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Hi there!
Before I start,
when last did you send that special person in your life a bunch of
flowers? Think about it and
click here to go tot
the Netflorist site and place your order!
We all know how
quickly something increases in number or value if you keep doubling up.
For instance if you place a cent on a square of a chessboard, then two
cents on the next, four on the next and so on, by the time you get to the
last square you have a phenomenal amount! Well, Stuart Goldsmith, the
financial whizz has applied this principle to real life showing how to
build wealth. I found the concept very interesting,
click here to download his free report!
The first step is to actually pick up a one cent piece!
Now down to
business! I have been neglecting potjiekos of
late and will remedy that with this newsletter. For those of you who are
not quite sure what potjiekos is, it's food prepared outdoors over coals
in a 3 legged cast iron pot, I would imagine in America it would be
similar to a Dutch oven? Not quite sure about that but I think it's close.
Doing a potjie is a very social way of catering outdoors as everyone can
sit round the fire and chat while the potjie is simmering away gently.
Potjie cooking is a leasurely affair and is usually enjoyed with a good
wine (and good company!) while waiting for the potjie to finish cooking.
Potjiekos competitions are also
very popular and has evolved to a fine art with many rules and
regulations. The cook usually has an assistant and their "cooking space"
is decorated to a theme for which points are also allocated. You also have
to prepare a side dish and a pot bread prepared in a flat bottomed cast
iron pot is very popular! I will feature side dishes in a future
newsletter! Watch this space!
Potjiekos is also a very personal
thing. With some experimenting you might end up with a prizewinning potjie,
you could even become a national potjie champion! For more recipes click
here and click
here for info on how to take care of your potjie.
After many requests I put together a page on how to organise and judge a
potjie competition! (in
Afrikaans!)
BBQ'ing meat or any camp food on a
"skottelbraai" is very popular in SA. A "skottel" is a wok shaped
ploughshare that has three legs welded on to it and then placed over the
campfire and your meal cooked in it. In later years this has been replaced
with a similar appliance that screws onto your gas bottle, so no need for
making a fire any more. However, I am looking for one of the
original "skottelbraais" but everyone I ask in the city just gives me
blank stares! Now I have to find a farmer that has one of those
ploughshares lying around and also find someone who can weld on the three
legs for me. Is that a tall order or what! Who knows, perhaps there IS
someone out there that can assist me in my quest! Please
email
me if you can or
know where one of these "skottelbraais" can still be purchased. By the
way, this is an ideal "work-from-home" opportunity coz nearly everyone I
asked said they would love to have one!
I am looking
for some South Africans to join me in building up a tidy nest egg for
themselves and earn an additional income as well! You have all heard of
Clientele, but not all of us are marketers so we sometimes need a bit of
help to get us going! Send me an
email and lets discuss!
There is now a
business in Canada that sells custom embroidered South African apparel,
rugby jerseys, flags bumper stickers and more and they ship worldwide! If
you want to have a gift sent to someone and want to save paying postage
from South Africa, go to
Lekkerwear "It's all South
African" and shop to your heart's content! They ship worldwide!
With worldwide
unemployment it's nice to know that if you are a registered nurse that you
are in demand worldwide. I came across
this interesting site,
go take a look and
pass it on to a nurse that you know!
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Reduce your monthly short
term insurance premium,
click here for a free online quotation!
And while you are busy,
click here and apply online for your Barclaycard! |
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The
Herb Section - Rocket |
This is a favourite herb in European countries, but little known here, as
it was only introduced a few years ago.
Rocket is very easy to grow. It loves full sun and richly composted soil.
It withstands frosts and summer heats, so is a must in every garden.
Rocket grows to between 50cm and 1m. Rocket grows very well in a deep pot,
but must be watered well, and placed in the full sun.
DOMESTIC USES
Plant rocket around a compost heap. It will seed itself constantly, and is
a great plant food when dug into the compost heap.
COSMETIC USES
Rocket has a very strong smell, but it makes a very refreshing foot bath
and is a good astringent.
MEDICINAL USES
In the country districts of Italy, rocket leaves are boiled in honey to
make a cough syrup.
Rocket included in the diet aids with anaemia, digestive upsets, fluid
retention, bladder ailments, malnutrition, scurvy and vitamin
deficiencies.
CULINARY USES
Rocket is rich in iron, chlorophyll and vitamins and is a famed
antiscorbutic, which makes it a very valuable food.
A delicious addition to salads, rocket has a meaty and mustardy flavour.
It is particularly good with tomatoes and split peas, when added to soups
and stews.
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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! |
My website is interactive, there are a few
pages you can contribute to:
Elephant Stew -
add
your suggestion 
Wacky Sarmies - add your fav sarmie (some great sarmie ideas here!)
