A moonlit scramble up and down Lion's Head

liabeveridge — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:50:56 GMT

I had been in Cape Town a month. I was in love with the city, it's culture, food and vibrancy but nothing had screamed at me yet. My flatmates kept saying "what is my life?" In astonishment at something we did but nothing yet had jumped at me. Then I did the full moon hike up Lion's Head and my sleepy traveller self re-awoke and to think I almost didn't do it!

I was hung over. We had all gone out the night before and the prospect of clambering up Lion's Head at a fast pace wasn't exactly on my list of priorities. Thankfully my friend Naoeme was more gung-ho and got me moving albeit a bit late. We threw on walking shoes, warm layers, grabbed snacks, hopped a cab and told him to go as quickly as possible to Lion's Head. We were the only ones on the path and it truly was a race against the sun. We had 20 min to get to the top so we could watch the sunset so taking a deep breath off we charged. The walk itself isn't a difficult. If you are in good health and don't mind using chains and ladders to scale the final few meters you'll be grand.

Pulling ourselves up through the last crevice we we found our friends sitting on blankets, taking photos and eating the picnics they had put in their rucksacks over looking Camps Bay. Watching the clouds fall over the Twelve Apostles, the ocean turn from blue, to purple, and gold - it was impossible not to feel in awe.

Once the sun was set we all changed direction to face the rest of Cape Town and watch the large harvest moon rise. The day Cape Town, busy streets and concrete buildings disappeared under a sea of twinkling lights. I felt like I was in a National Geographic Magazine and wished that I had a tripod and a better camera.

We stayed until the moon was half way up and the wind started to go through our sweaters. As we both only had our phone flashlights we decided to take advantage of the people who hadn't forgotten that half the walk would be in darkness and brought head lights and follow them down. By the time we reached the flatter part of the path the moon was out in full, the fireflies dancing and the light of the city filled the sky. My eyes adjusted to the dark as we were guided down the path by the light of the moon and the fireflies. My sense of wonder and awe came rushing back and I had my " I am in Cape Town and this is unbelievably amazing" moment, realising I had made the right choice. All I could wish for was a Port key or a Tardis so I could whisk in my family and friends and say "Look!"

Passport & Plate - Chocolate & Peach Tart

liabeveridge — Thu, 5 Mar 2015 16:31:50 GMT

Ingredients
The Pastry

1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1/4 cup of cocoa
3/4 cup of icing sugar
125g butter cut into little squares at room temperature
1 egg yolk
Warm water

The Filling

1/2 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/8 tsp of vanilla extract
2-3 ripe peaches sliced thinly with the skin still on.
Icing sugar for dusting

How to prepare this recipe
The Pastry
Sift your flour, cocoa and icing sugar all together in one bowl. Then add the cubed butter and begin to quickly mix it together with your hands. Once you have it well mixed into a bread crumb texture add in the egg yolk and mix together until well combined. Begin adding water to the dough but slowly. A tablespoon or so at first and mix together until it comes together in a soft fluffy feeling dough but firm. Make sure all the lumps of butter are combined well into the pastry.

Shaped your pastry into a ball and push it into a 12" tart case. Bringing it up to the rim and making sure the sides and bottom are not too thick and evenly spread.

The Filling

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees F

Mix together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Spread this mixture evenly over the base of your tart. Then layer your peach slices on top of the sour cream so that the entire pie is covered.

Bake for 30 min or until the base is cooked and the peaches are soft and juicy. Once it has cooled sprinkle icing over the top to serve.

As I had a little bit of left over pastry I made little chocolate stars and put them on top to bake so when I sprinkled the icing sugar over the top it looked rather festive.

The story behind this recipe
One of the things I love about travelling is trying new foods and getting tips or ideas or joining two nations foods together. This is what this recipe is, inspired by a tart I had when I was learning French in the SW of France and improved by ideas from my friends.
I was living in Mildura, Australia doing my farm work and we had all just finished a hot and tiring day grape farming. It was the start of the summer so the evening was cool and fresh and we were all sitting outside enjoying the weather. All of a sudden the taste of an apricot tart that I'd had in the middle of the woods in the SW of France reappeared on my tongue. Anne, one of the women who lived on the farm where I had been WOOFING had brought me to meet an old friend of hers. He lived in a small caravan in the forests below the Pyrenees mountains and had built a tall brick oven in the middle of the clearing. We all sat around his well loved wooden table under a mezzanine of trees and he set out to make us an apricot tart. A thin pizza like base with ripe apricots cut over the top sprinkled with brown sugar and then baked until they were golden with a crispy crust. Simple but oh so scrumptious! I wanted to create something similar and wondered if I could do the same with the two fat and juicy peaches I had in the fridge and minus the brick oven.

Chang, master baker from Taiwan had made Chocolate Bread earlier so I thought a chocolate crust would be nice and Leo a French Pastry chef helped me with the quantities. Sarah, from Germany said "why don't you use a little bit of sour cream on the base like I do with my apple crumble?" I then remembered a family favourite Cheesecake which uses sour cream on top mixed with brown sugar so it caramelises so that was quickly added into the mix too. In the end, perhaps not quite as straightforward as the tart in France but it captured the taste that I was after and will remind me of everyone who took part in it's creation and two very different adventures.

A Craving Satsified - Chocolate and Peach Tart

A moonlit scramble up and down Lion's Head

Passport & Plate - Chocolate & Peach Tart