Our good friend was here for 2 weekends and we played host to him. We love having visitors as we get to revisit some of the places that were our past loves but long forgotten. And of cos, we get to visit the wineries knowing that if either of us get drunk, there will be two people to bring the children and 1 adult home.These places that are not all kids friendly  but they make up for their food, wines and atmosphere.

On the first day, we went to Clos Malverne. The moment we arrive, we have to get our friend drunk right? Anyway, we go there almost every quarterly with visitors and found that the menus were changed again from the last time, which was great. It is rated as the #2 restaurant to eat in Stellenbosch according to Trip Advisor. Anyway for a fix price of  R295, you get to choose from the set menu which is about 5 courses. And each course comes from a wine pairing. *gasp* Now you know why we avoid going there when it is just us and the kids.

1) Clos Malverne

 Hub looked drunk already so I had to grab the wine away from him as I don't want to be the one handling the 2 kids. 

I only took pictures of my favorites, though I love most of the food there. It is busy enough handling two kids who gives no hoot about good food and wine. Mussels in wine and garlic are always to die for....

And desserts.. cos they just look so pretty. Yes, you can safely judge a dessert by its look.

2) Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Ok this is probably biased, but I have listed down the place we go to weekly for our mass. It has to be one of our must-go favorite places if we go to it weekly. :)

We went to have breakfast at Cold Press first before going to church. Breakfast feels really healthy with salad and smoothie.

3) Brass Bell Pub

We haven't been here for sometime as it is a pretty long drive but we love the beach and food here. You can definitely print it out on a postcard.

We had the seafood platter and heaven felt so near suddenly.

We did not bring the sand scooping toys nor the swim-appropriate/wade appropriate clothes as we can be the most attentive parents. We allowed the kids to roam around themselves. In the end they found random small objects to play with, like mini containers and shells to scoop water. We paid the price by having kids with soaked pants and sand that are like leeches.

4)  Sake Sushi

This is a place which we love to go for a sushi buffet. However, be careful of mayonnaise overdose as it can fill you up easily. For R129, you can have as much sushi as you want and 8 pieces of sashimi. We enjoyed going there when we feel like abandoning our diet. The kids totally love tempura. As it is pretty near to our place, it has become one of our favorite haunts.

Say Hello to Uncle Keenan!

This was a really good finger training and estimation skills combined activity. I would prefer my kids to peeling and cutting anytime then sliding their fingers on the ipad.

Using the pepper again! This time, he had more strength.

I cut up the carrots and sweet potato after. Hm, I still don't know when I will let him use the knife.

Next we bake it in the oven for about 40 minutes. It was so sweet and delicious with a tinge of rosemary. Hub, who is not a vegetable lover walloped it up. Imm had one bite and said he did not like it. (As usual) Hehe.

What he learnt:

1) Carrots and sweet potatoes are healthy (again)

2) Using a peeler! (Bonus to let him try finally)

3) Amount of a tablespoon

4) Arranging the sweet potato and carrot

5) He still doesn't like them (Anyway that is besides the point, the main thing is to keep encouraging our kids to eat vegetables) :)

Why I chose this was I wanted Imm to try on certain skills. I did the cutting of onions and shredding of cheese first. Then I just prepared the correct amount of beef and tomatoes.

I let him try weighing out the butter so he knows how to do the scale reading.

I boiled the sweet potatoes before hand and let Imm mash it together with the butter.

Then he added pepper while I added the salt. Put aside.

Next was the frying part. I put in oil and he poured in the onions. I told him that we must let the onion soften and next, we put in the beef. After a while it was the tomatoes and some water. After it was boiling, we let the mixture simmer.

Just before hub came back, I separated out the beef mixture into 5 ramekins, top it up with the sweet potato and put cheddar cheese on top before putting it into the oven. Initially, I wanted to separate it with Imm but he was concentrating on his sand art. Well, never mind, let sleeping dogs lie. Sometimes when they are busy doing their stuff, I try not to disturb them so it is easier for me. :) Anyway I have also taught him most of what I intended.

