The FunkyMunky Herb eBook is now available. 48 popular herbs, descriptions and uses with photos. Immediately available, will be emailed to you. Only R50 , send me an email for payment details.
I'm very impressed with what I've read so far. What I really like is that your book is a combination of medicinal and culinary advice, unlike many other herb books I've read.
And the format is great - thanks very much. I have an ambitious project to make a herb garden this year - so your section of herb gardens will come in very handy - Shelagh

Winter is fast approaching here in South Africa, what better time to give away some soup recipes?
Right click here to download.

This is going to be another regular feature......

Replace unhealthy food

Have a close look at your pantry; do you have a mix of healthful and unhealthy food items? So how do you replace the unhealthy food items? Here is a basic guideline to follow:

Toss out any cereals and breads that are refined, presweetened or made with white flour, and replace them with organic, high-fiber cereals, oats or organic, natural instant varieties of hot cereals (weetbix), and whole-grain breads.

Replace instant soups (which can very high in sodium), rice or noodle mixes (often high in sodium and undesirable fats) and instant drink mixes (such as iced tea, instant coffee and sugary hot chocolate mixes), with cooked whole grains, dried beans, peas and lentils, and high quality green, white or oolong tea.

Add some spices - an important part of the anti-inflammatory kitchen and diet. Herbs are best when used fresh, but dried herbs, such as basil, sage, thyme, and rosemary, can keep their healthful characteristics and aroma very well.   

The UK Lottery never pays less than £3 million every Wednesday and Saturday (± R43 million) with frequent rollovers. You can get your ticket securely by clicking here.

But that's nothing!! The Euromillions Jackpot has has been as high as £ 120 million !! That's roughly R1,740,000,000!!! You can't win it if you're not in it, so click here and get a ticket!

My Recipe CD has now been updated and now includes 50 Recipe eBooks as well as 8 Bonus eBooks (4 eBooks on making, marketing and selling crafts for profit) Click here to take a look and also download your free Low Fat recipe eBook (that works out to about R2 per recipe book! sheessshhh!)

Hello Peter,
Just to let you know that I received my recipe CD today in the mail and I'm over the moon about it.
I'm going to spread the word to others to order copies too. It's most certainly worth every cent..........
Thanks again,
LC

Glenacres Superspar sends out a really nice newsletter full of super recipes. To subscribe, click here and send the blank email. 

Peanuts are a popular ingredient in sub-Saharan cuisine but here is a yummy recipe, much closer to home:

Peanut Pudding

3 eggs, separated
25ml peanut butter
5ml baking powder
1 litre milk
100ml unsalted peanuts, ground finely
250ml castor sugar
250ml cake flour
pinch salt
5ml vanilla essence

1. Pre heat oven to 180°C and grease a 1.5 litre dish
2. Beat the egg yolks until lemon coloured, add sugar by the spoonful beating each time until light and creamy
3. Add peanut butter and beat
4. Sift all the dry ingredients together, and add with the milk to the sugar and eggs a little at a time
5. Add essence and peanuts, mixing well
6. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture
7. Pour into prepared dish. Place pie dish in a bowl half filled with water
8. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes until golden brown and set
9. Serve hot with custard 

Go take a look at my Wacky Sarmies page, there are some great sarmie ideas!

Rentia from  Millington, NJ

2 slices toast
apricot jam
chopped onion
fried egg
Spread jam on toast, sauté the onions and fry the egg on top of the onions. Place egg on one slice toast, season with salt, cover with the other slice...YUMMY!

Source: Sunday Times

1946:  The Leaugue of Nations is dissolved, a tsunami hits Hawaii, H G Wells (writer) dies, the bikini is unveiled in Paris (yayyy - Peter) the Cannes Film Festival is launched, Tupperware goes on sale, London's Heathrow airport opens for civilian use, 

This dates from the late 1800's

Boer koekies

10 lb flour
6 lb sugar
2 lb tail fat
½ lb butter
12 eggs beaten
1  teaspoonful roode bolus (commercial ferric oxide)
2 packets baking powder
as much milk as will make into a paste

Rub the fat, butter, sugar, etc etc into the flour, moisten with the eggs and milk. Roll out the paste, cut into shapes and bake in brisk oven.

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.

The Secretary bird is a bird of prey, but unlike other raptors it has long legs, wings and a tail. The single species of its family, the bird gets its name from its crest of long feathers that look like the quill pens 19th century office workers used to tuck behind their ears.

The bird is basically dove-grey in color, with black on the wings, thighs and elongated central tail feathers. The short, down-curved bill is backed by an area of bare, red and yellow skin. The Secretary bird stands three feet high.

