The Parkview Christmas Market

 

We put in our order!

We enjoy oysters and champagne ...

... while Lou and Serge dine on ostrich chews.

I See Reindeer

baby reindeer

Not real reindeer like the ones I saw in Lapland in the wild.


















Sometimes I see reindeer in things that are not actual reindeer.

Like this piece of vine trunk that I had in the middle of a huge ancient honeysuckle arbor surrounding the entrance to the garden of my old home in NJ. At Christmas I would decorate his "antlers" with white twinkle lights and his snout with a large red bulb "nose" to turn him into Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. (You will have to trust me on this because I couldn't find a picture in my Facebook photo bank!) He would make me smile every time I passed by.







This must be a syndrome of some sort because I am not the only one. I have photographic evidence!

These are palm trees that line the San Francisco Bay shore front in Alameda, CA. The town decorated them with big red ribbons and "reindeer heads" made from discarded palm fronds.

They looked like an army of Santa's reindeer ready for flight.














Well apparently the syndrome has spread to South Africa too. Reindeer masqueraders are popping up all over the place just in time for Christmas here.


This beaded sheep in a shop window at the Sandton City Mall.

And the normally staid RMB Private Bank lion in downtown Sandton is now a rein-lion!

And he makes me smile every time I drive by.

Going to See The Golden Rhino

I first heard about the Golden Rhino of Mapungubwe while on a JoburgPlaces walking tour of the CBD during the Joburg City Festival and I blogged about it after a subsequent Past Experiences walking tour of the mining district. Both tours walked by the much larger replica erected in front of the Standard Bank building which was formerly the site of the Cullinan Building. I knew I had to see the original someday as well as the archaeological site where it was originally excavated.

Step one achieved! Ros and I took the Gautrain to Pretoria to see the Mapungubwe Collection housed in the Old Arts Building on the campus of the University of Pretoria. As you can imagine, the capital city's university campus is huge with a typical mix of heritage buildings and more modern structures. Thankfully, Ros had called ahead to find out which of the many campus entrances was closest to the Old Arts Building.

We took the train from Sandton to Hartfield which is the end of the Pretoria line, one stop after the Pretoria CBD. It was a very short walk to the campus and after a minimum of fumbling we found ourselves at the Mapungubwe Museum. No pictures allowed!

The collection is housed in one large room. Displays on the perimeter walls tell the story of the expedition and excavation, the discovery of the civilization remains, and the culture of the people who inhabited Mapungubwe so long ago.

There was a display about the trade beads made of ivory and 24K gold which the local people would trade for goods from Asia. Interspersed between displays were collections of solid gold beaded necklaces, bracelets and anklets, golden scepters and vessels. There was a video monitor which I would imagine gives voice to the story of the discovery, but unfortunately it wasn't working. There was also a pretty large collection of gold fragments that belonged to one young boy. Lucky boy!

In the center of the room, the Golden Rhino ... and it was amazing. The Golden Rhino is about palm-sized. I wanted to take a picture of it with my palm as comparison, but did I mention, no pictures allowed! It is very detailed. Eyes, cute little ears and a jointed tail. And of course a horn. In their own display cases, also in the middle of the room, were a golden feline and a golden bovine. Not quite as finely crafted as the rhino - but still magnificent. By comparison, they really gave you an appreciation of the artistry and workmanship of the rhino's sculptor.

As we were leaving the campus we met an Arts Masters student who told us that the small collection on display is only a small fraction of the treasure unearthed at Mapungubwe. She told us the University is building a new state-of-the-art museum to display the full collection as well as the rest of the University's vast bequeathed art collection. Good news!

The First Thanksgiving ... in South Africa

We celebrated Thanksgiving three times this year. We are super thankful!

We cooked our first turkey dinner at home and celebrated with guests. (You need guests to cook a turkey.)


The menu ...

Welcome!

Proteas and mums in Thanksgiving colors.

Thanksgiving Dinner guests.

Turkey on the braai.

Sunflower and pumpkin seed bread in case anyone wanted turkey sandwiches.

Serving suggestion: a cup of soup with a cheese straw garnish.

The herb-stuffed bird ready for carving.

Braai mealies and coal-scorched yams with butter and maple syrup. Mmmm good!

Enough stuffing for leftovers.

Buitengeluk

For the second Thanksgiving dinner, we ate out with the American Society of South Africa.

The estate grounds were spectacular!

The display of door prizes and raffle prizes. Proceeds went to the children's charity Edu Fun.

Desserts included pumpkin, apple and pecan pies. Just like home!

















We won two door prizes (!) and

... 1st prize in the raffle! A premiere Scotch Whisky selection presented in a wooden rack. Vince was very thankful!












Finally, for the third celebration on actual Thanksgiving, we had a light dinner just for the two of us. It was a work night after all!

