Chilli Popper addiction confirmed

When your friends start tagging you in pics and sending you links to new Mexican joints then you know something's up - I think I have a chilli popper addiction. The onset was quick, the cravings unrelenting. I started planning my outings so that they involved chilli popper consumption. I feel that the only way that I can truly accept myself and this addiction is if I bare all here on my blog.

Hi, my name is Linda and I have a chilli popper problem

The Bushman's Spice shop (West Coast Village)

My love at first bite moment was with these homemade looking chilli poppers from Bushmans. Jalapenos that have been cored and filled with mozzarella and wrapped in bacon. 

Remex Cantina (Parklands Centre)

My favourite these days is still Remex chilli poppers. They're wrapped in some batter or pastry and deep fried in goodness. They come with this divine guacamole and salsa mix with cream cheese and it makes my mouth drool even thinking about it now!

Pakololos (Blouberg)

I love all chilli poppers, some more than others, but I find the Pakololos ones very oily. They're dipped in a batter and fried in oil, they are also stuffed with cheddar - which I always find too rich. Still tasty and I won't say no.

Deer Park Cafe (Gardens)

Other than the gorgeous open space of the Deer Park Cafe grounds, their menu is divine and has gems like this chilli popper dish. Very simple, also a batter and deep fried with a creamy white tartar like sauce. These were very hot!! They had left quite a few of the seeds in the cores, which can make them hard to enjoy, other than that the batter wasn't as oily as in other cases.

Cape to cuba (Kalk Bay)

Lovely atmosphere at Cape to Cuba and delicious and differentiated chilli poppers. They came with a sweet chilli sauce and sour cream.

Rafikis (Kloof nek)

I presume that the lack of a picture of the chilli poppers here says more than this blurb could. Very similar to the Remex chilli popper it is covered in a batter and crumbed, also a favourite of mine.

Cubana (Waterkant)

Very tasty chilli poppers at Cubana, although I had one bad experience at the Table View branch when the poppers were under cooked and far too hot to enjoy.

Cherry picking at Klondyke Farm

While browsing through my photos I found a few great pics from our visit to Klondyke Cherry Farm (http://www.cherryfarm.co.za/) a couple of months back when it was picking season. It was the most divine experience, one that I had last had when I was only a child. 

There are rows and rows of Cherry trees that are literally drooping with the weight of bright red cherries on their many fingered branches. Many of said cherries did not make the journey from tree to basket, many found their end in our mouths, staining our lips and fingers! 

The farm was dog friendly, so we had our canine children join us on this particular adventure; something which we so seldom get the opportunity to do. They too enjoyed many an overripe and plump cherry. 

The bucket in my arms is a 10 litre bucket of prime cherries, so you can imagine how creative we all had to get to ensure that most of them did not go to waste. My mom preserved some in brandy, as seen below, for adding something special to deserts. Others made cherry pie or jam. We ate most of our share fresh, sharing many with friends and colleagues. The few we couldn't get to were depipped and frozen for use in smoothies or to flavour yoghurt.