winter Archives - Homeology

Warming Sweet Potato And Orange Soup with Sweet Potato Croutons

July 13, 2018July 13, 2018Germarie BruwerFEATURED, FOODLeave a comment

Many years ago, my sister gave me this utterly awesome soup recipe book by the New Covent Garden Food Company. When we lived in the UK, I loved their warming soup lunch meals – the perfect thing in a country cursed with perpetual cold weather! I have never tried this one before, but since I had a lot of sweet potato in the pantry and oranges are in season, I thought I’d test it. And oh my goodness! It’s delicious!! I adjusted the recipe a little because I am not particularly fond of bacon. I know, some people believe that there is something wrong with me! But this veggie version is beautiful and warming – just the thing we need with the icy weather. And it’s low carb, so it’s ideal for you Banters as well!

How to make Sweet Potato and Orange Soup with Sweet Potato Croutons

You Will Need:

20g butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
500g peeled sweet potatoes (375g roughly chopped, and 125g cubed for the croutons)
200g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
100ml vegetable stock
1/2 tsp ground coriander
150ml milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
fresh coriander and double cream yoghurt for serving

Method for the soup:

Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan and cook the onions until soft.

Add the roughly chopped sweet potatoes and potatoes, stock, orange juice and ground coriander. Bring to the boil, and then simmer covered until the vegetables are soft (about 30 minutes).

Method for the sweet potato croutons:

While the soup is gently bubbling away, heat some oil in a saucepan and once it’s hot, add the cubed sweet potato. Once the cubes have turned a golden brown colour, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel. Keep an eye on the sweet potato – you don’t want it to get too dark!

Back to the soup! When the vegetables are cooked, allow the soup to cool a little. Then add the milk and puree with a blend stick.

Serve the soup garnished with a dollop of yoghurt, the sweet potato croutons and freshly chopped coriander!

Enjoy!!

Winter Ideas Jar DIY

July 1, 2016July 18, 2016Deborah TalbotDIYLeave a comment

Do you ever find yourself knowing that you want to do something, but you just can’t come up with an idea? Add some children into the mix and maybe you want them to do something (so that you can do any of the things you need to do), but you just can’t think of what. Today’s winter ideas jar DIY is to help you sit down and think of a whole list of ideas in one go. That way, when you are desperate you can just pull an idea from the ideas jar and go with it!

The bonus is that you can also control what ideas go into the jar, but if you let the little ones choose from the ideas jar, they may feel like they got to pick.

What you need:

Glass jar
Ice-cream sticks
Paint brush
Craft paint in a selection of colours
Pen or marker
Glitter paint (optional)
Masking tape (optional)

To add a little extra excitement to the ideas jar, paint the inside of the jar with an acrylic glitter paint. This saves the glitter-absolutely-everywhere mess, but still gives it a shimmer. If you want a more glittery effect, allow the paint to dry and then do a second coat. If you can’t find glitter paint, you can always paint a thin layer of glue and then sprinkle glitter into the jar. You just need to be prepared to be sparkly for the rest of the day!

Paint the tips of your sticks in a few different colours. Each colour will become a category. For example, pink is for inside activities, grey for outdoor activities and blue for outings. Then on a rainy day, when you want to stay warm at home, you can simply tell your child to choose a pink stick.

You can categorise activities the way that suits you best and choose activities that are appropriate to your children’s hobbies and ages, but here are some simple examples to help you.

Inside activities

Read
Write a story
Draw
Bake cupcakes
Make pizza
Watch a movie
Make a movie
Make up a dance
Do a makeover (make-up/ hair/ dress-up)
Make play dough
Make paper planes / Origami
Play a board game
Build a puzzle
Make a family tree
Play charades
Clean out clothes or toys to give away

Outdoor activities

Go for a walk
Build a tent
Plant/pick some flowers
Play mini golf in the garden
Play with bubbles
Ride a bicycle
Mini sports day (egg and spoon races, four square, sack races)
Treasure hunt
Fly a kite

Outings

Go to the park
Go for an ice-cream
Go for hot chocolate
Go to the cinema
Go ten pin bowling
Visit a museum
Go to a dance, pottery or cooking class
Have a picnic
Go to an indoor play centre

For a detailed list of activities happening around Cape Town these school holidays, click here.

Happy school holidays!

5 Ways with Faux Fur

July 9, 2015September 19, 2016Margaux TaitINTERIOR DESIGN2 Comments

Since the start of the Scandinavian trend we have seen fur being used in unexpected ways around the home. It adds warmth, texture and a sense of luxury to a space. I have bought a few meters of charcoal faux fur for next to nothing at my local fabric shop and it has served me well. Here are my top 5 ways with faux fur.

Floor pillows are great for occasional seating and give a relaxed feel to the room on the left. I love the placement of the top pillow slightly twisted and propped up against the other – it shows off the shape and texture of the pillows best.

The grey shaggy scatter cushion on the charcoal sofa on the right adds quirky texture to the setting. planete-deco elv-s

Fur gets used a lot in Scandinavian style bedrooms. But it does not have to be a large piece covering the entire bed: here it works great in black and white as a small piece at the end of the bed tying up the tones used in the rest of the bedroom decor. stilinspiration

Add texture to your floor with one of these lovely rugs. They come in all sorts of shapes and colours to suit your room. Just look at the lovely pink variation on the right! The shaggy grey rug on the left breaks up the tile pattern floor, providing a bit of a breather. zsazsabellagio sfgirlbybay

The dining room picture on the left with the Eames chairs covered with creamy shades is probably the most used application of fur in Scandinavian interiors. It has been with us for a while but I still love this unexpected combination and in this particular setting it works beautifully. If you want to go more dramatic try the black shaggy fur throw on the right over a low bench and echo it with black antlers. The composition in this picture is simply stunning: look how the item of clothing links the space between the bench and antlers! lookslikewhite dropdeadgorgeousdaily

Combine a fur throw on your sofa with different textured scatter cushions to play on texture. It’s a quick and simple addition that makes a great impression. The rule of working in threes or uneven numbers are used here with the black frames, standing lamp and black scatter echoing each other in the space, creating a visual balance between the elements. decocrush

Happy styling,