RECIPES

This is a  compilation of Recipes that I have picked up over the years.  I keep adding to it as I find them and try them out. 

Apple pudding

Apple Pudding
6 or 8 Granny Smith Apples.  Peeled and cubed.
1 or 2 table spoons brown sugar
1 or 2 table spoons butter
a generous sprinkle of Cinnamon
Boil the apples for a minute or two
Place all the ingredients into your pie dish and bake at 180 for 5 to 10 minutes
Serve as is or with Custard; cream or Ice Cream.

Broccoli and Spinach Soup

1 x Broccoli
1 x Spinach
1 x Onion
Garlic
2 x veg stock in 1 x Lit boiling water
1 x cup cream
Grated Cheddar
Spices.

Chop everything and boil.
Liquidese and add cheese and cream

Pineapple Pie

PINEAPPLE PIE -- QUICK AND EASY. 

 Pineapple pie result.  You may decide to put down a base of crushed tennis biscuits as it is a little sloppy when dishing.

Recipe -- Mix pineapple jelly with a cup of boiling water.  Add the condensed milk and pineapple crush.   Pour into your pie dish and leave in the fridge for two hours to set.

Pancakes..
2 x Eggs
4 x t spoon sugar
1 x tablespoon butter melted
250ml cake flour
2 x T Spoon baking powder
1/4 T spoon salt
125ml milk
1 x T spoon Vanilla extract

beat eggs; melted butter and sugar
sift flour; baking powder and salt -- add to the eggs mix
Mix in the milk
Pour spoonfuls onto greased pan and turn when bubbles form.

Jacqui's Scones
Three cups SR Flour
One cup cream
One cup lemonade (Sprite / Schweps)
Should make 9 to 12 small scones
Bake at 200 for 10 to 15 minutes.


Tuna Tarts by Elmarie Botha. 
Two tins 175g Tuna -- Drained.
125ml cream
1/4 onion and three small gherkins chopped
3 x  eggs.
Mix everything
Add Salt / Pepper / Parsley.
Grease your Muffin Pan and pour in equal portions
Bake at 180 for about 20 minutes.
Make as many as you like and freeze the extras.

Mushroom Soup by Megan Holden
4 punnets mushrooms 🍄
2 onions 🧅
Garlic 🧄
2 tubs of cream
2 cups milk 🥛
Ina Parmans vegetable powder

Chop everything
Brown onions 🧅
Bring to the boil

Salt and pepper to taste

Liquidize or use a Bamix

Sweet Corn Bread on Facebook

Fried Ice Cream in white bread.   I saw this on Facebook so tried it out during our Lockdown on 14th April 2020.  Take a slice of white bread.  Put a dolop of Ice Cream on it.  Cover it with another slice of white bread.  Take a cup and cut off the crusts and so making an ice cream pie.  Close the edges with your fingers.  Deep fry in hot oil.  Sprinkle castor sugar.  Looks great but the bread was all horrible and oily.  So I will not do this again.

RUSKS BY PAT March 2020 during Conavirus

1kg Self Raising flour

500ml Buttermilk

3 cups Bran flakes or wheatbix

1 cup Sugar

1 cup raisins

10mil baking powder

5ml salt

15mil oil

250 mil stork marge to bake

4 eggs

Melt the marge and the oil and the sugar until sugar is dissolved.   Allow time to cool

Beat the Eggs and Buttermilk

Mix balance of the dry ingredients.

Mix all wet and dry ingredients

Bake for 35min at 180….  Cut into Rusks.  Allow to cool.  Separate .  Then dry out the rusks at a low heat. 

.

Bread by Jacqui Zivor during Corona virus lockdown -- April 2020

650 ml warm water (from tap)
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar.
Mix it up and leave for a few minutes
Add 1kg of flour
Mix with a fork and then knead for a couple of minutes
Back in the bowl and cover with a tea cloth for an hour and a half. It will double in size.
Then knead again, separate to 2 and shape them. Leave for another half hour to rise again.
Then bake in oven at 180 for about 20 minutes.

