The intrepidfoodie in Botswana part 2

Delicious spread at Muchenje Lodge

Muchenje

This is a rustic looking lodge that is set on the escarpment overlooking the Caprivi Strip which has many animals grazing on it. The central area is open to the cooling breeze.

Muchenje then took us on a game drive into the Chobe National Park along the river. The guide K.G was very knowledgeable and answered all questions. Down on the floodplain we saw many Zebra, and stopped to watch Giraffe and Elephant. We also had some Kudu pass really close to the game drive vehicle. There were many beautiful dusty crimson carmine bee-eaters flying around. We also saw white and green bee-eaters as well as fish eagles and a bateleur. On our way out after sundowners, Bishard saw a Leopard, so we screeched to a halt and managed to get a good look at it although no good pics as the light was fading. We then returned to camp.

Dinner consisted of a wonderful cheese soufflé, main fillet of beef and local bream – a Botswana surf n turf with pasta or mash and veg. Pudding was a lovely sticky date pudding.

Chobe Game Lodge

One of the Chefs at Chobe Game Lodge preparing spuds

Chipo our guide met us at the airport. We saw a huge herd of 60 plus Sable going to Chobe Game Lodge – these are quite rare so I was really excited. Chobe Game Lodge is a 46 room hotel which is famous as the site where Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton for the second time. It has lush tropical gardens. It is surrounded by an electric fence and it is safe to walk around. The hotel does feel retro and 60s. It was one of the hottest days on our trip and I think we were all grateful to see air-conditioning in the rooms – this ended up being a bit of a theme, although we acclimatised somewhat to the heat.

They laid on a huge buffet lunch with a wide selection of salads, hot main meals, roasts and desserts. After lunch we rolled ourselves around the hotel for our site inspection. The hotel has a weights room with a treadmill that is air-conditioned and a treatment room where they do spa treatments. The hotel has a range of rooms, including doubles, twins and lovely private suites with bright lounge areas, and a patio area with its own plunge pool. The pool area is lovely and has a tropical feel with palms and bananas. Warthogs are the resident lawnmowers and you can approach quite close. There is also an aged tame bushbuck that you can stroke. We then had high tea, followed by another boat ride up the Chobe which was almost identical to the one we went on at Savannah. Our Guide Chipo tried hard to try and find new fact to tell us when she discovered that we had heard most of it before on the previous boat ride. Once again Elephant dominated the floodplain.

A range of traditional dishes at Chobe Game Lodge

That night they had a Boma evening with a wide range of braaied items traditional dishes and live entertainment with the marimba band. I tried Botswana’s national dish Seswa which was very tasty. It was someone’s birthday, so the staff sang several traditional songs and presented him with a cake a la  Spur style – but more authentic. I liked this lodge but to me it was more of a hotel and did not give me that safari feel.

Xaxanaka

Barbaras delicious Chiffon Cake with pineapple and cream

We drove to Xaxanaka Camp crossing a deep fjord where the water almost went over the bonnet. We arrived early and rested in the main reception area till the rooms had been made up. This camp has a reception portico that has a curio shop and the manager’s office. You then cross an open area to the main reception rooms which are right on one of the main channels of the Delta. All the reception rooms are strung out along the water. They are all open and shaded by huge Sausage and marula trees. They have a lovely boma area right out over the water and an open bar. The lounge had lush African furnishings and the entire main area is lit by paraffin lamps at night creating a romantic atmosphere.

Ubiquitous Impala are actually very photogenic - Photo Leigh Kemp

The relief managers Barbara and Bruce were very welcoming and engaging hosts. They had a great rapport with their staff and the camp functioned really well. The homemade lemonade, and especially the rusks and biscuits were delicious. There are a couple of groups of bushbuck that wander the camp and one mother and her fawn seemed to be living under the platform of our tented suite. The suites are built on raised wooden decks. They are canvass and have a view over the channel. The openness allows them to be breezy. They have a bathroom at the back with a shower.

My first sighting of Lechwe

Lunch was a sumptuous affair with tasty Okavango Bream, Lasagne and a range of delicious salads. We had some time to relax and explore camp -which has many large trees, including Baobabs. After this we had a delicious high tea. We had a Chiffon Cake with whipped cream and canned pineapple as well as pizza and a range of iced teas.

We then went on a boat ride. This area of the Delta is characterised by pampas grass and reminded me of marshes in Europe rather than the papyrus fringed channels that I was expecting. We came across an elephant ear deep in the delta eating water plants and reeds. We had sundowners before heading back to camp. Approaching from the water, the whole camp was lit up with paraffin lamps and looked romantic and inviting, creating a calm and peaceful oasis. There was a storm brewing and a cool breeze had sprung up. The birdlife in camp was great too – I even saw Hoopoe and on the game drive in the morning we saw an Arnots Chat.

