Chocolate, whiskeys and ponderings for alone time

What you want to know this week

The #5 best online stores near you for today's Black Friday deals.

#1 Takealot
#2 Superbalist
#3 Makro
#4 Game
#5 Checkers

Not to mention Vrye Weekblad's own Black Friday for new subscribers who choose to read in Afrikaans. Subscribe for six months and pay only R55 per month. That’s a mere R13,75 for the Friday edition, daily news, weekend-chat letters, our daily newsletters plus a new article every weekday. You know you want to.  Click here.

Dates to remember ⏰

The school holidays start on December 11 and the schools reopen on January 15. Read more on 2025s holidays.

Movies

#10 best war movies of the 2020s 🎞️

#10 Benediction (Terence Davies, 2021)
#9 Napoleon (Ridley Scott, 2023)
#8 Blitz (Steve McQueen, 2024)
#7 Da 5 Bloods (Spike Lee, 2020)
#6 The Covenant (Guy Ritchie, 2023)
#5 The Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen, 2012)

#4 Civil War (Alex Garland,2024)
#3 Quo Vadis, Aida (Jasmila Žbanić, 2020)
#2 All Quiet on the Western Front (Edward Berger, 2022)
#1 The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023)

Read more 

The week’s finds

#1 Two new kids on the block

We think these two chocolate bars are great Christmas stocking fillers.

The Fomolistas have a crush on Tony's Chocolonely (it's tastier and thicker than the old Cadburys). Our favourite is the Milk Caramel Sea Salt. It is ethically produced and the large chocolate block in its cheerful bright packaging is now available at Checkers at R99 for a 180 g block and R39 for a 50 g bar.

The other choklit that is buzzing on TikTok, and which is now available in South Africa, is Dubai Milk Chocolate. TikTok turned it into an overnight sensation and gave it a must-try status. Known for its rich texture and pistachio filling, it is available at Dischem for R400 per block (yes, we know, crazy price).

#2 Max's whiskey finds

When it comes to alcohol, he's very picky, says our editor-in-chief, Max du Preez: “I go for quality rather than volume. As befits a good (drinking) Calvinist, I also have strict self-imposed rules:

• A bottle of whiskey must last at least 12 days. If it's done within 12 days, it's a dry mouth.
• Whiskey may not cost more than R400 per bottle and wine no more than R300.
• ⁠Ek drink net craft bier.

“Look, I've drunk miraculous whiskey that costs up to R10 000 a bottle and I deeply appreciated every sip. I have also drunk wine of R700 and more and thought it was worth every sip. But I tell myself that it would be obscene to spend insane amounts of money on alcohol in a country with so much poverty. The expensive whiskey and wine I am talking about were bought for me by others.

“I like to take a break from my computer around six o'clock every night and have an evening sip of whiskey on my balcony. It feels very civilised and good for my spirit.

“I prefer Irish whiskey, something with a slightly smoky taste. For a long time it was Jameson until I discovered Bushmills a few years ago. There will always be a soft spot on my palate for Bushmills, but I heard the other day that a local whiskey, Three Ships, had won a big international prize.

“I'd tried Bains and Three Ships years ago and thought it was inferior. I have a friend who only drinks Teachers and when I hang out with him I pretend I'm an exclusive wine and beer man.

“Then I tried Three Ships Bourbon Cask. Man, it's going down well. I'm not going to try to point out the flavours, but I see some of the pretentious whiskey men talk of a vanilla and dried apricot flavour on the nose and that the vanilla and caramel are balanced by white pepper, nuts, banana and marmalade. Whatever."

“So now I switch Bushmills (R340) with Three Ships Bourbon Cask (R250) and every now and then Johnnie Walker Blonde (R340), also nice and smooth and fragrant. I still won't say no to Jamesons (R400) either."

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What we cooked this week

John Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner are the presenters of ITV's popular show John & Lisa's Weekend Kitchen. John is a well-known British chef and restaurateur and also since 2004 a presenter and judge on BBC's MasterChef in Celebrity MasterChef. Lisa is a best-selling cookbook author and actress.

Their new cookbook, John and Lisa’s Kitchen, surprised us. What on sale looks like just another one of those slightly boring favourite-recipes-from-our-kitchen type books, is actually full of fantastically doable recipes.

We first made the Chicken and Potato Traybake with Lime and Capers and will now make it again and again. Incredibly easy, but with such a fresh, interesting flavour profile that it rises above the ordinary. Their Brick Roast Chicken and Braised Chipotle Cabbage is just as scrumptious.

SA’s new tourist attraction

Healthy living

Sauna is good for you

Dr. Mark Hyman is a medical doctor and New York Times best-selling author known for his work in functional medicine. He (and we) are big proponents of sauna.

According to him, two 15-minute dry sauna sessions a day, four or five times a week, increase your growth hormone release by up to 500%. The hormone referred to is human growth hormone (MGH) or somatotropin. It is a peptide hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans.

Sauna increases heat shock proteins, which “clean up" damaged protein. It strengthens your immune system, fights infections and reduces inflammation.

And it seems to help with cardiovascular health too. Any heat therapy works, including saunas, infrared saunas, steam baths, hot tubs, hot springs, and even hot yoga! Finding a way – even just a hot bath – to regularly raise your temperature is an easy and inexpensive health strategy.

Enemy#1: Sugar

The fruit season is upon us. Fruits are healthy for their vitamin and mineral content and important antioxidants, but contain a high sugar content and can be detrimental to your health if eaten in excess, especially in terms of type 2 diabetes and weight.

Mangoes, grapes, ripe banana and dry fruits are very high in sugar and should be eaten in moderation.

Much better and lower in sugar are citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons and then also berries, apples, pears, peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe and kiwi fruit.

It is also a good idea to eat fruits with protein such as nuts or yogurt which help to absorb sugar more slowly. Always choose fresh over dried and avoid fruit juices that are particularly high in sugar. 

Hot property

Alex Consani is a Generation Z model and social media personality who rose to prominence on TikTok. She started her modelling career at a young age and has already collaborated with many major fashion lines. She is known for being openly transgender. One of the Fomolistas' daughters told us about her, and we were smitten. Beautiful, and this video, a co-lab with Jacquemus, a French luxury fashion house (founded in 2009 by the designer Simon Porte Jacquemus when he was only 19 years old) blew us away!

Quote of the week

#5 truths from Alain de Botton

#1 There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.

#2 One rarely falls in love without being as much attracted to what is interestingly wrong with someone as what is objectively healthy.

#3 Perhaps it is true that we do not exist until there is someone there to see us existing; we cannot properly speak until someone can understand what we are saying. In essence, we are not wholly alive until we are loved.

#4 It was no longer her absence that wounded me but my growing indifference to it. 

#5 Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than a moving plane, ship or train.

Can’t stop laughing

Don't miss out on those internal conversations, now.

♦ VWB ♦

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