I added the herbs and cheese after separating..then just kneaded it in





Sunday Times Fudge Recipe: 14.06.2009.
500ml Sugar
75Ml Water
60g Butter
25ml golden syrup
397 can of condensed milk
5ml vanilla essence
Combine the Sugar and water in a Heavy Based pan and heat over a low heat.
Add the Butter and Syrup and stir until the butter has melted.
Stir in the condensed milk and bring to the boil.
Boil slowly for about 25 minutes stirring all the time until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage.
Remove from the stove and add the vanilla and beat the mixture well until it thickens.
Pour the fudge into a 25 X 30cm sprayed with a non stick cooking spray.
Leave to cool
Cut into wedges.

Chocolate Rice Krispies Treat
60g Butter
40 Marshmellows
30ml cocoa powder
5ml vanilla essence
6 cups of rice krispies.

Melt the butter and marshmellows over a low heat stirring until melted.
Stir inthe cocoa powder and vanilla essence.
Reove from the stove and add the Rice Krispies.
Stir well until coated with the marshmellow mix.
Pour into a 25X30cm dish and press down.
Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Julia Braatvedt's choc chip biscuits.

* 300 ml Cape Flour
* 1 Mil bicarb
* 2 mil salt
* 125grams of butter
* 50 ml firmly packed brown sugar
* 125 mil white sugar
* 1 X Egg beaten
* 5ml vanilla
* 100 mil cooking choc chopped


1. Mix flour, salt and Bicarb
2. Cream the butter and sugars until light & fluffy
3. Add Egg and Vanilla
4. Beat well
5. Stir in the dry ingredients and chopped chocolate.
6. Drop tea spoons onto the greased baking tray
7. leave room for spreading
8. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 Degrees
9. Cool....Makes about 30 biscuits.



Cruchies 
Mix together
Two cups oats, One cup sugar, one cup flour and one cup coconut

250g (half a small block) of BAKE margarine, melted together
two table spoons of syrup and put in one tea spoon of Bicarb when it is nearly melted.

Mix into the dry ingredients and press the mixture firmly into a glass baking tray.

Bake at 140 Degrees for about 45 minutes.

Take it out and while it is still fairly warm cut into biscuit size and then leave to cool.
5 X 8 or 5X 9 = 40 to 45 biscuits.




RUSKS RECIPE. ZOE GIDDY PASSED ON TO ENA GIDDY JANUARY 2009.
RUSK RECIPE January 2009.
This Recipe was originally passed to Ena Giddy by her sister in law; Zoe Giddy who is the wife of David Giddy. David is Allan Giddy’s younger Brother. David, Zoe and their children; Hugh, Jonathan and Allison all live in Australia. Ena has been making these rusks for many years and it is one of my real treats in the morning. I was worried that if I did not secure the recipe that it may be lost to our family. So on the way to Wildcliff on 12th January 2009 I stopped at Ena in Plett. Ron Pask was with me and we had a cup of tea and Ena gave me this recipe and a box of Rusks to take with me.

Ena Rusks
1 X Kilogram self Raising Flour
300g Bran Flakes OR 4 x Wheetbix.
I X Cup Raisins / seeds
1 X Tea spoon Baking powder
2 X Tea Spoon Salt

Melt 500Grams of Butter
Mix in two cups of sugar.

Beat two eggs and 500 mil Buttermilk
Add to the Butter mix into the flour Mixture

Bake at 180 degrees Centigrade for 45 minutes.
Cool and Cut into rusks

Dry in oven until crisp:
Be careful as you don’t want wet rusks nor do you want to burn them.

