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Greetings everyone!
And a special welcome to all the new subscribers!
What about some
preserve recipes for the recipe theme? Scroll down to the recipes section
end enjoy!
The next issue will be
a bit late as we will be travelling around for a bit, after visting the
Kruger National Park and camping in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park we
will only be back by the middle of April. (hopefully with a good story and
really nice photos!)
I have
started a
free email penpal service
for Afrikaans
speakers in the Afrikaans section of my website. If you would like to meet
other Afrikaans speakers just
click here and leave your details. Until further notice
everyone placing an ad gets a free copy of my recipe eBook with
traditional South African recipes (in Afrikaans, of course!)
Never buy
another recipe book again.
I have put together my South African Traditional Recipes in English and
Afrikaans plus another 36 recipe eBooks on one CD.
Click here to take a look and also get your free Low Fat recipe
eBook
A
young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things
were so hard for her.
She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.
She was tired of fighting and struggling.
It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen.
She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high heat.
Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second
she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.
She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes
she turned off the burners.
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.
She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
She did and noted that they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.
The daughter smiled as she caught its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity ... boiling water.
Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and
unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the
boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior, but after sitting through the
boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with
pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial
hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my
shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff
spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better
and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate
yourself to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you
strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they
just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't
go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was
smiling...... Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling
and everyone around you is crying.
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 Flea Market
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I have often been asked if I would be willing to place advertisements
on my site. I decided to start a classifieds section where you can
place ads for free.. Just click the link below and browse around or
place an ad. |
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Are
you using Internet Explorer? Why not give Firefox a try?
I notice that my
spyware intrusions have reduced drastically since using Firefox!
The
origin of the hotdog in America -
I did some research on
the origin of the hotdog and came up with the following:
it is
likely that the North American hot dog comes from a widespread common
European sausage brought here by butchers of several nationalities.
Doubt also looms large over another 'first' about it - the name of the man
who first served the dachshund sausage with a roll. One report says a
German immigrant sold them, along with milk rolls and sauerkraut, from a
push cart in New York City's Bowery during the 1860's. In 1871, Charles
Feltman, a German butcher opened up the first Coney Island hot dog stand
selling 3,684 dachshund sausages in a milk roll during his first year in
business.
The year, 1893, was an important date in hot dog history. In Chicago that
year, the Colombian Exposition brought hordes of visitors who consumed
large quantities of sausages sold by vendors. People liked this food. For,
it was easy to eat, convenient and inexpensive.
In the same year, sausages turned out to be the standard fare at baseball
parks. This tradition was begun by a St. Louis bar owner, Chris Von de Ahe,
who also owned the St. Louis Browns major league baseball team.
The term "hot dog" was coined in 1901 at the New York Polo Grounds. One
cold April day, concessionaire Harry Stevens (his company is still in
business) was losing money with ice cream and ice cold soda. He sent his
salesmen out to buy up all the dachshund sausages they could find, along
with an equal number of rolls. In less than an hour his vendors were
hawking hot dogs from portable hot water tanks with "They're red hot! Get
your dachshund sausages while they're red hot!"
In the press box, sports cartoonist Tad Dorgan was nearing his deadline
and desperate for an idea. Hearing the vendors, he hastily drew a cartoon
of barking dachschund sausages nestled warmly in rolls. Not sure how to
spell "dachshund" he simply wrote "hot dog!" The cartoon was a
sensation--and the term "hot dog" was born.
Today's hot dog on a bun was probably introduced during the St. Louis
"Louisiana Purchase Exposition" in 1904 by Bavarian concessionaire, Anton
Feuchtwanger. He loaned white gloves to his patrons to hold his piping hot
sausages. Most of the gloves were not returned, and the supply began
running low. He reportedly asked his brother-in-law, a baker, for help.
The baker improvised long soft rolls that fit the meat--thus inventing the
hot dog bun.
Source:
The Holiday Spot
Why
not subscribe to my
Afrikaans newsletter?
Here is an
interesting article from
www.southafrica.info I will be using more articles from
their interesting website in future letters. Do yourself a favour and go
browse around their great site.:
A subscriber
suggested that I put a Glossary of South African food on my site, I found
this on the above website:
SA cuisine:
glossary of terms
Take milk with your rooibos? Fancy some pap with your wors? Brave enough
to try some skop or mashonzha? Brush up on your culinary vocabulary with
our quick list of indigenous South African food terms and what they mean.
