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October 2006

October 2006

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The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

October 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
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In this Newsletter

Stories from South Africa

Subscribing and un-subscribing

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
October 8, 2006Hello everybody, welcome back!

It is Sunday afternoon and it is nice and quiet. Children are playing hopscotch in the street and one of them had even brought a mini-trampoline out. The little boy from three houses away is riding his pedal car up and down the road towing his friend in a little trailer.

They are busy collecting chestnuts from the side of the road.

There is only one word for it …. tranquil!

It’s nice to have a weekend “off”. It has been busy and we needed a rest.

This weekend is voting day for the Belgians. Municipal voting that is. When I went to the shops earlier I found the roads in chaos. The “terrasjes” and cafe’s (pubs) are chock-and-block and there are people everywhere.

In Belgium they have a law that says that everybody has to vote. Not staying away here!

Our neighbours are members of “Het Vlaams Belang”. A little like the old AWB in South Africa. This party wants to keep Belgium “clean” of foreigners and immigrants.

Every time it gets to voting they (the neighbours) put up this wooden structure with posters on it. Many mornings the posters have been torn down and notes pasted in their place saying things like “Where would Belgium be without immigrants?”

One morning we actually found the whole wooden structure in the road. Someone must have hooked it on their towbar and pulled it out of the ground!

Nothing changes, does it?

It’s starting to get a little chillier, especially in the mornings when June leaves for work at around 6 o’clock. The only reason she leaves so early is that she misses all the traffic into Brussels and she can leave at 4 in the afternoon, missing it again. A normal (little traffic trip) takes her about 40 minutes. Leaving at 8 in the morning means sitting in traffic for an hour and a half, at least.

But I digress……..

It IS getting colder and soon the autumn with its kaleidoscope of colours will be upon us. I will try to take some really nice pictures this year and show you some.

September was a very good month weather wise. It was like having high summer again. Every weekend was “Braaing weather” and needles to say that is exactly what we did.

Tony and Catherine came around a couple of Saturdays ago with the children and stayed over. It was nice to relax a bit and at least they could have a drink for a change not having to drive all the way back to Den Haag in Holland!

It was good to taste some nice barbecued meat and have some pap and saus! One of the weekends when we had friends around we had some Irish steak. I might have mentioned this before but the rib-eye of the Irish beast is the best beef I have ever had the pleasure to eat.

And that includes South African beef!

After my encounter with the 18 wheeler on August 30th my car was written off by the insurance company. It was actually a blessing in disguise. Loads of miles and 5 years old it was ready to go anyway.

And so it is almost Christmas again. How time flies!

On the 20th, June and I will be going to “The night of the Proms” show at the “Sport Paleis” in Antwerp. Texas is playing there and we’d love to see them. We are showing our age, aren’t we!

And then, very soon we will be winging our way to Singapore where we will be spending Christmas!

Christmas on the equator. Who would have ever thought of that!

While we are there we will be visiting Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur as well. I just have to go to the latter. We used it often as an excuse to have a drink a little earlier than normal back in Linbro Park.

“It must be 5 o’clock in Kuala Lumpur!”

Well, let me leave you. There is lots and lots of interesting reading in this newsletter. Don’t forget that we are always looking forward to feedback and treat everyone’s point of view with the respect it deserves. We might not always agree but that is everyone’s prerogative. Everybody has a point of view and you are more than welcome to air it right here.

All the best and take care.

Till next month,

Lo

Here is something just for the fun of it. A bit of a brain teaser if you haven’ seen it before!

World’s easiest quiz

(Passing requires at least 4 correct answers)

How long did the Hundred Years’ War last?
Which country makes Panama hats?
From which animal do we get cat gut?
In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
What is a camel’s hair brush made of?
The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
What was King George VI’s first name?
What color is a purple finch?
Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?

Have fun! The answers can be found here after the 15th of October.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.”
-Helen Keller-A log cannot burn on its own
-unknown-

He who forgives ends the quarrel
-African Proverb-

Food for thought

The Donkey

We’ve all seen this before but it can’t do any harm to read it again

So true …….

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a
well. The animal cried piteously for hours as
the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the
well needed to be covered up anyway;
it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and
help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began
to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the
donkey realized what was happening and cried
horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well
is to shake it off and take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out
of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!
Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred – Forgive
Free your mind from worries – Most never happen
Live simply and appreciate what you have
Give more (not money silly!)
Expect less

Now…………

Enough of that crap …..
The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him.
The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY’S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

You have two choices … smile and close this
newsletter, or pass this along to someone else to
spread the fun.

Story of the month

What there is to know about oils

The other day someone mailed me and asked what groundnut oil was and where he could get it.
So, I Googled this and found a host of very interesting information about cooking oils.

Here it is.

Oils

There are a wide variety of cooking oils. Here are some of them.

Avocado oil
A smooth, rich, extra virgin oil extracted from avocados. Uses: Avocado oil can be used in a wide variety of dishes. Drizzle over meat, fish or vegetables before roasting, use it to make salad dressings and marinades or simply serve as an accompaniment to warm, crusty bread. Avocado oil has a high smoke point, so it is also suitable for frying foods at high temperatures.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Corn oil
Also known as maize oil, this oil has a rather bland taste but is high in polyunsaturates and so is one of the healthier oils. Groundnut oil can be used in place of corn oil.
Uses: Due to its high heating point it is suitable for deep frying.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

French walnut oil
This has a distinctive nutty flavour and is often used an alternative to olive oil.
Uses: Walnut oil is best used in salads and dressings rather than in cooking.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Grape-seed oil
A very light oil which is best used in cooking.
Uses: It can be heated to high temperatures without the subtle flavour spoiling so is suitable for deep or shallow frying. It has very little flavour and so is ideal for cooking subtly flavoured foods such as fish.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Groundnut oil
Extracted from peanuts (so also called peanut oil), groundnut oil is pale in colour and of a light consistency. It has a subtle, pleasant flavour and can be heated to a high temperature without burning. Corn oil can be used instead of groundnut oil.
Uses: Groundnut oil is particularly popular in Chinese cookery. Suitable for stir and deep frying.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Roasted pumpkin seed oil
This rich, dark green oil is made in Austria from skinless pumpkin seeds. It has a nutty flavour and toasted aroma. It is high in unsaturated fats and contains essential vitamins including vitamin E.
Uses: Ideal for dressings, sauces and marinades. Drizzle over roasted vegetables for a delicious nutty flavour. Roasted pumpkin seed oil also adds a nutty taste when drizzled over ice cream.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Safflower oil
Similar to sunflower oil (the two are interchangeable) this light oil is made from safflowers which are in fact from the same family as the sunflower. It is high in polyunsaturates which makes it a healthy choice.
Uses: A good light cooking oil for shallow frying.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Sunflower oil
Extracted from sunflower seeds, it is high in polyunsaturated fat and low in saturated fat.
Uses: A good all-round oil for shallow frying. It is not suitable for deep frying because it smokes and burns at very high temperatures.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Truffle oil
This combination of olive oil and truffle extract has a wonderful nutty black truffle flavour. It can be used as a substitute for truffles or in conjunction with them to enhance their flavour.
Uses: It is used as a flavouring, and not for cooking. Add to risottos, pasta dishes, salads and salad dressings. To make truffle flavoured butter, melt 75g of butter and stir in 1-2 tsp of oil, stir well and allow cool, before storing in the fridge.
To store: Truffle oil is very delicate and should be stored away from sunlight in a cool place.

Toasted sesame oil Also referred to as roasted sesame oil. As the name suggests, is extracted from toasted sesame seeds. It has a very strong flavour, a dark colour and is often used in Oriental cookery as a flavouring but it not suitable for cooking.
Uses: Sprinkle a little sesame oil over salads, stir fries and any Oriental-style dishes for a deliciously nutty flavour.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Vegetable oil
A blended oil that can be a combination of sunflower, safflower, groundnut or any other bland vegetable oil. Blended vegetable oil is less expensive than pure oil.
Uses: Blended oil is most often used for shallow or deep frying.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Olive oil
This oil has been used for thousands of years. As early as 2,500 BC in Crete, forests were felled to make room for olive groves. Trade in ‘liquid gold’ as they called it, formed the basis for much of Greece’s maritime and imperial expansion. The Romans grew even richer by planting huge orchards throughout their empire.

In the ancient world, the olive was the richest source of their necessary oil. It flavoured and cooked food, lit lamps, formed the base of medicines, and was the ritual liquid used for anointing priests and kings.

The best olive oils are always expensive because they are costly to produce. Like wines, they vary with climate, country, area of origin and from year to year. Many different varieties of olive are grown for oil, so the range of oils is wide. They vary in colour, flavour, aroma, consistency and character and come mainly from France, Italy, Spain, and Greece.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

The different types of olive oils:

Virgin olive oil
This is the oil which results from the first cold pressing of the olives. It is natural and pure and has no other oils added to it.

Refined olive oil
This oil is obtained from the refining of oils which fail to qualify for the grade of virgin oil, either because of defective flavour or excessive acidity.
The residual pulp from the first pressing is pressed again (second pressing), this time using heat, to yield a fattier and more acid oil which is often blended with first-pressing oil to make commercial, branded olive oil.
Uses: Salad dressings, mayonnaise, marinades, casseroles, shallow frying, sautéeing, grilling and roasting or to toss with pasta and vegetables.
To store: Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

The different varieties of olive oil:

Basil olive oil Extra virgin olive oil infused with basil. Stir this delicious herb-flavoured oil into pasta dishes, marinades or dressings.

Chilli olive oil Extra virgin olive oil infused with chillies.
Add this spicy oil to pasta or salad dressings for a hot flavour or use to shallow fry bacon or chicken to give a subtle hint of chilli.

Extra virgin olive oil A high quality oil for salads, marinades and pastas.

Garlic olive oil Extra virgin olive oil infused with garlic.
This delicious flavoured oil can be added to a variety of recipes. Use it in marinades and stir-fries or drizzle over cooked pasta.

Greek extra virgin olive oil Greek olive oil is light green in colour and has a mild flavour.
It has a peppery taste and comes from olives grown in the Kalamata region of Greece. Use for drizzling over traditional Greek salad with feta cheese, or toss through freshly cooked pasta and serve with fresh basil leaves, grated Parmesan cheese and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Light olive oil This is a delicate and mild olive oil which has a very light, fresh and subtle flavour.
Light olive oil is especially suitable for cooking – from baking to frying but can also be used for salad dressings and marinades.

Rosemary olive oil Extra virgin olive oil infused with rosemary.
Use this wonderfully aromatic flavoured oil in dressings and sauces or include in marinades to give fish and meat a delicious flavour. Sprinkle over roasted vegetables or potatoes for a delicious Mediterranean flavour.

Spanish extra virgin olive oil Spanish olive oil tends to be light and fragrant – ideal for salad dressings or serve as an alternative to butter with bread – simply dip the bread into the oil.

The often asked question is ………..

What is extra virgin olive oil?

Before we can understand ‘extra virgin’ we first have to clarify the word ‘virgin’.

What it describes, quite simply, is oil pressed from the fruit of the olive tree under conditions that cause no deterioration of the finished oil – the olives are not damaged, bruised or subjected to adverse temperatures or too much air, and they must not have undergone any additional treatment such as heat or blending (other than with other virgin olive oil).

The supreme quality is measured by acidity or, more precisely, the lack of it – too much acidity gives a harsher flavour, which can, with skill, be refined out. What is simply termed olive oil is often a blend of lesser-quality refined oils with some virgin added to give the right balance of flavour.

Extra virgin olive oil could, in fact, have another name – perfect virgin olive oil, because this is precisely what it is: virgin olive oil with no flaws whatsoever.
By law the acidity of extra virgin olive oil is never more than 0.8 per cent, and what does this mean? Flavour. First there is an aromatic fragrance, then a sweetness not marred by acidity, and then an abundant taste of fruit, verdant and luscious, not tasting like olives exactly but like some other mysterious, unique fruit.
Like very fine wine, extra virgin olive oil is both rich and flavoursome.

Which country produces the best olive oil?

Difficult to answer, this.
The olives of each country have their own character and flavour, which will even vary from region to region: a Tuscan olive oil, for instance, is different to a Ligurian olive oil.
If I were being a purist I would suggest that Provençal dishes should be made with oils made in Provence, and Italian, Greek or Spanish dishes made with the oil produced in that country.
But unless you do masses of cooking its best to find an olive oil you are happy with, and my recommendation is to have an extra virgin oil for special occasions, along with an everyday

South African Meat Industry Company

Samic has excellent meat cutting charts. Just click on the banner below for lots of interesting information.

Our Home Biltong Makers (What people say)

The Homemade Stuff is Exquisite!!
Gary Grynkewich, USA

Hi Biltongmakers!

Dear Lo,

We’ve had our biltong maker for a few weeks. There is a major flaw with your invention, it is not big enough!! As soon as I finish a batch, it is immediately devoured by my husband and son, who cannot get enough of the biltong. Any chance of producing a much larger machine?

Many thanks.
Lee Forfar
Tadley, Hampshire, England.

Well, I changed out the plug, ran out and bought a kilo of London broil (silverside), marinated it in the vinegar and spice mix and hung it in the Biltong Maker to dry.
I know I am a Yank and maybe not the most knowledgeable in these things, but I’ve had biltong from South Africa (don’t ask me how it found its way to the States), and from two or three purveyors who make it here in the States commercially, and it just does not compare.
THE HOMEMADE STUFF IS EXQUISITE!!
You have made my South African wife and myself very happy!

Gary S. Grynkewich
USA

I am proud to say that making biltong seemed a daunting task – but after purchasing the 2kg biltong maker, it’s a breeze.

Charmaine Basson
Milnerton, Cape Town

You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s specials

Christmas is around the corner …..

In three months from now Christmas 2006 will be something of the past.

Scary …. isn’t it!

Order your machine now and surface mail it! That way the shipping won’t cost a fortune and it will be there before Christmas (if you hurry with your order!)

So, for 15 MORE DAYS ONLY, starting on Sunday, October 1, 2006, the following prices will apply:

Rockey’s incredible 5kg Home Biltong Maker @ only R 795.00! (Normal retail is R 950.00).
The unbeatable Biltong Buddy (2kg) @ only R 650.00! (Normal retail is R 750.00).

Make use of this opportunity and ask for surface mail! It costs a fraction of the airmail cost.

Surprise your family and friends with a piece of real South African Biltong this Christmas. It’s as easy as 1-2-3 and loads of fun too!

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tips of the month

Some more useful tips

How many of these did YOU know about?

A sealed envelope – Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be re=sealed. (hmmmmmm…)
Use an empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps and they won’t refreeze. (wish I had known this for the last 40 years!)
To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).
Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) use rubbing alcohol on a paper towel.
Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves. After years of having to throw away rusted and unused and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be much more economical. Now a box of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get ‘sharpened” this way!
Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time! (Now, where to put the body?) LOL!
Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks!
Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean.
Don ‘t wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak.
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on.
Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dishwashing liquid and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top.
Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won’t be any stains.
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness
Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half, and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
Don’t throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces ……… Left over wine? What’s that ? 🙂
To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.
Ants, ants, ants everywhere … Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So, get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself.
Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.

Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer …….

Clean a toilet
Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China

Clean a vase
To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets

Polish jewelry
Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes

Clean a thermos bottle
Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary)

Unclog a drain
Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of (Heinz) white vinegar. Wait a few minutes, and then run the hot water

Boererate

Bloedvekke – Mielieblom kan bloedvlekke verwyder. Spoel die vlek in koue water, vryf dan klam mielieblom in. Plaas die item in die son.
Juweliersware – Maak juweliersware skoon deur dit oornag te week in ‘n mengsel van koeksoda en asyn. Indien nodig, skrop liggies met ‘n ou tandeborsel. Dit verwyder alle vuilighede sonder om die stene, goud of silver te beskadig.
MOENIE perels oornag week nie – net vir sowat ‘n uur.
Kakkerlakke – sit naeltjies in al jou kombuiskaste en/of waar hulle ookal voorkom.
Molle – Die goedkoopste raat is as jy honde het, moet jy die honde bolle (landmyne) in die molle se gange of gate gooi.

Meat Cutting Charts

Below you will find three meat cutting charts.

These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
(The South African Meat Industry Company).
SAMIC has a very interesting web site as well as a weekly newsletter about anything to do with the
Meat Industry in South Africa.
Now, don’t think this is a totally boring web site (I thought so first) but it has some very interesting articles and statistics.

Beef Cutting Chart

Pork Cutting Chart

Lamb Cutting Chart

* * * * Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement * * * *

Ladies en gentlemen……

Anton Goosen!

” … vir elke alkie, elke junkie, space cadet, buttonhead … ”
“… vir die boys in die suburbs …”

Are you a fan of South African Rock and Boereblues?
Remember “Blommetjie gedenk aan my”, “Honkie Tonk Donkie” en “Boy van die Suburbs”?

People in the Benelux can join us on the weekend of October 20th for an evening with Anton Goosen, the original “Liedjieboer”, who will perform these and many more of his unforgettable songs in a cozy pub setting where everyone can sing along!

But, be quick because this show is selling out fast!
Anto will appear at Bunswyck Castle in Leuven.
The tickets are only 20.00 Euros per person and that includes a light buffet!

You can send an email to loraine@bassons.org

Also go to the South African Events in Europe web site. There are loads of things happening!

Questions and Answers

As every month, here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

Your “Chicken and Yoghurt” Potjie recipe refers.
What is Dried ‘Dragon’ and how/where do I get hold of it in South Africa?

Brian Mann
South Africa
bamann@telkomsa.net

QUESTION

Thanks for a fab web site! I thoroughly enjoy it.
Quick couple of questions for you to rack your brains.
In Ireland we have the same problem as our Kiwi friend (See our Whakatane Boerewors recipe from David Lewis).
The cows here only eat grass and the meat is very lean with little fat. (What else do cows eat? -Ed)
I make my own wors and am battling to get it juicy and succulent. The taste is spot on but the wors tends to be dry. I don’t want to increase the spek content as I am already using 30% spek and I don’t use water at all but only vinegar.
Would water make the wors more succulent (I use 120ml vinegar per 1.5kg wors). Secondly, the recipe I have is for 1.5kg. Is it in order to assume that the wors would be the same if I double the quantities of all the ingredients ?
I look forward to your expert advice.

Allister Erasmus
Ireland
allister_e@hotmail.com

QUESTION

I want to find out from YOU, how do you make a South African pie’s puff pastry
Please lead me from the ingredient to how to make it …

Michael
(We don’t know where Michael is from -Ed)
kk200431790@yahoo.com

QUESTION

I made some droëwors last week and after 4 days most of the sticks at the bottom of the cabinet were with mould.
Mostly at the bottom of the sticks.
I hung a few at the top part of the dryer. The meat of the wet wors is still a bit reddish but not smelly.
What could cause the slow drying and mould only on some parts of the wors?

Eric Mainguard
Mauritius
magesse@intnet.mu

Editor note:
Eric has the Junior Industrial Biltong Drying Cabinet.

QUESTION

I am looking for a recipe to make:
* Garlic flavoured boerewors
* Cheese flavoured boerewors
Do you know where I may be able to get recipes?

Mark
New Zealand
karimark@xtra.co.nz

Stoep Talk

My sex drive is in my head ……. I want it lower!
By James ClarkeA number of readers have, over the years, sent me snippets related to the easiest of all life’s tasks – growing old. I have scores of them and have been saving them up for a rainy day.

Well, right now it’s pretty cloudy outside, so I’ll hand over to Michael Pohl of motor- cycling fame, Pete of Randburg, Janet Nicholson of Maritzburg, Kas Beyer of Kentucky and others whose names Threnody has long lost.

One story concerns an elderly man, well groomed, smelling slightly of a good aftershave, who walked into an up-market cocktail lounge. Seated at the bar was an attractive elderly woman.

The old man sat alongside her and ordered a drink. Then he said to her, “So tell me, do I come here often?”

An old man said, “Just when I was getting my head together, my body began falling apart.”

One symptom of ageing is that you don’t care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don’t have to go along.

Another is when you’re sitting in your rocking chair and you can’t get it started.

Bob Hope, on turning 70, said, “You can still chase women, but only downhill”. On turning 100 he said, “I don’t feel old. In fact, I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.”

I think the truest thing said about ageing is that, inside every old person is a younger person wondering what happened.

Somebody advised that when you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of algebra.

One nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs.

And a fellow in a retirement village said ruefully, “I’ve sure got old! I’ve had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees; I’m half blind, can’t hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take six different medications that make me dizzy; have bouts with dementia. Can’t remember if I’m 85 or 92. Thank goodness I can still drive myself around.”

A 97-year-old man told his doctor, “Doc, I want my sex drive lowered.”

The doctor said, “But you’re 97. Don’t you think your sex drive is all in your head?”

“You’re damned right it is!” replied the old man. “That’s why I want it lowered!”

An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher, she had two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Pick ‘n Pay. The preacher asked, “Why Pick ‘n Pay?”

“Then I’ll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week.”

My favourite: “These days about half the stuff in my shopping trolley says, ‘For fast relief’.”

SUPERMAN COP

From the same Kas Beyer comes a story of a Wyoming state policeman who received a 3am call saying a car was stuck in the snow on the outskirts of Casper.

The policeman found the car with the engine still running. Behind the wheel was a sleeping man with a half empty bottle of vodka.

The officer tapped on the window, startling the driver who, seeing the flashing blue police light and the policeman at the window, shoved the car into gear and hit the accelerator. The car’s speedometer moved up to 60km/ph, but the car remained stationary, wheels spinning, trapped in snow.

The policeman, having a sense of humour, began running on the spot next to the window yelling “Pull over!” The boggled-eyed man obeyed, turning off his engine. He was arrested and is probably still telling his disbelieving mates about a cop who can run at 60km/ph.

Recipe corner

Rusks

We all know the Famous Ouma’s Rusks. If you live outside South Africa they are mostly very difficult to come by. So, here are two recipes to make your own Buttermilk Rusks.
It’s so easy, have a look!
But first …… the story of Ouma’s Rusks.

It all began in the year 1939 in the small Eastern Cape town of Molteno (near Burgersfort just south of the Vrijstaat).
The effects of the Great Depression had brought many communities to their knees.

It was at this time that Ouma Greyvensteyn and her friends attended a church meeting where ways in which to help mission work were discussed. Like in the Gospel, the women were given half-a-crown each to use their talents.

Then it came to her – using just one half-a-crown, the time-honoured family recipe and her home cooking talents, she baked her Rusks to sheer perfection and then sold them to the visiting farmers’ wives in the community.
Within days orders were pouring in for Ouma’s delicious Rusks. Today, we are proud of our heritage.

From the humble beginnings of one half-a-crown, this unique, crunchy snack has become a true South African icon, which is sought after in many countries around the world. The ideal treat, that can be served any time of the day, morning, noon or night, and are delicious with coffee or tea.

Did you know that you can get Ouma’s Rusks in six different flavours?: Condensed Milk, Aniseed, Buttermilk, Muesli, Wholewheat and Dunkems Blueberry (whatever THAT may be -Ed).

Here are two recipes. One for normal rusks and one for the buttermilk variety.

Traditional Rusks (Beskuit) – dunk in your coffee…..

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups whole wheat bread flour (coarsely ground if possible)
1/3 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup melted butter
2 eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp pure almond extract

Method

Preheat oven to 180-200 degrees(C)
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients.
Combine all the wet ingredients, pour them into the dry ingredients, and stir until you have a soft dough, similar to biscuit dough
Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and roll or pat it to about a 1½ cm thickness
Cut the dough into rectangles about 5 by 10 cm. Bake the Rusks about 10 cm apart on buttered baking sheet for about 25 minutes until the tops are crisping and browning a little
Now, eat a few “soft” Rusks warm from the oven. Loosely pile the Rusks on a baking sheet and keep them in a 100 degrees(C)oven all day or all night (about 12 hours) to dry.
The finished Rusks should be very dry and hard. Cool and store in an airtight container. Rusks will keep for a long time.

Buttermilk Rusks

Ingredients

1 kg self raising flour
5 ml baking powder
10 ml salt
2 large eggs
200 ml white sugar
500 ml buttermilk
190 g butter, melted

Method

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together
Beat the eggs, sugar and buttermilk together
Cut this mixture into the dry ingredients with a knife
Knead the dough lightly gradually adding the butter while kneading. This will take about 7 minutes.
Pack balls of dough tightly into greased loaf pans. The balls should reach about 2/3rds the height of the pans
Bake at 180C for 30 minutes
Turn out onto a wire rack and break into individual Rusks
Lower the oven temperature to 100C and dry the Rusks for about 4 hours, turning them every 30 minutes
Cool on a wire rack and store in airtight containers

Rusks will keep for at least 3 months, but believe me, they won’t last that long!

Click below for our handy cooking converter

Stories from South Africa

Smoking to be stubbed out in SA

South Africa is one step closer to tightening up its already tough smoking laws, which health department officials say will effectively criminalise smoking. Even outdoor smoking could attract a hefty fine.

The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill was tabled in parliament this month (September 2006) and is likely to be on the statute books by year-end.

It will bring in massive fines and tighten up loopholes in existing legislation.

Among others, it bans the entry of anyone under 18 into smoking areas.

It also gives the health minister the right to prohibit the smoking of any tobacco product in a prescribed outdoor place “where persons are likely to congregate within close proximity of one another or where smoking may pose a fire or other hazard”.

‘Does not plan to relax restrictions during the 2010 World Cup’

The health ministry is on record as saying it does not plan to relax restrictions during the 2010 World Cup, following calls from the Tobacco Institute of South Africa to be more “open-minded” around smoking legislation during this period.

The Bill also provides for penalties for failing to protect employees from tobacco smoke pollution, for selling tobacco products in a health institution and for retailers who do not comply with point-of-sale conditions.

In a statement on Wednesday, the health ministry said the proposed age restriction for sale of tobacco would be increased from 16 to 18 years.

This was in line with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ratified by South Africa.

Children under the age of 18 would no longer be allowed in a designated smoking area, said spokesperson Sibani Mngadi.

The Bill increased penalties so that they would become a real deterrent against contravention of the country’s tobacco laws.

The fine for the owner of a public place or employer who failed to ensure that there was no smoking in a smoke-free area had been increased from R200 to a minimum of R20 000, he said.

The penalty for selling tobacco products to a minor and for failure to comply with regulations on vending machines had been increased from R10 000 to a minimum of R100 000, Mngadi said.

The penalty for advertising and giving away free cigarettes had been increased from R200 000 to a minimum of R1-million.

The Bill also makes it an offence for an individual to smoke in a non-smoking area and the penalty is set at not less than R300.

Mngadi said the proposed penalties were comparable to those in other legislation.

He noted that the fine for selling liquor to a person under 18 was R1-million or five years in prison.

Around the World

Going home or staying put?

Our article of last month on crime in South Africa caused quite a stir! (Click here to read it again)

We were expecting a stream of protests but instead received a flood of emails and phone calls from people who congratulated us for having the courage to speak up and to point out what is happening.

It is sad that no-one (Absolutely NO-ONE!!) wrote in to defend South Africa!!

In fact the silence from those quarters was deafening!!

We are not a political web site and never will be but what was mentioned (and not only by us) just made very interesting reading.

Unfortunately we cannot possibly publish every mail we received in response to the article but here are a few.

Please note that the views expressed below are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the editor!

I left in 1996 and only went back for the first time in 2003 holiday.
Much had changed, some of it for the better and some for the worse (a lot for the worse).
Last year August I went back on holiday again and the place had deteriorated even more in that short time.
My family live in Sandton and Port Alfred so I still have very strong ties with South Africa. My brother says that Johannesburg has become so bad that he is moving to Port Alfred soon.

I am not surprised that there are the sort of web sites you pointed out in your newsletter.
I will be ordering my 5 kg home biltong dryer (and some spices) over the next few days.

Regards
Richard Strapp
England
strappl@fgwilson.com

Hello Lo,

Today I received my first newsletter from you – many thanks, it was really interesting; I enjoyed your trip to Holland and I hope that your argument with the 18 wheeler did not leave any permanent damage. Thanks for including my article!

About the crime in South Africa – I would like to add my perspective which is a little more optimistic. We are lucky enough to have homes in two countries (Finland and South Africa) and we spend time in both countries. We live in an apartment very close to the centre of Cape Town (in Tamboerskloof, near Kloof Street/Long Street).
We are able to walk to the city centre during the day (I can walk alone during the day) and even at midnight along Kloof/Long because there is such a vibrant night life.
I would not walk alone, I think that would be asking for trouble, but I feel safe walking with my husband.
I admit to having to check over my shoulder constantly; it would be naïve to think that one is really safe. We have come to the conclusion that if we are careful and take necessary precautions, Cape Town (or parts of it) is a great place to live!

I have lived in Africa my whole life (except for coming and going from Finland for the past 13 years) and I am fortunate enough to have not been involved in any violent crime. I can only hope and pray that neither I nor my family is ever involved because I am sure that would change my perspective.

It’s the sea, the mountains, the air, the vibe, the people that draw us back. It is intoxicating and very hard to get Africa out of the system. Europe is relatively safe but it can be so grey and cold.

Lyn Gunell
Cape Town and Finland
lyn.gunell@lynlink.com

I can only say, after signing hundreds of petitions, none of which have altered anything in South Africa, from Mbeki to virtually every minister in South Africa ….

WAKE UP …. you that are still there and talk with your feet.
As one of their politicians put it so profoundly poetically and matter of factly in parliament about crime: “If you don’t like it, pack your bags and leave!” With that sort of mentality what hope in hell do we have?

Leave now, the young that can anyway and walk out of South Africa. Only when the brain-drain has hit home MAYBE something will be done.

The problem with those that remain is that the rapes, murders and pillaging that is going on only happens to others and not to them. Heaven forbid that they will eventually become a statistic as well.