MARK LEACH FUDGE RECIPE
Ingredients:

500g Fine granulated sugar (Castor sugar in South Africa would work great)
180g of butter (not margarine)
1 Tin 375ml Condensed milk (whole milk works best - not the skimmed or calorie reduced - use the good stuff)

For the Microwave - Use a big bowl, its going to boil a lot and get very hot
Use a baking tray and grease with some butter or Spray and Cook

Method:

- Mix the butter and sugar, heat in the microwave until the butter is melted.
- Add the tin of condensed milk, stir it in, don't beat it otherwise you will get air bubbles that are just a nuisance later.
- Heat on high for 5 minutes, take it out and give it a good stir
- Heat again until you start to see a caramel colour in the center of the mixture, take it out and give it a good stir, you will also notice that the mixture is not bubbling as much and has boiled down (approximately 5min depending on your microwave). Don't wait too long, you can always cook it a little more if you want it more dark. If you are happy with the colour, pour it into the baking tray.
- Let it set for 5 - 10 minutes and then using a sharp thin knife, cut it into blocks.
- when completely cooled, break it into the block and eat (don't put it into the fridge)

And that's it - very simple.

Kind regards

Ingrid Du Toit Gingerbeer Recipe

4.5 Litres of Tepid Water.
1 KG Sugar
One Sachet Yeast
Two Sachets Tartaric acid
One bottle Jamaika Ginger
Tow or three raisins for each bottle.

Mix all the ingredients in a large container.
Pour into bottles (Grolsch Beer bottles are ideal)
Close tightly.
Can be consumed within 24 hours.


COOKIES 
2 (500 ml) cups butter
680 g chocolate chips
4 (1000 ml) cups flour
2 (500 ml) cups brown sugar
2 tsp. (10 ml) Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
2 (500 ml) cups sugar
500 g Grated Cadbury chocolate
5 (1250 ml) cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla
3 cups (375 ml) chopped nuts (optional)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the
butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,
oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Add chocolate
chips, grated Chocolate and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches
apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 180 C.

The above quantities make 112 cookies. Enjoy!

Tea Time Scones
1 x cup plain flour
1/2 x cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter chilled and chopped
1/8 cup caster sugar
1 & 1/2 x tea spoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 x egg lightly beaten

Instructions

• Pre Heat the oven to 220 degrees
• Sift flour; salt and baking powder into a cold bowl
• Rub in cold butter until it forms breadcrumbs
• Mix in the sugar
• Make a well in the middle and mix in the buttermilk using a knife
• Bring the dough into a ball and place on a floured surface
• Cut the scones with a floured cutter to desired size
• Place onto a lined, lightly floured baking tray
• Brush with the beaten egg
• Bake for 12 minutes or until risen and golden
• Allow to cool on  rack and serve. 

BUTTERMILK SCONES
560grams cake flour
30ml baking powder
5ml salt
250g softened butter
3 eggs
200ml buttermilk

Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
Rub in the butter to make balls.
Beat the eggs and Buttermilk.
Add to the flour mix.
Place onto floured surface and make into 2cm thick.
Cut into circles, place on greased pan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 140
16.08.2009.

South African Pancakes (Flapjacks)

Pancakes.  Flapjacks.
2 x Eggs
4 x teaspoons Sugar
1 x table spoon butter melted
250ml x cake flour
2 x teaspoons baking powder
1/4 x teaspoon salt
125ml x  milk
1 x teaspoon vanilla essence.

Instructions

• Beat the Eggs gradually adding the Sugar and melted butter
• Sift together the flour; baking powder and salt. Addo to the egg mixture. 
• Slowly add in the milk to make a smooth thick batter
• Place spoonful of the batter onto a hot non stick greased pan.
• Once bubbles start to appear then flip the pancakes. 
• Serve with just about anything. 

.

RECIPES

This is a  compilation of Recipes that I have picked up over the years.  I keep adding to it as I find them and try them out. 

Apple pudding

Apple Pudding
6 or 8 Granny Smith Apples.  Peeled and cubed.
1 or 2 table spoons brown sugar
1 or 2 table spoons butter
a generous sprinkle of Cinnamon
Boil the apples for a minute or two
Place all the ingredients into your pie dish and bake at 180 for 5 to 10 minutes
Serve as is or with Custard; cream or Ice Cream.

Broccoli and Spinach Soup

1 x Broccoli
1 x Spinach
1 x Onion
Garlic
2 x veg stock in 1 x Lit boiling water
1 x cup cream
Grated Cheddar
Spices.

