absolutwillie

Tag: food and wine

  • bullet list madness

    it’s one of those saturdays: my brain is running spirals through 4 dimensions and neither of my twins – nor my subconscious archer – have anything remotely resembling a grasp on the horse’s reins…

    just a taste of what’s buzzing upstairs:

    tiramisu requires:

    • Mascarpone cheese
    • raw eggs
    • sugar
    • espresso coffee
    • ladyfingers
    • liquor (substitute)
    • cocoa
    • heavy cream (should never be merely optional).

    5 experiences i’d like:

    stages of learning:

    • acquisition
    • fluency
    • generalizaton
    • adaptation

    or:

    • unconscious incompetence
    • conscious incompetence
    • conscious competence
    • unconscious competence

    for apartment:

    • mirrors
    • crockery
    • frames for art
    • art
    • comfortable couch
    • heaps of old books (hardcover-ish)
    • mop (cleaning service?)
    • fix the washing machine
    • drawing board
    • magnets (idea board, fridge etc)
    • lighting solutions
    • air conditioner
    • sound system (O.Cat speakers?)

    check the lease – maybe a smaller apartment is the answer?

    freelance income supplements:

    • copy writing
    • magazine work
    • apparel design (graphic tee trend set to grow before it finally blows over)
    • creative studio (too soon)
    • resurrect life-stylist concept

    aaaaaarrrgghhh – go to sleep!

  • it's time for the Moon Festival!

    we’re celebrating “moon festival” at the kindergarten today! apparently i’ll be helping the kids make “moon cake” as well as portraying Chang Er in the “pantomime”…

    i’ll take pictures ;0)

    The Chinese Moon Festival is on the 15th of the 8th lunar month. It’s also known as the Mid-autumn Festival. Chinese culture is deeply embedded in traditional festivals. Just like Christmas and Thanksgiving in the West, the Moon Festival is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese.

    The Moon Festival is full of legendary stories. Legend says that Chang Er flew to the moon, where she has lived ever since. You might see her dancing on the moon during the Moon Festival. The Moon Festival is also an occasion for family reunions. When the full moon rises, families get together to watch the full moon, eat moon cakes, and sing moon poems. With the full moon, the legend, the family and the poems, you can’t help thinking that this is really a perfect world. That is why the Chinese are so fond of the Moon Festival.

    The Moon Festival is also a romantic one. A perfect night for the festival is if it is a quiet night without a silk of cloud and with a little mild breeze from the sea. Lovers spend such a romantic night together tasting the delicious moon cake with some wine while watching the full moon. Even for a couple who can’t be together, they can still enjoy the night by watching the moon at the same time so it seems that they are together at that hour. A great number of poetry has been devoted to this romantic festival. Hope the Moon Festival will bring you happiness.

    The moon cake is the food for the Moon Festival. The Chinese eat the moon cake at night with the full moon in the sky. Here are a few pictures of the typical moon cake.


    The picture on the moon cake box.


    The moon cakes in the box.


    One of the moon cakes in the box.

    source: http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa093097.htm


    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPjUpwLpD-o&hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=344]

  • quickly, before she blows

    I was almost beginning to look forward to my first typhoon (2008fengshen), but the eye changed direction today – so we’ll only have rain tomorrow…


    so yeah – life rocks in Taiwan! adjusting to my new job (whilst running the one in SA at night), the weather, an amazing new culture and finding my own apartment was (and sometimes still is) a bone-chilling rush!

    teaching kindergarten is no walk in the park… as an activist – I spoke in public, on the radio and even on TV. but standing in front of eighteen odd 3-year olds is downright scary. especially at first, when three of them would spontaneously burst out in tears the moment I set foor in the classroom.

    my Mom explained this to me: not only have they never seen someone with so much hair (legs, arms, chest, beard) – not to mention the color of my hair, skin and eyes – I’m also a giant! from their perspective, I’m a tree right out of Tolkien’s imagination: all trunk and branches – topped with two nostrils!!

