Lunacy from the "old country" 2006

A month on and Jack Frost is making his appearance most mornings. Winter is setting in,the trees are bare and the sunshine when we get it lacks warmth. The clocks moved back some weeks ago and the days are short, its dark by four.
I managed to get some part time shift work in a local nursing home. The pay is appalling even at the weekends when I am on duty from 8 till 8 but the inmates make up for it and are dotty and delightful. Aunty P is 103, she tells me with a twinkle in her eye, that her parents removed her from school because she was "too frail" for the system. She obviously thrived despite the lack of education which unfortunately can't be said for the youth of today in this country who wear their ASBO's (Anti Social Behaviour Order) convictions as badges of merit.
Britain seems obsessed with "nannying" its population and if the Department of Health and Safety had its way we wouldn't set foot outside our front doors. Staying in bed is not an option either and will do you no good unless your duvet is tripled "tog" endorsed by the British Safety Council and is stuffed with Eco-friendly duck or goose down from hopefully organic poultry farms committed to deep litter carpets for its webfooted residents. Of course there will also be a resident manicurist on hand to deal with any annoying broken claws.
I bought some sausages yesterday which informed me on the packet(bio degradable from sustainable forests) that these sausages were made from "happy pigs that had access to custom made shelters in adverse weather conditions". Who are they kidding. A pigsty and plenty of leftovers more likely and of course they will be "happy as pigs in ...." until the farmer waves the sage in front of their noses.
Guy Fawkes Night was filled with anxiety for the locals and one county council (on grounds of health and safety) and fed up with all the restrictions, banned all fireworks and the bonfire. Instead they opted for a large screen erected on the local common to show a filmed fire and fireworks display. Maybe they had a point as some idiot in a neighbouring village decided the most sensible thing to do was to try and launch a rocket from his bottom. I kid you not!. Needless to say he wont be sitting comfortably for some considerable time. It gives a whole new meaning to "up yours" for the arsonly challenged.
I am comforted by the thought that the government is bringing in legislation to provide teachers to help me learn to recite nursery rhymes to my kids. Now if only they could help me find my keys.......
The shops are filled with Christmas goodies and we are exhorted to pay homage to the God Plastic and only declare bankruptcy in the New Year. I hope you will not succumb and instead opt for the Eco-friendly version; hand crafted presents from your local car boot sale, wrapped in brown paper and string and tastefully decorated with tags from last years Xmas cards.
Happy days!




Christmas in a Glass aka Mulled Wine
(it helps you forget the lunacy! Well actually it helps you forget anything....)


3 bottles of red plonk (cheap is best here....truly)
300 gm demerara sugar
Rind of 1 lemon,and 1 orange
4 sticks of cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 vanilla pod
3 star anise
1 whole nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
4 slices of fresh ginger

Put sugar, rind, ginger and all the spices and one bottle of wine in a large pot. Heat stirring occasionally until sugar has melted. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave it to infuse for 30 mins (if you are desperate you could miss this stage!But it does help with the flavour)
Add the other 2 bottles of wine and bring back to heat.
Enough to warm the cockles of yer heart........have a blessed Christmas full of good cheer.

Grahamstown Festinos July 2010

Two glorious days spent in the City of the Saints. The Festinos that wonderful multicoloured mix of people from the weired to the ridiculous ,old codgers to young kids were out in force taking advantage of the warm and sunny weather.Tommy and I wandered the craft tents on Fiddlers Green which were stocked with a profusion of eclectic wares, rainbow hats, "African time" clocks made from recycled tuna tins,ethnic clothing of every description ,local art and so much more. I bought a piece of kiln fired glass,a pendant of flaming orange as bright as the wild aloes which were flowering in profusion in the veld. We discovered a stall which sold a unique portable stove called "PotjieKing".which we decided would be perfect for our travels in the outback. Small and compact, great for a braai for two,but even better just the right size for our cast iron three legged potjie pot in which I make stews, pot bread and curries.
Had a riotous time laughing at the humour of David Newman, Went to his one man show called "Politically Incorrect" South Africans have reached that healthy stage of being able to laugh at themselves......."you can't impress me ...i know that is your Vuvuzela" and wife wearing husbands bafana shirt....."don't get any ideas darling.....no one is scoring tonight!"
Home to Schoenies and three days of trying out different recipes on the "PotjieKing" all so easy and delicious. Heaven on a plate....this is Soul Food at its best.......not to be confused with a certain fast food chain that purports to have the "soul"rights to food of such high distinction!




