I LOVE food!
I LOVE cooking!
I LOVE tradition!
I LOVE statistics!
I LOVE contests!

I didn't had the opportunity to enter the Steemit Iron Chef's Engagement Challenge last week

So ladies, hold on to your aprons as I present you with my choices and bring a bit of South African food to your homes.

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Chicken a la Broster or Beef on a Stick

There will be only one choice for me, and that will be a sosatie, or beef on a stick, as you called it.

"Sosatie" is the name for a Cape Malay (an area in South Africa) dish. It derives from two words: "sate" which means skewered and "saus" which refers to the spicy sauce it is marinated in.

And that is exactly what it is, beef cut into smaller blocks, then threaded onto skewers, marinated for at least two days, and then cooked on an open fire which we call a "braai".

Recipe for the spicy sauce
Ingredients: Olive oil, 1 chopped onion, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 tablespoon grated ginger (fresh), 1 table spoon curry powder (to your taste, mild or hot), 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 table spoon brown sugar, and 125 ml vinegar

Method: Cook the onions until soft in the olive oil (don’t brown them), add all the other ingredients and cook the sauce for 10 minutes. Season with salt and let it cool down.
When the sauce has cooled down, place your sosaties in the sauce and leave them covered in the fridge for a day or two.

Neapolitan Pasta or Pasta Bolognese

For those who don’t know, "Neapolitan" is chunks of meat whereas "Bolognese" is fine or minced meat. The next difference between the two is the amount of tomato in the sauce. Bolognese sauce uses more tomatoes.

I love Bolognese and any pasta, whether spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, or even campanelle, which were my kids favorite pasta when they were still in the house.

What I love about minced meat is that you can do so much more with it. Sometimes I will make little meatballs or "frikadelle" as we call them, and then add them to my pasta and Bolognese sauce.

How do you make your pasta Bolognese in South Africa?
Grate a carrot and add it to your meat or meatball. As easy as that.

Pizza or Hamburger

I love a good hamburger! A hamburger with bacon and advocado. Guess what we had for dinner tonight? Burgers!

BUT, there is nothing that beats my breakfast pizza, so pizza it will be.

If you have missed my breakfast pizza recipe, I share it one more time. My breakfast pizza!

You can use any meat as your main ingredient, even vegetables, or last night's leftover food.

I often use traditional "boerewors" (a type of sausage) as an ingredient on the pizza which will make it truly South African or as we would say, "Local is lekker."

Saturday mornings in our home is breakfast pizza time!

Chicken Soup or Beef Soup

Chicken it will be as;

1. It is the cheapest
2. It cooks quicker
3. It is so much healthier

South Africa is known as the Rainbow Nation. It is no surprise to find a strong Jewish tradition in… chicken soup.

What you need for this soup are: 500 grams of chicken necks, 2 liters of water, 50 ml chicken stock, 30 ml lemon juice, 2 large grated carrots, 1 large grated onion, 3 chopped celery sticks, half a cup chopped parsley, and some seasoning.

Cook the ingredients like any other soup, You can even add a handful of vermicelli pasta.The pasta must still be al dente when you serve it.

We like it with our fresh vegetables and a bit of cream.

Vanilla Cake or Chocolate Cake

All you need in life is love... chocolate cake, and of course… midnight!

My 5 minute chocolate mug cake.

What you will need;
• ¼ cup cake flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1 teaspoon of water
• A pinch of salt

Mix all the dry ingredients together in your favorite mug. Add the oil, milk, and water. Stir well. Place the mug in the microwave and cook for 1,5 to 2 minutes until the inside of the cake feels cooked.

To make it truly South African, we will grate one of our favorite chocolates over the top when it is still hot coming out of the microwave.

Natural Juice or Refreshment

There is only one drink that is a must have in South Africa, and that is ginger beer, or as we will call it, "gemmerbier". This drink is non-alcoholic and is loved by young and old. It will be served on special occasions like Christmas.

Today I will share my mom’s recipe with you.

Ingredients:

• 4.5 liters of water
• 3 cups of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons ginger (freshly grated)
• 7 ml of granular instant yeast
• A handful of raisins

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a bucket with a lid and leave for 12 hours.
Strain and pour into bottles (old cold drink bottles), pouring a few of the fermented raisins into each bottle.
Close the bottles tightly and refrigerate.

Enjoy once it is ice cold!

Coffee or tea

There is only one choice for me… TEA!

I haven’t had coffee for more than 30 years! Sorry if I am disappointing my Indonesian friends.

A cup of tea with a slice of lemon and fresh South African honey is what the doctor order you to take daily.

Nothing is nicer than an "Ouma's rusk" with your morning tea.

The translation of Ouma is grandma and a rusk is sort of a twice bake bread or cake. The Afrikaans word for rusk is "beskuit" and it dates back all the way to the 1600's.

And this is where I rest my case, I've made my choices. It is time to close my recipe book.

Until next time!

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