    Thankfully, they’ve grown accustomed to me and have forgotten all about the “hairy troll” that the smallest one saw on the first day. (they’re reading (well, listening to) “the three goats”)

    Here are some random pics for your entertainment:

    a golden Buddha outside PuLi

    that be chicken feet y’all… collagen rules!
    outside a restaurant in Jhubei – notice the parrot, two pig-chefs and live pig…
    happy as a Palestinian pig
    he would probably tell you why – if you understood Chinese

  • birthday weekend

    On Thursday 22 May, my buddy Quentin turned 35.
    On Saturday 24 May, I turned 30.
    On Sunday 25 May, it was Jaco’s turn to be 31.

    This is how we did it:

    Luzanne, Quentin, Richard, Liezel and Chris – we dined in Prince Albert, en route to Matjiesfontein.
    dinner at the Lord Milner – everybody’s here!


    the owner of Matjiesfontein graced us with his presence.
    hot dogs on the lawn.


    some played poker…
    some played boules…
    everybody relaxed :0)



    caught in the courtyard
    save yourself a trip and stock up!
    me and luz – friends since 1993…
    making the big speech.
    how to feed 30 people.
    everyone tried on my hat.



    …even my dad!
    setting up the decks in the Lairds Arms.
    and the party started!




    the last group photo – stairway of the Lord Milnerthe very last group photo by the courtyard fountains.Richard – the DJ to end all DJs.tea in calitzdorp, on the way home.
    good times ;0)

  • bonfire of the vanities

    let me see if i can get some reaction out of the ‘sphere today. can you think of a plot?
    here’s a list for you to ponder:

    dramatis pesonae:
    the hairdresser: Maurice
    the pianist/interiors dealer: Miguel (Maurice’s life-partner)
    the art dealer: Cobis
    the clinic’s pre-admissions clerk: Jean (Cobis’ life partner)
    the clinic’s liaison officer: Jobe
    the printer/writer: Guillermo

    ingredients:
    3 course dinner
    Liza with a “Z” (dvd)
    Barbara Streisand CD collection

    Scene:
    Cobis & Jean’s house with a view of the bay.
    saturday
    fall 2008

  • there's a shopping list on my stoep

    i found this oddly intriguing list amongst my papers:

    “Wednesday Yummies“

    15 dried figs (500g)
    italian country bread
    fresh greens (watercress, rocket, baby spinach)
    black olives, pitted
    fresh rosemary & thyme
    olive oil
    wine vinegar
    1x lemon & 1x orange
    1x chicken
    50g vermicelli
    butter
    1x large red onion
    250g mushrooms
    mild curry
    ginger
    sea salt & black pepper
    white & red wine
    plain yogurt
    75g cooked ham
    parsley
    chutney
    puff pastry
    1/2 cup of sugar
    cinnamon sticks
    1x egg
    self raising flour
    —————–

    it’s in my own hand – but I have no clue as to what it was for.

    can you slap together a menu from this? (i want recipe’s people!)
    leave a recipe as a comment – or link to the recipe on your blog ;0)

  • Why whine about wine?

    As I lay in bed last night, it dawned on me that it might sound odd that I’m all in a huff about a winery. Why feel so strongly for a product I no longer use?

    Well, here’s the deal. Yes, as an alcoholic I no longer drink, amongst other things, wine. Still, Stormhoek isn’t “just a wine”. Above and beyond the warm memories I associate with a bottle of Stormhoek at a dinner party – the people behind the wine feel like family. Many Geek Dinners (linklove to the Garden Route Geek Dinner that got me started) were sponsored by them, many younglings have been inspired by them and – not to put too fine a point on it – we know them! For crying in a bucket – some of us even own vines at Stormhoek!!

    As a last thought on this matter, for now, here’s the deal with wine:
    The wine is the brand. You can taste it. Wine carries the story of it’s origin within itself. The soil, the wind, the water, the sun – the actual vines… All of these are translated into the aroma and character of the wine itself.

    You can take the same wine – and slap on any old label you please – it will always be the same wine.

    Conversely, if you take the “Brand” and stick it onto any old wine – it will be fake.

  • pretenders

    One Comment, Comment or Ping

    1. Willie Knoetze

      Your comment is awaiting moderation.

      Shame on you.

