Potjiekos

Mmmmmm potjiekos. Some foreigner I encountered on my travels long ago referred to South African food as bland and specifically noted potjiekos as a good example of how bland it can be. I was rather unhappy about this unfriendly statement. I agree that some South Africans enjoy their food bland or over-salted, but we also have some awesome cuisine with influences from Africa, Europe and Asia. And potjiekos falls into the latter.

Potjiekos literally translates as pot-food. I know, the name is actually quite bland, but the food shouldn't be. And if someone ever ate bland potjiekos then the person who made it is to blame and not the meal. This food is traditionally cooked in a round-based three-legged cast iron pot. It's a slow stewing process and can be made using just about anything. It is incedibly popular in South Africa and I grew up with several regional and national potjiekos competitions taking place all the time.

The preparation of the meal, like a barbecue, is a social affair. You start by building a fire and watch it turn into coals while enjoying a drink with friends. When the heat is right the pot, well-oiled, gets put on the coals. A fair amount of onions and garlic and in my case ginger gets cooked in the hot pot using a large wooden spoon. The meat of your choice (or other vegetables if you want to make a veggie potjie is added and browned. Next comes your liquids— water, wine, or stock can be used. And then some flavor. My potjie was a chicken curry so I made a mixture of curry powder, turmeric, chutney, and some dry white wine. Other ingredients follow— potatoes or sweet potatoes (in this case sweet potatoes worked wonderfully) carrots, beans. Whatever you feel like. The pot gets covered and everybody relaxes around the fire while it cooks, checking often to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot.

When everything is cooked the pot gets moved from the fire and everyone helps themselves to the delicious stew. We served ours (which we made for Father's Day) with some brown rice and a fresh summer salad Olivia made. If I may say so myself, the chicken curry potjie, which was my father's recipe with a couple of minor tweaks made by me, came out superb. Nothing bland about it, the sweet potatoes worked perfectly with the curry and the chicken was super tender (I used thighs).

For dessert Alexander made another South African favorite, malva poeding, no idea what that translates into, but it was awesome. He baked the pudding in a muffin tin so everyone got their own little dessert. He also added a bit of brandy to the sauce and sprinkled some nutmeg over everything. It was incredible and as I type here my mouth waters for it. And he did it all using an Afrikaans recipe book while I was out teaching!

South African food bland? Bah!

Eating in LA

Since arriving in Los Angeles last Thursday we've been spending a lot of time eating at the city's many fantastic restaurants and cafes. And of course also enjoying the atmosphere, the architecture and the company of Alexander's sisters. Olivia flew out here for a couple of days, while Genevieve has long been a resident of the city.

Here are some pictures of a couple of meals we've enjoyed over the past few days.

Breakfast at Square One Dining on Fountain. Fantastic fruit, freshly baked scones and muesli. The seating on a patio out back did not hurt.

Lunch at Joan's on 3rd. Excellent food and despite the fact that they expanded they are still as great as ever. I was convinced of seeing Naomi Watts. I didn't.

And of course, cupcakes at legendary Sprinkles on Little Santa Monica was the perfect place for a late afternoon bite.
Saturday we wandered around Silverlake, where I still won't mind living.

We headed to the Silverlake Farmer's Market...

... for some fresh produce...

which resulted in an awesome dinner...

... and breakfast the next morning.

We enjoyed lunch at the super fun Lemonade on Abbot Kinney. We all had salads, awesome salads, and the lemonades were something else. I had cucumber and mint, while Alexander chose this bright watermelon and rosemary. Super refreshing.

I did not spot any celebrities around there like my first time in the neighborhood, but this handsome piece kept on popping up everywhere.

Lunch on Monday was tacos from the Yuca truck on Hillhurst. Really flavorful and well prepared. And not at all heavy, just perfect. Oh, and for breakfast we had coffee from Peet's on Larchmont where we spotted Molly Shannon grabbing a cup. Yay!

And now it is Tuesday and we continued the good eats. But no pics yet. Tomorrow we leave for Taiwaaaaaaaan! Yes, I'm excited. But I'm sad to leave LA, and the US. Quite sad. I'll be back though.

I'll try to post fairly soon after our arrival, but I do not promise anything. Till Asia then!

Entertaining 'cause it's Spring

When we arrived in the US early April I was disappointed to discover that it was not really spring yet. For some reasons I thought everything would be green and we'd be enjoying some glorious sunny days with the occasional spring shower. Instead we encountered dry winds and dust and even a freakishly late case of freezing temperatures and snow in the foothills.

