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Showing posts from June, 2026

Summer heirloom tomato salad with feta & basil

Every summer, I make my way down to the allotment to gather the ripest tomatoes, filling my basket with every colour and variety I can find. There is something truly special about cooking with produce we have grown ourselves; he tomatoes are sweeter, juicier, and somehow taste like summer itself. By the time I bring them home, your stepdad is usually outside getting the braai ready, and we begin preparing everything together for a relaxed summer evening. I love making this salad with you. It’s such a simple recipe, but over the years it has become part of our summer tradition, the kind of dish that belongs alongside a sizzling braai, good conversation, and time spent together around the table. I hope this becomes one of those recipes you carry with you wherever life takes you. One day, when you make this salad in your own home, I hope it brings back memories of those warm evenings with us: picking tomatoes from the allotment, cooking together in the kitchen, the smell of the braai drif...

The hidden logistics of living with cancer

I saw a post on Instagram the other day about the "hidden bits" of cancer. You know the ones, the parts that don’t make it into the glossy brochures or the curated "warrior" selfies. It stayed with me, mostly because I was reading it while lugging around my own "hidden bits" in the form of a large, stylish, and incredibly heavy tote bag. They say you can tell a lot about a woman by what’s in her purse. If that’s true, my bag isn’t telling a story of simple endurance. It’s telling a story of negotiation . I look at this bag with a mix of deep affection and pure exhaustion. It is a beautiful monster. And today, I’m tipping it out. First, we have the cancer kit. The Heavy Hitters: My daily chemo tablets and Letrozole (my hormone blocker). Followed by the backup dancers: My anti-sickness pills, anti-diarrhea meds, and prescribed calcium. It’s a lot of science for one person to carry, isn't it? The Drama Queen: My lymphoedema compression glove. My hand lik...