Show me anywhere in Africa where life has improved since independence. Get real and face the fact that the four odd million of you that are left will never change the inevitable slide into third world chaos.

Dream on but look to the north and show me anywhere where they are better off now.

I don’t bear malice to my former beautiful country but have accepted that it now belongs to the majority and it not the country I once knew any longer. If you want to stay then you must be prepared to put up with the mentality and the pain, suffering and heart ache that comes with it.

For those who think I am being over-critical; I import over five million Rands a year of South African foodstuffs as does Springbok Delights in Sydney so we still support their economy even though we don’t live there any longer.

Fred Ericsen-Miller
Cape to Cairo(Springbok Foods)
Box 506
Wembley, WA 6913, Australia
springbok2@hotkey.net.au
www.springbokfoods.com

Something to smile about

Smart Woman!

Wife vs husband
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, “Relatives of yours?”
“Yep,” the wife replied, “In-laws.”

Words
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day … 30,000 to a man’s 15,000.
The wife replied, “The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men …
The husband then turned to his wife and asked, “What?”

Creation
A man said to his wife one day: “I don’t know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time”.
The wife responded: “Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!”

Who does what?
A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said: “You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don’t have to wait as long to get our coffee.”
The husband said: ” You are in charge of the cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.” The wife replied: “No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee.”
Husband replies: “I can’t believe that, show me.”
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says …… “HEBREWS”

The Silent Treatment
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 am for an early morning business flight.
Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, “Please wake me at 5:00 am.”
He left it where he knew she would find it. The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 am and he had missed his flight.
Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn’t wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.
The paper said, “It is 5:00 am. Wake up.”
Men are just not equipped for these kinds of contests.

God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece!

Sport talk

Snippets from the papers

Gogga left in the cold by cricket bosses
Paul Adams last played a Test for South Africa two years ago. He turns 30 in January, an age at which spinners are entering their prime. Yet the chances of him representing his country again look very slim.
Full Story …

Toothless Sharks run ragged by Cheetahs
The Free State Cheetahs’ dominance over the Sharks extended to eight matches when they out-thought, out-muscled and out-played Dick Muir’s team in Saturday’s one-sided Absa Currie Cup semifinal here.
Full Story …

Bulls make it five in a row after WP win
The Blue Bulls proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are South Africa’s premier domestic rugby team when they produced a near flawless game of rugby to feature in their fifth consecutive Currie Cup final after beating Western Province 45-30 at Loftus on Saturday.
Full Story …

Cape Town’s Fields of Dreams – 2010
John Comitis has a bold, ambitious vision that he believes will leave the Western Cape with a lasting legacy once the 2010 World Cup has packed up and left our shores. Rodney Reiners speaks to the Ajax Cape Town boss about his dream.
Full Story …

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Come on, let’s hear from you too!

Many people subscribe to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. They do so because they enjoy reading it and they like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in Europe

Boerewors (Europe only, sorry people!)

We have had lovely weather in September and the Boeries has been flying out of the door. Boeries on the braai!
We will keep ample stock this coming winter so if you need boerewors just email us or call. You can either collect or we can mail it to you.
All our customers in Holland, Belgium and in fact, all over Europe are raving about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived at their doorsteps.

You too could have some real South African Boerewors on the braai next time!!
Just give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us.

Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram.
The normal price is € 8.45 per kg but for the time being we will keep it at only € 7.95 per kg!!

top

Droëwors for the UK and Europe!

Droëwors …… a typical South African delicacy all of its own!

Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos.
Real South African Droë Wors! The spices are of course imported especially from South Africa so you will get the “real” thing!
After our special pricing promotion was announced last month all droëwors was sold within a week! We are not back to our normal pricing of € 39.00 per kg and you can still get it at € 24.00 per kg.

Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option.
We can mail it to you in Europe and the UK via priority mail in minimum quantities of 1 kg.
See all the mailing rates by going to www.boerewors.be

Interested? Give us a call or email.

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the Spit ……. something special!

The Braai season is over in Europe (except for some diehards!) but there is always the Spring and Summer of 2007!!

Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so!

We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of between 30 and 50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
For venues more than 50 km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.
The barbecue season is almost over but there is always next year.
Start planning now for the Spring and next Summer!
Remember that we are doing these functions only during weekends.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us.
(A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006

February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006

June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

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July 2006

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The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

July/August 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
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In this Newsletter

Recipe corner

Subscribing and un-subscribing

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
July 20, 2006

Hello everybody,

Welcome to our newsletter for July!

You must have been wondering what happened to me this month. It is already the 20th and no sign of the newsletter yet!

Well, I have been wondering myself where all the time has gone to. It has been June and now July is almost finished.

What happened to the first half of this year?

Is life really that hectic that we can no longer make time for a bit of relaxation or is it just a case of us not able to manage our lives properly?

Personally I fall in that last category. I must simply start taking time to do just nothing. Now, for those who know me, this will be a huge task if not totally impossible because I cannot simply sit around and do nothing.

But I can at least give it a good try!

I am sitting in my study overlooking the road in front of the house right now with the windows wide open to let in the small breeze that is blowing at the moment.

It is hot here in Belgium, very hot in fact. Last night when I was walking around on the outside the thermometer read 36C. And that was at 7pm in the shade!!

It has been like this for the past 4-6 weeks now and it does not seem that it will go away. Coming from South Africa you would think that I was used to the heat but boy, is this murder! Back in Linbro Park we at least had our pool! We thought about getting one of these small ones just to sit in to cool down but what is the use. Murphy says that the moment we buy one and have it all ready to go the weather will change and it will be just a hassle to keep clean.

I suppose we are never happy. It’s always either too cold or too hot. But then again I keep on saying that you can dress against the cold but you can’t dress against the heat!

The worst is that the aircon in my car is bust. The other day whilst driving around in France, somewhere near Normandy, I was rudely stopped by a huge Pheasant running across the road. At 120km per hour this caused enough damage to crack both the cooling radiator and the one for the aircon.

The cooling system was fixed immediately but I did not notice that the aircon was broken as well since one so seldom uses it.

How I wish it was working right now and I cannot even have it fixed because the garage is closed for the holidays and we can’t get spares.

We are looking forward to this weekend because my son Tony has organized a huge party and we will be there to do a suckling pig on the spit. We have not done a pig for a very long time and it will be interesting to see how it comes out.

I will show some of the pictures next month.

Hey, I am not going to carry on for long this month.

There is so much already in this edition of our newsletter for you to read and enjoy!

It is holiday time now and I am taking a break as well. The next issue of our newsletter will be at the end of August.

Please send in your contributions for that edition and let us try and make it a bumper one. Tell us all about your holidays or about the so very cold winter you are having in the southern parts of this world.

Anything is always very welcome.

Take care and we will speak soon.

Lo

“If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.”
-Mary Edgeworth-“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
-Sir Winston Churchill-

Food for thought

Tequila and Salt . . . . . . . . a keeper

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where you could read it every day.
You may not realize it, but it’s 100% true.

There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.
Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
You mean the world to someone.
You are special and unique.
Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.
When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

And always remember ……. when life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!

Story of the month

I discovered a web site that explains in detail how bad crime is in South Africa today. This was going to be the topic for the main story for this month. But, we have enough bad news already every single day of our lives. So, while there is a lot of truth in what is written about the crime rate and how the government does not want to release true crime figures, this month it is neither the time nor the place to discuss this in depth.

Instead let’s try to forget for a moment about the bad things happening all around us every day and let us indulge in a bit of laughter and fun.

Nico Botha made us laugh last year and he will do so again this year. I am sorry for all those people who don’t speak Afrikaans but this is not a story one can even attempt to translate.

It just would not do justice to it.

So, by popular request here is once again the story of “Die Vlêrmuis”

One Friday night, somewhere in Australia ……….

This is a true story by Nico Botha.

Hier is ‘n stukkie wat julle heerlik sal laat lag!
Ek noem dit sommer:

“Die vlêrmuis en die dronk “Bierman”!

Die episode het sowat vyf weke gelede gebeur en toe ek dit vir ou Jannie Basson hier in die dorpie vertel dog ek hy gaan homself in ‘n koma in lag !!

My klomp Aussie bure is mos van die meer begeesterde tipe mense wat hou van ‘n geleentheid om ‘n “partie” te hou en dan word die pensklavier, kitaar en ander instrumente stoep toe gesleep en dan moet ek “Walzing Matilda” hoor in 600 variasies van dronkenskap!
En ons moet kyk hoe die aunties al die omies se bloeddruk opjaag met hulle stywe skirts en toppies wat net die bo-kant vannie ou “dairy” se dak toemaak!
Van die aunties se ou “dairies” is so groot hulle sal nooit op hulle gesigte val nie en van hulle het jare laas hul voete en knie knoppe gesien!!

So ‘n ruk gelede was dit toe weer een vrydagaand dieselfde ou storie en die bakkies, lorries en ander rygoed het hier in ons pad geparkeer en die koel “boxe” vol drank was oor die straat gesleep en die musiek was so hard die hele buurt het verniet geluister na die klomp se party!
Glo my dit was ‘n moerse lekker party!!

Die polisie se vangwa het sommer aan die bokant vannie straat vir ‘n lang ruk geparkeer en gewag vir die klomp om te “Drink en Drive” maar ek is seker party het die boesman twak, of soos ons dit noem pappegaai twak, gerook en hulle het lekker “ge-Smoke en ge-fly!!!

Drank was in oorvloed en die tannies het gerook en gesuip en gelag en die toilet het ‘n laaaaaaaaaang “queue” voor die deur gehad waar die ou drank gevulde blase maar leeg getap is voor die glasies weer volgemaak is!
Dis amper soos ‘n groot reën daar in die Karoo. Die aarde bly die water drink asof daar nie ‘n môre weer sal wees nie!
Die klomp is soos die Karoo. Hulle is bly die drank is hier want dan kan hulle drink want die bottelstoor kan dalk môre toe wees!

Ek is nou al lekker moerig teen die tyd want die klomp het Cianan (ons een jaar oue knaap) al ‘n paar keer wakker gemaak met hulle gelag en gesing en die tannies wat die oomies so staan en “skerp” maak!!
Party van die aunties staan so in die ooms ingevou hulle lyk soos n klomp Siamese tweelinge wat party hou!

Die een girl het my laat dink aan ‘n lekker groot ou Afrika luislang wat ‘n duikertjie gevang het en hom nou eers gaan dood druk voor sy hom opeet. Die oom se kop vas daar in “Tieties kloof” ingewurm en sy het hom in ‘n greep gehou waar hy maar net kon staan en luister hoe haar hartklop versnel soos die auntie se pace maker haar aanjaag om die oom vas te hou!
“Oh watta feeling“!!

Dis ook toe net daar waar die badkamer se wegvloei pyp hier onder ons huis inkonk en ek moet gou na ‘n vriend ry om ‘n pyplas te gaan haal om die pyp reg te maak!

Hier langs die huis groei daar ‘n tipe boom wat sulke geel bessies dra en die kinders het al vir my vertel die klomp vrugtevlermuise wat daar hang en eet en hulle is mal oor die bessies van die boom en nou hang hulle in die boom elke aand en vreet hulle trommeldik aan die geel bessies!

Dis toe waar ek ‘n “gap” sien want daai vlermuise stink soos ‘n Putco bus oppad daar na die woonbuurt toe en hulle is nie ‘n dier wat daarvan hou om skoon te bly nie!

Gewapen met my flits en ‘n stuk waterpyp sien ek toe ‘n vlermuis amper so oud soos ou Jan van Riebeeck hier hang aan ‘n boom tak, binne slaanafstand van my af!
Soos ‘n wafferse swaard vegter kap ek hom toe mooi ‘n ligte skoot hier agter sy muisoor en hy val soos ‘n gewonde Zulu oppie grond en met sy vlerk rol hy hom toe om sy oe te beskerm teen die skerp lig.

Dis toe daar waar my “Stoute Nico” weer sterk na vore kom! Ek begin sommer daai party se musiek al hoe meer geniet en die vlermuis is in ‘n groot blik waar hy besig is om te herstel van sy ontmoeting met die pyp en hy protesteer luidkeels oor die inhegtenis name en aanhouding in die blik!

So gaan die aand maar rustig voort. Die drank vloei en die tannies kyk diep innie oomies se oe en die “queue” doen hulle job by die toilet!!
Dit wat net liters en liters piepie wat van die toilet na die “poo-poo plaas” toe gaan om daar weer gesirkuleer te word vir “grys” water! Wat van daai lekker ou boere word, “herwinbare water”!

Dis so amper 3 uur die oggend toe die laaste paartjie hier wegkruip oor die pad na hul motor en die nag injaag want die oomies is mos nou vol druiwesap en die tannies fluister mos net die regte goeters in hul ore!
Die auntie soek gas! En die oom lyk of hy die regte konneksie het vir die gas!

Dis nou daar waar ek toe die hond maar laat uitkom en hy raak mal waar ek die vlermuis innie blik opgehang het!
Toe onthou ek die vlermuis innie blik en “Stoute Nico” se planne begin “motion” kry!! Daar kom ons nou by my plan van wraak teen die party organizers en die bure wat so hou van drank!!

Dis nou blerrie laat in die nag en die meeste in die buurt is nou teen einde laas innie bed!

Tannie buurvrou het ‘n manier om haar tjor se venster oop te los, en ek vat toe vlermuis oor na hulle kant en hoor die gesnork en gekla van die twee! (MY BURE)
Hy slaap, en sy wil! Sy soek die gas van die oom af en sy kan die oom nie wakker kry nie! Al daai gewyn was toe verniet want die oom is mooi uitgepaas! Die tannie is gatvol vir die oom want dis ‘n ou triek van hom om te gaan slaap voor hy die auntie behoorlik gegroet het na die aand se party!
Dis die stywe skirt en toppie, die rooi lippe, die klomp lekker ruikparfuum, die hoëhak skoene en die bottles vol wyn.
Alles is verniet want die auntie gaan nie vannie oom se gas vanaand kry nie!

Met die blik met die vlermuis in sluip ek toe na die oop tjor se venster en skut die dik gestikte en erg beswaarde groot vrugte vlermuis mooi in die motor in!
Lekker kwaad en ook met ‘n kopseer klim hy toe sommer hier onder die bestuurder se sitplek in en maak hom reg vir ‘n slapie voor die sports begin!

Ek is natuurlik vroeg oggend op en sit koppie op koppie koffie en uitdrink en wag vir die auntie om met haar drank gevulde ou lyf en die lus wannie geblus is nie hier na die motortjie toe te kom want sy werk naweke van agtuur tot die volgende party begin!

So net voor agt kom sy toe teen die trappies afgeslomp ook seker maar met ‘n babelaas en moerig vir die omie wat eerder wil slaap as speel, half laat vir die weekend job maar reg om te gaan werk!
Daai toppie van gisternag en die stywe skirt is haar “working gear” vir die dag in die office. Al rokende met die twak tussen die vingers en dan na die lippe begin sy haar trip.
Sy skuif daai ou lyf mooi after die ou stuurwiel in en begin om in trurat na die pad te ry toe my ou vrind die vlermuis besluit hy is op die “verkeerde bus” en dis tyd om uit te klim!

Hy klim toe sommer so hier van onder die “seat” tussen die auntie se twee bene deur (daar waar die oom moes wees) na die stuurwiel se kant toe! En sy stank klap die auntie se ou neusgate skoon weg van haar eie drank belaaide en sweet reuk!
Hy begin sy optog na die venster en sy begin haar gegil en geroep na die ou oom wat nog sy babelaas lê en uitslaap ! Sy skreeu so hard dat ek sommer aanbied om ook te gaan kyk waar is vlerrie nou (tussen die knieknoppe of oor die pens rif of dalk sit die auntie op ou vlerrie se vlerk?

Sy skreeu; “Brendon it’s got me (gelukkige ou vlermuis), come help, come help it’s gonna bite me!”
Met die laaste gesoebat vir hulp word ou Brendon toe mooi wakker en storm teen die agtertrappies af waar die “auto sprinkler system” die tuin toe al mooi nat gespuit het en die plank trappe van die huis na die garage so glad soos ‘n snot paling is.
Hy koop toe sy plaas en val gat oor kop die laaste stel trappe tot op die garage vloer se sement blad waar hy in pyn sy opgeswelde ou lewer lê en troos!!

Ek is seker ek kon daai lewer hoor sing soos

“Groep Twee”

Dink jy darem nog aan my
Het jy my nog nie vergeet nie?
Al die jare drink ons saam en jy is steeds nog glad nie skaam
Dink jy darem nog aan my?
Kyk hoe swel die drank my op en ek jou lewer is aan die pop!
Dink jy darem nog aan my?

Hy lê en kreun, ek kla en die auntie wil so graag sy hulp hê dat sy nou al boos is vir die “aussie apie” (vlermuis) wat hier op haar skoot sit en stink soos ‘n lokasie vark wat al die ou skille ens opge-eet het.
Moenie vergeet nie, daai vlermuis het ook ‘n kopseer en hy is nie lus vir die sirkus saam met die auntie en oom wat lê en kreun nie!
Pleks dat hy (die oom) gisteraand moes kreun, kreun hy nou!
Dis toe daar waar die auntie die “aussie apie” so met ‘n hand uit die motor kajuit klap terug hier in my jaart in en hy is toe gatvol vir die houe teen die kop dat sy ou pens toe so begin te werk met die veeg teen die oor en hy sit toe sy “droppings” (kakkas) mooi teen die auntie se stywe toppie vas met ‘n goed geoogde spuit poep en die klank en reuk volg spoedig net daarna!!

Brendon het toe teen die tyd al mooi herstel van sy rugbyduik drie op die sement en hy hou die ou lewer so in een hand en waggel na die oop kar deur om darem die auntie te wys hy is erg beswaard oor haar ervaring met die “ding” wat tussen haar bene deurgeklim het en wat alles met haar gebeur het.
Die auntie issie impress met die knaap se aansit pyn nie en die vlermuis poo-poo onder die neusgate en die wete sy is laat vir werk is nou genoeg om sommer sy nek om te draai!

Ek help toe maar soos enige ou goeie natuurkind en vat die vlermuis na die naaste boom waar hy ‘n tak aangewys word om te herstel van sy houe teen die kop in die laaste 12 uur!
Hy sing “Oh what a night”!!

Sy stink soos ‘n straat vrou (nie dat ek al een geruik het nie) en hy is sommer doodreg en ontslae van sy ou babelaas van die laatnag party en sy stink erger as een van Cianan (my een jaar oue knaap) se trefferdoeke vroeg oggend onder sy pa se neus!!

Die einde van die storie is die vlermuis het sy ondervinding oorleef en ek het al gewonder of hulle, soos ons, vir mekaar vertel van hulle ondervindinge en ervarings wat hulle deurmaak hier op die aarde?
Miskien het sy vlermuisvrou hom gevra: “Waar was jy laasnag en hoekom het jy nie huistoe gekom nie?” En dan hoor ek die manlike stem in hom na vore kom met: “Ek het onder ‘n seat in ‘n kar geslaap en toe tussen die auntie se bene deur geklim voor sy my teen die kop geklap het en ek toe so kwaad was dat ek my vlermuis pens sommer op haar mooi ou toppie leeg gemaak het met ‘n vlermuis spuit poep!”

Dan sien ek sommer die tannie vlermuis in my verbeelding en hoe sy vir hom sê: “Bly weg daar by die Botha’s se huis, want hy sit dalk van daai Suid Afrikaanse witblits op daai bessies en dit maak jou dinge doen wat vir niks sal skrik nie!!
En hy, die vlermuis wat so tussen die bene deurklim, vertel sy storie vir elke ander vlermuis asof hy wil sê
Kan jy beter doen as dit??

Groete, Nico

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Special Concert in the Benelux

Coenie de Villiers

Coenie de Villiers, Suid-Afrika se geliefde en bekroonde Afrikaanse sanger, liriekskrywer en klavierkunstenaar tree 15 September 2006 in Den Haag op en 16 September in Brussels.
Kom geniet ‘n heerlike kerslig-ete in Nederland saam met Coenie in konsert of woon ‘n eg Suid-Afrikaanse byeenkoms by in Belgie met SA produkte, kossoorte en gratis wynproe voor die aanvang van die konsert.

Vir meer inligting en besprekings, besoek http://www.bassons.org of stuur ‘n epos aan loraine@bassons.org

Our Home Biltong Makers

Save over 26% right now!

With the South African Rand at its weakest in years it is now the ideal opportunity to get your own Home Biltong Maker!!

It will cost you so much less today than with the strong Rand from a while ago! In fact you’ll be making a saving of well over 26% compared to only 4 months ago!!
(April 1, 2006 the Buddy was € 85.00, now it is € 66.00!!)

So, don’t wait for the Rand to get strong again. Order now !

Over and above the exchange rate saving you can also make use of our special pricing this month so it’s a double bonus in July!

You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s specials

Make use of this opportunity!!

As we mentioned above you have another opportunity this month to make use of our special pricing.
Unfortunately not everything can remain the same as last month but there are still some very good deals to be had!

So ….. start making your own Biltong. It’s as easy as 1-2-3 and it’s loads of fun too!

For the whole month of July you will still be able to get the following on “special”.

Special discounts for Special Customers!!

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong Maker for only R 825.00
(instead of the normal R 950.00)

The famous BILTONG BUDDY Home Biltong Maker for only R 625.00
(Instead of the normal R 750.00)

Our SI-30 Industrial Biltong Drying Cabinet for only R 4995.00
(Instead of the normal R 5995.00)
Our Wooden Hand Biltong Cutter for only R 290.00
(Instead of the normal R 390.00)

Our Semi Industrial Hand Biltong Cutter/Shredder for only R 895.00
(Instead of the normal R 1475.00)
Our famous Safari pre-mixed Biltong Spice for only R 55.00 per 500 gram
(Instead of the normal R 65.00)
A limited selection of our Nice ‘n Spicy spices for only R 25.00
(Instead of the normal R 35.00)

Free with all Biltong Maker orders placed in July

20 special Biltong storage bags

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

Some useful tips

A lot of people have been asking lately about a replacement for salt in Biltong for health reasons. Last month Fred from Australia came up with a special recipe and this month we have the name of an actual salt replacement sent to us.

Jean-Luc from South Africa tells us that TROCOMARE is a good replacement and is available from www.avogel.ch.

For interest sake, Jean-Luc is promoting the TeddyBok which is the official mascot of the Chris Burger Fund and of Ladies Springbok team as well as the National team.

The following tip comes from Eva Jordaan in Iceland.

This incident happened recently in North Texas .

A woman went boating one Sunday taking with her some cans of coke which she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on the Wednesday.

The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis. This was traced to the can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis.

Rat urine contains toxic and deathly substances. It is highly recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of soda cans before drinking out of them. The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned.

A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i.e).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident.

For bad garlic breath just add half a teaspoon of vanilla essence to a quarter cup of milk. Warm slightly in the microwave and drink!
Flowers will last longer in a vase if you add two aspirins to the water.
To prevent maggots getting into flour etc. just put a white candle in the bag.

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Ladies en gentlemen……

Anton Goosen!

” … vir elke alkie, elke junkie, space cadet, buttonhead … ”
“… vir die boys in die suburbs …”

Are you a fan of South African Rock and Boereblues?
Remember “Blommetjie gedenk aan my”, “Honkie Tonk Donkie” en “Boy van die Suburbs”?

People in the Benelux can join us on the weekend of October 20th for an evening with Anton Goosen, the original “Liedjieboer”, who will perform these and many more of his unforgettable songs in a cozy pub setting where everyone can sing along!

But, be quick because this show is selling out fast!
You can send an email to loraine@bassons.org for more information.

You can also check out Anton’s web site by clicking right here

You can count us in Loraine! – Ed

Questions and Answers

As every month, here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

Ek wil graag weet of ‘n mens gedroogte biltong in ‘n koelkamer kan stoor.
Is daar enige gesondheids risikos verbonde daaraan.
Daar is mense war vertel dat ‘n mens kan doodgaan indien jy biltong eet wat uit ‘n koelkamer kom of wat gevries was.

Dankie
Santie
South Africa
glenross@absamail.co.za

QUESTION

We are currently busy with a design for a 10m² x 2.5m high Biltong Drying Cabinet.
We want to be able to do the following:
Insert 1 Ton of meat.
Remove 30% Moisture over 3 days (10%/day) with a temperature of 35°C
Remove 700kg of Biltong on the 3rd day.
The process must consist of cooling the air and then re-heating it.
Your assistance will be greatly appreciated, hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
Gerhard Jordaan
South Africa
devserve@intekom.co.za

Does anyone have any ideas on this for Gerhard? – Ed

QUESTION

Do you have a recipe voor boerewors in a Potjie?

Regards
Louise Liebenberg
Uden, Holland
info@grazerie.nl

QUESTION

I love your site and am trying to make my own Biltong and have a quick question:
What sort of yield can I expect? i.e., if I start with 10 lbs of meat, how much Biltong can I expect to get?

Thanks,
Bryan
Stanford, USA
Wolff_Bryan@GSB.Stanford.EDU

QUESTION

I was looking for a site online where I could buy (of all things) Imana Soy Mince. I lived in Swaziland for 3 years and have several recipes that call for it.
Any chance you could lead me to a place that would sell it and would ship to the US (without it costing a fortune)!

Thanks so much,
Michele Garren
USA
michelemmurray@yahoo.com

QUESTION

Goeie middag!

Ek wil net graag uitvind of jy nie vir my ‘n resep het om Cabanosi te maak nie asseblief!!
Ek soek al heel dag op die internet maar kry net nie een nie.
Byvoorbaat dankie
Denielle
Centurion, South Africa

U kan my gerus e-mail by
denielleh@qbcon.com

Stoep Talk

It’s 2009 and Sandton is deserted…..
By James Clarke

The year is 2009. The eastern sky is getting lighter over Johannesburg. The SAPS’s brand-new, six-wheel, armoured suburban patrol module is standing at the kerb outside the SAPS’s heavily sandbagged Mission Control Centre on the outskirts of Sandton.

Chief Inspector Fearless Zwane is in command of the six-man crew. Constable Molefi, tense as a violin string, is manning the 88mm turret gun while Constable Naidoo is the rear gunner.

They are about to venture into Sandton – the first police vehicle to do so for two years.

Parts of Sandton had been abandoned after thousands of residents were forced to emigrate under the Prohibition of Whinging Against Crime Act of 2007.

Crime statistics, for the second time since 2004, are being kept secret because, say the police, the public misinterprets them.

Meanwhile the public has been assured that the police are in full control of crime – which is what many people had suspected.

Murders (the police claim) are down to 103 a day and the police try to investigate many of them.

Muggings carry only a spot fine. But with the World Cup due in 2010, the USAR (Union of South African Robbers) has agreed – following a plea from the minister of safety and security – to check people’s ID before robbing them. This is in case they are foreign visitors who, says the minister, “might not fully understand or appreciate South African culture”.

But there are a few old-fashioned cops who still fight crime. Chief Inspector Zwane and his crew are among them.

Patrol Module: (driver turns key) We have ignition!

Control: Check! Ten seconds to H-hour and counting … Five, four, three, two, one … Module: (pulling away from kerb) Speed 20. Heading for central Sandton.

Control: You’re looking good.

Module: Down Rivonia Road. No sign of life.

Control: Check!

Module: Streets empty. All systems looking good. Shop windows covered in dust. Litter knee-deep. No sign of life.

Control: Don’t take any undue risks.

Module: Copy.

Control: You’re still looking good.

Module: Cruising.

Control: Copy.

Module: Now stationary… engine still running. Door now in unlock mode.

Control: Copy.

Module: Constable Molefi now has one foot on kerb… Now two feet on kerb! Still looking good…

Control: Copy.

Module: Molefi letting go of door handle… now he’s one metre from Patrol Module. (Suddenly) Red light! Red light! Red light showing on dashboard! Oops! Sorry – handbrake was on. We’re all a bit jumpy here.

Control: Copy.

Module: Checking all systems…

Control: Standing by.

Module: (Molefi’s voice cuts in: “That’s one small step for a policeman…”)

Control: (sounds of applause in background) Congratulations all round, Chief Inspector…

Module: Molefi now dusting off wall of Sandton City ready to affix plaque proclaiming that on this day, August 1, AD 2009, the SAPS reoccupied central Sandton…

Control: We are all saluting you here, Chief Inspector… the minister sends congratulations!

Module: The minister? Has he recovered? (Dear reader, the minister had collapsed a few days before – suffering oxygen deprivation. He had been half suffocated by his 24 bodyguards, who were too tightly packed around him. Since 2007 many ministers had been whinging about not being able to see where they are going because of being surrounded by too many tall bodyguards. Shorter ministers used periscopes.)

Control: He has recovered.

Module: Mission complete. Constable Molefi safely returned to patrol vehicle.

Control: Copy.

Module: Locks activated. Seatbelts on. Moving out…

Correction. Not moving! Somebody’s stolen all our wheels and put us up on bricks.

Recipe corner

Leg of Lamb Potjie

This is an excellent Leg of Lamb Potjie.
It is enough for 6 people and a size 3 Pot is recommended.

Ingredients

2 kg Leg of lamb
250g Bacon, cubed
300g Baby carrots, peeled
8 Medium potatoes, peeled and halved
300g Brussell sprouts
15ml Ground Coriander
15ml Brown sugar
1 Bottle dry red wine
30ml Butter
3ml Dried rosemary
250ml Sour cream
150g Dried peaches
Salt and pepper to taste
15ml Apricot jam
15 ml Cake flour

Method

Trim all the fat off the leg.
Make small cuts in the leg with a knife and stretch these cuts by pushing a finger in each cut
Fill each cut with the cubed bacon
Rub the leg well with the coriander and the brown sugar
Marinade the leg in the wine overnight
Melt the butter in the Potjie while the fire is still burning and brown the leg slightly on all sides
Add the rosemary and 50ml of the wine marinade
Cover with the lid and allow the Pot to simmer for at least 1.5 hours or until the leg is half done
Ensure that the coals are not too hot and turn the leg regularly adding some more wine marinade and not more than half of the sour cream
Add the dried fruit, cover with the lid and allow the Potjie to simmer for 30 minutes
Layer the veggies as they appear in the recipe and season with the salt and pepper
Add the remaining sour cream, cover with the lid and allow the Potjie to simmer for a further hour
When the leg is done, add the jam, cover with the lid and wait until the jam has melted

The Potjie is now ready to be served.
Remove the leg and carve it in slices
Add the flour to the sauce and stir until ready

Serves 6

Click below for our handy cooking converter

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

Hello everyone,

I must say I enjoy reading all your stories. Some of them are just so funny. Stoeptalk has me in stitches.

