No more spillage this summer!

Have you ever had this happen to you? You are enjoying and every sip of your last bit of bubbly while lying and soaking up the freshness and enjoyment of your picnic when suddenly you put your glass down and there goes the last bit of your champers. Yup, this has happen to us so many times. Well fear not, we have the perfect answer to this most annoying issue: Spiked Glass Holders. For only R 45 you will never have to deal with spillage / wastage again. These spikes fits wine and champagne glasses and will fit into any picnic basket.

This fabulous invention is available from Dial-a-Picnic's new online shop www.picnicsouthafrica.co.za.

There are lots of other fabulous picnic accessories available at the shop like picnic blankets, baskets, champagne coolers, etc.

Sorry for the silence!

Shoe this time of the year just flies past you and before you know it it is Christmas. Sorry for the silence the last 4 weeks. I am back now and will bring you all the latest and greatest trends in picnics.

Magical Country Picnic Wedding

Wow, this was one of the most beautiful weddings ever. So many things have contributed to the perfection of this picnic wedding, it is difficult to isolate one thing. What I know for sure is that Kerri, from Dial-a-Picnic Nelspruit, has put her whole heart and soul into this stunning wedding and the results were absolutely beautiful. The setting was a very old pine forest next to a dam nearby Sabie, Mpumalanga. The colours, white, lavender and light green, blended in so naturally with the environment. This picnic wedding was absolutely exquisite with a vintage twist. I love the antique furniture combined with the hay bales and lace that formed the setting for the bridal couple's picnic spot. Hay bales were also used for the seating for the ceremony with a creme carpet in the middle and meadow flowers to round it off. When you look at this wedding it makes you want to do it all again. Everything is in perfect balance.

Govino: The answer to stylish "plastic" picnic glasses

Although not locally made this product is so awesome and environmentally friendly that we can forgive the fact that it is an imported product. 

govino - 100% recyclable, shatterproof and reusable

Weighing a 10th of the weight of traditional glass it is shatterproof and 100% recyclable. Loved by Wine Spectator and Martha Stewart, govino is wines new best friend.
The govino "go anywhere wine glass" allows for enjoyment of fine wine in settings where breakable glass is not allowed or fine stemware is not available.

The stemless, unbreakable "glass" is not made of glass at all, but from a flexible, BPA-free, odourless polymer, which reflects a wine's colour and projects its aromatics much like expensive crystal.

Designed into the glass is an ergonomic thumb notch on the side, giving the user a secure and comfortable grip for swirling and drinking wine. The notch also acts as a stem without a stem, preventing heat transfer into the beverage and potential finger smudging on the crystal-clear surface of the glass.  Govino is made from PET, is shatterproof, reusable and 100% recyclable, and also works for other cold beverages such as cocktails and water.

govino was designed for commercial use and can withstand most industrial glass sanitation systems (1-2 minutes at 65°C).

Since domestic dishwashers are so widely varied, we cannot claim our product is 100% "dishwasher safe."

Reuse it, abuse it, but eventually recycle it! 100% recyclable &  SA’s greenest glassware.

The govino wine glass is meant to be replaced after an extended period of use. Please inspect your govino wine glass before each use.

Our personal favourite is the govino champagne flute. For us the perfect picnic always include a bottle of local bubbly and now one can still enjoy it in style with a govino champagne glass. 

For more information you can visit Entertain Outside's website.

Tasty Local Grown Olives from Willow Creek

I've just met with Mari Lise from Willow Creek Olives. She has brought me samples of their variety of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, olives and tapenades. I can not wait to start experimenting. I have had the privilege of visiting the farm during June this year, what a stunning location, Nuy Valley, Western Cape. They planted their first olive trees in 1999 and in 2002 pressed their first olive oils.

Although not organic their olive oils and balsamic vinegards are to die for. They have the most exotic flavours. From lemon flavoured to basil to parmesan flavoured oils. All of these are naturaly flavoured by extracting the oils from the lemon, cheese and basil. These oils are perfect for roasting vegetables, pasta and over your summer salad. Our personal favourite is the Cabernet Sauvignon balsamic vinegar. My husband use it in and on nearly everything. You can use it on salads, carpacchios and roasted meats and stews. 

