About the Weekend- The Little Prince and Burger King

This weekend we were lucky enough to catch the premier of The Little Prince at Ster Kinekor at The Zone, Mall of Rosebank, sponsored by Burger King and Toy Kingdom.

The kids had loads of fun before the show, with face painting, balloon animals and they got to meet a prince, a king and a toad (or at least Noodle did- Squish is still going through his petrified-of-people-in-animal-suits phase). Noodle is going through a bit of a cat obsession at the moment, so she got her face painted as a glittery pink cat and got a matching kitty balloon animal (or at least they told her it was a cat) while Squish got a dinosaur.

After the movie, we were treated to some yummy Burger King burgers and fries. We have been a big fan of Burger King since it launched in South Africa not that long ago... the kids love their food and they are Halaal in South Africa. Incidentally, the Rosebank one, just downstairs from the cinema where the premier was held, is our most frequented branch.

We were also given some great treats from Burger King and Toy Kingdom- thank you to both! We have read the Burger King books a few times already- I love that they are very educational (one is all about recycling and the other one is an interactive but challenging I Spy book) and the kids enjoyed them too! The Little Prince kaleidoscopes are beautiful (I am strange and have not outgrown kaleidoscopes).

 

The movie is an adorable animation about a nine year old girl (I don't think her name is ever mentioned) who is being groomed by her loving but over-achieving mother (played by Rachel McAdams) and by society at large to be the perfect adult. Her controlled life of maps and schedules is suddenly interrupted when she meets the eccentric Aviator from next door (played by Jeff Bridges) who introduces her to the world of The Little Prince and helps her to rediscover childhood. Watch the trailer here.

If you plan to watch one movie with the kids this holiday, I would recommend this one. I would say that this one is probably better suited to children ages seven upwards though- while it is family friendly and hubby and I both loved it, it is a longish movie and some of the themes are quite complex so my kids, being a bit younger, seemed to lose interest about halfway through. That having been said, this film is a thought provoking one, with an important message to any adult viewers about allowing kids to be kids and not forcing them into growing up too soon- something I think we are all sometimes guilty of.

The Jozi WAHM's Dummy's Guide to Making Samoosas

Ramadaan, the month in which Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, is just over a month away. This is a spiritual time of deep reflection, prayer and introspection for Muslims.

Somewhat ironically, many Muslims in South Africa in particular spend the period just before Ramadaan obsessing over the preparation of savoury foods to break their fast with at sunset and stockpile freezer loads of the triangular delicacies (together with a back up warehouse of spring rolls, half moons, pies and other cholesterol rich delights). The theory goes, according to elder housewives, that if most of the food preparation is done in advance, there will be more time for prayer during the auspicious month. I am not sure how relevant this argument is given how laborious samoosa making is and given that the frozen samoosas still has to be fried or baked before being eaten, but nevertheless, it has become tradition (in South Africa and other parts of the world) and Ramadaan just would not be the same without them. 

In honor of this samoosa-filled period, I thought I would share a dummy's guide to making these intricate snacks.

Recipe 1:

Okay, maybe I should not call this a recipe but it works perfectly! The ultimate dummy technique, which I favour, is to find a little old Indian or Cape Malay lady who slaves away every day making samoosas and pay her to do it. 

This site is all about encouraging, celebrating and supporting work from home moms and Johannesburg has hundreds, if not more, of these little old lady WAHM's running little home industries, as do other South African cities. Some will even make the samoosas using your filling if you so wish, and provide you with the frozen goodies, which you will just have to fry.

Given how much time is invested in making samoosas, I would strongly suggest this route if you are short on time.

Recipe 2:

If you really want to make your own samoosas, read on. I am by no means an expert in samoosa making (mine taste decent but I am quite slow at folding them, unlike the more experienced makers who do it at lightning speed).

