One Story of Delicious Food
One of my readers asked for more information about living in our little converted chicken coop. There are a few tales. We ended up living there only for about 3 months or so. It became very apparent that it was not possible for Tom to lead a region of the church at the same time as being responsible for the finances of the ICOC churches in sub-Saharan Africa. We did enjoy our time in Pretoria, though, and it holds great memories. The main house on the plot was the first place we experienced a South African braai, better known in the United States as a barbecue.
One of the best parts of a braai for me is the pap and sauce that is always served on the side. Pap is made from meilie meal, or maize (corn) meal. It is a porridge that is the staple of most people in southern Africa. My best was always putu pap or krummelpap. The English say crumbly pap. Now pap is not said with a strong English short "a" sound. It is more of a cross between the short "a" and short "o". That is important to know.
Putu pap is made with less water, so the texture is a bit drier and was much more palatable for me. While Nick and Kati both loved pap made creamy for breakfast, served with milk and sugar, I never could get used to the texture. I am not a fan of either grits or polenta and I did not like ugali in Kenya either, so to be honest I was surprised to find out how much I could enjoy putu pap! To see directions on how to make this amazing and simple dish, click on the following link: http://www.rainbowcooking.co.nz/recipes/putu-pap-krummelpap-crumbly-porridge
I liked pap best served with a sauce. My favorite recipe included a can of tomatoes, onion, and apricot jam. I enjoy sweet and savory together. I wish I could remember who made it that way so that I could get the recipe. Why I didn't collect it while I was there I have no idea. I imagine when a person thinks they will always live somewhere they get comfortable and sloppy about collecting the things that memories are made of (I digress - that is probably another story...).
For most people, the best part of the braai is probably the meat. While you can braai any meat, one of the most popular is boerwors, which comes from the Afrikaans "boer" (farmer) and "wors" (sausauge). The "w" has a "v" sound. My mouth is watering just thinking about eating wors with pap and sauce. There is not a sausage in the U. S. that I have had that compares to the South African boerwors. It is a high quality sausage, containing only real meat, fat and spices. Tom and our kids really enjoyed lamb chops done on the braai as well. Over the years we were in South Africa, Tom became quite the braai master and we made wonderful memories braaing with friends over the 11 years we lived in South Africa.
I will continue soon with more stories from our first little home in South Africa. Nicholas and Peter stories are some of the best...
One of the best parts of a braai for me is the pap and sauce that is always served on the side. Pap is made from meilie meal, or maize (corn) meal. It is a porridge that is the staple of most people in southern Africa. My best was always putu pap or krummelpap. The English say crumbly pap. Now pap is not said with a strong English short "a" sound. It is more of a cross between the short "a" and short "o". That is important to know.
Putu pap is made with less water, so the texture is a bit drier and was much more palatable for me. While Nick and Kati both loved pap made creamy for breakfast, served with milk and sugar, I never could get used to the texture. I am not a fan of either grits or polenta and I did not like ugali in Kenya either, so to be honest I was surprised to find out how much I could enjoy putu pap! To see directions on how to make this amazing and simple dish, click on the following link: http://www.rainbowcooking.co.nz/recipes/putu-pap-krummelpap-crumbly-porridge
I liked pap best served with a sauce. My favorite recipe included a can of tomatoes, onion, and apricot jam. I enjoy sweet and savory together. I wish I could remember who made it that way so that I could get the recipe. Why I didn't collect it while I was there I have no idea. I imagine when a person thinks they will always live somewhere they get comfortable and sloppy about collecting the things that memories are made of (I digress - that is probably another story...).
For most people, the best part of the braai is probably the meat. While you can braai any meat, one of the most popular is boerwors, which comes from the Afrikaans "boer" (farmer) and "wors" (sausauge). The "w" has a "v" sound. My mouth is watering just thinking about eating wors with pap and sauce. There is not a sausage in the U. S. that I have had that compares to the South African boerwors. It is a high quality sausage, containing only real meat, fat and spices. Tom and our kids really enjoyed lamb chops done on the braai as well. Over the years we were in South Africa, Tom became quite the braai master and we made wonderful memories braaing with friends over the 11 years we lived in South Africa.
I will continue soon with more stories from our first little home in South Africa. Nicholas and Peter stories are some of the best...