Colby & Levi

Colby and Levi have the best life on the farm .... a real boys world! Busy life; learning to swim, ride bike, school.

I wonder if Colby still loves to wash dishes?

The new puppy, Penny, gets her fair share of attention ... Lots of training still to do. Also a Labrador, like Lily, I am sure she will be a good family dog. 2 down, 1 to go. I hear that it is better to have 3 dogs than 2. Whats the next doggie gonna be?

Levi has become much more sociable, chattering away. Not so shy at all! Still loves dinosaurs. Who knew that there were so many wheat-free products?!? I am amazed about the dishes that Nicole turns out for him...

Can't wait to see them again later this year!

Derby and Benjamin

Benjamin is next in line ... laughing at life, busy busy boy. I hear he is pulling some of his daddy's tricks, so I say : it's payback time! LOL I just love the little boytjie outfits in the stores .... nearly as irresistible as the girly things.

Derby has one more year, then it's Teenage time. I think she is going to be an awesome teenager. She has so many people in her life that love her! Growing up beautiful, mwaa!

Willow

Willow has grown in leaps and bounds! One minute a newborn, helpless and still; now nearly 9 months old and cute as a button, chattering and dancing (well, sort of). Doesn't want to know about crawling, wants to hit the ground running ha ha. It is such a treat to watch her progress. We don't have the opportunity to see all the grandchildren grow up in front of us ... more of a long-distance thing.

More news on each families kids coming .....

DAILY LIFE

The days fly by, disappearing over the horizon like a fast-forward sunset ... leaving us wondering 'what happened to the days'?

I thought it a good idea to share some of the supper recipes I have tried over the last month or two, dishes I don't normally make. One of these, by windfall of a shared box of SNOEK, is a very first for me. I have not quite mastered the art of cooking Fish, so went on the hunt for recipes to prepare this huge fish. Quite different from the usual box of frozen fish I normally would open and arrange neatly in a casserole dish, sprinkle some seasoning & lemon juice over and pop in the oven... no wonder I have had no success with the fish dishes!! ha ha

Back to the Snoek. I must say, it turned out to be quite a feast. It was so big, that we shared it with our neighbours (J&M) and both of us had left-overs to make a second dish the next day or two. I made a Snoek Quiche and M made Pasta a la Snoek : )

Let me now tell you how I made the original Snoek Bake. It was in a filleted state, so I mixed together about a cup of Apricot jam, a cup of Lemon juice, a couple of cloves crushed garlic, about half a cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon Curry pwd. Season with Mixed Herbs, Salt and Ground Pepper and a wee bit of Chopped chillies (just for taste). I spread some of this on a sheet of foil laid in a baking tray, lay the snoek on top of this and then spread the rest of the mixture over the fish. Cover with another piece of foil and place in the oven (not switched on). Leave to marinade for a couple of hours, if possible (at least one hour). Then I baked it for about 20min, took off the top foil and grilled for a couple of minutes. Voila!! Dish up and eat!

A brilliant accompanying dish is Savoury Rice. But honestly, you can serve it with pasta, mash (any style potatoes really).

For the Snoek Quiche of the next evening, I used frozen Pastry to line a square dish. I fried an onion, added the shredded Snoek and 3 eggs beaten with a cup of milk. Poured into the shell and topped with grated cheese, it was ready to hit the oven. It was baked for 35min and served with a green salad.

It was a huge success. For the next Snoek, I plan a slightly different version. More later ...