The instructions here use ready made 'pur' (the samoosa pastry). I made my own once but quite frankly it is not worth the effort. The pur can be bought frozen (it can be found in the frozen food section of most major grocery stores, though nicer homemade ones are available at Indian grocery stores and butcheries).

You will need to defrost your pur for a few hours or overnight. In the meantime, you can prepare your filling of choice and leave it to cool. 

I will share a recipe below which can be used with chicken, steak or mutton mince, but you could also do cheese and corn, spicy potato or virtually any other filling.

The filling:

500 g mince
2 finely chopped onions
Green chillies, finely chopped (to taste, depending how hot you like things)

A squeeze of lemon juice, 

pepper and salt to taste

1 small bunch of chopped coriander (dhania)

1/2 teaspoon of ginger and garlic mix

1/2 teaspoon gharam masala (available from any spice shop)

Method: 

Saute the onions in a bit of oil until golden brown. Braise the mince in the above ingredients until the mince is cooked and dry. Soggy mince is your enemy when folding later on so this is crucial. Season with the chopped coriander. Leave to cool for later use.

While you are filling your samoosas, keep the unused samoosa pur covered with a clean cloth to prevent it from drying out.

The pur will come stacked in a big pile, usually of a hundred sheets. Carefully peel off one layer of pur, being careful not to tear it. (Some people use a double layer of pur for cheese samoosas as they tend to burst while frying). P.S. if you do accidentally tear some of the strips, do not use them for samoosas. Instead you can cut into smaller strips and fry for a snack similar to potato chips. 

Now comes the tricky part. You need to fold the samoosa as shown in the picture below.

The instructions below comes from a 1960's recipe book called the Indian Delights, which remains the authority on South African Indian Cooking (like every Afrikaans household has 'Kook en Geniet', almost every South African Indian household still has a copy of this gem).

Courtesy of Indian Delights by Zuleikha Mayat

 

The next few pictures illustrate the above using paper and tissue "filling". Chinese Origami may seem easier at this point.

 

Top left: First fold | Top right: Second fold | Bottom left: Filling added | Bottom right: Third fold

 

After the first two folds, you would have created a little triangular pocket. You add about a tablespoon of the filling into the pocket you have created. Do not overfill as you will battle to close it. Then you do another fold to close the open flap at the top of your pocket. Well done, you have completed the hard bit! Then you just keep on folding until your strip is used up.

Make sure that your corners are tightly sealed or the oil will seep in while you are frying, leaving you with a greasy samoosa.

Once complete, you seal the samoosa with a dab of paste made out of flour and water (add just enough water to the flour to make a sticky paste).

Samoosas taste best deep-fried until golden brown but if you would like a healthier alternative, you can brush with olive oil and bake, or you could use an airfryer.

Serve with your favourite chutney and slices of lemon and enjoy!

 

Inside Jozi WAHM's Kitchen- Strawberry Cheesecake

I am a sucker for cheesecake and having made my favourite, super rich, decadent and very fattening one this weekend, I have decided to share the recipe. Did I mention that it is easy to make and does not even need baking? Go on, try it... you know you want to!

NO BAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

BASE: 

• 125g melted butter
•  1 box marie biscuits

Crush the biscuits (I am lazy so I whizz in the blender) and mix with the butter.
 

Press into a greased springform tin lined with wax paper. I cut the wax paper into a circle slightly larger than the pan and let the wax paper overlap slightly out of the bottom of the pan for easy removal.

FILLING:

Mix:

• 1 tub smooth cream cheese, 
• 1 tin condensed milk, 
• 1 cup fresh cream, 
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 
• a dash of vanilla essence. Beat until almost stiff.

Boil 100ml boiling water with 2 tbsp gelatine. (Alternatively you could use 3tbsp agar agar, but I find that gelatine gives more consistent results. I use the halaal variety available from the spice shops). Stir until dissolved and pour into cream cheese mixture and mix well. Pour over the biscuit base.

