Tragic or hilarious?

Location:
Driving to work

What I heard:
I listen to a talk radio station while driving to work in the morning so I feel less alone - after all I am on the road at 5:15am every morning. So anyway, the topic of discussion was language barriers, particularly in the South African police force. For those of you who are not familiar with South Africa - we have 11 official languages! Eleven! A caller to the station said: "We went to the police station for an affidavit for my niece. And the police person asked is your niece a boy or girl?"

I was torn between laughing and crying.

A winning recipe - quite literally

Picture taken from the Eat In website. 

Location:
At home.

What I tasted:
Khadi Kitchri

I love the Eat-In website because I love to cook. It always inspires me to try new things. When they ran their Family Recipe competition, I entered and I won third place! Yay! To find the recipe, click here. Enjoy!


PS: And you will get to know my name behind the pseudonym.  

Spicing things up in the kitchen

Location:
At home.

What I tasted:

A friend was telling us about her recent honeymoon to Zanzibar and it made me recall a lovely Peas Curry with coconut milk I tasted there. My cravings hit the roof so I decided to make it when I got home, but I added potatoes too. I made the recipe just for myself so the amounts are tiny, you can adjust amounts accordingly. 

Potatoes and Peas curry with coconut milk

• Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped
2 handfuls of frozen peas, defrosted
1 small potato, cubed
1 small tomato, chopped
2 cardamom pods
1 piece of cinnamon stick
Half tsp salt
Half tsp powdered coriander
Half tsp powdered cumin
Half tsp chilli powder
Half tsp red masala (mixture of red chilli, garlic and ginger. The ratio is 2 parts chilli, to 1 part ginger and 1 part garlic)
Quarter tsp turmeric
Quarter tin of coconut milk
A little olive oil
Handful of fresh coriander

• Method

1. Heat the oil in a pot. Throw in the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods.
2. Once you get the smell of the spices, add your onions and fry until golden brown.
3. Add your spices (salt, turmeric, coriander, cumin, red masala and chilli powder) and stir fry till you get the aroma.
4. Add your peas and potatoes and some water and cook till the potatoes are three-quarters done.
5. Add the tomatoes and allow that to cook - 10 min or so should be fine.
6. Add the coconut milk and allow to simmer till you get the consistency you like.
7. Garnish with the fresh coriander, serve with rice and dig in!

Disclaimer: Please note, I hardly ever measure exact amounts. I usually eye ball the amounts and taste as I go along.

A burst of brightness

Location:
Outside my bedroom window.

What I saw:
What I love about the summer thunderstorms in Johannesburg - the chance of seeing rainbows! Now matter how old I get, it still leaves me struck with awe, on so many levels! And I thought I would share a picture with you:

Oops, what a mistake!

Location:
The lift of the shopping centre in which our offices are based.

What I heard:
The elevator doors opened and I stepped into it. A couple were already inside.The woman carried a baby in her arms. A man waiting for the other lift hurried to this one, asking if it was going down. I answered in the affirmative. He walked in and immediately began to coo at the baby:

"Oh, hello! What a big boy you are! Yes you are!"
The mother replied: "Actually, she is a girl."
She looked at me and said: "The ear rings on both ears should have given it away."  She followed with a slight, polite chuckle.

I nodded but I laughed so hard internally I could hear him continue to coo the baby, but his words failed to reach my ears. Upon closer inspection of the baby, I think the pink shoes with flowers should have even given the gender away too. Some people should really observe their surroundings before rushing to utter a word, eh?

People can be nice

Location:
Walking to my work offices

What I heard:
Our office is on the first floor of a shopping centre. Downstairs is a coffee shop. They are the only people at work before me, baking the muffins and other stuff. And I swear they are ALWAYS so chirper, talkative, cheerful and friendly. Sometimes I think they are getting high on all the caffeinated coffee. Case in point: as I walked on the first floor, a guy came out of the coffee shop downstairs, carrying all the chairs to set up outside. He greeted me with a very happy: "Good morning" and  "How are you?" And it felt really good to have this onslaught of niceness at that time of the morning.

Salads in the sun

Location:
A braai* at S.O's** house

What I tasted:
As one of a few vegetarians attending a braai, I love to make salads. I made this Mixed Bean salad over the weekend and I loved the freshness and lightness of it after a winter filled with soups, curries and other hearty foods. Here is the recipe:

• Ingredients: 

A few handfuls of baby spinach, washed, dried and roughly torn.
Cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
Cucumber, chopped
1 tin mixed beans, rinsed and drained
Feta cheese, crumbed

• Dressing: 

A few tablespoons of avocado oil
Juice of half a small lemon
A splash of white vinegar
Salt and black pepper
A handful of fresh coriander, washed and chopped

• Method:

Put the beans, cucumber, tomatoes and spinach in a bowl and toss. 

In another bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the dressing, pour over the salad and mix again thoroughly. 

Crumb the feta cheese over the top as a garnish. Serve immediately. 

Disclaimer: Please note, I hardly ever measure exact amounts when I make anything. I usually eye ball the amounts and taste as I go along. 

*Braai: A South African term for barbecue
**S.O: Significant Other

My Alice Moment

Location:
Driving to the place where I was going to tint my car windows.

What I saw:
Since I did not know where this place was, I was concentrating on looking out for the correct sign-age. Out of the corner of my eye, I seen a black blob in front of my car. Immediately I braked and upon closer inspection, I saw it was not a cat, but a wee 'lil black rabbit hopping across the road and a bird flew behind it. A rabbit jumping across the road in modern day suburbia? Quirky enough for my liking! And I played around with the idea that it was my Alice Moment of tumbling down the rabbit hole - except this rabbit was black, with no waist coat, glasses and pocket watch. Maybe I should have followed it too...

Chatter of cats

Location:
My work office park

What I heard:
Guys, meet The Cats Of The Office Park. On this very cold morning, as I walked from the car park to my office, I spied one of them huddling on the steps that lead into the main building. I have never seen this before-usually they're always outside! This particular cat was constantly meowing. So were the rest of the cats milling around the car park. I imagine the conversation went something like this:

Cat on the Stairs: "I don't want to leave. It is so much more warmer here!"
Other Cats: "But that is the people place. Come back!"
"No, you guys come here!"
"No we can't. You will get into trouble."
"Fine, don't come inside! Let me enjoy the warmth alone..Ahhh! So warm!"
Other Cats: If they had eyebrows, I imagine them raising it.

Some people can be so stupid

Location:
Driving to work

What I heard:
The (dumb) DJ starts talking about how excited the Twilight fans are, because the 2nd movie is coming out
and how everyone feels so strongly that the school gets destroyed. And he says he does not understand why another school cannot be built. Here are the ways in which what he said is so dumb:

1. It is the last Harry Potter movie coming out in two weeks, so obviously the fans are excited.
2. And it is the second instalment of the last movie in the series, ergo Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2!
3. Yes, Hogwarts is attacked in the story, but it is not the Twilight story!
4. PLEASE for the love of all things good, do not ever confuse Harry Potter and Twilight! Twilight does not even have a freaking school!

Okay, now that I have that off my chest, I can start work. **Semi-relieved**