South Africa is home to myriad ethnic and racial groups, many of them
migrant communities, all of whom have contributed to the country's rich
cultural mix.
The resultant kaleidoscope - the famous "rainbow" - applies not only to
the people but to the food, for one finds in South Africa the most
extraordinary range of cuisines.
The glossary below represents ethnic dishes of particular groups, many
since adopted by other groups and no longer the preserve of the group of
origin. The list is far from exhaustive, representing only a sample of the
full South African menu - for more on the subject, see South African
cuisine
Achaar. Imported to South Africa by migrant Indians, achaar is a salad
made of mango and oil - comes spiced. Eaten in excess, it could trigger an
offensive smell of the armpits.
Amanqina. A hoof of a cow, pig or sheep. It is boiled, then spiced for
taste. It is very delicious but sticky.
Biltong. Dried and salted raw meat similar to the beef jerky made in the
USA. An older Afrikaner delicacy, can be made of ostrich, beef, kudu or
any other red meat.
Bobotie. Of Malay origin, made with minced meat and curried spices. An egg
sauce is poured on top of this and it is then baked.
Boerewors. A traditional spicy South African sausage made of beef or lamb.
Popular at open-air braais (barbecues), where it is grilled over charcoal.
Chakalaka. A salad of Indian / Malay origin made of onion, garlic, ginger,
green pepper, carrots and cauliflower spiced with chillies and curry.
Chotlo. A delicacy of the Tswana people, this is meat cut into extremely
small pieces with the bones removed. The meat is first boiled, then ground
before being put back into the pot and stirred until it becomes very fine.
A treat for the toothless.
Frikkadel. Traditional South African meat balls. Made from tomatoes,
onion, minced beef and other ingredients, and shaped into round balls.
Gherkin. A small pickled cucumber, often sliced thinly and used in salads
or on hamburgers.
Koeksusters. Traditional Afrikaner, plaited dough cakes. They are syrupy,
sweet but sticky.
Mala. Intestines, especially those of chicken. They are thoroughly
cleaned, cooked in boiled water, then fried. Eaten with pap (see below).
Maotwana. - Legs of a chicken boiled to remove the hard skin. Thoroughly
washed, salted, then fried. Often served to school kids because of their
low cost.
Mashonzha. - Worms, similar to caterpillars in appearance. These establish
their habitat in and around mopani trees found in the Lowveld areas of
Mpumalanga and the Northern Province. Popular with the Shangaans, Vendas
and Bapedi of the Northern Province.
Mogodu. Tripe, thoroughly cleaned then boiled for two to three hours. Once
softened, allowed to simmer before being served with pap (see below).
Morogo. Wild spinach, the most popular being thepe; delicious when boiled,
softened and served with stiff porridge
Pap. Boiled corn meal, often served with sous - a sauce, usually featuring
tomato and onions.
Rooibos tea. A popular South African herbal tea made in the Cape from the Cyclopia genistoides bush. Rooibos is an Afrikaans word meaning "red
bush". Rooibos has no caffeine and less tannin than tea.
Samoosa. A small, spicy, triangular-shaped pie that has been deep-fried in
oil. Made by the Indian and Malay communities, samoosas are popular with
South Africans in general.
Serobe. A dish of the Tswana people. Thoroughly washed, then boiled
mixture of tripe, intestines and lungs. They are cut into small pieces
with a pair of scissors before being spiced to add taste.
Snoek. This is a popular and tasty fish, caught off the Cape coast and
often eaten smoked. If you're lucky, you may get to experience a snoek
braai - a real South African treat.
Skop. Head of a cow, sheep or goat. The head is first scrubbed with a
sharp instrument like a razor to remove skin and unwanted parts like ears
and the nose are then cut out. The head is then boiled and allowed to
simmer. Favoured by African men.
Ting. A dish favoured by the Tswanas in both South Africa and Botswana. It
is a sour porridge made of sorghum - great soft porridge for breakfast!
Umngqusho. A delicacy among the Xhosa people, this is samp (maize kernels)
mixed with beans. It is boiled over three hours then mixed with beans.
Salt and oil are then added and the dish allowed to simmer.
From:
http://www.southafrica.info
Ever tried
Rooibos tea?
