Cold weather, a book, a glass of red wine and wine soup!

It is winter in the southern hemisphere. The cold has suddenly arrived after a fairly balmy autumn. The Cape Town region has been living up to its old historic name; The Cape of Storms. Have a look at one of my previous posts. Since Saturday we have been blasted with heavy rains, strong winds and hail. These pictures where taken on Sunday afternoon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MLV0BQEOPUc   

Photos by Passionate about Cape Town:

It is reckoned to be one of the coldest cold fronts in many years. On Sunday the temperature dropped to 12 deg Celsius. Now to my readers from other continents and even in certain areas of South Africa this might not be very cold, but we here in Cape Town usually have a mild winter not only due to the influence of the sea, but this area has a Mediterranean climate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate . The Western Cape is only just visible as an Mediterranean climate. Read the following link as well  

lhttp://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/climate.html   

When it so cold, what better thing is there to do to curl up with a book either in front of the fire place or  under the duvet in bed. Obviously a glass of red wine will accompany you just for that extra bit of heat. For that reason you must visit http://www.bestforreading.com to purchase on line the latest releases and the best selling books. For good wines it is worth your while to investigate some of the wines from South Africa. In other countries South African wines are available at your local outlet. When I travelled in Beijing, I even managed to buy a good bottle of South African wine there. http://www.wine-sa.com/red-wine/. You can make your way to http://www.voilacapetown.com/types-of-red-wine.html

         

While you are reading and enjoying your red wine, it is time to cook a pot of thick traditional South African soup. 

Believe it or not, but wine soup is a very traditional soup. This recipe comes from Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche.

You will need:

1 litre milk

a pinch of nutmeg

2 pieces of naartjie peel (mandarin-orange)

50 ml sugar

5 ml butter

3 cups sweet wine (muskadel)

a pinch of anise seed

5 ml ginger, cleaned and chopped finely

Place milk, nutmeg, naartjie peel, and butter in a pan and heat up to boiling point over low heat. Place sweet wine, anise seed, and ginger in a separate pan and bring to boil. Add this to the milk and throw it through a sieve. Dish up in soup bowl and grate more nutmeg over it.

And remember to visit http//www.bestforreading.com for any type of on line purchases. In certain countries you will receive free delivery.