The week that was....cont.

Wednesday - in some circles known as Klein Saterdag

Dawned as normal a day as you would have it...but by 11 pm I was still going, and what a buzz! I had two urgent orders, one for cheesecake and one for jam squares to be delivered Thursday, so I can make time for the Saturday deliveries. No, no Sterdag in sight. 

The concept of Klein Saterdag (Small Saturday), came from colonial times when Wednesday was a half day, for some odd reason. In fact when I was a student in Alice in the Eastern Cape in the 90's, some of the businesses in that town still operated under that system.

Clearly mine was no half-day. I had promised the Master that we would cook supper together, a promise I could not re-negotiate, so Mac 'n Cheese it was to be. Besides his enthusiasm to be in the kitchen with Ma, I was just excited to finally use the cute baking dish I bought a few weeks ago. 



Mac 'n Cheese with bacon & Mushroom



Master grated the cheese, chopped the herbs, cut the bacon and mixed the whole thing when the sauce was ready. It may sound like he did a lot of the work, but if you have ever worked with a small person in your kitchen, you will know it can be taxing. We did have lots of fun however. It is also his job to listen for the timer, and yell, "Mama, oven is ready!!" at the top of his lungs in our small flat.  and I always worry whether he will eat the food we make, because he is something of a fussy eater when it comes to foods unfamiliar. No, my boy was not going to disappoint this time, he dug in and enjoyed every morsel.

With the Master fed, we had a few minutes of reading time before I sent him to bed. The urgency, of course, being that I needed to use the food processor, which is no friend of his. Then my fun continued.

I love jam-squares! They remind me of my Ma. We always had them in the kitchen, my Tata (who will intermittently be referred to as Hubby), loved them and had them with everything at anytime, his coffee in the morning, his coffee when he came back from work - before supper and with custard or ice cream when he felt like random dessert.

Before they are cut...they sit there innocently

I have not always loved jam-squares, they were, for the bulk of my teenage years and early adulthood, the bane of my existence, yes, a thorn on my side. Both parents working, one girl in the house, who do you think ended up baking those things, day after day? They cramped my style! I would bake, what I thought was, a week's supply but then the friends, brothers, cousins and family-circle kids would sommer waltz in and head straight for the cupboard, Hubby in tow, and just munch! The next day Mr Ntanga would still expect to have his jam-squares, thank you, very much!

But I obviously have a forgiving heart and yes, absence does make the heart grow fonder, the squares take me back to a happy time.

Jam-Squares: All ready to go!

So I made a batch of jam squares, and a cheese cake. By the end of it all I was tired but ever so elated!

In store for this weekend, another order for jam-squares (can't seem t escape them) a batch of cup cakes and a birthday cake...this is gonna be such fun!! Oh yes, another try at the Red velvet Cake