Curried tripe and trotters, the South African way!

I have been away for a while....

Fortunately, I am now back with one of the most devine recipes ever. So some of you might puke first before you read on, and that's ok, who am I to judge? All I can say is try it, one of two things will happen. You will either love it or hate it and puke!

Ingredients:

1x Large sheep stomach and 4 to 6 trotters (that's the little feet!)

1x Large onion

1 tbls curry powder - mild or hot

4 to 6 whole cloves

500ml mutton stock

4 large potatoes halved

Salt to taste

Method:

Saute onion and cloves. Add curry powder when onions are soft and transparent and mix well.

Add tripe and trotters and mix well. Add salt to taste and add mutton stock.

Cook for about 4 hours or until soft if using a regular pot. Add potatoes in the last hour.

Cook for about 2 hours if using a steam cooker and add potatoes in the last 15 minutes.

Serve hot with traditional pap, samp or rice!

Hope to hear from you on this one!

Enjoy, till next time....

Great banana bread ;-)

This recipe is actually from the book Eat for sustained energy vol 1. I have modified it slightly because I found it to be very dry if you add all the ingredients from the original recipe.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

1 small apple

2tsp olive oil

1 egg

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

1 cup flour

2tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees

Peel and mash the two bananas. Peel and grate the apple and add to the mashed bananas.

Cream the sugar, oil, and egg together in a seperate bowl.

Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the apple and banana mixture. Now add the sugar, oil and egg mixture and add the vanilla essence. Mix well and pour into a bread tin and bake for approx 35 mins. After baking turn out and leave to cool.

The above recipe produces 1 thin banana bread. I often double the recipe to produce a slightly larger bread. Baking time for the double recipe is approx 55 mins.

Variation:

Add 2 small grated or 1 large grated carrot to the above ingredients!

I know you will enjoy this one! Till later...

Whole-grain, good or bad?

Whole-grain products are rich in vitamin B, calcium, fibre and protein. Eating whole grains on a daily basis will create sustained energy and will make you feel fuller for longer. Well known whole-grains are polenta, whole wheat, barley, bulgar wheat and couscous. Most of these wheats are easy to make, low in fat and delicious!

Lets start with polenta. Polenta is a yellow maize and is rich in carbohydrates.

To cook a soft polenta bring 1l of water with 1/2 tsp salt to the boil. Add 175g of polenta slowly and stir continously until a smooth mixture is formed. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 40 minutes. Stir ocasionally and you will know it is ready when the grains fall from the side of the dish. Stir in some butter and serve hot.

Couscous: Couscous is a form of semolina which is a powder that is produced when milling durum wheat. To cook couscous, simply bring 1 cup of water with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil to the boil. Add 1 cup of couscous, stir briefly and remove from heat to steam for a few minutes. Allow to stand for at least 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and add some butter. Serve hot or cold.

Bulgur wheat: Bulgar wheat is packed with vitamin B and E and is very easy to prepare. Simply add 1cup of bulgur wheat to 2cups salted boiling water and allow to stand for about 25 minutes.

Barley: Barley is commonly found in soup mixtures and can also be used to thicken gravies. It is also rich in vitamin B and contains calcium and iron. Bring 3 cups of salted water to the boil. Add 1 cup of barley, stir briefly and reduce heat and simmer until the grains are soft and the water has been absorbed. Serve hot or cold.

Till next time.... Enjoy!

RRR for Risotto witha dash of pumpkin.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

250g (1 cup) pumpkin or butternut

30 ml olive oil

450g lamb strips cut into small squares (4cm)

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

250g (1 cup) Arboria/Risotto rice

125ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine

1 litre of lamb or veg stock

salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

Cut the pumpkin into small cubes and steam in a microwave until soft but still firm.

Fry the lamb strips until golden brown. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft.

Add the rice and still continously until it is covered with oil (approx 2min)

Add the wine to the mixture.

One all the liquid has been absorbed, start adding the stock spoon by spoon, waiting for it to be absorbed before adding the next spoonful.

Continue this for about 20 mins until the risotto becomes creamy.

Season and serve immediately.

Hope you enjoy this one. Till next time...

Traditional South African Milk tart

This is a great old traditional South African recipe that is relatively easy and sooo delicious!!

Crust - puff pastry

Ingredients:

1 Cup flour

pinch of salt

125g cold butter (not margarine)

80ml ice water (must be ice water)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Method:

mix the salt and flour together and devide the butter into 3 equal parts.

Grate the first part of the butter into the flour mixture and rub in with your fingertips until the flour looks like mealimeal.

Mix the water and lemon juice and add to the flour mixture.

Mix until it forms a stiff dough.

Roll out on a flour covered surface and grate the second piece of butter on the dough. Fold close and roll out again.

Now grate the last piece of butter on the dough. Fold close and press into a little ball and cool for at least 30 minutes before use.

Once cooled, roll out into a thin layer and press into a round (23cm) dish and cool again while preparing the filling.

Filling:

Ingredients:

2.5 Cups of milk

4 tbls sugar

2 tbls flour

1 tbls maizena

2 eggs seperated

2 tbls butter (not margarine)

5ml Vanilla essence

Method:

Mix all dry ingredients together.

Bring milk to the boil, add vanilla essence and add to dry mixture and mix until smooth.

Pour mixture back into pot and heat while stirring continuously until thick and cooked.

Add the egg yolk and butter and mix well.

Fluff the egg whites and add to the mixture just before pouring into the crust.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 20 min at 220 degrees.

I hope you enjoy this one and remember that practice makes perfect!! Till next time!

Tasty South African mealie bread.

This is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Cups flour

3ml tumeric

2 tsp baking powder

60 ml sugar

1 tin (420g) sweetcorn/creamed corn

2 large eggs

80ml milk

60g melted butter or margarine

Method:

Mix all dry ingredients together and add sweetcorn.

Mix milk and eggs together and add melted butter. Add to mixture and mix well.

Bake for 55-60min at 180 degrees.

Serve hot with melting butter!

Till next time!

Start the new year with chocolate...

Well, it's been a while and I am still busy recovering from 'real life' after a wonderful relaxing holiday. When I feel depressed, I find that chocolate normally does the trick for me and makes me feel a little better. This is (or was) actually a Golden Cloud recipe that I had to modify so much because I started mixing before checking if I had all the ingredients. If I can give you good advice, don't start mixing any ingredients before you have made sure that you actually have everything that you need. This is a very rich pudding and not for the faint hearted! Go on, have a second helping...
I'm going to call this one chocolate surprise pudding.
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Cup flour

1 Egg

1 tsp hot chocolate

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

90ml sunflower oil

150 ml water

Sauce:
1 cup soft brown sugar
1 cup boiling water
25ml cocoa powder

Method:
Mix the flour, hot chocolate powder, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder together.
Beat egg, oil and water together and add to flour mixture. Mix together until smooth
Pour batter into a casserole dish and prepare the sauce.
For the sauce: mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to the boil or stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour sauce slowly over mix and bake for 40min at 180 degrees
Serve hot with whipped cream.

Till next time. Enjoy!