Chop everything and boil.
Liquidese and add cheese and cream

Pineapple Pie

PINEAPPLE PIE -- QUICK AND EASY. 

 Pineapple pie result.  You may decide to put down a base of crushed tennis biscuits as it is a little sloppy when dishing.

Recipe -- Mix pineapple jelly with a cup of boiling water.  Add the condensed milk and pineapple crush.   Pour into your pie dish and leave in the fridge for two hours to set.

Pancakes..
2 x Eggs
4 x t spoon sugar
1 x tablespoon butter melted
250ml cake flour
2 x T Spoon baking powder
1/4 T spoon salt
125ml milk
1 x T spoon Vanilla extract

beat eggs; melted butter and sugar
sift flour; baking powder and salt -- add to the eggs mix
Mix in the milk
Pour spoonfuls onto greased pan and turn when bubbles form.

Jacqui's Scones
Three cups SR Flour
One cup cream
One cup lemonade (Sprite / Schweps)
Should make 9 to 12 small scones
Bake at 200 for 10 to 15 minutes.


Tuna Tarts by Elmarie Botha. 
Two tins 175g Tuna -- Drained.
125ml cream
1/4 onion and three small gherkins chopped
3 x  eggs.
Mix everything
Add Salt / Pepper / Parsley.
Grease your Muffin Pan and pour in equal portions
Bake at 180 for about 20 minutes.
Make as many as you like and freeze the extras.

Mushroom Soup by Megan Holden
Here's my mushroom 🍄 soup

4 punnets mushrooms 🍄
2 onions 🧅
Garlic 🧄
2 tubs of cream
2 cups milk 🥛
Ina Parmans vegetable powder

Chop everything
Brown onions 🧅
Bring to the boil

Salt and pepper to taste

Liquidize or use a Bamix


And voila

Sweet Corn Bread on Facebook

Fried Ice Cream in white bread.   I saw this on Facebook so tried it out during our Lockdown on 14th April 2020.  Take a slice of white bread.  Put a dolop of Ice Cream on it.  Cover it with another slice of white bread.  Take a cup and cut off the crusts and so making an ice cream pie.  Close the edges with your fingers.  Deep fry in hot oil.  Sprinkle castor sugar.  Looks great but the bread was all horrible and oily.  So I will not do this again.

RUSKS BY PAT March 2020 during Conavirus

1kg Self Raising flour

500ml Buttermilk

3 cups Bran flakes or wheatbix

1 cup Sugar

1 cup raisins

10mil baking powder

5ml salt

15mil oil

250 mil stork marge to bake

4 eggs

Melt the marge and the oil and the sugar until sugar is dissolved.   Allow time to cool

Beat the Eggs and Buttermilk

Mix balance of the dry ingredients.

Mix all wet and dry ingredients

Bake for 35min at 180….  Cut into Rusks.  Allow to cool.  Separate .  Then dry out the rusks at a low heat. 

.

Bread by Jacqui Zivor during Corona virus lockdown -- April 2020

650 ml warm water (from tap)
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar.
Mix it up and leave for a few minutes
Add 1kg of flour
Mix with a fork and then knead for a couple of minutes
Back in the bowl and cover with a tea cloth for an hour and a half. It will double in size.
Then knead again, separate to 2 and shape them. Leave for another half hour to rise again.
Then bake in oven at 180 for about 20 minutes.

I added the herbs and cheese after separating..then just kneaded it in





Sunday Times Fudge Recipe: 14.06.2009.
500ml Sugar
75Ml Water
60g Butter
25ml golden syrup
397 can of condensed milk
5ml vanilla essence
Combine the Sugar and water in a Heavy Based pan and heat over a low heat.
Add the Butter and Syrup and stir until the butter has melted.
Stir in the condensed milk and bring to the boil.
Boil slowly for about 25 minutes stirring all the time until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage.
Remove from the stove and add the vanilla and beat the mixture well until it thickens.
Pour the fudge into a 25 X 30cm sprayed with a non stick cooking spray.
Leave to cool
Cut into wedges.