Fred – mate – so nice to see you are alive and kicking. Fred used to be our Boerewors man when I lived in Reedy Creek, Gold Coast, Australia.
Fred disappeared and then we moved back to Melbourne. Guess what Fred, nobody can make Boerie like you. We gave up trying to buy the yucky stuff in Melbourne because it was just NOT right. In fact, it was nowhere near right. I’ve turned vegetarian anyway. HA HA HA. Hope you and yours are well Fred.

I left South Africa almost 24 years ago and what a culture shock I had when I arrived in Melbourne. Anyway, I’ve since “got over myself” and I just love the country. I am now living in a beautiful country town called Paynesville, surrounded by lakes and rivers and then the ocean. It’s awesomely beautiful. It’s Paradise – it’s Heaven in a Biscuit. It’s the boating and fishing capital of Victoria. I will post some photos soon. In the mean time have a look at thePaynesville web site for some lovely pictures.

Paynesville is about 3 1/2 hours drive from Melbourne and the weather is just wonderful. Unlike Melbourne’s 4 seasons in one day and hotter than you can bear in Summer. Like I said, it’s perfect.

Hope you are all well and happy in your part of the world. Stay lucky and …. as Fred always used to say on the ‘phone “Have a Naughty Day”. Teehee.

Hugs
Sharon
Paynesville, Australia
shazneru@hotmail.com

Thank you for such a nice “Happy” mail Sharon. Hope to hear more from you – Ed

Hi there,

I thought I would let you know how I have been getting on.
Mixed fortunes to date I’m afraid.

I tried the versatile biltong recipe from the web site first which gave a great consistency after 3 days but the flavour was too Worcestershire Sauce and not enough coriander for my taste.

I tried another recipe I found online on another web site which was a disaster. The meat was marinated mainly in coriander and brown sugar with minimal salt. It was still very wet at the end of the marinade period. I probably cut the meat a bit too thickly, and had a bit too much in the dryer.

Anyway you can guess the end result:
Mould!
I tried to control it with vinegar but in the end the batch had to be thrown away which was a big disappointment.

I have just put my third batch in this morning using the Connoisseur Biltong recipe from your web site. It is looking much more promising after the marinade and I am hopeful for a good result.
I used about 1/2 cup of roasted biltong seeds for just over a kilo of meat. Is this about right? The coating looks similar to the pictures on your site but it was a guess!
I would love to hear your views, and any tips would be appreciated!

Best wishes

Jim Ropner
Cheltenham, United Kingdom
ropnerj@hotmail.com

Interessante storie van Rapport – ingestuur deur Nico Botha van Australia

Bokveld toe!

Jul 15 2006

Daar sal vandag in Suid-Afrika waarskynlik ‘n skare mense wees wat sê die Springbokke was eintlik gelukkig om gister 0 teen Australië te kry.

Daar sal vandag in Suid-Afrika waarskynlik ‘n skare mense wees wat sê die Springbokke was eintlik gelukkig om gister 0 teen Australië te kry. Wel, die Aussies reken die Springbokke was eintlik gelukkig dat die telling teen hulle nie nóg groter was nie.

“Ons het baie punte op die veld gelos. Beter afronding en beter opsies kon ons nog verder laat wen het. Vanaand se oorwinning gee ons selfvertroue vir ons volgende kragmeting met die All Blacks, maar ons het nog harde werk wat voorlê voordat ons ons heel beste spelpeil bereik,” het afrigter John Connolly gesê nadat die Aussies die Bokke sy grootste pak nog in die Drienasies-kompetisie gegee het.

Aan Springbok-kant is daar gekla dat die Nieu-Seelandse blaser Paul Honiss die Bokke ingeloop het.

‘n Sigbaar oorblufde Jake White, afrigter van die Springbokke, het na/ sy span se nederlaag meer klem geplaas op wat hy glo was ‘n vrot vertoning deur blaser Paul Honiss as ‘n puik vertoning deur die Wallabies.

“Dit is die meeste strafskoppe wat ons nog vir onkantspel afgestaan het sedert ek die afrigter is. En ander strafskoppe in ander afdelings van die spel het dit baie moeilik vir ons gemaak om terug te veg nadat ons met 20-0 agtergeloop het. “Ek het agterna gehoor van die televisie-kommentators het gesê Honiss het ‘n swak dag beleef. Ek stem saam met hulle,” het White gekla toe hy oor sy span se skok-vertoning uitgevra is.

White het later erken dat hy die man is wat die Bokke se nederlaag op die ken moet vat deurdat hy verantwoordelik is vir die Bokke se verdedigings-patroon.

“Ons verdediging vanaand was nie goed gewees nie en almal in die span insluitend ek moet die skuld daarvoor dra. Ek sal moet gaan sit en kyk waar dit verkeerd gegaan het en indien veranderinge aan ons opskiet-verdediging gemaak moet word, sal dit moet gebeur.

“Vanaand was ‘n bewys dat indien dinge verkeerd loop, kan dit sleg verkeerd loop. “Ons sal egter nie boedel oorgee voor die stryd teen die All Blacks nie. Ons moet eenvoudig opstaan anders gaan dit nog donkerder word,” het White gesê.

Die Bok-kaptein John Smit, wat gisteraand lelike trapmerke op sy gesig gehad het, het sy span se vertoning as bitter teleurstellend beskryf.

Gevra oor wat hy in die kleedkamers aan sy spanmaats gesê het, het Smit gesê hy het gedink om eerder tot vandag te wag voordat hy almal nader trek en oor die nederlaag gesels.

“Somtyds is dit beter om eerder ‘n rukkie te wag totdat alles behoorlik insink en ‘n mens ‘n beter idée het waar alles verkeerd gegaan het.

“So’n nederlaag maak seer, baie seer, maar ons sal dit agter ons rug moet plaas en so gou as moontlik daarvan vergeet.

“Dit het net vandag gevoel of alles teen ons gegaan het. Daar was bitter baie vreemde beslissings en veral by die afbreekpunte is ons kwaai gestraf. Ek het wel baie hande in die losskrums gesien, maar dit was beslis nie alles Bok-hande nie. Dit is frustrerend was ‘n baie frustrerende toetswedstryd gewees,” het Smit gesê.

Die Bok-afrigter en kaptein het voorts gesê hulle weet hulle gaan slae kry by die huis oor gisteraand se vertoning.

Maar volgens White is daar nie veel wat hy kan doen as die spelers nie op die speelveld die regte dinge doen nie.

“Hopeloos te veel duikslae is gemis. Spelers het hul rûe op die bal gedraai en lugskoppe kon nie beheer word nie. Dis nie dinge wat geoefen kan word nie. Dit was nog nooit maklik om weg van die huis te wen nie. En as ‘n mens foute maak, is dit nog baie moeiliker om suksesvol te wees,” het White gesê.

Connolly het gisteraand gesê sy span se oorwinning oor die Bokke is ‘n soet sege wat die gevolg is van harde werk die afgelope week na/ die Wallabies se nederlaag verlede naweek teen die All Blacks.

“Ons is gelukkig en gaan vanaand lekker fees vier. Maar die volgende veertien dae voor ons volgende toets wag nog baie harde werk. Ons kan nog heelwat verbeter en het nie naastenby na ons volle potensiaal gespeel nie,” het Connolly gesê.

Volgens die breier was die Aussies geensins bekommerd oor die Bokke nie. Ook nie oor hul kragtige skrumwerk wat baie spanne laat bewe nie.

“Nee wat, ons was voor-af vol moed dat ons ons man sou staan en het geweet wat ons wou doen. Met rustyd was die grondslag gesê en daarna het ons net verseker dat ons die bal hou en hulle op die agtervoet hou,” het hy gesê.

Australie” se kaptein, George Gregan, het gesê gisteraand was ‘n trotse oomblik vir Aussie-rugby.

“Die Bokke is ‘n trotse rugbynasie en om hulle goed te klop en te keer dat hulle enige punte aanteken, is ‘n trotse gebeurtenis. Dit gaan vorentoe baie vir ons selfvertroue beteken en ons Drienasies-veldtog is weer op koers,” het Gregan gesê.

Die Wallaby-kaptein het voorts gesê die ree”n wat die oggend van die toets begin val het, het sake op die speelveld bemoeilik, maar nie onmoontlik gemaak nie.

“Die bal en veld was glibberig, maar nie te moeilik om te bemeester nie. Ons het gedink dit gaan veel erger wees as wat uiteindelik die geval was.”

I never do forwards, but I HAD to pass this on – just love it, and realise how much I miss our gorgeous country, fabulous flaws and all!

Enjoy ….. much luv,
Kimbo
kimbo.browm@gmail.com

You are proudly South African when …………….

You produce a R 100.00 note instead of your driver’s licence when stopped by a traffic officer
You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement
You have to hire a security guard whenever you park your car
You can count the national soccer team’s scores with no fingers
To get free electricity you have to pay a connection fee of R 750.00
Hijacking cars is a profession
You can pay your tuition fees by holding up a sign at a traffic light
The petrol in your tank may be worth more than your car
More people vote in a local reality TV show than in a local election
People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Precious, Innocence and Given
“Now now” can mean anything from a minute to a month
You continue to wait after a traffic light has turned to green to make way for taxis traveling in the opposite direction
Traveling at 120 km/h you’re the slowest vehicle on the highway
You’re genuinely and pleasantly surprised whenever you find your car parked where you left it
A bullet train is being introduced, but we can’t fix potholes
The last time you visited the coast you paid more in speeding fines and toll fees than you did for the entire holiday
You paint your car’s registration on the roof
You have to take your own linen with you if you are admitted to a government hospital
You have to prove that you don’t need a loan to get one
Prisoners go on strike
You don’t stop at a red traffic light, in case somebody hijacks your car
You consider it a good month if you only get mugged once
Rwandan refugees start leaving the country because the crime rate is too high
When 2 Afrikaans TV programes are separated by a Xhosa announcement of the following Afrikaans program, and a Pedi ad
The employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are
The SABC advertises and shows highlights of the program you just finished watching
You get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather
You call a bathing suit a “swimming costume”
You know what Rooibos Tea is, even if you’ve never had any
You can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them
You know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela
You go to “braais” (barbecues) regularly, where you eat boerewors (long meaty sausage-type thing) and swim, sometimes simultaneously
You know that there’s nothing to do in the Free State

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from SA

Something to smile about

Peanuts

A tour bus driver was driving a bus full of seniors down a highway. He was tapped on his shoulder by a little old lady. She offered him a handful of peanuts, which he gratefully munched up.

After 15 minutes, she tapped him on his shoulder again and handed him another handful of peanuts. She repeated this gesture about eight times.

The ninth time, he asked the little old lady why they did not eat the peanuts themselves. She replied that it was not possible because of their old teeth, and they are not able to chew them.

“Why do you buy them then?” he asked puzzled.

The old lady answered, “We just love the chocolate around them.”

Live Well – Laugh Often – Love Much

Sport talk

All about the Tri-Nations

Mallett hits out at White; The Boks ‘are not so clever’

By Morris Gilbert
Die Beeld, 17-07-2006

Wellington – The Springboks are said to be brain dead.

This was the “revelation” a New Zealand newspaper, The Dominion Post, published on its sports front page on Monday.

After South Africa’s record defeat in the Tri-Nations rugby Test against Australia last Saturday, Spiro Zavos wrote in his column, “The Roar”, that the Springboks had surpassed all previous lows with their performance against the Wallabies.

He not only described the Springboks as brain dead, but also had a go at them for criticising New Zealand referee Paul Honiss after the match in Brisbane.

Zavos wrote that the Springboks had to deal, for the first time in many years, with a referee who “accurately and unperturbedly” acted against offside play.

Because Honiss enforced the offside law properly, the Springboks were unable to get their defence pattern working, he added.

‘Honiss justly penalised them

“Paul Honiss may be controversial in New Zealand, but he did not become the country’s most-experienced Test referee because he makes mistakes.

“Honiss kept the Springboks on-side and justly penalised them when they did not listen to him.”

Zavos felt the Springboks were “as flat-footed as statues” because they suddenly had to defend from an on-side position.

In another report in the same newspaper, the Tri-Nations Test between South Africa and New Zealand on Saturday was described as “a massively uneven battle”.

In his reaction to the reports, Springbok coach Jake White said he and his players would be nervous wrecks if they took any notice of reports of that nature.

“The easiest reply is still to prove them wrong on the field. Just think how nice it would be if we beat the All Blacks; just think,” White said.

The latest war of words follows the insults the team had to endure in Australia last week.

It was said in Brisbane the Springboks were not clever enough to outsmart the Wallabies in the front row to the same extent New Zealand had done the previous week.

We should not be fooled

However, All Black coach Graham Henry feels the Springboks’ huge defeat in Brisbane is not necessarily good news for his team.
“We should not be fooled by their performance against the Wallabies.”

“They will certainly play better against us and it will be even more necessary for us to concentrate on our own preparations.”

“Who knows which Springbok team will turn up on Saturday,” asked Henry.

Tri-Nations
Click on the left for the latest Tri-Nations log, scorers, fixtures and results and Kiwi, Wallaby and Springbok squads.

Rugby chiefs on carpet in Watson row
The parliamentary sports committee has accused Springbok coach Jake White of being “reckless” in blaming transformation for his failure to call up Luke Watson.
Full Story…

Rossouw could make speedy return
Springbok lock Danie Rossouw could be back on the field for the return Tri-Nations Test in South Africa.
Full Story….

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Come on, let’s hear from you too!

We are already in the second half of this year and have received some very nice contributions to our newsletter from all over the world. But we can do better!!

Many people have subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and they like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

Our Boerewors has again proven to be as popular as last year (and all the years before)!

Boeries on the braai! Especially very well received is the vacuum packing of the wors and the posting!
All our customers in Holland, Belgium and Germany raved about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived.

You too could have some real South African Boerewors on the braai next time!!
Just give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us.

Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram.

The normal price is € 8.45 per kg but during July it’s only € 7.95 per kg!!

top

Droëwors for the UK and Europe!

Droëwors …… a typical South African delicacy all of its own!

Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos.

Real South African Droë Wors! Our new drying facility can handle up to 25 kg and it takes at least one week to dry the normal wet sausage to the “cracking” dryness of Droëwors.
The spices are of course imported especially from South Africa so you will get the “real” thing!

Our normal price is € 29.00 per kg but during July your can get it at only € 19.95 per kg.

Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option. We can mail it to you in Europe and the UK via priority mail in minimum quantities of 1 kg.
See all the mailing rates by going to www.boerewors.be

Interested? Give us a call or email.

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the Spit ……. something special!

Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!

We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of between 30 and 50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
For venues more than 50 km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

There are not many dates left this year. If you are planning a function or party with a Lamb on the Spit in mind it is advisable to book early. Remember that we are doing these functions only during weekends.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us.
(A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005

November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006

March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

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Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!If you prefer not to receive email from us, you can unsubscribe from Biltongmakers.Com! by clicking on this link.
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July 2006

The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

July/August 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!

In this Newsletter

Recipe corner

Subscribing and un-subscribing

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
July 20, 2006

Hello everybody,Welcome to our newsletter for July!

You must have been wondering what happened to me this month. It is already the 20th and no sign of the newsletter yet!

Well, I have been wondering myself where all the time has gone to. It has been June and now July is almost finished.

What happened to the first half of this year?

Is life really that hectic that we can no longer make time for a bit of relaxation or is it just a case of us not able to manage our lives properly?

Personally I fall in that last category. I must simply start taking time to do just nothing. Now, for those who know me, this will be a huge task if not totally impossible because I cannot simply sit around and do nothing.

But I can at least give it a good try!

I am sitting in my study overlooking the road in front of the house right now with the windows wide open to let in the small breeze that is blowing at the moment.

It is hot here in Belgium, very hot in fact. Last night when I was walking around on the outside the thermometer read 36C. And that was at 7pm in the shade!!

It has been like this for the past 4-6 weeks now and it does not seem that it will go away. Coming from South Africa you would think that I was used to the heat but boy, is this murder! Back in Linbro Park we at least had our pool! We thought about getting one of these small ones just to sit in to cool down but what is the use. Murphy says that the moment we buy one and have it all ready to go the weather will change and it will be just a hassle to keep clean.

I suppose we are never happy. It’s always either too cold or too hot. But then again I keep on saying that you can dress against the cold but you can’t dress against the heat!

The worst is that the aircon in my car is bust. The other day whilst driving around in France, somewhere near Normandy, I was rudely stopped by a huge Pheasant running across the road. At 120km per hour this caused enough damage to crack both the cooling radiator and the one for the aircon.

The cooling system was fixed immediately but I did not notice that the aircon was broken as well since one so seldom uses it.

How I wish it was working right now and I cannot even have it fixed because the garage is closed for the holidays and we can’t get spares.

We are looking forward to this weekend because my son Tony has organized a huge party and we will be there to do a suckling pig on the spit. We have not done a pig for a very long time and it will be interesting to see how it comes out.

I will show some of the pictures next month.

Hey, I am not going to carry on for long this month.

There is so much already in this edition of our newsletter for you to read and enjoy!

It is holiday time now and I am taking a break as well. The next issue of our newsletter will be at the end of August.

Please send in your contributions for that edition and let us try and make it a bumper one. Tell us all about your holidays or about the so very cold winter you are having in the southern parts of this world.

Anything is always very welcome.

Take care and we will speak soon.

Lo

“If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.”
-Mary Edgeworth-“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
-Sir Winston Churchill-

Food for thought

Tequila and Salt . . . . . . . . a keeper

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where you could read it every day.
You may not realize it, but it’s 100% true.

There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.
Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
You mean the world to someone.
You are special and unique.
Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.
When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

And always remember ……. when life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!

Story of the month

I discovered a web site that explains in detail how bad crime is in South Africa today. This was going to be the topic for the main story for this month. But, we have enough bad news already every single day of our lives. So, while there is a lot of truth in what is written about the crime rate and how the government does not want to release true crime figures, this month it is neither the time nor the place to discuss this in depth.

Instead let’s try to forget for a moment about the bad things happening all around us every day and let us indulge in a bit of laughter and fun.

Nico Botha made us laugh last year and he will do so again this year. I am sorry for all those people who don’t speak Afrikaans but this is not a story one can even attempt to translate.

It just would not do justice to it.

So, by popular request here is once again the story of “Die Vlêrmuis”

One Friday night, somewhere in Australia ……….

This is a true story by Nico Botha.

Hier is ‘n stukkie wat julle heerlik sal laat lag!
Ek noem dit sommer:

“Die vlêrmuis en die dronk “Bierman”!

Die episode het sowat vyf weke gelede gebeur en toe ek dit vir ou Jannie Basson hier in die dorpie vertel dog ek hy gaan homself in ‘n koma in lag !!

My klomp Aussie bure is mos van die meer begeesterde tipe mense wat hou van ‘n geleentheid om ‘n “partie” te hou en dan word die pensklavier, kitaar en ander instrumente stoep toe gesleep en dan moet ek “Walzing Matilda” hoor in 600 variasies van dronkenskap!
En ons moet kyk hoe die aunties al die omies se bloeddruk opjaag met hulle stywe skirts en toppies wat net die bo-kant vannie ou “dairy” se dak toemaak!
Van die aunties se ou “dairies” is so groot hulle sal nooit op hulle gesigte val nie en van hulle het jare laas hul voete en knie knoppe gesien!!

So ‘n ruk gelede was dit toe weer een vrydagaand dieselfde ou storie en die bakkies, lorries en ander rygoed het hier in ons pad geparkeer en die koel “boxe” vol drank was oor die straat gesleep en die musiek was so hard die hele buurt het verniet geluister na die klomp se party!
Glo my dit was ‘n moerse lekker party!!

Die polisie se vangwa het sommer aan die bokant vannie straat vir ‘n lang ruk geparkeer en gewag vir die klomp om te “Drink en Drive” maar ek is seker party het die boesman twak, of soos ons dit noem pappegaai twak, gerook en hulle het lekker “ge-Smoke en ge-fly!!!

Drank was in oorvloed en die tannies het gerook en gesuip en gelag en die toilet het ‘n laaaaaaaaaang “queue” voor die deur gehad waar die ou drank gevulde blase maar leeg getap is voor die glasies weer volgemaak is!
Dis amper soos ‘n groot reën daar in die Karoo. Die aarde bly die water drink asof daar nie ‘n môre weer sal wees nie!
Die klomp is soos die Karoo. Hulle is bly die drank is hier want dan kan hulle drink want die bottelstoor kan dalk môre toe wees!

Ek is nou al lekker moerig teen die tyd want die klomp het Cianan (ons een jaar oue knaap) al ‘n paar keer wakker gemaak met hulle gelag en gesing en die tannies wat die oomies so staan en “skerp” maak!!
Party van die aunties staan so in die ooms ingevou hulle lyk soos n klomp Siamese tweelinge wat party hou!

Die een girl het my laat dink aan ‘n lekker groot ou Afrika luislang wat ‘n duikertjie gevang het en hom nou eers gaan dood druk voor sy hom opeet. Die oom se kop vas daar in “Tieties kloof” ingewurm en sy het hom in ‘n greep gehou waar hy maar net kon staan en luister hoe haar hartklop versnel soos die auntie se pace maker haar aanjaag om die oom vas te hou!
“Oh watta feeling“!!

Dis ook toe net daar waar die badkamer se wegvloei pyp hier onder ons huis inkonk en ek moet gou na ‘n vriend ry om ‘n pyplas te gaan haal om die pyp reg te maak!

Hier langs die huis groei daar ‘n tipe boom wat sulke geel bessies dra en die kinders het al vir my vertel die klomp vrugtevlermuise wat daar hang en eet en hulle is mal oor die bessies van die boom en nou hang hulle in die boom elke aand en vreet hulle trommeldik aan die geel bessies!

Dis toe waar ek ‘n “gap” sien want daai vlermuise stink soos ‘n Putco bus oppad daar na die woonbuurt toe en hulle is nie ‘n dier wat daarvan hou om skoon te bly nie!

Gewapen met my flits en ‘n stuk waterpyp sien ek toe ‘n vlermuis amper so oud soos ou Jan van Riebeeck hier hang aan ‘n boom tak, binne slaanafstand van my af!
Soos ‘n wafferse swaard vegter kap ek hom toe mooi ‘n ligte skoot hier agter sy muisoor en hy val soos ‘n gewonde Zulu oppie grond en met sy vlerk rol hy hom toe om sy oe te beskerm teen die skerp lig.

Dis toe daar waar my “Stoute Nico” weer sterk na vore kom! Ek begin sommer daai party se musiek al hoe meer geniet en die vlermuis is in ‘n groot blik waar hy besig is om te herstel van sy ontmoeting met die pyp en hy protesteer luidkeels oor die inhegtenis name en aanhouding in die blik!

So gaan die aand maar rustig voort. Die drank vloei en die tannies kyk diep innie oomies se oe en die “queue” doen hulle job by die toilet!!
Dit wat net liters en liters piepie wat van die toilet na die “poo-poo plaas” toe gaan om daar weer gesirkuleer te word vir “grys” water! Wat van daai lekker ou boere word, “herwinbare water”!

Dis so amper 3 uur die oggend toe die laaste paartjie hier wegkruip oor die pad na hul motor en die nag injaag want die oomies is mos nou vol druiwesap en die tannies fluister mos net die regte goeters in hul ore!
Die auntie soek gas! En die oom lyk of hy die regte konneksie het vir die gas!

Dis nou daar waar ek toe die hond maar laat uitkom en hy raak mal waar ek die vlermuis innie blik opgehang het!
Toe onthou ek die vlermuis innie blik en “Stoute Nico” se planne begin “motion” kry!! Daar kom ons nou by my plan van wraak teen die party organizers en die bure wat so hou van drank!!

Dis nou blerrie laat in die nag en die meeste in die buurt is nou teen einde laas innie bed!

Tannie buurvrou het ‘n manier om haar tjor se venster oop te los, en ek vat toe vlermuis oor na hulle kant en hoor die gesnork en gekla van die twee! (MY BURE)
Hy slaap, en sy wil! Sy soek die gas van die oom af en sy kan die oom nie wakker kry nie! Al daai gewyn was toe verniet want die oom is mooi uitgepaas! Die tannie is gatvol vir die oom want dis ‘n ou triek van hom om te gaan slaap voor hy die auntie behoorlik gegroet het na die aand se party!
Dis die stywe skirt en toppie, die rooi lippe, die klomp lekker ruikparfuum, die hoëhak skoene en die bottles vol wyn.
Alles is verniet want die auntie gaan nie vannie oom se gas vanaand kry nie!

Met die blik met die vlermuis in sluip ek toe na die oop tjor se venster en skut die dik gestikte en erg beswaarde groot vrugte vlermuis mooi in die motor in!
Lekker kwaad en ook met ‘n kopseer klim hy toe sommer hier onder die bestuurder se sitplek in en maak hom reg vir ‘n slapie voor die sports begin!

Ek is natuurlik vroeg oggend op en sit koppie op koppie koffie en uitdrink en wag vir die auntie om met haar drank gevulde ou lyf en die lus wannie geblus is nie hier na die motortjie toe te kom want sy werk naweke van agtuur tot die volgende party begin!

So net voor agt kom sy toe teen die trappies afgeslomp ook seker maar met ‘n babelaas en moerig vir die omie wat eerder wil slaap as speel, half laat vir die weekend job maar reg om te gaan werk!
Daai toppie van gisternag en die stywe skirt is haar “working gear” vir die dag in die office. Al rokende met die twak tussen die vingers en dan na die lippe begin sy haar trip.
Sy skuif daai ou lyf mooi after die ou stuurwiel in en begin om in trurat na die pad te ry toe my ou vrind die vlermuis besluit hy is op die “verkeerde bus” en dis tyd om uit te klim!

Hy klim toe sommer so hier van onder die “seat” tussen die auntie se twee bene deur (daar waar die oom moes wees) na die stuurwiel se kant toe! En sy stank klap die auntie se ou neusgate skoon weg van haar eie drank belaaide en sweet reuk!
Hy begin sy optog na die venster en sy begin haar gegil en geroep na die ou oom wat nog sy babelaas lê en uitslaap ! Sy skreeu so hard dat ek sommer aanbied om ook te gaan kyk waar is vlerrie nou (tussen die knieknoppe of oor die pens rif of dalk sit die auntie op ou vlerrie se vlerk?

Sy skreeu; “Brendon it’s got me (gelukkige ou vlermuis), come help, come help it’s gonna bite me!”
Met die laaste gesoebat vir hulp word ou Brendon toe mooi wakker en storm teen die agtertrappies af waar die “auto sprinkler system” die tuin toe al mooi nat gespuit het en die plank trappe van die huis na die garage so glad soos ‘n snot paling is.
Hy koop toe sy plaas en val gat oor kop die laaste stel trappe tot op die garage vloer se sement blad waar hy in pyn sy opgeswelde ou lewer lê en troos!!

Ek is seker ek kon daai lewer hoor sing soos

“Groep Twee”

Dink jy darem nog aan my
Het jy my nog nie vergeet nie?
Al die jare drink ons saam en jy is steeds nog glad nie skaam
Dink jy darem nog aan my?
Kyk hoe swel die drank my op en ek jou lewer is aan die pop!
Dink jy darem nog aan my?

Hy lê en kreun, ek kla en die auntie wil so graag sy hulp hê dat sy nou al boos is vir die “aussie apie” (vlermuis) wat hier op haar skoot sit en stink soos ‘n lokasie vark wat al die ou skille ens opge-eet het.
Moenie vergeet nie, daai vlermuis het ook ‘n kopseer en hy is nie lus vir die sirkus saam met die auntie en oom wat lê en kreun nie!
Pleks dat hy (die oom) gisteraand moes kreun, kreun hy nou!
Dis toe daar waar die auntie die “aussie apie” so met ‘n hand uit die motor kajuit klap terug hier in my jaart in en hy is toe gatvol vir die houe teen die kop dat sy ou pens toe so begin te werk met die veeg teen die oor en hy sit toe sy “droppings” (kakkas) mooi teen die auntie se stywe toppie vas met ‘n goed geoogde spuit poep en die klank en reuk volg spoedig net daarna!!

Brendon het toe teen die tyd al mooi herstel van sy rugbyduik drie op die sement en hy hou die ou lewer so in een hand en waggel na die oop kar deur om darem die auntie te wys hy is erg beswaard oor haar ervaring met die “ding” wat tussen haar bene deurgeklim het en wat alles met haar gebeur het.
Die auntie issie impress met die knaap se aansit pyn nie en die vlermuis poo-poo onder die neusgate en die wete sy is laat vir werk is nou genoeg om sommer sy nek om te draai!

Ek help toe maar soos enige ou goeie natuurkind en vat die vlermuis na die naaste boom waar hy ‘n tak aangewys word om te herstel van sy houe teen die kop in die laaste 12 uur!
Hy sing “Oh what a night”!!

Sy stink soos ‘n straat vrou (nie dat ek al een geruik het nie) en hy is sommer doodreg en ontslae van sy ou babelaas van die laatnag party en sy stink erger as een van Cianan (my een jaar oue knaap) se trefferdoeke vroeg oggend onder sy pa se neus!!

