Claire Reid - Reel Gardening

I was recently invited to join a wine club and I attended their 3rd evening together. It was such a nice group of ladies and I really enjoyed meeting them all. 

We all put in a donation and managed to raise R3500 which will go to one of Reel Gardening's school / community posts which I will talk more about now. 

The ladies organise a speaker for each wine evening and they had gotten Claire Reid to come and talk to us on the evening that I attended. 

Claire and Stephanie (Host)

When Claire sat down to talk to us she came across as a very friendly, down to earth and approachable young lady. As she began to tell her story I began to realise what an incredible woman I was in the presence of, she was completely humble about all her achievements and told her story in such a relate-able manner. As someone who is interested in doing motivational speaking I felt that I learnt a lot in terms of how to be a good speaker. Claire spoke from the heart and told her story as if she was chatting to friends, sharing all the small personal details in a humorous way.

Claire's Story

In 2002, at the age of 16, Claire Reid found herself sitting in her vegetable garden with a tape measure between her knees and centimeter marks drawn on her fingers. Claire knew she wanted to grow vegetables to sell to her parents for extra pocket money. However she soon became frustrated by the wastage of seed and fertiliser and her inability to get the seed to stay in the soil at the correct depth and distance apart.

She asked the family’s domestic worker, Meggi, to help her with this overwhelming task by holding the seed packet and passing her the seeds while explaining the instructions on the back of the packaging. Meggi was unable to instruct Claire on how to plant the seed as the instructions were only in English and contained mathematical language that Meggi was not able to understand. It was at this point that Claire decided she needed to create a way to both plant and keep the seeds and nutrients in the soil at the correct depth and distance apart, a form of planting that needed no mathematical or English education to understand, a form of planting that was simple, effective and easy to do in a short period of time. And Reel Gardening was the solution.

Claire began to make seed strips with newspaper and encased the seed using a  paste made from flour and liquid fertiliser. This craft type project was entered into the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists in 2002 to gain Claire some extra marks for Grade 10 Science. The public response to the simple idea was overwhelming and Ronnie Kasrils, the then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, requested information on the water saving abilities of this new form of planting. Claire conducted tests with the help of the University of Pretoria and was able to conclude that Reel Gardening was able to save up to 80% of the water consumed during the germination phase. Subsequently she went on to win the International Stockholm Junior Water Prize for South Africa. A number of awards followed, including Woman in Water for Scientific Research below the age of 35 and The United Nations Environmental SEED award.

Reel Gardening was able to secure a loan from Anglo Zimele in 2009 to enable Claire to develop the idea into a commercially viable and manufacturable product. 

Reel Gardening opened its doors for business on the 12th February 2010 and soon began expanding and grew to a team of six. Claire chose to develop a handmade manufacturing process as it aligns with her dream of maximum job creation through the production of a product that will enable people to feed themselves.

Reel Gardening initially entered the retail sphere with a range of 27 products - the custom branded and corporate products followed. Claire continued to find a way to get Reel Gardening into the rural areas for which it was designed through the invention of the ‘Garden in a Box’, for which Reel Gardening won the inaugural SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards in 2011.

Garden in a Box is now making a difference in the lives of thousands of school children and community members across peri-urban and rural South Africa with the help of the newly established NPO called Reel Life.

Such an amazing and inspiring story! 

Claire explained that she had always been entrepreneurial and from the age of 6 years old she had come up with ways of earning extra pocket money. It started with her collecting craft stamps and then charging neighbors to make stationary paper for them. 

Her next little business venture was when the 'pikitup' bins were introduced and neighbors would fight over who's bin was who's. Claire worked out that if each home owner put their house number on the bin then there would be no more arguing over who's bin it was. So she went around and charged people R20 to spray paint their street number and name onto their bins.


Listen to Claire telling her full story in the clip below. It really is an inspiring story and worth listening to - 

Here's another clip where Claire talks more about the actual product and how it works.



Claire's story is inspiring for so many reasons but I think one of the main lessons I personally learnt from her is to never give up and if you don't believe in yourself then no-one else will.

She shared an anecdote from when she went to Stockholm for the international science fair. She arrived, as an insecure young girl in her school uniform and was surrounded by much older entrants (the competition was open to anyone under 35) with what she thought were far superior inventions. She said that there was a Chinese team which had entered a tank of fish where the fish somehow generated energy to power a computer which then in turn generated power to feed them. She phoned her mom in tears and said she didn't know what she was doing there and that her little newspaper encased seeds weren't good enough to be a part of such a huge competition. Her mom asked her if she believed her product worked and could benefit others. Claire responded that she did believe it worked and would improve the lives of other people. With this Claire plucked up the courage to carry on and she ended up winning the entire thing and was presented her award by Princess Victoria.

