I should rename this blog: I‘m so sorry for neglecting you! What can I say, it’s happened again – life has once again taken control of my good intentions. But I am getting better with each passing day and sooooon I won’t have to apologize at the beginning of each blog piece! My wonderful parents are now with us in France and you will be hearing all about them and life in the not-so-sunny south of France more regularly. Honest. Come on, give me another chance!

And seeing as I’m apologizing, sorry Adrienne for not answering your email about places to stay on the garden route…should Judith still be looking I’d recommend Knysna or Plettenberg Bay – they are totally cool places for young and old and absolutely beautiful on top of it. And should she bump into a gorgeous diving instructor called Richard, tell her to give him a kiss from me…

And my friend Lynn, that German husband of mine made me do it!! No more raw food, just cake from now on - Beetroot cake, Zucchini Torte, Carrot Muffins…I’ll get that boy right yet. I have another cake recipe ready to go and it’s not in any way healthy which means it’s also really great. But I still owe all the main course recipes from my blog birthday plus the 20 other things I’ve made in the meantime – I may not have time to post, but I do have time to eat.

Which reminds that I have always been able to eat, no matter what the illness. Strep throat? No problem. So it feels like you’re swallowing glass shards – not so bad really. How about coming out of surgery with 2 wisdom teeth removed and immediately having fish and chips? One just has to be careful about not biting one’s tongue off. Or more than one can chew – man am I witty…

My absolute favorite though was on our Sailing trip. We were two days from land in the Mediterranean Sea when one of my wisdom teeth became infected. My darling husband had watched some dodgy videos on home first aid operations and would have pulled it there and then given half the chance. I was somehow less enthusiastic and could only be moved to try some of his even more dodgy home remedies… If memory serves me correctly ”put this piece of cotton wool that I have soaked in fermented fish eyes for 4 weeks on the infected tooth for 3 days and it will fall out by itself” was one of them.

We sailed into Formentera Island’s anchorage very early one morning, rowed over to land and waved down a taxi. I expected not speaking Spanish to be our first hurdle, but pointing at one’s teeth and saying very loudly and slowly DENTISTE, got us the reply “German or Spanish?”. GERMAN at the same speed and level – hey, this is how one makes foreigners understand all languages.

The German dentist was thrilled by my husband’s interest and was quite happy having him push and pull at my wisdom tooth. He did do the cutting himself – how very kind of him, growl. With the tooth safely ensconced in a little plastic bag and the promise that Joerg had antibiotics on the boat, we set off on our merry way…did you know that after about 30 minutes the anesthetic wears off and all that cutting and pulling and pushing start to make themselves felt? Well they bloody well do and I had to take pain killers before I could have my steak and chips for supper. In all fairness the dentist was very good and so was my steak.

I’m not so sure he would approve of this next dessert / cake, but I have had all my wisdom teeth removed so I’m fine and you’re on your own!

THE RECIPE
I recently made this as part of a vegetarian meal which involved egg yolks so I had lots of egg whites to deal with and I was really impressed with the result, as were my guests. I told you Vanessa and Jane that I would be posting in the next couple of days! The recipe is from the cookbook “Entertaining with Cranks” and was first published in 1985, but the recipes are still great. I also made the Leek and Blue cheese soufflés as starters – I loved these and will post about them another time as I forgot to take photos, silly me.

I used 200ml cream instead of the 300ml (1/2 pint) in the recipe and served it with grated chocolate and chocolate pieces, but otherwise I stuck to the recipe and I am copying it word for word from the above-mentioned book.

Oh yes, I also forgot to toast the almonds before grinding them in my Magic Bullet. And saying that, I used almonds not hazelnuts…

And I used 1 tbsp of water not 1 tsp, but see how you fair with the water as I found the tsp just too little to melt the coffee granules.

And sorry (story of my life at present!) about the photo – I took it the next day after being left uncovered in the fridge…

COFFEE HAZELNUT MERINGUE
(Serves 6-8)
These meringue layers can be made well in advance and stored in an airtight tin. Sandwich together on the day of serving.
6 Egg whites
6oz / 175g raw brown sugar
4oz / 100g shelled hazelnuts, roasted and ground
½ pint / 300ml whipping cream
1 tbsp / 15ml instant coffee powder
1 tsp / 5ml boiling water
Grated carob, or fresh fruit (raspberries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines) to decorate
Preparation time: 45 minutes + chilling
Cooking time: 1 ½ hours

Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Then gradually beat in the sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until very thick and glossy. Fold in the ground hazelnuts.

Divide the mixture evenly between three 8” (20cm) sandwich tins lined with greased foil or silicone paper, or shape into three 8” (20cm) rounds on lined baking trays. Bake in the oven at 150C (300F) for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave to cool in the oven.

Add the coffee mixed with the boiling water to the cream and whip till stiff. Sandwich the 3 meringue rounds with cream. Refrigerate the meringue for several hours before serving. Decorate with grated carob or prepared fruit.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!