Dinner was lovely with a chilled tomato soup that was very refreshing. The main meal was served as a buffet with succulent tender lamb roast with roast potatoes and veggies. Pudding was a rich chocolate tart.

In the morning Bruce took us on a game drive. His tracking skills are superb, every print he saw he could identify at once. We came across a fairly big pride of Lions. We were after the wild dogs, but all we saw were their tracks. He drove us right into the middle of a herd of buffalo that numbered in their hundreds which was awesome.

A Male Lion we saw - this one was in the Khwai area

We returned to a decadent brunch with eggs to order, bacon and sausages, pizza, cottage pie, salads and cheese boards. We then headed to the airport where we caught two four seaters operated by safari air to Xugana. Then a short boat ride through the papyrus channels that feels like what I imagined the Delta to be like. The channel suddenly opened out into a wide open lagoon, and the camp was located on the other side.

The intrepid foodie on safari in Botswana

Lioness in Chobe Game Reserve

I work for an internet travel company called Siyabona Africa. I spend most of my days writing about hotels and destinations in Africa without ever actually seeing any of these places. I just do internet research and write about places based on what the marketing people tell me. Well recently my boss decided that the website team should get out into the bush and see what its like so that they can really know what they were doing.

Now I grew up in Zimbabwe, and have spent a lot of time in the bush, but Botswana was a whole different experience. Botswana is an exclusive destination, and I would never have been able to afford to stay at any of these lodges. I am truly thankful to have gone on this trip!

Below is a summary of my experiences. Be warned, it’s long, but I think I’ll break it up into a series so it’s easier to read!

We visited many lodges – over 25 in ten days. I am not going to write about the ones we just went and looked at, but will focus on the ones that we actually stayed in. Below are excerpted from my diary. I tried to write about the food as we went along, so this post will still have a foodie theme.

After flight cancellations and lots of stress – Zambezi Airways – they had their licence taken away! Enough said…we arrived in Livingstone and crossed the border into Zimbabwe. We saw the Victoria Falls which was amazing, as always. That night I stayed at Imbambala camp up on the border with Botswana.

Imbambala

Imbambala Lodge Zimbabwe

We arrive in camp and see a herd of about 60 Impala that are near permanent residents in camp. They feed on the grass and sleep under the spotlights at night. The thatched main lodge is situated in tropical gardens and is shaded by large riverine trees which provide ample shade and the camp has a sweeping view over the mighty Zambezi.

The whole place is unfenced and game wanders through all the time. We had a lovely dinner of Quiche, followed by a delicious Chicken Casserole cooked in a potjie and Rice. They had lovely homemade pickles, including curried carrots and a delicious three bean salad. They grow a lot of their own produce; make their own bread which is delicious and do all their own jams and chutneys – all of which were delicious! We had Crepe Suzette for Dessert.

Breakfast at Imbambala

Afterwards the camp manager Karen, who I incredibly welcoming and a real salt of the earth type arranged a night game drive for us. We saw very little except Elephant behind just about every bush.

When we arrived back in camp, right where we parked a young bull Elephant was waiting and he charged the vehicle before he decided that it was bigger than him and scuttled off like a scolded puppy.

Breakfast was a sumptuous affair with a full cooked English breakfast as well as cereals and fruit salad as well as Pizza! We dined like kings throughout this whole trip!

Chobe Savanna Lodge

Chobe Elephants

The next day we crossed into Botswana and saw several lodges. But we were staying at Chobe Savanna which is actually in Namibia.  Four countries meet here and on the Zambezi River you can go to a place where you are technically in four countries at once. So in one day I gained six stamps in my passport. We then boated up river, seeing herd after herd after herd of Elephants as far as the eye can see, as we headed up river.

This lodge has a stunning location on an island in the middle of the river. The lodge has panoramic views over the floodplains and Elephants wandered by. We were entertained by the staff singing welcome songs and dancing as we arrived. The chalets are enclosed and air-conditioned – much to the delight on many of our team as it had hit 40 degrees!

Elephants stretching into the distance in Chobe

We had a high tea of sandwiches and cake (sadly the sandwiches were dry – sitting out in that heat, I suppose that was understandable) before heading out on an evening boat cruise.