But now that it's late May I think it's safe to say spring has sprung! The spinach I planted on the day it snowed survived and I used some in breakfast yesterday, the day lilies in the garden are making buds again and we enjoy our afternoon coffee on the back patio. Glorious!

To celebrate spring Alexander and his sister decided we should have a dinner this past Wednesday with each of us contributing a dish that seemed spring-y.

We started the evening with rosemary gin fizz cocktails. They're actually supposed to be a Christmas drink, but sounded light and fun enough for the sunny days we've been enjoying.

For starters I prepared a frisee salad with some roasted mushrooms and radishes tossed with a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette and topped with a poached egg. Lovely!

Olivia prepared the main dish, a pan-seared halibut on a bed of green beans and topped with a tomato and caper sauce. Delizioso!

For dessert we enjoyed a decadent ricotta tart with strawberry and rhubarb jam that Alexander made. Everything from scratch, even the ricotta! I know I know, I married well.

I hope you're enjoying your spring, those of you in the northern hemisphere. For those in the southern hemisphere, happy autumn/fall!

Chill, vegetarians

We have two very good, very devoted vegan and vegetarian friend sand I've never heard them say anything unfriendly or judging about non-vegetarians. And that's just one of the many reasons why we love you Sarah and Tanya!

But over the past year I've encountered a couple of people and some comments by some vegetarians/vegans aimed at us meat-eaters that reeked of self-righteousness. Stinks really. Soy-bean farts actually.

Yes I'm in a bad mood. Homo's in Africa is being imprisoned and threatened with execution and Bangkok is burning down and vegetarians are being all judge-y like. I'm allowed.

Here's the thing. If you're going all vegetarian and you don't eat and live 100% responsibly then you have no right to point any fingers. Do you eat canned products? Do you eat imported plant produce? Do you drive a car rather than take the bus? Do you recycle everything in your home? Is the wine you're drinking organic? Or the beer? Or the vodka? Do you drink organic fair-trade coffee? Are the soy milk you enjoy in your coffee from a small-scale local organic farm? What kind of laundry detergent do you use? Where are your clothes from? Do you have solar panels on your roof? If you have a garden do you compost? Do you buy local? If you are in a position to have children are you considering adoption or are you adopting? Are you living 100% responsibly?

I'm trying to live responsibly and, unlike someone suggested, it's not because of a move towards a vegetarian diet. Eating and living responsibly has become a lifestyle choice for us over the past few years just because it seems like a smarter, healthier and friendlier way of living. It was a conscious decision and we try to stick to it as much as possible.

We eat less meat, we go through weeks without eating meat without thinking about it. It just happens. When we buy meat and eggs we try to get free-range meat. We try to buy organic and fair trade products. We tend to make our own tomato sauces rather than buying canned products. We look forward to someday living in a city where we can rely on public transport instead of having to get a car. I know that living organic in Taiwan is harder than in the US, but we are already seeking out better options. And thinking of rather supporting wet markets than big stores.

We are lucky too that we can afford this lifestyle and I am aware of the fact that too many people in the world are not able to do so. And for that I blame huge corporations who just do not care about the health of people and the world but only about profit.

If you're a vegetarian then well-done to you and I respect your lifestyle. If you're doing it responsibly even more power to you. But don't run around trying to guilt non-vegetarians. Few things are more annoying than self-righteousness.

Another week on the web

1) I totally have the hots for the large-ish redhead- OMG
2) Yet more reasons to move back to Taiwan from EatingAsia
3) Absolutely gorgeous things at Mon Petite Fantome
4) Love the food and love-love-love the styling in this post- Cooking Books
5) Make your own truffles? I think I just might- Dana Treat
6) Go around the world in seconds- Pret a Voyager
7) You did not just say that- Kenneth in the (212)
8) Dreamesh is playing house. Envy!
9) Lotta provides inspiration for all. I love it- Wisecraft
10) I want more- Primitive Culture

Breakfast pastry with farm fresh produce

Our Saturday in San Francisco was spent at the Ferry Building's weekly farmer's market, an event that sees the building and space around it filled with locals and tourists alike standing in lines for delicious meals and to pick up fresh and organic produce.

We decided to stock up on some goodness and make breakfast for the family Sunday morning. I was inspired by a recipe for a breakfast pastry in February/March issue of ReadyMade magazine which suggest arranging some ingredients on puff pastry, putting it into the oven and topping the finished product with a fried egg. It seemed simple and a great idea for breakfast.