TOPPING:

Top with strawberries (or any other fruit). On Sunday I did not have fresh strawberries so I used granadilla pulp and a bit of tinned strawberry. Kiwi fruit, tinned peaches or any other berries also work well.

Glaze the fruit with a layer of jelly (following the instructions on the box).

Let the cheesecake set in the fridge for a few hours, preferably overnight. 

Tip: To get the cheesecake out of the tin without cracks, loosen the edges with a hot knife. Dip the knife in hot water as you go along for a smooth edge. Then unclip the springform pan and slide the bottom off. Alternatively, you could make mini cheesecakes in greased foil cups.

ENJOY!!!

Ten Things I only Discovered after Two Babies

You would have thought that, being an educated and involved mother, I would know everything there was to know about babies after having the first one. It turns out, that after Squish was born, I discovered smarter, simpler ways to do various things. 

Hopefully, some of these epiphanies can help other new mothers to do things the easy way.

Disposable food pouches

When Noodle was a baby, the only ready made baby food was the jar variety. The newer tube varieties (like the Pure Squish brand) taste much better and are far more convenient to transport around. You can even buy little screw on spoons that attach to the tube. (P.S. In case you were wondering, that is not where Squish got his nickname from, but that is a story for another day).

Envelope vests

I always thought the wide foldback necks were there so that it is easier to get the vests over soft little heads. It turns out that they are designed so that you can pull them downwards and off babies legs in the event of emergency nappy blowouts. Who knew?

 Using disposable nappies for clean ups

Speaking of emergency nappy blowouts, when you have a baby, you are likely to face clean up of all sorts of revolting bodily fluids. I have discovered that using a (clean) disposable nappy works well to clean up the bulk of the mess. I keep the annoying ones where the side tabs have fallen off handy for this purpose. Then for sanitising and deodorising, tea tree oil, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar work better than most commercial cleaners.

  

Facebook mommy groups

I am not sure if these were around when Noodle was born, but a lot of moms benefit from having experienced mommies on hand to give immediate advice on baby related dramas. These are typically closed or secret groups so that embarrassing threads do not show up on ones facebook feed.

Breastfeeding

One would think that as a mother, this would come naturally and intuitively, but I discovered the hard way that this is not the case. I only breastfed Noodle for about a month before my supply diminished, causing her to reject any attempts at breastfeeding. This was probably due to a combination of formula top ups in hospital and me not having the right information on how to keep my supply up.

Thanks to better education the second time round, I discovered that formula top ups and a rigid three hour feeding schedule were a sure way to diminish supply. Facebook mommy groups were a saving grace in those early days with a wealth of information on how to successfully breastfeed. Squish on the other hand is still breastfed at almost fourteen months. 

Removing Super Glue

Being our resident Doc Mcstuffins toy fixer, I have discovered that if you ever get your fingers stuck with superglue, petroleum jelly can be used to painlessly remove it. Store this information in your memory bank as it is hard to Google things with your hands glued together.

Wonder weeks

When Noodle was a baby I had not even heard of the Wonder Weeks (these are weeks when babies universally appear to make mental leaps in their development, which often coincides with fussy and cranky behaviour. With Squish, they have been remarkably accurate and quite useful in making sense of bad weeks.

Baby led weaning

This basically means letting your baby feed themselves sticks of solids from the time they start solids and skipping the mushy purees completely. Babies learn to chew first and then swallow (as opposed to with purees where they learn to swallow first and chew later).

The idea seems counter-intuitive and even scary (if you do not know the distinction between gagging and choking), but I discovered that this method of introducing solids is easier for both mother and baby (and less messy). Yes, I know I spoke about the food pouches earlier in this post, which would have BLW purists burn me at the stake, but those were only there for quick snacks on the go (or super lazy days).

By eight months old, Squish was happily eating what the rest of the family eats, with very little assistance and many hours were saved steaming, blending and freezing baby foods. 

