I'm Involved in "The Pintester Movement"!

I can hear you all asking, "What's the  Pintester Movement?", which is totally understandable unless you're following the slightly bonkers adventures of Sonja Foust, The Pintester.  Sonja has taken it upon herself to actually try to cook/make/craft all the things we see on Pinterest that look amazing and easy, yet turn out to be difficult and wrong.  She's set up a blog HERE detailing her adventures (slightly NSFW language-wise) and invited us to be a part of a global movement to see how many people can cook/make/craft something from Pinterest and live to tell the tale.

As you all know, I'm slightly addicted to Pinterest, so it's not difficult for me to find something.  However, living in a small German town, it's difficult for me to find the ingredients/crafting items necessary to make things I'd like to try, especially when this month Germany seems to be on a month long holiday, and the shops are always shut on Sundays.  So, I'm dragging out the fabulous "No Knead Bread" recipe that I tried from Pinterest earlier this year.  It works, it's yummy, it's easy, and it's fabulous.  And I think I might just make it again this weekend - there's a new jar of Nutella in the pantry calling my name.

Let's make bread as part of The Pintester Movement!  Aprons on ...

This is my first ever loaf of bread - YUM!

I know I'm a bit late to this whole "no knead" bread thing.  I've seen it on Pinterest a lot and I have friends who have been successfully making it for ages.  I declared that last year I was really going to get into bread making and I made precisely no bread at all - it all seemed just too difficult.  But this year?  This year I'm on it!

I thought I'd start with the easiest bread recipe in the world, and I've now made it three times - it just works!  After I mixed it all together I decided there was no flipping way it would ever work, but it really does - even if it looks wrong at the get go.  I think it might actually be fool-proof, so here we go (my notes in italics):-

• 750 plain flour (the bog standard stuff you can buy cheaply at the supermarket, you don't need posh flour for this - I tried to make it with rice flour also, and it was edible, but not as good as with boring old white flour)
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast (the granular stuff in the little sachets)
• 2 cups of water (500ml)

1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, salt and yeast.
2. Add water and mix it all together (don't use the whisk here, use a metal mixing spoon, this stuff gets STICKY and you'll never get it out of a whisk - I speak from experience ...).
3. It's going to look dry and shaggy, and you're going to look at it and think it won't ever work - it will!
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours (overnight is good).
5. Heat the oven to 450f (220c).
6. When the oven has reached 450f place a cast iron pot with a lid into the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.
7. I don't have a cast iron pot with a lid, so I used a Pyrex casserole dish with a lid.  I've read that you can use anything with a lid that isn't going to burn/crack/die in the oven at such a high temperature.
8. Meanwile, pour/scrape/heft/tip the dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape it into a ball (this is another sticky bit).
9. Cover with the plastic wrap you used to cover it at the start and let it sit whilst the pot is heating.
10. Remove the hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough (I lined my pot with baking paper before I put it in the oven the first time, but apparently you don't need to line it - sounds a bit iffy to me).
11. Put the lid on and whack it in the oven for 30 minutes.
12. Take the lid off and bake it for an additional 15 minutes.
13. Remove bread from oven and place on a rack to cool.
14. When it's cool enough to handle, hack a bit off the end, slather it with salted butter and take a bite.  Then swoon.  And have some more!

Hero Product : Garnier BB Cream

I know that back in September 2011 I did a post about Mac Studio Moisture Tint being a fabulous product, and it is, but Garnier BB Cream is even better (and it's less than half the price!).

I've been using the Garnier BB Cream for about 6 months now and it's brilliant.  Garnier makes several kinds of BB Cream, but I've got very oily skin and this particular product has a Matte finish, so it stops the oily glow I used to get with the Mac product.  I can pick this product up for about €8 on special at the supermarket or pharmacy here in Germany.

It comes in two colour blends (yes, only two, weird) and I bought the lighter coloured one first.  I wore it for a few days and it had great coverage, but people kept asking if I was sick, so I figured that one wasn't for me!  I then bought the darker one and it really is great.  It blends well, stays on all day and really covers blemishes and pigmentation issues - and even though it's darker, I don't look like a burnt biscuit (very important!).

If you want to find out more, here's a link to Garnier's US web page (because I figure you want to read about it in English), but if you've got oily skin like mine, make sure you buy the Matte Effect BB, not just the general BB.