Chocolate Rice Krispies Treat
60g Butter
40 Marshmellows
30ml cocoa powder
5ml vanilla essence
6 cups of rice krispies.

Melt the butter and marshmellows over a low heat stirring until melted.
Stir inthe cocoa powder and vanilla essence.
Reove from the stove and add the Rice Krispies.
Stir well until coated with the marshmellow mix.
Pour into a 25X30cm dish and press down.
Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Julia Braatvedt's choc chip biscuits.

* 300 ml Cape Flour
* 1 Mil bicarb
* 2 mil salt
* 125grams of butter
* 50 ml firmly packed brown sugar
* 125 mil white sugar
* 1 X Egg beaten
* 5ml vanilla
* 100 mil cooking choc chopped


1. Mix flour, salt and Bicarb
2. Cream the butter and sugars until light & fluffy
3. Add Egg and Vanilla
4. Beat well
5. Stir in the dry ingredients and chopped chocolate.
6. Drop tea spoons onto the greased baking tray
7. leave room for spreading
8. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 Degrees
9. Cool....Makes about 30 biscuits.



And this is the Recipe for Cruchies which I gave to Julia

Mix together

Two cups oats, One cup sugar, one cup flour and one cup coconut

250g (half a small block) of BAKE margarine, melted together with two table spoons of syrup and put in one tea spoon of Bicarb when it is nearly melted.

Mix into the dry ingredients and press the mixture firmly into a glass baking tray.

Put this into an oven at about 140 Degrees for about 45 minutes.

Take it out and while it is still fairly warm cut into biscuit size and then leave to cool. Should make about 5 X 8 or 5X 9 = 40 to 45 biscuits.


RUSKS RECIPE. ZOE GIDDY PASSED ON TO ENA GIDDY JANUARY 2009.
RUSK RECIPE January 2009.
This Recipe was originally passed to Ena Giddy by her sister in law; Zoe Giddy who is the wife of David Giddy. David is Allan Giddy’s younger Brother. David, Zoe and their children; Hugh, Jonathan and Allison all live in Australia. Ena has been making these rusks for many years and it is one of my real treats in the morning. I was worried that if I did not secure the recipe that it may be lost to our family. So on the way to Wildcliff on 12th January 2009 I stopped at Ena in Plett. Ron Pask was with me and we had a cup of tea and Ena gave me this recipe and a box of Rusks to take with me.

Step One
Flour Mixture
1 X Kilogram self Raising Flour
300g Bran Flakes
I X Cup Raisins
1 X Tea spoon Baking powder
2 X Tea Spoon Salt

Step Two
Melt 500Grams of Butter
Mix in two cups of sugar.

Step Three
Beat two eggs and 500 mil Buttermilk
Add to the Butter mix into the flour Mixture

Step Four
Bake at 180 degrees Centigrade for 45 minutes.
Cool and Cut into rusks

Step Five
Dry in oven until crisp: Be careful as you don’t want wet rusks nor do you want to burn them.

MARK LEACH FUDGE RECIPE
Ingredients:

500g Fine granulated sugar (Castor sugar in South Africa would work great)
180g of butter (not margarine)
1 Tin 375ml Condensed milk (whole milk works best - not the skimmed or calorie reduced - use the good stuff)

For the Microwave - Use a big bowl, its going to boil a lot and get very hot
Use a baking tray and grease with some butter or Spray and Cook

Method:

- Mix the butter and sugar, heat in the microwave until the butter is melted.
- Add the tin of condensed milk, stir it in, don't beat it otherwise you will get air bubbles that are just a nuisance later.
- Heat on high for 5 minutes, take it out and give it a good stir
- Heat again until you start to see a caramel colour in the center of the mixture, take it out and give it a good stir, you will also notice that the mixture is not bubbling as much and has boiled down (approximately 5min depending on your microwave). Don't wait too long, you can always cook it a little more if you want it more dark. If you are happy with the colour, pour it into the baking tray.
- Let it set for 5 - 10 minutes and then using a sharp thin knife, cut it into blocks.
- when completely cooled, break it into the block and eat (don't put it into the fridge)

And that's it - very simple.

