Table of contents for Issue 8 2022 in Koe'sister

Every year, I used to get swept up in the notion that “spring has sprung” on 1 September (as many people would point out, the official start of spring is only on 22 September). Now, if you’ve found yourself in Cape Town in the first few weeks of September, you'll know what a ridiculous notion that is. These past couple of years, however, while I don't hate the warmer weather, I've been reluctant to say goodbye to winter. I'm pretty sure it is entirely due to not having to risk life and limb daily on the bad driving witnessed on wet Cape roads. I'm thankful to be able to work from home. And so, as usual, the first couple of (cold, wet) weeks of September this time around have helped…

FLOWER POWER More than just a pretty face Wyomia Mouwers I’m fond of using nasturtium flowers in food and have been wanting to experiment with the leaves and seeds for a while. Today I tried my hand at nasturtium pesto and had it with French toast, homemade beetroot hummus and avocado. Delicious! According to the Garden Betty blog (gardenbetty.com) nasturtiums are often seen as an ornamental flower, and sometimes even as a weed because it is so prolific. “But it’s actually a highly nutritious plant to those in the know. The leafy greens and flowers are full of pungent mustard oils, which contain antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties.” So this plant is basically a natural remedy for many ailments that you can grow in your own yard! Because of…

WORS-EN-TAMATIESMOORTJIE Ivy Kinnear Hierdie smoortjie is een waarvan my kleinkinders nie genoeg kan kry nie. Hulle ouers laai hulle gedurende skoolvakansies by my af en kom haal hulle weer saans ná werk. Die twee seuns bly gedurig honger, so ek maak maar kos wat ‘rek’. Braai uie in ’n bietjie olie en roer dan ’n teelepel fyn knoffel in. Sny wors in stukkies, en sny ontvelde tamaties in blokkies. Voeg die wors by die uie en laat dit net effens verbruin - dit moenie gaar braai nie. Voeg die tamatiestukkies en 1 pakkie tamatiepasta by. Gooi suiker by (ek gooi genoeg by omdat ek ’n soettand het). Laat prut op lae hitte tot gaar. ’n Mens kan aartappels bysit om die dis te ‘rek’. Ek bedien dit met rys of…

POTIONS & LOTIONS LESSONS FROM OUR ANCESTORS Ingrid Irma Jones I love to hear stories about rate. Oumensrate. Lotions and potions our mamas and oumas taught us. Lessons from our ancestors. The potions that kept us healthy. I will never forget the spoonful of cod liver oil I had to swallow every day. There was no spoon of sugar to help the medicine go down. When I had a toothache or a hole in my tooth, my mother or a neighbour would unceremoniously stick a naeltjie (clove pod) in there. Or clove oil on a piece of cotton wool, either in my ear or in my mouth, and then wrap a baby nappy around my head. Our neighbour, Aunt Spaas, had terrible leg problems and she wrapped her legs in…

COLUMN My favourite birthday gift ever is an old, scuffed green table from my late Ouma Zim. It is at least 60 years old. That table is my heritage. It’s my komvandaan. 13 March 2022 was my second birthday since Ouma’s passing in 2021. Last year, because my birthday was only four very short weeks after Ouma’s passing and just three weeks since the funeral, we were all still in shock. Our grief was still so new. I remember wearing the dress that I’d bought for my friend Brendan’s funeral, and subsequently to my mother’s sister’s funeral and my mother’s mother’s funeral - in less than eight weeks. Feeling so miserable about the dress, I naively decided to wear it on my birthday. Mos going to turn the mourning into…

Sandra van de Rheede I love all types of flowers, but edible flowers and herbs just have a certain kind of magic. It can elevate a dish to another level with taste as well as aesthetics. It’s spring and my planters are brimming with edible beauties. So today I made compound butter, a fancy name for herb-flavoured butter, but it would have been rude not to add in some edible flowers. I served it with a lovely sirloin steak and corn on the cob. Compound butter can be made with any herbs of your choice. This is how I made mine: STEP 1 Rinse and dry the herbs thoroughly. STEP 2 Mix all the ingredients together, except the flowers and leaves of…

“Recently we had a discussion on brinjals, and many Food Fairies shared their recipes. I know them as blouballas, and back then it was no shame to call it that. It was common in our family to have brinjals and share amongst each other, just like the other vegetables harvested from my grandfather’s garden.” - Surita Riffel WELKOM TUIS, MEISIEKIND Wendy Anthonie Van-die-huis-af-werk het my meisiekind genoop om na jÁre weer onbepaald tuis te wees. Saam met haar eksotiese en aweregse kosvoorkeure het ’n suitcase vól volksvreemde eetgoed vanuit Kaapstad by ons voordeur ingesluip. My yskas het nuwe intrekkers. Die grondboontjiebotter, mayonnaise en appelkooskonfyt staan t’rug met ’n dankbare hart. Die voorlinie is nou vyekonfyt met spek, kappertjies, ansjovisfilette, artisjokke, quinoa, pikante peppadews, pesto en Ál die olies en souse…

