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Contents
What to expect inside… please come on a journey with me…
| CONVERSION TABLE | |
| ml to cup and spoon converter | |
| 250ml | 1 cup |
| 15ml | 1 tablespoon |
| 30 ml | 2 tablespoons |
| 5ml | 1 teaspoon |
| 10ml | 2 teaspoons |
| Temperature converter – Celsius to Fahrenheit | |
| 150 °C | 300 °F |
| 180 °C | 350 °F |
| 195 °C | 375 °F |
| 220 °C | 425 °F |
One of the brilliant features of this cookbook are the QR codes that enable you to watch quick videos of me making the recipes*. To use them, just follow these easy steps:
1. Download a QR code reader to your smartphone from an app store.
2. Open the QR code reader and hold your phone over a code – it must be clearly visible on your smartphone’s screen. Your phone will either scan the code automatically or you’ll be prompted to take a snap of it.
3. Your smartphone will then navigate you to the video.
4. Alternatively, click on the QR code to access the video online.
* Some recipe preparations and presentations vary slightly from those in the book.
NB! International readers please note that cake wheat flour may be substituted with all-purpose flours.
BREAKFAST + BRUNCH + LUNCH + CANAPÉS
MEAT + POULTRY
SEAFOOD
DIPS + RUBS + MARINADES + PASTES + DRESSINGS
DRINKS + COCKTAILS
SOMETHING SWEET
LOCAL IS LEKKER
One of my early memories is of sitting at our kitchen table at home, watching my mother make umphokoqo, a light, crumbly mealie porridge. She took a pinch of salt, weighed it in her hand and added it to the water. When I asked how she measured the salt, she shrugged and said, ‘You just feel it with your hand.’
It was the kind of answer my mother typically gave, drawing on experience and the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of all the women who came before her. There are some things she just knew. That’s why we called her Mthombo wo lwazi, the well of wisdom.
I think this was how cooking captured my heart. Although I did not think of it in so many words, then, I was fascinated by the strange intertwining of chemistry and instinct that reigned in a kitchen. I wanted to know how my mother did it and I wanted to do it too.
We cooked traditional food at home – always rice or samp and beans, meat, gravy and at least three vegetables. But don’t be fooled, these simple ingredients saw so many new variations and twists that it was easily possible to believe that my mother was a magician.
This is really the crux of it: food is all about family and friends, and putting your heart into preparing a meal is the same as presenting them with a wonderful gift. Food prepared with care says, ‘I love you’, and tastes even better when shared with our nearest and dearest.
I grew up in Mdantsane, a township outside East London, in a large family – I am the youngest of six children, plus two adopted siblings, which makes us eight – deeply rooted in the Christian tradition of giving and sharing. My mom, Noliza Mnwana, a teacher, was big on education. She constantly reminded us that lilifa lethu, it’s our true inheritance, that no one can take away from us. My father, Mncedisi Mnwana, who was a supervisor at a leather goods manufacturing company, was concerned with finding peace and meaning in one’s life.
AS A TEENAGER, I REGULARLY COOKED OUR FAMILY MEALS
As a teenager, I regularly cooked our family meals. My parents were intrigued by my enthusiasm, but were a little shocked when I broke the news that I was planning a career in the food industry. My mother, especially, thought that it could mean only one thing: cooking for a white madam in a suburban kitchen somewhere. Celebrity and TV chefs hadn’t really arrived in South Africa yet.
My father, who knew that I was passionate about food, was more sympathetic. He believed that it was important for me to study something I loved doing. That way, he said, I would never feel I was working and things would just flow and be easy. His mediation persuaded my mother to let me do my Food and Consumer Sciences degree at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town in 2003. I majored in Food, Food Science and Nutrition. This comforted my mom as she felt that studying the theory of nutrition would come in handy once I had kids. They’re both extremely proud of my achievements so far; and are relieved that allowing me to follow my passion has turned out better than they could have dreamt.
I met my husband, Brian Mtongana, while studying in Cape Town. It was the beginning of a life-long friendship, partnership and love affair – even if my parents did make him wait seven years to marry me! He has been my biggest supporter from my early days as an assistant lecturer at university, during my time as a food editor, my first and subsequent TV shows and now, most importantly, in publishing this book. He has contributed massively to achieving this shared dream. And, best of all, we