From the market we got (clockwise in the picture above from top left)- pancetta and a fennel and orange salami from Boccalone Sulameria, a bundle of fresh herbs, free-range eggs, asparagus, two kinds of heirloom tomatoes (how have I not had this before?) and Dutch shallots. Everything was either organic or free-range or both and everything looked and tasted just magnificent.
I could not find puff pastry as the recipe suggested, so instead I picked up some phyllo pastry from the friendly grocer across the street from our apartment and left it overnight in the fridge to thaw.

Sunday morning I started out by cutting and slicing up all the ingredients, neatly arranging them on the cutting board before starting work on the pastry. I've never worked with any form of pastry before so I was rather nervous. What I did to the phyllo was probably somewhat wrong but it worked fine. I folded the sheets in half, brushing each layer with a little melted butter. I forget how many sheets I used, it wasn't too many. The last one I brushed with some beaten egg and then arrange the rest of the ingredients, except for the eggs, on top with the help of Alexander.

While the pastry was baking in the oven (preheated to 375F and baked for about 12 minutes or so) we cooked the eggs. When the pastry was nicely browned and the toppings were just nicely cooked we removed it from the oven, topped them with egg and served. Simple and fantastic.

* The images were sketched by Alexander. He's on a drawing and painting mission and I might do some more entries with his work. Fun!

Spending time in California

Apologies for being a lame blogger. I got reprimanded by a fellow blogger the other day so I will try-try-try to be more active here.

We're currently on a family holiday in northern California. Having a most fantastic time and feeling quite at home in this part of the US. If I had a dollar for every time Alexander mentions something along the lines of 'so we should totally move back to this part' I'd be able to afford a pair of Tom Ford sunglasses by now. I do agree with him though. I enjoyed Chicago and New York seems like fun, but there is something about the West that just clicks with me.

We spent some time in Napa, visiting wine farms, enjoying the scenery and we got to meet the above mentioned blogger, delightful Erin of Endive Chronicles and her husband Phil. And of course we had to stop by an In & Out to satisfy a craving of almost 3 years!

At the moment we're in San Francisco and I am loving it. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about the visit, everybody who heard we're coming could not stop ranting about what a great city it is. My skepticism was gone within the first few seconds of arriving here though. It really is a great city. It has everything I like- lovely fresh produce, excellent food scene, great architecture, handsome men, stylish ladies, fun shopping, sweet coffee spots, environmentally conscious... in a word, it is awesome.

Since arriving here we've been doing a lot of eating and wandering around. Some highlights include grabbing superb Vietnamese sandwiches at a grubby spot and then some fabulous baked goods from Tartine and then enjoying them in Golden Gate Park. We had the most amazing dinner at Burma Superstar (if the food there was at what food is like in Burma then book me a ticket pronto!), more great sandwiches at Wexler's downtown and super ice-cream at the Bi-Rite Creamery in the Mission.

We're almost getting ready to go again and already I know I am going to miss San Francisco. But we are keeping it open as an option of possible-future-home-city so who knows. And if we decide to move back to LA (which luckily I also love-love-love) then SF is only a couple of hours away. Head over to Alexander's blog soon for some more stories on our foodie adventures here.

*Thanks Alexander for the pictures!

From the Bornean Jungle

One would have expected me to be more of a prolific blogger recently, considering I spent a month in one of my most favorite countries on earth, Taiwan, and am now traveling in Malaysian Borneo. I know, I know. I never fail to surprise!

We arrived in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah a little while ago and spent our first few days here enjoying the local food scene and relaxing. Alexander was recovering from some sort of cold and we considered it better to stay put until he was better. KK turned out to be a teeny bit dull, but pleasant nonetheless. The night market kept us coming back for incredible food at rock bottom prices and refreshing shaved-ice desserts, while the local ‘kedai kopi’ spots were good for a cup of local style coffee and great breakfasts or lunches.

We also hung out on one of the nearby islands for a day, enjoying the beach, clear waters and lots of tropical fish swimming by just off the beach. The island we went was Pula Mamukan and if we ever come this way again I would consider paying a bit more and spending a few days relaxing there, or at one of the others.

Currently we are kicking back in the Borneon jungle in the area of Sepilok, home to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. We decided to stay at Paganakan Dii, a relatively new B&B place in the area. It’s located on a bit of a hill with views of the surrounding jungle growth and palm oil plantations.

