SOUTH AFRICA: THE FOOD

Thanksgiving is out of the way, and now I’m just trying to make it through the Christmas season. It’s admittedly not my favorite season, but at least there are cookies and peppermint mocha drinks to get me through it. But I did make time to cook food from South Africa this afternoon. And that makes me happy.

You really can't go wrong with this. It went well with everything.

The first thing I made was Mealie Bread. In a bowl, I added in ½ c milk, 2 eggs, and ¼ butter (melted) and stirred. Then I put 1c of frozen corn (thawed) in my coffee grinder to make into a paste and added it into my bowl with the milk. (You can actually throw your milk, eggs, butter, and corn into a blender and puree it, but mine burned up back in the summer, and I never bought a new one. So this is my makeshift way to do it.) When I added my corn to the milk mix, I used my hand mixer to blend everything together. Then I added in 1c flour, ½ c cornmeal, 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp paprika and mixed it again with the hand mixer. Once I got it to a smooth consistency, I added in another cup of corn and blended it again with the mixer. Using an oiled loaf pan, I poured the batter into it and baked this in a 350ºF oven for 50-55 minutes. I kind of liked this, but I’m also a fan of this kind of cornbread. I think the kids were kind of leery about the bits of corn in it, but it was something different for them.

It was amazing. Nothing more to say.

The main dish today is called Oxtail Potjie (pronounced something like “poi-kee” or “poi-kuh” from what I’ve heard, and totally not what it looks like it should say). This is the first time I’ve ever eaten oxtail, much less cooked with them. I started off with preparing the meat: in a gallon-size plastic bag, I put in my flour, some salt, paprika, coriander, and some black pepper and then threw in my oxtail pieces, shaking it to coat. In the bottom of my large pot, I added a few Tbsp of olive oil and browned some onion and garlic before adding in my oxtail pieces, keeping the rest of the flour for later. Once the meat was browned, I added in the red wine (I’ve learned after all these years to go with half of whatever the recipe suggests when it comes to cooking with wine), the herbs (I used bouquet garni), and half of the beef stock (about 2c). I set this on low heat and let it simmer for three hours (checking on the levels of the liquids, adding stock as necessary). However, after two hours, I added in the veggies (some carrots, diced butternut squash, a little bit of potato, and cherry tomatoes) along with a tad more stock and let it cook for another hour. I added in a little bit more flour to help thicken the sauce a bit. Just before I served this, I sprinkled a little chopped parsley and chives on top and served this with some white rice. I did take the oxtail out and try to cut off as much of the meat as I could. I thought this was fantastic, and it made my kitchen smell wonderful all afternoon. The kids weren’t wild about it, probably because any stew that uses wine is a little more of a sophisticated taste. But it was perfect for this cold December day.

I'm definitely marking this recipe as one to repeat.

To go with this, I made Avocado and Red Bean Salad. I used a base of artisan lettuce (no romaine, mind you), but you can really use any kind of mixed greens salad base or whatever’s in season. I topped my salad with light red kidney beans, feta cheese, avocado, and cracked black pepper. Then I cut my cucumber slices into sticks and added it to the salad, sprinkling a little lemon juice on top of the salad (mostly to keep the avocado from turning brown). Then I made the dressing: a little balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, and a little salt and pepper. I poured the dressing on top just before serving. Now, this was the real winner of the meal. Everyone loved this. And it was very simple to make, so if you’re looking for an easy side to add to your meal, this is it.

Surprise of the evening. I was amazed this turned out so well.

As a quick dessert afterwards, I made Caramelized Pineapple. I combined some powdered sugar with some lime zest in a bowl. I dipped some pineapple rings into the sugar-lime mix and just used a small skillet to fry them. I was going to use my George Foreman grill to “grill” them, but I was afraid the melted/burnt sugar would be nearly impossible to clean up. Then I placed them on a plate and put a scoop or two of chocolate ice cream on top on them. This was amazing. I had no idea that the combination of pineapple, lime, and chocolate would be so good, but it was. Why were the South Africans keeping this a secret?

I loved everything about this meal. It was all fantastic!

Last week, one of my high school teachers passed away from cancer. I took four years of Japanese from her; I think she was one of the first seven or eight teachers in Indiana who became licensed to teach Japanese at the public high school level. Even though I have always had an interest in the world around me, I ended up immersing myself in the Japanese language. She even encouraged me to apply for a scholarship that ultimately paid for me to do a summer abroad program in Tokyo for 6 weeks in 1998. Years later, I realized we both had a love for Dostoyevsky and Russian literature. Even though she put up with my loud-mouthed shenanigan in class, she really did care about her students and took pride in watching us succeed as adults. Thanks for caring, Mrs. Kuchaes.

Up next: South Korea