Kind regards

Ingrid Du Toit Gingerbeer Recipe

4.5 Litres of Tepid Water.
1 KG Sugar
One Sachet Yeast
Two Sachets Tartaric acid
One bottle Jamaika Ginger
Tow or three raisins for each bottle.

Mix all the ingredients in a large container.
Pour into bottles (Grolsch Beer bottles are ideal)
Close tightly.
Can be consumed within 24 hours.


COOKIES 
2 (500 ml) cups butter
680 g chocolate chips
4 (1000 ml) cups flour
2 (500 ml) cups brown sugar
2 tsp. (10 ml) Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
2 (500 ml) cups sugar
500 g Grated Cadbury chocolate
5 (1250 ml) cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla
3 cups (375 ml) chopped nuts (optional)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the
butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,
oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Add chocolate
chips, grated Chocolate and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches
apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 180 C.

The above quantities make 112 cookies. Enjoy!

Tea Time Scones
1 x cup plain flour
1/2 x cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter chilled and chopped
1/8 cup caster sugar
1 & 1/2 x tea spoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 x egg lightly beaten

Instructions

• Pre Heat the oven to 220 degrees
• Sift flour; salt and baking powder into a cold bowl
• Rub in cold butter until it forms breadcrumbs
• Mix in the sugar
• Make a well in the middle and mix in the buttermilk using a knife
• Bring the dough into a ball and place on a floured surface
• Cut the scones with a floured cutter to desired size
• Place onto a lined, lightly floured baking tray
• Brush with the beaten egg
• Bake for 12 minutes or until risen and golden
• Allow to cool on  rack and serve. 

BUTTERMILK SCONES
560grams cake flour
30ml baking powder
5ml salt
250g softened butter
3 eggs
200ml buttermilk

Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
Rub in the butter to make balls.
Beat the eggs and Buttermilk.
Add to the flour mix.
Place onto floured surface and make into 2cm thick.
Cut into circles, place on greased pan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 140
16.08.2009.

South African Pancakes (Flapjacks)

Pancakes.  Flapjacks.
2 x Eggs
4 x teaspoons Sugar
1 x table spoon butter melted
250ml x cake flour
2 x teaspoons baking powder
1/4 x teaspoon salt
125ml x  milk
1 x teaspoon vanilla essence.

Instructions

• Beat the Eggs gradually adding the Sugar and melted butter
• Sift together the flour; baking powder and salt. Addo to the egg mixture. 
• Slowly add in the milk to make a smooth thick batter
• Place spoonful of the batter onto a hot non stick greased pan.
• Once bubbles start to appear then flip the pancakes. 
• Serve with just about anything. 

.

Johannesburg 22 January 2009. Julia Braatvedt Choc Chip Biscuits.

The organisation that I work for is known as JDG. This is the Joshua Doore Group. Morkels is a division of this organisation and I started with Morkels in June 1984 as a manager of the PE Main Street (now Govan Mbeki Avenue) shop. This was a new store opening at the time. I worked as manager of this shop for around 3 years and then moved to the North End shop where I was the manager also for about 3 years. The then Regional Manager, Cliff May, resigned and I was given the task of RM for the Garden Route area.


This meant the shops in Oudtshoorn, George, PE and Uitenhage. This was a great time for me but then Tony Ashton who was running the East London shops resigned and I had this region added to mine. I think that I botched up some of my decisions and Arthur Flemix (my GM at the time) changed my job title to Regional Credit Manager and Johan Claassen become the RM in my place. Botha DuPlessis was the Regional Personnel manager but under Johan this did not go well and he resigned and took up a contract position with both the University and the CCMA. For a short while I was appointed to the postion of PM but when to opportunity came I moved back to Retail Regional. Justin Strydom became our PM. And then after Justin resigned some years later to join the RMI (Retail Motor Industry) as a HR consultant we had Lynne Vogel join as PM. Our division became part of the Western Division under Johan Sadie and I moved back to RM when Johan Claassen moved to JHB for a promotion.


