SA Rocks

It’s the truth. He is a white, jewish, Xhosa speaking comedian in South African and the man is brilliant. The comedy scene in SA is huge and only getting bigger. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet many of the top comedians in SA and my respect goes out to them. It’s not something that one does without considering. There’s a lot of room for severe burning. Nik, however, does not get burned.

And…

Popularity: 7% [?]

Fact: South Africans love puddings.

And no, I don’t mean the weird English concept of puddings which can include savouries like Yorkshire pudding. I mean sponge-cakey puddings baked in the oven and usually served warm with some sort of sauce or syrup.

There’s nothing glamorous or sexy about them, and they don’t require any sort of expensive or exotic ingredients. Mostly, they originated in farm kitchens where the lady of the house had to whip up a pudding from what she had on hand – flour, eggs, butter, sugar and maybe a jam of some sort. Those redoubtable housewives had a pudding for every occasion, as I discovered in my copy of the Oranje Kook-, Koek- en Resepteboek of 1918, written by the mysterious “Mrs D.J.H.”.

Let’s see… we have ertappelpoeding (potato pudding), armmanspoeding (poor mans’ pudding – a steamed suet pudding with raisins), damespoeding (ladies pudding with currants, jam and brandy), goedkoop en lekker poeding (cheap and tasty pudding – perfect for the credit crunch, perhaps?), jongmanspoeding (young men’s pudding with candied peel and sultanas), oujongnooi poeding (old maids’ pudding), telefoonpoeding (telephone pudding with ginger and apricot jam), skrikkeljaarpoeding (leap year pudding) and vogelnespoeding (birds nest pudding – no birds nests involved though!).

There is also a cluster of puddings which are so similar that some sources describe them as being one and the same pudding. These are malvapoeding (literally mallow pudding), bruinpoeding (brown pudding) and Jan Ellis poeding. All consist of some combination of flour, sugar, eggs, milk, apricot jam and some sort of raising agent, and after the pudding is baked a syrup is poured over it. However, after combing various sources it appears to me that there are some small distinguishing features. Malva pudding contains vinegar whereas Jan Ellis pudding apparently does not. Brown pudding has a syrup that does not contain cream, whereas both malva and Jan Ellis pudding have a creamy syrup. Small differences, I know, but I’m a stickler for detail So I am taking the view that Jan Ellis pudding is a discrete entity, but is part of a close-knit pudding family.

Jan Ellis was a well-known Springbok rugby player in the 1960s and 70s, and held the record for most-capped Springbok player of all time when he retired (38 caps). Legend has it that this was his favourite pudding and to this day it bears his name. I have to say that the man had good taste. The pudding itself is a fairly dry, cake-like affair that baked to a nice almost crispy crust. Still, I was a little dubious about the texture… until I poured generous amounts of the creamy, caramelly syrup over it. Oh my. It’s rib-sticking, warming comfort food at its very best and the pudding just soaks up the syrup like a sponge – even my desert-avoiding husband liked it!

I have to confess, though, that I could not leave well alone. I figured that the traditional recipe (I used one from Pieter-Jasie) as it stood needed a little something to take the edge off all that unadulterated sweetness, and for some reason nutmeg sprang to mind. I also happened to have a tablespoon or so of grated orange zest left over from another recipe, so into the syrup that went. The end result was wonderful enough to make me wonder why I had spent so many years faffing about with creme brulees, mousses and crepes – this is pudding as pudding is meant to be. And I’m immensely proud to claim this piece of pudding heritage as my own

JAN ELLIS PUDDING (serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of self-raising flour
1 egg
1 Tbsp apricot jam
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp softened butter
a pinch of salt
a pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tsp grated orange zest

FOR THE SYRUP:
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp grated orange zest

Method:

Dissolve the baking soda in the milk. Mix all the other ingredients together well, then add the milk and mix well until smooth. Pour into a baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes at 180C or until a skewer comes out clean.

Plase all the ingredients for the syrup in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Serve each portion of pudding with a generous helping of syrup and some custard.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The World Economic Forum recently released a list of young global leaders. We’ve read online that Vinny Lingham was selected as part of the top of top, the cream of the crop and featured in the top 200 to 300 list.

Yet there is more to this incredible story from Vinny. Sub-Saharan African is full to the brim with leaders that I think many of us have never even heard of yet the world is recognising them.