The Secretary bird is widespread throughout Africa south of the Sahara.

It is found in open areas of plains and savanna country, and often congregates at areas that have been recently burnt, where mammals are deprived of cover and often injured.

These birds are basically terrestrial, taking to flight only when hard-pressed. Usually only single birds are found, with members of a pair some distance apart.

The Secretary bird walks well on extremely long legs, and a bird may plod up to twenty miles in a day. When pursued, it relies on its speed to escape.

It finds most of its food on the ground and has a partiality for snakes. It grabs the snake with its strong toes and beats it to death on the ground, while protecting itself from bites with its large wings. Finally, it seizes its prey and hurls it into the air several times to stun it. (In South Africa, these birds are kept in captivity to destroy snakes and rats.)

In addition to finding food with its beak, the Secretary bird will also stamp on grass tussocks with its feet to scare up lizards, grasshoppers, and small mammals or birds.

Secretary birds consume snakes, other reptiles, amphibians, tortoises, rats and other small mammals as well as young game birds.

Secretary birds pair for life and are remarkably faithful to their nest site. The nest is generally placed low in the fork of a tree, usually an acacia. The huge bundle of sticks grows year by year in the manner of an eagle's eyrie.

The two, occasionally three, rough textured, white eggs take about 50 days to hatch, and the downy young are fed on a diet of small mammals. They fly after about eight weeks.

Do you have family and friends all over the world? Does it cost you a fortune to buy and mail gifts to all of them? Why not buy one Recipe eBook and email it to everyone! Just think about the savings on postage! For my selection of eBooks (and CD's) just click here.

Afrikaans Newsletter

Subscribe to my Afrikaans newsletter . Visit my Afrikaans website
 

Potjiekos recipe

Another new feature, from now on I will feature a potjie recipe with each newsletter. For those of you who are not familiar with a potjie (cast iron three legged pot) you may use a dutch oven.

Lamb is not my favourite, but I am sure a lot of you love it, so here goes:

Beef and Beer Potjie

15 ml cake flour
5 ml paprika
1 kg beef fillet, cubed
15 ml butter
15 ml cooking oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
15 ml white sugar
8 green beans, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
5 ml mixed dried herbs or marjoram
375 ml beer
250 ml beef stock
1 packet tomato soup powder
1 bay leaf
15 ml vinegar
10 ml cornflour
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the paprika and flour and place in a plastic bag. Add the meat cubes and shake well to coat the meat. Melt the butter and oil in the pot and brown the meat over medium hot coals. Remove and set aside. Fry the onions and sugar, stirring now and then until the onions are tender. Add the beans, carrots and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes.
Return the meat to the pot and stir in the herbs, beer, stock, soup powder and bay leaf. replace the lid and simmer till the meat is tender, approx 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir occasionally, using a wooden spoon.
Mix the vinegar and cornflour and stir in. Simmer until the gravy has thickened and season with salt and pepper.


Serve with mealie meal porridge.

ATTORNEY : Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY : Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY : Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY : So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY : How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS : Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY : But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS : Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Three women, two younger, and one senior citizen, were sitting naked in a sauna. Suddenly there was a beeping sound.

The first young woman pressed her forearm and the beep stopped. The others looked at her questioningly. That was my pager," she said. I have a microchip under the skin of my arm."

A few minutes later, a phone rang. The second young woman lifted her palm to her ear. When she finished, she explained, "that was my mobile phone I have a microchip in my hand."

The older woman felt very low tech. However, not to be outdone; she decided she had to do something just as impressive. She stepped out of the sauna, went to the bathroom. She returned with a piece of toilet paper hanging from her rear end. The others raised their eyebrows and stared at her.

The older woman finally said, "well, will you look at that... I'm getting a fax!!"

GINGER

Ginger is grown mainly in the tropics, with the best ginger coming from Jamaica.
Ginger is one of the easiest plants to grow, and is also attractive in your garden.
Please note that ornamental ginger is not edible.
Ginger needs deeply dug soil and lots of compost. Plant in full sun, although a little afternoon shade is okay. Give the plants a twice weekly soaking. Flowers appear in summer, and then all watering must stop to enable the leaves to die down. Don't cut them off, they must die down on their own, returning nourishment to the swollen root.
Ginger is harvested in July. Carefully lift the tubers with a fork, and rinse them in cold water.
Freshly grated fresh tubers can be stored in brown grape vinegar in a dark bottle.
They love to be planted near lilies, hostas and elephant ears.

