Rosemary, shanks for the lamb.

Hi All and Eric

Hope you all had a pleasant week and are counting the days down until Christmas. I think their are 22 to go.

Bonnie, my Sister-In-Law will be arriving from Doha, Qatar shortly to join us for the festive season and looks like the Ferreira's will also witness the might of the Van Der Merwe ladies culinary skills for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I took Rhys up with me to Joburg on Wednesday to have a bit of a visit with his cousin's, Petri and Christi. I was on a course with Nicky the Thursday. I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE IN GAUTENG, it takes forever to get somewhere and even longer to get back. That is were we are spoilt by living in a relatively small town. 10 minutes to work MAX.

Anyway as you can see by the title I am going to give you a great lamb shank recipe courtesy of my friends at Avocado. Have a bit of a hectic golf week ahead of me which strangely enough I am trying wickle my way out the Sunday game, because they want me to Captain the side and also arrange the four-balls etc. I have to rewrite my exam on the 11th, next Tuesday, yes if you must know I mucked the first one up,OK.

Till we blog again, HAVE A GOOD ONE.

LAMB SHANKS

Ingredients:

6 lamb shanks
8-10 small pickling onions
3 carrots, thickly sliced
250ml red wine
3 bay leaves
2 mutton stock cubes
1 tomato stock cube
15ml soy sauce
15ml chutney

Method:

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius. In a large roasting dish, arrange the lamb shanks to fit. Scatter the pickling onions and sliced carrots over them.

In a large jug, mix the red wine, bay leaves, stock cubes, soy sauce, chutney and 500ml water. Pour this mixture over the lamb shanks. Add more water to half cover them if necessary.

Top with 4 or 5 fresh twigs of Rosemary, cover with lid or tinfoil and cook in the oven for 4 hours.

Remove the lid/tinfoil and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken for another 20 minutes or so.

Serve hot with mash and green beans.

Monday, Cars Cost Money.

Hi All

Just got back from a trip to Volksrust, went to pick up a part for the X-trail. Its amazing how expensive parts for cars have gotten lately. Give your a idea, 2 small parts , all plastic, 1 for Davida's car and 1 for mine, R7000,00. Makes me sick, but what can we do, we need wheels.

Eric Wright, a good Mate of mine was inducted into Round Table last Tuesday and I had a real nice chirp from him, he said that he read my blog only on Monday's and that it gave him a good start to his week. For that I Thank You Mr. Wright and may you enjoy your many years in Round Table.

The start of this week is looking good, Malcolm is busy installing air-cons in my office. It means that hopefully mine and Nadia's brain will last a little longer during the day.

I am off to Pretoria on Wednesday, will stay overnight with my sister-in-law, Nicky and will attend a day course on Thursday for a new software programme for the computer.

As you know I am not the greatest computer geek, but I manage.

Rhys' concert photo's came out pretty cool so will add a few for you to have a look at. Rhys and I spent most of the weekend in the pool, tanning and getting out occasionally to get some food and drink.

Summer is great for those light lunches so I am going to leave you with a lovely Chicken Salad Recipe.

Have A Good One.

SWEET 'N SOUR CHICKEN SALAD

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast fillets, cut into four pieces
1 cup seasoned flour
4 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup Nando's Sweet Apricot Sauce
2 Tbs Nando's Garlic Peri-Peri Sauce
1 cup cooked Chickpeas
1 Tbs chopped coriander and mint
1/2 cup cream
Chives for garnish

Method:

Coat the fillets with the seasoned flour.
Heat oil to moderate heat in a frying pan.
Fry the fillets until crisp.
Remove from pan a place in a bowl.
Add the sauces and chickpeas.
Leave aside to cool.

To Serve:
Pile the fillets and chickpeas on a platter.
To the remaining sauces in the bowl, add the herbs.
Pour over fillets and garnish.
Serve with a nice Thelema Riesling 2006.

VRYSTAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi All

Sorry that I have been away so long but have been busy with my course and the exam in Bloem.

It was an interesting course thanks to the lecturers. I do not think all who attended will pass but I should have got at least 110% because I corrected the spelling mistakes and such for the lecturers on the paper. 13 mistakes in all.

I hope they appreciate what I did for them and give me a bit more credit.

Anyway just a short note, will let you have a some more juicy stories and recipes during the week.

I also had a nice phone call from my ex brother-in-law, Willem Prinsloo, today. Good to hear from him again. Maybe the start of a lost friendship again, who knows?

Well till we blog again.

Have A Good One.

Mountains, here we come.

Hi All

Its has been a hectic month end for most South Africans due to the fact that our tax returns have to be in by close of day, today. We love you Trevor Manual, no relation to Mr. Pigg.

The thing I love about this weekend coming is that the crew and family are of to the mountains for a bit of R & R. The crew being- The Piggs, the Wades, the Byroms, the Louws and the Williams'. We are off to Champagne Lane in the Drakensberg Mountains.

The chalets have a heated swimming pool and a jacuzzi between them , all to ourselves. Tennis on Saturday afternoon to work off the Friday dinner and to get ready for the Saturday Night Feast. It is going to make Halloween look like a puppy when you see what we are going to look like on Sunday.

Yours truly will be out of action for the week there after, as I am in Bloemfontein doing my course and exam. I am taking my laptop with so if I get a gap I will blog something.

The girls are getting together tonight at my place this afternoon at 5 to make the final arrangements for the food, drink, etc. for the weekend. Trevor and I have giving squash a bit of a miss for the last couple of days but will put our elbows to the test this afternoon in the jacuzzi while the ladies are having their POW WOW.

My office is finally painted and my new furniture will be arriving shortly for the boardroom and the reception, thanks Trevor.

I wish all a enjoyable weekend and will miss chatting and talking .... with everyone.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

ASHA'S ROAST LEG OF LAMB and MINT SAUCE

2kg leg of lamb, gashed a few times

1 Tbs ginger paste

1 tsp pounded green chillies

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp chilli powder

juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbs oil

1 Tbs butter

2 cups water

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Make a paste with the ginger paste, chillies, garlic paste, chilli powder, black pepper and lemon.

Rub well onto the meat and in the gashes.

Heat oil and butter in roasting pan.

Place the spiced leg of lamb in the pan and brown all sides.

Add the water.

Cover with foil and place in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Remove the foil at the end of cooking time and brown meat evenly.

Serve with roast potatoes, savoury rice and buttered vegetables of choice.

MINT SAUCE

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

3 Tbs balsamic vi negar

1 tsp sugar

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat vinegar and remove from heat. Add mint, sugar and pepper. Stir and served chilled.

Still Here

Hi All

Been quite busy with my real job, yes, I still have one.

Have been paying out monies today like it is about to go out of fashion. I really have not had any inspirations today about what to blob about except to say that is helluva cold outside and the fact that we are in the middle of summer.

Maybe the Ozone is beyond economical repair. I am going to leave you with not much said by myself as I have to get cracking, but leave you with a nice pepper soup recipe that serves about 8 - 10 people.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

PEPPER SOUP

Ingredients:
Olive oil to saute the onions
225g chopped onions
450g potato, peeled and diced
400ml chicken or vegetable stock
600g of canned peeled tomato
2 red peppers, diced
2 yellow peppers, diced
25ml paprika
10ml ground coriander
25ml ground cumin
2 fresh chillies, finely chopped
600ml coconut milk
2 tbs sugar
bunch of fresh chopped coriander

Method:

Use a large saucepan to saute the onions and peppers, then add the potato and all the spices(except fresh coriander) and cook off to release the aroma.
Add stock and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes.
Simmer gently for about 20 minutes, then add sugar and coconut milk.
Taste and season with salt, bring to the boil.
Just before serving add the fresh coriander.

Hot Balls

Hi All

South Africans are quite adventurous when it comes to using spices in our food, but I think the Moroccans are a little hotter than we are.

Their food is picture perfect, the colour combinations are amazing. One of the main herbs that the Moroccans use is Mint. It must not be taken lightly, some of the vendors in the market sell mint bundles to hide the terrible smells.

