what Sundays are supposed to be

On final deadline for huge project. But managed to do a real Sunday anyway. At least I did actually work all day yesterday...

Olympia Bakery pastries — not the best in the world, but the almond croissant and hazelnut danish with a not bad takeout coffee get an awful lot of mileage out of the setting.

(photos of me by Rosie):

Then  a brief foray into spring at Kirstenbosch - the glasshouse and gardens all bursting with flowers, but this Cyrtanthus only just about to open. Graham Duncan somehow manages to coax these shy princesses to show us their stuff.

By now of course it seemed like a sin to go back to my computer, so I pottered around trying to persuade my nearly 10 year old heritage seeds to germinate - mostly mould so far, but I live in hope. Today the electric blanket got lent to the cause - I'm hoping a little gentle bottom heat might get the not completely moribund and dead to sprout.






And finally - while I'm not as obsessive as The Foodie I do love pig. Sadly, it is a source of slight relationship discord that this is not a wholly shared joy. While being complimented for my jellied trotter might be some way off, I do think I've managed to sell my better half on one more pig dish - couldn't fail with moist roast tomatoes juicily basting the pork belly strips, but not so much that the crackling on top wasn't perfect. As usual first prize to Olympia ciabatta - their pastries are just OK to good, but the ciabatta is consistent chewy happiness.