Animal Facts - Some
interesting stuff here
Discussion Forum - Add to a current discussion or start a new thread.
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Why not post a message on the
Discussion Forum. The topic can be food, wildlife, travel or
photography related, or anything else of interest. Let's see if we can
get some interesting discussions going |
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MEXICAN CHICKEN POT
I like my food curried and don't care much for Mexican spices, but that is a
personal opinion and I place this recipe for all you spice lovers! Use #3
pot.
INGREDIENTS
30ml Cooking oil
10ml Dried parsley
2kg Chicken pieces
5ml Garlic flakes
5 Medium-sized onions, diced
5ml Lemon pepper
1 Green-chilli, seeded and diced
5ml Dried oreganum
250ml Water
2.5ml Ground black-pepper
5 Carrots, peeled and sliced
1.25ml Peri-Peri powder
6 Medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
125ml Dry white wine
125ml Uncooked rice
30ml Sugar
200g Frozen green peas
20ml Salt
15 Whole button mushrooms
15ml Medium curry powder
2 Tomatoes, diced
1 cube Chicken stock, crumbled
METHOD
Heat the oil in the pot and braai the chicken, a few pieces at a time, until
golden brown. Remove and brown the onions and chilli until soft. Replace the
chicken and add the water. Cover with the lid and allow to simmer for 15
minutes.
Layer the veggies and rice as they appear above and sprinkle the herbs and
spices on top. Cover with the lid and allow to simmer for another 15
minutes.
Mix the wine and the rest of the ingredients and pour over the food. Cover
with the lid and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice is done.
Give the pot a good stir before serving.
HAVE-SOME-MORE SHEEPNECK & VEGGIES
POT
My wife loves sheeps neck, I prefer oxtail but I understand this pot is
really yummilicious!
#3 pot recommended
INGREDIENTS
30ml Butter
2.5ml Ground black pepper
12 Pieces of sheep neck
500g Baby carrots, peeled
4 Medium-sized onions, diced
15 Medium potatoes, quartered
250ml Water
500g Cauliflower
6 Black pepper-corns
500g Whole button mushrooms
4 Bay leaves
6 Baby marrow, sliced
3 Whole cloves
4 Tomatoes, cubed
15ml Salt
500g Mixed dried fruit, soaked in water for 1 hour
15ml Aromat
250ml Dry white wine
10ml Dried parsley
90ml Bisto in 125ml Water
METHOD
Heat the pot and melt the butter. Then brown a few pieces of meat at a time
and remove.
Brown the onions until soft.
Return the meat and add the water, pepper-corns, bay leaves and ‘naeltjies’
and 10ml of the salt.
Cover with the lid and allow the pot to simmer for about 1 hour.
Mix the aromat, parsley, pepper and the remaining salt and sprinkle
in-between the layered vegetables (layer the veggies as they appear in the
recipe).
Place the dried fruit on top and allow the pot to simmer for about 1.5
hours.
Sprinkle a little aromat over the pot, cover with the lid and allow to
simmer for 30 minutes.
Finally, add the wine and the bisto solution 30 minutes before the pot is
served.
MUTTON CURRY POT
If you ever want to enter a potjie competition, this is the one for you!
It’s enough for 6 people and a # 3 pot is recommended.
INGREDIENTS
2 kg sheepknuckle, cubed
MARINADE
60ml Oil
30ml Oil
50ml Butter
20ml Medium curry powder
4 Stick cinnamon
10ml Grated ginger
10 Whole cloves
10ml turmeric
3 Large onions, diced
10ml Lemon juice
2 Medium brinjals, peeled and cubed
5ml Mustard
8 Baby potatoes, peeled
YOGHURT MIXTURE
4 Large tomatoes, diced
500ml Natural yoghurt
Salt and pepper to taste
20ml Chopped fresh parsley
Little bit of white sugar
15ml Grated lemon peel
METHOD
Mix the ingredients of the marinade and pour over the meat for about 1 hour.
Heat the oil and butter in the pot and then add the stick cinnamon and
cloves for a few minutes.
Add the onions and braai until soft. Remove the onions but let the stick
cinnamon and cloves remain in the pot.
Brown the meat and add a little water if necessary. Add the onion mixture to
the meat, cover with the lid and allow to simmer for about 1 hour.
Place the brinjal cubes on top of the meat and season with the salt and
pepper.
Layer the potatoes and tomatoes and once again season with salt and pepper
and a little bit of white sugar
Cover with the lid and allow to simmer for approximately 2-3 hours.
Stir well before serving and serve with rice and the yoghurt mixture over
each serving.
