Tag Archives: Community

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

November 5, 2016brunch, Community, food, strawberryDebbie

The perks of growing up means you start to think about things that matter. Like brunch. How underrated is brunch? Brunch means you can wake up later (admittedly not right now), it be okay for you to be on your 3rd coffee; brunch often comes with friends, and it’s totally acceptable to have either savoury and sweet.

Brunch, as we have learned, is one of the best meals of the day. And thanks to our foodie Aussie friend, we were introduced to this recipe which is one of the best things you might ever taste. Ever. Don’t be put off by its high maintenance. Invite some friends over and put them to work in the kitchen – community at its best.

A sure fire way to start your weekend off RIGHT. Very, very right.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast (I’ll give credit to the one who opened our eyes to good, honest, community building food – Claire Perini).

What you need:

Loaf (or 2 or 3) of unsliced bread – an oval shaped loaf (cut into thick sliced, and then lengthways and then slit in the middle for stuffing).
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sprinkle cinnamon
Large tub of strawberries (you can also use nectarines, raspberries or blueberries) but strawberries are in season in SA…

Tub of double thick plain yoghurt (full cream preferably, and organic if you wish to add some kind of healthy something to this recipe)
Toasted sliced almonds
Maple syrup (the good kind, not the fake stuff)
Bacon (optional – and always so good with maple syrup – yummmmmm)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Slice fruit and stuff those little bad boys into the bread (not too full though). Whisk all the other ingredients together. On medium heat butter the pan, dip the stuffed bread into the egg mixture and fry on each side (turning once only, it doesn’t need to be completely cooked as it will cook a bit more in the oven). Popsy pop in the oven to crispy crisp it up for about 10 mins.

And you’re done. Please make this recipe. It’s a taste sensation.

Image credit: justataste.com, homemadehooplah.com.

The Imperfect

December 10, 2015challenge, Community, family, health, struggle, thoughtsDebbie

Tuesday afternoon I found myself at our ophthalmologist chatting about how if my son’s eyes don’t respond to a change in his glasses prescription, how we might find ourselves back in hospital requiring further eye surgery.

Eye Operation – April 2015

I’m okay with this. While it’s not great news, he can see, we have medical aid (which should cover it this time!), and we have options.

I sat there thinking about the next step. I’ve realized I’m a solutions focussed person and so my mind is already calculating what needs to be done: go to optometrist to order new lenses, send other glasses back off to Vancouver, double check with our broker that all our medical aid bits and pieces are in order and book a follow up appointment for 4 months time to determine official outcome. Cool. I got it.

A year ago these appointments terrified me. When something is wrong with your little one, your heart sits FIRMLY on your sleeve and you feel EVERYTHING DEEPLY. Once we knew something was awry (I still remember clearly, the road we were walking down when I verbalizied what I had noticed with Clay to my friend Amy) we booked numerous appointments, including the BIG one with the ophthalmologist to rule out the very scary stuff. I don’t think I ate for a week before the meeting I was so anxious. But now, we’re stronger and this is what it is (which is minor in the greater scheme of things) and with chins up, we embrace the challenges with grace and love.

Recently, I’ve known of friends dealing with many, many things. Friends struggling with rejection, very real family challenges, struggles with identity, years of getting out of debt, miscarriage and even the death of a child.

I’ve also been chatting with new parents, in what seems like that gushy, mushy, amaaaazing, yet sleep deprived what-the-hell-am-I-doing stage of parenting. I chuckled to myself as I heard them talking, remembering so clearly how I tried to keep things ‘right’ with this clean slate (of a person) I had just been given. I did it too: the whole ‘wash all of the baby clothes in the natural scented, gold tinted baby laundry soap’, have way more of everything than I EVER needed, put the ‘no tears’ shampoo in my eyes before using it on the kids, and didn’t sleep much at all if my child was 0.3 degrees hotter than his regular basal body temperature (all the while the canned goods in my cupboards were lined up military style – labels facing forward).

But the reality is, in our imperfect broken world – things go wrong. Eyes weaken, bodies fail, bad decisions are made (even with the very best and most honourable intentions), families break, and hurt people hurt people.

be kind

As I sat in the ophthalmologist’s room picturing the possibility of a second eye operation, I was comforted by the fact that this is life, and we are all working through different things. We may not all wear the badges on our blazers or show the depth of the scars but to pretend this stuff is not happening and that we’re always alright is just ignorant, hurtful and even harmful. Being an idealist I might come across as one of those ignorant ones, but I’m not… I am hopeful.

brokenn crayons still colour

This quote is so great –

Vulnerable quote

I’m hopeful. I believe in a God who heals, who changes, who restores and even if not – I’m hopeful because he is God. And we’re a part of a bigger story, and what we’re struggling with now, does not define us or determine who we are.

