Peppermint Crisp Ice-Cream

I spent Christmas in Australia, Rockhampton - Queensland to be exact.

Until now I thought Hell was a really hot place place deep under the earth, where evil people spend eternity burning and gnashing their teeth.

Rockhampton has a special tourist attraction for those wishing to experience the heat of hell, without being surrounded by pesky evil people and those with irritating teeth gnashing issues. It also has the added advantage of being only 20 kms from the sea and you don't have to go far (usually at least 3 rooms in your home) to find an air conditioner!

There are some strange customs in Australia. I say strange, because if your tried them in South Africa, you would be sent to hell, or at least told to pack your suitcase and make a quick start.

One of the strange things is that everyone takes off their shoes when they enter the house. It blows my mind when I think of some of the people I know walking bare foot on my floors - I still enforce the 5 second rule when I drop food. Obviously the 5 second rule would fall away pretty smartly, especially if you're as privileged as me to have 2 teenage boys in the house - using my floors.

My sister understood my dilemma and was very accommodating, as sister's are. A special new friend I made, actually kept her shoes on during my visit, as she understood that I just hate being without shoes, no matter how clean the floors are. No offense, I will wear slippers if you provide them.

Anyhow, back to being hot as hell - just prettier and with much nicer people. Rockhampton has great fishing and people really take advantage of spending time out on the water in their little boats (call tinnies). I spent the morning fishing and crabbing for mud crabs (they live in the mud, not taste like mud).

 The mud crab is Queensland's largest crab and one of five species found in the area. Unfortunately the 2 we caught (with crab pots) had to be thrown back. Only males larger than a certain size can be caught and no females may be taken out at all.

Crocodile Ribs

Like I said yesterday I got to eat some amazing food, even the crocodile ribs. But there are things in Australia which you just have to live without (unless you can get to the South African shop, which seems an institution any place more than 2 South Africans have emigrated to.) One such treat is Peppermint Crisp. How sad is that? A whole nation of people never knowing the delight of drinking milk through a Peppermint Crisp, no church bazaar with Auntie Sarie's Peppermint Crisp tart? All I can say is "Ag Shampies".

This last week in Cape Town has been pretty close to Rockhampton hell. But lucky for us we have Peppermint Crisp and an ice cream maker. So I pulled out all the cheating tricks I could find and made a really good ice cream, that I think even an Australian might like!

Peppermint Crisp Ice Cream

1lt Ready made custard
250ml Cream
10ml Mint essence ( I like the Butter mint essence)
100g of Peppermint Crisp chopped.

Mix the first 3 ingredients together and chill in the freezer for 2-4 hours.
After about 2.5 hours, whisk up the mixture, just to ensure you don't get any crystals.
Follow the instructions on your ice cream machine, or continue with the manual method of beating the freezing ice cream until it is almost frozen.
Add the chocolate before mixture is completely frozen.
Serve with a little extra Peppermint Crisp crumbled on top.

That's good mate!

Pecan Pie a Trip round the World

Well, what an adventure Homemade Heaven has had. I don't want to brag too much, but that would be impossible after the grand time I just had.

I spent the last month travelling around the world. I got to see my sister and brother - in -law and meet my new grand niece and my nephew in law in Australia. I also met some amazing people, new family and experienced life in HD full technicolour. It was a blessing to be with my family, everyone is so special to me and I wish we didn't have to wait 12 years between visits!

In Australia, I ate honey and soy marinaded crocodile ribs and caught my own dinner (thankfully not the crocodile)!

If that wasn't enough, I then moved on to Los Angeles. I dined at some of the best restaurants in the city, including Red O Restaurant, Mexican Cuisine by Rick Bayless. I have found the food I want to eat for the rest of my life - tamales.  

I tried real burgers, sweet potato fries, Red Velvet Cheesecake (from the Cheesecake Factory), King crab and hot dogs - just to name a few. And just in case you are thinking, yes I did pick up lots of weight, but every bite was worth it! 

To celebrate my return I used my authentic American pie dish, which I was so excited to find in a kitchen store. Watch this space for more American Pie recipes - Pushing up Daisies! 

This recipe is not traditional, as it does not contain corn syrup. The reason for that is that I have just finished watching this video Sugar: The Bitter Truth.  It is rather long, but will certainly change your thoughts on corn syrup and fructose forever.

Pecan Pie
1 unbaked 9″ pie shell
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoons vanilla essence
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. 
Sprinkle nuts evenly in the chilled pie shell.
In a mixing bowl, mix sugar and add flour.
Add remaining ingredients, beating very well - until all the sugar is dissolved. An electric beater is certainly a must.
Pour mixture into pie shell. 
Bake until crust is golden and filling puffy but still slightly wobbly in center, about 40-45 minutes.
The filling will solidify as it cools.
 Cool completely, at least four hours.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy. 

All the people I have to thank that made this trip possible know who you are, but a special thanks goes to David - you know how special this was to me.