Die einde van die storie is die vlermuis het sy ondervinding oorleef en ek het al gewonder of hulle, soos ons, vir mekaar vertel van hulle ondervindinge en ervarings wat hulle deurmaak hier op die aarde?
Miskien het sy vlermuisvrou hom gevra: “Waar was jy laasnag en hoekom het jy nie huistoe gekom nie?” En dan hoor ek die manlike stem in hom na vore kom met: “Ek het onder ‘n seat in ‘n kar geslaap en toe tussen die auntie se bene deur geklim voor sy my teen die kop geklap het en ek toe so kwaad was dat ek my vlermuis pens sommer op haar mooi ou toppie leeg gemaak het met ‘n vlermuis spuit poep!”

Dan sien ek sommer die tannie vlermuis in my verbeelding en hoe sy vir hom sê: “Bly weg daar by die Botha’s se huis, want hy sit dalk van daai Suid Afrikaanse witblits op daai bessies en dit maak jou dinge doen wat vir niks sal skrik nie!!
En hy, die vlermuis wat so tussen die bene deurklim, vertel sy storie vir elke ander vlermuis asof hy wil sê
Kan jy beter doen as dit??

Groete, Nico

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Special Concert in the Benelux

Coenie de Villiers

Coenie de Villiers, Suid-Afrika se geliefde en bekroonde Afrikaanse sanger, liriekskrywer en klavierkunstenaar tree 15 September 2006 in Den Haag op en 16 September in Brussels.
Kom geniet ‘n heerlike kerslig-ete in Nederland saam met Coenie in konsert of woon ‘n eg Suid-Afrikaanse byeenkoms by in Belgie met SA produkte, kossoorte en gratis wynproe voor die aanvang van die konsert.

Vir meer inligting en besprekings, besoek http://www.bassons.org of stuur ‘n epos aan loraine@bassons.org

Our Home Biltong Makers

Save over 26% right now!

With the South African Rand at its weakest in years it is now the ideal opportunity to get your own Home Biltong Maker!!

It will cost you so much less today than with the strong Rand from a while ago! In fact you’ll be making a saving of well over 26% compared to only 4 months ago!!
(April 1, 2006 the Buddy was € 85.00, now it is € 66.00!!)

So, don’t wait for the Rand to get strong again. Order now !

Over and above the exchange rate saving you can also make use of our special pricing this month so it’s a double bonus in July!

You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s specials

Make use of this opportunity!!

As we mentioned above you have another opportunity this month to make use of our special pricing.
Unfortunately not everything can remain the same as last month but there are still some very good deals to be had!

So ….. start making your own Biltong. It’s as easy as 1-2-3 and it’s loads of fun too!

For the whole month of July you will still be able to get the following on “special”.

Special discounts for Special Customers!!

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong Maker for only R 825.00
(instead of the normal R 950.00)

The famous BILTONG BUDDY Home Biltong Maker for only R 625.00
(Instead of the normal R 750.00)

Our SI-30 Industrial Biltong Drying Cabinet for only R 4995.00
(Instead of the normal R 5995.00)
Our Wooden Hand Biltong Cutter for only R 290.00
(Instead of the normal R 390.00)

Our Semi Industrial Hand Biltong Cutter/Shredder for only R 895.00
(Instead of the normal R 1475.00)
Our famous Safari pre-mixed Biltong Spice for only R 55.00 per 500 gram
(Instead of the normal R 65.00)
A limited selection of our Nice ‘n Spicy spices for only R 25.00
(Instead of the normal R 35.00)

Free with all Biltong Maker orders placed in July

20 special Biltong storage bags

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

Some useful tips

A lot of people have been asking lately about a replacement for salt in Biltong for health reasons. Last month Fred from Australia came up with a special recipe and this month we have the name of an actual salt replacement sent to us.

Jean-Luc from South Africa tells us that TROCOMARE is a good replacement and is available from www.avogel.ch.

For interest sake, Jean-Luc is promoting the TeddyBok which is the official mascot of the Chris Burger Fund and of Ladies Springbok team as well as the National team.

The following tip comes from Eva Jordaan in Iceland.

This incident happened recently in North Texas .

A woman went boating one Sunday taking with her some cans of coke which she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on the Wednesday.

The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis. This was traced to the can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis.

Rat urine contains toxic and deathly substances. It is highly recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of soda cans before drinking out of them. The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned.

A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i.e).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident.

For bad garlic breath just add half a teaspoon of vanilla essence to a quarter cup of milk. Warm slightly in the microwave and drink!
Flowers will last longer in a vase if you add two aspirins to the water.
To prevent maggots getting into flour etc. just put a white candle in the bag.

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Ladies en gentlemen……

Anton Goosen!

” … vir elke alkie, elke junkie, space cadet, buttonhead … ”
“… vir die boys in die suburbs …”

Are you a fan of South African Rock and Boereblues?
Remember “Blommetjie gedenk aan my”, “Honkie Tonk Donkie” en “Boy van die Suburbs”?

People in the Benelux can join us on the weekend of October 20th for an evening with Anton Goosen, the original “Liedjieboer”, who will perform these and many more of his unforgettable songs in a cozy pub setting where everyone can sing along!

But, be quick because this show is selling out fast!
You can send an email to loraine@bassons.org for more information.

You can also check out Anton’s web site by clicking right here

You can count us in Loraine! – Ed

Questions and Answers

As every month, here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

Ek wil graag weet of ‘n mens gedroogte biltong in ‘n koelkamer kan stoor.
Is daar enige gesondheids risikos verbonde daaraan.
Daar is mense war vertel dat ‘n mens kan doodgaan indien jy biltong eet wat uit ‘n koelkamer kom of wat gevries was.

Dankie
Santie
South Africa
glenross@absamail.co.za

QUESTION

We are currently busy with a design for a 10m² x 2.5m high Biltong Drying Cabinet.
We want to be able to do the following:
Insert 1 Ton of meat.
Remove 30% Moisture over 3 days (10%/day) with a temperature of 35°C
Remove 700kg of Biltong on the 3rd day.
The process must consist of cooling the air and then re-heating it.
Your assistance will be greatly appreciated, hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
Gerhard Jordaan
South Africa
devserve@intekom.co.za

Does anyone have any ideas on this for Gerhard? – Ed

QUESTION

Do you have a recipe voor boerewors in a Potjie?

Regards
Louise Liebenberg
Uden, Holland
info@grazerie.nl

QUESTION

I love your site and am trying to make my own Biltong and have a quick question:
What sort of yield can I expect? i.e., if I start with 10 lbs of meat, how much Biltong can I expect to get?

Thanks,
Bryan
Stanford, USA
Wolff_Bryan@GSB.Stanford.EDU

QUESTION

I was looking for a site online where I could buy (of all things) Imana Soy Mince. I lived in Swaziland for 3 years and have several recipes that call for it.
Any chance you could lead me to a place that would sell it and would ship to the US (without it costing a fortune)!

Thanks so much,
Michele Garren
USA
michelemmurray@yahoo.com

QUESTION

Goeie middag!

Ek wil net graag uitvind of jy nie vir my ‘n resep het om Cabanosi te maak nie asseblief!!
Ek soek al heel dag op die internet maar kry net nie een nie.
Byvoorbaat dankie
Denielle
Centurion, South Africa

U kan my gerus e-mail by
denielleh@qbcon.com

Stoep Talk

It’s 2009 and Sandton is deserted…..
By James Clarke

The year is 2009. The eastern sky is getting lighter over Johannesburg. The SAPS’s brand-new, six-wheel, armoured suburban patrol module is standing at the kerb outside the SAPS’s heavily sandbagged Mission Control Centre on the outskirts of Sandton.Chief Inspector Fearless Zwane is in command of the six-man crew. Constable Molefi, tense as a violin string, is manning the 88mm turret gun while Constable Naidoo is the rear gunner.

They are about to venture into Sandton – the first police vehicle to do so for two years.

Parts of Sandton had been abandoned after thousands of residents were forced to emigrate under the Prohibition of Whinging Against Crime Act of 2007.

Crime statistics, for the second time since 2004, are being kept secret because, say the police, the public misinterprets them.

Meanwhile the public has been assured that the police are in full control of crime – which is what many people had suspected.

Murders (the police claim) are down to 103 a day and the police try to investigate many of them.

Muggings carry only a spot fine. But with the World Cup due in 2010, the USAR (Union of South African Robbers) has agreed – following a plea from the minister of safety and security – to check people’s ID before robbing them. This is in case they are foreign visitors who, says the minister, “might not fully understand or appreciate South African culture”.

But there are a few old-fashioned cops who still fight crime. Chief Inspector Zwane and his crew are among them.

Patrol Module: (driver turns key) We have ignition!

Control: Check! Ten seconds to H-hour and counting … Five, four, three, two, one … Module: (pulling away from kerb) Speed 20. Heading for central Sandton.

Control: You’re looking good.

Module: Down Rivonia Road. No sign of life.

Control: Check!

Module: Streets empty. All systems looking good. Shop windows covered in dust. Litter knee-deep. No sign of life.

Control: Don’t take any undue risks.

Module: Copy.

Control: You’re still looking good.

Module: Cruising.

Control: Copy.

Module: Now stationary… engine still running. Door now in unlock mode.

Control: Copy.

Module: Constable Molefi now has one foot on kerb… Now two feet on kerb! Still looking good…

Control: Copy.

Module: Molefi letting go of door handle… now he’s one metre from Patrol Module. (Suddenly) Red light! Red light! Red light showing on dashboard! Oops! Sorry – handbrake was on. We’re all a bit jumpy here.

Control: Copy.

Module: Checking all systems…

Control: Standing by.

Module: (Molefi’s voice cuts in: “That’s one small step for a policeman…”)

Control: (sounds of applause in background) Congratulations all round, Chief Inspector…

Module: Molefi now dusting off wall of Sandton City ready to affix plaque proclaiming that on this day, August 1, AD 2009, the SAPS reoccupied central Sandton…

Control: We are all saluting you here, Chief Inspector… the minister sends congratulations!

Module: The minister? Has he recovered? (Dear reader, the minister had collapsed a few days before – suffering oxygen deprivation. He had been half suffocated by his 24 bodyguards, who were too tightly packed around him. Since 2007 many ministers had been whinging about not being able to see where they are going because of being surrounded by too many tall bodyguards. Shorter ministers used periscopes.)

Control: He has recovered.

Module: Mission complete. Constable Molefi safely returned to patrol vehicle.

Control: Copy.

Module: Locks activated. Seatbelts on. Moving out…

Correction. Not moving! Somebody’s stolen all our wheels and put us up on bricks.

Recipe corner

Leg of Lamb Potjie

This is an excellent Leg of Lamb Potjie.
It is enough for 6 people and a size 3 Pot is recommended.

Ingredients

2 kg Leg of lamb
250g Bacon, cubed
300g Baby carrots, peeled
8 Medium potatoes, peeled and halved
300g Brussell sprouts
15ml Ground Coriander
15ml Brown sugar
1 Bottle dry red wine
30ml Butter
3ml Dried rosemary
250ml Sour cream
150g Dried peaches
Salt and pepper to taste
15ml Apricot jam
15 ml Cake flour

Method

Trim all the fat off the leg.
Make small cuts in the leg with a knife and stretch these cuts by pushing a finger in each cut
Fill each cut with the cubed bacon
Rub the leg well with the coriander and the brown sugar
Marinade the leg in the wine overnight
Melt the butter in the Potjie while the fire is still burning and brown the leg slightly on all sides
Add the rosemary and 50ml of the wine marinade
Cover with the lid and allow the Pot to simmer for at least 1.5 hours or until the leg is half done
Ensure that the coals are not too hot and turn the leg regularly adding some more wine marinade and not more than half of the sour cream
Add the dried fruit, cover with the lid and allow the Potjie to simmer for 30 minutes
Layer the veggies as they appear in the recipe and season with the salt and pepper
Add the remaining sour cream, cover with the lid and allow the Potjie to simmer for a further hour
When the leg is done, add the jam, cover with the lid and wait until the jam has melted

The Potjie is now ready to be served.
Remove the leg and carve it in slices
Add the flour to the sauce and stir until ready

Serves 6

Click below for our handy cooking converter

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

Hello everyone,

I must say I enjoy reading all your stories. Some of them are just so funny. Stoeptalk has me in stitches.

Fred – mate – so nice to see you are alive and kicking. Fred used to be our Boerewors man when I lived in Reedy Creek, Gold Coast, Australia.
Fred disappeared and then we moved back to Melbourne. Guess what Fred, nobody can make Boerie like you. We gave up trying to buy the yucky stuff in Melbourne because it was just NOT right. In fact, it was nowhere near right. I’ve turned vegetarian anyway. HA HA HA. Hope you and yours are well Fred.

I left South Africa almost 24 years ago and what a culture shock I had when I arrived in Melbourne. Anyway, I’ve since “got over myself” and I just love the country. I am now living in a beautiful country town called Paynesville, surrounded by lakes and rivers and then the ocean. It’s awesomely beautiful. It’s Paradise – it’s Heaven in a Biscuit. It’s the boating and fishing capital of Victoria. I will post some photos soon. In the mean time have a look at thePaynesville web site for some lovely pictures.

Paynesville is about 3 1/2 hours drive from Melbourne and the weather is just wonderful. Unlike Melbourne’s 4 seasons in one day and hotter than you can bear in Summer. Like I said, it’s perfect.

Hope you are all well and happy in your part of the world. Stay lucky and …. as Fred always used to say on the ‘phone “Have a Naughty Day”. Teehee.

Hugs
Sharon
Paynesville, Australia
shazneru@hotmail.com

Thank you for such a nice “Happy” mail Sharon. Hope to hear more from you – Ed

Hi there,

I thought I would let you know how I have been getting on.
Mixed fortunes to date I’m afraid.

I tried the versatile biltong recipe from the web site first which gave a great consistency after 3 days but the flavour was too Worcestershire Sauce and not enough coriander for my taste.

I tried another recipe I found online on another web site which was a disaster. The meat was marinated mainly in coriander and brown sugar with minimal salt. It was still very wet at the end of the marinade period. I probably cut the meat a bit too thickly, and had a bit too much in the dryer.

Anyway you can guess the end result:
Mould!
I tried to control it with vinegar but in the end the batch had to be thrown away which was a big disappointment.

I have just put my third batch in this morning using the Connoisseur Biltong recipe from your web site. It is looking much more promising after the marinade and I am hopeful for a good result.
I used about 1/2 cup of roasted biltong seeds for just over a kilo of meat. Is this about right? The coating looks similar to the pictures on your site but it was a guess!
I would love to hear your views, and any tips would be appreciated!

Best wishes

Jim Ropner
Cheltenham, United Kingdom
ropnerj@hotmail.com

Interessante storie van Rapport – ingestuur deur Nico Botha van Australia

Bokveld toe!

Jul 15 2006

Daar sal vandag in Suid-Afrika waarskynlik ‘n skare mense wees wat sê die Springbokke was eintlik gelukkig om gister 0 teen Australië te kry.

Daar sal vandag in Suid-Afrika waarskynlik ‘n skare mense wees wat sê die Springbokke was eintlik gelukkig om gister 0 teen Australië te kry. Wel, die Aussies reken die Springbokke was eintlik gelukkig dat die telling teen hulle nie nóg groter was nie.

“Ons het baie punte op die veld gelos. Beter afronding en beter opsies kon ons nog verder laat wen het. Vanaand se oorwinning gee ons selfvertroue vir ons volgende kragmeting met die All Blacks, maar ons het nog harde werk wat voorlê voordat ons ons heel beste spelpeil bereik,” het afrigter John Connolly gesê nadat die Aussies die Bokke sy grootste pak nog in die Drienasies-kompetisie gegee het.

Aan Springbok-kant is daar gekla dat die Nieu-Seelandse blaser Paul Honiss die Bokke ingeloop het.

‘n Sigbaar oorblufde Jake White, afrigter van die Springbokke, het na/ sy span se nederlaag meer klem geplaas op wat hy glo was ‘n vrot vertoning deur blaser Paul Honiss as ‘n puik vertoning deur die Wallabies.

“Dit is die meeste strafskoppe wat ons nog vir onkantspel afgestaan het sedert ek die afrigter is. En ander strafskoppe in ander afdelings van die spel het dit baie moeilik vir ons gemaak om terug te veg nadat ons met 20-0 agtergeloop het. “Ek het agterna gehoor van die televisie-kommentators het gesê Honiss het ‘n swak dag beleef. Ek stem saam met hulle,” het White gekla toe hy oor sy span se skok-vertoning uitgevra is.

White het later erken dat hy die man is wat die Bokke se nederlaag op die ken moet vat deurdat hy verantwoordelik is vir die Bokke se verdedigings-patroon.

“Ons verdediging vanaand was nie goed gewees nie en almal in die span insluitend ek moet die skuld daarvoor dra. Ek sal moet gaan sit en kyk waar dit verkeerd gegaan het en indien veranderinge aan ons opskiet-verdediging gemaak moet word, sal dit moet gebeur.

“Vanaand was ‘n bewys dat indien dinge verkeerd loop, kan dit sleg verkeerd loop. “Ons sal egter nie boedel oorgee voor die stryd teen die All Blacks nie. Ons moet eenvoudig opstaan anders gaan dit nog donkerder word,” het White gesê.

Die Bok-kaptein John Smit, wat gisteraand lelike trapmerke op sy gesig gehad het, het sy span se vertoning as bitter teleurstellend beskryf.

Gevra oor wat hy in die kleedkamers aan sy spanmaats gesê het, het Smit gesê hy het gedink om eerder tot vandag te wag voordat hy almal nader trek en oor die nederlaag gesels.

“Somtyds is dit beter om eerder ‘n rukkie te wag totdat alles behoorlik insink en ‘n mens ‘n beter idée het waar alles verkeerd gegaan het.

“So’n nederlaag maak seer, baie seer, maar ons sal dit agter ons rug moet plaas en so gou as moontlik daarvan vergeet.

“Dit het net vandag gevoel of alles teen ons gegaan het. Daar was bitter baie vreemde beslissings en veral by die afbreekpunte is ons kwaai gestraf. Ek het wel baie hande in die losskrums gesien, maar dit was beslis nie alles Bok-hande nie. Dit is frustrerend was ‘n baie frustrerende toetswedstryd gewees,” het Smit gesê.

Die Bok-afrigter en kaptein het voorts gesê hulle weet hulle gaan slae kry by die huis oor gisteraand se vertoning.

Maar volgens White is daar nie veel wat hy kan doen as die spelers nie op die speelveld die regte dinge doen nie.

“Hopeloos te veel duikslae is gemis. Spelers het hul rûe op die bal gedraai en lugskoppe kon nie beheer word nie. Dis nie dinge wat geoefen kan word nie. Dit was nog nooit maklik om weg van die huis te wen nie. En as ‘n mens foute maak, is dit nog baie moeiliker om suksesvol te wees,” het White gesê.

Connolly het gisteraand gesê sy span se oorwinning oor die Bokke is ‘n soet sege wat die gevolg is van harde werk die afgelope week na/ die Wallabies se nederlaag verlede naweek teen die All Blacks.

“Ons is gelukkig en gaan vanaand lekker fees vier. Maar die volgende veertien dae voor ons volgende toets wag nog baie harde werk. Ons kan nog heelwat verbeter en het nie naastenby na ons volle potensiaal gespeel nie,” het Connolly gesê.

Volgens die breier was die Aussies geensins bekommerd oor die Bokke nie. Ook nie oor hul kragtige skrumwerk wat baie spanne laat bewe nie.

“Nee wat, ons was voor-af vol moed dat ons ons man sou staan en het geweet wat ons wou doen. Met rustyd was die grondslag gesê en daarna het ons net verseker dat ons die bal hou en hulle op die agtervoet hou,” het hy gesê.

Australie” se kaptein, George Gregan, het gesê gisteraand was ‘n trotse oomblik vir Aussie-rugby.

“Die Bokke is ‘n trotse rugbynasie en om hulle goed te klop en te keer dat hulle enige punte aanteken, is ‘n trotse gebeurtenis. Dit gaan vorentoe baie vir ons selfvertroue beteken en ons Drienasies-veldtog is weer op koers,” het Gregan gesê.

Die Wallaby-kaptein het voorts gesê die ree”n wat die oggend van die toets begin val het, het sake op die speelveld bemoeilik, maar nie onmoontlik gemaak nie.

“Die bal en veld was glibberig, maar nie te moeilik om te bemeester nie. Ons het gedink dit gaan veel erger wees as wat uiteindelik die geval was.”

I never do forwards, but I HAD to pass this on – just love it, and realise how much I miss our gorgeous country, fabulous flaws and all!

Enjoy ….. much luv,
Kimbo
kimbo.browm@gmail.com

You are proudly South African when …………….

You produce a R 100.00 note instead of your driver’s licence when stopped by a traffic officer
You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement
You have to hire a security guard whenever you park your car
You can count the national soccer team’s scores with no fingers
To get free electricity you have to pay a connection fee of R 750.00
Hijacking cars is a profession
You can pay your tuition fees by holding up a sign at a traffic light
The petrol in your tank may be worth more than your car
More people vote in a local reality TV show than in a local election
People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Precious, Innocence and Given
“Now now” can mean anything from a minute to a month
You continue to wait after a traffic light has turned to green to make way for taxis traveling in the opposite direction
Traveling at 120 km/h you’re the slowest vehicle on the highway
You’re genuinely and pleasantly surprised whenever you find your car parked where you left it
A bullet train is being introduced, but we can’t fix potholes
The last time you visited the coast you paid more in speeding fines and toll fees than you did for the entire holiday
You paint your car’s registration on the roof
You have to take your own linen with you if you are admitted to a government hospital
You have to prove that you don’t need a loan to get one
Prisoners go on strike
You don’t stop at a red traffic light, in case somebody hijacks your car
You consider it a good month if you only get mugged once
Rwandan refugees start leaving the country because the crime rate is too high
When 2 Afrikaans TV programes are separated by a Xhosa announcement of the following Afrikaans program, and a Pedi ad
The employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are
The SABC advertises and shows highlights of the program you just finished watching
You get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather
You call a bathing suit a “swimming costume”
You know what Rooibos Tea is, even if you’ve never had any
You can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them
You know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela
You go to “braais” (barbecues) regularly, where you eat boerewors (long meaty sausage-type thing) and swim, sometimes simultaneously
You know that there’s nothing to do in the Free State

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from SA

Something to smile about

Peanuts

A tour bus driver was driving a bus full of seniors down a highway. He was tapped on his shoulder by a little old lady. She offered him a handful of peanuts, which he gratefully munched up.

After 15 minutes, she tapped him on his shoulder again and handed him another handful of peanuts. She repeated this gesture about eight times.

The ninth time, he asked the little old lady why they did not eat the peanuts themselves. She replied that it was not possible because of their old teeth, and they are not able to chew them.

“Why do you buy them then?” he asked puzzled.

The old lady answered, “We just love the chocolate around them.”

Live Well – Laugh Often – Love Much

Sport talk

All about the Tri-Nations

Mallett hits out at White; The Boks ‘are not so clever’

By Morris Gilbert
Die Beeld, 17-07-2006

Wellington – The Springboks are said to be brain dead.

This was the “revelation” a New Zealand newspaper, The Dominion Post, published on its sports front page on Monday.

After South Africa’s record defeat in the Tri-Nations rugby Test against Australia last Saturday, Spiro Zavos wrote in his column, “The Roar”, that the Springboks had surpassed all previous lows with their performance against the Wallabies.

He not only described the Springboks as brain dead, but also had a go at them for criticising New Zealand referee Paul Honiss after the match in Brisbane.

Zavos wrote that the Springboks had to deal, for the first time in many years, with a referee who “accurately and unperturbedly” acted against offside play.

Because Honiss enforced the offside law properly, the Springboks were unable to get their defence pattern working, he added.

‘Honiss justly penalised them

“Paul Honiss may be controversial in New Zealand, but he did not become the country’s most-experienced Test referee because he makes mistakes.

“Honiss kept the Springboks on-side and justly penalised them when they did not listen to him.”

Zavos felt the Springboks were “as flat-footed as statues” because they suddenly had to defend from an on-side position.

In another report in the same newspaper, the Tri-Nations Test between South Africa and New Zealand on Saturday was described as “a massively uneven battle”.

In his reaction to the reports, Springbok coach Jake White said he and his players would be nervous wrecks if they took any notice of reports of that nature.

“The easiest reply is still to prove them wrong on the field. Just think how nice it would be if we beat the All Blacks; just think,” White said.

The latest war of words follows the insults the team had to endure in Australia last week.

It was said in Brisbane the Springboks were not clever enough to outsmart the Wallabies in the front row to the same extent New Zealand had done the previous week.

We should not be fooled

However, All Black coach Graham Henry feels the Springboks’ huge defeat in Brisbane is not necessarily good news for his team.
“We should not be fooled by their performance against the Wallabies.”

“They will certainly play better against us and it will be even more necessary for us to concentrate on our own preparations.”

“Who knows which Springbok team will turn up on Saturday,” asked Henry.

Tri-Nations
Click on the left for the latest Tri-Nations log, scorers, fixtures and results and Kiwi, Wallaby and Springbok squads.

Rugby chiefs on carpet in Watson row
The parliamentary sports committee has accused Springbok coach Jake White of being “reckless” in blaming transformation for his failure to call up Luke Watson.
Full Story…

Rossouw could make speedy return
Springbok lock Danie Rossouw could be back on the field for the return Tri-Nations Test in South Africa.
Full Story….

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Come on, let’s hear from you too!

We are already in the second half of this year and have received some very nice contributions to our newsletter from all over the world. But we can do better!!

Many people have subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and they like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

Our Boerewors has again proven to be as popular as last year (and all the years before)!

Boeries on the braai! Especially very well received is the vacuum packing of the wors and the posting!
All our customers in Holland, Belgium and Germany raved about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived.

You too could have some real South African Boerewors on the braai next time!!
Just give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us.

Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram.

The normal price is € 8.45 per kg but during July it’s only € 7.95 per kg!!

top

Droëwors for the UK and Europe!

Droëwors …… a typical South African delicacy all of its own!

Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos.

Real South African Droë Wors! Our new drying facility can handle up to 25 kg and it takes at least one week to dry the normal wet sausage to the “cracking” dryness of Droëwors.
The spices are of course imported especially from South Africa so you will get the “real” thing!

Our normal price is € 29.00 per kg but during July your can get it at only € 19.95 per kg.

Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option. We can mail it to you in Europe and the UK via priority mail in minimum quantities of 1 kg.
See all the mailing rates by going to www.boerewors.be

Interested? Give us a call or email.

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the Spit ……. something special!

Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!

We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of between 30 and 50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
For venues more than 50 km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

There are not many dates left this year. If you are planning a function or party with a Lamb on the Spit in mind it is advisable to book early. Remember that we are doing these functions only during weekends.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us.
(A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005

November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006

March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

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June 2006

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The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

June 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

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In this Newsletter

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From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
June 7, 2006

St Peter's Square in Rome on Sunday, June 14, 2006

We climbed slowly, our shoulders almost touching the walls of the narrow staircase that, at times, bent itself around the massive dome we were climbing.
It was a quiet journey with everyone left with their own thoughts on the history of the building and how old and big it was.

Suddenly, from somewhere, Beethoven’s “Für Elize” started playing, softly, as if it wanted to give us a little encouragement for the last stretch of the climb.
What a nice touch I thought! Then I looked around me and saw everybody staring. I looked at my belt. My bloody pedometer put itself into music mode and had started playing!
I was climbing the dome of St Peters Basilica in Rome.

We were in Rome for a couple of days to take in the sights and to see “Benedicto”!

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a history freak so Rome was the perfect place for me to be.
The occasion was special …… On May 17 I was turning 60 and June surprised me with 5 days in Rome.

It was incidental but also very interesting that I had just read Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons”. We saw most of the places he mentioned in the book not because we were particularly looking for them but you just can’t miss them!

The Sunday after we arrived we went to St Peters Square to attend the weekly blessing by the Pope. It felt like we were at a pop concert.

We arrived pretty early, around 10 am or so and there were thousands of people shouting “Benedicto…Benedicto…Benedicto… a lot of them carrying banners with “We love you Benedicto” or Benedicto is the greatest” etc, etc, etc.

I would have really thought that it would have been a more subdued and solemn occasion.

But, everybody was having a ball especially once he appeared and started addressing everyone in several of the main languages.

We had planned to walk around St Peters Basilica and the museums afterwards but decided against it. There were miles and miles of queues. On the way back we heard from a taxi driver that it was so busy that day because it was the second Sunday of the month and entrance is free on that day.

By the way, everything they say about Italian taxi drivers is true. Our “best” experience was on the way back to the airport with our driver talking on two mobile phones at the same time whilst thumbing through a diary and also (at the same time) trying to clean a CD.

But let’s not digress ….
The Monday we went back to see the Vatican, the museums and the Sistine Chapel of course. That was the day I climbed the dome of St Peters and entertained all the weary climbers with my music.

I could carry on for a very long time about the beauty and history of Rome. It is incredible.

The Colosseum that could hold an estimated 80 000 spectators and dates back to year 80 AD.
The Pantheon with its huge dome of almost 45 meters wide. An incredible feature is the huge hole in the top of the dome which lets the sun in like a gigantic spotlight.
The Piazza Navona with its beautiful fountains, the Piazza Venezia with the Vittoriano one of the biggest and most impressive palace buildings I have ever seen, the Spanish Steps (not too impressive) and the Piazza del Popolo with its twin churches.

It’s all just to much to mention.

One thing we were disappointed about.
We both like lighting a candle for people who were dear to us, sit down for a while and remember them.
In a lot of the churches in Rome (and there are over 400 of them) there are no real candles. You either put a coin in a box and a candle shaped light will start burning for a predetermined time or you have to physically “throw” a little switch (in a whole row of switches) to “light” a candle. For us it took the “special” out of the occassions.

