the bubbles were.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Cake Flower
• 10 ml Baking Powder
• 2 ml Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 cup Water
• 1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil

Method: Mix all the ingredients to make a runny batter. More water should be added (up to 1,5 cups) to thin out the mix. Spray the pan with cooking spray. Heat up the pan. Pour some batter into a tilted pan and cover the whole bottom with a thin layer. Turn the pancake once when it comes loose from the sides of the pan. The pancake can be thrown to turn it over. Stack the pancakes in a heated plate. That way they get to soften up.

Pouring the batter

Pancakes can be enjoyed with cinamon-fflavoured sugar or with mince or tuna filling.

Filled Pannekoek

Some notes on making pannekoek:

Frying pan

I use a cheap, thin based, pan for pancakes. Don't worry if the pan wobbles with time. Just keep the base smooth. Non-stick pans don't work as nice.
It  always works better if you use a gas stove. The heat is critical and it sometimes takes a few tries before you get the cooking conditions right.
Making pannekoek is a skill. Don't expect perfect pannekoek from the first try.