Soul Food Chicken (a succulent dish of tender meat simmered in a tangy apricot gravy with seasonal vegetables)


One free range chicken
4 Onions roughly chopped
4 Carrots
4 medium Potatoes
2 Gem Squash
1/2 cup of sunflower oil.

Rub
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon brown suger
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup of white wine
1/2 cup Apricot jam
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic
knob of fresh ginger grated.
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chicken stock.


Put the Rub mixture in a small bowl and stir to mix with your fingers. Remove giblets from chicken and rinse under cold water, inside and out. Dry with paper towels. Sprinkle a little of the Rub inside the chicken and use the rest over the outside of the bird.
Heat the oil in your casserole or poitjie pot and brown the chicken all over. Remove. Add the roughly chopped onions and and stir well.Cook till transulcent .Place the chicken on top of the onions and place your peeled and cut carrots and potatoes around the bird.
Mix the white wine, apricot jam, soy sauce, garlic and ginger and add to the pot. Top up with chicken stock so that the vegetables are covered.
Put lid of pot on and simmer for +- 45 mins.
Then add halved gem squash to the pot and continue cooking for another 15 mins.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

The chicken will be so tender, it will fall off the bone. Serve this succulent chicken in soup bowls with the vegetables and gem squash on the side and lots of crusty bread to mop up the delicious tangy gravy.

A bottle of Springfield "Life from Stone" sauvignon blanc will take this to another leval!
Bon Appetit!

Autumn in East Susssex 2006

I have been back in the "old country"for two weeks and already have slipped on the comfy cardie that is England. The Brits are still full of irony, Radio 4 and by gosh a decent cup of tea!
Damp days and leaden skies, but the joy of kicking through piles of fallen leaves, collecting blackberries from the hedgerows and going home for hot buttered crumpets for tea.
Sussex is beautiful at this time of the year with the Ashdown forest ablaze with all the burnished russet colours of Autumn. The countryside is winding down. quiet and sleepy, ready for Winter.

Such a contrast to my first week in London with Em and Thom, where all was hustle and bustle and teeming with people.London has this wonderful energy, and I became a tourist and did all the usual things. Took a red doubledecker bus around the City, popped into Buck House for a spot of tea with Queenie (unfortunately she wasn't in but her Gift Shoppe sells nice tea towels) Spent many happy hours wandering along the South Bank and had a futuristic trip on the London Eye. Amazing to see London with a bird's eye. A mind blowing visit to the Dali exhibition. His sculptures were challenging to say the least;a lobster telephone and a sofa made in the shape of Mae West's lips.
The bliss of all those second hand bookshops. I picked up a first edition of poetry by W.H. Auden. (He was my North, my South, my East, my West,.......my working week and my Sunday rest,My noon ,my midnight,my talk, my song.....I thought love would last forever...I was wrong.) A bargain to keep for posterity.I had to be physically restrained from the cookery sections, how can you resist Nigella for 50p?!


Hedgerow Blackberry Jam (for hot toasted crumpets dripping with butter)

Wash and weigh the blackberries you have picked. Take a heavy base pot and put in the same amount of sugar as berries and the finely grated zest and juice of one lemon. Simmer slowly till the sugar melts and then add your berries and stir carefully. Bring to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes.By now you should have a luscious shiny dark red jam oozing with flavour and the scent of Autumn. Spoon into clean jars when cold. Delicious on crumpets or toast or anything.....hmmmmm.

Wet,Windy and Cold in PE 2010

Three days of rain, freezing south westerlies and cabin fever setting in with a vengeance. There are only so many DVDs you can watch at any one time.....tending the fire and having a chronic attack of "the munchies"
The only travelling I am doing is in my head, remembrance of places,sights and tastes of colourful Mexico warm my soul.
What can I cook, I need some comfort food.
It has to be good old Bangers and Mash with onion gravy. The gravy is the key and loads of butter and cream if you have it in the spuds! To hell with cholesterol.



Caramelized Onion Gravy

Big knob of butter.
2 thinly sliced onions
Worcestershire sauce
Flour to thicken
Marsala or red wine
Stock

Melt the butter and fry the onions gently till golden brown and soft. Add some flour (about a tablespoon) and stir into the onions, add the Worcestershire sauce, Marsala and stock cook gently for 15 minutes,stir occasionally. Pour over crispy pork sausages and soft fluffy mash.Hmmmm comfort food at its best !