Cooking fresh food and drinking divine Cape wines in Melkbosstrand Cape Town
I’ve been doing the chicken, mango and pasta potjie and various versions of it for quite a while, but never documented the recipe. So here goes. It is a very simple potjie that can be done in 2 hours’ time. It is delicious, but definitely not a banting option.
When you think of Jamaica you think of relaxed island vibes, rum cocktails and food flavoured with chilli, all spice and thyme. This inspired me to try the quintessential Jamaican dishes of Jerk Chicken with Rice and Peas for this week’s Jamaican date night.
Of all the Thai food we ate in Chiang Mai (and we ate a lot), 2 of our favourite dishes were Khao Soi (a soup like dish consisting of egg noodles and meat in a curry coconut sauce) and Khao Kha Moo (braised pork leg on rice). When Adrienne brought home fresh turmeric last week it was a sign to make Khao Soi, and in keeping with the Thai theme I decided to try and recreate the fabulous Khao Kha Moo from the famous “Lady with the cowboy hat” at the Chang Phueak Gate in Chiang Mai.
Sosatie (pl sosaties) is a traditional South African dish of meat (usually lamb or mutton) cooked on skewers. The term derives from sate (“skewered meat”) and saus (spicy sauce). It is of Cape Malay origin, used in Afrikaans, the primary language of the Cape Malays, and the word has gained greater circulation in South Africa. Marinated, cubed meat (usually lamb) is skewered and braaied (barbecued) shish-kebab style. Sosatie recipes vary, but commonly the ingredients can include cubes of lamb, beef, chicken, dried apricots, red onions and mixed peppers. Source: Wikipedia
I think most South Africans will agree that sosaties are an essential ingredient for any traditional South African braai. I decided to make four types of different sosaties using different marinades and different meats for date night.
I have always wanted to make a proper Mexican mole sauce (a rich blend of chillies, spices, and chocolate). Alas I could not source the proper Mexican chillies you need for this dish in SA so never made it.
Then I came across a company called Mexican Imports SA in Plettenberg Bay that imports all kinds of goodies from Mexico. As luck would have it I had friends going to Plett that weekend and they were kind enough to bring me back some Ancho and Guajillo chillies.
As a starter for my date night gourmet burgers, I decided to make some chicken, pesto and coconut cream pies.
We had the family over for lunch on Sunday and as my dad loves a good lamb curry, I decided on an Indian menu with the curry made in a potjie over the coals for a South African twist.
I recently came back from an over landing trip in Africa that took me a month. This had an impact on my cooking time and I decided to make up for it by creating a couple of dishes. Seeing that it is winter time and very cold in Cape Town currently, I decided to make 5 different soups.
Last night’s French menu for date night was filled with culinary mishaps but we still ended up eating lots of good food.
A friend of mine recently gave me a nice cut of bacon. Upon first seeing the piece of meat I thought it was a duck breast. The idea of duck got stuck in my mind and I decided to convert an Angry Duck recipe into “Angry Pork”. This will then be a starter for date night where the two other dishes are Mexican Soup and Lamb Shank with oven roasted veg.