We had some Turkey and Rice Soup that we made from the leftovers of the turkey dinner, and a warm Butternut, Apple and Brie Galette. A mushroom, dried cranberry, pecan and spinach salad; a bottle of South African Shiraz; and for dessert, Pumpkin Custard Pie, minus the crust.



We did save one of our annual Thanksgiving dinner traditions for the actual day of thanks. We listened to that other Thanksgiving story ...

Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving to friends and family in New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Maine, and Florida! Especially Alex and Nick and Jill in California; Cheryl, Richard and Patrick in Colorado; and Bob, Angela, Tori, Dan and Aly in New Jersey.

We love you and miss you! xoxo

 

Here are some recipes:

Butternut squash and Brie Galette from Happyolks

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 12 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup ice water
In a bowl, mix the flour with the sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in 6 tbsp of butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Cut in the remaining butter. Pour in water, then begin to mix and knead the dough until a ball forms and the mixture is no longer shaggy-looking. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
For the filling:
- 3-ish lbs butternut squash
- 2 apples (honeycrisp, pink lady or fuji)
- 2 cups Brie cheese, rind removed
- olive oil
- fresh thyme
- salt/pepper
- 1 egg
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Peel the squash. Cut 1/4-inch vertical wedges up to the rind. Halve disks. Place on a baking sheet, and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. It’s okay if wedges overlap. Bake 15–20 minutes until just softened and a little al dente in the thicker regions. Set aside and cool. With a mandoline or paring knife, cut apples (with peel) into 1/4-inch slices. Set aside. Cut or tear Brie into strips and chunks. Set aside.

Construction:

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Begin layering cooled squash, apples, cheese, and a bit of salt and pepper leaving a 1.5-inch border for folding it all up. Repeat until you run out of ingredients and can top with more cheese. Fold the border over your squash-apple-cheese tower, pleating the edge to make it fit. Finish outside exposed dough with an egg wash. Bake 30–40 minutes in the 400ºF oven. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Pumpkin Custard Pie, minus the crust from A Way to Garden
Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked, mashed winter squash (use a fine-grained and sweet variety such as ‘Hubbard,’ ‘Buttercup,’ above, or ‘Butternut;’ stringy, wet pumpkins such as jack-o-lanterns make terrible pie)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup dark maple syrup or to taste (if using sugar, start with ½ cup and taste to adjust)
• pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of nutmeg and cloves
• 1 cup whole-milk yogurt (I used goat), or up to 2 cups milk or half-and-half or a combination of milk and cream

steps

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Mash the cooked, cooled squash in a large bowl. (Note: You can steam the pumpkin first, or roast it, the scoop meat from the skin.)
• Add the sweetener, spices and dairy, blend well by hand or with a mixer.
• Taste and adjust sweetness and spices.
• Beat eggs, and mix into the batter.
• Scoop mix into oven-proof custard cups, enough to nearly fill each cup.
• Set into a pan of water (seen below, ready to pop into the oven) and bake for 30-50 minutes (as below), until the custard is set and rises up (it will fall once cooled). A note on baking time: My latest batch, made from that ‘Buttercup’ up above with yogurt and maple syrup, took about 50 minutes; I have made lighter versions with milk and a different squash, like ‘Butternut,’ that cooked in 30.

Yield, 6 ramekins.

Christmas Markets

Chelsea Christmas Market NYC

Never been a big mall shopper, especially at Christmas. I prefer Christmas markets when I can get them.

I fell in love with Christmas markets in the cities and villages of Europe where they run all through Advent. They started off as basically the only place one could buy locally handmade Christmas decorations and seasonal delicacies. The US has embraced them as well with Christmas markets popping up everywhere during the season. They have now expanded into more elaborate Christmas craft fairs for Christmas-specific wares as well as stocking stuffers and small gifts.

So glad to find that Joburg has them too. (Could have guessed with all the German, Dutch and British influence about.)

These are some I will try:

* The annual Parkview Charity Christmas Market.

It has a Champagne & Oyster Bar and Santa’s Beer tent!

The German Country Club

* The German Country Club Christmas Market. It's German!

* The Irene Village Market on the shady grounds of the Smuts House Museum about 40 kilometres north of Johannesburg. This arts market is awesome all the time. The fact that it's Christmas only makes it better!



 



* The Christmas Flea Market. It's French!


















* The Parktown North Christmas Market. Dogs are welcome!

Cricket for Thanksgiving?

Empire State Building lit for Thanksgiving

Uniquely American holidays celebrated in a foreign country are somewhat like the proverbial tree that falls unheard in the forest. Did it make a sound?

Macy's Parade from the New York Athletic Club

Like Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day, we celebrated Thanksgiving while living in the US in the traditional American way. With family and friends, watching a parade, eating and drinking, and enjoying sports on TV or in the stands. (In the case of the three summer holidays, that sport would be sailing, baseball and tennis in that order. Thanksgiving was for football.)

Kansas City's Crown Center is lit on Thanksgiving night.