We opted to stay in one of the private rooms instead of the longhouse style dorms. Our room as at the far end of the property and our window has a fine view of a plantation and distant hills. There are large sliding doors on either end of the room, one side that opens onto an immediate view of the jungle. While I am typing here a small brown squirrel jumped from the trees outside onto our balcony and scurried around. Earlier today, after our return from the rehabilitation center, a brightly colored snake was waiting for us on our front porch and later sailed into the bathroom (non-poisonous, luckily I found out from the guy who removed it).

The room has a comfortable double bed with crisp white linen and a mosquito net over the bed. A welcome change after the backpackers place we stayed at in KK, which was fine and great by backpacker standards, but backpacker nonetheless. Our bathroom is slightly open air, with a partial open view into the jungle. A bamboo ladder serves as towel rail and a remodeled wok as basin. Apparently lot of salvaged wood was used to in building the rooms.

The place is so lovely and the staff so friendly that we decided to stay three nights and spend our second full day here just relaxing and enjoying the environment.

Underneath the dorm rooms are rattan hammocks and swings and there is an open air viewing deck, I will be spending most of my day tomorrow in either one of these spots, attempting to read Far from the Madding Crowd, while enjoying the sounds of the jungle.

* Most of the images above were by Alexander

Spent some time in BKK

We've been back in Taiwan for over a week now and if I don't write a little about our short stint in Bangkok I probably never will. I am a gifted procrastinator.

We arrived in the city early on the eve of the 27th, checked into our room and started working our jaws pretty much immediately. We went for dinner at inLove, a restaurant on the bank of the Chao Phaya river with great views of the Rama 9 Bridge and river from their rooftop deck. It was the perfect setting for a 'welcome back' meal.

Before our arrival I expected to be blown away by everything again, the flavors, smells of the city, traffic, people. But on the contrary it just felt completely natural and familiar. My first sip of tom-ka-gai (coconut galangal chicken soup) tasted like something I was used to, the tart mango in our salad was like something I grew up with. The same went for everything else. Jumping into a taxi the little Thai I know came back with ease, walking around the streets hearing a language I did not understand made me feel at ease.

Later on we hung out with our friend Paul on Soi 4 in Silom, its a popular gay bar area with tables on the street, all facing out to see who's coming and going. We enjoyed a couple of Changs while enjoying the crowd and mildly flirtatious waiters trying to get us to stay longer and drink more. We were all exhausted though, us from flying and Paul from work and study and he was also catching a flight to Hong Kong the next day, so after a few drinks we said our goodbyes and went back to our guesthouse in Banglamphu to crash for the night.

Thanks to jetlag I managed to sleep until after 10 the next morning. We had breakfast at Roti Mataba and it was still as good as I recalled. Love that place. We strolled around the area for a bit before heading so Sukhumvit where we were to spend the next two nights at the sweet Suk11 Guesthouse. Somehow the place still manages to stay attractive and pleasant despite being in a fairly seedy neighborhood.

We spent most of the rest of the day just eating and shopping. We hung out at Platinum Fashion Mall restocking our wardrobes. The fashions there are way funkier and hipper than at the overpriced and blah MBK. I think I found a new personal shopping hangout in BKK! In between shopping we enjoyed the spiciest papaya salad I ever had, some fishball noodle soup and a grilled fish stuffed with lemongrass. Awesomeness.

We met our friend Sarah (a former colleague from our BKK teaching days) at Central Zen’s food court for dinner. We missed the great food courts of Bangkok’s department stores and malls and this is possibly one of my favorites. It’s a stylish venue with comfortable seating and fantastic views of the traffic and BTS zipping by. Their food is excellent of course and we were all satisfied with our orders (if this sounds like copy writing I’ve been doing work in this line recently, sorry!).

We headed out to Suan Lum night bazaar where we did some more shopping with Sarah’s encouragement. Thanks!

We got up earlier on Friday to go for massages before heading to Siam Square and Siam Paragon where we hung out the next day enjoying coffee at Vanilla Industries again, browsing around bookstores and tasting samples at the Gourmet supermarket. We met up with Sarah for her birthday dinner that evening at Cabbages & Condoms, which despite its name is a great restaurant in a beautiful garden with excellent food, plus they support some great causes like family planning and educating people about preventing STD’s.

We decided to go out for a drink again on Soi 4 before turning in to bed. Our flight out was the next morning.

Our time in BKK was so short, but really satisfying. I loved being back and feeling right at home. I don’t know if we will live there again, part of me is tempted, but mostly not. Who knows? I do love the city and can easily spend a week or more there just taking it all in, enjoying the food, the people watching, the department stores and the shopping. I heart Bangkok and I cannot wait for our next trip there.