Again I had a bit of a tough time operating under a elderly man (Norman Daniels) but when he left I did exceptionally well working for Joahn Sadie. For a short while this changed and I worked under Glen Phillips but when JDG took over Morkels he resigned to open a Bottle Store in Port Shepstone. And I moved back to work under Johan Sadie. In 2007 JDG decided to split finance from Retail and I became the Regional Finance Manager once more. I had to do a lot more travel as the Border Transkei was once more part of my region. Around this time Johan Sadie took a Regional Position and Martin Labuschane became my GM with Belinda Deyzel operating as Divisional Credit Manager and my immediate superior. Early in 2008 Joahn Sadie resigned and opened a Pie Shop. we saw him in the middle of the year when we had a super with him and his wife Poppie. He was having all kinds of trouble in the business. Early in 2009 Johan became extemely depressed and was booked into hospital for sleep therapy and I hear that they will sell of fhte pie business.


My position as Regional Finance lasted for a year from September 2007 to October 2008. JDG decided to completely split Retail and Finance and I applied for the position of GM in the Eastern Cape. I was interviewed by Corrie Neven who would become my new senior.


In the position of GM Finance I was asked to attend a meeting in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 January 2009.


Nicci and Stefan were also in Joahnnesburg as they had launched the Little Pink Book (Gauteng) on Tuesday 21st January and had a big function at the Indaba conference hotel. Susanne Braatvedt went to see what was going on and reported to me that it looked like a very fancy party. Some important Celebrity people were there including TV people, the top make up artist in SA & the "You" magazine. Nicci and Stefan had stayed with Keith when they were first in Joahnnesburg to set the whole function up.


Nicci has a way of attracting people as she tells me she asks people: "Would you like to become involved in the Little Pink Book" rather than asking them to sign up for advertising. She had good response and the whole function was sponsored and all they had to pay for were the flight tickets. Unfortunately while they were there they discovered that a "Friend" from Knysna / George area was trying to copy their idea by producing something similar there but without consulting them. I spoke to Nicci after she returned to Cape Town and by all accounts this was a huge success and now she has a tight deadline for the publishing of the final product.


I was also able to stay with Keith and Susanne rather than staying in an hotel. After work, Susanne picked me up from the Randburg Contact Centre and took me to their home in Bryanston where I have stayed before. I met up with their long time maid, Ellen. Nils was off at a camp in Sterkspruit. He completed his Matric at St Peters in 2008 and had enrolled at Rhodes for this year. Julia has two more years to go at St Peters and is in Grade 11 this year. Edmund has four years of school left and is currently in Grade 9. He is three years ahead of Ally who is in Grade 6 this year. Edmund was also off at a camp somewhere.


Julia had to go off to Waterpolo training. Julia loves the sport and plays for her school, for Gauteng province and even was in Trials for the South African team. The pool "Wahoo" is located at her school and is a huge commercial aquatic centre. Susanne & I dropped Julia at the pool and then after a short stop off at the Spar went home where I met their friend Claire who was also staying with them for a while. Claire had been in a car accident and in a coma as a result. while she was in a coma a curator sold off her house and left her destitute. she took then Curator to court and won but lost on appeal. Keith is assisting Claire to appeal to the Constitutional Court.


Susanne made the supper and Keith & I went to fetch Julia from her Waterpolo training. Susanne made us a delicious supper of lamb, potato, butternut and gem squash. Keith showed me his album of his climb up Mount Mera with his friend Peter Hey. It was a three week trip taking two weeks to climb up and then just four days for the (short cut) climb down. Mt Mera is within striking distance of Mt Everest which is in the background of many of the photo's.


I was reading a collection of thillers and went to bed after a coffee and choc chip biscuit that Julia made. Julia gave me this recipe as a swap for my crunchie recipe.


Julia Braatvedt's choc chip biscuits.