The 2008 list of young global leaders featured a handful of South Africans, namely:

Mark Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Teba Bank, South Africa

Here’s a short intro video to what the young global leaders is intended to be

So here’s to those who making their mark on the world and representing not only Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa but South Africa too.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I often moan and rant about how globalised our society has become. This is evident in the number of chain food stores that exist all over the world and in SA.

We’ve got many generic foods that crop up, McDonalds, KFC, Pizza this and that and the next thing. But one thing that SA has that I absolutely adore is fantastically local food that seems to be relatively undiscovered by the masses and tourists.

Zoopy.com went in to Soweto to the shopping centre and tried out some local cuisine. Have a look:

Popularity: 11% [?]

This seems to be a trustworthy document that appears to be for South African’s wishing to vote abroad.

So what you’ll need to do is the following:

1. See if you qualify to vote abroad by visiting the IEC website.
To be eligible to vote there is one major prerequisite: You need to already be registered as a voter.

2. Download this form. <- click on the text to start download.

3. Fill in the form.

4. Send it off to the IEC BEFORE FEBRUARY 27th 2009 – THIS IS EXTREMELY NB. YOU HAVE 4 DAYS TO COMPLETE THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY.

5. You will then be eligible to vote at your nearest mission according to the IEC website. This, in my opinion, means your nearest embassy. But for more info about your nearest SA mission download THIS FORM <- click the link to download the list.

6. Vote on April 15th 2009.

I’m not particularly impressed with the deadlines put in place. Let’s hope this all works out for the best. If you are abroad and reading this please email these steps on to your friends, post the link to this post on your Facebook status, tweet these links and call someone to let them know. Just spread the word and be as proactive as possible.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Tim and Bruce are cycling from Cairo To Cape Town for charity, their website is Cycle2Learn.org and they are doing it to build 2 classrooms for a rural school in the Eastern Cape. They have currently raised R85,000 out of their target of R180,000. They started on the 10th January 2009.

 15 February, Day 33

Rest day in Addis Ababa

We had no idea what to expect out of Addis Ababa, but have been pleasantly surprised. It seems backward to me, as in all my travels I’ve found the people in the rural areas to be the nicest and those in the cities to be hardened, less open and less friendly. However, the opposite seems true for Addis, a friendly city set within a valley with steep slopes, lots of trees and wide, clean streets. Walking around town is the first time in weeks that we’ve been able to walk amongst locals and not feel like a celebrities hounded by the locals asking for money, food and my new favourite – pens. 

People here are relaxed, friendly and open. We’ve just returned from a shopping/lunch excursion through downtown. Our shopping list was comprehensive and included our usual: bog roll, chocolate chip cookies, mocha cookies, hot chocolate, peanuts and of course snickers (two each) – at least we’re eating a well rounded diet on our rest day! 

We went from café to café sampling the amazing coffees and cakes they have here. The day got even better as we found doughnuts, ice cream, Super 14 Rugby Highlights, and of course our very favourite – the layered fruit juices! Aside from trying to explore our rest stops as much as possible, our rest days are also quite intensive in terms of laundry, continual bike maintenance, and our email updates back to you all – which can sometimes be quite a trying experience with the dismal connection speeds we’ve come across in some towns! 

16 February, Day 34

108km Addis Ababa to Bush Camp

Another 108km of rolling, beautiful Ethiopian hills in the legs, and we’re feeling strong! However, about 12 riders and staff members, are not in great shape, having succumbed to the fever-diarrhea bug which has raised its ugly head again. It’s one thing feeling completely awful with all the creature comforts of home, it’s an entirely different story when you’re trying to ride through Africa. 

Some have been hit so badly that riding wasn’t even an option today, and they simply had to ride in the support trucks, others, who were slightly stronger, stuck it out on the bike to maintain their EFI (Every Fucking Inch) status. Sickness aside, life on the Tour is magical. I’ve seen countless sunrises as I roll my tent up in the morning. I’ve met, ate and drank with the friendliest people who had no reason to be friendly to me whatsoever. 

I’ve hit 72km/h and I’ve grinded in granny gear at 5km/h. I’ve smiled at complete strangers and they’ve smiled back, and I’ve seen the sun set each and every day. These are the things that wash away the grime, sweat, stink, pain and sickness that I’ve also experienced, and which I will no doubt experience again before we finish in Cape Town on the 9th of May. 