We watched African Skimmers fishing – which was truly something wonderful as they skim the water with their beaks while doing fantastic flying manoeuvres. We saw many more Elephant, Waterbuck, Impala, and buffalo. We then showered before enjoying drinks in the upstairs bar. The resident genet was sitting in the corner keenly observing us all.

Dinner was braai cooked on the grill – I much prefer it cooked over a wood fire. It was served with pap and veggies. The pork chops and sirloin were very good though, and verified all I had heard about meat in Botswana (the meat was from Botswana, although we were technically in Namibia – it gets a bit confusing when you’re travelling around Chobe!) We gratefully went to sleep blissfully cool in our air-conditioned rooms.

I think that that will be it for the first part. I still have at least 6 places to tell you about so look out for part 2! I hope you enjoy reading about my time in Botswana.

A cooking poem

Tod I was feeling nostalgic and suddenly remembered a poem I won a prize for in high school when I was 16 about cooking in my Grans kitchen. I’m many ways there’s more me and more fiction in the poem, but the sentiment was real. On the menu Spaghetti Napolitan and Chocolate Brownies.

GRANDMOTHER’S KITCHEN
Standing on the brink of the pine doorway,
Tasting the melody of scents upon the air.
Sweet Basil, Sage, Oregano and tomato.
The alchemy of my grandmothers kitchen.
I creep forward, her back is turned.
In another saucepan,
Chocolate melted mahogany gold and espresso
Watching her whisk the egg whites mechanically.
Then delicately folding batter light as steam.
She turns and smiles, when she sees my creeping hand.
Beckoning me forward, I receive a biscuit,
Then put to work, kneading the dough over and over.
Free range eggs and flour left for an hour.
Silky velvet, elastic after time elapsed.
Trough the machine pouring out golden straw.
Then boiled and Gran adds her secret,
Acidic paste of red, sunshine condensed.
She laughs at a comment I make,
The edges fade ever into haze.
Her scent of roses and sugar refuse to linger.
Yet I still remember her catching my finger,
In her melted chocolate.
Yet her knowledge and passion remain,
The hours devoted, coveted.
Spending time in rewarding alchemy.

Michael English : 2005

Julie Goodwin’s Apricot Sour Cream Cake

Sour-Cream-Apricot-Cake

I really enjoyed the first season of Australian Masterchef and have been following the winner Julie Goodwin. Her recipes are generally great. I thought that this looked really good. Decadent – yes, but worth the extra walk/gym time. I think that it might be improved by substituting dried apricots – just soak them in a bit of warm water before hand.

Serves 8 Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients
125g butter
¾ cup (165g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups (320g) sour cream
400g can apricot halves, drained and chopped
2 ¼ cups self-raising flour
½ a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 cup (200g) white choc chips or white chocolate chopped

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180 ° C or 160 ° C fan forced. Grease a 25cm bundt tin well.

2 Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer till pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition.

3 fold in 1 cup (240g) of the sour cream and the chopped apricots, followed by the sifted flour and bicarb. The batter will be thick. Spoon into your prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for about 40 min till golden and springy and coming away from the side of the pan. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4 For the icing combine the remaining sour cream and chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute. Stir half way through. Do it a little longer if it does not all melt. Cool slightly and allow it to start thickening before pouring over the cooled cake.

Scrunchies

This is such an awesome recipe that I just had to share t with you. Sadly my pics got deleated, but I’ll upload them I make these again. They are really worth it.

This recipe comes from an old little paperback from1956 called cook with Confidence by the Methodist Women’s Auxillary. The recipe intrigued me so I decided to give it a go and I can honestly say that this is the best Crunchy recipe that I have found. These have just the right combination of chewiness and crispness.

Ingredients
180g butter
1 Tablespoon of Syrup
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Melt all the above in a pot over a low heat and pour into the dry ingredients

2 cups of oats
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of coconut
1 cup of flour

Mix together with the melted butter mix. Line a swiss roll pan with baking paper and press the mixture in. Bake at 180 ° C for FIVE minutes. TURN OFF the oven. Leave the scrunchies in for another 25 min till they are nice and golden.

Jane Grigson’s Gingerbread – dark and sticky

Dark and sticky Gingerbread

Hi everyone, sorry I have not posted in a while. Work has literally taken over my life and the brief time when I am not working, I bake. Once that is done I’m knackered, and the thought of typing up a post has been a bit much. So here is a quick post on something I recently made.

This is a wonderful dark, sticky luscious gingerbread. Its one of the best I’ve had. I’ll try to post more regularly but will be away for a month at the end of October as I am hopefully going on a tour of Botswana and Zimbabwe. I hope you’ll give this a try, especially if you like gingerbread.