I was doing a bit of research on Morocco because I am keen to take the Family there in the not to distant future and came across a recipe for riatha, this is served in a little glass so when eating it takes the burning sensation out of the dish. The question posed in the article was, why not make it mild in the first place?

Well, because in Morocco you want to taste all the spices and appreciate the blend of flavours without dulling the experience. Riatha neutralises the heat and heightens your taste buds' facilities, to quote the Country Cousin, Johan Eksteen.

The recipes I am going to leave you with today are by Kim Brackenridge of "7 on Kelner Restaurant", Bloemfontein.

I am going to try them out when I am in Bloem from the 3rd till the 9th of November and will let you in on my evening their.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

MEATBALLS

Ingredients:
900g ground beef
2 slices of white bread
2 tsp of pounded cumin seeds
1 tsp of pounded dried red chilli
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 tsp paprika
2 eggs
2 onions - grated
Serves 4 - 6 people

Method:

Place meat in a bowl.
Use a food processor to crumb the slices of bread.
Add all the ingredients together and mix well with wet hands and roll into balls the size of golf balls.
These can be cooked straightaway or put into the fridge for a day.
To cook, place on a baking tray and cook in pre-heated oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

Mint and Almond Couscous

Ingredients:
Salt and pepper
500g couscous
Handful of fresh mint
125g flaked Almonds

Method:

Cook couscous according to packaging.
Toast almonds in the oven.
Roughly chop up the mint leaves.
Mix all together and season with salt and pepper.

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tsp chopped garlic
Olive oil, salt and pepper
2 red onions finely chopped
4 large cinnamon sticks
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp fresh chopped chilli
2 x 400g tins peeled tomatoes
400ml water

Method:

Saute onions until soft, then add all the ingredients. Cook slowly for about 20 minutes.

Riatha

Mix the following ingredients: 500ml plain yoghurt, half a cucumber finely diced, 1 tsp ground cumin and a pinch of salt.

Serving Method:

Place meatballs on top of couscous ( 4 per person ). Spoon sauce over and sprinkle fresh coriander and almonds to garnish.
Serve with riatha in a small glass.

STAR WARS........

Hi All

Last night saw the Williams Family down at Rhys' school helping the teachers make props and costumes for the schools up and coming Christmas Concert. It is based around the sun and planets. A kind of Stars Wars theme according to Rhys'.

About three years ago I was in London Visiting the folks and popped into Hamley's and bought Rhys on e of those Darth Vader Helmets for his birthday and now he insists that his teacher, Dorothea, must let him use it in the concert. I am sure the two of them can come to a mutual agreement.

Dorothea made for us while we where busy a lovely Lentil and Potato stew, to which she gave the recipe to my Dear Wife. So when I asked her for it this morning, Davida's reply was that she really wasn't listening to Dorothea and that she will get it at a later stage so that I can publish it on the blog. So hang in there everybody, I will get it for us because it is a dam fine meal.

Not to get into my wife's bad books, Davida did give me that recipe for the Chicken Marinade, eventually so that is what I am going to leave you with today as well as a cool Mash Potato recipe to accompany the chicken.

To all of you Manchester United supporters out there, just like me, I hope you enjoy the match against Dynamo Kiev tonight and will report back on UEFA a little later.

HAVE A GOO ONE.

MARINADE FOR CHICKEN BREASTS

This one is from my wife's trusty Pamela Shippel cookbook. A cookbook no sister in the family is without.

Chicken Breasts

To ensure that the breasts are soft and juicy.

- Always slash them diagonally on the fat side of the fillet, cutting across the grain of the meat and about 5mm into the flesh. When the muscle contracts as it cooks it will not toughen.

- Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag with the prepared marinade and leave the bag in the fridge for 5-6 hours, or overnight.

- Place on grid for BBQing, or on a baking sheet for grilling.

- BBQ (Braai) over hot coals, or grill in a very hot oven for seven minutes turning once.

NOTE: The marinade will form a coating on the chicken as it cooks, the chicken itself will not brown.

Pepsi's TOMATO MARINADE

(For 8-12 Breasts)

For a low calorie option-leave out the oil.

410g tinned tomato puree

45ml white wine of fruit juice

45ml oil or melted butter

30ml soya sauce

30ml tomato sauce

45ml HP sauce

10ml dried marjoram or 30ml fresh sweet basil, chopped

3ml salt

3ml black pepper

Mix all ingredients together.

YOGHURT MASH(Thanks Avocado)

This mash is good for the waistline, and you could make it even healthier by using low-fat, plain yoghurt.

Ingredients

4 large potatoes

30ml wholegrain mustard

300ml Greek yoghurt

Method

Peel the potatoes and chop them roughly.

Boil them in salted water for about 15 minutes, or until soft.

Drain the potatoes and put them into a mixing bowl.

Mash well and then add the mustard and the Greek yoghurt.

Stir until smooth.

Serves 4-6

"Sea Cockroaches Rock, Dad."

Hi All

It was back in February this year that Rhys and I had a little break down on the south coast at our villas at San Lameer. The best place in the world to take a holiday. Anyway the one night the two of us decided to go and take in a movie at Shelly Center. I think we watched the Fantastic Four.

After the movie we decided to have dinner at John Dory's, Rhys wanted a little steak and I decided what the hell we are at the coast, let me have some fresh seafood. Prawns was the verdict. When the food arrived Rhys was amazed to see these things with heads and legs, feelers and all. He asked me what they where and I said "they are called prawns my boy, but I call them sea cockroaches Rhys."

"Sea cockroaches, yuk Dad." After explaining that they weren't really cockroaches, he asked if he could try one. The end result, "sea cockroaches rock, Dad" and Rhys has been hooked since. This story brings us to the lazy Sunday we had as a Family at home yesterday. A day next to the pool, not a cloud in the sky, not a breathe of wind around and a few afternoon coolers to make it the perfect ending to a great weekend.

We feasted on a late lunch of Lemon and herb grilled prawns and Grilled Sirloin in a sweet and sour soy sauce all done on a gas BBQ. It's tough in Africa, I might let you know.

The marinade recipe I will get to you later but for now I am going to let you in on my way of doing an afternoon tea SHAKE-UP.

I also found this great, simply recipe on the back of a buttermilk carton( I drink the stuff neat but if you like you can put a teaspoon or two of honey into the buttermilk, also very lekker(nice) with muesli.)

So try out these refreshing drinks when you get a chance and let me know how you like them.

EARL GREY MARTINI

Ingredients:

30ml Gin
30ml Earl Grey Tea
20ml fresh lemon juice
12.5ml sugar syrup

Method:

Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a martini glass.
Garnish with a slice of lemon or lemon zest.

LONG ISLAND ICED TEA

Ingredients:

12.5ml Gin

12.5ml Vodka

12.5ml Bacardi White Rum

12.5ml Tequila

12.5ml Triple Sec

12.5ml sugar syrup

25ml fresh lemon juice

Method:

Shake and strain into a martique glass full of ice.

Top with cola.

Add a slice of lime and garnish with a slice of lemon and serve with straws

DARK CHOCOLATE BUTTERMILK CAKE

Ingredients:

240g (2 cups) flour

125g reduced salt butter

125ml hot water to which 5ml instant coffee is added

250ml buttermilk

5ml baking powder

2 eggs

5ml vanilla essence

180g Castor sugar

60g cocoa

5ml bicarbonate of soda

1ml cream of tartar

1ml salt

Mix cocoa and coffee mixture together.

Cream butter and Castor sugar in mixing bowl.

Add eggs one by one, beat well each time.

Add cocoa mixture.

Pour buttermilk on bicarbonate of soda and stir well.

Sift flour, salt, baking powder and cream of tartar.

Stir in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk.

Lastly add vanilla.

Pour mixture into 2 greased sandwich cake tins and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 to 25 minutes or until firm to touch.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

Viva! South Africa

Hi All

It is very rare that I would do any posting on a weekend but I just had to share a recipe for success with you.

