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