Ingredients
4 oz 125g butter
4 oz 125g Demerara sugar
2 eggs
10oz 300g black treacle – I used back strap molasses
8 oz 240g flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I added 2 as I like it really gingery)
I also added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon which is not in the original recipe
2 oz 60g sultanas – I left them out as I feel that sultanas have no place in gingerbread
2 oz 60g preserved ginger chopped
2 tablespoons of milk
½ a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Method
Cream the butter, add the sugar and beat for a minute. Mix in the eggs and treacle. Sift in the flour, ground ginger and cinnamon. Add in the chopped ginger and sultanas if using.

Warm the milk slightly and add the bicarb, stir and pour into the batter. Mix well.

Pour into a 7inch cake tin lined with baking paper, or buttered and floured. Bake at 180 ° C for 1 ½ hours if you want it sticky. And 1 ¾ hours if you want it drier. If you take it out earlier it will often sink in the middle, but the stickiness more than makes up for it.

 

 

The Biscuit Mill

Freshly baked goods at the Biscuit Mill

People are hustling and busting and I am struck by the heady scent of freshly brewed coffee- is there any more evocative scent? There are spices and the smell of frying onions on the air promising good things to come. Right at the entrance is the flower stall with a vast array of spring flowers, irises, proteas, roses, poppies and freesia create a colorful display of welcome. This is Cape Town’s premier foodie destination, the Neighborhood Goods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock. Its one of my favorite foodie places to visit.

Wonderful Cheese at the Biscuit Mill

This food market may not have much on what is on offer overseas, or so I am told – I’ve yet to find out though its on my to do list! I enjoy going to the market, especially if you can manage to get there a bit earlier before the crowds really get bad. I love exploring all the stalls.

Flowers at the entrance to the Biscuit Mill

My favorites have to be the Belgian stand which sells thick waffles and decadent looking tarts. I have to say they look divine, promising the world, but I’ve been let down on the flavor front. I had a good laugh at the proprietor who was putting on a show, miming to the Beatles song that was playing over the radio. Complete with jazzy dance moves, kicks and spatula waving, how could one not love that king of enthusiasm?

Decadent Desserts

There are many different kinds of cuisine on offer through the back, from Chinese to huge Spanish paellas, sushi and fresh seafood; just about any craving can be met. This is definitely somewhere you want to visit hungry and with a full wallet! It can be a bit pricy, but there are some gems around. I bought some fantastic Oyster Mushrooms and Enoki from the Funki Fungi stand, which also sells delicious mushroom skewers. I tried a delicious and feather light raisin Danish, and bought some Ras el Hanut which I am dying to try.

Roast Tomato and Caramalised Balsamic Onion Tarts

I always enjoy my visits. Some of my friends are put off by the crowds and the lack of parking. The car guards charge exorbitant prices for looking after your car R 20 is ridiculous! But I felt obligated to pay as the guy was rather menacing. The parking should be free, and its voluntary what we give them. Yet here they fight over territory and demand these prices that we all seem to be paying. That was the only dampener on my day.

The Neighbourhood Goods Market takes place every Saturday Morning at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock Cape Town.

Review – The year of eating dangerously by Tom Parker Bowles

The year of eating dangerously by Tom Parker Bowles

Sorry its been awhile, work seems to be taking over my life! What little cooking I have done has been stuff I’ve already posted on here such as my sour cream and apple cake. I have also tried several recipes for doughnuts and have been disappointed – including George Colombaris’s from Masterchef Australia. I still haven’t figured out what I did wrong. I think my oil was either too cold or too hot. They were too dark and really dripped oil! Not nice. Any way without much on the baking front I thought I’d share with you a foodie book I’ve recently finished.

Tom Parker Bowles (yes Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall’s son from her first marriage) is a British food writer and critic. I have read some of his columns and always enjoyed them. When I saw his book The Year of Eating Dangerously, I was intrigued. He sets himself a goal, to go around the world eating some of the strangest and foulest concoctions we humans eat. The book is by turns hilarious and cringe inducing, almost likely to put you off dinner – nah never! But definitely aghhhh inducing.

He starts innocently enough with elvers or baby eels. It is supposed to be quite dangerous procuring these elvers and he is somewhat trepidations. A self confessed coward with a poor stomach I’m surprised that he set himself such a mission. The elver catching turned out to be very tame – not so other encounters. I particularly enjoyed his account of his time at the Fiery Foods Show in New Mexico where he decided to try chilli extracts. Now normal chillies are measured in scovilles. Now a normal jalapeno is around 2000 scovilles well there are extracts that go up to 7 million scovilles!!!! You apparently have to sign medical disclaimers. Now Tom decides, when drunk to try one of these extracts and the out-of-body experience he describes in hilarious! Needless to say he is a serious chilli head and I would not be able to stand half the things he slugged down!

There are truly horrific moments. He claims the worst thing he ate was silk worm pupae which he says was worse than many of the other unmentionable things he ate. The one thing he tasted, more under duress because he went all the way to do so was dog. Now as much as he was defending himself at this point, I really struggled to get myself to finish the book after this incident in Korea. As much as I love reading culinary adventure stories, dog is going way to far, and even reading about it made me feel quite ill!

I struggled on, but had lost my sense of fun and humor with the book after this point. Up till that point I really enjoyed it. I take pleasure in learning about these different cuisines, even the weird and wonderful aspects of them. If you like these sorts of books, then I think you will enjoy this one, but if you have a vivid imagination, then I’d pass.

Another Sour Cream Apple Cake

Sour-Cream-Apple-Cake

I have grown very fond of apple cakes and am always trying new recipes. I love putting sour cream in them as it always produces a wonderful crumb and stays really moist. I came across this recipe from an old Woman and Home. The picture looked appealing so I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately our tea guests had to cancel, that’s unfortunate for them that is. Its Sunday lunchtime and the cake’s gone – I made it on Friday night, so that’s an indication of how good it is. This cake is lovely with a bit of Crème Fraiche for tea or as a dessert. While I prefer Chanterelle’s recipe, this one is easier and is very good.

Ingredients
2 cooking apples such as Granny smiths peeled and cored
125g 41/2 oz butter, softened PLUS 1 tbsp melted to brush on top
125g 41/2 oz castor sugar
2 free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g (7oz) plain flour
11/2 tsp baking powder
11/2 tsp ground cinnamon
100g (4oz) sour cream or crème fraiche
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp apricot jam, warmed

You will need a 23 cm 9inch tin oiled an the bottom lined with baking paper

Method
1)      Preheat the oven to 180° C, or 160° C fan forced. Chop 1 apple into small chunks and finely slice the other.
2)      Beat the butter and castor sugar until light and creamy, then gradually beat in the eggs.
3)      Stir in the vanilla extract, flour, baking powder and 1 tbsp of the cinnamon and the sour cream or crème fraiche until smooth.
4)      Stir in the chopped apple. Spread the mixture into the tin. Smooth over the top and arrange the sliced apples in a circular pattern over the top.
5)      Mix the melted butter and granulated brown sugar with the remaining cinnamon and spread over the top of the cake.
6)      Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the cake is risen, golden and firm to the touch.
7)      Remove and cool on a wire rack. When cool, glaze with the warm apricot jam.
8)      Serve in wedges with cream or with custard as a dessert!

Carrot, Pecan and Apricot Cake

Carrot, Pecan and Apricot Cake

So after a lot of sugar and fattening stuff lately, this is supposed to be a slightly healthier cake, but not by much. My tasters were not bowled over by it, but I liked its slight heaviness from the whole meal flour and the tart cheesiness of the topping suited me too. Most would prefer a sweeter icing, in that case use the icing from my apple spice cake recipe. I hope some of you will give this a go; I especially love the tartness of the apricots and the earthiness of the pecans. Next time I might add a few raisins for nostalgias sake as that’s what my Gran always put in Carrot Cake

Ingredients
200 g wholemeal flour
1 tbs ground mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150ml sunflower oil
175g soft dark brown sugar
3 eggs beaten
Grated rind of 1 orange
125g pecan nuts chopped
125g dried apricots chopped
200g grated carrots

Topping
225g cream cheese
2tbsp clear honey
1 orange (1/2 zested, ½ thinly pared rind

Method
1) Mix the flour, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda in a large mixing bowl.
2) Measure the oil into a jug, add the sugar and eggs and stir together till smooth.
3) Beat the egg mix into the dry ingredients until well combined, then fold in the orange rind, nuts, apricots and carrots.
4) Pour the mix into a greased and lined 900g loaf tin and bake at 150° C for 1hr 20 min, until well risen and firm to the touch. (I reduced the cooking time from 1 45 – 2 hours)
5) Allow to cool a few minutes before turning out and cooling on a wire rack. When cool strip off the baking paper.
6) For the topping stir together the cream cheese, honey and orange zest till smooth.
7) Pile on top of the cake and spread evenly. Garnish the cake with strips of orange and lemon rind and a couple of lavender flowers or pecans if you prefer.
This cake keeps well for up to two weeks.