As the world know South Africa has won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Last night at Saint Denis Stade de France saw John Smit and the boys bring the Webb Ellis Cup home to the Greatest and as you will notice I am not saying "probably, maybe" or any similar words to describe us. WE ARE THE GREATEST. Well Done Boys, the noise around my neighbourhood indicated to me that the parties carried on until the early hours of this morning. I even had a bit of a headache, probably to many ' Coffee with a Bloffie'. (To those who don't know what this means, a cup of freshly made coffee with a serious amount of liqueur in it, I was using Kahlua last night)

To give you an idea of how proud us South Africans really are, I slept in my Springbok rugby jersey last night and this morning at 6.30am when I went outside to fetch my Sunday Times I noticed the paper boy was still in his, so I said to him, well done and his reply to me was "I still haven't slept yet." That's Passion Folks.

Well I will come down from my high tomorrow and give you all a day to rest and bask in our VICTORY and leave you with that recipe I mentioned.

SOUTH AFRICA WORLD CHAMPIONS SUCCESS RECIPE

Ingredients

45 million screaming South Africans

Beer

Biltong

Braais

More Beer

Friends

Flat Screen TVs

MORE BEER

MORE FRIENDS

PASSION

Method

Mix all the above together anyway you wish and say out loud " WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD"

HAVE A GOOD ONE. (make it a good couple)

Still A Long Way To Go.....

Hi All

Mr. Pigg what can be said about him, the class and caliber of the 'Old Cock' would put a lot of men to shame. I started the first game of squash last night with a win, a good win at that. The Squash Killer was the one who actually returned last night and not me. He gave me a really good "KLAP" that's African for "A Good Smack". There Trev, I gave you your due. I WILL BE BACK.

South Africa is renowned for our diverse cultures and none more so than the Malay influence in the Cape. The Malays make a wonderful dish called BOBOTIE which I am going to give you a recipe later in the blog. The only problem I have with bobotie is that it has raisins in it. Now me and the wrinkled grape are not big Mates, in fact I detest the bloody things. I prefer my grapes in a good bottle of Merlot or a Kanonkop Pinotage than to eat the wretched thing.

It stems back to my childhood, my Mom apparently gave me one to eat as a toddler and I immediately spat the thing back at her. The rest as they say is history.

One can feel the excitement building around town as the guys are all calling their friends to see what, where are they going to watch the World Cup Rugby Final on Saturday night. The party seems to have started already. GO BOKKIE!!!!

Till meet blog again.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

BOBOTIE

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium sized onions, chopped

10 ml vegetable oil

40 ml butter

600 g beef mince

2 thick slices of stale white bread

125 g sultana raisins

60 ml flaked almonds

40 ml chutney

2 garlic cloves, crushed

10 ml masala

5 ml turmeric

5 ml ground cumin

5 ml ground coriander

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

3 cloves

salt to taste

ground black pepper

10 bay leaves

Egg custard:

3 eggs

150 ml milk

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Fry the onions in vegetable oil and butter over medium heat until they begin to brown.

Add the mince and brown for a few minutes.

Place the mince in a colander and soak the bread in the juice that drains from it.
In a mixing bowl, combine the mince and all the rest of the ingredients except the bay leaves. Press the bobotie mixture into a deep oven-proof dish. Spike the bay leaves into the mince.
Beat together the eggs and milk and pour over the top of the mince.

Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes until the custard has browned.

Serve the bobotie with geel rys (white rice cooked with turmeric, raisins and cloves), chutney, chopped tomato and onion, sliced banana and desiccated coconut.

Serves 6 - 8 people.

The Master Returns

Hi All

Tonight sees myself and Mr. Pigg squaring up on the squash courts, I am going to Squash him literally. Will let you know the outcome on the blog tomorrow.

Yesterday I took Rhys ans his friend Nadine up to the golf course because I had to return my Golf cart from the trip last week, hell it was dirty. Anyway everything sorted out and decided to have a beer at the clubhouse and while chatting to a few of the lads, Rhys and Nadine proceeded without my knowledge to make sand castles in the bunker on the 18th green. When I eventually decided to go home I realised what they had done and could to nothing but laugh. I tried my best to rake the bunker but gave up and phoned our greenkeeper, Lionel, in the morning and apologised and asked if he could sort it out. He to called back and said he would have prefered the kids work of art instead of my attempts. So much for trying to be nice?

I missed the round table meeting last night and feel quite bad, but family comes first.

Davida made lovely grilled chicken breasts in the oven last night, I have asked her to send me the recipe but looks like I will have to hold her down tonight and let you all have it on the next posting.

The squash is going to be good, my fan club ( Rhys ) is coming along tonight to give me some support.

While having coffee this morning I remember a recipe that I once did for courgette and onion rostis. So till we meet again.

Have A Good One.

COURCETTE AND ONION ROSTIS

INGREDIENTS

1 Large Potato

1 Small Onion

2 Small Courgettes

Parsley

Oil for frying

METHOD

Peel the potato and the onion.

Top and Tail the courgettes.

Finely chop 1 tablespoon of fresh parsely.

Grate all the vegetables into a bowl, add parsely and mix together>

Season well with salt and pepper.

Shape the vegetable mixture into patties.

Fry in batches, in a little oil, on a low heat for about 6 minutes a side or until golden, keeping its shape.

Place on a greased baking sheet in a warm oven while you finish the rest of the rostis.

Makes 5-6 large rostis.

The Squash Killer

Hi All

Last night saw Trevor, sorry Mr. Pigg give me a real good drumming at squash. I went down five games to love and on top of that he even clinched a white wash game.

Anyway, after that the Fam and I went up to Andre and Malinda's because our lovely Malinda celebrated her birthday. Being a Monday night we did not go overboard, but the eats that where laid out where top class. We have a shop that sells homemade goods baked by Ladies from around town, they all get a cut from the proceeds. My favourite is Aunty No.5 for sweet stuffs and Aunty No.4 for the savoury.

Anyway it seems that our National Road Authorities are now staring to get serious about road happenings and drunk drivers. The demerit system will start in Feb 08 and I personally think it is about time.

To those supporters of the Rugby make sure and arrange your parties on Saturday night at someones home like I am doing, nothing better than having a few mates over for a BBQ and a beer during the football.

I am going to leave you with a nice marmalade recipe I came across while browsing thru the Avocado mag. Nice and easy to make.

Have a Good One.

FIVE-FRUIT MARMALADE

Combine all the winter citrus fruit to create the best-ever marmalade.

INGREDIENTS

1 lime, juice and zest

1 lemon, zest

1 grapefruit, zest

2 naartjies, zest

2 oranges, zest and juice

750ml water

560g sugar

METHOD

Combine all the zest and juice and as many pips as you can find(the pips contain the much needed pectin) in a large bowl, add the water, cover and leave to soak overnight.

The next day, bring the juice and the zest mixture to the boil in a large saucepan and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Return it to the heat and boil until it reaches jelling stage.

Meanwhile, sterilises the glass jars and the lids.

Once the mixture has reached jelling stage, bottle into the sterilised jars while the mixture is still hot and seal well.

Makes 3 medium jars.

Helllooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi All

Sorry it has taking me so long to get some new stuff on my blog, but I have been rather busy on a course lately. Actually myself and 23 other lads played some of the most amazing golf courses that the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands has on offer.

My favourite being Boschoek, it reminded me of playing the Vale in Wales. Green and lush. Will go into a bit of detail in the up and coming posts.

Nadia had me moving her office around again this morning because she was trying to get the Feng Shui or however you spell it right. Nothing like a bit of manual labour to kick-start your day into action.

If any of you out there are passing through Colenso on your way to Durban or that direction, take time and stop at a little biltong and farm stall about 5 kms outside of Colenso on the Durban side. The owner's wife makes the most amazing venison pies and sausage rolls. You can also buy them frozen and cook them at home later.

The nice part about coming home after a short while away is the way Rhys pretends that he did not miss you and only later in the evening does he turn around and say " I missed you Dad". My heart just melts.