Sleep Training

When Noodle was born back in 2010, sleep training was very popular. As desperate sleep deprived zombies, we tried sleep training for one night with Noodle when she was about eight months old. It was an epic failure. My poor baby was hoarse from crying, physically ill the next day and it did not help her sleep any better. Guilt-ridden, we refused to do it for another night and our gut instincts as parents told us that we should not be doing this. More recent research shows that crying it out methods of sleep training can cause long-term psychological damage to little ones. I am glad we stopped when we did with Noodle and that we knew better by the time Squish came along.

 

Gelatine tea

A tablespoon of gelatin is added to boiling hot tea or coffee and consumed immediately, at least once or twice a day. Some claim not to notice the taste but I think it tastes aweful and the texture is not very pleasant either.

I noticed slight results but did not persevere too long due to the taste, but I have met many mommies who swear by gelatine tea as a remedy for stretch marks and saggy skin. (Note: Gelatine is available in the baking isle at most supermarkets or for SANHA approved Halaal gelatine, look at Muslim owned spice shops).

The Jozi WAHM's Quintessential Guide to Restaurants with Play Areas in Johannesburg

Our family loves food and with two energetic little ones, we do tend to spend some time at the many play areas Johannesburg has to offer. I thought I would put pen to paper on our experiences at some of them. 

Note: I know there are several other play areas around and have only mentioned some of the noteworthy ones that I have physically visited.

BAMBANANI 

 

4^th AVENUE MELVILLE

This eclectic and whimsical hide is first on the list, as it is my go-to sanctuary. The food is brilliant (I cannot say the same for all the child friendly eating places in Johannesburg). Their iced coffee milkshakes and lemon meringues are some of my favourites.  Most important, there are phenomenal indoor and outdoor play areas for the little ones. 

The outdoor section has an amazing multi-story jungle gym and there is a little role-play area with a child-sized fantasy house and shop, where Noodle is happy to spend hours. There are also lots of toys for babies and younger toddlers, which is lacking at similar establishments.

Indoors, there is sand art (at an additional fee), books, Playstation games and a fabulous oversized Barbie dollhouse- more than enough to keep kids busy on rainy days. They have caring and attentive childminders and the front gate is locked and you need to sign your kids in at the front gate and produce the correct slip to sign them out again. This (together with the free WIFI) makes it the perfect haven for me to catch up on a few emails while the kids are entertained and safe. The down side is that it can get quite busy and being on the main road in Melville, parking can also be a challenge. 

PAPACHINOS

CHRISTIAAN DE WET ROAD, RADIOKOP

Papachinos has several branches (I know that there are branches in Fourways, Morningside and others), but we frequent the Clearwater one. The outdoor restaurant area is colourful yet sophisticated. It has a lovely large outdoor play area, with an adorable motorbike track. Importantly, their food is great (I even know of friends without children who frequent this restaurant simply for the good food).

The childminders are not as attentive as at Bambanani though, so you do still need to keep an eye on your kids, which is difficult without following them around as the play area is quite big. There is usually someone at the front gate but I know of at least one child (not my own) who escaped alone into the busy parking lot alone.

LIFESTYLE GARDEN CENTRE

CNR YSTERHOUT AVE AND BEYERS NAUDE DRIVE, RANDPARK RIDGE

I usually get lost at the entrance of this centre, as I am drawn to the West Pack shop at the entrance, which sells a huge assortment of inexpensive but good quality storage accessories, toys, home ware, stationary and craft materials (which we love).

I digress. This centre, primarily a nursery, is also cloud nine for children as it also hosts a beautiful large kids play area, with a playground, funfair rides and even pony rides. There are a few good of eating places, the Silver Birch, Primi Piatti (which has its own play area, you do need to book in advance to sit anywhere close to the play area though) and Smooch. You will have to beg the kids to come home from here!