Claire has gone on to receive many awards and has achieved so much. Here are a FEW of her achievements-

I just want to share a final note about one of the things Claire spoke to us about. Claire is a big believer in inspiration boards and encouraged us all to make one. An inspiration board, for those of you who have never heard of the concept, is simply a board of things you want to achieve. You can put anything on your board, from a car you want to one day own, a celebrity you want to meet, a skill you want to learn or a holiday destination you want to visit one day.

One of the pictures Claire had on her inspiration board was of Richard Branson as she always wanted to be a successful entrepreneur like him. In short, Claire has since met Richard Branson.

I hope Claire's story inspired you as much as it inspired me! 

You can read more about Reel Gardening HERE or follow on Twitter or Facebook.  

Coconut Chicken

Ok so this is a very basic recipe that needs a little work but it's still pretty good and you can vary the ingredients to suite your tastes! 

Ingredients

+- 5 chicken breasts (sliced into strips)

125mls coconut cream (or coconut milk)

1 onion, sliced

1 green pepper

+- 6 baby corns (broken into chunks)

1/2 punnet of mushrooms, chopped

The spices are all optional and you can just play with what you have. I recommend using very mild spices as you don't want to compete with the coconut flavour. I used - 

Jeera Seeds

Sesame seeds

1tsp ground ginger

1tsp horseradish cream

Ground Black pepper

Corriander

To top I used coconut flakes and chia seeds. 

Method

• Put sliced chicken pieces into a bowl and let it marinate in the coconut cream and other spices
• Fry onions, I chucked in the horseradish in at this point but rather add it to the chicken mixture if you want to add a bit of bite. (Alternatively, just add it when you are dishing up)
• After a little while throw in the chicken mixture and fry until about half done
• Add the rest of the vegetables and fry until soft (but not too soft)
• You may need to throw in some milk or cream if there isn't enough sauce
• Dish up and serve with coconut flakes, chia seeds or perhaps some chopped cashew nuts. Whatever you have lying around that will bring out the coconut flavour
• Do a cauliflower rice to serve on the side if you would like. 

Another serving suggestion- Pina Colada's? You know you want to ;) 

The Fourways Farmers Market

The Fourways Farmers Market is located next to Monte Casino and is fast becoming one of my regular spots on a Sunday!

It's open every Sunday from 9am to 3.30pm with Live music playing from 11am-2pm.

The market is set in a beautiful nursery so you can expect stalls in amongst gorgeous greenery and a feeling of 'freshness' all around.

The majority of the stalls are food related. Everything from greek cuisine, gourmet milkshakes, fresh produce, gluten/sugar/dairy free treats, coffees, wines, beers, you name it. If you're an avid foodie then this is definitely worth a visit! With a huge variety of food to choose from and ample seating to sit back and enjoy your meal! 

One of my favourite stores is 'The Fat Rabbit'. They make rusks and other treats but also have a gluten and sugar free range which is perfect for me! I love their cranberry and pecan biscottis and never leave the market without a packet (R30) in hand! 

The market isn't only for foodies, it's a place where parents can bring their kids for a day out in the sun or for a group of friends to get together and enjoy a drink in an outside environment. Dogs are welcome at the market and there are always a number of people walking around with their pooch on a leash.

I went to the market with the intention of having lunch with friends and buying a packet of biscottis. However, I ended up buying:

• Packet of Biscottis
• Lunch (indian food)
• Cappuccino 
• Banting cupcake
• Biltong
• Packet of chia seeds

Moral of the story - Go expecting to buy more than you anticipated! But GO =)

Check out their website HERE
Or Find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Trinket Trove {Giveaway}

A while ago I was lucky enough to stumble upon the beautiful sisters of 'Trinket Trove' at a launch I was invited to. Tamara and Cassandra make exquisite jewellry and their range has become rather extensive. Everything from braiding, beads, crystals, trinkets and inspirational words are included in their designs.

The words they use in their jewelry are meant to give whoever wears them a little 'lift' in their day to day lives. This is what attracted me to their products as I'm always looking for ways to inspire and bring a smile to someone's face. Something as simple as looking down at a bracelet and seeing the words "believe" or "love" can touch someone just enough to get them through a tough day.

This is ONE of the reasons I love Trinket Trove.

When I first saw the sisters at the launch, Tamara had to stand up and give a speech.

Here, I've taken a few extracts from her inspiring speech:

"My fetish since a young age has been jewellry and accessories."

"Casss came over to see what I had done and fell in love. She said 'Make me 100 wraps, I am going to sell them."  "What I did not realise is that the order of 100 wraps was the first of many to come."

"If there is one thing that has stood out the most from working with my sister, Cass, she truly has taught me that anything is possible. I believe that with our passion and as a team our dreams will become a reality. We will never stop dreaming." 