• 300 ml Cape Flour
• 1 Mil bicarb
• 2 mil salt
• 125grams of butter
• 50 ml firmly packed brown sugar
• 125 mil white sugar
• 1 X Egg beaten
• 5ml vanilla
• 100 mil cooking choc chopped

1. Mix flour, salt and Bicarb
2. Cream the butter and sugars until light & fluffy
3. Add Egg and Vanilla
4. Beat well
5. Stir in the dry ingredients and chopped chocolate.
6. Drop tea spoons onto the greased baking tray
7. leave room for spreading
8. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 Degrees
9. Cool....Makes about 30 biscuits.

And this is the Recipe for Cruchies which I gave to Julia

Mix together

Two cups oats, One cup sugar, one cup flour and one cup coconut

125g (half a small block) of BAKE margerine, melted together with two table spoons of syrup and put in one tea spoon of Bicarb when it is nearly melted.

Mix into the dry ingrdients and press the mic\xture firmly into a glass baking tray.

Put this into an oven at about 140 Degrees for about 45 minutes.

Take it out and while it is still fairly warm cut into biscuit size and then leave to cool. Should make about 5 X 8 or 5X 9 = 40 to 45 biscuits.

Thursday at the JDG Contact centre was a real bore. We looked at how the follow up , trace, granting of credit etc was done and hung around for the day. I tried to get an earlier flight but it looks like I will be spending a day at the airport.

This evening Claire told us about her efforts to sort out the debt that had piled up while she was trying to sort out her court case. Road Accident Fund seemed okay, Vodacom were reasonable, Netstar refunded her but Nedbank did not even grant her the time of day. I advised Claire to see the National Credit Regulator 0860 627 627 or the Ombudsman 0861 662 837 to apply for Debt Review or for Debt Counselling.

Susanne made us a delicious supper of stewed beef, rice and vegetables cooked in a special dutch sauce. Julia showed me her scrap booking that she had taken time to create showing pictures of her family and various activities since she was a baby. Keith showed me a number of pictures of his Game farm in Clarens in the Free State. He leases some of the land for cultivation to a neighbour and has Game on the farm for their own pleasure. They employ a manager to run the day to day activities.

While I was in Johannesburg, Barbara was opening her school. The first day was Wednesday 21st Jan 2009. today Barbara brings in the New Mom's and has a tea and introduces the children to the school. Benita Barton and Michelle Elfic were two moms who are also running friends. Then Thursday was the first day of school. Barbara now takes the Bigger children. One Mom arrived without confirming her booking for the year. She had not completed an application form. Barbara decided to not turn her away but this means that she has 29 children alltogether with Suzanne Gendall taking the Littlies and Barbara and Gloria with 20 children in her class.

Friday 23rd: Susanne & I dropped Julia at school and then took me to the Randburg office where we met Corne who took a small group of us to the Airport. I spent the entire day at the airport as BA refused up change my booking. I felt like Tom Hanks who acted in a movie about a man who spent a year in an airport. I alternated between coffe, reading, walking around with my bags over my shoulder, sleeping on a bench and staring out the windows at the comings and goings of airplanes.

Saturday morning I met up with Ben Carver for a run. We were joined for a short while by Adrienne, Susan, Gerald & Maryna. They all turned around at the Engen next to the beachfront spar. Ben and I continued up Walmer Boulevard, up to the airport and back via Strandfontein road. IN Admiralty Road we heard a voice behind us. It was a young lady (Martie) from Pretoria who had met Adrienne. Adrienne had suggested that she join us. So we Ran together as far as the Summies Club where we also met up with Elmarie and ran back together. As we approached Hobie beach we found two women with Champagne and muffins. It was a celebration of one of their Birthday (Caroline). we wished he the best and went off for a swim.

As we came in from the swim, Ben elected himself as guardian of the Muffins while the girls had a dip. I had to leave as I had a bit of a rush. After a shower and change I headed back to the beach for a Nippers Level Test. There were 6 U10's and 2U12s there. We took them through their theory and then Paul Lynch tested them. The two U12's really struggled with the swim. So we took both of them out for a second swim and they passed their test.

I had to spend some time in the office to try to catch up on some work. Later that afternoon Michael & I went to Kings beach where we teamed up with some parents to set out the Arena's for Sunday's Carnival.