I have to get some work done, this is actually for Bonnie my Sister-in-Law who lives in Qatar, at least I have one regular reader out their. Thanks Bonnie.

I am leaving you with a great Chocolate Fudge Pudding that Davida makes that is always a winner and easy to make enjoy till we chat again.

Have A Good One

CHOCOLATE FUDGE PUDDING

This dish must be served with Vanilla Ice-cream or fresh cream.

1 cup flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

Salt

2/3 cups sugar

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

Sift together

Heat together

200ml Milk

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

2 Tbsp Margarine

Add together

Spread batter into a deep greased dish

Topping:

Mix: 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 Cocoa Powder

Sprinkle over batter

Pour over 375ml boiling water

Bake 50 minutes @ 180 degrees Celsius

Lost and Found

Hi All

Have been busy redoing my office and did not even get a chance to get near a computer.

Lost in work but I have some great stories to tell, will start of tomorrow about the Anniversary Dinner on Wednesday at Gooseberries, Great is all I am going to say.

Have A Good One.

National Braai Weekend

Hi All

It seems that I have been away for an eternity, it is sure good to be back though and must add that my weekend was a good mixture between family time and friends time.

It all started with the beginning of the school holidays, Rhys loves his holidays(which kid doesn't), so after school on Friday Rhys was off to his buddy, Preston's farm for a bit of a play date.

So naturally I was on course from 12pm and told Rhys that Davida and I would fetch him later. Golf was good, had a fair round and a couple of brandy's afterwards while waiting for Davida to finish work. We finally arrived at Preston's farm just before sunset, the kids were having great fun so Tameran offered some drinks which we gladly accepted and had a sun downer. Even though one is only 20kms from Town, the air is so clean and everything is so quite. If any of my friends want to donate an acre or two to me they are most welcome to do so.

Saturday morning yours truly is off to play in the RED CROSS Charity Day, nothing like having a Brandy and Coke at 9.30am to kick start your morning, thanks Georgie. As per usual it was a hot, long and thirsty day, I did not make many points but must feel a little sorry for Clarey, he had a shocker. We had a couple of drinks during the rugby, well done to South Africa when the phone call came in, the traffic police are on the prowl and will be doing a Drink and Drive Blitz for the remainder of the weekend. The club was empty within the hour, the roads deserted with everyone watching the rest of the days sport at home. Two chaps that I know were caught and spent the night in jail, good luck for the court trials gents.

Sunday morning, MATCH DAY, Manchester United vs. Chelsea make or break for both teams. Off to Mr. Piggs place for a late lunch early dinner and to watch the duel unfold. Trevor's brother Andre and his family were up for the weekend so it was a nice little crowd. Trevor and I have this thing going by way of when our teams are playing, he provides a bottle of Blue Sambuca and I provide the Red. So, imagine what the first little drink was? The Reds won, of course, and I think Trevor was a little upset because he kept on trying to sneak off to bed( He hardly had many drinks though....). The food was great, we had a pork roast and a beef roast accompanied by Lulu's roast baby potatoes and a salad by Davida.

Monday, a public holiday, National Heritage(braai) Day saw the family doing some gardening and swimming, just generally relaxing. I was told that Mr. Pigg had a hangover of epic proportions and did not even come out of his bedroom until he had to go to work today. Anyway I made a lovely dinner which I am going to share with you as today's recipe, it is good to be back and posting so please drop me a comment or two about your weekend. Trevor and I are playing squash a little later.

Have A Good One.

Gary's Lamb Liver and Bubble 'n Squeak

Serves 6

Lamb Liver in Neck Fat

We have a tradition here in South Africa whereby we take the whole lambs liver a wrap it in the neck fat and then braai(BBQ) or roast it i n the oven. If you cannot get the neck fat then the plain lambs liver is fine.

1 whole lambs liver

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp paprika

Coarse Sea Salt

Fresh Ground black Pepper

Mix paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. P

Place lamb liver in a roasting pan and cover with oil and Worcestershire sauce. Add spice and ensure liver is coated well.

Place in oven on 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes. Remove and keep juice to one side for gravy.

Slice liver into cubes, then add gravy and simmer until gravy has thickened, serve with Bubble 'n Squeak.

Liver Gravy

Make 200ml of beef stock, add juices from liver and simmer in pan. Mix 1 tsp of Mazena(corn flour) with cold water +/- 15ml before adding to gravy mix. Once added to gravy simmer till the gravy starts to thicken the add to the livers.

Bubble 'n Squeak

Serves 6

6 large potatoes

1 Cabbage

1 large onion

2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 cup fresh basil

Olive oil

1 Tbsp Beef stock powder

Salt and pepper

• Cut potatoes with skins on into slices, cut potato in half then slice long ways
• Slice onion into rings
• Place potatoes and onions into roasting pan
• Sprinkle beef stock powder over potato and onion
• Drizzle olive oil over potatoes and onion until all parts are covered
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Place in oven at 180 degrees Celsius until soft and slightly brown
• In a large frying pan add 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Cut cabbage into thin slices
• Add cabbage to heated oil
• During frying add garlic
• When cabbage is almost cooked add basil
• When cooked remove from heat

When potato is ready, add cabbage to roasting pan and mix well, add a little more salt and pepper and serve with lambs liver. ENJOY

PS. If you have cholesterol problems take 2 pills instead of 1.

Nonna Mia's, Sandton Sun.....

Hi All

Sorry for not posting yesterday, went on a road trip with Davida to Johannesburg. The group that Davida is with, DVN Dynamic Vision Network had a launch with the Carl Zeiss Group at the Sandton Sun last night. Free Booze and Food what a pleasure, meeting up with old friends is always a recipe for a good party, Martin was in fine form, needless to say we all got to bed in the early hours of this morning. Sorry for keeping you up so late Mariette.

The highlight of the trip was having lunch with our friends Adel and Eugene Minnie. We had lunch at a busy little Italian restaurant in Senderwood called Nonna Mia's. The wine list is superb, trust me we did a couple of bottles between the 4 of us.

The old mamma in the kitchen cooked us a special starter, Prawn and Crab in fresh tomato and parsley sauce served with fresh home baked breads. There are no words to describe this dish, I am however going to attempt to make it like mamma did. She won't give me the secret recipe so I will just wing it.

I did manage to get her meatball recipe though, she serves the meatballs in a large bowl filled with homemade penne pasta and covers it with a pomodori sauce.

I will do a much more detailed breakdown of this week events tomorrow, my head hurts as I am writing this, I definitely had to much wine. Cooolll.

LA NONNA MIA MEATBALLS

1 kg ground beef

1 cup fresh parsley

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup good bread crumbs

Combine all the ingredients by hand, shape into meatballs. Bake in oven at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes until they are nice and brown.

Serve with pasta and pomodori sauce. Enjoy

Have a Good One.

Trevor's Sneaky Tuesday

Hi All

Trevor, Mr. Pigg to you really had me going last night. We were done at the squash courts, a good couple of games, beers, sauna and a shower and not a mention of the weekends football.

For the record since I can remember I have always been a Manchester United Fan, my dad, Dewi has always supported Liverpool, my brother Aaron a Spurs fan and Mr. Pigg is religious about Chelsea, Trevor's daughters name is Chelsea( I call her Manu for short, I the only one who can get away with it ).

So anyway Rhys and I get home to a lovely home cooked meal by my mom-in-law, Yippee, its great to have her back. I must admit the sweet carrots that Davida rustled up were great, will also leave you with the recipe today.

While sitting catching up on the weekends sport after Rhys went to bed, to my surprise I saw that were some league games this week, I thought it was a rest week. The old cock had me going crazy when I found out that Chelsea had drawn their match and United won 1-0 against Everton putting us ahead of them on the log on point difference. Trevor nasty one Mate.

Just for the record the big game since the start of the season after United got their first piece of silverware is this Sunday at 5pm when Chelsea tackle United at Old Trafford. Trevor always brings a blue shooter of some sorts and mine is Red. May the Force Be with Us.