17 February, Day 34

128km Bush Camp 1 to Bush Camp 2

Today started somewhat controversially… As a bit of back ground, Tim and I never came here to race down Africa, we signed up for the race solely on the grounds that you can always pull out later so you might as well start racing if there was even a remote chance of you being competitive. Many people have pulled out since Cairo, half at least. Our attitude has been that we’re timed participants not racers, we’re here to see and experience Africa not stare at someone’s rear wheel as you push yourself beyond your comfort zone. 

So far our strategy has worked well and we haven’t succumbed to the tempt of pulling out of the race. To me there’s no rule that says you have to win or even be competitive in order to be a racer, just someone that enjoys the competitive spirit of the event. We’ve had our good days with a number of 3rd places, but they’ve been entirely dependent on the day’s conditions and health of the other racers.

Today’s race was from camp to lunch and due to start as always at 7:30, slightly later than we prefer to leave on non race days as we like to ride in the cooler weather. One person had a flat before the race start, the start was delayed a little under 15 minutes then eventually started without the rider with the flat and his girl friend (she had been helping with the tyre change). 

At camp the two were a little upset that the race was started without them, they felt hard done by and hadn’t raced hard as they felt that the situation was unfair – it’s far easier to ride as a group in a Peloton as you can get pulled along by the front riders, who rotate about every 5 minutes. I write this solely as we’ve never mentioned the race apart from the occasional result. 

The issue with the two racers with the flat tyre hasn’t been resolved yet – another meeting is required tomorrow morning. I find it a little amusing how seriously people are taking the race and fascinating watching the group dynamics as allegiances are forged, arguments had, and peoples’ attitudes change all while we’re meant to be here enjoying ourselves in Africa.

A short word on the day’s ride, it was a tough day with lots of climbs mostly after lunch though most happily the 138km days distance was in fact shorter (only 128km) due to the rider, whose GPS data is used, taking a few excursions on the day last year to find a crater lake. Both Tim and I are in high spirits though we’ve both got a scratchy throat, tomorrow is meant to be a true diamond in the rough – an easier day as we’re starting to descend down to Kenya… whooooooo hoooooo!

18 February, Day 35

118km Bush Camp 2 to Bush Camp 3

First half of the day was as easy as pie, thanks to a wicked downhill out of the mountains. The second half of the day, however, was a little more trying, thanks to a persistent headwind and one monster of a climb which was lined with irritating kids. At the top of the monster we found the busy town of Sodo, and pulled into a local café for a much-needed Coke, a local donut and or course, a Macchiato coffee. 

From Sodo the road literally fell apart and we had 30km of dodging axel-breaking potholes – it was a fantastic bit of biking which suited our Scott hardtails beautifully! Once in camp we went through the usual motions of rehydrating, tent set-up, bike cleaning, stretching and of course the favourite part of the day, inhaling dinner! As we ate, the clouds steadily built around us and looked rather ominous for sometime, and as I write this from the comfort of my tent, the first drops of rain have begun to fall…. With a bit of luck, our Cape Union Mart tents will do all the things they are supposed to do and keep the rain at bay… if not, tonight could be an interesting one….

19 February, Day 36

108km Bush Camp 3 to Arba Minch

Another race day (camp to lunch), and we continued on the extremely poor road going downhill – it was awesome. We hit a snag, however, at about 5km out of camp as Tim realised he’d forgotten his Camel Back. He decided to return back to camp whilst I continued on slowly (which was no problem given that I was still feeling ill). The road was poor all the way to lunch and the kids were on top form. The best word to describe the effect we have on the kids as we pass by is “hysteria“. 

The first few riders through cause the hysteria, the kids are so excited, sprinting to the road shouting, screaming, and generally just going insane. By the time the last few riders come past, the kids have been setup at the road for a while and are starting to get frustrated – I assume due to the lack of attention from tired riders or the lack of a hand-out. As a result, and as the day progresses, the hysteria quickly turns to madness. 

To get your attention/stand out from the crowd they resort to things like throwing stones, trying to shove sticks into your spokes, pulling silly faces, stupid comments, slapping (or just trying to touch you), trying to open your Camel Back or saddle bag, and even using hand-catties to catapult stones into you! Today’s kids were made worse for us as we were amongst the last few riders for the day and by now they were seriously aggressive – which gets a little worrying when the machetes start making an appearance with threatening glares in tow! 