Growing up in NJ, Thanksgiving was always my mother's holiday. My grandparents and various other relatives came to our house for dinner. My mother always served an antipasto and lasagna before the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner!

After the Macy's parade and dinner, the menfolk watched football and the kids watched the annual broadcast of King Kong and The March of the Wooden Soldiers on TV.

When we first moved to Florida, we would take the auto-train back up north for the long Thanksgiving weekend and spend it at someone else's house, either with my Uncle Ray's family in Cedar Grove or with my Aunt Helen and Uncle Pat in Mantoloking. After a few years though we stopped making the trek, stayed home and celebrated in Florida. One year we even spent Thanksgiving at Disney World. They have their own Disney Thanksgiving Day Parade by the way which we watched sitting on the curb of Main Street.

Thanksgiving in KC means dinner for 50+

When my parents moved from Florida to Virginia, Thanksgiving moved with them. Fairfax County where they lived was still pretty rural back then so it was very much an "over the river and through the woods" experience.

But after Alex and Nick were born, it became my Vince's turn for a while to make the turkey. We did that for a few years when they were very young, but when we took firm possession of the Christmas season at our house, Thanksgiving once again became a roving holiday.

in Plymouth, MA

We spent it some years in Florida with Vince's parents (more Disney World), some in Kansas City with Vince's sister and her huge family of eight kids and grandkids, as well as Vince's brother who had another five kids (and kicked off the Christmas season in KC's Hallmark Plaza), and some in Chicago and later, Indianapolis and Denver with my sister and her family (all cities with great Children's Museums for Black Friday too!)

We spent Thanksgiving weekend once in Plymouth, MA where we visited Plymouth Rock, the replica of the Mayflower, and Ocean Spray Cranberry World ... and we ate an authentically inspired Thanksgiving dinner at Plimouth Plantation. PS, I found out that there was no lasagna on the menu  at the first Thanksgiving.



 

CMU campus in Pittsburgh

One year we even spent Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh of all places. My son Nick played football when he was a student at Carnegie Mellon University and in his Freshman year they played a game on Thanksgiving Day.

After the game (they won!), the four of us had dinner at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel where Vince, Alex and I were also staying. (Very nice historic hotel by the way if you ever find yourself in Pittsburgh.)

We ate our Thanksgiving dinner in the hotel's American Brasserie dining room where the chef expertly prepared perfectly sized individual turkeys for each table. We even had leftovers which is crucial after Thanksgiving dinner.

 

dinner is served at the Welts'

Even when we stayed home in NJ for the holiday weekend, we still roved. We either had dinner on Thanksgiving at my brother's house in Middletown or with our friends the Welts in Morristown. A couple of our NJ Thanksgivings also included a Pingry football game with one or both of our sons playing.

Thanksgiving Eve

I never minded not cooking the "official" Turkey Day dinner because it meant we were freed up on Thanksgiving morning to pop over and watch the Macy's Parade in person, either on the street or from the comfort of someone's office conference room, apartment or private club overlooking the parade route. And to go ice-skating in Central Park and then watch the balloons being blown up on West 78th Street next to the Museum of Natural History on the night before.

We would always cook a mini-Thanksgiving dinner at home sometime over the weekend when we were in town if only to provide the best part of a turkey dinner, the leftovers. For turkey and rice soup. Hot turkey sandwiches. My mother's recipe for turkey croquettes. It went well with our other Thanksgiving weekend tradition - cutting down our many Christmas trees and getting a head start on our massive holiday decorating.

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

Even though we rarely spent Thanksgiving Day cooking at our home, we at least always spent it in the United States with family and friends. This will be the first time it will be just the two of us on non-native soil.

Vince and I will be in Joburg on Thanksgiving Day this year. And just like with the other uniquely American holidays, he does not get Thanksgiving off from work. We got around this work impediment by having some of Vince's office over for a team meeting and turkey braai just prior to Thanksgiving. This allowed us to have the all-important leftovers for some turkey and rice soup on Thanksgiving night.

Instead of football, we will watch cricket. And the only Macy's Thanksgiving Parade we will see will be the one on TCM's broadcast of Miracle on 34th Street. Yes, we get TCM! Our sons will be back in California spending the holiday together with my niece Jill. "Face to face" with family and friends will be replaced with "face to Face Time."

But first, this weekend we will celebrate Thanksgiving with the American Society of South Africa at the Buitengeluk Estate in nearby Fourways. With turkey and all the trimmings ... including the best Thanksgiving trimming of all, Americans!

Plimouth Plantation

Instead of dwelling on how this Thanksgiving is different, I will try to focus on what has remained the same. We will not be home. We'll be roving once again. We will not be cooking turkey on Thanksgiving Day. We will celebrate with our (new expat) family and friends. And we will be very, very thankful for all of God's blessings on our family, including the opportunity to live abroad and spend Thanksgiving in South Africa.

Happy Thanksgiving, America!