Granadilla Muffins Passionfruit Pleasure

A break is as good as a holiday, except a broken heart. 

I have taken a break from blogging, it has been 10 months and I am finally back - inspired and healed.

Last year was a very hard year for me, I had many personal challenges, which I have to admit, I did not handle very well. I am very blessed to have family and friends who supported me with lots of love and patience  My dear husband has been a rock in my sea of turmoil. It is because of all this love that I am back - stronger, older and happier.

I have not been out of the food world however, my passion for culinary delights has remained as strong and motivated as ever. Not only that, but also my spirit of adventure and love for the outdoors is still very much part of who I am and what makes Homemade Heaven what it is. 

A big addition in my life are my 2 grandsons, and I look forward to introducing them and the happiness they bring to my life.

Nathan

Aran

So, let's get down to business - Granadilla Muffins. The fruit for this recipe was from my parent's garden. My Dad being an avid gardener, produces really amazing fruit and vegetables, in such large quantities, that they are completely self sufficient. They are also able to give large amounts away to lucky friends and family (like me).

In deference to my Dad's love for granadilla and the bounty of his garden, I made these sweet treats.



Granadilla Muffins.....Passion Fruit Muffins

Granadilla Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

1½ Cups Self Raising Flour
½ Cup Plain Flour
½ Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk or Buttermilk or Plain Yoghurt
¾ Light Vegetable Oil
Pulp from 6 Granadillas
Extra Coloured Sugar for Sprinkling (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Grease and or line with muffin papers a muffin tin of 80ml capacity cups.
In one bowl sift together the flours and add all the dry ingredients.
In a second bowl mix together the wet ingredients, including the fruit.
Make a well in the centre of the flour bowl and gently combine the wet and dry.
Mix only until the flour is moistened - it will be a lumpy batter. DO NOT BEAT.
Divide the mixture equally between the 12 muffin cups.
Sprinkle a little coloured sugar on each muffin (optional)
Bake for 20 -25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Allow to cool and enjoy.

Making My Way Home - Home Coming

This sure has been an epic journey. The last day of this hike was as long and difficult as it has been for me the last month to get my life back to a place where I can publish this final post.

 The final day started off early. As this was our second time on the Fish River hike, we were happy to know that we had 4-5 hours of easy walking, with few river crossings, before we could be sitting comfortablely at Ais-Ais relaxing with a cold beverage.

The first circle of Dante's Hell started after the cause way, when we didn't take the short cut. This resulted in a day of downward spiralling out of control. We walked for 10 hours, until we started to worry if we would make Ais -Ais before dark.By the time we got back to Ais-Ais, I had heat exhaustion and sun stoke.

I walked the last 10km with my feet in zip-lock bags, after falling in the river - boots and all!

We ended with our bodies bruised, scratched and broken - but we did finish! After a day of recuperation we were up and about planning our next hike.

I never thought that making my way home would be as hard as it was, but after all the changes I have had in the last 6 months, I am stronger, wiser and more grateful for the love and happiness I have in my life. I am truly blessed, and this I can say with an honesty which I've never felt before.

Sometimes in life you have to go through dark days and levels of hell, before you realize just how blessed you really are to have had someone, then lost them but never ever forgetting them.

"Consider your origin; 

you were not born to live like brutes,

but to follow virtue and knowledge.”

 Dante Alighieri

Making My Way Home - Part 5 of Canyon Diary

 I must apologise to those who are following the Canyon trail and have had to wait almost a week for part 5, I have had some technical problems - but I am happy to be back: "Faster than a speeding bullet, More powerful  than a locomotive, Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, Look, up in the sky!

So starting the fifth day, like each day is cold and slow going. But we have our morning rituals and each member moves around breaking camp, cleaning up, packing up and then moving out.

The fifth day is a long flat road, with the one short cut which we had decided to take. It's the short cut past "the German's Grave". But before we got there, the river had to be crossed, falling had to be done and everything in between. 

"My" Short-cut Hill

I did manage to make myself the most unpopular member of our 3 man team, by insisting on a 45 minute trip up a really steep hill, which I insisted was the short cut - but actually wasn't. The strange thing is, when I was standing and looking at the hill - I so badly wanted to climb it, nothing was going to stop me. I did feel a little bad about dragging Keith and Markwin up hill on my whim, but the views from there were truly worth every step.

The Views from "My Hill"

The Views from "My Hill" We did find the short cut, you can't really miss it, while it's not marked, the path is very clear to see. We camped just after a big river crossing, with the 4 finger rock keeping a sharp eye over us and our campsite Keith and I decided to try joining our sleeping bags together and see if sleeping closer would be warmer. Well that was not a good idea. If you think holding on to the duvet is an art in a bed -try putting 2 people in a bag. It ends up feeling like you are sleeping in a sack with 2 fighting dogs! Perhaps for those who can lie peacefully in their partner's arms all night it could work, certainly not us!

Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. 

Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path,

for they draw only corrupt blood.

Khalil Gibran