And because he makes beautiful things, out of us (thanks Gungor).

One year on…

December 2, 2015cape town, Community, family, friends, memories, parenting, South Africa, VancouverDebbie

And so here we are. Today, we are 1 year back in South Africa. And we’re a bit more worn, a bit more tanned, a year older (and hopefully wiser), and reflecting on what a wildly immeasurably beautiful 4.5 year stint in Vancouver did to us, and who we are today.

I’m an idealist. I grew up in one beautiful, warm, safe and happy house (which coincidentally, my husband I are about to buy from my parents and where we hope to raise our kids). Growing up, my friends, church and school were all around the corner. Life was happy, simple, neat and tidy.

And then I met my now husband and traveled with him, moved to Durban, traveled more and then took the big leap to Vancouver. Life got a bit messier.

Neat and tidy and messy were all good. But as I’ve grown, I’ve had to tone down on the idealism and accept more of the realism. I can’t commit myself to living in one house my whole life (which is only 1 of the things I naturally expected to happen).

I think that’s one of the deepest lessons I’ve learnt. Life is messy and not straight forward. It can be hard, raw, challenging, joyful, beautiful, mysterious, and unknown, and often (always?) out of our control. Admitting that is hard for me. I like control. And so, if I have learnt ONE lesson over the last year it’s this – while life is beautiful, it is not wrapped in its beautiful perfectly square box, with crisp neat corners, its Pinterest style (as much as I LOVE Pinterest) paper with its ribbons and raffia. We might move, we might stay, we might travel, we might change. We roll with the punches. And I’ve learnt that there is a very beautiful depth to the mess. And often, we NEED the mess to keep us real.

But even more pressing is my other HUGE life mantra: experience trumps stuff. EXPERIENCE TRUMPS STUFF. No question. Hands down.

So here they are… MY OBSERVATIONS… 1 year on.

In South Africa there are so many good people doing so many good things.

It is harder to stay green.

It is easy and important to be growing your own food. I can’t wait to get chickens.

Traffic is hectic.

Coffee is better than it was 5 years ago.

The mountain is extraordinary. Life here is in full colour.

There is no place like home.

Crime is real, and it makes me concerned.

People don’t change, are loving, caring and look out for each other.

Conversations with strangers are easy.

It is been hard hard hard HARD to find a church after our experience at Regent and Artisan.

I feel really, really privileged to have had my kids in Canada.

Don’t underestimate education.

I love how car guards interact with the boys and help them out of the trolley and into the car.

Runners/cyclists greet each other and encourage each other on the roads which is awesome. It’s not safe to run alone at night, which sucks. But running with old friends (my Natalie) is life giving.

People are generous.

Our government is abominable. Parliament is hard to watch at times.

My kids play in mud, feed farm animals and get messy and barely ever ever ever wear shoes.

Internet and free wifi is scarce (and slow).

HEROES are born and raised here.

EXPERIENCES trump things hands down.

I LOVED Christmas in the snow.

Time and space between true brotherly and sisterly friends really doesn’t change all that much.

Watching your children play with their cousins is a gift.

We have amazing sports teams.

I have more of a hunger to see and do more (when my allergy towards all airports calms down – travelling for 6 weeks with two small children halfway across the world is still exhausting to think about).

Seemingly small things, can make BIG change.

Despite loving news and sport, I have no real interest in having a TV.

Community (be it local or international) is invaluable.

***

And now since my husband Theran and I are so different (really, sometimes I wonder how we actually got married…), I thought I’d include his:

Education gives you new eyes and ears for the world. You cannot quantify its value.

White people in Cape Town need to catch a wake up. White privilege is not an attack on white people, its a reality needing attention.

The mountain is different every day.

You can’t over emphasize the value of friendship – whether like minded friends around the world or lifelong friends who share your story.

Don’t let 5 years of tax returns build up while you are away.

Seeing your children with their grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles is worth so much more than the alluring pull of the ‘first world’.

Work can take more than it’s ‘pound of flesh’ from you – you can quickly find yourself consumed by obligations to an employer, whether valid or unrealistic demands, and end up sacrificing important things you shouldn’t.

Young children grow and change every day.

Family stress and tension causes more anxiety than work tension.

A swimming pool is a waste of space and money (really Theran?).

Dentists don’t do unnecessary work on your teeth (well ours doesn’t).

***

I’m sure there are many, many more lessons we’ve learnt which we can’t articulate quite yet… but needless to say, it’s GOOD to be back. Familiarity is a GOOD and comforting thing. Moving to Vancouver for almost 5 years was by far the best thing we have ever done (besides the obvious God, kids, marriage decisions) and I hope we’re brave enough to make more big decisions when they come our way.

Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika