MONDAY: Bring it on ( with a juicy steak)

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Back to reality! After a relaxed weekend on the ranch we are back in Windhoek with the children back to school. For months during this pandemic, we had the children in our Kalahari kitchen, working online and filling the house with laughter and dirty dishes! The girls baked and experimented with new recipes and Janneman Jnr loved break time with freshly baked muffins and banana bread. No rushing between school and activities, lazy mornings on the porch watching the herd of sable drinking water and reflecting on a year that has been turned on its head.

Now it is early frantic mornings, grabbing a cup of coffee and off to school with a boring lunch pack. Yes, I love to cook and I love food but I do not like packing a lunch box for school breaktime! I cannot think past a peanut butter sandwich, an apple and a bag of cheddars. Lorene has long decided that she is better off with no lunch for break time. Luckily they are home at lunch ( school closes at 1pm) and mom can prepare a healthy meal for her starving teenagers ( before we rush off again to netbal, rugby, golf and track practice).

As it is Monday, and I am still in ranch-relaxed-mode, I am keeping lunch simple and yet it is always a family favorite. Juicy steak, crispy chips or some garlic mashed potato and an easy creamy mushroom gravy sauce with a great big whack of pepper to it. It’s a classic combination, quick and easy to make.

The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
~ Socrates

Here in Namibia we are exceedingly blessed to enjoy Kudu, Oryx, Springbuck, Eland but to mention a few of the 18 different plains game roaming free on our Kalahari ranch. For today’s meal, I am using a matured eland fillet. Venison is one on the easiest and quickest of meats to cook. Treat it similarly to a good cut of beef and keep the flavors basic and simple. Hero the meat and do not overload it with too many spices and sauces.

I am of the opinion that the simpler the seasonings the better, especially with with the tender cuts as the tenderloin and back strap of the animal. Seasoned liberally with salt and pepper and cooked over high heat with a little olive oil is the best eating you can desire ( especially on a Monday afternoon!) Allow to rest a few minutes before slicing and then serve with potato chips and this delicious mushroom sauce. Happy kids! Happy mom! Happy Monday.

Recipe on next page.

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Love of Food

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Over 25 years ago, Dr. Gary Chapman penned the New York Times bestseller “The 5 Love Languages.” It was a revolutionary concept that’s still relevant today, and in case you haven’t read the book ( I can really really recommend it!) here are the cliff notes: humans express love and want to feel loved in return in five different ways — words of affirmation, receiving gifts, acts of service, quality time, and physical touch.

Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.

A Ian D. Wolfelt

Here’s the modern-day twist: some experts believe there’s a sixth omnipotent love language — food. “Food incorporates all the other five languages and all five senses. It’s a very powerful way of creating a connection and expressing love,” relationship and human behavior expert Patrick Wanis, Ph.D. says. I cannot agree more!!

I love this! Yes! Quality time along with food is my love language! What can be better than sitting around a beautifully set table with your loved ones, a delicious homemade meal and sharing life together!!!

The love language of food has a way of bringing down walls, because you’re less guarded and more trusting when sharing a meal.

So on this Saturday, I am setting a table under the Camelthorn tree and lighting the candles for an intimate dinner under the starry Milkyway. Dinner with my loved ones. My love language in action.

As Easy as Pie

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I am a city girl. I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa in a non-hunting family. I have never tasted venison until I married Janneman, moved to the family ranch and it became part of our daily diet. I had to call my mother-in-law to ask her how to cook the unfamiliar meat in my freezer. Yes, I was clueless! But what a delightful introduction. Over the past 20 years, I have come to love cooking with venison and it has become the king of meats in my Kalahari kitchen.

Knowing where your meat comes from is so necessary these days. Venison is the healthiest of all meats. Venison is low in fat and an extremely good source of protein. It has twice as much iron as beef and lamb, is easily digested and is full of essential omega 3 fatty acids. Venison is often maligned for being extremely lean, and therefore dry. I believe that, with proper preparation and cooking methods, venison can be lifted to glorious heights.

Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are.

Oscar Wilde

A delicious way to make the most of your venison meat in season, is to make a homemade pie. So easy to prepare ( easy as pie!), it freezes perfectly, this venison and mushroom pie will fast become a family favourite. Ideal for using up all the leftover venison cuts in your freezer, these individual deep pot pies are creamy, comforting and full of flavour.

This is really a beautiful venison pie and the kind of dish that makes me dream of good home cooking. The venison will cook to be delicious, tender and sumptuous. When topped with flaky puff pastry, what can be better on a spring ( or fall) afternoon. After all these years of cooking, a meal like this still gets my pulse racing, yes, even as a former city girl. Recipe on next page.

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The Best Time for New Beginnings (and cake) is now.

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Good morning from a beautiful flourishing Kalahari. Everything is in bloom and spring is jumping and skipping through the savannah landscape. Thorn bushes are softened by blossoms, and the night echoes to the calls of amorous barking geckos (the quintessential sound of the Kalahari). Meerkat pups venture outside their dens for the first time, gemsbuck calves and springbuck lambs frolic in the dry grass. There is a palpable sense of anticipation as we await the summer rains.

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Isaiah 35:1

Yes, it is a challenging year and we are all ready for change and new beginnings. Everywhere I go, I cut off a flowering branch full of blossoms, as a reminder that spring is a period of renewed beauty. Spring breathes upon us the spirit of hope and promise. There is the realization of new beginnings, new energies, and new life.

So today I am celebrating all the beauty around me. We may have missed out on family gatherings, birthday celebrations and memorable events but still we baked! It seems like we were all #quarantinebaking through the coronavirus pandemic. On Instagram, Facebook and Youtube everyone is sharing their new baking skills and recipes. A scroll through my social media feeds is akin to a trip to a local bakery!

But, no matter the reason why everyone is baking ( for who needs to justify making an amazing cake), I am sharing my mother’s ultimate, best, amazing, easy carrot cake recipe with you. This is most probably the cake recipe that I have had the most recipes requests for. There isn’t another recipe that I’ve ever tried that even comes close to this carrot cake recipe for flavor, moistness, and texture. It is topped with an easy homemade cream cheese frosting. Yes, this is hands down the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. Period.

So if you are looking for an easy, delicious foolproof cake to turn your day into a joyous celebration, grab your apron. All I need today is an excuse to sit on the porch with a cup of coffee, a big slice of moist carrot cake and a heart of thankfulness because of a new season.

Recipe on next page to ensure easy sharing and printing. Happy baking!

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Lasagna like Nonna makes it!

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I am a pasta lover. Any shape or size of pasta…everyday is a good pasta day. This is a classic recipe of one of the most loved foods in the world. Yes, the ultimate comfort food in my Kalahari kitchen is definitely homemade lasagna. If I do not know what to prepare for dinner or how to feed an army of hungry teenagers, I will most probably be turning to this delicious dish. And with organic venison ground meat always in my freezer, it is the perfect to-go-to recipe.

A big warm comforting hug within layers of homemade pasta, tomato sauce, white sauce and melted cheese ( no ricotta needed). Crispy edges, a gooey, cheesy centre, perfectly cooked fresh lasagna pasta sheets in between a creamy parmesan white sauce and an abundance of cheese. That definitely spells deliciousness!

I’d much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size O.

Sophia Loren

I also want to note that this recipe isn’t difficult at all to make technique-wise. It just requires a solid hour or so of prep time as I believe the secret is in the simmering of the meat sauce until it has a rich thick consistency. So find an evening when you’re not in a rush, turn on some music, maybe pour yourself a glass of wine or some good fizzy water, and let’s make a pan of the most delicious lasagna together.

We love making it a whole family affair…. like the Italians do! Adding the flour and eggs, kneading the pasta dough until smooth and silky and then rolling it out as thin as possible. A pasta machine works great for this! Let the pasta sheets rest and then you are ready to assemble a great lasagna! And if you are in a rush ( or the teenagers are running around ravenously), you can make use of store-bought lasagna sheets. Either way, I’m certain you’re going to love it.

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