So we made the big pot and 4 small pots. Hub and I finished it and it was actually very nice and filling. Sweet potatoes are a good and healthy source of protein. What was not so good was that Ko and Imm does not like strange looking stuff. Imm tried a bite at the end when I told him he could only have his dessert after trying. He can refuse food but he must try it. Hopefully, he will experiment more of the food he cooks in future. :)

Skills learnt:

1) Mashing potatoes for fingertraining

2) Understanding how a weighing scale works and seeing the measurement.

3) Understanding that heat softens food

4) Knowing how the food changes colour when it is cooked

Cooking Lesson #2 Accomplished! And we had a great meal! :)

I have always wanted to do a cooking session with Imm as I realised he really enjoyed seeing me cook and bake. At times, he would help me stir or mix the flour and ingredients for baking together. He is also a very hands on boy. I have been looking out for cooking classes but there wasn't any due to timing so far. Then.... I chanced upon this cookbook at the bookstore and decided it has to be me to impart the cooking skills to him. After all, cooking is really a life skill which is essential. This is not a cooking blog post so I didn't put up the recipe. This is going to be a 4 part lesson twice a week.... hahaha.... my new project.

As I browsed through the recipes, this had to be the easiest.

I just needed to prepare cheddar cheese, eggs, butter, salt, pepper, milk.

He helped me to break the eggs. He will only make a slight crack in the egg so I would help him.

I added the bit of salt for him cos I am afraid he would put too much. Hehe... Then I taught him how to use the pepper grinder.

Then, he helped me to whip the ingredients together.

He was super happy! :)

He poured the egg mixture into the pan and checked to make sure it became less runny...

At the end, I helped to put the omelette on a plate, folded it and we sprinkled the remaining cheddar cheese on top.

Thank you for reading my blog post! A happy face for you!!

At the same time, I taught him not to touch the hot part of stove and he will tell me the handle of the pan will not be hot etc. Little observations like these would be made. Looking forward to our next lesson! :)

We arrived early at Michael Oak School. There is a nice playground and the kids played around. Imm loved to climb on the "web" especially while Ko went on the swing (as usual).

Oh Yay! Class started! The teacher was showing us some pics of the sculptures in Kirstenbosch, the famous botannical garden in Cape Town. Seriously I had no idea what to  make, being not so art inclined. Therefore, the trial class was needed not only for Imm but also for me. 

 Strangely enough, Imm and Ko behaved like very good students while the teacher described the pics and I am so proud of them!

Ok, clay, what should I do? But Imm always seemed to know what he is doing when it comes to art. (until he whines, "Mummy, I don't know") and I have to rack my brains to rescue him. Fortunately, it didn't happen this way as there were sculptures of dinosaurs in Kirstenbosch. WOooHoooo! I wanted to make a tyrannosaurus but no matter what, Imm converted it into a stegosaurus by pinching the clay at the top to make the kite shaped plates. He then used the toothpick to make patterns to make the rough texture after being prompted by the teacher.

What was Ko doing? She also had her own clay and was busy poking at the clay with the toothpick. It was rather nice to just let her sit there with her own clay though she wasn't supposed to be attending the class.

Not too bad right? And we didn't even refer to any pictures.

Took a pic of where the clay was from!

We ended up signing up for the remaining 7 art classes because we felt that Imm really enjoyed it. When we asked him, he said he wanted to continue. Next week will still be clay and there will also be watercolour and drawings subsequently. Hub said he will take turns with me to sit in with Imm. I feel that this is time productively spent when a child focuses and does something he enjoys. He is able to channel his energy to create something and we, as parents hope to provide this environment whenever possible. :) I felt that I also learnt a lot from doing activities with them. An apprehensive experience somehow became more enjoyable.

Next, we went to shop at Makro, our favourite stop when we want to buy in bulk. We ate at Wiesenhof Cafe since it was a stone's throw from Makro. We had Mac and Cheese for the kids. The spaghetti inside was really soft and  Ko seriously loved it.

And Steak and Avo wrap for Hub and I.

We also had nutella with toast for Imm. He was busy chomping it down cos we banned it at home for him. He had his year's worth of nutella there. He ate a little of the Mac and Cheese after that. I was surprised that the Mac and Cheese, plus the wrap tasted rather good! Not all cafes are like that. And being appropriately situated near Makro made me feel that the food would be more for convenience than quality.

A pic at Makro!