Certainly the kids have a negative effect on your day, but we always try to keep in mind they are only children and acting the only way they know. Apart from the kids the day went okay, the road improved closer to Arba Minch and we were able to get into camp early and find a shady camp spot, though riddled with thorns… Showers were had, it had been a solid 4 days since our last access to any sort of excess water, and the shower can only be described as heavenly. Tyres were then changed in preparation for the next few week’s of riding – described as the toughest on tour… by far… bugger!

Popularity: 10% [?]

You have 5 days (entries close Feb 28th) to submit your entry to the Global Pizza Challenge. Yes that’s right, a pizza challenge.

The competition is sanctioned by the South African Chefs Association, so it’s pretty legit.

The basic premise is this: Find new, funky and innovative pizza recipes.

You can enter in the following categories:

Chicken or meat
Seafood
Vegetarian
Speciality or dessert

From the Press Release:

Under the auspices of the SACA, all entry recipes will be assessed by a panel of internationally recognised chefs for originality, balance, creativity, as well as excitement factor.

Approximately 30 – 40 finalists will be invited to Hostex, to be staged at the Sandton Convention Centre, from 15 – 18 March, 2009, in order to compete for the SA Global Pizza Challenge title.

The SA winner will then travel to Asia, all expenses paid, at the close of 2009 / beginning 2010, in order to represent southern Africa, in the international competition.

To download and entry form or for further information, please visit: www.globalpizzachallenge.com or contact Louise Churches at Glass Slipper Communications directly via e-mail address: louise@glass-slipper.co.za.

There are also numerous sponsorship packages available for applicable FMCG brands, who are keen to partner with and support innovation within the independent pizza sector.

So what else is there left to do? Nothing but enter, cook, make, bake and eat a pizza. Do it.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Here’s a great video I found about how to apply for tickets and the different types, chances and dates the application periods will be open.

Here’s an overview of the sales phases:

20 February 2009 – 31 March 2009 Valid applications received for any match, or particular ticket category, that is over-subscribed, will go into a global random draw (this will particularly apply to ‘hot’ matches like the Opening Match, the Semi-Finals and the Final). This ticket draw will take place on 15 April 2009. Confirmation of successful applications will be notified approximately 72 hours after this draw.

4 May 2009 – 16 November 2009 Valid applications will be accepted and fulfilled on a ‘first come, first served’ basis – subject to availability for the match/es and the ticket category/ies applied for. Confirmation of successful applications will be notified within approximately 10 working days.

5 December 2009 – 22 January 2010, immediately after the Final Draw for the 32 participating nations. It is at this stage that the world will know who is playing who, when and where and the pressure for tickets will really intensify. All valid ticket applications received during this time will again go into a global random draw which will take place on 1 February 2010. Confirmation of successful applications will be notified approximately 72 hours after this draw.

9 February 2010 – 1 April 2010 Again, valid applications will be accepted and fulfilled on a ‘first come, first served’ basis – subject to availability for the match/es and the ticket category/ies applied for. Confirmation of successful applications will be notified within approximately 10 working days.

The fifth and final ‘Last Minute’ tickets sales phase will open on 15 April 2010 and remain open until the Final is played on 11 July 2010. Tickets will be purchased ‘real-time’ on a first come first served basis via www.fifa.com and over the counter at to-be-announced locations across South Africa.

Info was found at the great Shine 2010 website.

Popularity: 10% [?]

I know this isn’t new but I cannot stop listening to Seether, a South African band, covering Careless Whisper by George Michael.

This is one of my alltime favourite songs for a very specific reason. Apparently when George Michael wrote this song he was about 17. That absolutely blows my mind. At about 17 he did more than most people will do in their entire lives. Astounding.

This cover, in my humble opinion, does the original song justice. Seether puts a huge amount of emotion in to the song. My favourite section:

“Tonight the music seems so loud, I wish that we could lose this crowd, maybe it’s better this way, we hurt eachother with things we wanna say.”

For some entertainment value I’ve added in the original song and music video from WHAM!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Out of approximately 33 000 participating our very own South African food blogger, Cooksister sneaks in at number 46 on TimesOnline’s list of top 50 Food blogs around the world.

I think this is a sterling achievement and to be honest it seems as though Jeanne just can’t put a foot wrong with her little gem of a blog.

Last year it won various SA Blog Awards and is a shoe-in to do the same this year amongst many, many other awards.

I am extremely lucky and proud to have her as a regular blogger right here on SA Rocks!

Please head over to her Author page to read more of her blog posts on this blog and head over to Cooksister, the website, to show your support and gain some valuable cooking knowledge.

Popularity: 12% [?]