Category: South Africa

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a South African Braii… in California?

Our trial balloon for the South African Braii!

Have you ever started a series of new recipes? Have you wondered whether they would be a hit… or a colossal flop? Well, the sure fire way to see if something new works is to do a small trial run… we did… fantastic!

Karen had returned home from her internship in South Africa with Total Media and has just ‘graduated” with her Masters in Public Relations from one of my alma maters… the University of Southern California! With all these excuses to celebrate, we couldn’t resist… besides, if the menu flops it is better to have small, manageable group mad at you than a large crowd looking for a rope!

The anticipation was deafening!

Karen wrote up the Braii …. and I am sure she’ll  have a post to follow! Now, we can work up to the big event!

 

Roger Freberg

PS… the wine of South Africa was exquisite… and yes, there was much Pinotage!

 

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Finding South African Wine… the hard way!

Clairvaux... small, interesting and mine!Now, I don’t often get to do this when I am talking about wine… but it is fun to find a wine that few people know about… or have even tried.

However, there is a wine from Clairvaux that has an interesting history in the area of Robertson, South Africa.

My daughter Karen enjoyed her time working on her internship in Cape Town… and I casually asked her to keep an eye out for some interesting wines. Little did she know that her entire trip would be spent investigating certain aspects of my chosen avocation.

I tried not to abuse her good nature…too much. Poor, Karen.

Karen looked into some of the smaller… what we might call ’boutique’ wineries as well as the main stays… but in her travels and friendships, she found something very interesting… something very special.

It is always amusing how someone will pass up a 1955 Château La Tour to study in depth a new winery that they have never laid eyes on.

Clairvaux is just one of those occasions. While one of my ‘friends’ began studiously studying my latest acquisition… I nicely took it from his hands and said… oh, I think there is something more interesting for you to see over here. Of course, I now had him hooked. I shrugged and said that I didn’t think it was easily available in this country (partly true)… so I suggested he look at something else…. a common Margaux , perhaps.

There began the saga… the legend of Clairvaux.

Clairvaux can be found ni the Robertson area of South Africa

Clairvaux can be found in the Robertson Area of South Africa… and if you get in the area… it is one place on my list to visit.

I’ve talked enough… you can’t get it easily anyway… Buah-ha-ha! ( I so wanted to say that)

Roger Freberg

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Laura’s Amarula Carrot Cake!

Laura's Wonderful Carrot Cake!

Something special happens when you get a bunch of ‘foodies’ together… recipes and ideas just come out and an event gets planned!

Laura  and  Karen  put their heads together and found a wonderful recipe for Carrot Cake utilizing two ingredients that were surprising: apricot and  Amarula!  Their recipe also contains pineapple but Laura has added that for thirty years, so no surprise. What was interesting was how the apricot and the Amarula added something very special.

Here’s  Laura’s adaptation of her own recipe  and as Laura is fond of saying, “Bake it for someone you love!”

Roger Freberg

Now all we need is the Ostruducken!

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Save the World! …. Eat Ostrich!

hmmmm.... you'd make a fine

My daughter Karen is back from South Africa & with Kristin coming to see us in a few months, I wanted to start preparing some of the South African dishes I have heard so much about. One is called “Ostruducken.” We visited a nearby  Ostrich ranch in Watsonville, California  … and started to look eye-to-eye with possible dinner candidates.  Karen had her own take  on the day at the farm. Jose’ showed us his home made (the best kind) smokers he has for his personal use… fantastic!

I am a fan of these multiple bird within a bird meals, especially  our family favorite “Turducken”  ( a chicken within a duck within a turkey and all with their own stuffing!). The “Ostriducken” sounds like a true feast! Here is a little history of the multiple bird meal:

“The largest recorded nested bird roast is 17 birds, attributed to a royal feast in France in the 19th century: a bustergophechiduckneaealcockidgeoverwingailusharkolanbler (originally called a Rôti Sans Pareil, or “Roast without equal”)…”

As far as the accompanying wine goes, thanks to  Peter May of Pinotage Fame, I am beginning to learn about some of the wonderful wines of South Africa… and “Pinotage” in particular. Some I have bought on-line, some are on order, and some have already been… er… “sampled”.

The male Ostrich in the picture is not tiny, I am 6’4″ (1.93 m) tall… so my Ostrich friend is none too small…. but looks delicious although a bit of a challenge for my barbecue.

However, where there is a will, there is a way.

 

Roger Freberg

PS. Yep, eating Ostrich also reduces ‘global warming’, “saves whales” and “promotes world peace’…well… it couldn’t hurt.

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Fairview… Fair Price! Pinotage

Fairview Fair Price! PinotageSometimes its nice to have a simple bottle of red wine… Fairview is an old South African vineyard that is now operated by the folks whose  Goats do Roam. (hint: click on the GDR site and search “Fairview”)

Anyway, the Fairview brand is: 

 “a wine of quality that will please both palate and pocket.” 

Unfortunately, you can buy from their site if you live in South Africa, but — fortunately –there are plenty of folks you can buy from that ship in the USA… including  BEVMO  (on sale right now!)and  Southern Wine.

Another interesting experience was presented to me by my daughter on her return from South Africa… a delightful creamy liquor entitled “Amarula Cream”. Now I do remember the story that my wife told me about Amarula berries from her research days at UCLA (1970’s)… they were one of the few things that got Elephants drunk!

So,  Karen searched the Amarula site , as in many South African wine and drink sites found some wonderful recipes. In particular, she found a carrot cake recipe that is very similar to one we all are very fond of… but with Amarula Cream. So we are adapting our recipe to accommodate… we’ll let you know how it goes!

Why does everything taste so much better when you are on a diet?

Roger Freberg

PS. I am now down over 80lbs on Jenny Craig! Amazing!