As promised,
another Rooibos recipe
Rooibos ginger
drink
Ingredients
250 ml very strong rooibos tea infusion
25 ml honey
25 ml lemon rind
60 ml lemon juice
1 litre ice-cold ginger ale
lemon slices to serve
lemon slices to serve
Method:
Blend the rooibos infusion, honey, lemon rind, lemon juice and ginger ale.
Pour into glasses and serve with lemon slices.
Glenacres
Superspar newsletter recipe.
MACARONI CHEESE with TOMATO SAUCE
200 g macaroni, cooked
30 g butter
30 g (3 Tbsp) flour
250 ml (1 cup) milk
1 can (290 g) Nestlé dessert cream
250 ml (1 cup) grated strong cheddar cheese
1 egg
125 ml (˝ cup) peppadews, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
extra cheese for sprinkling
SAUCE
1 small onion, chopped
15 ml (1 Tbsp) oil
1 can chopped tomatoes
10 ml (2 tsp) chopped fresh parsley or basil
salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Lightly grease six individual or 1 large ovenproof dish.
3. Melt butter, add flour and cook, stirring over low heat for 1 minute.
4. Add milk and cream stirring until smooth.
5. Cook, stirring over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens.
6. Stir in chicken stock, macaroni, egg, peppadews and cheese.
7. Mix well and season to taste.
8. Spoon into dishes, top with extra grated cheese and place dishes into a
large baking dish half filled with water.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until set.
10. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before turning out (individual dishes) and
serving with tomato sauce.
SAUCE
1. Fry onion in oil until soft and add tomatoes.
2. Simmer for 10 minutes, adding a little water if necessary.
3. Season to taste and stir in parsley or basil.
Glenacres
Superspar sends out a really nice newsletter full of super recipes. To
subscribe,
click here and send the blank email.
Another Wacky Sarmie
Go take a look at
my
Wacky Sarmies page, there are some great sarmie ideas!
Kathryn
My brother loves to make Vienna and syrup sarmies, my favourite is popcorn
with Marcel’s English Toffee frozen yoghurt on any bread of your choice,
delicious, don’t knock it before you try it, it’s lekker!
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A Blast
From the Past |
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1947 - The first Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered, Robert Broom finds
Mrs. Ples, British Royal family tour SA, C. Louis Leipoldt dies, the
AK-47 is designed, the first supersonic flight takes place
Source:
Sunday Times. |
Interested
in Traditional South African Home Remedies? (Boererate).
My Afrikaans eBook,
Boererate has now been completed,
click here for more info.
We are currently working on an English version.
AND
My CD,
containing both Boererate (sorry, in Afrikaans only at this stage) and
Boeremusiek (traditional South African folk music) is now available.
Click here for details and to order.
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Bush Buzz
Nature is wonderful. I envy
the jobs of the game rangers and their wealth of bush knowledge. I
have often wondered where one can read up on all the interesting
facts. I would like to make this a regular feature of this newsletter,
if you are able to contribute or would like to comment on the
contribution below, please
email me. |
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The Leopard
Tortoise -
one of the
Small 5 (click to see photo) |
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The Leopard tortoise is a large and attractively marked tortoise which
has a wide distribution in sub-Saharan Africa, including recorded
localities in southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eastern Africa (including
Natal), Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Angola and Southwest Africa. In
this species males may attain a greater size than females, a
characteristic shared with certain other members of the genus
Geochelone, including Galapagos tortoises. Large examples may be 60 cm
(over 2 feet) long and weigh over 35 kg (about 80 lbs.).
This tortoise favours semi-arid, thorny to grassland habitats. It is,
however, also found in some regions featuring a higher level of
precipitation. Not surprisingly, given its propensity for grassland
habitats it grazes, extensively upon mixed grasses. It also favours
the fruit and pads of the prickly pear (Opuntia sp.), succulents and
thistles.
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The Herb
Section - TOBACCO |
Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) - the genus derives its name from Joan
Nicot, a Portuguese who introduced the Tobacco plant into France.
The specific name being derived from the Haitian word for the pipe
in which the herb is smoked. Tobacco is an annual, with a long
fibrous root, stem erect, round, hairy, and viscid; it branches
near the top and is from 3 to 6 feet high. Leaves large, numerous,
alternate, sessile, somewhat decurrent, ovate, lanceolate,
pointed, entire, slightly viscid and hairy, pale-green color,
brittle, narcotic odor, with a nauseous, bitter acrid taste.