JIMMY’S KILLER PRAWNS

IMAGE LIFESTYLE CENTRE, CNR MINT ROAD AND CARR STREET FORDSBURG

As mentioned earlier, our family eats Halaal. Now, you may be familiar with Fordsburg (or Foodsburg as it has been dubbed), an Indian section of the inner city which has a lot of your standard food franchises but for a large part has been taken over by foreign business owners. Our family loves Fordsburg for its sheer variety of Halaal eating establishments. On the flipside, most of Fordsburg is dirty, parking is lacking and you get attacked by flocks of beggars. Also, most Halaal establishments have not cottoned on to the idea of providing entertainment for the little ones. 

The newly opened Jimmy’s is the exception. The Image Lifestyle venue is actually a wedding venue, so it boasts a beautiful green garden with fountains and delicate arches for taking those quaint wedding photo’s. Nestled within this oasis within the urban jungle, where you will forget that you are in Fordsburg, is the new Jimmy’s, which is wonderful for Alfresco dining and also boasts a large and pleasant play area and jumping castles. Their food also happens to be excellent.

SPUR

THE ZONE, OXFORD ROAD, ROSEBANK

This one obviously needs no introduction to any South African parent and is a standard option when eating out with our extended family. We opt for the Fordsburg, Rosebank or Trade Route Mall branches, due to Halaal dietary requirements (at most of the other places I have listed above we are limited to vegetarian or dessert options).

HEATHWAY SHOPPING CENTRE

BEYERS NAUDE DRIVE (JUST PAST CRESTA SHOPPING CENTRE)

There are two lovely new outdoor play areas at this centre. One belongs to the Spur at the Centre and the other one next to Smooch is accessible to anybody. This is great for a quick stop for frozen yoghurt while the kids burn off some energy and Smooch has some scooters which the kids can play with. 

ORANGO TANGO’S

NORTHCLIFF SHOPPING CENTRE, CNR MILNER AND BEYERS NAUDE DRIVE, NORTHCLIFF

This large indoor play area boasts a huge jungle gym, a smaller area for younger kids and lots of soft toys for the younger ones so there is plenty to keep the little ones entertained. Noodle, a bit of an adrenalin junkie, loved the enormous, very fast slide and Squish enjoyed the ball pits. 

Sadly, the restaurant area is uninspired (a bit like a big warehouse), the waitresses inattentive and the food mediocre. The bathroom lights were not working and I had to change a nappy in the dark. Their signage boasts an hourly and a daily rate but they seem to default to whichever works out more. They also have a bizarre rule that children have to wear socks and I had to fork out an additional sum for socks for my sandal-clad offspring. So, while the kids enjoyed it, I feel like there are other good options which are better value for money in the surrounding area.

YEESH

WOODMEAD COMMERCIAL PARK, WATERFALL CRESCENT, WOODMEAD

This one is hidden between all the factory shops. I cannot give a completely impartial view on this one as we did not stay very long, Noodle was cranky after a long day of shopping so I did not end up sampling the food here. It is a bit like Orango Tango, large and warehouse-like and the entrance fee feels a bit steep. The play areas are incredible though, and there are other craft activities for the kids at an additional fee.

RUMBLE JUNGLE

PANORAMA SHOPPING CENTRE, KLIPRIVIER ROAD, MULBARTON

I once went to this venue in the south of Johannesburg for a birthday party before Noodle was born and it was fabulous. However, on a more recent visit, the play area had shrunken and most of the entertainment was coin operated rides which you paid for in addition to the entrance fee. That being said, it is still fun for the kids and there is a Mugg and Bean coffee shop for the java deprived adults.

THE FOOD COURT, CLEARWATER MALL

CNR HENDRIK POTGIETER AND CHRISTIAAN DE WET ROADS, STRUBENS VALLEY

There is nothing exceptional about this one, but for some reason, this remains Noodle’s favourite play area and is slap bang in the middle of the busy shopping centre, offering a welcome break for the children after the tedium of shopping (did I mention that I love shopping?). A new McDonalds has opened right next to the play area so it is easy to watch your kids from there while having a milkshake or ice-cream.