Every evening we somehow got drawn back to the Trevi Fountain.
Trevi is near the center and a gathering place for hundreds of people. Near Trevi you will find lots of little bistros and restaurants in the side streets.
We ended up there every night, totally exhausted and ready for a drink and some real Italian fare.

There was no way that we could have seen everything there is to see in the short space of time we had at our disposal. There is so much more and we’ll be back!

It is said that if you drink the water from the Trevi Fountain and you throw in a coin you are destined to return to Rome.

We both had a drink and gave Trevi a coin.

Shortly after we returned from Rome I had to go to Berlin.
That is another great city. The last time I was there was in 1982 when the town was still divided.
I clearly remember that I took the U-Bahn (underground) from West Berlin to East Berlin one night and walked around there to the other side of the Brandenburger Gate.
On the western side the wall ran just meters away from the back of the Reichstag (parliament building) in those days. Now all that remains is a brick line showing where the wall stood in those days.

We must make a plan and spend some time there as well.

Upon my return we did a sheep on the spit for the Antwerp Cricket club. Well, my dearly departed friend Kel would have been proud of us. It started raining about half an hour into the cooking and it did not stop. Although we had a canopy we still got soaking wet but …… the food was lovely and all ate well!

So, Kel, if you’re listening up there somewhere. It can be done in the rain!

It was a busy month all in all and so we start on the last month of the first half of this year.
It is holiday time soon in Europe and everyone will be leaving to make the long trip down to the coasts of Europe. Not us though. We will wait till after the school holidays and see if we can somehow make it to Tuscany this year.

Please vote!!

Before I forget …….. please vote for our web site (again). All you have to do it to click right below.

Well that was it from me for this month. Please let us hear from you, where you have been, what you are up to and, please feel free to include some pictures.

Take care

Till next month,

Lo

Food for thought

Stress Management

A professor was giving a lecture to his students on stress management.

He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, “How heavy do you think this glass of water is?”

The students’ answers ranged from 20 gram to 500 gram.

The professor said “It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.
If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.
It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

“If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.”

“What you have to do is to put the glass down and rest for a while before holding it up again.”

We have to put down the burden periodically so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

So, before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you have on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.

Story of the month

What is Afrikaans?

(very briefly)

Currently about 10 million people
world-wide speak Afrikaans as
a first language

Afrikaans is one of the youngest Germanic languages. Other Germanic languages include English, German, Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages.
Afrikaans originated in South Africa about 200 years ago. It’s a language very similar to Dutch, and contains many words, phrases and grammatical constructs of Dutch. Currently about 10 million people world wide speak Afrikaans as a first language.
Most Afrikaans speakers live in Southern Africa, and most of them are white (including the so-called Coloureds) or Asian.

Afrikaans has been one of South Africa’s official languages for over 50 years. Afrikaans contains literature much the same as other Western cultures, and Afrikaans can handle both commerce and technology communication very well.
Recently attitudes towards Afrikaans as an untouchable heritage has diminished, and the language is experiencing a cultural, literary and musical bloom.

Where did it come from?
Afrikaans “began” when Dutch settlers settled at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa over 300 years ago. At that time the official language of the Cape was a form of Dutch.
Slaves from the East and traders from the rest of Europe settled in the small colony. Dutch and French farmers began moving inland.
Still the official language was Dutch. This “Dutch” became mixed with sailor’s language, slave language, inland tribe language, and other European languages.

Eventually a different language came into being.
This new language was officially viewed as “slang Dutch”, and even early in this century Afrikaans people referred to their language as “Cape Dutch”.
For much of the nineteenth century most of the non-English white population spoke Afrikaans, but they called it “Dutch”. They wrote in Dutch and read in Dutch. But their spoken language was different from true Dutch.
Eventually only Dutchisms remained in the written language.
A classic example is a journal entry by an inland settler who wrote “… as we say in good Dutch… ” and then follows up with a perfectly non-Dutch but Dutch-looking sentence.

As early as the late eighteenth century settlers
were speaking a language
very similar to Afrikaans
and very unlike proper Dutch

When did Dutch became Afrikaans?
Historic documents suggests that as early as the late eighteenth century settlers were speaking a language very similar to Afrikaans and very unlike proper Dutch.

Although Afrikaans was used in print such as newspapers and political and religious pamphlets as early as 1850, the real boost came in 1875 when a patriotic group of Afrikaans speakers from the Cape formed the Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaanders (Society for real Afrikaners), who published several Afrikaans books, including grammars, dictionaries, religious material and histories.
They also published a journal called the Patriot.

After the Great South African war in 1899-1902, a second and a third language movement started in two different places in South Africa. Academic interest in Afrikaans increased. In 1925 Afrikaans was recognized by the government as a real language, instead of a slang version of Dutch.
The form and shape of Afrikaans has remained much the same since 1925.

Where is it spoken?
Afrikaans is spoken mainly in South Africa.
At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century a group of Afrikaans speakers emigrated to Argentina, and a small number of them still speak the language. Owing to political changes during the last 40 years many Afrikaans speakers also went to Australia and New Zealand.

Urban legend estimates over
100 000 Afrikaans speakers in London alone

Today pockets of Afrikaans speakers can be found in most of the world’s larger cities, especially in Western Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the USA and in Lowland countries such as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Official numbers vary, but urban legend estimates over 100 000 Afrikaans speakers in London alone, and over 40 000 each in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada.
In Southern Africa most Afrikaans speakers live in South Africa and in Namibia.

Swaziland, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe also sports Afrikaans communities, and the other Southern African states as far north as Malawi has mentionable Afrikaans pockets of speakers.

This month’s specials

Special prices for special customers!!

Despite the increase in prices last month you, our customers, have continued to support us incredibly well during May.
As a thank you, and also to give all of you another opportunity to get your own Biltong Maker at a good price we have a surprise for you!!

So……………….

For a limited period during the month of June this is what you can get on “special”

Special discounts for Special customers!!

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong Maker for only R 825.00
(instead of the normal R 950.00)

The famous BILTONG BUDDY Home Biltong Maker for only R 625.00
(Instead of the normal R 750.00)
Our SI-30 Industrial Biltong Drying Cabinet for only R 4995.00
(Instead of the normal R 5995.00)
Our Wooden Hand Biltong Cutter for only R 290.00
(Instead of the normal R 390.00)
Our Semi Industrial Hand Biltong Cutter/Shredder for only R 895.00
(Instead of the normal R 1475.00)
Our famous Safari pre-mixed Biltong Spice for only R 55.00 per 500 gram
(Instead of the normal R 65.00)
A limited selection of our Nice ‘n Spicy spices for only R 25.00
(Instead of the normal R 35.00)

Free with all Biltong Maker orders placed

20 special Biltong storage bags
A packet of our famous “Bobotie” or “Chilli con Carne” Nice ‘n Spicy spices.

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

All about Potjiekos

This one from the all-time Master of Potjiekos – Kel Malherbe.

Some lucky folk living on Planet North are currently basking in summer sunshine whereas those of us here on Planet South are chattering away in our winter woolies! We are forced indoors when practicing our culinary arts while northern SA’ers and other outdoor lovers are free to enjoy the griddles, grates, sizzles and aromas which come with outdoor feasting around the open fire.

And speaking about Potjiekos, what a great opportunity for you northern SA’ers and Potjiekos fanatics to haul out that three legged Pot Bellied marvel for an outdoor summer occasion with friends.

Just brush up on the fundamentals:

– The whole foundation of Potjiekos preparation rests on long cooking times and this strikes at the heart of present day living where meals must often be prepared as quickly as possible. If your desire is for quality and flavour, go for Potjiekos; if in a hurry, leave the Potjie in storage until a relaxing weekend comes up.

Potjiekos is creation, not cremation.

– Although the heat must be strong initially, once the pot itself (and the lid!) has been well warmed up, the bulk of the cooking time should be done on the lowest possible heat. Gas is ideal at the level of the smallest blue flame. Some scattered embers of an open fire should do the trick, but do not allow the coals to die out!

– The secret of Potjiekos is to firstly sauté the onions in the heated pot and remove. Then brown the meat and add back the onions. Add liquid as per recipe, replace the lid and let this gently simmer for a few hours. Do not open the lid or stir until the meat is nearly done! You can now remove the lid, layer the vegies, the slower cooking ones first, and add the herbs and seasoning. Replace the lid and be ready to serve after the pot has bubbled for another 30 minutes or so.

– If possible, never add water on its own to any Potjie. Use a good stock, beer, fresh fruit juice or wine. Remember, wine is the heart of any Potjie!

– Herbs and spices are also a must, especially garlic. A Potjie is just not a Potjie without garlic!

Although many Potjie recipes are available always remember that the end result of each Potjiekos is as individual as its creator and, that with time, each Potjie seems to develop its own character devoted to the whims of its master!

(We have some very nice Potjiekos Recipes on our web site -Ed)

Questions and Answers

As every month, here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

Hoop u kan my help, ek het seker nou al 6 keer probeer om wors te maak, en elke keer skeur die derm, die wors kry nog nie eers behoorlik hitte nie dan skeur die derm uitmekaar uit.

Die slagters kyk my verbaas aan as ek hulle vra hoekom dit gebeur, want hulle gee vir my blykbaar die derms wat hulle gebruik.

Ek het al als probeer, verskillende resepte, styf stop, sag stop, middelmatig enigeiets.

Ek merk dat mens die derms in water moet lê voor die tyd, kan dit my fout wees, want ek doen dit nie? Ek sal dit werklik waardeer as u kan help.

Groete

Billy van Schalkwyk
Potchefstroom, Suid Afrika
ocke@hot.co.za

FEEDBACK

Billy started soaking and cleaning his casings and has had no problems since!

QUESTION

Because of my high blood pressure I have to avoid salt under any circumstances.
But what about biltong made without salt?
Do other people make saltles biltong too, or is it a funny idea?
How can saltles biltong be done? Kindly let me hear your opinion.

Thank you in anticipations and sunny African regards,

Klaus Schindler
Porterville, South Africa
schindler@lando.co.za

FEEDBACK

Hi Klaus
I have a few customers with the same problem.
Because I make my own biltong spice I just leave out the salt and all the rest stays the same.
Just add a bit more vinegar.
Actually very nice once u get used to it.
Some people add a bit more sugar and coriander to compensate for taste.

Good luck,
Fred
Cape to Cairo. (Springbok Foods)
Box 506
Wembley, WA 6913
Australia

QUESTION

We have been making biltong in our Rockey 5kg Biltong maker with normal beef. It works like a dream!
Now we want to try and make biltong using wild boar. Is this possible?
If yes, do we have to be advised on anything special?

Best Regards

Eric Maingard
La Mivoie, Mauritius
magesse@intnet.mu

FEEDBACK

Hi Eric,

Yes u can use boar but you have to change your recipe.
I had one years ago as the Asians liked it but remember that it only tasted good using a Chinese or Japanese whisky and lots of sugar.
It did not taste too good with the normal recipe.

Good luck
Fred
Cape to Cairo. (Springbok Foods)
Box 506
Wembley, WA 6913
Australia

Stoep Talk

Design of new Taxis is just not up to scratch!
By James Clarke

My friend, Togetherness Tshabalala, the demon Diepkloof taxi driver who so passionately believes in private enterprise that he shoots competitors, told me that one of the problems with the new taxis is design standards.

For example, under the new rules, sliding doors are out and this is partly why there is a holdup.

Togetherness was responsible for this last-minute rule. He was asked by the Department of Transport’s advisory committee to road test one of the prototype 23-seaters on the notorious Polokwane run.

The first thing he noticed was that with sliding doors one could squeeze in only 47 passengers. Even then, when he slid the door shut, it tended to snip off quite important parts which, despite the normal complacency of taxi commuters, led to complaints and certainly much smarting of the eyes.

But with hinged doors he could compress as many as 53 passengers in a vehicle (given a little help in shouldering the door closed).

Togetherness’ road test report caused a stir among the manufacturers and resulted in the current delay in implementing the government’s program to replace old taxis with new.

The roof of the test vehicle could support almost 2 tons of luggage, as well as chickens and building material, which surprised even the manufacturers. Despite the rather top heavy load the vehicle handled well and Togetherness said he experienced very few serious accidents except when nearing Polokwane where, he said, accidents become inevitable.

At one time the passengers at the back began muttering and Togetherness discovered the rear assembly had become incandescent because the handbrake had been left on. “This threatened to ignite the petrol tank but most of my passengers managed to alight,” Togetherness reported. (Brighter readers will spot Togetherness’ little pun.)

He managed to repair the bus at the roadside with pieces of corrugated iron and a hammer and resume his journey with a slightly reduced passenger load.

The bus put up an impressive performance on the Soweto route but only after he had neutralized the electronic speed governor by striking it with a pipe wrench. Togetherness said the speed control device would not be well accepted especially as many drivers have taken the advanced driving course offered by the manufacturers at the Kyalami race track where drivers clocked up speeds that had Grand Prix drivers clutching their foreheads in disbelief.

Togetherness explained, “If we were to crawl down the Golden Highway at a governed 60 km/h it would not only invite parking tickets, it would be an open invitation to hubcap thieves.”

On the subject of hubcaps Togetherness was not in favour of a suggestion that the new models dispense with them.

“Drivers are not going to like this for they won’t have the means to attach traditional BMW hubcaps which everybody wants”

He was in favour of seat belts on all seats because this considerably reduced the number of passengers who were propelled to the front of the vehicle every time the brakes were applied.

He warned though that although these buses were safer than current taxis they were unsuitable for driving on pavements which one often has to do in rush hour – their size tended to dismay pedestrians.

He approved the power steering for it allowed him to jinx among the traffic lanes without rolling the vehicle which, he said, saved a lot of time. But he was critical of the sturdy side-panels which he said did not allow the sideways expansion of the bus when really full.

Recipe corner

Vetkoek

Remember the Vetkoek we used to get in South Africa? My favourite was the ones filled with mince!

This is a traditional Afrikaans recipe. They are delicious when cut open, buttered, and then filled with either cooked mince or with syrup.

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour
3ml salt
5ml Baking powder
1 egg
milk
oil (for deep frying)

Method

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl
Beat the egg lightly in a cup and add to the dry ingredients
Add sufficient milk and beat till a smooth batter
Heat the oil in a pan and drop large spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil (be careful)
Fry, turning them over now and then until golden brown
Cut open, butter and fill with either mince or syrup

Click below for our handy cooking converter

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

Hello from Australia.

I wonder if I might ask you to include a desperate plea for help in the newsletter.

I am an ex-pupil of Nazareth House, Cape Town and was at the convent/orphanage during 1940’s – 1958. I am writing a book now and I am desperate to contact any of the “children” who were there with me. Both the males and the females.

I would be so grateful if you could add this to the next newsletter and keep it going for me. I have advertised this message on every South African Message Board and Forum that I have come across on the internet and have only had one reply. I would expect that some of them have moved to other countries, just like I did, so I am hoping that someone may read this or someone reading this will know of someone who was there.

Yours sincerely
Sharon
Australia
shazneru@hotmail.com

Hi Guys,

Potjiekos is fantastic! We just made our second Potjie – the first one was Lamb Neck and the second one Leg of lamb – we just love lamb meat! It’s great fun to make!

We realized the No: 1 Potjie is a bit small, just big enough for the two of us – so we’ve just ordered a No: 3 Platpotjie for when our kids and friends come along.

My husband Ray, a Dutchman by birth, grew up in South Africa (Johannesburg) from the age of 4 to 16, and later on, with his second wife, spent three more years in South Africa. (I am his third wife.) Both of us are deaf, by the way.

Last December, we spent a wonderful holiday in South Africa, traveling a lot and seeing lots of old friends and schoolmates.

That’s when we first ate the most delicious Potjiekos at a friends’ home – and ever since then we wanted to have our own Potjiepot …

Best regards
Regine and Ray
Stabroek, Belgium
raymond.kesnig@telenet.be

The following is from a “withdrawelstruck” expat in England.
Jon started emailing us in March about the whereabouts of his Biltong Maker which had been surface (sea) mailed to him.

21-03-2006

I sit on the roof of my pondok all day, squinting across the glare from the ice and snow, hoping to see a ship on the horizon! So far, only a few banana boats with illegal immigrants.
None of them had my biltong maker!

An ossewa did come trundling past the other day, but all he had was candles, picks and shovels. I think he was lost as he asked for directions to Pofadder!

My weight has gone down to below normal levels, and my doctor, who is 97 years old and from Nababeep says if I don’t eat biltong soon I may go to the big biltong factory in the sky.

I do think he has been at the mampoer again, though!

16-05-2006

As I sit on the dak of my pondok, still gazing out to sea, ek sien niks nie!
Not even the hoards of illegal immigrants who are normally arriving in their 100,s.

I did hear of a shipwreck on the coast however, and after 4 days trek in my ossewa, found only the local scavengers collecting wood from the ship to build a new squatter camp. Yes, we have them here too, but they’re called gypsies!
I asked about a biltong maker, but the only Maker they knew about was the one that all the drowned sailors had gone to meet!

So it was, hey-ho, back to my pondok to sit on the roof and see if I could remember what biltong tasted like.
Tant Sannie was killed a few weeks ago by a runaway milk cart. I tried to use her for Biltong because at her age (98) she was halfway there, but it didn’t taste quite right!
I was later told that this is not quite legal over here.

Still hoping that one day my Biltong Maker might arrive, but the hope I hold is dwindling, like the sunset this evening, as I sit on the tin roof of my pondok.

26-05-2006

The other day (Fri) I was sitting on the dak of my pondok again trying to remember what biltong tasted like, thinking of Tant Sannie (who didn’t taste that lekker) when in the distance I noticed a cloud of dust.

Excitement!!!

I fell of the roof (I had been drinking mampoer!) and harnessed up my ossewa to meet this guest.
It was Kerneels, riding his favourite Springbok, bringing me a parcel and guess what?

IT WAS MY BLERRIE BILTONG MACHINE !!!!!

I shot his bokkie (I did need some meat!) and told him to walk home.
I ran into the house calling the family around to gaze at this wonderful machine from the forgotten land.

It is a piece of art. The first crop of biltong has already disappeared, and am working on the next.

Thank you and I bet you are going to miss my updates!

Kind regards,
Jon Ellis and family
Hemel Hempstead
Hertfordshire
England

Something to smile about

Jacob Zuma

Live Well – Laugh Often – Love Much

Sport talk

Links to the sport pages

Bok coach has his own recipe, says Stofile
Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has defended national rugby coach Jake White from accusations by African National Congress MPs that he is obstructing transformation in the Springbok team.
Full Story ….

Spears in Currie Cup appeal
Less than three weeks before the Currie Cup starts, South Africa’s premier rugby competition is on the verge of being thrown into chaos by a court order set to force SA Rugby to reinstate Tony McKeever as chief executive of the Southern Spears.
Full Story ….

ICC to help Gibbs, Boje avoid arrest in India
The International Cricket Council says it will do everything possible to ensure South Africans Nicky Boje and Herschelle Gibbs could tour India without fear of arrest in a match-fixing case.
Full Story ….

Players appeal won’t diminish umpires’ role
A plan to allow teams to appeal against umpiring decisions during one-day games will not diminish the umpires’ role, a senior ICC official has said.
Full Story ….

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Why not write to us

We are almost halfway through the year already and have received some very nice contributions to our newsletter from all over the world!

Many people have subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and they like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

Our Boerewors has again proven to be as popular as last year (and all the years before)!

Boeries on the braai! Especially very well received is the vacuum packing of the wors and the posting!
All our customers in Holland, Belgium and Germany raved about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived.

You too could have some real South African Boerewors on the braai next time!!
Just give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us.

Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. The price is € 8.45 per kg.

Droëwors for the UK and Europe!

Droëwors …… a typical South African delicacy all of its own!

Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos.

Real South African Droë Wors! Our new drying facility can handle up to 25 kg and it takes at least one week to dry the normal wet sausage to the “cracking” dryness of Droëwors.
The spices are of course imported especially from South Africa so you will get the “real” thing!

Our price is € 29.00 per kg.

Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option. We can mail it to you in Europe and the UK via priority mail in minimum quantities of 1 kg.
The rate to the UK, Germany, France and all other EU countries is
€ 26.00 for up to 5 kg.
To Holland and Luxembourg it is € 13.00 and in Belgium € 4.50.

Interested? Give us a call or email.

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the Spit ……. something special!

Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!

We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of between 30 and 50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
For venues more than 50 km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

There are not many dates left in June and July. If you are planning a function or party with a Lamb on the Spit in mind it is advisable to book early. Remember that we are doing these functions only during weekends.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us.
-May and June 2006 are almost booked out and July is filling up as well.-(A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005

October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006

February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

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May 2006

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The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

May 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

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In this Newsletter

Subscribing and un-subscribing

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
May 12, 2006 Neumünster Abbey in Luxembourg

Neumünster Abbey in Luxembourg

Well, there we were, driving through howling snow storms somewhere between Brussels and Luxembourg on the way to do a Potjiekos for 80 people.I always thought that you do Potjiekos in the blazing sun! At least that’s what I am used to.

We were on the way to the Freedom Day celebrations of the South African Club in Luxembourg. It was April 30th.

The setting was beautiful. Right in the middle of Luxembourg, way down a valley in the middle of town and in between ancient walls that date back to the year 963. In between those walls you’ll find Neumünster Abbey dating back to the early 18th century (around 1720).

It’s very interesting to read about the history of Luxembourg and if you want to you can do so right here.

We arrived well in time to see a couple of local ostrich babies off-loaded into a small pen. Mommy and Daddy were also there in the form of hamburgers. It might have been an idea not to have had the babies there. Quite a couple of people commented on that.

With the ostrich babies settled in a pen with sand we also got ourselves installed eventually and the day got underway. There were a tremendous amount of people who came to see the stalls where African Curios, wine and other South African goodies were sold. And then there was the music. Some of it very good and some of it made my hair stand on end. June and I jokingly said that we now at last knew the reason why we left South Africa, especially when a redention of “My Sarie Marais” was given by what sounded like a very constipated performer.

But, it was a good day, especially for the organizers who never, in their wildest dreams, had expected to see so many people. The queue for the boerewors rolls was at times so long that we could not see the end and had we known that so many people would turn up we would certainly have brought more hands. But, with only 200 bread rolls ordered and a Potjiekos for 80 people, who would have expected more than 300-400 people at the most. We gratefully accepted all the help given by Craig, Simon and Tino. Thanks a lot guys and much appreciated.

We got home late that night nursing a huge cold from standing in the rain all day long.

Droëwors Drying 96 meters of wors at one time

We finally have our Droëwors drying facility up and running.
Over the years people have been asking us to start making Droëwors.
Well, we are so far.
The results are excellent and the first batches have already been posted to people in Germany, Holland, Belgium and the UK.

The price is € 29.00 per kg

Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option.
The rate to the UK, Germany, France and all other EU countries is € 26.00 for up to 5kg.
To Holland and Luxembourg it is € 13.00 and in Belgium € 7.40.

Interested? Give us a call or email.

For the rest we have had a quiet month. Nice for a change. It gave us a chance to catch our breath a bit.

This Saturday June is taking me to Rome for a couple of days for my birthday. We are both very much looking forward to that. There is so much to see and do there. I have just finished reading Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons and want to see the places he is talking about.
Next month I will tell you what it was like.

Well, that was it again for this month. Enjoy the rest of it and, let’s hear from you please?????

Till next month,

All the best,

Lo

Food for thought

Don’t put off Joy and Happiness!

To so many people, goal setting means that someday, after they have achieved something great, will they be able to enjoy life
There is a difference between achieving to be happy and happily achieving!
Strive to live each day to its fullest. squeezing all the joy you can out of each moment.

Instead of measuring your life’s value by your progress to a single goal, remember that the direction you are headed in is more important than temporary results.

What is your current direction? Are you moving toward your goals or away from them?

Do you need to make a course correction?
Are you enjoying life to the fullest?
If not, make a change in one of these areas now!

Story of the month

Afrikaners alarmed at losing old names

By Tim Butcher in Louis Trichardt

“I work with the Afrikaner community here every day of the week and I tell you they are close to breaking point,” said Philip Venter, a rugged, Afrikaans-speaking minister whose office walls are hung with guns and trophies.

“It is my job to maintain peace, but when you get people thinking they are being persecuted it gets more and more difficult to do this. All it takes is for one of them to snap and I tell you there will be the worst terrorist problem in the world.”

A ripple of alarm is spreading through the conservative white communities of the far north of South Africa after this week’s announcement by the government of plans to Africanise traditional Afrikaner names of towns.

Louis Trichard in the old Northern Transvaal In towns such as Louis Trichardt, named after one of the 19th century voortrekkers whose 1,400-mile journey from Cape Town entered Afrikaner folklore, many Afrikaners feel their identity is under threat.

A number of names from the local Venda tribes have been put forward for the town, but none is acceptable to its 2,000 whites. Mr Venter said: “The whites in this area accepted what happened with the end of apartheid.

“They might not have agreed with it but they accepted it, but now this comes along and it seems just like racism, trying to break down our cultural heritage.”

Throughout the transition to black rule in the early 1990s, diehard Afrikaners regularly predicted that they would rebel against a black government – before settling back and just about resuming their old lives.

But while once again the talk of “rebellion” is far-fetched, the planned name changes add to Afrikaners’ sense of cultural decline since the end of white rule.

The once dominant National Party, the Afrikaner political movement that created and imposed apartheid for more than 40 years, is only a marginal political force now.
It won only seven per cent of the vote in the last general election and has even resorted to a coalition with the African National Congress, its old enemy. Many former members have left to join more Right-wing parties which are divided and incapable of securing power on a national or even provincial scale.

The Afrikaners’ principal spiritual home, the Dutch Reformed Church, reports declining and ageing congregations, with many young Afrikaners leaving South Africa for Australia or New Zealand to avoid the crime epidemic.

The government had one round of name changes at the end of apartheid eight years ago, doing away, for example, with the province name of Transvaal. For people such as Trudie du Plessis, local youth leader of the Right-wing Freedom Front, there are no grounds for a second round.

She said: “It does not make any sense from a financial point of view because after changing names a few years ago, millions will have to be spent by businesses on new marketing for the new names.”

Outside her mother’s small irrigation business, opinion was hostile among the tanned, stocky Afrikaner farmers in shorts, boots and long socks. “It is just another attempt to mess us around,” one said.

Black South Africans say little has changed for whites since the end of apartheid. The ANC council was unapologetic, with the local government councillor reverting to language that harked back to the days of the “struggle”.

Joe Maswanganyi said: “The renaming signifies a dramatic break with the past of colonial superiority and racial domination of one race by another. We have got to overturn this history and traverse a new course of historical orientation.

“The current names of towns and streets are a sad reminder of a history of oppressive colonial practices.” The two sides appear to be on a collision course as the ANC does not want to be seen to be giving in to a small minority and has set a deadline of the end of the month to come up with the new names.

But for Afrikaners such as Mr Venter there appears to be little they can do apart from fall back on their traditional sense of vasbyt, or dogged bloody-mindedness.

It would be interesting to receive some comments regarding the above from our readers – Ed.

* * * * Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement * * * *

FOR SALE

The Kalahari Bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

The Kalahari Bar is unique and the first authentic Southern African bar in the U.S.A. It includes many Antique Décor and Memorabilia from Africa.

Bar has a 4-COP Quota License (this means a full liquor bar and liquor may be sold by the drink or by the bottle from the bar and/or a Packaged Bottle Store attached to the bar). Price of bar is $330,000 (which includes 4-COP license which is valued at over $150,000).
Bar is a ‘Turnkey Operation’ and is being sold completely ‘as is’.
Long lease – Owner Retiring – Regular local and expat Clientele and has customer base of over 1,000 email addresses.

This is a possible opportunity for someone wanting to move to the U.S.A.

For serious enquiries only, please contact us at: kalahari@kalaharibar.com
or visit our website at www.kalaharibar.com

This month’s special offer

We are trying hard to keep our prices down!

The inevitable has happened and our prices have been brought in line with what we pay the factories. Because the material used in the manufacture of our Home Biltong Makers is a by-product of oil, the raw material prices have shot up the last year or so.

The new prices are as follows:

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong Maker R 950.00
The Biltong Buddy R 750.00

BUT ………..

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong maker will still cost only R 895.00 instead of R 950.00
Our Biltong Buddy Home Biltong Maker will cost R 695.00 instead of R 750.00

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

Cleaning/curing a Potjie

Someone wrote in to us claiming that the only way to cure/clean a new Potjie is by making a fire in it!
Now that makes a bit of sense. The fire will burn away all the shellac and other “muti” the Potjie is coated with in the factory leaving it ready for use.Just make sure that you have lots of elbow grease to clean the inside of the Potjie very well after the fire!

Important notice!!

It has been brought to our notice that some people try to use a higher wattage and different shape globe than supplied with the Biltong Makers. They do this to try and decrease the drying time. Not only does this not work but it it also dangerous!
Firstly, a higher wattage light will dry the meat too quickly resulting in a hard outer crust and a soft inside.
Secondly, using a globe of a higher wattage than recommended will damage certain of the components in the machines.
ONLY USE a candle shaped 25 watt globe for the Biltong Buddy and a 40 watt candle shaped globe for Rockey’s 5kg machine.

Questions and Answers

Here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails at info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

Hoop u kan my help, ek het seker nou al 6 keer probeer om wors te maak, en elke keer skeur die derm, die wors kry nog nie eers behoorlik hitte nie dan skeur die derm uitmekaar uit.

Die slagters kyk my verbaas aan as ek hulle vra hoekom dit gebeur, want hulle gee vir my blykbaar die derms wat hulle gebruik.

Ek het al als probeer, verskillende resepte, styf stop, sag stop, middelmatig enigeiets.