OXTAIL & MUTTON POT
This pot has won competition after competition. It has it’s ingredients
packed in circles and not in layers, which makes the dishing up easier and
also enables one to have a better look at what’s in the pot. It’s enough for
6 people and a # 3 pot is recommended.
INGREDIENTS
30ml Butter
125ml Dry red wine
1 Oxtail, cut into pieces
62ml Water
500g of sheeps knuckles, cut into pieces
500ml Greenbeans, cut up
500g sheepstails/ribbs
1 Bunch of carrots, sliced
8 Medium onions, diced
0.5 Cauliflower, broken up
250g Bacon, diced
300g Button mushrooms
4 Blocks beef stock, crumbled
1 Green pepper, diced
10 Whole peppercorns
15 Baby potatoes
8 Whole cloves
2 Celery sticks, chopped
4 Cloves of garlic, chopped
15 pickling inions
10ml Mixed herbs
Grated nutmeg to taste
1 Stick cinnamon
15g Brown onion soup
1 Red chilli pepper
Roughly chopped parsley
Pepper to taste
METHOD
Grease the pot with the butter and fry the meat for about 15 minutes until
brown.
Add the onions, bacon, beef stock, spices and herbs and fry for a further 15
minutes. Remove the mutton pieces.
Add the water and the wine to the oxtail, cover with the lid and allow the
pot to simmer for about 1 hour.
Replace the mutton and let it simmer for a further 50 minutes.
Now pack the veggies as follows - A ring of greenbeans against the edge of
the pot, then a ring of carrots and a ring of cauliflower right in the
middle.
Push the mushrooms tightly between the edge of the pot and the greenbeans
and sprinkle the chilli over.
Pack the potatoes between the beans and the carrots and sprinkle the celery
over.
Pack the pickling onions around the cauliflower and sprinkle the soup powder
and parsley over.
Cover with the lid and allow it to simmer for a further 2 hours or until the
veggies are soft.
No salt is used as the soup powder and beef stock contains enough salt.
OXTAIL & BANANA POT
This lovely pot is best when served with brown or white rice. It’s enough
for 6 people and a # 3 pot is recommended.
INGREDIENTS
1 Large oxtail, cut into pieces
12 Baby potatoes
3 Medium onions, finely sliced
250g Button mushrooms
30ml Butter
1 Large tomato, sliced
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
5ml Chopped parsely
0.5 Red chilli, finely chopped
10 Whole pickling onions
5 Whole cloves
SAUCE
5ml Mixed herbs
62ml Brown vinegar
2 Bay leaves
20ml Tomato sauce,
500ml Warm water
20ml Chutney
Salt and pepper to taste
20ml Honey
2 Ripe bananas, sliced
10ml Medium curry powder
5 Medium carrots, cut into strips
METHOD
Grease the pot with the butter and heat the pot. Fry the meat for about 15
minutes.
Add the onions, garlic, chilli, cloves, herbs, bay leaves, salt and pepper
and fry for a further 15 minutes. (If the pot gets too dry, add some warm
water)
Now add the 500ml warm water, cover with the lid and allow the pot to simmer
for about 2 hours.
In the meantime, mix the ingredients of the sauce and put one side.
After 2 hours, pack the bananas on top of the meat and layer the veggies as
they appear in the recipe.
Sprinkle the parsley on top, and then layer the onions and allow the pot to
simmer for 1 hour.
Add the sauce and allow to simmer for a further 30 minutes.
SEAFOOD PAELLA POT
Being a Vaalie I am not really a seafood lover, but I realise that many
people are, so here is the recipe. It’s enough for 6 people and a # 3 pot is
recommended.
INGREDIENTS
60 ml Cooking oil
1 kg Kingklip fillets, cut into pieces
3 Red peppers, sliced
400 g Frozen prawns
1 Large onion, chopped
500 g Mussells
500 g pork, cubed
500 g Calamari
5 Chicken thighs, halved
500 g Crabsticks
1 L Boiling water
500 g Uncooked rice
5 ml Saffron
250 g Frozen peas
4 Bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Blocks chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon
METHOD
Heat the oil in the pot. Slightly brown the peppers, onion, pork and
chicken.
Cover with the lid and allow the pot to steam for 1 hour or until the meat
is almost tender.
Mix the saffron, bay leaves and chicken stock in the water and stand one
side.
Pack the seafood on top of the meat, then the rice and finally the peas.
Flavour with salt and pepper.
Pour the saffron water little by little as the rice cooks dry
Allow the pot to simmer slowly until the rice and peas are done and the
fluid is virtually cooked away.
Pour the lemon juice over just before serving and stir well.
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