MyFriendShane.com

Fish Braai

// August 4th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Cooking, Fishing

I fished at Orange Rocks at St Michaels on Sea,  this morning and caught my bag limit of 4 Shad.

I like to eat Shad as soon as I catch it, cooked with garlic butter, onion and green pepper on the braai in tinfoil – this is how.

Fresh Shad, caught a few hours ago - gutted and descaled.

I like to take the head off and remove the rib cage as it gets rid of many of the small bones.

Cut deep into the fish as to make a pocket for your filling.

Take some Butter, Fresh Garlic, Chopped Green Pepper and whatever other flavourings you like. I used a few curry leaves.

Melt in the Microwave and get ready to pour into the fish.

Place Fish on some TinFoil and fill with chopped onions and pourthe garlic butter into the pocket.

Season with whatever spices you wish and the wrap up into a sealed parcel.

get your Braai ready, I mix my coals with acorns as it gives an interesting flavour.

Start with a bit of parraffin. Clean and easy.

Our Chickens called Steve Irwin and Kentucky.

My Son James-Dylan - named after James Hetfield from Metallica. He loves to help with whatever I am doing.

Back to business. Place foil parcels a few centimetres above the coals, preferably on a double sided grille for easy flipping.

Nothing Fancy - just simple campfire food. Everyday is a holiday !!

Remove when you get the feeling thats its cooked. To be sure, feel it with your finger (dont burn) - when it feels firm, its usually cooked. Prick with a fork and if the fork comes out clean, then it means that its ready.

Hint - When wrapping your fish in the tinfoil, put an extra layer on the outside that you can remove, so that you can serve a clean parcel straight ontp a plate. Its a nice experience for your guests to open it up themselves.

When the skin sticks to the foil and peels off lke this, its a sign that its perfectly cooked.

A closer look, still nice and moist, with all the flavours or garlic, onion, green pepper and butter.

Hows That ? Double click for a closer look !!

Such a nice meal, you can add bacon, thinly sliced butternut, fresh herbs or whatever variation of fillings you wish. Try feta and olives with tomato and top with mozarella (Pizza Fish)

This is a video of the spot where the fish were caught.

        

Mrs. Balls Chutney

// July 18th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Cooking, General

All South Africans and almost every expat alike love Mrs Ball’s Chutney and its what they ask for when friends are coming abroad.

The cool name chutney was adopted from a Hindi word in India, chatni, meaning ‘made from fresh fruit and spices”.

In Sunny South Africa it’s mainly used as a marinade and a sauce to accompany meat, curries and bobotie.

By far the most famous South African Chutney is Mrs Balls.

In 1865 Mrs. Ball was born as Amelia Alice Elizabeth Adkins in Fort Jackson, East London, the same town where her Canadian parents were stranded in 1852 on their way to Australia.

According to www.ballfamilyrecords.co.uk her father, Henry James Adkins, captain of the SS Quanza, and his wife, Sarah Spalding, left the coastal town, Nova Scotia in Canada for Australia. Although the boat was lost off the coast of East London, fortunately for future generations of South Africans, the captain, his wife and her chutney recipe thankfully survived.

It was here, in South Africa – that their daughter, Amelia Adkins, was born thirteen years later. She married Herbert Saddleton Ball in Fort Jackson, and was thereafter known as Mrs. Ball. Both Mrs. Ball and her sister, Florence (known as Aunt Flo) received the secret chutney recipe from their mother, who in turn got it from her mother.

Mrs. Ball started making the chutney after she moved to Johannesburg with her husband and seven children. Her friends and family loved it so much that the business started blossoming on its own. The demand increased; Mrs Ball cooked and her husband bottled.

Home Industries started selling her chutney and by 1918 she sold about 24 bottles a day, which in the years to come grew to 8 000 bottles a day.

In 1921 the now-famous Ball family moved to Cape Town. After living in Kalk Bay and Diepriver they settled in Plumstead (where her husband took over the chutney cooking). He died in 1935 and she moved to Fish Hoek where she continued to make chutney in her backyard with the help of her grandson, “Uncle Bob”. The business was later moved to Woodstock with twelve new workers.

In 1957/’58 Mrs Ball’s chutney was exported to England for the first time . In the early seventies, Brooke Bond Oxo bought over the business, which was later sold to Unifoods. Still owned by them today, Mrs. Ball’s chutney is being made in Johannesburg and exported to Germany, Britain, New Zealand and Australia.

And that my friends is the story of Mrs Balls Chutney.

Mrs Balls Chutney

        

How we Braai

// July 17th, 2009 // 8 Comments » // Cooking

This is how we cook a steak in South Africa.

Get a nice piece of Rump from the Butcher

You gotta slice your own steak

Cut a nice thick Rump Steak

Make sure its REALLY THICK

Double Check !

Put All Gold Tomato Sauce and a bit of Olive Oil in a bowl

Put an EQUAL amount of Mrs.Balls Chutney as the Tomato Sauce

Add a dollop of Mayonnaise for tang

Add a bit of Wostershire Sauce and a teaspoon of Sugar

Add a dash od Tobasco Tauce or Cayenne Pepper for a bit of life

Get another Bottle of Jack

Dip the Steak into the Basting and place on Fire.

Baste the Steak Nicely

Now this is what you call a BRAAI !

The big one was off already ... these are the ladies steaks.

What a Chow !!

The view down the beach

Share with a beautiful woman. My Wife Ilze

        

Famous SA Recipe

// July 16th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Cooking

SOUTH AFRICAN  FAVOURITE

This is called a Bobotie. Pronounced Ba-bwo-tie (see Wiki)

Every self respecting South African housewife (ducks flying shoes) …. owns and treasures a favourite bobotie recipe.

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* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 onions, peeled and sliced
* 2 1/4 pounds good quality lean ground beef
* 1 thickish slice of white bread
* 1 cup milk
* 1 tablespoon medium curry powder (or hot for the hale and brave)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 teaspoons salt
* freshly grated pepper (about a half teaspoon)
* 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
* 1 1/2 tablespoons malt vinegar
* 1/2 cup seedless raisins
* 2 tablespoons  Mrs Balls chutney
* 2 bay leaves (or fresh lemon leaves if available)
* 2 medium eggs

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in medium sauté pan. Stir in onions. Cook over medium heat until transparent.
Add ground beef.
Cook until lightly browned and crumbly.

Soak bread in half the milk, squeeze out excess milk and mash with a fork – DON’T TOSS SQUEEZED OUT MILK!
Pour it straight back into remaining milk.
Set milk aside, and ad pulled-apart bread to the meat mixture.

Add curry, sugar, salt, pepper, turmeric, vinegar, raisins, chutney to the beef mixture. Spoon the mixture into a greased baking dish, and place bay leaves on top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes in preheated 350°F oven.

Beat egg with remaining milk and pour over mixture approximately 25 – 30 minutes before end of baking time.
Serve with steamed rice (traditionally yellow, with raisins!) and extra Mrs Balls Chutney.

Traditional, Authentic  South African comfort food!  Especially nice in winter, or cold with a salad in summer.

Give me a shout when you are in my neck of the woods and I will make you one.

My phone number is 087 808 5321   (+27 87 808 5321)