Apricot & Ginger Ale Chicken Bake

The sweet, tanginess of the sauce makes this Apricot & Ginger Ale Chicken bake a hit with all the family !

This is one of my Mum’s chicken recipes which she’s made for us during our current stay in South Africa. It has a lovely sweet and tangy sauce which you can make hotter by adding more pepper or ginger – although having said that, I find that the South African ginger is not nearly as hot as Tanzanian ‘blow your head off’ ginger !

We cannot get Apricot jam easily in Tanzania, so this is not a recipe I’ve tried making myself yet. It’s quick & tasty and ideal for a midweek supper – or served cold the following day with a nice salad for lunch (the sauce goes even stickier when cold – yum !) My daughter enjoyed this, too -:


Apricot & Ginger Ale Chicken Bake

6 – 8 pieces of mixed Chicken pieces
Salt & Pepper
Smooth Apricot Jam – enough to spread on each piece of chicken
2 cups Ginger Ale
1 ½ tsps fresh Ginger, grated
1 x 60 gm (2 oz) pkt Brown Onion soup (powder)

Place the chicken pieces in an oven proof casserole dish. Season with the salt and pepper. Spread a little of the apricot jam over each chicken piece. In a separate bowl, mix a little of the Ginger Ale with the fresh ginger and the soup mix/powder until well blended – then add the rest of the Ginger Ale to this before pouring it all over the chicken pieces. Bake, covered, at 180’C/350’C/Gas Mark 4 for 30 minutes and then remove the cover & bake at 220’C/425’F/Gas Mark 7 for another 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through & nicely browned. Serve with brown rice & vegetables in season.

*I think that adding a handful of chopped, dried Apricots to the recipe (at the Ginger Ale & Soup powder stage) before cooking would make a lovely addition to this already tasty dish.

'Yekelela' - A Fun Family Day Out In The Eastern Cape

A couple of week's ago we spent the morning at 'Yekelela', which is a short drive from my parent's home here in the Eastern Cape. So, what is 'Yekelela' I hear you ask ? Well, it's a place with magnificent views over both the bush and the ocean which is also a fantastic family friendly venue .... described as a 'play and guest farm'.

Yekelela has a central restaurant/bar (the thatched building pictured above) with wooden deck with magnificent views out over the African bush (as seen in the photo below). Surrounding this is one of the nicest children's play areas I've seen in Africa ....

The play area is set out around a giant fig tree (below) and includes jungle gyms, climbing ropes, a wooden boat suspended above the ground, a real 'Tarzan' swing rope, sandpit, cement track for riding bicycles around, and a treehouse. It's a fantastic place for kids and will keep them amused for hours - gosh, even I wouldn't mind being a child again with a play area like this to explore !

The swings (below) have a great view out over the bush to the ocean beyond .................

And the shaded trampolines (below) also have a magnificent view ...................


There is also a small 'touch farm' attached to the play area, where children can feed and pet small farm animals such as goats, ducks etc. In addition they have self catering accommodation and camping facilities aswell as several small dams and rivers which you can walk - or bike ride - down to. You can even hold your child's birthday party there !

We had a light lunch there and I must be honest and say that the food is what really lets the venue down (in both quality and value for money) - which is a great pity as in every other area they are tops ! The menu is nice enough - offering a selection of toasted sandwiches, cakes and muffins and child friendly options such as hotdogs. We ordered toasted sandwiches & that is exactly what we got ... 2 slices of toast (no butter), a filling and ............ that was it. No garnish, no small side salad or perhaps a handful of crisps. Nothing. My daughter's hotdog wasn't much better - a boiled sausage slapped onto a bread roll.

Quite disappointing when just a few small tweaks would've made the dining experience that much nicer ... and needn't take a lot of effort or cost .... the toasted sandwiches served with a fresh herb garnish, perhaps ? A small side salad .... the sandwiches cut into wedges and fanned out on the plate. The hotdog sausage cut with criss cross patterns before being boiled, served with a small side dish of relish or tomato sauce /ketchup & a colourful paper napkin. The possibilities are endless ..... anyway, aside from the disappointing food this is a highly recommended venue if you are ever in the area, and most especially if you have children and would like a fun morning/afternoon out.

Yelelela opening times are Saturday's, Sunday's & Public Holiday's (excluding Tuesday's) from 10h00 to 16h00 although it can be hired as a birthday/function venue on any day of the week. The playground entrance fee is R10,00 per child and adults are free. For more information and to find out where they are, visit their website here.

Treacle Biscuits (Cookies) - Great For Dunking !

Another great dunking biscuit - these Treacle Biscuits always go down a treat !

This is another quick and easy biscuit (cookie) recipe which is great for keeping your biscuit tin (or cookie jar) full !

They are quite hard once baked, so are ideal for dunking into a nice cuppa tea or coffee -:


Treacle Biscuits

200 gm (7 oz) Butter
200 gm (7 oz) Brown Sugar
200 gm (7 oz) Treacle (or golden corn syrup, if you can't find treacle)
1 Egg, beaten
560 gm (20 oz) Flour
1 tbsp Bicarbonate of Soda
pinch of Salt

Cream the butter & sugar together. Add the treacle and egg and mix before adding the sifted flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix until a soft dough is formed. Roll into walnut sized balls and place on a greased baking sheet, pressing each one down lightly with a fork before baking at 190’C/375’f/Gas Mark 5 for around 25 minutes until golden.