....et haec tua dona ....

The green oak leaves cast cool shadows on the lawn and the breeze allows the sun to filter through onto the table set for lunch. I cast my eyes over this peacefull setting and close them.

"Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen."

I open my eyes and realise I am not dreaming, I am a part of this blessed life.

et haec tua dona

Keith is home for  a couple of days and the Latin prayer he said for lunch lingers in the air before it dissapears into the garden blessing the bounty and the gifts in the garden.

It was my weekend to experiment with polenta. I brought some home from Italy last year and was very precious about it to the extent where I could have lost it to an expiry date.

Heinrich saved my Italian polenta by bringing new stock back for me with his first flight back from Zurich. He is now commuting between Cape Town and Zurich and brings with him so many new experiences and the freedom not to be precious about polenta.

We made a big serving of polenta that was close to the consistency of "stywe pap" and poured it into a mould and left it to cool down.  For supper I made baked polenta with oven roasted fillet steak and rosemary infused beef tea.

Baked polenta with Parmesan shavings

The wine for this meal was Springfield's Whole Berry cabernet sauvignon.

For Sunday lunch I made a beef and roasted polenta salad with a slightly chilled Van Loveren Pinot Noir.

Polenta Roasted in Rosemary

Dessert was freshly picked Strawberries from the garden on Yogurt from the cheese shop down the road and all this was covered in Rose Petal liqueur.

 

Strawberries in Rose Petal Liqueur

Fresh  Drunken Strawberries

"Agimus tibi gratias, omnipotens Deus, pro universis beneficiis tuis, qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen. "