MEDICINAL USES
Ginger tea is wonderful for respiratory ailments and nausea, even the nausea associated with chemotherapy.
It is excellent for colic, flatulence, poor peripheral circulation, lack of energy, diarrhoea and nervous exhaustion.
Medical tests have proven ginger helps to lower high cholesterol.
Make a tea using 2 - 4 teaspoons of thinly sliced ginger root in a cup of boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes and sweeten with honey, if preferred. Leave the ginger in the cup, and chew a little of it while drinking the tea.
Ginger circulatory cream (recipe below) massaged into the hands and feet, are good for cold hands and feet.

CULINARY USES
Add thinly sliced fresh ginger to fish dishes.
Make your own ginger beer with fresh ginger.
Marinades, soups and sauces are enhanced by this precious spice.

COSMETIC USES
Ginger added to a foot bath, helps to deodorise smelly feet and also softens hard skin.
Thinly sliced, or grated ginger, added to your bath stimulates circulation and helps to remove toxins from your body. Remember, ginger can irritate sensitive skins, so always test the mixture first on the inside of your wrists.

OTHER USES
Leftover grated ginger can be added to spent coffee grounds, and sprinkled under tender plants to kill snails.
Sprinkle ginger powder and cayenne pepper to deter ants and mice.

GINGER CIRCULATORY CREAM
1 Cup Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Cup Aqueous Cream
2 teaspoons Powdered loves
½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Peppermint Essential Oil
Gently simmer the ginger, aqueous cream, cloves and cayenne pepper in a double boiler for 15 minutes. Strain and add 6 drops of peppermint oil. Mix well and spoon into a sterilised jar. Seal well.
 

Zimbabwe update

I used to have a regular feature on my website that I called the Zimbabwe Letters. sadly my contact "went silent" and I didn't have a source any more. I am looking for another source (any volunteers?). I received this in my email and am sharing it with you. My heart goes out to the poor Zimbabweans...

The Zimbabwe Bird

Today the Matsheumhlope River meanders lazily past Bulawayo. It was a raging torrent when the area was known as Munhumutapa.

A boy named Ndhlovu lived in a kraal on the banks of river Matsheumhlope. One day as he washed in the river, an enormous crocodile appeared, sunk his teeth into Ndhlovu’s legs and dragged him into deep water. As Ndhlovu struggled to free himself, a giant falcon swooped down out of the sky and began harrying the crocodile.

Ndhlovu, even with the aid of the falcon, was no match for the monstrous creature but just as he was on the verge of giving up he saw the falcon dive at the crocodile’s head and pluck an eye out with its razor-sharp beak. The crocodile thrashed its tail about wildly, making the water appear to boil. In its agony it released its grip on Ndhlovu’s leg. The falcon made another dive for the crocodile’s other eye but it disappeared under the water.

Ndhlovu struggled weakly to the bank and dragged himself out of the river. Both of Ndhlovu’s legs had been bitten off and he fell unconscious as the falcon circled overhead. Fortunately a member of the tribe found Ndhlovu and took him to the nyanga (witch doctor) who tended his wounds.
In time, Ndhlovu recovered his health. He never got his legs back, and could no longer work alongside the other men of the tribe. He spent his time telling the story of his ordeal and the heroic deeds of the falcon which was never seen again.

The story, and Ndhlovu, became something of a legend and children from other tribes along the river and further afield came to listen to his story. Ndhlovu became an accomplished orator but could never describe the falcon to his satisfaction, so he began to sculpt figurines of the bird from the soft sandstone that was plentiful in the area. He made many of these figurines and they became very popular with the children who had heard his story. Every child who came to Ndhlovu’s kraal had to have a figurine to take home. This helped the legend spread.

Ndhlovu grew old and eventually passed away but the stone birds carried the magic of the legendary falcon on. Many decades later the legend had almost been forgotten, but some of the great stone birds survived.

Legend amongst Zimbabwe's black population has it that there were originally 7 Soapstone Birds at the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, all of which had mysteriously been taken out of the country. Only 4 have since been returned. It is said that peace will never return to Zimbabwe until all seven of these artifacts have been returned to their rightful place.

From: My Home, Zimbabwe
 

South African Languages

South Africa is a multilingual country. Besides the 11 officially recognised languages, scores of others - African, European, Asian and more - are spoken here, as the country lies at the crossroads of southern Africa.
The country's Constitution guarantees equal status to 11 official languages to cater for the country's diverse peoples and their cultures. These are: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga.

In each issue I will feature one of the languages.