When at the butcher the other day I could not believe the price of beef fillet, I almost dropped the packet when paying. Besides the price it is not my favourite cut unless it is dressed up a little to give it some flavour. I am going to leave you with my Pepper Beef Fillet and Green Peppercorn Sauce Recipe, it is a easy and great tasting dish to prepare and with the price of fillet at the moment could be considered a bit of a treat.

PEPPER BEEF FILLET WITH GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE

1 x 1kg Whole beef fillet
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp freshly cracked black peppercorns
3 Tbsp olive oil

Green peppercorn sauce

125ml chicken stock
125ml cream
50ml brandy
2 tsp bottled green peppercorns, drained and rinsed

• Preheat oven to 210*C
• Rub meat in soy sauce coating well
• Roll meat in black pepper, press to coat surface and ends
• Heat oil in baking dish on stove top, add meat and brown on all sides on high heat
• Transfer dish to oven and cook for 45 minutes for rare, 1 hour medium or 1 hour 30 minutes for well done
• Baste meat during cooking with juices in pan
• When done to taste remove from oven cover pan with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes
• Serve with green peppercorn sauce

To make green peppercorn sauce:

Add chicken stock to left over juices from pan. Stir over low heat on top of stove until it boils; add cream and peppercorns. Boil for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly; add brandy. Reduce heat and simmer while stirring for 2 minutes; remove from heat and serve with the meat.

Monday Mayhem

Hi All

I trust the weekend was as good for you as it was for the rest of South Africa. My condolences go out to the English........Yeah, right. Well Done Lads, you performance was great.

Saturday morning bright and early so the lads down at Nico's supermarket setting up for the day. We sold boerewors( SA Hot Dogs ) rolls to the patrons of the shop to raise money for Bone Marrow Awareness. All started out well until yours truly decided we needed a little liquid refreshment to aid us with our Babalaases( Afrikaans for Hangovers ).

Nothing like a good strong apple cider to clear your head. Mauritz Oliphant is probably on his way right now to the local Nissan dealership to buy himself a X-trail because he could not believe the size of the built in cooler box in the boot.(trunk)

Anyway we raised R 30.00 short of R 2000.00 in a couple of hours and must also give thanks to 34 DD and her friend for selling Bandannas also for the cause.

The great thing about South Africa is our weather, it is probably the best in the World, according to us South Africans because no matter what the real weather is at that particular time when can always find an excuse to make a braai and have some cold ones even if it is in the middle of winter.

So I hope that the week is not to long for you all this week, for those families who are going on a bit of a holiday when the schools break up this Friday, Please Drive Safely and Enjoy the Break.

I have a Moroccan Chicken Recipe that I would like you to try out, I borrowed this recipe from Asha, who writes a column for the Sunday Paper. Thank You.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN AND COUSCOUS

4 chicken breasts,cut into strips

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp crushed ginger

250g dried peaches

• Combine chicken with all the spices and oil
• Place on shallow baking tray in oven at 200C
• Roast for a few minutes until cooked
• Remove meat, reserve the juice
• Soak the dried peaches in the juice
• Pile the couscous in a deep platter
• Place chicken and peaches around the couscous
• Pour the remaining juices over the couscous
• Serve with Harissa dressing or sweet chille sauce

HARISSA DRESSING

100g fresh red chillies
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumnin powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olove oil
salt and pepper to taste

• Puree the chillies and garlic
• Add the spices and blend with the lemon juice
• Place in a bowl and top with olive oil
• Chill and use as required

This is a nice quick recipe and is full of flavour, as a variation you can replace the lemon juice with fresh orange juice.

I hope you have a pleasant evening, off to play squash with Mr. Pigg.

HAVE A GOOD ONE>

Finally Friday

Hi All

Finally Friday, after a good week of sport so far, the 20Twenty, Euro qualifiers and the start of the last play-off for the FedEx cup yesterday marks the start of the weekend. A game of golf yesterday was actually the beginning of my weekend, Mauritz and I went down by 2 points but the drinks and social at the 19th is always great. Thanks for a good afternoon lads.

Well unfortunately I have to go on course again today, thankfully it will be a little cooler on the course thanks to the bit of much needed rain we had during the early hours of this morning. I believe however that the rest of the weekend is going to be a warm one.

Yes, you got it right, Rugby World Cup is at my house tonight and look forward to the match, South Africa vs England is always going to be a good one. Thought I just mention that my mate, Arthur Dedekind, has finally re-opened his butchery, had a small fire in the building and has been out of action for six months, nothing serious. Good Luck Archie, the new shop looks Fab.
For your convienance I have added a link to his site.

Dedekind boerewors(sausage) is somewhat of a legend in our part and we finally can get it again. Davida will be there this afternoon to stock up on some supplies like, wors, biltong, pickled asparagus and the likes for the match, weekend. Enjoy and good luck to the Bokke.

Saturday sees Rhys and I with a couple of the Round Table lads doing a braai(BBQ) at Nico's supermarket to raise funds for Bandanna Day, its for bone marrow transplants.

More rugby and fellowship during the day with eventually the return of my in laws from their months holiday in the Cape on Sunday. Probably do a chicken in the Weber. Nothing beats it. Will give you my killer recipe for Weber beer Chicken later

So before I sign off I am going to leave you with a couple of easy recipes that are perfect and pretty healthy for you to try out.

Grilled Smoked Cola Chicken(serves 6)

6 Chicken breast fillets ( remove the skin for a healthier option if so desired )

1 can Cola or Cola light

250ml Smoked BBQ sauce of your choice

1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce or hot sauce of your choice

• Combine the cola, BBQ sauce and Tabasco in a medium-sized bowl
• Add the chicken breast and coat well.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight

Heat your grill pan or or do on the braai on medium heat. Cook the chicken for about 6 minutes per side. Serve immediately or serve at room temperature.

SWEET CHILLI BEANS(serves 6)

2 Tin Baked Beans
1 Bottle Wellingtons Sweet Chilli Sauce

Place beans in a microwavable dish and stir in sweet chilli sauce, the whole bottle. Heat on until beans are hot and bubbly. Serve with your favourite Braai/BBQ.

and last but not least.......

Gary's Classic Bloody Mary(serves 6)
I Use This One In The Morning When Having To Much The Night Before

1 litre Tomato juice
200ml Vodka(the best one in your cupboard, remember you do not want to make the hangover any worse than it already is.)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce( I use Halbrooks Hot)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp Habanero Hot Tabasco Sauce
Fresh celery sticks
Celery salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste( if the heat doesn't blow you away first)

Combine all ingredients in a 2 litre jug, add celery salt and black pepper to taste, fill jug with ice.Garnish with celery sticks and serve.

If you all noticed I used the word finally a couple of times like the title suggests, so finally........

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

Don't Cry For Me.....Australia

Hi All

For those of you watching the 20Twenty World Cricket Cup on the go at the moment here in South Africa, let's all take a moment of silence for Ricky Ponting and his boys....... CRAP let's stand up and shout "Well Done Zimbabwe". What a great performance by the boys just North of us and typical of the Aussies to reply, " we should have put a little more into the game."

The great thing about South Africa at the moment is that we have just started our summer and if the way the sporting scene has kicked-off, ITS GOING TO BE A SCORCHER.

This all leads to great BRAAIS or BBQ's as the Yanks call it, with beer, salads and the like making a great combination for the season.

So today I am honoring Davida and eventually for those friends of mine who keep asking for Davida's famous Salad Dressing and Chickpea salad recipes, well do not say I don't deliver. This one is for you Dav.

Davida's Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

1 red onion, chopped

1 tin/bottle chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2-3 tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 cucumber finely chopped

2 small avocados, finely chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

• Saute the onion until soft
• Add the vinegar,sugar and olive oil
• Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the vinegar has reduced slightly. Allow to cool
• In a salad bowl, mix chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and avocado
• Add onion mixture to chickpeas
• Serve with any summer meal.

Variations:

• You can also add sweet peppers(red or yellow) or chilli, freshly chopped for a little kick if you like
• You can replace the chickpeas with small shell pasta or use cous cous in stead.