Ek merk dat mens die derms in water moet lê voor die tyd, kan dit my fout wees, want ek doen dit nie? Ek sal dit werklik waardeer as u kan help.

Groete

Billy van Schalkwyk
Potchefstroom, Suid Afrika
ocke@hot.co.za

QUESTION

Because of my high blood pressure I have to avoid salt under any circumstances.
But what about biltong made without salt?
Do other people make saltless biltong too, or is it a funny idea?
How can saltless biltong be done? Kindly let me hear your opinion.

Thank you in anticipations and sunny African regards,

Klaus Schindler
Porterville, South Africa
schindler@lando.co.za

QUESTION

We have been making biltong in our Rockey 5kg Biltong maker with normal beef. It works like a dream!
Now we want to try and make biltong using wild boar. Is this possible?
If yes, do we have to be advised on anything special?

Best Regards

Eric Maingard
La Mivoie, Mauritius
magesse@intnet.mu

QUESTION

I live in Cuyahoga Falls near Cleveland in Ohio.
It would be WONDERFUL to get in touch with any South Africans out this way or anywhere in the USA.

Regards,
Rita Mustaine
USA
ritamustaine@yahoo.com

QUESTION

I live and work in Calgary and am interested in hearing from other South Africans in Canada who have tried (or maybe even succeeded) in sponsoring a parent over to Canada.
What a palaver.
We submitted our application in 2002, and the first (Canadian) side just came through in January.
Now all the paperwork we had prepared for South African approval is out of date! We have to re-do everything, its just so frustrating, and feels never-ending.
It would be lovely to hear from anyone who has successfully sponsored a parent, and whether they have any advice to offer!

Kind regards,
Gail Hull
Galgary, Canada
Gail_hull@adp.com

Stoep Talk

Lions vs Mongooses: which has more sex?
By James Clarke

I came across a male and female lion in the Kruger Park recently – the black-maned male was very scrawny and haggard, and obviously hadn’t combed his hair for weeks.Somebody in the next car told me: “They’re on honeymoon – they’ve been here for three days and they mate every 15 minutes.”

It was no exaggeration. We passed the spot going in and coming out of the reserve for the next four days and there they were each time.

Lions are like that – they go on for days.

But even more insatiable are dwarf mongooses.

Years ago, Frank Redgment of Forest Town, Johannesburg told me he and his wife watched some dwarf mongooses consuming large quantities of ants in the Kruger Park.

When Frank got home, he looked up the dwarf mongoose’s CV in Reay Smithers’ Mammals of Southern Africa.

He said: “My mind boggled. There must be something in the dwarf mongoose’s diet that, if synthesised, could knock Viagra sales for a loop and pay off our national debt.”

The alpha female is receptive for five days, during which time the alpha male copulates as many as 2 386 times – 2 386 times in five days!

Assuming he quits at night in order to pant, he must do it once every two minutes.

Smithers says copulation takes 21 seconds. Even so, I mean…

Ring. Ring.

(Sorry about this. Please carry on reading while I answer the phone.)

“Hello, this is the Stoep Talk Organisation, purveyor of rich fertiliser to the nation – all our agents are currently busy but your call is important to us…”

(Oh blimey, it’s him – the E*D*I*T*O*R. Why is he always looking over my shoulder? Why isn’t he out at lunch or something?)

“Yes sir. Yes, as you say, I was getting a bit carried away. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. But think of it! Every two minutes! I mean, could you… ? What? I mean pardon? Yes, very well. I’ll desist, Yes, immediately.”

(No sense of humour.)

Low down on chutney

Last month, readers voted Mrs Ball’s Chutney as one of the icons of South Africa. But I’ve got news for you.
My enigmatic correspondent, Don of Bryanston, says Lawrence Green in 1964 commented on the origin of Mrs B’s chutney in his book Soho of the South.

He wrote “Another secret recipe… is known as Mrs Ball’s Chutney. This came to the Cape from the US in an unusual way. Mrs Ball’s father was Captain Adkins, master of the SS Quanza, and he took his wife to sea with him.
“His wife inherited the recipe from her mother, who first bottled it about 120 years ago.

“The Quanza was wrecked at East London… in 1872. All on board were saved and Mrs Ball’s mother had the presence of mind to save the chutney recipe.
“Captain and Mrs Adkins decided to settle in King William’s Town. There, a daughter Amelia was born and she inherited the chutney recipe.

“Amelia became Mrs Ball (and) decided to bottle the chutney on a commercial scale.”

Mrs Ball died in 1962 aged 97.

May the fourth

Last year on May 4, people were saying to each other “May the fourth be with you – yuk yuk yuk.”

Dr Hugh Cobb points out that this year, May 4 is doubly noteworthy.

At two minutes and three seconds past 1am, the time and date will read: 01:02:03 04:05:06.

He adds, “That won’t ever happen again. You may now return to your normal life.”

Hey, Hugh! How about in 2106?

Recipe corner

Old Biltong Recipe

We have seen so many recipes for Biltong that it seems that they all look the same.
Not this one though!
Have a look.

It is from Tony Proudlock in Sandton near Johannesburg

This is a recipe I was given by a lady at the Meat Board in Pretoria in the late 1960’s.
She told me it had been handed down through her family for generations.
I have used it with success for years – it tastes far better than anything you can buy and works out at half the price.

The Meat

Use topside or sirloin cut into strips about an inch thick.

The Spices

Mix good quality coarse salt (I use Maldon coarse salt) with brown sugar and ground coriander in equal quantities.
As a rough guide, the mixture should half fill a small mixing bowl to make about 2kg of biltong.
I then add liberal portions of coarse ground black pepper, mixed herbs, and whole coriander seeds (dry fried in a pan for a minute or so).
As absolute essential is a pinch of saltpetre – it gives the final product the most superb colour.
You can also add pinches of chilli flakes, garlic, or what ever you like.

Method

Lay the strips of meat in a glass container.
Thoroughly rub in your mixture especially on fat, if you have elected to leave it on the meat.
Cover and leave for 24 hours turning once or twice. The brine forms within a few hours.
From the brine save the whole coriander seeds and press them deep into the meat.
Before hanging I gently wipe down the meat with some good South African brandy.

In my biltong maker it takes four to five days.

Hope you enjoy,
Tony Proudlock
Sandton, South Africa

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

This one is from Nico Botha in Australia

Frans Badenhorst had a cultural experience for his second son, Japie, the other day. He was teaching him that boerewors is a tradition that needs to be mastered in many ways! We have come to the conclusion that our kids needs to be taught how to make wors, prior to “stuffing” their faces at each and every braai!

It went well, and Japie learned well for his first lesson under the watchful eye of Frans, Louis van Zyl and myself! Yes we did give him some stick, but it as we all know part of the learning curve into being able to make wors like the manne!!

We thought that a large number of South African kids live abroad, and through your monthly newsletter we should explore the avenues their folks follow to “Keep up the South African Traditions, and most of all our morals and principals, that we are all known for.

Perhaps we should ask the parents what do they do to keep in touch with the Homeland, “Subscribe to the Huisgenoot, Sarie, or Landbou Weekblad, Rapport or Sunday Times!
Or do they have storieboeke, like Sias and Mias or whatever they need sent to them.

I think we will have a good old laugh with what will come out from all over the world!

“Yes”! “There is a madness in place here” as we (die ou manne) now wish to sit back, get the kids to make the wors, stywe pap en sous, start the braai , know the harde hout types available in their local kontrei for the vuur and then braai and fetch us a “cold one” out of the beer fridge. And then they can ear drop on the conversation of the good old times!
But if they burn the meat, or braai broodjies they will be dropped from the elite core of YBELOSA (that stands for Young Boerewors Experts Living Outside South Africa)

Perhaps the Ou Toppies needs to show us what they do, to achieve their goals for the kids!

But seeing that women have an equal say in the modern world we could see a mum coming forward, with little Sannie and blow us all away with how they teach the daughters to make wors, or start a harde hout vuur !!

Last but not least, I have decided to challenge the Boerewors empire manne with a competition to where they keep the “frosties”! We in a day of (BB) “Brain Brightness” be kwassed my beer fridge with a “true reflection of African colours!!

As Mzwandile will say ” this one is looking good brother!

I also think we should have little snippets of previous stories or goeters paste onto the web to show the rest of the newly arrived Global Boerewors Empire migrants what we have discussed, did and achieved.
That Vlermuis storie is still doing the laughs here locally!!

Well it’s time to say goodbye as I have a major assignment due in two weeks, but I am about to leave mum and the kids behind and do a bit of contract work as a Risk Analysis for a large mining company in Western Australia.
I will fly in and out on a 24 day 12 hour shift on, and 8 days back here in the Whitsunday region.

Lekker mal hey !!

But at R19,500 a day it is surely worth it, and then the hard work with the studies is worth every minute of it!!

Groete

Nico Whitsunday, Australia

We will run the “Vlermuis” story again soon Nico! – Ed

And this one is from Terri Chomse who lives in Nigeria

Hi there, from Lagos

Thank you so much for your “newsy”, informative and fun Newsletter which I receive every month.
We are living in Lagos, Nigeria at the moment. We are based here on contract. We moved up to Lagos in Jan 2005 with our 3 daughters aged 8, 6 and 3. In the beginning, it was a huge challenge, but now that we “know the ropes”; it is an amazing, unpredictable and spoilt way of living. (as an ex-pat)

Our country of origin is SA ~ naturally!

We are fortunate enough to be able to return to SA 3 times a year ~ basically for the School Holidays. Our children attend the American International School Lagos, and we look forward to the 2 month summer break in June/July.

In Jan 2006, I opened my own Company called Dream Options
(http://spaces.msn.com/dreamoptionsthatsher
(Notice, I list Biltong Makers as one of my favourite sites to visit!!)

I have a Nigerian partner, who has her own Law Practice, both in Nigeria and the UK.

The photos on the site are from an Annual event called Small World. This is definitely the event of the year for ex-pats in Nigeria. It is a fund-raiser.
All the different Countries represented in Lagos are involved. Each country decorates a stall, serves food from their Countries, and puts on a Dance!
The Venue this year was on the rugby fields at the British International School. Unfortunately, this year – Feb 06, the heavens opened, and the down-pour of rain, and lightning, put a stop to the Dancing show, but the SA stall was in full swing, and definitely the party of the night was had by all SA revelers! (naturally!)
The Theme for Small World was “Spice for Life”, and SA served Boerewors, Bunny Chows, Samoosas, Pap, Smoor, Koeksisters, Castle Beer and Two Oceans Wine.
One of the Blogs on my site is by 2 SA Men, who also work on contract in Nigeria, but as a hobby, they make Biltong. When I do functions, I use their products.

One of the most exciting things to hit Lagos, is the opening of SA based Shoprite (Checkers) and Game. We also have Debonairs, Nando’s, and there is talk of a News Café! Wow! This is such a treat!
We can now buy Mrs Balls Chutney (along with other regulated SA products), all in one shop! A Shopping Mall!!
Before that we had to smuggle!

Generally, life in Lagos can be summed up as follows:

Traffic (go-slows) are a common occurrence i.e. huge traffic jams
After a down-pour of rain, the pot-holes open up to gaping rivers, drainage on roads is bad, as Lagos is at sea-level
The only comfortable mode of transport is a 4×4 vehicle(which a lot of the Companies provide)
Petrol price is about R3.20 a litre
The fastest and cheapest way to get around is on an “Okardo”. This is a 125cc motor bike. But be warned, they are dangerous and rule the roads!
Public Holidays are random, and announced via “Bush-telegraph” the day before the event
Obviously, fraud is rife, but if you keep your wits, and keep informed, this can be avoided
To avoid boredom, most weekends consist of Braai’s, rugby on the box, and loads of drinking.
Castle Beer is available (albeit illegal) at a whopping R7 a tin. And most time it is expired stock (from the Markets)
Drinking and Eating out is VERY expensive. A bottle of Two Oceans wine in a restaurant will set you back R170. Other SA wines go for about R220 a bottle! To buy the same wine from Shoprite is R60, and R150 respectively
Strangely enough, White wine and Red wine are priced almost the same, and at some shops the year of the wine is of no significance to the price
A basic pizza at Debonair will set you back R75, and a mineral (in a plastic bottle) R15
The conversion for the local currency – which is Naira, is basically 20 Naira to the ZAR. Coins are a thing of the past, and they have just issued a new N1000 note. A purse is not an option, you need to take a bag/satchel to carry monies. Cash is the only option, no-one uses credit cards.
Most households with kids have a driver (some ex-pats are not permitted to drive in Lagos), a “nanny” who is normally Nigerian and called an “Aunty”, and a house-boy or cook-boy. This surprisingly enough (or not?) is cheap – average salary for household servants is R750 a month, live-in, and they work all hours that you need – but a “dash” (tip) is expected for overtime after 8pm at night about R50! Drivers earn more, and are paid by Companies
The last count of the population 15 years ago, was around 140 million in Nigeria.
In March 2006, Nigeria came to a stand-still from 21 March, till 27 March. The government carried out a Census, to count the people.
During the Census, “no-movement” was declared from 8am in the mornings, until 4 pm in the afternoons. I.e. NO work, NO school, NO shopping, NO golf!
Due to import charges etc, most items at Game are 2 to 3 times more expensive than in SA
Availability of products at Shoprite is affected ~ the ports just keep the containers for strange reasons
There is a newly opened Movie complex called Silverbird Galleria, and there is a SA run Multi-media store (where you can buy a DVD movie without seeing peoples heads/shadows, and hear laughing, yup, the genuine ones. A movie costs R70, before popcorn and a drink.
The beaches away from the Mainland are beautiful, idyllic, and Mauritius look-alikes (apart from the rubbish littered all over)
In Lagos there are 4 main areas to live: Victoria Island, Ikoyi Island, Lekki and Ipapa. Although VI, Ikoyi and Lekki are within 10 km’s of each other, on a bad day, it can take up to 2 hours to get there!! But on average, about 30 minutes. VI and Ikoyi have only ONE connecting bridge ~ hence the traffic problems
Most ex-pats live in a “Compound” ~ basically 3 bedroom flats/duplexes in a security guarded environment. These compounds usually have their own gyms, communal swimming pools, some have Tennis courts, 10 pin bowling alleys etc.
Rent is VERY expensive! An average 3 bedroom place costs $45 000 a year, R23 000 a month, and is payable upfront, for 2 years! ~ or no place to stay!
Electricity supply is very poor. ALL houses and businesses have their own diesel run generators. These are used on average about 3 times a day, and some places have been known to have no electricity for weeks!
All electronic equipment, including fridges and freezers, have UPS back-up, and currency regulators for spikes in power
Hotel Accommodation is VERY expensive. An average night in a Hotel is about $350 = R2000 a night. The facilities are not the greatest – i.e., noisy air conditioners, (if they work), poor, lengthy service, dirty water, few have internet access. Protea have opened a new Hotel on VI – Kuramo Close, and this is good value for money! And centrally situated (link from my site shows pics and available facilities)
There are loads of restaurants to choose from. All the different cuisines are catered for. Most places do home deliveries (take-outs)
Shopping at the “Markets” is vibey, hot, interesting, and a must do!

I could go on forever!

It is a really interesting, expensive place to live! And I love it but know that we are only on contract, and will return to SA!
And my golf is improving!

Thanx for listening to “how we live in Lagos”

Regards,
Terri Chomse Lagos, Nigeria

Something to smile about

VRYSTAAAAAAAAAT!

A Free State “Boer” walks into his local bar and to his surprise finds a little Japanese man sitting in his regular chair.
“Kleingat, you sommer sitting op my stoel” he angrily shouts.
Before he knows it the Jap is up and knocks the farmer flying.
After the farmer recovers he asks: “What the blerry hell was that?”

“Zat martial art from my country Japan” replies the Jap and strolls off in a stroppy way.

The following day the farmer finds the Jap in “His” seat again.
The farmer goes: “You is alweer sitting op my stoel” and again the Jap knocks the farmer out with some nifty Kung Fu.
On regaining consciousness the farmer asks: “What the blerry hell was that?”

“Zat Karate from my country Japan” and as stroppy as ever ambles off.

Now the farmer is dik die moer in………
The next day the farmer finds the Jap sitting in “His” chair again!
“So, you is alweer sitting op my stoel. Vat So” and he knocks the daylights out of the Jap with one blow.
The little Jap comes around after some time and asks the farmer what was that?

The farmer replies: “That, my china was a bliksemse Isuzu 2.8 litre turbo diesel bakkie se wheelspanner….also from your country Japan”

Live Well – Laugh Often – Love Much

Sport talk

Links to the sport pages

Watson gets a slap in the face from White
Springbok coach Jake White has confirmed Luke Watson will not be in the squad for a training camp, saying the current loose-forwards in the Bok squad can do everything what the Stormers player does and more.
Full Story…

Brits a better bet than Botha
Former Western Province No 2 Andrew Paterson believes Stormers hooker Schalk Brits should be selected ahead of the Bulls’ Gary Botha as the back-up to John Smit in the Springbok squad.
Full Story…

De Bruyn joins the Warriors
Former Proteas batsman Zander de Bruyn has signed a two-year contract with the Warriors.
Full Story…

Selectors get smart for World Cup
South Africa’s squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup is virtually set in stone, and the next few months will be spent carefully planning ahead of that event.
Full Story…

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Why not write to us

We are almost halfway through the year already and have received some very nice contributions to our newsletter from all over the world!

Many people are subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

So far 600kg of boerewors has been made since the start of April and most of it is gone!

Boeries on the braai! Our Boerewors has again proven to be as popular as last year (and all the years before)!
Especially very well received was the vacuum packing of the wors and the posting!
All our customers in Holland, Belgium and Germany raved about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived.

You too could have some real South African Boerewors on the braai next time!!

Just give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us.

Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. The price is € 8.45 per kg.

Droë Wors

Droe Wors …… a typical South African delicacy all of its own!

Droë Wors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos.

Real South African Droë Wors! The problem with making Droë Wors in enough quantities has always been the lack of a proper and large enough drying facility. We have now built a drying facility that will supply ample Droë Wors on a weekly basis. It takes at least one week to dry the normal wet sausage to the “cracking” dryness of Droe Wors.
The spices are of course imported especially from South Africa so you will get the “real” thing!

Our price is € 29.00 per kg which compares very favourably with what is being charged in the South Africa Super Markets such as Pick & Pay and Woolworth. The average price for Droë Wors in those stores is between R 250.00 and R 300.00 per kg.
If you can get Droë Wors in Europe and the UK the price is normally around the € 40.00 mark. We cannot justify that price.

So, if you want some real South African Droë Wors give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or mail us at info@boerewors.be.

Since Droë Wors travels so well we can mail it to you in Europe and the UK via priority mail in minimum quantities of 2kg.

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the Spit ……. something special!

Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!

We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40-50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

There are still two weekends open during May and June. If you are planning a function or party with a Lamb on the Spit in mind it is advisable to book early. Remember that we are doing these functions only during weekends.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us.
-May and June 2006 are almost booked out and July is filling up as well.-(A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005

September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005

January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

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April 2006

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The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

April 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

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In this Newsletter

Subscribing and un-subscribing

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
April 8, 2006

Hello and welcome to our newsletter for April!

My daughter who lives in Singapore came to London last week and told me that she found it very cold.
I said to her that it was Spring, the weather was lovely with a whole 12C during the day….Wow!!
She replied: “You may have Spring here but the word Freezing “springs” to mind!”

Well, I suppose that compared to tropical climates, it is cold in Europe 90% of the time.

But it is full of colour and flowers again outside.
Yellows and whites and reds and blues from the loads and loads of tulips, daffodils and crocuses and a host more flowers all over the place.
They just seem to be springing up from nowhere.
You see them in the gardens, in the middle of lawns, on the sidewalks and in between and alongside railway lines.
They are just everywhere.
Especially the daffodils!

The flower fields in Holland are in full bloom and tulips can be had for just € 5.00 (R37.00 or so) for 50 of them. Look at how beautiful it is in Holland and particularly the Keukenhof gardens. Click on the pictures to see them a bit bigger!If anyone of you have a particularly nice spot somewhere or a lovely view why not send us a picture. We can then show it to everybody in next month’s newsletter.

I tell you what; the entrant of the best picture will receive € 25.00.
Only your own, original pictures will be judged!

Tulip farming in Holland 2006

Boerewors for the Benelux (and the rest of Europe as well)
This week we made the first 300kg of boerewors and with all the orders mailed through to us most of it has gone already.
Orders have already come from as far away as Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France.
But, don’t worry, from now until the end of November we will (almost) always have ample stock.
Just give us a call (see the section of Boerewors) and arrange a collection or we can mail it to you.
It’s all nicely vacuum packed and ready to be enjoyed on the braai this coming Easter Weekend!
I don’t know about you but that is what we’ll be doing.
Good weather or not!

Thank you to all who voted
A big thank you to all those people who voted for our web site last month. You can continue doing so if you want to. It will be very much appreciated.
To vote now just click on the button below and then on the “back” button to get back right here.

Advertising
We are now accepting advertisements on our web site and in our newsletter. (click here for the rates)
For ads in this newsletter we will ask you for a donation.
If you have something you want to advertise please email us the content and we will mail you with a PayPal donation link. It will be entirely up to you what you think it’s worth.(ignore the rate sheet for now)
But, keep in mind that well over 30 000 people read our newsletter every month so you’ll get very good mileage out of it.
Charities or related organizations can advertise for free at the discretion of the editor.

And so we are moving to the middle of the year already. The days are getting shorter “down-under” and here by us the long evenings and early mornings are slowly starting to happen. It will be nice to sit outside again and have a little warmth on our bodies.
The one thing I don’t particularly look forward to is keeping the garden under control again for a couple of months!
Polite, my faithful gardener in SA, please send me your phone number? You can stay free until November!!

Well, that’s it from me. Enjoy the rest of the newsletter especially the input from some of our readers and the story about Eva Jordaan in Iceland.

Come on guys and dolls. Tell us what it’s like there by you. Everyone would love to hear from you!

Till next month,

All the best,

Lo

Food for thought

Another few words of advice

Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you don’t want to
answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Remember the three R’s:
Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take
immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Spend some time alone.

Story of the month

A Budding Biltong Success Story!

Eva Jordaan from Iceland is a very enterprising lady, probably the most successful budding Biltong Factory owner we know about and certainly the only one in Iceland, of all places!Last year Eve bought two of our Rockey 5kg Home Biltong Makers, an industrial shredder and a heap of spices. Eva’s plan was to make and sell Biltong in Iceland!

We all thought (without much conviction); good luck to her, let’s hope it will work.

Little did we know what her plans were!

Last month the first pictures started coming in and we were totally flabbergasted. Here was an entrepreneur who had set up a small factory, went through the difficult process of getting licenses, complying with health authorities and you name it, she’s done it!

It is a pity we can’t show all the pictures but the ones we do have here tell their own story!

After Eva sent us the pictures we wrote back to compliment her on her achievements. And so a couple of mails later we had most of the story about what Eva is planning!
Here are some of her mails and part of her story:

Eva writes:

Thank you for the compliment.

I have to have the set-up like a full blown meat processing factory as the Icelanders are very, very strict on hygiene.

There is nothing more that I would like than to hang the meat from the rafters in my house but that is not allowed of course.

I have to have a license and this I only get once the Health Inspector has made his inspection of the work environment and the producing method of the product also the product itself.
Then the Government Department for Accidents in the work place has to inspect all machinery to establish the safety of such a machine.
Then the Fire department does their inspection of the fire extinguishers that have to be installed.
After all of this is done my licence may be granted if I had fulfilled all requirements to their liking.
A whole lot of RED-TAPE don´t you think?

When Paul and I visited South Africa last year in September we went to so many different Biltong shops and places were it was being made and we looked at each other and said: “If we could do it this way in Iceland I would have enough money (1,200 miljoen Icelandic Krone) just to purchase meat and we would not have to spend the money on getting a factory set-up as we have had to do.”

The rules and regulations for this kind of business seem to be almost non-existent in South Africa.
The Icelandic Health Inspector would close down each and every butcher shop or place of business making Biltong and droëwors (that we have seen) in South Africa that is for sure.

We even had to re-paint the house from top to bottom and side to side with special paint for buildings being used for meat processing, hotels kitchens etc.
We even have to have a separate hand wash sink/basin so that people entering the place can wash and disinfect their hands.
Nobody is allowed within the factory area without a work coat over their clothing and a hairnet on their head and latex gloves have to be worn while working.

The meat taste is so great here (it is basically organic) that the spices needed are minimal. I found through experimenting that I basically only need black pepper and coriander to get the best taste from the meat.
The only problem that I am going to encounter later is the vinegar. The one that was perfect for the job is not being made anymore. So I have a slight problem in this regard.

On the 10th of March I was told about a Exhibition which is going to take place on the 5-7th May 2006.

Last night we had a meeting regarding this exhibition to elect a chairperson to handle all the organizing etc. At this meeting I presented the biltong packed in little 80 gram white packets and the people could not stop eating!
I also grated some and spread it onto Icelandic bread. Nothing was left of it.
Everybody is so exited about my products but not more than I!

The Mayor of our little town even spoke to the TV crew that visited our neck of the woods to make recordings of why the people are leaving the smaller towns for the Capital, about me and they wanted an interview on the spot.

So there I was, no make-up and not dressed to kill and talking to the Press!

Now I can also say I have been on TV!

The best thing is that the whole of Iceland is going to see us and the product that is going to hit this country and take it by storm.

Speak soon,

Eva

Well dear readers if you can’t feel the enthousiasm bursting forth from these emails we don’t know. Here is a lady who is going to make it big!

Since then Eva has taken delivery of a huge industrial vacuum packing machine.
The next step in the process is that Eve has ordered and is about to take delivery of a 120kg professional Biltong Drying Cabinet as well as a 30kg model!!

We will keep you informed!!

* * * * Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement – Advertisement * * * *

FOR SALE

The Kalahari Bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

The Kalahari Bar is unique and the first authentic Southern African bar in the U.S.A. It includes many Antique Décor and Memorabilia from Africa.

Bar has a 4-COP Quota License (this means a full liquor bar and liquor may be sold by the drink or by the bottle from the bar and/or a Packaged Bottle Store attached to the bar). Price of bar is $330,000 (which includes 4-COP license which is valued at over $150,000).
Bar is a ‘Turnkey Operation’ and is being sold completely ‘as is’.
Long lease – Owner Retiring – Regular local and expat Clientele and has customer base of over 1,000 email addresses.

This is a possible opportunity for someone wanting to move to the U.S.A.

For serious enquiries only, please contact us at: kalahari@kalaharibar.com
or visit our website at www.kalaharibar.com

Our Home Biltong Makers

Our Home Made Biltong is by far better….!

The Biltong maker and the spice work like a dream. Both my daughter and I feel that our homemade Biltong is by far superior to the biltong that local butchers here in the UK sell.

Regards

Brian Egglestone
England

The most popular Home Biltong Maker in the world! You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

It's as easy as 1-2-3 to make your own Biltong!

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s special offer

Still at give-away prices!

We are holding our prices for ONE MORE MONTH despite a 20% price increase in South Africa due to a massive increase in raw materials!

The new prices from next month will be as follows:

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong Maker R 950.00
The Biltong Buddy R 750.00

SO, MAKE USE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY IN APRIL ………..

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong maker will still cost only R 795.00 instead of R 850.00
Our Biltong Buddy Home Biltong Maker will cost R 595.00 instead of R 625.00

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

Meat Cutting Charts

Many people have been writing to us over the years, where they could find a meat cutting chart.
With the demise of the old “Meat Board” during all the changes in South Africa their cutting charts seemed to have disappeared as well.
The organization replacing the Meat Board is Samic (South African Meat Industry Company) and they have some very old cutting charts that can be accessed from their web site.
However, it is such a mission to find the charts that we have downloaded them on to the Biltongmakers web site.
So, just click on the one you want to see.

Beef – Lamb – Pork

Important notice!!

It was brought to our notice that some people try to use a higher wattage and different shape globe than supplied with the Biltong Makers. They do this to try and decrease the drying time. Not only does this not work but it it also dangerous!
Firstly, a higher wattage light will dry the meat too quickly resulting in a hard outer crust and a soft inside.
Secondly, using a globe of a higher wattage than recommended will damage certain of the components in the machines.
ONLY USE a candle shaped 25 watt globe for the Biltong Buddy and a 40 watt candle shaped globe for Rockey’s 5kg machine.

Questions and Answers

Here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails at info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

I live in Finland and I spoke to our local butcher, if you can call him that! The shops here are not like in South Africa.
I need to know what cut of meat you use because although I know what we call it back home, the cuts are different here.
They don’t even know what a rump steak or T-bone steak is. I just need to experiment with the different types of meat here to find one that will give me a good piece of biltong.
A friend wants to try a piece of moose as well.
Thank you in advance for the advice.

Kind regards
François Botes
Finland
francois.botes@ravintolavalke.fi

ANSWER

Perhaps you could contact Arnfin who stays in Norway. He has been making biltong in his biltong maker since 2000! – Ed

This is what he says

Just to let you know that my first batch of Biltong was a great success. It was made of fresh frozen roe-deer (similar to Springbok).
My next batch will be Reindeer (another culinary experience!) Thanks again for you assistance in bringing back some of my memories of your fantastic South African Biltong!

Arnfin Seldal
Sandness, Norway (30-11-2000)
arnse@online.no

QUESTION

I seem to be having a bit of a problem regarding the sweetness of the finished biltong product. It tastes like American Jerky and it is terrible!
Are we using too much vinegar or Worcester sauce? I think maybe our brand of Worcester sauce is incorrect and too sweet.
What can I use to combat this sweet taste?
We’ve also been using Apple Cider Vinegar, as I can’t seem to find normal brown vinegar anywhere. Do you think that’s affecting it?