      Mar 10th, 2008

    1. Stormhoek e il nuovo utilizzo dei social media at Vino24 Blog – Mar 10th, 2008

    Reply to “STORMHOEK IS MOVING HOUSE”

  • Stormhoek gets NO love from Origin Wines

    I am in shock. Forgive me for not saying more… but I just read this on stii‘s blog:

    Stormhoek gets NO love from Origin Wines

    Apart from getting a really raw deal from Stormhoek’s UK partners, Orbital, they are faced with even more obstacles. Since Orbital has gone under, it was sold to/taken over by Origin Wines. Their previous website (now, unfortunately also owned by Origin) are now used to spread a bunch of lies:

    When we started Stormhoek back in 2003, we sat in our office in London and thought, “Why can’t we make great 5 pound South African Sauvignon Blanc? Why not beat the New Zealanders at their own game? Better, Cheaper and Faster!”
    …
    Ultimately we went ahead, brought some tech, contracted out our production, designed a label, marketed and launched Stormhoek. People loved the wine!
    …
    There are some very successful brands in ZA that some nothing more than a label, with everything else being outsourced, but we felt that we needed a place to call home. So, we bought an interest in a little vineyard called Siyabonga, near Wellington. After years of effort, Siyabonga had not been able to sell its wine very successfully, and with Stormhoek’s growing business, it was a perfect place to buy what we could call a home. So it was a good fit for both parties.


    Read more here!     (For the TRUE Stormhoek story, read here)

    Luckily one person did notice that and left a comment, which would be interesting to see how long the comment remains there:

    Comment

    What has happened? I think I cannot say it better than Rob Stokes from Quirk:

    The assets of the sunken Orbital were recently bought by Origin, and of course with this purchase came all of Stormhoek’s brand equity in what I would guess to be their biggest market.

    In essence what they are now doing is cutting Graham and the team at Stormhoek SA (the people who really care about the brand) out of the UK profit loop. Sure their business will (hopefully!) go to another South African farm, but I’ll bet my favourite Google hat that vast majority of the profits will stay in the UK. As a proud South African, that doesn’t sit well with me.

    Read more here!

    From what I understand is that Stormhoek will continue to make the good stuff here (a.k.a. the real Stormhoek) and export to basically everywhere, accept the UK. In the UK, Origin is going to continue to bottle and sell Stormhoek, but not with real Stormhoek, which means nothing! I think this Jason guy misses the point about Stormhoek. See, Stormhoek is not just a good brand. The real Stormhoek is a massive success story. It is also a fantastic story! You can put the best bloody Bordeaux wine in a Stormhoek bottle, it is not Stormhoek, as the story is lost. However, all of this will be another great chapter with excellent lessons to be learned in the real Stormhoek’s story! As Rob said in a comment over at Quirk:

    My point is that I don’t think the two can be fairly separated. The wine is the brand and vice versa.

    Another blind turn of events is that this Jason guy told the real Stormhoek guys that they have to seize the use of all those brilliant little cartoons we grew used to by Hugh MacLeod. That is very sad. From the nasty article on the old Stormhoek blog, it seems like they will also retain the services of Hugh, so it seems that is also lost to the real Stormhoek. :( Very sad… BUT, is there maybe an opportunity lurking for some aspiring blogger in SA to take over that role?! ;-) Would be kinda tough to beat the brilliant Hugh at his own game though!

    There is an upside to all this, of course! Stormhoek will now be more available right here in SA! Since they will not be shipping to the UK anymore, they will distribute much more right here. (At least, thats what I hope!) That sure is good news for all real Stormhoek fans!

    So if you feel you’d like to help even more, the best you can do is to talk about all of this on your blogs. The truth will prevail!

    Blogged with Flock

  • Own a vine. Save a job by Stormhoek

    Friends, visitors and everyone else,
    click through to Stormhoek and buy.

    Own a vine.
    Save a job.
    Heal the world!

    Maxwell Ntsewuia Bovlei 2 08

    Manus Samuels Welvanpas 2 2008

    Ludwe Simon Bovlei 001
    Hexwell Ntsewuia is the cellar foreman in Stormhoek production in the Bovlei cellar. His wife is Letitia and they have 1 child. Manus Samuels is a vineyard worker in a Stormhoek vineyard at Welvanpas. He and his wife Margaretha have 3 sons. Ludwe Simon is a cellar worker, looking after Stormhoek wines in the Bovlei cellar, Wellington. He and Lucia have 1 child.

    Blogged with Flock