Roger's View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo!
Seize the Day! Put no trust in the morrow! — Horace
Karen brought ol’ Dad something nice from South Africa…. “Biltong” … this is their version of what we refer to as beef Jerkey…. strips of seasoned and dried meat. Jerkey is big in our neck of the woods and in our family. We love it! Cataneo’s is our local favorite!
The yello package is of some Kudo Biltong that Karen tells me can be found any where in Capetown; however, this particular Springbok Biltong could only be found in Kruger National Park.
In the Movie with Errol Flynn “Robin Hood”… Robin is knocked off a log by ‘little John’ with the aid of a staff… after some consolation, Robin says,” I love a man who can best me!” Words to live by.
In an earlier post, I wrote on the virtues of “Bobotie” a South African dish of Cape-Malay origin… delicious! I presented it with a Kanonkop wine… just not the recommended one and I got caught! ouch!
To be fair, I had never thought of Pinotage… it had never been in my list of highly desired varieties… but sometimes, we all need ‘grapeness’ thrust apon us… and this peeked my curious mind.
It give me the opportunity to explore my “little John’s” site called “Pinotage.Org” … which I have found interesting and helpful … so much so, I decided to buy his book entitled “Marlyn Merlot and the Naked Grape” … I just ordered it off of his site… should be a fun read.
In life, we all need our ‘little John’s’,
Roger Freberg
Well… I finally put together my South African dish called “Bobotie” and it lived up to everythnig I hoped it would… delicious!
I was worried about how all the ingredients would fit together… add 2 onions, dried apricots, white raisons ( called santanas), lemon juice and peal, garlic, apple, almonds, eggs, bread crumbs and a variety of spices including… black pepper, salt, curry, tumeric… all mixed into ground lamb. It was wonderful.
Normally, I follow someone’s recipe religiously the first time… but 2ml of crushed garlic? what’s that?? I added more. South Africa’s own ‘Balls Chutney’ was perfect with the Bobotie!
On Epicurious, Lannice Snyman author of “Rainbow Cuisine” suggested a certain brand of “Pinotage” which I procured… Kanonkop, very nice and full bodied.
Amazing what you can do with only 2 lbs of meat!
Roger Freberg
My daughter Karla remarked that everyone on the Jenny Craig diet ( that includes all but Karla) seem to walking around sizing up just about every THING as to ‘edibility.’ That’s not quite true, I never thought about eating my neighbor’s dogs…hmmm… maybe, I could just ‘wok’ their dogs? hmmmm delicious!
After listening to Karen’s ‘foodie’ experiences in South Africa, particularly, sampling the game… Karla drew up a nice little picture of Karen chasing down ‘some’ of the items on her menu! I do understand Karen’s motivation… Laura says that I am now ‘hoarding’ wine and game meats ( Pheasant.com & Ostrich Farm)…. well… it goes with my 8 frozen turkeys!
Bobotie on Sunday! hmmmm…good!
Roger Freberg
PS. So, today was a Jenny Craig weigh-in day for me and I dropped another 2 lbs to 242. Oddly enough, this was my lowest collegiate weight as an athlete…. so I am moving in the right direction now.
I am certain that this is a question that everyone who works in a kitchen wonders? What South African wine is best served with fresh baked Bobotie? Ah, I know what you are thinking… is the Bobotie young or fully matured?
Actually, Bobotie is said to be a ‘hot contender for South Africa’s national Dish” ( in “Rainbow Cuisine” by Lannice Snyman ) and it looks like a wonderful caserol style dish… which I will prepare this Sunday.
As for the wines, here is a listing of 5 new ones… new — that is — for me!
Goats do Roam — ” Thus was born, in 1999, what was for the South African wine scene an innovative blend using Rhône varieties such as shiraz, cinsaut, carignan and mourvèdre with a dash of local pinotage, which Back had sourced from various vineyards (his own and others) around Paarl and Malmesbury.”
Kanu — “The name Kanu is derived from a veteran farm hand on Goedgeloof, who told of the legend of a mythical bird of promise. The story tells that when the bird appeared, all those who fell under its shadow would be blessed with a bountiful harvest.”
Kanon Kop — “Kanonkop Estate has been described by those in the know as being the South African equivalent of a Premier Cru or First Growth. International awards accumulated over more than a decade have gone a long way to substantiate these claims.”
Indaba — “Indaba is the Zulu word that translates to a ‘meeting of minds’ or ‘assembly of Chiefs’. This is the spirit of the brand which was founded in the 1990’s on the newly unified South Africa. It represents the communications which lead to the historical changes in South Africa. Mzokhona Mvemve is the head winemaker at Indaba.”
Where to buy wine on-line? Try Southern Wine
…and Ostrich meat? Ostrich Meat Company
Roger Freberg
PS. I am awaiting another very fine wine…. from Klein Constantia‘s ‘Vin de Constance’