Kindest regards,
Kimbo Brown
Aspen, USA
kimbo.browm@gmail.com

QUESTION

I’m looking at making my own Boerewors from home for myself. I need to buy the equipment to do this, but don’t know where to find it.
As I’m only making some for myself, I’m not looking for big equipment like a butchery would use.
Please let me know where to find such equipment?

Thanks in advance.
Lardus Brooks.
South Africa
Lardus.Brooks@standardbank.co.za

QUESTION

Hello, I have been making biltong for some time now and have tried different recipes but I can’t seem to get the biltong quite right.
When I purchase biltong it is dark black on the outside and black around the edges on the inside, with a pink middle. It is also hard on the outside.
I love it this way.
When I try to make it, it always ends up brownish/black in color on the outside. The outside doesn’t really get hard and the inside is a kind of dark ash color. It tastes fine, but doesn’t have the same appeal and I can’t get that pink color in the center.
What can be causing this?
Any suggestions/ideas/solutions would help.

Sorry to read the news of your good friend’s passing.

Kind regards,
Ian Ruzow
USA
ian@myclipper.com

QUESTION

Can one make chicken biltong and if so, are there any recipes for it?

Regards
Gill Schentke
Australia
gill.schentke@bigpond.com

Stoep Talk

Madiba and Mrs Ball’s in battle of the icons
By James Clarke

My invitation to readers to write down what they considered to be our 10 most appropriate national icons brought in a gratifying flurry of entries.

The three most commonly suggested icons were: Madiba, Mrs Ball’s Chutney and biltong! Then came braai; boerewors; proteas; Castle beer; Klippies en Coke; the national flag, the sun (sunny days).

Amazingly only one reader mentioned the springbok.

Barbara Christie suggested: Madiba’s shirt; shack with satellite dish; fynbos; healthy fruit; marauding baboons; vuvuzelas; big mamas (the South African matriarch); Cape Town; Patricia Lewis; potholes (big enough to fish in).

Eshaana Bapooo of Springs: Beaded doilies (covering tannie’s milk jug); melktert; biltong (which everybody smuggles through customs); painted ostrich eggs; naartjies; Yebo gogo (who hasn’t used this at least once?); Ryk Neethling; loveLife billboards (that make no sense whatsoever); Mrs Ball’s Chutney; Klippies & Coke.

Dr H Denis Solomons of Highlands North had an interesting variety: veldskoene; khaki; safari suits; Mrs Ball’s Chutney; waterblometjie bredie; the Hillbrow Tower; biltong; dassie; African rock python(!); Jock of the Bushveld.

Tony Thacker wrote: “Since Desmond Tutu turns up so often perhaps we could have his nose declared a World Heritage Site?”

Herbie Neilson’s list: Table Mountain; ox wagon; gold-mine headgear; lion kill; braai, beer and biltong; takkies; beach at sunrise; pipe-smoking Xhosa woman; Oriental Bazaar; protea.

Bridget Ballard listed things her daughter misses since emigrating to New Zealand: Ouma rusks; Mrs Ball’s chutney; biltong; Highveld thunderstorms; our fabulous record-breaking cricket team (Bridget must have written this immediately after the famous 50-overs match); Madiba; bi-lingual soapies; our 12 public holidays a year; mine dumps; sandy shores.

Nick and Des Andrew: a stoep (your column too!); first class rugby; Table Mountain; Castle beer; John Robbie; open road; black faces; Chappies bubblegum; bare feet; game reserve.

Patricia King of Parkview: Cape Town Castle; Table Mountain; Augrabies Falls; pot-bellied men in shorts; well-heeled men in shoes without socks; goldmine dumps; biltong; boerewors; Kruger Park; Namaqualand flowers.

Ramohau of Clocolan says: If one is fortunate enough to live in the Eastern Free State these 10 icons are all around us: Sunrise over the Malutis; cherry blossom time; autumnal coloured poplars; beautiful sandstone home; sunset; Basotho hat; golden wheat fields waving in the breeze; ice-cold draft beer; snow on the Malutis; a traffic cop’s speed gun.

Among icons suggested by Rikjan Scott, in London were: the sweet smell of wet tarmac after a Highveld thunder storm, Johnny Clegg, Kwaito music, Mrs Ball’s Chutney, jacarandas in bloom and Mandela’s little dance.

Jannis Rodrigues included: the braai, Klippies and Coke (or Tassies), alcoholic oranges at rugby and cricket matches.

Among items suggested by Grahamn Haiden, an expat now in Auckland, New Zealand, were: a braai; Mrs Ball’s Chutney; game biltong (not beef) and a Highveld storm.

Rob Marshall of Ermelo included Nelson Mandela, Ernest Oppenheimer, Gary Player, a gold mine, the Zulu people and Mrs Ples (the Taung Child would have been even better).

And the winners (of R100) are… Gerrit and Ann de Villiers of Alberton from last month. Their list was:

Madiba’s smile
The national flag (“that happy flag”)
A pronking springbok
A wild protea bush
A blue sky
A sizzling braai
A sand road
Archbishop Tutu’s nose
A thunderstorm
An empty beach

You have been warned…
According to a Netcare Travel Clinic, “Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caught from biting mosquitoes.”

So be warned, don’t ever bite a mosquito.

Recipe corner

Oven Baked or Barbecued Crayfish Tails

What you need6 Crayfish tails

For the citrus sauce:

½ cup (125 ml) orange juice
½ cup (125 ml) lemon juice
½ tsp (2,5 ml) celery salt
½ tsp (2,5 ml) onion salt
½ tsp (2,5 ml) pepper
½ cup (125 ml) butter or margarine

For the Garlic Sauce:

2 cloves garlic, crushed
6 tbsp (90 ml) chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp (45 ml) butter or margarine, melted
½ tsp (7,5 ml) onion salt

Now, how to go about it…..

The Sauces
For this recipe, you may choose to prepare either of the sauces, or both (reducing the ingredients together, except the butter or margarine) and bring to the boil.
Gradually add the butter or margarine, beating the sauce constantly as you do so.

For the Garlic Sauce you simply mix all the ingredients together.

The Cray Fish

To cook the crayfish, preheat the oven to 200°C
Steam the crayfish in a saucepan for 5 minutes until parboiled
Halve the tails lengthways and remove the alimentary canal
Place the crayfish, flesh side up on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in the oven Baste the crayfish from time to time with the sauce of your choice, and cook until done.

Another incredible way to do the Crayfish………barbecue over the coals!

First place it flesh side down on the grid and braai (or barbecue) for 5 minutes
Turn, so that the shell us underneath, and braai until cooked, basting with the sauce as you do so.

Beware! Do not over-cook they tend to go rubbery

Click below for our handy cooking converter

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

I must say I`m really glad to be receiving your newsletter every month. My husband and I are always looking forward to reading the newsletter. It makes life in this cold and as it seems constantly grey Germany a bit more bearable!

We`ve been in Germany for approximately 6 years now and my husband has a great job BUT it is so hard finding REAL friends in this country. It seems near to impossible to us. It is just not the same!

DIS NET NIE SUID AFRIKA NIE !!! We miss our fellow South Africans a lot.

Because our two sons go to school here and have adjusted very well we just have to stick it out here BUT we will always stay homesick. Luckily we have you to brighten up our lives a little bit with this Newsletter.

We have bought the Biltongmaker and are really glad we did! A little bit of home away from home. Thanks!!!!

We would love to hear from other South African families living in Germany. So if some of you would like to write me an e-mail, your more than welcome. Maybe we’ll even have a Braai together. Pap en sous en Boerewors…geen probleem!

Manuela Wilkat
Kreiss Neuss – Germany
JorgWilkat@aol.com

Oud-Matie Reünie in België

Die Universiteit van Stellenbosch beplan ‘n oud-Matie byeenkoms in Brussel noukomende Meimaand. Oud-Maties word versoek om hul kontakbesonderhede (insluitend e-pos adres) so gou as moontlik aan Alison April deur te gee.

Kontak Alison by:
Rue John Waterloo Wilson, 32
1000 Brussel
Tel: 02 280 18 25
E-pos: sourdoire.april@coditel.net

Groete.
Alison April
Koördineerder vir België

Old-Matie Reunion in Belgium

The University of Stellenbosch will be organising an Old-Matie meeting in Brussels this coming May. Former students are requested to forward their contact details (including e-mail address) to Alison April as soon as possible.

Contact Alison at:
Rue John Waterloo Wilson, 32
1000 Brussels
Tel: 02 280 18 25
E-mail: sourdoire.april@coditel.net

Regards
Alison April
Co-ordinator for Belgium

The following was send in by Nico Botha from Australia

Coetzee takes Australian citizenship

Nobel Prize-winning South African author J M Coetzee has become an Australian citizen.

Adelaide, Australia,

Nobel Prize-winning South African author J M Coetzee became an Australian citizen on Monday, saying he had been attracted by the country’s “free and generous spirit”.

Coetzee was born in South Africa in 1940 and his writing, which won him the Booker Prize twice as well as the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature, reflected the sufferings of a country torn by the racial policy of apartheid.

He retired as an English professor at Cape Town University in January 2002, a post he had held since 1984, and moved to South Australia where he is an honorary research fellow with the University of Adelaide’s English department.

Coetzee became a citizen on Monday at a special ceremony conducted by Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone.

He said he had been drawn to Australia since his first visit 15 years ago.

“I did not so much leave South Africa, a country with which I retain strong emotional ties, but come to Australia,” he was quoted as saying by the national AAP news agency.

A tremendous compliment!

“I came because from the time of my first visit in 1991, I was attracted by the free and generous spirit of the people, by the beauty of the land itself and, when I first saw Adelaide, by the grace of the city I now have the honour to call my home.”

Vanstone said Coetzee’s decision to become an Australian citizen was a tremendous compliment to the country.

“We take pride in our diversity and our ability to live harmoniously with one another,” she said.

“In Australia we value basic rights – democracy and equality under law and equality of treatment and opportunity.

“Our strength as a nation flows from our joint commitment to these shared values. It is important that in these challenging times that Australian citizenship continues to unify us.”

This one from John Bell in the UK

You’ve got it all wrong about George Bush! (See last month’s newsletter)

It was an innocent Brazilian civilian – no crime committed – but it took about nine dum-dum bullets to the head and thereabouts to kill him by Britain’s Finest.

All now being desperately swept under the carpet to protect Britain’s wretched, lying and thoroughly immoral government.

Sorry to introduce a note of reality into your always thoroughly enjoyable newsletter, but keep it up.

Best regards
John Bell (Homesick)
Herefordshire
England
jbell@onetel.com

This last (and very interesting) one is from John Maher in the UK

I need to correct you on one point mentioned in your newsletter of March 2006.
Spring only starts on the 20 March at 18:26 UT this year.
Each year it is different, but always on the vernal equinox.
For past and future dates, check out http://www.glib.com/season_dates.html
Although we always believed that 1st September in South Africa was the beginning of spring; we were wrong!

John Maher
Kintbury, England

Something to smile about

The Boere Computer Dictionary From South Africa

Monitor – Keeping an eye on the braai
Download – Get the firewood off the bakkie
Hard drive – Trip back home without any cold beer
Keyboard – Where you hang the bakkie and bike keys
Window – What you shut when it’s cold
Screen – What you shut in the mosquito season
Byte – What mosquitoes do
Bit – What mosquitoes did
Mega Byte – What mosquitoes at the lake do
Chip – A bar snack
Micro Chip – What’s left in the bag after you have eaten the chips
Modem – What you did to the lawns
Dot Matrix – Oom Jan Matrix’s wife
Laptop – Where the cat sleeps
Software – Plastic knives and forks you get at KFC
Hardware – Real stainless steel knives and forks from Checkers
Mouse – What eats the grain in the shed
Mainframe – What holds the shed up
Web – What spiders make
Web Site – The shed (or under the verandah)
Cursor – The old bloke what swears a lot
Search Engine – What you do when the bakkie won’t go
Yahoo – What you say when the bakkie does go
Upgrade – A steep hill
Server – The person at the pub what brings out the lunch
Mail Server – The bloke at the pub what brings out the lunch
User – The neighbour what keeps borrowing things
Network – When you have to repair your fishing net
Internet – Complicated fish net repair method
Netscape – When fish maneuvers out of reach of net
Online – When you get the laundry hung out
Off Line – When the pegs don’t hold the washing up

Live Well – Laugh Often – Love Much

Sport talk

Links to the sport pages

Black Caps arrive for Test series.
New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming says South Africa are still favourites to win the three-Test series despite their poor performances against Australia.
Full Story…

Top six owe Proteas tons of runs.
The South African top order’s inability to score runs was one of the main reasons why the Proteas had such a miserable Test series against Australia, writes Michael Doman.
Full Story…

Campese may work with the Boks.
Springbok coach Jake White has admitted he would be interested in acquiring the services of Wallaby legend David Campese for the Boks’ build-up to the World Cup.
Full Story…

A blueprint to resuscitate SA rugby.
SA Rugby’s President’s Council is due to meet to discuss the inclusion of the Southern Spears in the Super 14 – but the are deeper problems.
Dale Granger presents an argument for restructuring the game.
Full Story…

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

Something for free?

Please help us to help others

As a South African orientated web site we are constantly looking to contact more and more South Africans across the world.
Not only to tell them about how they can make their own Biltong but also to give them a chance to share their stories with other South Africans the world over.So, here is your chance to help us.

If you know about a South African family or friend living near you or perhaps somewhere far away, why not tell them about us and then us about them.
Perhaps you can send us their email address so that we can mail them a copy of this newsletter.
If they like it they can stay on the mailing list, if not they can just let us know and we will remove them from the list.

If the response we receive is large enough and, directly due to your efforts people place orders with us, you could be rewarded by receiving one of our products totally free of charge.

What an easy way to perhaps get your own Home Biltong Maker without having to pay a cent for it!

You can mail us at info@biltongmakers.com

During the last month many people went to the trouble once again of submitting their friend’s and family’s names and we would like to thank all!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Why not write to us

Now that we are already well into the new year it would be nice to get some contributions for the newsletter from all our readers.

Many people are subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

The first batches for 2006 have been made and delivered and there is ample stock at the butcher’s and in our freezers as well.
From now on right through till the end of November we will (almost) always have stock on hand, unless someone decides to clear us out totally.
Boeries on the braai! Our Country Boerewors has already proven to be as popular as last year (and all the years before)!
Especially very well received was the vacuum packing of the wors. Now people can buy larger quantities and it will last them for a couple of months!

We’ve had some on the braai already and you could smell it from a mile away! Lovely!!

If you want some boeries on your first barbecue of the season call us now on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or mail us at info@boerewors.be
Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. The price is € 8.45 per kg.

Potjiekos

Potjiekos …… a fun way to entertain!

Potjiekos, as it is known in South Africa, is a fun way of entertaining. It takes 3-5 hours to prepare and make a “Potjie” (depending on what you cook) and then you can tuck in and enjoy it.
We make our famous “Potjiekos” for a minimum of 50 and up to 100 people in a size 25 Potjie Pot and you have a choice between Beef, Chicken and Lamb.

The Chicken “Potjie” is the most popular because it is a really inexpensive way to entertain. It is only € 8.50 for between 50 and 70 and € 7.50 per person after that.

This includes everything from the “Potjie” itself to the plates and eating utensils. For an extra € 2.00 we even make the Pap!

For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

Booking is essential and you can do so on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us!

(Please note that our “Potjiekos” can only be done outside because we cook on gas or coals!)

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the spit ……. something special!

Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!

We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40-50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

We have already received many bookings for the months of May and June. If you are planning a function or party with a lamb on the Spit in mind it is advisable to book early. Remember that we are doing these functions only during weekends.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us.
-May and June 2006 are almost booked out-(As with our “Potjiekos” a Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005

August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005

December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to this newsletter or tell a friend about Biltongmakers.Com! and the incredible Biltong Makers!! You can be included in this newsletter by clicking on the following link.
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!If you prefer not to receive email from us, you can unsubscribe from Biltongmakers.Com! by clicking on this link.
Unsubscribe me please.

March 2006

If images are not visible in this email, please visit the online version.

The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

March 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!

In this Newsletter

Subscribing and un-subscribing

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
March 04 2006

Our back garden

It’s Spring! (or so we thought)

“Oh, look” June said. “It’s almost seven o’clock and it’s still light outside! And so it was. Slowly but surely we are moving towards Spring, the mornings when it will be light early again and those long warm summer nights when you can still sit in the sun at 9 or 10 o’clock in the evening.

On the 1st of March it was officially Spring in the northern hemisphere. The same as the 1st of September is in the bottom half of our world. That’s when the swimming pools open in South Africa and summer is on the way!

That morning there were no swimming pools opening here in Belgium but instead the clouds opened with a heavy downpour of snow. It was gray and sombre outside and June hardly got out of the driveway to go to work!

But, as the morning progressed the clouds disappeared, the sky turned a brilliant blue with the sun “beating” down on the white winter landscape outside.

It was beautiful!

That’s when I say to myself that this is what winter should be like. Had it been weekend it would have been fantastic to go for a long walk through one of the forests nearby and stop for a hot lunch with a steaming glass of gluhwein.

But, it was the middle of the week so we had to work and the best we could do was to turn up the central heating and curl up in the lounge with a nice hot drink that night.

We sent some pictures I took to friends in South Africa and most of them mailed back that we were mad to stay in such a cold climate. Well, sometimes is gray and nasty outside (a total of 30 hours sun in February) and that is when you wish for some sun on your body but when the skies are blue and it is cold and crisp outside with a thick blanket of snow……………You must have done it to appreciate it!

I have added some pictures of that “Spring day” for you all to see.(Click to see them big)

So, we are moving to the summer and all of you down South are going the opposite way! We are looking forward to a nice warm summer with many an afternoon and evening on a “terrasje” somewhere having a drink and just enjoying watching the people go by.

Nothing like it!

Please vote for us!
Can I ask you all a favour and cast a vote for our web site?
You can do so by simply clicking on the button below. That’s all there is to it! Once there just hit the back button to return to the newsletter.
If you feel really adventurous please click on our banner on the voting page. That would be very much appreciated!!

Advertising
Next month we will be inviting people, companies and organizations to advertise with us. Our rates will be very reasonable and it will help us to cover some of the expenses we incur keeping the web site and this newsletter going.
You will be able to access our rates via the Biltongmakers.Com web site sometime during this month. We will also send out a reminder once the rate table is available.
If you think this might be something for you and your company or organization then please let us know. You can email us at advertising@biltongmakers.be

Boerewors
From next month onwards we will once again have ample supply of fresh boerewors.
All wors will be vacuum packed this season to seal in the natural flavours of the spices and to ensure maximum freshness and improved shelf life.
Like last year we expect a rush towards the end of April so if you know now already that you will be needing some Boeries just mail us at info@boerewors.be right now! That way you’ll be on the list for the first batch!

You can also click here for the latest update of our boerewors information leaflet.

Lamb on the Spit
Those of you who enjoyed one our Lambs on the Spit last year will know that it is not something to be missed. We are already getting pretty booked up for the coming season so if you have something in mind please let us know.
Just check the section on the Lamb Spit further on in this newsletter.

Well, that was it for this month.

Please keep on writing to us.

Just like it is so nice for us to hear about other people and how they live, it would be nice for them to read about you!

Till next month,

Take care

Lo

Food for thought

A few words of advice

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to.
As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
When you say, “I love you”, mean it.
When you say, “I’m sorry”, look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.
Love deeply and passionately.
You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
Don’t judge people by their relatives.

Story of the month

Boeremusiek!

The concertina plays a very important part in Boeremusiek Where does our South African “Boeremusiek” come from? What is the history behind it and how did it all start? It is sad that there is virtually nothing to read up about Boeremusiek, not even on the Internet! But, what we found makes interesting reading.

Sit back, make yourself comfortable and read AND listen to this story………

What is “boeremusiek”?
This is a question that has experts pondering for years and can not be answered without a measure of controversy. In short we, The Traditional Boer Music Club, can define “Boeremusiek” as instrumental folk music, dating from the period during which the people who practiced it where internationally known as “Die Boere” (The Boers) of South Africa. It is informal music that is played in a distinctive way and was primarily intended as accompaniment for social dancing. For the purpose of this conversation we exclude other kinds of Afrikaans music from the same period like ballads, serenades and music aimed at passive audiences.

What is the character of “Boeremusiek”?
It is nearly impossible to put the rich variety of feeling elements, nuances and sounds that form the essence of “Boeremusiek” into words. It is an “experience” of strong and unique character that can not be described in music science terms. The concertina was, and is still to this day, the top lead instrument in “Boeremusiek”. Apart from the different types of concertinas that are found in “Boeremusiek”, there are different dance rhythms and variations in accompaniment. It is striking how each artist often develops a unique and recognizable style. Just as amazing is how the different types of concertinas as well as the different geographical regions created divergent disciplines within “Boeremusiek”.

What are the origins of “Boeremusiek”?
The origins of “Boeremusiek” is like a vine with entangled roots and the development has to be distilled from history and myth. The earliest writings contained no reference to the term “Boermusic” or “Boere orkes” (“Boeremusiek”band). It is therefore necessary to search for clues that point to the music in question as light, cheerful, informal and indigenous dance music and not formal or classical music. For that we have to follow references to music-, dance- and song habits during the course of history to determine the inception of “Boeremusiek” and how it developed.

“Boeremusiek” is largely European in origin and it would be a misconception to think that it was brought to South Africa by the early settlers. Most of it was imported fairly recently but acquired a flavour of its own and remained in vogue here long after it went out of fashion abroad.

How did it get to South Africa?
Whenever a certain dance became popular in Europe or anywhere else, it was not long before it was introduced in the Cape by military bands of the British Empire. Whenever they were off duty, they hired themselves out for parties, weddings and other social events. There where dance masters who taught the new dances to the locals and from there it spread into the hinterland. It acquired a local flavour and character of it’s own in the process. A large volume of “Boeremusiek” was consequently composed by local musicians, as is still the case today.

There where also music teachers who noted down local tunes. The first person to do this was Charles Ettienne Boniface (1787-1853) who arrived in the Cape in February 1807

(Short excerpts from the book by Wilhelm Shultz, “Die ontstaan en ontwikkeling van Boeremusiek”)

And now……sit back and listen!
Just click on any of the songs below
– You need a media player of some sort installed on your computer –
Wie maak Boeremusiek lekker
Daar’s ‘n wind wat waai
Ek laaik haar
Groen Koringlande

Our Home Biltong Makers

Still as popular as ever!

Someone wrote a while ago that when his first batch of Biltong was ready in his Home Biltong Maker he thought he’d “died and gone to heaven”

That is the way most of our Home Biltong Maker users think. And no wonder! With the price of Biltong and the terrible quality you get most of the time, it must be “heaven” to have a piece of your own, home made Biltong. Biltong that tastes like YOU want it to taste and not the way someone else made it.

Here are just a couple of comments from very happy Home Biltong Makers in different parts of the world.

“This is the fabbest biltong I think I’ve ever tasted!
Congrats to you all on developing such a brilliant “biltong-addicts” machine, and the spicy stuff to go with. And also what a great support brochure you send with it. Very nostalgic for a start, and also incredibly helpful.”

Congrats on such a success!
Sandy Nichol

“Just to let you know the exciting news.
We received the biltong maker and have now made our first lot. I can truthfully say it is some of the best biltong we have ever tasted, even my English friends liked it.”

Cheers
Claire

“This is the first time I’ve had biltong since 1986 so you can imagine how pleased I am!
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

Best regards to all the Biltong Team.

John Renwick

The most popular Home Biltong Maker in the world! You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

It's as easy as 1-2-3 to make your own Biltong!

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s special offer

Still at give-away prices!

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong maker will still cost only R 795.00 instead of R 850.00
Our Biltong Buddy Home Biltong Maker will cost R 595.00 instead of R 625.00

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

Some useful Tips

We live in Michigan,USA. Have been here for 10 years after leaving South Africa. I don’t know if your readers are familiar with SKYPE but is is a wonderful Internet service that allows you to make calls over your Internet COMPLETELY FREE to other SKYPE users or calls to regular phones for really cheap rates (around 2 to 3 c per minute).

We have been using it for months and nothing else out there beats it. Calls are as good, if not better than regular phone calls. Great for keeping in contact with the folks “Back home”!!

Their website is www.skype.com.
You can browse their very informative site and download the program for free. It takes about a minute or so. All you need is a headset with microphone. We have a cheap one and it works well!
It is not often you get something for free that works well too !!!

Keep up the good work !

M Pauwels
Michigan,USA

(I totally agree with the above. SKYPE is great and FREE!. We make regular video-calls to South Africa and the quality is good provided you have a fast connection. – Ed)

Important notice!!

It was brought to our notice that some people try to use a higher wattage and different shape globe than supplied with the Biltong Makers. They do this to try and decrease the drying time. Not only does this not work but it it also dangerous!
Firstly, a higher wattage light will dry the meat too quickly resulting in a hard outer crust and a soft inside. And…..a higher wattage globe could damage certain of the components in the machines. ONLY USE a candle shaped 25 watt globe for the Biltong Buddy and a 40 watt candle shaped globe for Rockey’s 5kg machine.
If you can’t get a 25 watt candle shaped globe for the Buddy you can use a 40 watt but the 25 watt globe is normally sufficient and works the best.

Questions and Answers

Here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

I was wondering if it’s possible to dry biltong in a fan assisted oven on the lowest heat possible?
I’ve never made it before, but have no where to hang it and was wondering if this is a possibility, even if only for a few hours to start the drying process?

Thanks,
Sylvie
sylvieerika@hotmail.com

QUESTION

Does one have to hang the biltong under a fan and, if so, will an aircon do?

Regards,
Kathleen du Toit
kdutoit@gmail.com

QUESTION

Hi there all you Biltongmakers

Thank you for your great web site, it helped me a lot, but I need to ask you if you could help me in making Kabanossi.
From the ingredients to what wood shavings to use in the smoker.
I am currently in the UK and I am longing to go back to the “vleispotte” of my beloved country. For now I have to cook my own “vleispotte”, but with your help I could add some home made very “lekker” biltong.

Tjaart Swanepoel
England
tjaart.swanepoel@absamail.co.za

Stoep Talk

What happens if the Aliens reply?
By James Clarke

An international team of scientists is persisting in trying to connect with aliens living in outer space. The Sunday Independent reported that an elaborate “alien-hunt facility”, with almost 400 signal-detecting dishes, is being built in the mountains northeast of San Francisco.

It will be able to transmit into deep space and receive.

The question is: what happens if we receive an intelligent message?

The scientists have agreed on one thing: “Don’t answer it!”

They prescribe that “no response should be sent until appropriate international consultations have taken place”.

This decision comes as a great relief to me. The last thing I want is for Planet Earth to attract the attention of some giant planet which might then send a space bus load of lizardmen, 70m high in their stockinged feet, who come tramping all over us as if we were ants seeking the intelligent life that replied to their transmission.

Since space probing by radio waves began in 1959 the most intelligent signal received has been from a garage-door remote-control device. One can imagine an international team discussing how to respond to a garage door.

Ever since scientists set up Seti (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) in the United States, this column has advocated that we do the opposite.

Rather go for a Kohdasu policy (Keep Our Heads Down and Shut Up). This is because I fear that if there is intelligent life out there, its beings might be bigger, meaner and greedier than us earthlings. The last thing we want to do is attract their attention.

They might harvest us to extinction, just as we have done to various species on our own planet.

They might collect us in bags for sale in open-air markets on Planet Zug, selling us by the scoop like supermarket nuts.

They might carry our skyscrapers and railway trains back with them for their mountain-sized kids to play with – after shaking out all the ants.

Or, as I have said before, they might be cold, slimy, smelly creatures who take a shine to us and with hearts overflowing with affection crawl into our beds at night for warmth and company.

The one ray of hope in all this is that if we do receive a signal it will probably be millions of years old. This is because if there is indeed life out there it will be on a planet zillions of light-years away.

On the other hand what’s to say they can travel a million times faster than light and can send remote-controlled vacuum cleaners to suck up and bring home little samples of distant planets – such as South Africa?

Tell me, Don Ja, well, no, fine.....

Donald Rumsfeld is giving President George Bush his daily briefing on Iraq and ends by saying: “Yesterday, three Brazilian soldiers were killed.”

“Oh NO!” shouts the president, clasping his head, “That’s absolutely disastrous!”

His staff are stunned by his despairing reaction.

Finally, Bush looks up, turns to Rumsfeld and whispers, “Don, how many million are there in a brazillion?”

Smart fellow

A philosophy professor gave a one-question exam after a semester that had dealt with a broad array of topics.

The class were already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on his desk and wrote on the board: “Use everything we have learnt this semester and prove that this chair does not exist.”

Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour but one was up and finished in less than a minute.

Weeks later he found out he had received an “A”.

His answer was just two words: “What chair?”

Recipe corner

The Great South African Frikkadel

We had this one a couple of years ago but when I saw it appearing again I just knew we had to have it again.

There’s nothing like it!

One day when I am appointed Minister of South African Culinary Affairs I will decree that a monument be erected to the Frikkadel.

Now hold on, before you shudder in horror. I am not talking about those ghastly pale meat ball concoctions, generally referred to as Mystery Balls and commonly associated with watery gravy and boiled vegetables — served in canteens, hostels, roadside eateries and military establishments.

No friends, I am talking about a proper meatball, put together with fresh ingredients, love and care, and fried to golden perfection.

It is probably the most versatile of local dishes: my mother loves it with vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy; my wife prefers it cold with a salad; my neighbour loves it with boiled cabbage, and my children and I make “boere-hamburgers” with our Frikkadels — complete with cheese sauce, sliced onion and tomato, lettuce leaves and gherkins on a roll, served with a generous portion of chips!

It is absolutely superb with fresh pasta and a simple tomato and onion sauce. Or enjoy it cold with salad, or make sandwiches for the children.

Top up your wine, sit yourselves down and let me tell you the secrets of a really good Frikkadel.