Another week on the web

1) Absolutely adorable pets at Skunkboy Creatures
2) A nutella tart would be perfect right now- Happygrub
3) Make this spiced clementine sherbet and then invite me over, please- Endive Chronicles
4) Feel free to do some Christmas shopping for me at Making it Lovely
5) I want this sandwich for lunch today- Eating Asia
6) Neat kitchen ideas- Design Sponge
7) Priscilla Presley's face scares me just a little (actually a lot)- Dlisted
8) Now this is seriously fucked-up, what was the BBC even thinking turning this into a debate?- BBC
9) Fun styles in Australia- The Sartorialist
10) I like the lung sculpture here- Hibernian Homme

Another week on the web

1) A different kind of shepherd's pie. I am a Viking
2) An anniversary endive salad- congratulations Erin! The Endive Chronicles
3) Why I want to go back to Hanoi. Hanoi Scratchpad
4) A lasagna story (in Afrikaans). Voer
5) Help pick a homemade rug. Dreamesh
6) A wish list. Skunkboy Creatures
7) Support if you can the Scalabrini Refugee Centre here in Cape Town. Blog here and website here.
8) Make popicon portraits! Dos Family
9) Now this is how you sell a house (NOT!). Dlisted
10) Jeeze, not a good week to be gay in America, this sucks. CNN and LA Times

Another week on the web

1) A clutch won't do in Hanoi- Medusa se Blog
2) Beautiful images from a trip to Charleston- Hibernian Homme
3) Delicious Tangerine Vanilla Bean Marmalade- Prudent Baby
4) How to make fantastic nut butters- A Life (Time) of Cooking
5) Musings on Thanksgiving- Primitive Culture
6) I agree, could not care for Adam Lambert before but beginning to like him- OMG
7) Art gift ideas- Bloesem
8) Pret a Voyager's Color as Communication class project using one of my favorite films, Amelie- Pret a Voyager
9) White chocolate cake with mango and pomegranate syrup- Winos and Foodies
10) A contest for something beautiful- Mon Petit Fantome

Happy Thanksgiving

I've been busy this week preparing for our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and the first time we actually have a Thanksgiving dinner. We are hosting it at a friend's home, with us bringing the turkey, stuffing, gravy and pumpkin pie. I've never made turkey before, ever, so this is a huge deal. I was terribly nervous making the stuffing, stuffing the turkey and now getting ready to make gravy. But once the stuffing was done and the bird ready to go into the oven I decided I have reason to be proud of my first effort and I'm certain it's going to taste great.

We've decided to go South African for the stuffing, with boerewors (South African style sausage) meat and dried peaches soaked in brandy with lots and lots of rosemary. For the gravy I'm making brandied giblets, another thing I've never worked with before!

Alexander made some beautiful pumpkin pies with a mixture of local squash. Yum!

Will post more after the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving!

A good week in the kitchen

I've been rather busy in the kitchen last week. Experimenting with Chinese cuisine, baking again and making use of the unexpected wintry to just play around in the kitchen.

We enjoyed green chili fiesta rolls, baked chicken, fried greenpepper and beef, an evening with pizza, Szechwan beef noodle soup, and anise seed rusks (beskuit). Some recipes will soon follow.

Another week on the web

1) Flavorful Asian style meatballs from the Philippines compliments of 80 Breakfasts.
2) All things Danish at the re-purposed I am a Viking.
3) Dreaming of Lapland at Hibernian Homme.
4) Hear what Dorothy Black has to say on prostitution in South Africa.
5) And something about homosexuality in China and Taiwan from Jonathan in China.
6) Someone should stop Ashlee Simpson- see why on Dlisted.
7) More reason to go back to Taiwan- Pho restaurant review at A Hungry Girl's Guide to Taipei.
8) Think its possible for me to live inside Dosfamily?
9) Hot guy to the rescue!
10) A salad resulting in pink feta at Voer. I like!

Another week on the web

1) Boarding Passes at Pret a Voyager- Conn Brattain and John Giordani

2) Pretty embroidery hoops at Dreamesh

3) Awesome news about Taiwan from Wall Street Journal via EatingAsia

4) And even more reasons to return to Asia from Primitive Culture

5) Beautiful still lives at Style Guide Cape Town

6) Super DIY projects at Dos Family

7) Oatmeal choc chip cookies at Cooking Books!

8) Great idea with yogurt at A (Life)time of Cooking

9) A neat Kuala Lumpur house on Bloesem

10) A frittata with green ingredients at Cook Sister