What I am most excited about is their Snap & Squeeze range. This is the perfect accessory for a picnic. You don't have to pack the olive oil and balsamic bottles anymore! These bottles adds unnecessary weight to your already compact picnic basket. Once you start carrying the basket, the cooler box, the blankets, cushions, etc you soon realise that you need to minimize weight and this is good place to start. You can either get them in separate balsamic and olive oil sachets (8g) or in a salad dressing mix (12g). What makes this product even better is that it is much more user friendly than the traditional take away sauce satches. The Snap & Squeeze is smaller than a credit card and you just Snap and Squeeze. No mess no fuss. No more struggling to open the sauce with your mouth and getting it all over yourself and your car.

For more information you can visit www.willowcreek.co.za. If you want to order the satches for your next picnic you can do so via www.dialapicnic.co.za.

Photo Credit: Willow Creek

Celebrating Heritage Day with a South African Inspired Picnic!

 

For those of you who want to spend Heritage Day in nature, with your loved ones, but are not allowed to braai at your chosen location, we have compiled a proudly South African picnic. 

There are so many goodies that one can include in a South African picnic. Below we have listed our favourite items.

Suggested Picnic Menu:

Variety of Organic Dried fruit and nuts.

(My personal favourite is dried pine apple and dried banana)

Organic Beef biltong

Variety of home baked breads served with West Coast Snoek Pate &

Free Range Chicken Liver Pate

Variety of local Estate Cheeses served with Savoury biscuits, Purple Fig Preserve & Onion Marmelade

(I personally love the cheeses from Dalewood Fromage, especially the Green Fig Brie)

Home Made Mini Meatballs served with Mrs Balls Chutney

Oak Smoked Free Range Chicken

Vegetarian Malay Samoosas

Baby Potato & Herb Salad

Mini Milk Tart & Apple Tart (like your granny used to make)

Home Made Ginger Bear

Red & White Picnic Wedding

The great thing about a picnic wedding is that there are no rules. A picnic wedding can be a casual affair or an over the top feast. With red and white being the colours of the tradional checked picnic blanket, there is so many things that one can incorporate in this colour theme. Strawberries, fresh cherries and rose champers are romantic and yummy and toffee apples takes you on a trip down memory lane. One can even rent a candy floss machine.

Credits: Kelly Oshiro Events, Images: from left to right, top to bottom: {Row 1} 1. Lacey Style 2. Alexandra Grablewski 3. Kristi Blunt for Martha Stewart Weddings { Row 2} 1. Thayer Allyson Gowdy 2. Polly Wreford 3. Miki Duisterhof {Row 3} 1. Dasha Wright 2. Open Air Photography 3. Anna Skoog

Gone Picnicking!

So sorry for the silence the last 10 days. I have been busy coordinating a 50th birthday picnic in the beautiful karoo town of Matjiesfontein. We had the most perfect weather and the location was beautiful. There is something so special about the karoo. I love the sky, fresh air and the sunsets. We chose the perfect menu for the day, a variety of local organic tastes and treats. The guests absolutely loved the food.

Spring Bunny Themed Kids Picnic Party

Wow, look at this stunning spring bunny themed kiddies picnic party idea. This is so beautiful yet easy to do. We found the inspiration on Amy Atlas's blog. 

This is the perfect theme for the age group 3 - 5yrs. 

 

I love the simplicity of the party snacks. It is healty, colourful and tasty. It is often a challenge to do healthy kids party snacks, treats that they would want to eat and that looks yummy.

Head Outdoors this Spring!

We are so exicted that spring has finally arrived!

In celebration of Spring, Dial-a-Picnic would love to offer all their clients and fans a R 50 discount voucher towards their next picnic experience! 

Pack out the old picnic basket, dust off the blanket and head outdoors. There is no better way to celebrate spring than with a relaxing spring picnic. The spring flowers are out and brings so much colour to our natural surroundings and they make beautiful photos too.

On Saturday I met clients, getting married later this month, at St James beach in Cape Town. This picture was taken on a grassy patch next to the rocks. It immediately brought me so much joy, the knowing that we will be spending more days outside, in the sun, in the spring and summer months to follow.

So head outdoors, breath in the fresh air, smell the flowers and revitalise your soul!

A Selection of Organic Wines for the Perfect Picnic Outing!

Wine and/or cap classique make up an important part of any special picnic. For me it is important to strive to always support the farmers that are trying to make a difference to our precious earth. There are some wonderful organic wines out there. The best part is that more of these organic wines are being released as time goes by. So before we know it there will be a bigger selection of organic wines offered via the mainstream outlets.

Below I have identified a few of these farms that are leading the way with yummy organic wines.

Avondale Wines:
www.avondalewine.co.za

Terra Est Vita – ‘Soil is Life’
At Avondale we practise sustainable and natural viticulture in line with our ethos Terra Est Vita – ‘Soil is Life’.  We know that for the land and the business to thrive, every aspect of our living system must also thrive.  In everything that we do, we uphold the key principle of Life – to constantly create conditions conducive to more Life.