Tamara (left) and Cassandra (right)

She was noticeably nervous but got up in front of everyone and delivered a beautiful speech. I knew then, by watching this small act of courage that there was more to these ladies than simply makers of beautiful jewellry. 

I decided to pay them a visit at their Studio and get to know them and their products a little better. They share a studio with their dad who designs modern, rustic furniture for The Industrial Revolution @ Light Bulb Studio and is equally as talented with his craft as his daughters.
The studio was a gorgeous, spacious, rustic, vintage, industrial and homely space all thrown into one.

Tamara is the talent behind all the designs, while her sister, Cass, is the business woman. It's so beautiful to see sisters working so closely together on such a special project! Their business has gone from strength to strength and has continued to grow, with the girls working harder and harder to keep up with all the orders that come through.

Trinket Trove products are currently in stock at The Crafters Market. Their stores are in the following shopping centres:

The Glen Shopping Centre (Oakdene, Johannesburg),
Mall@Carnival (Brakpan, Johannesburg),
East Rand Mall (Boksburg, Johannesburg),
Cradlestone Mall (Roodekrans, Johannesburg),
Clearwater Mall (Strubens Valley, Johannesburg),
Atterbury Value Mart (Faerie Glen, Pretoria East),
Woodlands Boulevard (Woodhill, Pretoria East),
The Grove (Equestria, Pretoria East)
Kolonnade Shopping Centre (Montana, Pretoria North)

If there isn't a store near you then you can contact Cassandra directly on 082 625 8780 or email cassandra@trinkettrove.co.za. You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.

Here's a quick Flipagram (Of course) of some of their products.

Tamara and Cassandra were kind enough to give me a crystal wrap as a gift and I absolutely LOVE it!! Thank-you girls so much!!


Their generosity didn't end there as they also gave me a bracelet and another crystal wrap to give away to one of YOU!!!! I've decided to do two giveaways because I'd rather spoil two of my readers instead of one =)

The competiton runs from 1st-31st July and the winner will be announced on the 1st of August.

Both Giveaways are open to anyone living in South Africa AND Zimbabwe!


The first giveaway is the Crystal three in one wrap (Retails at R149.90). To enter all you have to do is use the Rafflecopter widget below and it will do the rest!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The second product I have to give away is a beautiful Multi-cord bracelet (Retails at R69.90)

To enter this one you need to be a little more creative. What I want you to do is post a photo on my Deer Delights Facebook page OR instagram it and tag me @fawn_rogers. The photograph must be of something that you feel represents one of the following words-

• Faithfulness
• Peace
• Love
• Joy

Good Luck everyone! 

A huge thank-you to Tamara and Cassandra. Your sisterly love, business drive and kind hearts are truly inspiring! 

Zucchini Fritters

Fritters can be made using a number of different bases. You can do potatoe, sweet potatoe, sweetcorn and so many other different kinds. I decided to try make zucchini fritters and they came out rather deliciously! 

Firstly, the basic difference between baby marrows and zucchinis are simply that marrows are younger and smaller whereas zucchinis are older and bigger. For this recipe I used baby marrows but 'Baby marrow fritters' doesn't sound as catchy as 'zucchini fritters'.

Ingredients 

1 punnet of baby marrows (+- 400g)

1 egg

1/4 cup flour (or gluten free substitute) 

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 Tbs corn flour

Salt,pepper and other seasoning

Chopped garlic is optional but I didn't use any.

Method

• Grate the marrows and sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt on them then let them drain for about 10mins
• Mix together rest of the ingredients
• Dry the marrows using a kitchen cloth or paper towels. The dryer they are the crunchier the fritters will be. 
• Add the grated marrows to the rest of the mixture.
• Sprinkle some flour on a chopping board and form the fritter shapes out of the mixture, as if you were making burger patties. Don't worry if they're not pefect!
• Heat up some cooking oil in a frying pan (on quite a high heat)
• Fry the patties until lightly browned (It should take +-3mins per side)

I made lamb chops and a simple side salad to accompany the fritters, which I served with a sweet chilli sauce. Here's what I put into the yummy side salad- 

"5 Ingredient Salad"

• Avocado 
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Basil
• Strawberries
• Bean Sprouts 

Serve with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

Doctors Orders - How to gain weight.

Last year I was asked by Lisa Raleigh to do an interview about my weight. She wanted to know what kind of struggles I faced and what food I typically ate on any given day. She then gave me some fitness and nutrition advice.

When this clip was done 1 -

• Still had my feeding tube.
• Was a lot more under weight than I currently am now. (I hate looking at pics/vids of me so skinny!) 
• Was still eating a high carb diet which wasn't getting me anywhere. 
• And I still had my little pink car ;) 

Behind the scenes

I've done a few articles now for various media but this was the first tv production I have been in. VERY different! I'm not a photo person at all so even at photo shoots I struggle. With this, I had a camera on me constantly and I think I was shaking the entire time. Luckily they do about 3 takes and then edit a lot so you don't see all my mistakes. I was told to nod a lot and as you can clearly see, I did a good job of that! 