Davida's Demon Salad Dressing

(Basically my version of a typical French dressing)

Ingredients

100-150ml Extra virgin olive oil

150 ml Vinegar- red or white, apple cider or white balsamic

1 Tbsp of Dijon mustard

( For those of you are lucky to get some of my Mom's homemade, use that. For the rest that secret for the mustard will be handed down later)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar or honey

Method

I never measure the exact quantities, but I like to use a ratio of about 1:1 olive oil to vinegar.

I do not like the traditional 1:2 ratio of vinegar to oil, It's to oily for me, but if you prefer it like that do so- add a little more mustard however.

Variations: Use horseradish instead of mustard for a change in the taste. Use lemon juice in place of the vinegar and add chilli, freshly chopped herbs, ground black pepper or anything you fancy.

Thanks Davida, the world must know, when I make my salad I tend to throw a little extra salad dressing on then need be. I do this so that when I am finished with my salad the juice that remains I drink it out of the bowl almost like a shooter of sorts. The Tang will keep you up all night, better than any RED Bull or energy drink on the market.

I love Davida's dressing.

Remember if anyone out their has a favourite recipe they want to share do not hesitate to contact me. I am off to golf with Mauritz Oliphant( Scottish elephant ).

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

Wishful Wdenesday

HI All

I was wondering what I was going to present to you today after a rather normal Tuesday. Low and Behold as I arrived at work this morning, half of my staff I might add are off sick due to a serious flu going around. If they only eat what I tell them to they might boost their immunes systems as well but , NO. I found that I actually have someone reading my blogg and they left me with a great, easy to make recipe which thanks to Anonomous I am going to share with you.

It goes something like this, for those of you who do not understand Afrikaans, I sure you will et the drift.

Hallo daar Gary!

Hierdie is beslis 'n eerste vir my,want ek het nog altyd gedink dis net ouens soos Mbeki en Steve wat blogg...maar hier is my ou staatmaker reseppie 'STRAIGHT OUT OF BENONI" en dit beloof om stress en flatervry te wees.So Maak Mens..

Sweet Chilli chicken pasta(Schweet)

1 x Chicken
Mrs Balls sweet chilli sauce
Curry powderFresh ginger -grated
Fresh Garlick
1 small chopped onion
Natural yogurt
Salt and pepper
Cooked Pasta

So Maak Mens.....(Method)
Cook Chicken until tender.
Debone and remove all skin.
"Vlok die hoender''
Fry the onion and add the fresh ginger,garlick salt and pepper.
Then add the yogurt or fresh cream as well as the sweet chilli sauce and the curry paste.
Serve with pasta and lots of black pepper en so 'n takkie vars Coriander.
Die geheim van die resep is in die sous,Moenie bang wees vir oormaat nie.

Rememer those of you who visit my site have a look at the advertising, if it is not helpful to you let me know and I will bring in some new products.

I have been invited by my Insurance company to play golf with them tommorrow so if anybody has any golfing recipes, food or drink, let me know and I will get it unto the blogg. I am off now to do some work and have a game of squash this evening with Mr. Pigg to you.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

Just Another Monday

Mondays, what can we say. We try and get that extra 10 minutes sleep in from somewhere. We rush our kids to get them ready for school. Sounds pretty familiar to most of us doesn't.

Well I am not going to harp on about the bad side of Mondays but rather say that " at least when Monday's are over it is only 3 more days to the weekend" because I sure most of you out there like me do not try to over exert ourselves on Fridays. I however will always be on course on Friday.

Yesterday was a goo afternoon for the family, we decided to save some money and wash our cars ourselves. Needless to say Davida and Rhys ended up in the jacuzzi and yours truly washed the cars, well at least they are now clean.

Maid a nice little quick dinner last night and we rounded the evening off sharing M & M's for desert. So I am not going to carry on waffling about Mondays but give you the recipes for the dinner.

LAMB MINCE

600g Lamb Mince

60ml Extra Virgin olive oil

1 Onion chopped

2 tbs chopped garlic( I prefer John West)

1 can peeled tomatoes

1 tbs Origanum( if you have fresh, use it)

1 tbs Basil( again use fresh if you can)

Salt and pepper to taste

Rice or Pasta

• Fry onion in oil until lightly brown
• Add garlic and mince
• When mince is brown until remaining ingredients
• Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes added water if necessary

FELICITY'S BROCCOLI SALAD

Broccoli salads were made popular in the 80's and I think this is one my mom, Felicity made. Mom if it is not we will still call it the above.

1 large head broccoli, chopped
250g streaky bacon, cooked crispy
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

For those of you who like sultanas, I hate them personnly you can add 1 cup

Method:

• Mix broccoli,bacon, sunflower seeds,(sultanas if you must) and red onion in a large bowl.
• Mix mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar in a small bowl
• Stir dressing into salad just before serving
  
  HAVE A GOOD ONE.
  

The Day After The Three Before

Thanks Paul Byrom and Friend's for a totally "lets drink and party all weekend, weekend".

As I mentioned in a previous post it is the beginning of the World Cup Rugby and we were invited to Paul's place on Friday night. what seemed to be heading towards a rather normal night changed after France's shock defeat to the Argentinians.

It was shooter or should I say "Jagermeister after Nordic Ice etc." Davida and I eventually returned home at about 1am, Paul's neighbours on the other side of the wall were also having a party so Gayle and Paul jumped over and joined them not realizing that they forgot their house key. So eventually when the party was over at 3.30am, Gayle had to jump the wall again.

The usual Saturday morning after the night before so us all having huge, greasy breakfasts to try and soak up all the alcohol. I personally took Rhys to Devaan's birthday party at around 11am, Davida joined us around 12.30 because from there I proceeded to the Farmers' Hall to help the Round Tablers set up the bar for the launch of the new C-class Merc.

After a little afternoon nap with Rhys it I was off to the function. There were about 900 hundred people who attended and the food was great, supplied by the Canon restaurant, Well Done Jenny, Deon and crew. It is amazing how much people drink when one does not have to pay for one's drinks. I left the function, totally knackered and around 1.30am and heard on Sunday at another party at Morne's house during the rugby that Paul and Eric only got home at around 4.30am.

Sunday was a good cool down after the weekend parties, Thanks Morne, South Africa won the rugby against Samoa.

This morning I get a skype from Davida saying that a mate, Devon McAlpine, who is at present living with Kelly and the kids in New Zealand is looking for a BILTONG recipe because he is missing home to much. Hi Devon, have a good recipe I got a while back from my Brother-in-law, Willem so will post it today and get back to the food recipes during the week. Devon, my Boet, Aaron is leaving in Hasting, Hawkes Bay, so send me your e-mail and I will forward his details to you, Aaron is also a pretty good cook.

Biltong ala Magaliesberg

This is a basic Biltong recipe, one can try any number of variations until you have created your " Perfect Biltong"

2kg Beef or venison (silverside, topside or similar)

3 cups coarse salt(Not table or sea but the big lumpy salt)

2 cups soft brown sugar

5ml Bicarbonate of Soda(softens the meat)

2.5ml coarsely ground black pepper

12.5ml coarsely ground roasted coriander seeds

1.5 cups brown vinegar mixed with 100ml Worcestershire sauce

• Cut the meat into strips +/- 1cm thick
• Layer in a bowl, pour over vinegar mixture and leave for 30 minutes. Keep mixture
• Mix all dry spices together
• Roll meat in the mixed dry spices in a CLEAN bowl
• Allow meat to draw in its own brine for 3 hours. Place thicker pieces of meat at the bottom
• Remove meat and put back into vinegar mixture for 10 to 15 minutes
• Remove again and wipe meat with same vinegar to make sure NO SALT sticks to the meat
• Squeeze meat with your hands to get rid of as much meat as possible
• Hang until ready.
• Try and keep flies away, a fan can be used but do not blow directly onto meat rather slightly above to circulate air

Variations

Before soaking the meat use half dry red wine and half vinegar. You can also add the juices of three lemons to the liquid mixture.

