Nostalgia

Ma se Boereboontjies

Amanda

Ma se Boereboontjies

Wanneer ek min geslaap het of sommer net sielsmoeg is, roep die kospotte my. Dan maak ek trooskos of sommer net onthou kos … kos met geen fieterjassies … kos sonder enige ‘make-up’.

Heel bo aan my lys van gunsteling trooskos staan boereboontjies, blomkool met witsous (nie kaassous nie), soetpampoen en veerligte kapokaartappel.

Ek het die voorreg gehad om my ma gereeld te sien in haar winter jare. Op meer as een geleentheid het ek haar sien sit by die eetkamertafel terwyl sy luister na musiek op haar draagbare radio (waarsonder sy nooit was nie), besig om boontjies metodies te kerf – party vir die pot, ander vir die vrieskas … en dit is nou waarna ek verlang … om net rustig by haar te sit en te gesels terwyl sy kerf. Ek het baie keer gewonder of dit regtig nodig is om die boontjies so presies en fyn te kerf. Dit verander tog nie die smaak van die dis nie. Die antwoord was altyd ja, dit is nodig want dis terapeuties. Dit gee jou tyd om te peins oor dit wat verby is en ted room oor dit wat nog gaan kom.

Ma, ek mis jou vandag!

Boereboontjies

Bestanddele:

  • 1 middelslag ui, gekap
  • 500g groenboontjies, gekerf
  • 1 medium grootte aartappel, geskil en in blokkies gesny
  • Sout en wit peper
  • 10ml botter

Metode:

Voeg ui, boontjies, aartappel, sout en peper in ‘n kastrol met net genoeg water om dit te bedek.

Bring tot kookpunt en prut tot aartappel sag is.

Voeg botter by en breek aartappel met ‘n vurk op tot dit soos kapokaartappels lyk.

Sit warm voor.

Variasie: vervang die groenboontjies met spinasie, kool of wortels.

groenboontjies

 

Melkkos

Amanda

Melkkos … a traditional South African dish.

Melkkos

Who remembers indulging in a bowl of steaming, fragrant Melkkos on a cold, winter evening curled up on a sofa in front of a crackling fire? Having a warm bowl of this heavenly dish in front of me awakens a sense that if I close my eyes I will feel my Mom hugging me.  This must truly be one of the most nostalgic dishes in my memory bank.

Melkkos, which directly translates to Milk Food, is one of those classic South African dishes that is often passed down from a long line of grandparents and parents. MelksnyselsThere are many variations on this dish with the two popular ones being the recipe that I grew up with (and shared below) and the other one is Melksnysels (Noodles boiled in milk) for which I never acquired a taste.

Melkkos is also very versatile … you can enjoy it for breakfast, serve it as dessert to round off a traditional South African meal or have it as a light Sunday dinner.

Some traditions should never die … this is one of them! Continue reading →

Pork Belly Roast

Amanda

Pork Belly roast with crunchy crackling

Roast Pork Belly

Long, lazy Sunday afternoons with family and friends gathered around our table, is one of those ‘have-to’ events on our calendar. Sunday lunch is the time to catch up with your loved ones’ hopes and worries, stories, jokes, experiences. Around our table we share gratitude, memories, shape relationships and build a history together. This is the time that we can all decompress for the week ahead.

Roast Pork Belly3Whenever I ask my children what they would like on the menu, nine out of ten times they will say: “Roasted Pork Belly with crackling, like Ouma used to make.”  Now therein lays my problem. My mom seldom used recipes and sadly, I never penned down any of her masterpieces.

Over the years I have developed this easy, fuss-free recipe which the kids seem to like … maybe not as much as they did with Ouma’s dish, but I think it is passable. Continue reading →

Nostalgia-Golden Shower

About Me

Amanda

Nostalgia

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Some of my earliest childhood memories can be traced back to my mother’s kitchen. Although she was a working girl, it never deterred her from experimenting in the kitchen.  We were three girls, and in our teens, the responsibility of helping or preparing the evening meal was a given. There was structure in our meal times. Dinner was always served at 6 pm sharp. Being a working mom myself, I now have huge admiration for my mom: juggling a full-time job, being a wife, raising three girls, making most of our clothes and running our household like a well-oiled machine. Continue reading →