ATCHAR - THE KING OF ALL PICKLES

Anyone who knows me, knows that at 5.00pm most evenings (well every evening if I am honest) is wine time.  The chores have been done, the dinner planned and ready to be prepared later and after a hectic day, is my time.

After a few days of eating a sweet chocolate cheesecake, I decided that I needed something salty to enjoy my glass of wine with and when a packet of crisps is never good enough,  Atchar is always my perfect snack which will satisfy my cravings.

When I open the lid of the pickle jar, the spicy aroma always takes me back to South Africa when friends would come and  visit and after a quick hello, head straight for my kitchen to make themselves toast and smear a thick layer on it or when my family and I were on a farm in the Western Cape and we would sit in the garden in the late afternoons enjoying the last of the sun rays and eat Provita biscuits with cheese and homemade Atchar.

Atchar is a spicy condiment often eaten with curry.  It comes from the Indian cuisine in South Africa. There are many versions to making it - some with fruit and others with vegetables - and the one that was passed to me by a good friend is made with a variety of vegetables.

Because Proviate Biscuits are hard to find at the best of time as they are only made in South Africa - any cracker will do.  However, the cracker must be crunchy, the cheese must be strong and smooth and the Atchar must be spicy and it was all that and more...perfect to munch on in between glugs of cold white wine.

Aah...the simple things in life as always the best.

CHOCOLATE PHILLY CHEESECAKE

I love trying out new things in the kitchen and cooking up a storm and nothing makes me happier that being in my kitchen with a glass of wine and music in the background.  Anytime, I can try out new recipes I do so with relish and nine times out of ten, my book of choice, is probably a cooking book.

 So when I saw such a funny ad on TV with Jennifer Saunders advertising a new Chocolate Philadelphia cream cheese that Kraft has brought out, I headed off to my local supermarket with a hop, skip and an excited jump and grabbed four tubs at "Buy One - Get One Free" - only to find happily that each tub contained 86 calories per tub.

Oh my beating heart - even more joy...a chocolate cheesecake would soon be mine to eat guilt free.



However, why settle for plain and boring when decadence is the only way to go and so I created a cake to test my already failing willpower and decided to add a chocolate ganache for the top.

And the following photos are the result of my happy day.  The taste -

all I am going to say is that you need to rush out immediately and buy the Chocolate Philly Cream cheese 

and make it yourself.......

CHOCOLATE PHILLY CHEESE CAKE

400g chocolate biscuits of your choice
50g butter - melted
4 x 160g tubs of Chocolate Philly Cream Cheese
300ml Sour Cream
160g Caster Sugar
4 eggs
200g dark chocolate
284ml double cream
100g white chocolate

Blitz the chocolate biscuits in your food processor and add the melted butter.  Press in the bottom of a greased cake tin and leave in the fridge for a while to firm up.

Add all the filling ingredients - cream cheese, sour cream, eggs and caster sugar to your food processor and combine.

Pour the chocolate mixture on top of your chilled biscuit base and place in an oven heat of about 160 for about 45 minutes.  I also placed my cake tin in a big roasting dish with hot water until it reached halfway up the sides of the cake tin.

The cake should be firm but retain its wobble when it is cooked.  Leave it in the oven with the door slightly open to cool and then chill for at least 4 hours in your fridge or overnight if you can wait that long....

For the topping - I melted dark chocolate and 200g of the double cream in a double boiler until it had all melted together to a delicious goo.   After it had cooled slightly, I poured it over the chilled cheesecake.

I then left it to chill some more - and afterwards melted a bar of white chocolate with the balance of the double cream and made a few squiggles...

I left it again for a while in the fridge to chill a bit more and then tucked in.......and......

HEAVEN WAS MINE!!

IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO GROW AN OLD FRIEND

Odi - My Friend and My Chicken Soup,

We met in a school classroom and who would have guessed that the friendship we started then would still be going strong over 30 years later.

We have always been as different from each other as friends could ever be.

You are the loud and confident friend and I have always been the quiet and shy friend and I suppose that is what has made our friendship work.

We are like yin and yang or the chicken and the pudding -  two friends who both bring different elements to their friendship who both accept each other for who and what they are.

You are the friend that I first always turn to for advice in times of troubles.

 You have been the keeper of my secrets for all these years.

You are my chicken soup when I have just needed a smile or to get some laughter back in my life and you never disappoint me.  You will always find something funny to tell me and no matter how silly, we both end up laughing.

When I am with you, you always bring excitement and craziness into my day and I think I am the friend who brings the quietness after the storm to yours.

 You are the most positive person I have ever met with such high morals and in all our years that we have known each other - you have always found a way of turning all your negatives into positives and I do not think I have ever known you not to smile or have laughter in your voice.

As I am writing this blog today to wish you the best birthday you could possibly wish for yourself - my heart is so sad  knowing that you are on the otherside of the world and I cannot be with you to celebrate with you.

I am not there to give you a hug and to wish you health, happiness and for your family always to be near.  I wish I could give you my special wish for love to come knocking at your door and to remind you to start looking for the hidden key so you can open the door forever.

You are so beautiful as you are - inside and outside and here is a poem for you by Maya Angelou which I found and love so much  :

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion size

But when I start to tell them

They think I'm telling lies

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips

I'm woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet

I'm woman.

Phenomenally

Phenomental woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say I can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman.

That's me.

How you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

The palm of my hand,

The need for my care.;

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman.

That's me.

