Travel Update
| 10 September 2009
Greatings from "The Motherland" I just wanted to let everyone know I will be updating the web site very soon- there are so many things to write about- internet has been a real challange in Africa- for example... using a computer that does not have MS Word- or a basic picture resizer..hmmmm
Anyway- looking very forward to filling in all the gaps!
Soon to be posted will be-
Cooking with Martha (part III)
Exploring the Bushman Caves
The Lake Lodge (the flying toaster sand trapped!)
The Road through Botswana
Sun City (KFC Boyz)
.....on to JoBurg
More Cooking Adventures with Martha (Part II)
| 04 September 2009
More Adventures in the Kitchen with Martha!
Ben was getting hungry for lunch and I knew the only thing that would satisfy was a Namibian version of the famous Stray Dog!
Starting with Kudu sausage (a wild game antelope with big spiral horns..about 700 lb animal!) I added my standard onions, garlic and roasted red bell peppers and piled it high
on a toasted bun.
A drizzle of olive oil and some nice basil chips set off the plate!
Our next culinary endeavor is an Ostrich Omelet!
Tambuti is full of ostrich and for a special breakfast treat Larry will go and get one for the guest’s breakfast.
Unfortunately, they weren’t using the right pan and the only flavors were “Cheese” or “No Cheese”.
After a few tries, this is what we came up with!
Cooking with Martha (part 1)
| 04 September 2009
Someone’s in the Kitchen with Martha…
Larry’s cook, a woman named Martha, is a fine cook. She makes great spaghetti, baked chicken, hamburgers and these light, fluffy biscuits that just melt in your mouth.
Unfortunately, that’s about all she cooks.
It’s not her fault – I’m sure she can cook tons of things that are very traditional and would be very unpleasing to most of Larry’s American and European guests – it’s just that Larry has never really taught her anything besides a few basic dishes.
So, I’m going to do something that I’ve never attempted before and would never attempt at home.
I’m going to turn Martha into a No. 1 Camp Chef in just a few short days. One reason I think this will work is that Martha has an amazing ability to replicate anything she sees once. Also, we are writing EVERYTHING down and taking lots and lots and lots of pictures of it.
It may not taste like it came out of my kitchen but I can assure you that it will look like it did!
I think that a quick adjustment here and there with salt and pepper that Larry can do before serving and a nicely presented plate will go a long way towards improving Tambuti’s menu!
Larry, who recently fed spaghetti to a visiting German prince, has been very happy with the food Martha and I have come up with so far so I think we’ll be in good shape.
Two nights ago I did a braised leg of warthog that came out like a nice pork roast and last night I did a coffee-encrusted Zebra loin.
For the Zebra loin I combined cinnamon, cumin and ground coffee and rubbed down the Zebra loin with it. Then I cooked it in the skillet with Namibian extra virgin olive oil and some butter. After letting it rest I sliced it and as you can see from the picture it looks quite similar to beef tenderloin! Of course, we served it with a bottle from our friends at Stellekaya – an excellent 2005 Shiraz that won a Silver Medal at the 2007 Michaelangelo International Wine Awards. Ben, who hates Shiraz even raved about it!
The texture of Zebra was similar to kangaroo or beef top round, but just excellent all the way around! Also, one of the healthiest cuts of meat you can eat…
Today I showed Martha several things to do with leftover bread. The bread she bakes is great and so far we’ve made French toast (come on, you know the tourists will love that!) and a bread pudding that would delight any New Orleans jazz man who happened to be lost in Africa!