It can look a bit weird when you first put it on, so my advice is to put it on and then DON'T FREAK OUT.  Give it a minute or two to settle onto your skin (whilst you're doing your mascara and lippy, or drying your hair, or something) - then you'll be fine.  Oh, and it comes in a 40ml tube, so it's perfect for travelling - you can take it in your carry-on!

True!

Instagram : Akademie Street Guest House

Further to my blog review last week, here's my Instagram shots of the gorgeous Akademie Street Guest House - check out that breakfast fruit platter!

The first course at breakfast ...

Keep your eyes open, there are lovely little things everywhere.  I found a guy making these birds just off the main street and managed to get two home with me, without them being squashed in my luggage.

There were some fresh Pomegranate seeds on our breakfast platters.
These lovely ripe ones were hanging over our pool.

Dutch doors lead you inside to the library, which is jam packed with lovely books and magazines.

Anna, the owners dog, enjoying some sun in between belly rubs from guests.

I wonder what was behind these shaded shutters ...

Win a Trip to MACATOO!

I know I blogged on your chance of winning a trip to Macatoo last month, but you had to be able to get to horse shows in the US or UK to be able to enter (I wish!), but now the lovely team at In The Saddle are giving you all a chance to enter via their Facebook page!

I entered via their Facebook page last year and I WON, so get thee to Facebook, find In The Saddle, and get entering!  It's nearly €8,000 worth of amazing experiences and being treated like royalty in the middle of the Okavango Delta, Botswana.

I'm also going to try to link to the entry page HERE, but I'm not entirely sure it'll work.  Click and try!

It really was the holiday of a lifetime, something we'll NEVER forget, so I wish you all the very best of luck.

Hotel Review : Akademie Street, Franschhoek, South Africa

After our amazing Macatoo experience, we headed to Cape Town for a week, spending the first few days in Franschhoek in the Cape winelands.  Here's a wee bit of info on the history of Franschhoek:-

After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France in 1685, when Protestantism was outlawed, hundreds of so-called Huguenots fled their homeland, 277 of them arriving by ship at the Cape of Good Hope.  Many of them were given land by the Dutch government in a valley called Oliphantshoek (Elephant's Corner) - so named because of the vast herds of elephants that roamed the area.  Soon after they settled here, it became known as Franschhoek (French Corner).

This heritage lives on today with the Huguenot monument standing proudly at the top of the village.  The museum nearby chronicles the history of those brave pioneers, with each of the original Huguenot farms having its own fascinating story to tell.

We found the wonderful Akadamie Street Boutique Hotel and Guest House on www.tripadvisor.com and they luckily found room for us.  We stayed in the charming Vreugde ("joy") suite, with it's HUGE Cali King sized bed, glorious bathroom and our own private garden, plunge pool and patio.

All of the different Akadamie Street Guest Houses join through winding pathways and meet at the beautiful site of Twyfeling - the Cape Dutch main home where breakfasts are served under a vine-covered patio by your hosts.

The staff at this family owned and run boutique hotel were absolutely first class, as is the property.  Your nightly rate includes the contents of the posh mini bar and all the yummy snacks in your room, as well as a breakfast that will make your eyes boggle - it was truly glorious.  I'll try to post a separate picture of the fruit plate that was presented before orders were taken for our hot selection - it's a work of art.

The hotel has a friendly dog, Anna, who put us very much in mind of our lovely Archie.  Anna will happily befriend you and she's lovely, but I'm sure that if you're not a dog person, the staff would be very helpful in that respect.

Akadamie Street is two blocks back from the main street, and it's VERY walkable.  Franschhoek is very safe to walk around, day or night, and it's incredibly beautiful.  It reminded us a lot of Hahndorf in South Australia - friendly, pretty and lots of cafes, restaurants and lovely little gifty shops stocking lots of pretty things you don't need, but really want.

I can't say enough good things about this glorious place, it really is top notch.  And it's got FREE WIFI, just like all the nicest places - yay!

Akadamie Street

Boutique Hotel & Guest House

5 Akadamie Street

Franschhoek

South Africa  7690

Phone:- +27 0 82 517 0405

www.aka.co.za

Are You Sure?

This sticker was on the dash of our hire car in Cape Town.  

I'm assuming they don't mean that the drivers side floor should be covered in mud and horse hair, whilst a large wet dog lays across the back seat, farting in his sleep?

Think it through, Avis!