Boeber (arroz con leche)

With the onset of the colder weather, I decided to make a dessert that I haven't eaten in many years. And to be fair, it isn't something that was eaten at my childhood house with any regularity. The reason: boeber is a dessert / hot drink made by Capetonian Muslim people as part of their Ramadan celebrations (usually on the 15th day of the month-long fast) and then shared with neighbours. In my case, the Salie family introduced me to this Malaysian delight.

In Argentina, the closest equivalent is "arroz con leche" (rice with milk) but, needless to say, it isn't the same thing.

Melt 125ml of butter in a saucepan and add a cup to vermicelli (or thin pasta) to it, allowing it to go golden brown. Next add 8 cardamom seeds that have been bruised, 3 sticks of cinnamon and, optionally, 50g of sultanas. Stir into the butter mixture followed by 2 litres of milk. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat. Next, add in 75g of sage which has been soaked in 200ml of water for at least 15 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the mixture from sticking. Lastly, add in 150ml of sugar (more or less to taste) as well as 20ml of rose water and 50g of blanched almonds (optional). Serve warm.

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Chocolate mousse

Here's a really power dessert that is a sure crowd-pleaser and yet simple to make.
This mousse is rich and light and definately not to be eaten in large quantities!!!
Take a pot and add about 4cm of water in it and bring it to the boil. Meanwhile, take an oven-proof pyrex dish and chop up 100g of butter and 300g (or more up till 600g) of chocolate. Use semi-dark cooking chocolate and dark if you're going for the heart-stopping effect!! Allow this to melt, stirring from time to time and once melted, remove pot and pyrex dish from heat. Add in the yolks of six eggs (up to 10 if you're going all out) and stir in. Also add 200ml of cream (again scale this up to 400ml if you're going large).
By now your melted chocolate will have a smooth, shiny appearance to it. You could, at this stage, add some alcohol to intensify the final product. Brandy, Amarula, Bailey's all work well.
Lastly, add the egg whites that are already beaten till stiff, to the mixture and fold in gently. Now either pour the mixture into a large bowl or, as I prefer, shot glasses and then allow to cool in the fridge, until set.
For the final decoration (and this is optional), take whipped cream and add to mousse just before serving.
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Winter garden (latest)

The combination of sunlight, water, good soil and some willing children to do the planting never cease to amaze me. How little seeds can eventually sprout into plants is one of nature's wonders which always keeps me in awe.
These past few days have been warm, we've had some light rain and I've been watering the garden regularly. And so our winter garden has come to life.
Even my PVC pipe experiment has started to grow ...
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Mini potato bakes

This simple invention is a take on the traditional potato bake, but the miniature version. I used my small muffin baking trays for these. Feel free to experiment as you see fit.
Peel three normal sized potatoes and cut up into small cubes (about 1cm) and boil until almost done. Drain the water and allow to cool.
Once cool, spoon the potato cubes into the muffin holders, filling about halfway. Do not press them in. I added some diced ham to each muffin cup (optional) as well as some finely grated cheese. Now add more potatoes until the muffin holder is full and actually overflowing a little bit.
In a jug, beat one or two eggs, add some cream and slowly pour into the muffin holders, until the liquid gets to the top. Make sure that it seeps into all the spaces.
Now bake in the oven until the liquid mixture stiffens up. Turn out and serve.
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Winter garden (updated)

Once I had done all the manual labour of getting the ground ready (as well as a few special projects - more details soon), I had to get the seeds planted. And there is really no better labour force than my own kids. I have found that the benefit of getting them involved is more than just the half hour that they are engaged in the actual work. When the plants start to grow, they take an ownership in it and even enjoy the eventual harvesting and eating of these veggies. A win-win situation all round.
With this long-term plan in mind, we sat down and drew a "map" of the garden (which is a bit worse for wear by now) and then set off to plant the seeds. The kids sprinkled the seeds over the allotted and then stepped on them while sprinkling more soil on top. By this stage I was starting to question my parenting skills in getting them involved!!
Three days ago I made some of my chilli sauce and I kept all the stalks, excess seeds and all the unusable chillis. All of these I now mixed into a bucketful of soil which in turn I stuffed into a PVC drain pipe that I had previously drilled holes into. This "structure" was then hung about 20cm off the ground. The logic being that when the seeds germinate, they would seek out the holes to get to the sunlight. (Note to self: I hope this works). I did the same thing with parsley and lettuce seeds.
This post will be updated soon (I hope ...).
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Prawn rice

To the untrained eye, this dish might resemble the Spanish paella. And to be fair, it gets there with one exception: it is much easier to make. My sister, Linda, is my source on this recipe but it is my niece, Julia, who has become our family's expert at preparing this dish. Thank you to you both.
Prawn rice is generally prepared on special occasions, Easter being one of these events. Normal white rice, with two teaspoons of tumeric, is cooked a day in advance and allowed to dry out thoroughly.
Onion, green, red and yellow peppers are cut up into even-sized cubes and friend in butter until almost soft.
All seafood, and the options are extensive (prawns, calamari, mussels, etc) are defrosted well in advance so that all excess moisture can be extracted from them. The different ingredients are then fried separately in butter with garlic. I like to add some sweet paprika to mine but a hotter option is readily used. Once all the parts are done, everything is assembled in a deep dish: rice first then peppers and onions mix and this is mixed through. Lastly, the seafood (except the big tiger or king/queen prawns which are used for decoration) is gently stirred into the rice. The prawns are placed on the top.
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