Org De Rac Wines:
http://www.orgderac.co.za

Our approach at Org de Rac stems from a deep respect and commitment to the natural environment, the people involved in making our wine and the people who will finally enjoy our wine.

Steller Organic Wines:
http://stellarorganics.com

Stellar Winery, South Africa's largest producer of fine organic wines, processes organically-grown grapes for the South African and export markets. The grapes are drawn from farms in the Lower Olifants River Valley, part of the Namaqualand area of the Western Cape. This is an area famous for its spring flowers and is also the only semi-arid Biosphere hotspot in the world.

Waverley Hills Organic Wines:
http://www.waverleyhills.co.za

Waverley Hills Estate is situated between Tulbagh and Ceres, South Africa, at the foothills of the breathtaking Witzenberg Mountain Range. The fertile Oakleaf yellow clay terrain is impregnated with river stones, resulting in well-drained soils with excellent water holding capacity. All the vineyards are irrigated with pure mountain spring water and are located on a natural watershed area where both the Breede and Berg rivers originate. 

Bon Cap Organic Wines:
http://www.boncaporganic.co.za/

Seven generations of our family have lived on this farm. Growing grapes since the late 1920’s Bon Cap Organic Wine Cellar produced its first wines in 2002, the same year the farm received full organic status. 

Warm Gluhwein Recipe for Cold Winter's Nights

There is nothing better than a warm glass of gluhwein to help you get rid of the winter blues. Today is a typical winter's day in Cape Town which makes me long for a cozy fireplace, a glass of gluhwein and my husband to cuddle with. In the spirit of winter I decided to find us a tasty recipe.

Recipe 1 – GLÜHWEIN

750ml red wine
2/3 cup of sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
1 big bay leaf
1 sliced up lemon
1 sliced up orange
2 cardamom pods
1 Vanilla pod

Just mix it all together in a pot and mull it over medium heat for about and hour or so.Do not let the concoction come to a boil.

Recipe 2 – GLÜHWEIN with a South African twist

2 Rooibos tea bags
500ml Boiling Water
125ml sugar
1 orange peel
2 cinnamon sticks
10ml crushed cloves
1 bottle red wine (750ml)

Make strong rooibos tea with the bags and boiling water.

Add the sugar, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves and red wine and let it simmer slowly for 20 minutes. Remove the teabags, cinnamon & orange peel and serve warm.

 Recipes and Photo Credit courtesy of  http://www.freerecipes4all.com/

What have you done today to make yourself proud?

Aquila Owner, Searl, trying to get medicated water to Absa
Photo Credit: Getaway Magazine

My heart is saddened by yet another brutal rhino poaching this past week. Absa, the first rhino introduced to Aquila game reserve, died after 5 days of fighting for his life after poachers brutally removed his horns. To date 279 rhinos have been killed across South Africa. If they keep going at this rate there will be more than 400 rhino deaths for 2011 in SA alone. Where will this end? This is all for greed and money. Have people gone crazy, do they not care, do they not realise by killing and destroying our precious animals and earth, they are indirectly hurting themselves and robbing their own children and people from their heritage. I am outraged at this and will do everything I can to help make a difference.

You can also make a difference by doing the following:

1) Sign these petitions

http://www.mypetition.co.za/index.php?page=sign_petition&petition_id=504

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/africa-geographics-stop-killing-rhinos-petition/

2) Join the Woolworths My School My planet Campaign and choose The Rhino Fund as beneficiary.
This costs you nothing. Woolworths has committed to donate a certain percent of profits everytime that someone swipes their card while shopping at any of their stores. Please read more about this campaign here:
http://www.myschool.co.za/villages-and-planets/494-ewt-myplanet-rhino-fund

SA Top Ten Picnic Spots

Top 10 Picnic spots as per http://www.southafrica.net/

Kirstenbosch Gardens {Picture courtesy of Dial-a-Picnic}

1 Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Indigenous flora and immaculate lawns plus delicious people watching potential because numerous Cape Malay couples who come to take wedding photos in the park. Rhodes Drive, Newlands, Cape Town, Western Cape Tel 021 799 8783

2 Sandy Bay Beach

This nudist beach is not a family picnic spot but naked grown-ups like to picnic too. Beautiful beach completely free from whining whipper-snappers. South of Llandudno Beach, Cape Town, Western Cape