For those who like it hot, before hanging sprinkle some Peri-Peri of your choice over the meat.

To make the perfect roasted ground coriander, place whole seeds in a hot DRY pan, singe slightly shaking the pan. Crack seeds with a fork and enjoy the aroma.

ENJOY DEVON and regards to the Family.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

The Course

Hi All

It's Friday, yes you guessed it, I will be on course from 12pm today. The golf course of course.

I like to call it "my R & R" before the weekend. I mentioned earlier in the week that we are all going up to Paul and Gayle's house tonight for the start of the Rugby World Cup, it was their, I think 11th or what anniversary yesterday, congrats Guys. The rest of us would like to know if there are any wedding plans yet?

Rhys loves coming to the country club after my round, he is a budding little golfer himself. Rhys loves driving our golf cart around, always messes juice on the seat so when I get on the next time it's all sticky. The golf cart's name is Braddy just for the record. Rhys' mates always on a Thursday when I fetch him from school ask, ' Uncle Gary can we come and play at Rhys' house tomorrow?' knowing all to well that there might be the off chance of a ride on Braddy before we take them home.

Newcastle is a small town in the northern part of Kwazulu-Natal, about 3 hours drive north of Durban. we are situated in the mountains and have these great views all round. Its a small place about 500 000 citizens, very peaceful and safe. The great thing about living here is that we have formed a great band of Friends, so on the weekends we always are gathering at someones' house for a jol( Afrikaans for party).

I will try and do some blogging over the weekend, its a pretty busy one, going to the launch of the new Mercedes Benz C-Class on Saturday(Free wine and beer) and more rugby at my place on Sunday, join us for a jacuzzi if you want.

2 simple recipes for you to try over the weekend, the salad one I stole from an Afrikaans magazine, I perfected it. Actually Davida asked me to start with it but it started smelling and tasting so good that it has become my salad. I always say to my mates that Davida does not have to do anything at BBQs anymore, because I will always do the meat and salads.

The 2nd is a the basic burger recipe found in your Weber cookbook, but again have made a few changes to bring you the most moist burger and great tasting ever.

G's French Potato Salad

(Serves 6)

• 2kg baby potatoes
• 70ml chicken stock
• 70ml dry white wine
• 70ml extra virgin olive oil
• 30ml wholegrain mustard
• 30ml Dijon mustard
• 15 hot English mustard( cannot let the French take over )
• 15ml white wine vinegar
• 15ml apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs capers
• 250g streaky bacon
• 10 spring onions
• Molden sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Cook potatoes with skins on till almost soft
2. Remove potatoes from stove, drain water and cover pot, will steam a little more.
3. Cut bacon into pieces and fry until crispy, set aside
4. Chop spring onions, set aside
5. Combine all remaining ingredients (except bacon,capers and spring onions) and mix well
6. Cut potatoes in half and put in large salad bowl
7. Once all potatoes are cut, add above mixture and mix well, try not to break potatoes to much
8. When ready to serve, sprinkle bacon, spring onions and capers over salad.
9. Toss lightly and ENJOOOY!!!

G's BURGERS

• 400g Lambs mince
• 400g Ostrich mince
• If you cannot get any of the above use extra lean ground beef
• 80ml iced cold water
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix all ingredients well
2. Make mince into 6 patties
3. Cook in hot ribbed pan or on BBQ open fire for 3 minutes each side
4. This will give you a medium burger or cook a little longer for more well done.
5. Add slice of cheese, lettuce, pickle, tomato or whatever you like putting on your burger

It will be the juiciest one you have ever eaten and you probably will not buy ready made burgers again.

I hope you will all have a family filled fun weekend and would like to have some feedback on the recipes that I have posted.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

Dear Women, Dear Men

Hi All

Today is going to be a little different in the GFW blog. I really don't want to mention food today as last night Davida burnt the nachos, so Rhys and I were not impressed. I made a rather nice chicken fillet with Moroccan spices though, will post the recipe later for you guys.

As all know I enjoy my wine so I have added a link of my favourite wine cellar to my blog, cybercellars.com

On this site you will be able to order South African wine and have it delivered to your door, Cool Hey?

I am sure everybody is waiting for Friday and the beginning of the Rugby world Cup in France. The guys and girls are getting together on Friday night at Paul's place to watch the opening ceremony and game between France and Argentina. So I have stolen something that has been floating around from the cybercellar.com site for your enjoyment.

DEAR WOMEN*List of Rules (Read and print them)*

1. From 7 Sept to 20 October 2007, you should read the sports section of the newspaper so that you are aware of what is going on regarding the Rugby World Cup, and that way you will be able to join in the conversations. If you fail to do this, then you will be looked at in a bad way, or you will be totally ignored. DO NOT complain about not receiving any attention.
2. During the Rugby World Cup, the television is mine, the VCR and DVD are all mine, at all times, without any exceptions. If you even take a glimpse at the remote control, you will lose it (your eye).
3. If you have to pass by in front of the TV during a game, I don't mind, as long as you do it crawling on the floor and without distracting me. If you decide to stand nude in front of the TV, make sure you put clothes on right after because if you catch a cold, I won't have time to take you to the doctor or look after you during the Rugby World Cup month.
4. During the games I will be blind, deaf and mute, unless I require are fill of my drink or something to eat. You are out of your mind if you expect me to listen to you, open the door, answer the telephone, or pick up the baby that just fell from the second floor....it won't happen.
5. It would be a good idea for you to keep at least 2 six packs in the fridge at all times, as well as plenty of things to nibble on, and please do not make any funny faces to my friends when they come over to watch the games. In return, you will be allowed to use the TV between12pm and 3pm, unless they replay a good game that I missed during the day.
6. Please, please, please!! If you see me upset because one of my teams is losing, DO NOT say "get over it, it's only a game", or "don't worry,they'll win next time". If you say these things, you will only make me angrier and I will love you less. Remember, you will never ever know more about rugby than me and your so called "words of encouragement"will only lead to a break up or divorce.

Dear Men
List of Rules (Read them, understand them, and do not forget them – printing only wastes paper!)
Thank you for your recent letter pertaining to the World Cup – a little verbose, but concise thinking was never your strong point :-)
From 07 Sept to 20 Oct, if you didn’t already realise it, newspapers in their totality will be the sports section – what else of more importance could there possibly be to talk about for those 6 weeks?
No problem about you having the TV et al … I’m off to Paris on the 06th and will return on the 21st with the Springbok Team … trophy in hand!
“Month”? The Rugby World Cup is in fact over 42 days … do you not know ANYTHING?
You say this as though you are generally not blind, deaf, and mute?
Six packs … now, we have a problem here. Your “six pack” that existed when we married seems to have developed into a “one bulge” over the years … as for keeping it in the fridge, the mind boggles! Something to nibble on? Funny faces? I’m not going there!
Please, please, please … get over yourself … I already know more about rugby than you, so please don’t lay claim to the Boks as YOUR team … true to The New South Africa, the constitution, equality of the sexes et al … the Boks are MY team!!
Very gracious of you, but I already have front row seats at all the games! As for spending time together, I did think about letting you have the second ticket to Paris that I won, but I thought I’d take Great Aunty Mabel instead … she hardly gets out these days and does sooooo look forward to a good shout at the ref!
Yes, I realise that with your new glasses and your dodgy hearing aid, repetition has become more important to you recently. By all means record and watch away … I’ll be in the dressing room after the games discussing the inconsistencies of the ref’s decisions with Jake.
Child related parties …. ooops … didn’t I tell you? I’ve arranged Munchkin’s birthday party for Saturday the 20th at 3pm (I know you HATE organising these things!) … her whole class is coming round for tea, cakes and games … the jumping castle is booked, but I wasn’t in time to secure the clown, only the clown outfit … you’ll have to doll up to entertain Munchkin and her buddies for about 80 minutes, but you’ll be able to have a 15 minute break in the middle … hope that’s all OK? She is sooooo looking forward to it! (And don’t cut it short to 60 minutes, you KNOW how important the last ten minutes is to Munchkin!)
Sunday you’ll be cleaning up after Munchkin’s party!
Well I suppose you’ll have to find something to do every night while I’m partying with John (aka Barney) and the boys! (Ref point number 2 on the list!)
Thank goodness the World Cup is only every 4 years indeed! It gives me time to recover from the last one in time to book tickets for the next one … watching it all on TV is soooooo overrated!
I promise not to complain about your caveman look as long as you promise not to complain about my Paris look … with the exchange rate as it is against the Euro these days, what you save on shaving cream and razor blades over the duration is hardly likely to cover my extra-curricular shopping activities in the Champs Elysees!!
Thanks for your understanding.