This is the last of the nine official languages....here are some variations:

Indigenous creoles and pidgins
Tsotsi taal, an amalgam of Afrikaans, English and a number of African languages, is widely spoken in urban areas, mainly by males. The word "tsotsi" means "gangster" or "hoodlum" - given the association with urban criminality - while "taal" is Afrikaans for "language".
Otherwise known as Iscamtho, tsotsi taal developed in cities and townships to facilitate communication between the different language groups. It is a dynamic language, with new words and phrases being regularly introduced.
Fanagalo is a pidgin that grew up mainly on South Africa's gold mines, to allow communication between white supervisors and African labourers during the colonial and apartheid era.
It is essentially a simplified version of isiZulu and isiXhosa - about 70% of the lexicon is from isiZulu - and incorporates elements from English, Dutch, Afrikaans and Portuguese. It does not have the range of Zulu inflections, and tends to follow English word order. Similar pidgins are Cikabanga in Zambia and Chilapalapa in Zimbabwe.
Fanagalo is a rare example of a pidgin based on an indigenous language rather than on the language of a colonising or trading power.
Provincial variations
The languages you will hear most frequently spoken in South Africa depend on where in the country you are.
IsiXhosa, for instance, is spoken by more than 80% of South Africans in the Eastern Cape, while almost 80% of people in KwaZulu-Natal speak isiZulu. IsiZulu is also the most frequently spoken home language in Gauteng, but at a much smaller percentage. In Cape Town and its surrounds, Afrikaans comes into its own.
Predominant languages by province (census 2001 figures, rounded off) are:
• Eastern Cape - isiXhosa (83%), Afrikaans (9%)
• Free State - Sesotho (64%), Afrikaans (12%)
• Gauteng - isiZulu (21%), Afrikaans (14%), Sesotho (13%), English (12%)
 

Source: SouthAfrica.info
The all-in-one official guide
and web portal to South Africa.  
 

Recipe Requests

Looking for a specific South African recipe? Email me and I will do my best to find it for you!

Add your suggestions to my Elephant Stew and Wacky Sarmies recipes.
 

Featured Website

Every issue I feature an interesting website with South African links.
 

The Recipes

Botha Pudding

2 cups flour 
4 ozs butter 
1 cup sugar 
4 eggs 
1/4 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda or baking powder
1/2 lb seeded raisins 
strips of citron peel (orange peel)

Beat sugar and butter thoroughly to a cream, then gradually add flour, sifted with soda and salt, alternately with well-beaten eggs and a little milk, if necessary. Lastly, add chopped raisins, pour into a well-greased mould that has been decorated with strips of citron peel.
Steam for 3 hours and serve with a Sweet White Sauce or custard.
Important warning. At high altitudes all measures must be level, particularly the Baking powder while at sea level the measures must be slightly rounded or an extra teaspoonful used otherwise the cake will be heavy and of a close texture, owing to the "high pressure" In another book it says use half as much baking powder as it calls form at sea level viz 2 teaspoons baking powder should be 3 at sea level.

Voortrekker Pudding

1/2lb margarine 
2 eggs 
4 tablespoons Apricot Jam
2 cups flour 
1 cup milk 
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
2 cups sugar 
3 cups boiling water 
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Place sugar in deep (baking) pan, add boiling water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Cream margarine and jam, add flour, baking powder and ginger (sifted together) alternatively with beaten eggs. 
Lastly add bicarbonate of soda dissolved in a little milk. Add last of milk. Place spoonfuls of the mixture in the syrup. Bake in a moderate oven (375 degrees Fahrenheit) until dark brown. This is a self-saucing
pudding but if wish can serve with custard or cream.

De Preez Speculaas

2lb flour 
1 and 1/2 lb yellow (brown) sugar 
1lb butter
1/2 lb chopped almonds 
2 eggs 
1 dessertspoon soda (bicarbonate or baking soda
1 teaspoon cloves 
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon mixed spice 
3/4 cup port wine 
2 teaspoons salt

Rub butter into flour with the finger tips until fine like breadcrumbs, add the rest of the dry ingredients excepting soda, and mix well. Make a hollow in the centre, pour in the wine mixed with soda. Form into a
smooth dough and leave overnight in a cool place, then roll out and cut into shapes. Bake about 20 minutes in a moderate oven of 350 degrees F.

JAN SMUTS (Dessert)

Jan Smuts, dining with my grandfather, enjoyed this dessert so much that he insisted on personally extending his compliments to the cook, who thereafter named it "Jan Smuts".
 
 1 tin (410g) evaporated milk
 1 cup (250 ml) orange juice
 125ml sugar adjusted to taste
 3 tablespoons gelatine powder
 1 tablespoon hot water
 
Dissolve gelatine in hot water and mix carefully with orange juice. Whip up evaporated milk until light and fluffy. Slowly add orange juice mixture. Refrigerate for at least two hours until set.

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