Glorious Saturdays in Stellenbosch

These days, my 14 week old daughter decides what time we get up in the morning. This glorious Saturday morning, it was at 05h20. Needless to say, there was just no way to make her go back to sleep again, so we got up and went for a walk in our neighbourhood. It was an absolute perfect morning in the Winelands, and we needed to make it count.

We gobbled down some extra strong coffee, packed the car (if you have a baby, you’d understand that this takes quite some time and planning) and headed for Tokara deliCATessen for breakfast. We were one of the first tables to be seated, aside from 2 other families with twin babies, twin toddlers and another very young baby in a pouch. Although the other moms exchanged understanding smiles with me, I knew I had the easiest deal. At another table there was a young couple, and the girl asked her waitress if she could have scrambled eggs on a croissant, but with broccoli instead of bacon. Huh?! Jeez…

Anyway, I had the muesli with natural yoghurt and berry compote, served with a berry smoothie. It was dreamy! Quality fresh ingredients always make the best meals. We slurped up our cappuccino’s made with extra-thick froth, and strolled through the deli to stock up on some products for our pantry. I came across a great-looking plum & onion preserve from Chaloner (made on Falcon’s Nest Farm on Blaauwklippen Road, Stellenbosch) – a big 450g jar of brown oozy preserve for only R35. Then I saw the Tokara Olive Shed olive oils were on special for R50, so I took 2 bottles. When I got to the paypoint, our waittress pointed out that these oils were now 2 for the price of one, so I bought 4 bottles of my favourite Frantoio varietal. Two litres of world class olive oil for only R100!

We made the trek back to town, and decided to pop in at the Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market for a quick oyster fix, after which we headed to the Botanical Gardens in the centre of town for a lazy hour of reading the paper while my daughter stared wide-eyed at the beautiful trees ahead. Then we headed home

to watch the cricket. And of course the Chaloner plum & onion preserved had to be sampled. So I assembled a platter of pan-fried Grabouw boerewors, toasted ciabatta drizzled with Tokara Olive Shed olive oil, a simple tomato & parsley salad, and slices of mozzarella cheese. We each stacked our own open sandwiches, and topped it with the preserve. It had a thick almost fudgy texture and tasted of the sweetest caramelised onion with the deep fruitiness of ripe plums – just glorious with the boerewors!

It’s six o’clock and I’m planning an early night due to tomorrow’s fabulous Food Blogger Indaba in Noordhoek. I’m sipping a Pina Colada (the fabulous new ready mix from Mainstay) and my daughter is asleep next to me. Living in Stellenbosch is such a privilege: the wine farms, the restaurants, the opportunities, the nightlife, and the sheer beauty of the surroundings. I feel blessed and thankful. And maybe just a little bit hungry again.