YOU ARE THAT PHENOMENAL WOMAN....

So my dear dear friend from across the ocean, I say cheers and wish you all these things and also to say thank you for being that perfect friend that has made the last 30 odd years so much nicer just knowing you have been a part of my life.

If I could make a wish today for just me it would be that one day soon I could be laughing with you again as we did in all these photos and perhaps even sitting on a block of concrete at the Eiffel Tower for three hours watching the world go by because only you could make it so enjoyable all over again......

You are a friend in a million and one of God's blessings and I love you to the moon and back.

From your sweet sweet dessert.
xxxxx

CHOCOLATE PRUNE AND MIXED FRUIT CAKE

 I came across this recipe from the book Feast by Nigella Lawson and as I love prunes and coffee liqueur and my husband loves fruit cake and we both love chocolate - what better way to make two people happy at the same time by baking this cake - two for the price of one as the saying goes.

 It was actually so easy to bake and I loved the fact that all the fruit, chocolate, coffee Kahlua, orange juice, honey, butter and sugar was boiled together and then left to infuse for a while.

What I did add to the cake that was not in the original recipe was 100g of dark chocolate.

I am not sure if it made any difference to how it would have tasted as I have not made this cake before or even if it took the taste up a level but what I do know is that the end result was a cake that was so moist and delicious and is definitely one to do again.

My husband's comments after eating this cake was that I need never worry about him ever leaving home as I am definitely the domestic goddess with the mostest.

Recipe for this divine cake to wow family and friends alike is as follows :

350g prunes

250g raisins

125g currants

50g piece candied orange peel

175g soft unsalted butter

175g dark muscovado sugar

175ml runny honey

125ml Tia Maria or other coffee liqueur

Juice and zest of 2-3 oranges (400ml juice)

1 teaspoon mixed spice

4 tablespoons cocoa

3 eggs beaten

150g plain flour

75g ground almonds

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g dark chocolate (my addition)

Put the fruit, butter, sugar, honey. Tia Maria, orange juice and zests, spice and cocoa into a large wide saucepan and bring to the boil gently, stirring as the butter melts.  Simmer for 10 minutes and then take off the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes or longer if you like.

Add the beaten eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and if you are going to add the dark chocolate -  add that as well and stir with a wooden spoon to combine well to the boiled fruit mixture.  

Pour into a big cake tin (i used a square one) of least 20cm wide and at least 9cm deep and bake in the oven gas mark 2/150deg C for about an hour and a half or until the skewer comes out clean.  The cake will be still gooey in the middle and have a shiny and sticky look.  Place on a rack to cool completely.

The recipe suggests that you wrap it in baking parchment and then tin foil and place in a tin.....My suggestion - invite your friends around and eat immediately or as I am going to do - take it with me on a picnic I am having with my friends on Friday........

LUDLOW IN THE SNOW

Ludlow is according to me - aka - The Tipsy Tart one of the most beautiful towns to live in - and no more beautiful than when there is a bit of snow about and you go for a walk in the cold fresh air and it is so quiet that you can hear the crunch of the snow as you walk.  Everything becomes so magical and picture postcard perfect and the world and all its troubles seem so far away and it becomes so peaceful.

Life can be so stressful and we all want to lead healthy lives and what better way, than going for a walk that costs nothing and makes you feel good at the same time.

We have so many wonderful walks in and around Ludlow and when you have finished and your cheeks are glowing from the cold, there is nothing nicer than going to a beautiful pub and sitting by a roaring fire and having a glass of wine and sharing a packet of crisps with your nearest and dearest.

Could life get any more perfect or give you more pleasure?



HELL YES, especially when you come back home and get to eat a white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake that is possibly just the most delicious cake in the world.......and that when you start eating, your greed just overcomes you and nothing is more important than cutting another slice and then realising that you any eaten more slices than your scale wants to know about and you need to go on another walk.....

Like I said, could life get any more perfect.....I doubt it...

Love
The Tipsy Tart

I AM A PHENOMENAL WOMAN

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion size

But when I start to tell them

They think I'm telling lies

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips

I'm woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet

I'm woman.

Phenomenally

Phenomental woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say I can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman.

That's me.

How you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

The palm of my hand,

The need for my care.;

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman.

That's me.

I AM THAT PHENOMENAL WOMAN....
TODAY AND EVERYDAY
I AM STRONG AND I CAN DO ANYTHING.

AN ABSOLUTELY STUNNING AND BEAUTIFUL POEM WRITTEN

BY THE AMAZING MAYA ANGELOU.

XX

ENJOYING THE SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE

Sitting here on a Sunday morning loving the warmth from the central heating and the quietness that comes occasionally from being on your own.    My music of choice today is Julio - whose voice I adore.  Listening to him takes me back to a time in my life where I had no responsibilities and good friends were together laughing, drinking cups of tea and coffee and smoking cigarettes until the early hours in the morning.

The weatherman said that snow is coming and I am holding my thumbs that it comes soon.  The beauty of watching falling snow is so magical and no matter how cold it gets, if you are wrapped up warm and rolling around in it, can be so pleasurable especially when you are seeing the joy and happiness through your childrens' eyes.

This is my favourite picture of my boys taken a few years ago - a son looking up to his father with such love and the arm of protection around the son from the father.

Wikipedia's definition of happiness :

 Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.^[1

For me - these pictures are my definition of happiness. They fill me with intense joy that no words could describe.

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things".

Happy Sunday to you all.
Love Liz