1 STEAMED BREAD WITH A TWIST Surita Riffel Most of us love bread and love to bake bread. But have you ever tried making steamed buns or bread? Sometimes we must be brave and explore other, not-so-familiar, territory. You will be pleasantly surprised. The texture of these steamed buns is springy and soft. If you eat store-bought soft rolls, you will love this even more. Imagine a chicken liver smoortjie or any kind of stappie - this is the bun that you want to use to mop up those sousies. There’s no soggy or stretchy raw dough on the inside, it’s cooked right through. Knead the dough like you would normally knead bread, and rest until almost double. Shape the dough into buns and…

A few of years ago I started to make biltong in a food dehydrator - often also referred to as a biltong maker. There is really not much to it. Biltong also became my staple diet during the hard lockdown. We often just grab a few slices on the run - or have a heap of biltong with a healthy homegrown salad for lunch or dinner. Homemade biltong soup and biltong pizza are still regular favourites in our household. Cut the raw meat along the grain in 3-4 cm thick strips. Mix the vinegar and Worcester sauce. In a separate bowl, mix the biltong spice and brown sugar well. Dip the meat in the sauce mix and then in the spice mix. Place into an…

RUBY BEAUTIES BEETROOT TERRINE Sandra van de Rheede I love beetroot and I so enjoyed making this terrine. The beetroot slices are layered, with roasted onion cream cheese spread between each layer, and the endresult is topped with salted caramel macadamia nuts. I served it with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Boil the beetroot until tender. Remove from the heat and let it cool in the cooking liquid. Line a small loaf tin with cling wrap extended over the sides, to cover the terrine. Gently rub the skins off the beets, then slice them very thinly. (A mandolin works well for uniform slices.) Keep the different coloured beets on separate plates. Start layering: Place a few different coloured slices of beet on the…

NOSTALGIA FOOD AND MUSIC PAIRINGS Warren Conrad So much is made of pairings. We pair food with wine, wine with chocolate, cheese with wine (God forbid) and whiskey with bread (okay, I made that one up). How about we pair food with music (either artists or songs)? I think this pairing will be very personal. It’s like a scratch on an LP: It has meaning, but sometimes only to you. So, here is my attempt at pairing: Braai sausage with pap and chakalaka – “Vul’Indlela” by Brenda Fassie Braai with plates, knives, forks and serviettes – “Old Rugged Cross” by Jim Reeves Bunny chow – “If You Wanna Be Happy” by Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels Romany Creams and tea – Anything by The Carpenters Akhni – the intro music to…

Remember back in May this year when Nathi Mthethwa, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, wanted to blow R22 million on an inconsequential flag monument while millions of South Africans go hungry every day? Perhaps he should take a page from a 92-year-old recipe book on how white and brown women respectively used their kitchen ingredients to create a lasting ‘monument’ that still makes a delicious teatime snack. HERTZOGGIES The small, dusty town of Smithfield in the Free State has its own legendary tale which has much to do with why white women in South Africa got the right to vote 92 years ago. If South African Tourism took a page from the marketing books sold in Portugal’s bookstores, they might have seen Smithfield grow famous and its legendary tarts…

FRUITY FLAVOURS MANGO SALSA Rene Dennis This mango salsa is our favourite salad. I served it with crispy, deep-fried whole mullet, deep-fried cuttlefish tentacles and mango chutney - and it complemented the dish perfectly. Mullet tastes similar to red roman. I love the delicately flavoured flesh of the mullet and prefer it to the local favourite, the seer fish, which tastes very similar to yellowtail. I prefer to buy a size that fits my pan and the mullet is just so much better whole. I simply dust the mullet and tentacles with a mixture of flour, fish masala, paprika and salt, and deep fry it for 5 minutes a side. Here’s the recipe for my mango salsa: Toss all the ingredients together. Drizzle with…

Dear Friends of Koe'sister It gives us at Mikateko Media gjgat joy to fee able tocreate the Koe'sister Directory - a unique platform of communication for our vendors - to give them the support they greatly need to market their busiBSsses successfully. Do find our online directory at www.koesister.com. Many of you will know that Koe'sister magazine has partnered with the District Six Museum as venue host to our monthly Expo & Market event. Both entities are legacy-driven, so this is a marriage made in heaven! The event has been running at the museum’s Homecoming Centre, at the corner of Caledon and Buitenkant streets in the heart of Cape Town, since August 2022. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all vendors who showcased their products in the…