So lets all have a good time and some great memorable World Cup moments this year and please share them with me on my blog.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

Wacky Wednesday

Nadia, my trustworthy PA, or should I say, BOSS, is due to have a little one soon and has as some of you Moms remember when you were pregnant, started those cravings.

Not even 2 hours ago I mentioned that I was on my way to fetch some paper for the printers from Davida's office, when she immediately jumped up from her desk and cried, " Please would you get me a Wimpy cheeseburger while you are in town." Yesterday it was the Russian and chips craving, which I might add was very nice.

Well the point I trying to make is that food always and you have to admit comes up sooner or later in our daily going ons. Tuesday at our local curry shop is normally Soya Prawn Curry day, so later I am going to give you my recipe for CPC- Chicken Prawn Curry ala Gary.

You will notice a new picture today of Davida and her friends having a plakka party while I thought she was studying hard on the course in Durban last week. I think the picture says more than a thousand words. The wine(obviously French because that all my friend Fanie drinks) being drunk is a great form of bringing memories into ones lives. People tend to let their hair down once a little substance is in the system, send me some of your wine moments, I like to her of other peoples plakka parties.

Rhys' school is hard at work preparing for their X-mas concert. Yep, Christmas is just around the corner, so when I arrived at school to fetch him this afternoon he was still busy with lunch.

For Davida and I nutrition plays a big part in our lives. I might not, but Davida is, be the most body beautiful person to look at but at least we try to eat right and pass this on to our son, who I might add has a good appetite himself. The menu at school today, well done Sunnybank, was roast potato, carrots, coleslaw and a baked fish dish followed by a dessert of rice pudding and custard. YUMMY.

Remeber to visit the links I have on the site for more info regarding healty eating, etc. But for now I need to get back to work and probably play a game of squash later with The Old Cock, Trevor Pigg or should I say Mister Pigg to you and leave you with the CPC recipe.

CHICKEN PRANW CURRY ala GARY

1 kg chicken fillets, in strips or cubes

1 Tbs crushed ginger

1 tbs tumeric

1 Tbs chilli powder/paprika

500g prawns, shelled and deveined

60ml freshly squezzed lemon juice

1 Tbs crushed garlic ( I like John West )

125g butter

90ml olive/canola oil

1 large onion, sliced

4 fresh chillies(red or green)

1/2 cup fresh coriander

1 cup tomato puree

1 cup coconut milk

1 Tbs garam masala

100ml fresh cream

salt to taste(optional)

1 tsp sugar

• Place chickenfillets in large mixing bowl
• Add ginger, tumeric and chilli powder
• Mix well and set aside for 30 minutes
• In a seperate bowl,mix prawns, lemon and garlic
• Heat butter and oil together in a pan
• Fry onions until golden, remove with a draining spoon
• Fry chicken in patches,then remove
• Fry prawns in the remaing fat for 2-3 minutes, remove
• Combine onion, chillies and coriander and blend in food processor
• Add the puree to the fat remaining in the pan
• Bring to the boil, add garam masala, onoin paste, coconut milk and salt
• Stir in chicken and prawns
• Simmer for 15 minutes
• Add cream and sugar before serving

PS. If Gayle Baxter is making the dish? Gayle you can leave the garlic my girl.

HAVE A GOOD ONE

The Return, Return

Hi, now that I have had my bit of greasy food for carbo-loading today lets get on with that recipe I promised you.

You might have also noticed I added a pic of Davida and DA SISTAS with my in laws, see any similarities?

OK, the recipe is as follows: if you do not want the spice, just add a bit of salt and pepper.

SPICED GROUND BEEF AND LENTILS

2 Tbs oil

2 x 2cm pieces of cinnamon sticks

1 bay leaf

4 pods green cardamoms, cracked

1 large onion sliced

1 kg ground beef ( beef or mutton mince )

1 Tbs crushed ginger

1 Tbs crushed garlic

2 stems curry leaves( optional )

2 green chillies, slivered

3 Tbs mixed masala

1/2 cup tomato puree

2 cups cooked lentils

1/2 cup finely chopped greens( mint and coriander )

salt to taste

• Heat oil in saucepan
• Add cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamom
• As it starts to sizzle, stir in onion
• Saute until onions begin to change colour
• add ground beef and cook, breaking up lumps, until it is no longer pink
• Add ginger, garlic, curry leaves, chilli and masala, mix well
• Add salt and cook till juices of meat have been absorbed and the oil begins to separate
• Stir in tomato puree, lentils and greens
• Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat
• Serve with rice or fresh salad.

HOW TO COOK LENTILS

1 cup uncooked brown lentils

5 cups water

• Rinse lentils in strainer
• Boil rapidly in water for +/- 20 minutes until soft but not mushy

I hope you will enjoy the dish, its easy to prepare and is very healthy, Rhys loves it as the spice is not to hot.

In the days to come I will let the cat out of the bag and give you Davida's demon salad dressing recipe.

It has to be served in an old fashioned coke bottle(please cleans thoroughly or steam before pouring the dressing in.)

My saying for Good-bye is probably familiar to you out their that have visited Pat O'Brian's in New Orleans:

HAVE A GOOD ONE

The Return Home

Last night my wife Davida returned home to my very elated son, Rhys, he's 5. The first words out of his mouth were not, Hi Mom, I missed you but and quote " where is my surprise Mom".

Needless to say Davida proceeded to give him a beautiful Megano set and guess what I got?
Yep, some new Adidas Climacool golf shirts. That's right I am also a keen golfer, as well as a pretty damn fine cook on top of that.

Davida was away on an optometric course, Yes people, you guessed it, Davida is an optometrist, eye-doctor if you so wish to call her that.

I rusteled up a quick Ostrich stir-fry with egg fried noodles in the wok, takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

You will have to wait till tommorrow for the recipe because today I am going to give you a great ground beef or mince if it so pleases recipe.

It will follow shortly, but first I am going to eat a bit of lunch, have ordered from our local fish and chip shop a Russian sausage and peri-peri chips. Will do a second post later. Ciao

Blog Spelling

Hi All again, I see that my spell check was not on so next time should be cool.

Cheers for now.

Monday 3 September 07- The Beginning

Hi All and welcome to my blog. My real name is Gareth Floyd Williams, I was born on 26 August 1969 in Windhoek, South West Africa or as we know it today, Namibia.

Two reasons why I am trying out this blogging stuff, if this is not the correct blog lingo please let me know so that I do not have to make a complete fool of myself.

Reason 1- I want to right a cookbook about my time on earth and the blogoshpere, its going to have recipes from my own brain, yes believe it or not I do have one, recipes from mates and of course you out their in the blog.

The idea is to create something that we can use on a daily basis, fun easy recipes that don't take much time to prepare, can be done while drinking wine, beer or anything that takes your fancy.

It must have menus that have meant something in mine and your live, the experience behind the meal or dish. Was the food cooked while intoxicated, standing on your head, sailing on your 40ft yacht, etc.

So all that come across my blog, PLEASE contribute and the day my book is poblished, who knows, maybe your recipe is in their and you make some- OOPS!!!!!!!!!! lets go to reason 2.

Reason 2

TO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY, by doing this blog and publishing my cookbook.

So come on everybody out there lets make some money together.

The story of my life on a day-to-day starts tomorrow so stay tuned for the next mind blowing adventure, remember I am a family, but if anyone has something juicy you want to add, like a sirlion steak, rare to not hesitate to let me know