Nicotine is a volatile oil, inflammable, powerfully alkaline, with
an acrid smell and a burning taste. By distillation with water it
yields a concrete volatile oil termed nicotianin or Tobacco
camphor, which is tasteless, crystalline, and smells of Tobacco;
other constituents are albumen, resin, gum, and inorganic matters.
The most important constituent of tobacco is the alkaloid
Nicotine, nicotianin, nicotinine, nicoteine, nicoteline. After
leaves are smoked the nicotine decomposes into pyridine, furfurol,
collidine, hydrocyanic acid, carbon-monoxide, etc. The poisonous
effects of Tobacco smoke are due to these substances of decomposed
nicotine.
Tobacco is considered a local irritant; if used as snuff it causes
violent sneezing, also a copious secretion of mucous; chewed, it
increases the flow of saliva by irritating the mucous membrane of
the mouth; injected into the rectum it acts as a cathartic. In
large doses, Tobacco produces nausea, vomiting, sweats and great
muscular weakness.
The alkaloid nicotine is a virulent poison producing great
disturbance in the digestive and circulatory organs. It innervates
the heart, causing palpitation and cardiac irregularities and
vascular contraction, and is considered one of the causes of
arterial degeneration. Nicotine is very like coniine and lobeline
in its pharmacological action, and the pyridines in the smoke
modify very slightly its action.
Tobacco was once used as a relaxant, but is no longer employed
except occasionally in chronic asthma. Its active principle is
readily absorbed by the skin, and serious, even fatal, poisoning,
from a too free application of it to the surface of the skin has
resulted. The smoke acts on the brain, causing nausea, vomiting
and drowsiness.
Medicinally, Tobacco is used as a sedative, diuretic, expectorant,
discutient, and sialagogue, and internally only as an emetic, when
all other emetics fail. The smoke injected into the rectum or the
leaf rolled into a suppository has been beneficial in strangulated
hernia, also for obstinate constipation, due to spasm of the
bowels, also for retention of urine, spasmodic urethral stricture,
hysterical convulsions, worms, and in spasms caused by lead, for
croup, and inflammation of the peritoneum, to produce evacuation
of the bowels, moderating reaction and dispelling tympanitis, and
also in tetanus. To inject the smoke it should be blown into milk
and injected, for croup and spasms of the rima glottides it is
made into a plaster with Scotch snuff and lard and applied to
throat and breast, and has proved very effectual. A cataplasm of
the leaves may be used as an ointment for cutaneous diseases. The
leaves in combination with the leaves of belladonna or stramonium
make an excellent application for obstinate ulcers, painful
tremors and spasmodic affections. A wet Tobacco leaf applied to
piles is a certain cure. The inspissated juice cures facial
neuralgia if rubbed along the tracks of the affected nerve.
The Tobacco plant was introduced into England by Sir Walter
Raleigh and his friends in 1586, and at first met with violent
opposition. Kings prohibited it, Popes pronounced against it in
Bulls, and in the East Sultans condemned Tobacco smokers to cruel
deaths. Three hundred years later, in 1885, the leaves were
official in the British Pharmacopoeia.
Externally nicotine is an antiseptic. It is eliminated partly by
the lungs, but chiefly in the urine, the secretion of which it
increases. Formerly Tobacco in the form of an enema of the leaves
was used to relax muscular spasms, to facilitate the reduction of
dislocations. A pipe smoked after breakfast assists the action of
the bowels.
The pituri plant contains an alkaloid, Pitarine, similar to
nicotine, and the leaves are used in Australia instead of Tobacco.
An infusion of Tobacco is generally used in horticulture as an
insecticide.
In cases of nicotine poisoning, the stomach should be quickly
emptied, and repeated doses of tannic acid given, the person kept
very warm in bed, and stimulants such as caffeine, strychnine, or
atropine given, or if there are signs of respiratory failure,
oxygen must be given at once.
More links to herbs on my
Herb Page
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Thanks to everyone who has mailed us fridge magnets depicting your
State, City or Country. If you collect fridge magnets, I will gladly
swop with you!
Please
email me
and we can make arrangements. Thanx a lot! |
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My website highlights:
Internet and Home Business info on CD
The Ultimate
Recipe book on CD!
Visit my
Afrikaans pages
South African food and products overseas?
Click here!
Read the Zimbabwe Letters
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