Janice Tripepi

I had the night off last night!!! Whooo-hooo, so I decided to indulge myself and cook totally Jan-Food!!!  I love the clean flavours of Thai food and have wanted to give the soup a go – and the rest kind of happened!  Fresh crunchy salad with fruit – prawns and chilli sweet and sour thai style dressing.  My girlfriend phoned me on her way home from work – and she has a bad head cold – so she agreed to join me – lest I sit pathetically all on my own and eat!!!  It’s no fun creating a whole fab dinner and not having anyone to share it with!!!!  So while – hubby and co. downed hamburgers after their golf day !!!  we dined on crunchy energy rich lekkerness……  you snooze you lose Tricky!

THAI CORN & CRAB SOUP

2 tbl spoons of thai red curry paste

freshly ground black pepper – 1/2 tsp

4 large cloves of garlic

1 thumb sized piece of ginger – grated (i use a big thumb sized piece – i like it)

2 tins of crab

1 tin of corn – or 1 large cup of frozen corn

1L of chicken stock

1 tin of coconut milk

2 pieces of cane sugar or 2 tbl spoons of brown sugar

4 tbl spoons of fish sauce

2 sticks of lemon grass (bashed with the back of a knife to release the flavour)

1 bunch of coriander

the juice of 2 limes or 2 lemons (limes are better but i couldn’t find any)

1 large onion finely chopped

I added the thai curry paste to this recipe – traditionally it doesn’t have the curry paste in but i like it hot and spicey.  Gently fry your curry paste – lemon grass – black pepper – ginger –  chopped onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. 

The frying of the curry paste really gets all the flavours in the paste going.

Add the chicken stock, crab (with bring)  and corn and bring to the boil – add the coconut milk – sugar – fish sauce and

simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Give it a taste – and adjust to your liking!

Just before serving add in the coriander and lemon or lime juice and you can add

chopped red chilli for garnish and a little extra heat if you like.

Enjoy!

I will post the other two recipes tomorrow – gotta do some work and

get to the shops!!!

My dear mum sent me to ballet lessons – she herself was a ballerina back in the day in London.  She vowed NEVER to allow is to take this form of dance up in any way, siting emphatically that this was NO CAREER for us.  However!!!  There was one exception to this rule – MOI!!!!  I begged and pleaded and cried etc. etc. Being that I was not particularly “elegant” or “graceful” mum renegged and off I went ….. sadly dear blog pals – it didn’t really do the job.  I am clumsy – and add sharp knives – boiling oil and kitchen tongs to this precarious equasion – DANGER with a capital D. 

A good few years ago – about 8 – I purchased a pair of those vey cheffy – shiney – fab kitchen tongs that you see the connoscienti chefs of the wereld slinging around with great dexterity.  I could NOT wait to get home and try them out!  In hindsight I should maybe not have tried them out while deep frying Tempura fish – BIG MISTAKE!!  Needless to say I didn’t manage to elegantly insert a piece of fish in kinko bread crumbs ino  the boiling oil – i dropped it in – not away from myself like the great chefs do – you know when you jump up – ball your legs underneath you – and do a bomb into the swimming pool ………

Yep – i burnt my whole hand as the tongs sprang open – the fish bombed into the boiling hot oil – and burnt the bejivers out of my whole hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Within an hour or two my hand looked like an inflated surgical glove …….. einaaaaaaaaa!!!

Eventually once the shock had subsided I fortunately remembered the Bulbinella growing in my garden.  People of South Africa – this humble little fleshy indigenous Saaarfafrican darling grows here in our scorching hot climate for a reason.  It is known as the Cat’s Tail – Burn Jelly Plant – and in Zulu Ibhucu or Intelezi in Zulu.  The fleshy cool green leaves hide burn muthi within.  All you do is take a leaf and squeeze out – like toothpaste – the clear cooling – pain relieving gel!  The moment i applied the gel – i had instant relief and to this day all i have is a very very faint scar on one finger.  I applied the gel all through the night and for a good ten days after.

Most of us have this plant in our garden without even realising the healing qualities it possesses.  I have found myself out in the bush – with no sun protection and used it as a sun screen.  It’s great for bee stings – ulcers – cracked heels and and and.  It requires very little attention but offers up her healing gel voluntarily.  I always have a few going in my garden – ready for any emergency.  But this little natural medicine chest is pretty too – loves the sun – and flowers all year round either little yellow or orange flowers. 

You are always ready to treat little burns – etc from spitting oil or touching the grill in your oven – any burn at all!!!!  A great kitchen aid – an ideal christmas gift I think for it will grow in a pot on a window sill for those who don’t have a garden.  All hail Bulbinella for she is amazing!!!!