3 Melkbosstrand

West Coast wonderful at it’s most pristine. Sit under the milkwood trees watching whales or bring a bucket and spade for the white sandy beach. 20 minutes from Cape Town, West Coast Road, Western Cape

Yummy Tzatziki Recipe

 

Courtesy of http://greekfood.about.com/

Cool and creamy, this tangy cucumber dip flavored with garlic is the perfect compliment to grilled meats and vegetables. It's served on the side with warm pita bread triangles for dipping, and is also used as a condiment for souvlaki.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1 cup greek yogurt, strained
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh dill

Preparation:

Combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix until well combined. Using a whisk, blend the yogurt with the sour cream. Add the olive oil mixture to the yogurt mixture and mix well. Finally, add the cucumber and chopped fresh dill. Chill for at least two hours before serving.
Garnish with a sprig of fresh dill just before serving.

Smoked Snoek Pate

Courtesy of: http://www.voilacapetown.com/

Snoek pate recipe is very South African. It's so nice on a piece of toast served with a glass of Sauvignon blanc. We serve it for aperitif or for starter with a nice green salad. 

SMOKED SNOEK PATE

Ingredients

200 g good quality smoked snoek

250 g creamed cottage cheese

¼ cup of mayonnaise

1 table spoon of lemon juice

1 table spoon of fresh ginger and garlic

1 chopped onion

2 gherkins

30 ml chopped fresh parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Remove skin and bones form the snoek and flake. <>Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Season with salt and black pepper and spoon into small dishes.

Keep refrigerated for minimum half day and maximum 5 days.

New Rudi's Free Range Sausage

Wow, last night at our favourite market, Earth Fair Market - Tokai, we bought the most delicious sausage from Rudi's Sausage Deli. If you have never tasted sausage from Rudi's Deli, then you have not lived. It is to die for. You will never go back to buying any boerewors from the shop. Our personal favourite is their Ollie's boerewors. Ollies taste like boerewors use to taste when we were small before they started adding all the cereal and other nonsense.

Rudi’s specialises in speciality sausages made according to the world’s traditional recipes, especially Argentine, French, German, Italian and Spanish style sausages.

None of the ingredients or spices used in the manufacture of these sausages contains any preservatives or M.S.G. No additives to create bulk like Soya, Rusk or potato starch is used and Rudi’s prides itself on the 100% meat content of the sausages.

All the spices are hand mixed and only home grown herbs are used. No pre-packed sausage spice packs are used. Rudi’s uses different wines, spicy traditional wines, ports and vinegars to add flavour and act as a preservative in the sausage. Some of the recipes require the sausages to be smoked. These are smoked in a large smoker using Apple or Oak Wine vat shavings, thereby lending their own flavour to the sausages. Sausages that need to be cured, such as German Salami or Chorizo sausages, are placed in a large temperature and humidity controlled cellar under the butchery. There they can cure from 1 week to up to 6 months. 

Do yourself a favour and headover to The Earth Fair Market or the Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market, this Saturday and buy your Rudi's sausage. You won't regret it.

Today is Earth Fair Market Day!

This is one of my favourite markets to go to! I absolutely love it! It is in the middle of the week, so you don't have to wait until the weekend to get into the mood for trying new treats. The energy of this market has such a nice feel to it. Relaxed, buzzing, but not crowded, no snooty people and fabulous products. I really have fun when I visit this market. As soon as you walk in the door you can get yourself a well deserved glass of wine or locally brewed beer and then you can start the browsing and tasting. For those of you who visits straight from work, there are yummy prepared meals to have for supper. Saves you from heading home and cooking. From falafels, to pizza to vegetarian moussaka, there are more than enough options to keep you satisfied.

For more details you can visit their website http://www.earthfairmarket.co.za/

The History of Picnicking

By http://www.picnic-basket.com/ 

In our world today, picnic simply means a pleasurable outing at which a tasty meal is eaten outdoors, preferably in a beautiful landscape. But did you know that the relaxing and carefree act of eating outdoors and sharing quality time with those you care about has its roots back in the medieval times in England?

    Picnics evolved from the elaborate traditions of outdoor feasts enjoyed by the wealthy. Medieval hunting feasts and Renaissance era country banquets can be credited with laying the foundation of the outdoor dining experiences we enjoy today. The history of picnicking is credited to the Europeans, and nowadays people all around the world enjoying participating in these leisurely outings.

    In Europe during the 14th century, the earliest picnics were medieval hunting feasts in England. These feasts before the hunt began were of special importance and the main foods that could be found at these feasts would be hams, baked meats and pastries.