There were a few uncontrollable aspects when we were filming, which were quite funny. There was a fly that kept hovering around us and for a nutrition programme that isn't really ideal. There were also hadedas screeching in the background so we kept having to stop and wait for them to fly by! 

The crew was great, Lisa was absolutely lovely and then there was the camera guy, the sound guy and then the production manager. We shot the first part in my flat and then went to the Raphael Hotel gym in Sandton. Very fancy hotel but a surprisingly small gym facility! 

It was the first time I had been in a gym in YEARS let alone pick up a weight or do any form of exercise. As I said earlier they do about 3 takes for each section so you can imagine after 3 takes of dead lifts etc how 'dead' I was. I know the weights were relatively small (We actually couldn't find any smaller weights) but for someone who was bedridden for years, it was quite a strain! By the end of the shoot I was fully exhausted and went back home to finish eating the packet of Doritos I was made to eat. Oh yes, eating with a camera watching you is very hard! I've never been so self conscious of myself chewing!

Hopefully some of Lisa's tips helped those of you struggling to put on weight. I'm sure this is pretty much only my fellow CF'ers but for the rest of you, appreciate the fact that your weight, even though it may not be perfect, isn't a health struggle every day!

Paleo Paella

Seafood Paella was one of my favourite dishes before I gave up carbs. I was a bit hesitant to attempt a cauliflower version as spicy rice makes up most of the flavour of paella. However, I gave it a go and..... I think it came out pretty darn good. Look, aesthetically it's not hugely pleasing, but in your tum it's yum! 

Ingredients

Fish

1 tin of mussels 

+- 5 chopped crab sticks (ready to eat)

+- 200g of prawns (mine were precooked but with fresh prawns just lightly fry in garlic and butter)

                  

If you don't enjoy seafood you can use chicken. Just chop chicken breasts into cubes and marinate in lemon and herb or a peri peri sauce. Then fry along with the onion. 

Veg

1 chopped onion

1 chopped carrot

Chopped mushrooms

1 chopped red pepper

Olives (de-pipped)

2 cups grated cauliflower 

Remember you can freeze grated cauliflower and then defrost whenever you need it. That's what I did here.

Spice                                                                                                                 

1 chicken stock cube (dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water)

1/2 cup lemon juice

Dash of sweet chilli sauce

1 Tbs jeera seeds

1/2 Tsp tumeric

Salt/Pepper/Other Spices

Method

• Fry chopped onions and the jeera seeds in some olive oil. (add a little bit of garlic if you'd like)
• When lightly fried add in cauliflower, the dissolved chicken stock and the tumeric.
• Mix well and then add all of your veg.
• Add the rest of your spices and then the fish 
• Let everything simmer for a short while until veg is cooked but not too soft.
• EAT. 

Chocolate Coconut Squares

I've been wanting to make these Chocolate Coconut squares for ages now but every time I set out to make them I find that I am short an ingredient or 2!

My sweet tooth was particularly bad today so I decided to "Adapt or Die" and I made them using the ingredients that I had.












Ingredients

Bottom Chocolate Layer
1 cup of nuts. I used almonds that were already pre-chopped.
8 large medjool dates (+- 225 grams), pitted. I used dried cherries
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 Tablespoons of cocoa powder

Coconut Layer
1 1/2 cups grated coconut unsweetened and finely shredded
2-3 Tablespoons honey
1/3 cup almond flour (I did this but I'm pretty confident you can do it without) 
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
Pinch of salt


Top 'Decorative' Layer
25 grams of 70% dark chocolate. I used 1/4 of a bar of Lindt 85%
Handful of Almonds






Method

Bottom Chocolate Layer
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until a 'paste' is formed. My blender is broken (Of course) so I just mixed everything together and added 3 tbs of melted butter so that it would bind.
Grease a Baking dish and press down the paste/dough at the bottom. You may want to use a spoon or this because it's VERY sticky.

Coconut Layer
Mix all ingredients together. Make sure you have melted your coconut oil in the microwave.
Spread coconut layer on top of chocolate layer in dish and press firmly.

Top Decorative Layer
Melt chocolate slowly over a low heat. If you're impatient like me, do it in the microwave on a low heat but watch it carefully!
Spread or drizzle melted chocolate on top of the coconut layer and sprinkle some finely chopped nuts (Almonds) on top to decorate.

Now put it in the refrigerator for an hour (or the freezer for 15-20 minutes) before using a knife to cut into squares.

Enjoy your tea time treat =)