To make 10-16 Frikkadels you will need

250g minced pork
250g minced topside
2 slices of whole wheat bread
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh mint
½ onion, finely grated
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons tomato sauce
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup breadcrumbs
½ cup cooking oil
¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Salt

Now we’ll make them as follows

In a flat dish place the two slices of brown bread and pour over the milk.
Soak well, then squeeze out well and discard the milk.
In a large mixing bowl, crumble the bread.
Add the minced meats, fresh parsley and mint, the Worcestershire and tomato sauce, the turmeric, black pepper and a dash of salt.
Using your hands, mix the ingredients well.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs on a large wooden board.
With your hands scoop out golf ball size portions of the meat mix.
Roll into balls, then place them on the bread crumbs on the board and flatten a little with palm of your hand.
When all the balls have been shaped heat the oil in a large non-stick pan.
Fry four to six balls at a time over high heat until brown, then turn and repeat.
The Frikkadels should be well browned and it doesn’t matter if they have the odd black burnt spots — it gives them character and they will taste great.
Whatever you do, don’t undercook on low heat — they will absorb the oil and look and taste awful.

Once you have mastered the basics you can experiment with additional flavours and tastes. When I plan to serve Frikkadels with pasta I always add a pinch of Thyme, Sage and Tarragon.

For a nice spicy flavour add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce, a teaspoon of finely chopped garlic and a finely chopped chili or two when you start mixing the ingredients.

For a really good sauce to serve with the Frikkadels (and particularly nice if you are serving rice or mashed potatoes with it): Slice two onions thinly and fry over medium heat in butter or olive oil until soft, then add a tin of whole peeled tomato, coarsely chopped; a pinch of sugar, black pepper and salt.

Let’s raise our glasses and drink a toast to the Frikkadel!

Click below for our handy cooking converter

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

A big South African hello from Dubai, where rice is served on top of food and certain hand signal regarded as very rude back home, simply means “wait a minute” or “hold on”. Where people’s driving skills are 70% worse than the Taxi’s back home and phoning someone at 2am in the morning to discuss a business opportunity is normal.

Being away from home in such bizarre surroundings somehow brings out the patriotic spirit in a person, but never before have I experienced it like this.
South African wheel covers and stickers on cars are almost as often spotted as springbok T-shirts or “I love Cape Town” Caps (sold in the corner shop where they don’t even speak English).
Where a boat on Jumairah beach “next to the popular Burj Al Arab has a South African flag blowing in the wind playing “Boere sakkie sakkie” music, is normal. Becoming a more frequent sighting is a South African Flag draped off a balcony in Springs (a rather nice neighborhood in Jebel Ali) We have definitely made our mark here, in fact about 50 000 of us have.

One of the areas us South Africans have greatly influenced are the supermarkets as well.

The local supermarket like Spinneys and Choitrams stock Boerewors and attempt to make biltong as well, (a bit dry for my liking).

If you are lucky enough to get there on the right day and time you might be able to save (or negotiate) the last packet of boerewors from a fellow South African, whom has already stacked 20 packs in his trolley for the freezer. Other South African product that involved in the shelf emptying race are OUMA Rusks, Pronutro, Rooibos tea (a rarity), Mrs Balls Chutney, All Gold and Iwisa PAP.

At night we gather our findings and get together for a Potjiekos or braai, listen to some Afrikaans music and talk about the weather back home.
Here it doesn’t matter whether you come from PE, JHB, Durban or the Platteland, what colour your skin is or whether you support the Sharks or the Cats, we all have one thing in common we miss the boerewors, biltong, braais and the rain down in Africa.

Liezel Maree
Dubai, UAE
lzm@easternskyjets.com

Hello everyone!

We moved to Melbourne about 2 and a half years ago from Cape Town. We absolutely love living here. There is only a couple of things that we miss here.
Aromat – we got that at the South African Shop in Melbourne
Biltong – also from the South African Shop and Boerewors – a local butcher is making it.

Now the other thing is “skorsies”. If you make a potjie it is absolutely wonderful to have them on top with pips and all. The English ruled South Africa and Australia and yet they only took ‘Skorsies’ to South Africa not Australia. If there is anyone in Australia that knows where we can get a few ‘skorsies’ or a few seeds, we would love to hear from them.

We live on the outskirts of a small town called Creswick. In South Africa we always wanted to live on a “kleinhoewe”/small holding but just could not do it on accord of the crime situation. Here we get to live our dream. We have sheep, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, fishes and a guinea pig – oh yes a few possums that eat the dog food that we leave outside at night.

Every time when the parrots come and graze on our lawn, I get that feeling that someone’s very “expensive” pet has flown away. Then afterwards I realize that they are only wild birds.

We love living here and still cannot come to terms that the crime situation here is nearly Zero. We don’t lock our cars. We only realized after 4 weeks that one of our back doors was open and when my husband leaves last for work, he forgets to close the gate and the front door. When we get back in the evening. we had that weird feeling that our home was burgled, but no, nothing gone.

Here are a lot of South Africans living here. The weather is about the same as in Cape Town and we adapted better that I ever thought. The kids are doing great at school and have lots of friends.

We miss our family but Aussie friends here are so genuine that they feel more like family than friends.

All around our town is a forest with beautiful lakes. There is all over stainless steel barbies (braais) that work with gas or electricity. You can braai all your meat on the gas plates for free and nobody pinches the stainless steel plates for scrap metal.

This is a wonderful country but we do miss our family and South African friends. Regards
Anthony and Sarita
Melbourne, Australia
vsittert@bigpond.net.au

To the team at Biltong Makers

I received my 5kg Biltong maker in Prague on the 2nd January 2006, via family who went to SA and saved me the expensive shipping cost. Needless to say, in exchange for some “pukka” Biltong!

I am already on my third batch and going great guns! Attempts to dry biltong in fan-oven or a food dehydrator did not render the desired results. It somehow tasted to “cooked”! Since my English partner loved the taste of the improvised method we decided to give the “real” thing a try. Now it is “Footie, beer and biltong”!

The American Jerky that is available here is prohibitively expensive and in addition , our novice attempts tasted a lot better. We gave some to our Czech and expat friends to try and received a positive response. Even South Africans living here, were impressed. The result being, we are now in the biltong making business. Our first orders went out today. I suppose we will be greeting the staff at Makro and the spice shop on a first name basis soon.

Finding some of the spices here can be a bit of a drag, especially whole coriander, but between a resourceful “Boere-meisie” en a determined “Brit”, we stopped next to a spice truck at the market, enquired whether he had coriander, and voila, a new contact plus a discounted price. We do Coriander, Teriyaki and Spicy, so far. The experiment with Turkey went very well and also caters for the folk that don’t like the taste of the beef too much. Hopefully the next step will be “Droe Wors”!

If anyone wants to swap recipes or compare , just let me know. I have visited every website regarding recipes and tips to compile my own taste. I have also found that the strength of salt differs, believe it or not!

P.S. I believe you are thinking about distributors for machines and spices. When you a ready for Europe, please bear me in mind.

Thanks for a great Website and Newsletter. It brings South Africa to Europe for us.

Liz Gravell
Prague, Czech Republic
gravell@quick.cz

Here is a poem sent to us By Nico Botha from Australia

It is a poem by Danette Kotze

Black Label op Paternoster se stoep
Die son verf strepe oor die wilde weste see
Dolos klippe ets die laaste rooi van vandag,
Toeriste ry verby asof die plek te scruffy is,
Maar kom later terug omdat dit die enigste een is.

Agter sing ‘n tafel “Ou Ryperd” op Transkaroo se wysie
Hulle sleep die laaste vers want hy’s al holrug gery
Precious hou verbasend kop, ‘n normale naweek skof,
Sy word getjaaf en getrip, en die ouens is te dronk om te tip.

Oorkant die straat hou klein seuntjies groot krewe vas,
Die lewe uit hul gedroog van rondhang heeldag,
Pryse word afgeskry en ‘n ektra kreefie word ingegooi,
Hulle soek eintlik net eintjies en drankgeld vir pa

Tietiesbaai se volk stap heen en weer verby,
Amper asof die verby stap, die eintlike outing is.
Hulle praat luidrigtig en kyk of ons vir hulle kyk
As hulle naby kom kan jy die aap-twak asems ruik

Die wolwedans skemer word skielik skelm donker,
en almal is genoodsaak om nou harder te praat
Vier kroegvlieë strompel uit die Panty Bar
Na groener gras want hulle is nou moeg vir mekaar.

Die plastiektafels is taai en die glase bly leeg,
‘n ander tafel het al ‘n uur terug oorbeweeg,
Die aanvanklike paatjie is nou heeltemal weg –
As jy wil piepie moet jy deur grillerige mans vleg

Bywoningsgetalle vir ontbyt is maar min
Seemeue bonnel opgewonde in die baai
Die cheap koffie is flou en koud –
Ek voel honger, skuldig en effens benoud.

– Danette Kotze

Something to smile about

My Valentine

It is way past Valentine but still worth reading ……

Valentine, oh Valentine,
I smaak you stukkend,
so say you’ll be mine
You’re my sunny South Africa, my warm evening stars,
You’re my lemon-lime airfreshener from O.K. Bazaars,
You’re my beaded love-letter, my cool breeze in the night,
You’re my Van Riebeek coffee, my Cremora on top,
and my Blitz firelight

You’re my Crime-Stop, my Tracker, you’re my AZT,
my Mrs Ball’s chutney, my pap and rugby,
You’re my lambchop, my dewdrop, my partner in crime,
My sweet chillie peppers, my vetkoek sublime

The list is endless and this isn’t all,
You’re my million buck Lotto win,
my dop and my zol
I smaak you, my poppie, through good time and strife,
cause Babe, you’re the All Gold on the
slap chips of life!

Sport talk

Links to the sport pages

Springbok Smit called up for Super 14 duty
Springbok captain John Smit has been called up to join the Sharks Super 14 squad in Australia after prop Brent Moyle suffered an injury.
Full Story…

Stormers coach set to dim bright spark Bolla
Stormers Coach Kobus van der Merwe is to follow a rotation policy by replacing in-form scrumhalf Bolla Conradie with Neil de Kock for the Super 14 match against the Hurricanes, writes Stephen Nell.
Full Story…

Springbok Sevens seeded third for Hong Kong
The Springbok Sevens team are seeded third after the International Rugby Board’s announcement of the pool and schedule for the 2006 Hong Kong Sevens.
Full Story…

Bok coach not worried about lack of tries
Although South African teams have struggled to find their way to the opposition tryline in the first three rounds of the Super 14, Springbok coach Jake White believes it is not all doom and gloom.
Full Story…

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

Something for free?

Please help us to help others

As a South African orientated web site we are constantly looking to contact more and more South Africans across the world.
Not only to tell them about how they can make their own Biltong but also to give them a chance to share their stories with other South Africans the world over.So, here is your chance to help us.

If you know about a South African family or friend living near you or perhaps somewhere far away, why not tell them about us and then us about them.
Perhaps you can send us their email address so that we can mail them a copy of this newsletter.
If they like it they can stay on the mailing list, if not they can just let us know and we will remove them from the list.

If the response we receive is large enough and, directly due to your efforts people place orders with us, you could be rewarded by receiving one of our products totally free of charge.

What an easy way to perhaps get your own Home Biltong Maker without having to pay a cent for it!

You can mail us at info@biltongmakers.com

During the last month many people went to the trouble once again of submitting their friend’s and family’s names and we would like to thank all!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Why not write to us

Now that we are already well into the new year it would be nice to get some contributions for the newsletter from all our readers.

Many people are subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

This year we will be concentrating on our Country Boerewors.
It was extremely popular last year (and the 4 years before) that we decided not to diversify.
No funnies like cheese, garlic etc etc. wors. Just good old traditional Boerewors.
The one that you can smell for miles when you have it on the braai!

We will be making our first fresh batches early April.
However (as mentioned in the editorial) we expect a rush toward the end of April.
So, if you want to be sure to have boeries on your first barbecue of the season call or email us now and we’ll put you on the list.

Please call us on +32(16)53-9625 or mail us at info@boerewors.be
Our Boerewors will be vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. The price is € 8.45 per kg for the time being until we know the exact cost of the vacuum packing.

Potjiekos

Potjiekos …… a fun way to entertain!

The “Potjiekos” season will be starting again soon!

We are hoping for April but definitely in May we will have our first “Potjie” of the season!
We make our famous “Potjiekos” for a minimum of 50 and up to 100 people in a size 25 Potjie Pot and you have a choice between Beef, Chicken and Lamb.

The Chicken “Potjie” is the most popular because it is a really inexpensive way to entertain. It is only € 8.50 for between 50 and 70 and € 7.50 per person after that.

This includes everything from the “Potjie” itself to the plates and eating utensils. For an extra € 2.00 we even make the Pap!

For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

Booking is essential and you can do so on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us!

(Please note that our “Potjiekos” can only be done outside because we cook on gas or coals!)

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the spit ……. something special!

Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!

We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40-50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small transport fee.

We have already received many bookings for the months of May and June. If you are planning a function or party with a lamb on the Spit in mind it is advisable to book early. Remember that we are doing these functions only during weekends.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us.
-May and June 2006 are almost booked out-(As with our “Potjiekos” a Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005

July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005

November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to this newsletter or tell a friend about Biltongmakers.Com! and the incredible Biltong Makers!! You can be included in this newsletter by clicking on the following link.
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!If you prefer not to receive email from us, you can unsubscribe from Biltongmakers.Com! by clicking on this link.
Unsubscribe me please.

February 2006

The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

February 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!

In this Newsletter

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
February 7, 2006

The other day on the way back from Saarbrucken in Germany I found myself in the mountains of the Ardennen some 130km south east of Brussels. It was early in the evening and the mist was hanging low over the road. It was getting dark but not dark enough yet to see something of the town.
On top of the hill I saw the remains of an old castle or fort and the town itself was built in amongst the hills with a little river running through it.

It was one of the quaintest towns I had seen in a long time and, once back home, I immediately set out to find out more about this beautiful place.

This is what I found out.
On a rocky spur in La Roche, at the location of the actual castle, the ancient Belgians built an Oppidum*. In 57 BC, sharing the Gaul’s destiny, the Ardennen had to surrender to the Romans. These Romans destroyed the Oppidum* and built a small fort.

Taking advantage of Roman decadence, the Francs invaded Belgium during the 5th Century. In the 8th Century, under occupation of the Francs, Pépin de Herstal turned the small fort into a hunting manor. The first castle was build in the 9th Century, and had its time of glory from the 12th till the 17th Century.

In the 18th Century under the attack of the French, the castle became a fort.
It was abandoned in 1721. A restoration project was made but never succeeded. Without maintenance, the castle quickly turned into ruins.
During excavations between 1995 and 1999, Roman coins of Emperor Domitius ( 81-96) and Constantin the IInd ( 337-340) were found in La Roche.

In World War II, the town suffered severe damage. Having been liberated by the Allies in September 1944, the town was recaptured by the Germans in December, during the Battle of the Bulge. The subsequent Allied bombing raids resulted in the town being liberated once more in January 1945, but left much of the town destroyed, and many residents dead.

I do a lot of traveling and I find it so amazing to, time and time again, find myself in places like La Roche where there is so much history.
We must definitely spend a weekend there once it gets a little warmer and find out more about this incredible little town.

*An Oppidum was Latin for the main settlement in any administrative area of the Roman Empire.
Julius Caesar described the larger Iron Age settlements he encountered in Gaul as Oppida and the term is now used to describe the large pre-Roman towns that existed all across Western and Central Europe. Many Oppida grew from hill forts although by no means all of them had significant defensive functions. Oppida surrounded by earth-works are known as enclosed Oppida.
The development of Oppida was a milestone in the urbanization of the continent as they were the first large settlements north of the Mediterranean that could genuinely be described as towns. Caesar pointed out that each tribe of Gaul would have several Oppida but that they were not all of equal importance, perhaps implying some form of hierarchy.
In conquered lands, the Romans used the infrastructure of the Oppida to administer the empire and many became full Roman towns.
This often involved a change of location from the hilltop on to the plain

There is so much history here but now back to the present.

It is February already and we are (here in Belgium) on the last stretch of winter. Another two months and we will be able to switch off the central heating and start getting a bit warm again. With that of course comes the weekly gardening. Oh, how I miss Polite (my old gardener) at times!

But, we’ll be able to sit outside again and enjoy a braai and those lovely long summer evenings. We are looking forward to that.

In the meantime it is still winter and bitterly cold at the moment. Not as cold as it has been in Moscow lately though at -51°C! I heard that at such low temperature your breath will crystallize and tinkle to the ground. I was wondering if the whole town just “tinkles” along the whole day. Must be one heck of a racket!

Here it has only been around -6°C at least, where we are. During the day it is still bearable at 0°C. No temperature June would say.

It has been a nasty winter so far. I don’t mind the cold as long as there is nice snow and some sun!

That’s enough about the weather. It does not help complaining. Just grin and bear it.

In January so many people wrote to us that we had to carry some of the stories over to the next newsletter. It was great to hear from so many people. Not only does it make it so much easier to put the newsletter together but it is also so much more fun let alone the joy it will bring to all our readers.

Please keep the mails coming. We have readers in all parts of the world so why not sit down and tell us about your life, wherever you may find yourself, as a South African in a foreign country or as a citizen of your country.

We would all like to hear from you!

That is it for this month.

So, from me, take care and till the next time!

Lo

Food for thought

Avoid the urgency

Most things that end up being urgent didn’t start out that way. Most urgent matters, had they been addressed when they first came up, would not have to be rushed.

Putting off a difficult task until later only makes it more difficult. To truly make your life easier, go ahead and take care of the hard stuff as early as you can.

When you put off something that needs to be done, you don’t get rid of it. You merely make it more burdensome than it otherwise would have been.

Each time you procrastinate you deny yourself the opportunity to get the work done calmly and carefully, at a comfortable pace. Instead, you push the work to a time and place where it must be hurried.

That ends up creating needless anxiety and reducing your effectiveness. The far better choice is to go ahead and get it done before the need for urgency sets in.

What could you take care of today that would prevent you from having to deal with an urgent matter later? Go ahead, get it done, and bring more peace and positive purpose to your life.

Ralph Marston

Story of the month

What could be more mundane I thought…. then I started reading!

My cousin Matthew and I used to sit next to each other in the first grade and often shared school supplies. One day I asked to borrow his eraser, and when he turned to hand it to me, he was holding his pencil in the same hand. The wound healed after a few days, but I was left with a visible half-centimeter-long piece of pencil lead in my hand. I’m sure my mother called the doctor to find out about the possibility of lead poisoning, but the doctor probably said not to worry because pencil lead isn’t really lead, it’s a nontoxic mixture of graphite and clay.

The connection between graphite and lead stems from the days of the Roman Empire (and likely before that), when lead rods were used by scribes to write on papyrus. Both graphite and lead leave a gray mark on paper, although graphite is a bit darker. Graphite didn’t come into widespread use for writing until after the 1564 discovery of a very pure graphite deposit in Borrowdale, England. At the time, graphite was thought to be a type of lead and consequently was called black lead or plumbago.

In 1779, Swedish chemist Carl W. Scheele determined that black lead was actually a form of carbon; in 1789, German geologist Abraham G. Werner reportedly gave it the name graphite, after the Greek graphein, meaning “to write.” Inks were already widely available and were usually applied to paper with a brush called a
peniculus, which is Latin for “little tail,” hence the basis for the word “pencil.” Charcoal probably was used in ancient times to mark on paper as well.

Graphite from Borrowdale originally was used in chunks called marking stones. Because graphite is softer and more brittle than lead, it requires a holder when carved into pencil-shaped sticks for writing. At first, sticks of Borrowdale graphite were wrapped with string, and the string was slowly unwound as needed as the writing core wore down. Later on, graphite was inserted between two slats tied together or into wooden sticks that were hollowed out by hand to create the first wood-cased pencils.

The Borrowdale deposit was pure enough to use without modification. But lower quality graphite needs help to keep it in a usable form. Various binders mixed with graphite powder have been tried, such as gum, resin, or glue. Sulfur also has been mixed with graphite, which results in writing cores most like pure graphite. In 1795, French chemist and Napoléon courtier Nicolas-Jacques Conté invented a process to mix graphite with clay and water, a process that is still used.

Today, graphite and clay are crushed into a fine powder in a rotating drum containing large rocks. Water is added and the mixture is blended for up to three days. The water is pressed out of the mixture, leaving a gray sludge that is air-dried until it hardens.

The dried sludge is ground into a powder, water is added again, and the mixture is blended to form a soft paste. Carbon black may be added to increase the darkness of the lead. The paste is extruded through a metal tube to form thin rods that are cut into pencil-length pieces–called leads–that are then dried. The leads are heated in an oven to 1,800°F (about 1,000°C) or higher to make them smooth and hard. The ratio of graphite to clay can be adjusted to vary the hardness of the lead: the more clay, the harder the lead; the harder the lead, the less graphite comes off onto the paper, making a lighter line.

Pencils are made by cutting blocks of wood into slats that are machined to form a groove (two to nine per slat) to place the leads. A second slat is glued onto the first, sandwich fashion, then individual pencils are cut from the sandwich and sanded smooth. The pencils are next painted with five to eight coats of paint, and a recess is cut for the ferrule–the metal ring that holds the eraser. The ferrule and eraser are crimped into place, and a metal stamp is used to press a label onto the pencil.

Various types of wood have been used to make pencils over the years. Red cedar from Kenya and the U.S. was an early favorite, but today nearly all pencils worldwide are made from incense cedar, a species that grows in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. The first pencils were unlabeled and unpainted to show the fine grain of the wood used. But by the 1890s, manufacturers started stamping their names on pencils and painting them.

The latter tradition got started when a French merchant-adventurer named Jean-Pierre Alibert discovered very pure graphite along the Russian-Chinese border in the mid-1800s. Alibert later developed a mine and began shipping the graphite to points around the world. Pencils made with high-quality Asian graphite were painted yellow to indicate the source of the graphite. Although there are several domestic and international sources of graphite today, about 75% of the 2.8 billion pencils manufactured annually in the U.S. are still painted yellow.
The hardness of the lead is indicated by a number (1 to 4) stamped on the side of most pencils–the higher the number, the harder the lead. Sometimes there are other markings: H indicates hard, B indicates the blackness of the pencil’s mark, and F indicates that the pencil can sharpen to a fine point. Sometimes combinations are used: HB, hard and black; HH, very hard.

Many of the names stamped on pencils are manufacturer’s model names or company name, but these generally have historical significance. For example, the Ticonderoga, made by Dixon Ticonderoga Co., is named after the Revolutionary War fort in upstate New York, which is near one of the purest graphite deposits known, 99.9% pure carbon.

Here are some pencil facts: Laid end-to-end, the number of pencils made annually in the U.S. would encircle Earth about 15 times. In 1858, erasers were attached to the ends of pencils for the first time; most pencils in the U.S. have erasers, but those in Europe do not. A pencil lead or a line drawn by a pencil will conduct electricity. Colored pencils are made from chalk, clay, or wax mixed with binders and pigments.

Our Home Biltong Makers

Still as popular as ever!

Way back, sometime in the last century, when Kel first started making what is now know as the “BILTONG BUDDY”, he did not realize how much joy his invention would bring to thousands of people around the world.

Today people all over the world make their own Biltong in countries that you would seldom hear of in the daily news. Countries such as Greenland, Alaska, Peru and Tajikistan. Or, how about Biltong in Turkey, Japan, Singapore or Iceland?

With the introduction of Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong Maker even more people became interested and very nice little home industries started to develop.

All these people will tell you that making your own Biltong is as easy as 1-2-3 and that it costs but a fraction of what you would pay in a shop. That’s if you can get it in a shop.

One of the most important factors is that you don’t have to rely on others to make your Biltong. You can make it just the way you like it!

The most popular Home Biltong Maker in the world! You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

It's as easy as 1-2-3 to make your own Biltong!

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s special offer

Spices at give-way prices!

This month there will be a discount of 10% on all our Biltong and Boerewors spices for orders over R 250.00

Our Safari Biltong Spice will cost R 58.50 instead of R 65.00
Our Country Boerewors Spice will cost R 49.50 instead of R 55.00

And so on………….

This will be an ideal opportunity to stock up on all your spices for the year!

Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong maker will still cost only R 795.00 instead of R 850.00
Our Biltong Buddy Home Biltong Maker will cost R 595.00 instead of R 625.00

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

Some useful Tips

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

And another one for both Rugby and Cricket.
(For those of you who didn’t pick this up the first time we published it).

Not so long ago I was at Champs Pub watching a game of live rugby. As I am a member of the Budapest Rugby Watching and Drinking Association ( Beer Director J ).

I met up with some Okes that have been living in Budapest for some time now as well and they told me that there is a web site called www.kuduclub.com.
Now on this web site one has all the goodies to watch like Boots and All, Roer, Mnet open time, Egoli, Live rugby and cricket even the local games, etc. This is all legal which is great and for a mere 9.95 Usd a month is a absolute give away.
Okay, it doesn’t beat the feeling of being in a Pub with your mates, getting plastered on the week-end. But for all those South-Africans that live in a part of the world where Rugby and Cricket is none existent this is a great opportunity.

Hoping this will help out a few of our S.A. Buddies all over the world.

Tibor Bus
Biatorbagy, Hungary

Important notice!!

It was brought to our notice that some people try to use a higher wattage and different shape globe than supplied with the Biltong Makers. They do this to try and decrease the drying time. Not only does this not work but it it also dangerous!
Firstly, a higher wattage light will dry the meat too quickly resulting in a hard outer crust and a soft inside. And…..a higher wattage globe could damage certain of the components in the machines. ONLY USE a candle shaped 25 watt globe for the Biltong Buddy and a 40 watt candle shaped globe for Rockey’s 5kg machine.
If you can’t get a 25 watt candle shaped globe for the Buddy you can use a 40 watt but the 25 watt globe is normally sufficient and works the best.

Stoep Talk

Let’s negotiate for crime-free days
By James ClarkeInspector Dlamini, you can forget it. Just because one South African police station has decided to install an alarm system linked to a security firm, it doesn’t mean we all have to.

After all, we have razor wire, an electric fence, burglar bars, floodlights, buzzers and our faithful Maltese, Bonzo – all generously paid for by our loyal taxpayers. I will not stretch their generosity further.

The station commander then crossed his heart and spat on the floor to underline his sincerity.

Besides, if the security company comes around and finds somebody burgling our station, what is it going to do? It is going to call the police, isn’t it?

And we are going to have to tell them we have no men to spare because we are out there chasing other people’s burglars.

Our best bet is to leave nothing in the police station worth stealing – a scorched-earth policy.

Yes, I realize certain elements will want to steal our files to compromise our investigations, so we’ll just have to carry our files with us wherever we go.

Why don’t we have a sentry on duty in a fortified pillbox?

Dlamini, you’ve seen how the deputy state president’s house had every fortification imaginable – plus our patrons, the ever-generous taxpayers – may God bless them (again crosses heart and spits) – supply her with 18 bodyguards and security staff.

And what happened? Three burglars nip in, nick her cellphone and Smarties. Easy as that.

Look at that member of parliament who is practically joined at the hip to his chief bodyguard, yet somebody still stole his briefcase with quite a lot of cash in it from a well-wisher.

Dlamini, we live in a nation of thieves. In fact, it seems that only half the country is involved in honest labour. The other half steal from them.

And yes, you are quite right, Inspector – the third half are employed by security firms.

In fact, we have 130 000 people in the police force at present and we spend R20-billion a year – yet still criminals run rings round us. The most sensible thing to do is for us to call a truce and get together with the criminals and negotiate certain crime-free days when everybody can relax.

Questions, Questions

A reader wants to know why we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are dead?
How must I know?

And why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?

And how is it that we put a man on the moon long before we found it to be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

And why, he asks, does someone believe you when you say there are 4-billion stars, but feel they must test it when you say the paint is wet?

Noughts for Comfort

In fact there aren’t 4-billion stars. The Milky Way galaxy alone contains 5-billion, each larger than our sun.

And, in the same vein, according to an item in the International Express last month, mathematicians in Hawaii have recently calculated that there are 7 500 000 000 000 000 000 000 (seven sextillion five hundred quintillion) grains of sand on all the beaches in the world.

So are there more stars in the sky than grains of sand on a beach?

Australian astronomer Dr Simon Driver says “Yes”.

“There are 70 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 stars in the visible universe – nearly 10 times the number of grains of sand on all the beaches.”

I had always suspected this.

Recipe corner

Rabbit Stew with Dumplings

This recipe could easily be done as a Potjiekos as well
(That’s if you like Rabbit of course!)

The Stew

Ingredients

1 Rabbit – cut in serving pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons (7ml) salt
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) diced potatoes
1 cup (240ml) diced carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh or dried parsley
1 teaspoon (5ml) salt
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) pepper
3 tablespoons (45 ml) flour
3/4 cup (180ml) cold water

Method

Put rabbit into a pan large enough to hold pieces without crowding
Add salt and enough cold water to cover the rabbit
Cover pan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook over low heat about one hour, or until meat is tender
Strain the broth and set aside
With a sharp knife, cut the rabbit meat from the bones and return the meat to the broth Add diced vegetables and seasonings and simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender Mix flour and cold water into a paste and add to the stew, stirring constantly to prevent lumping
Make dumplings, add to pan and cook as directed below.

Dumplings

Ingredients

3/4 cup (180 ml) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk

Method

Sift dry ingredients together
Add the beaten egg and milk, stirring just enough to moisten all
Drop by spoonfuls on top of finished, hot stew, spacing the dumpling so they will not run together during cooking
Place heavy lid on to and cook for 15 minutes without lifting lid

Serves eight

Click here for our handy cooking converter

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

When we first arrived in New Zealand
The land of the long white cloud.I arrived with my two teenaged children around 11.30pm in the night, so we didn’t get to see much on the trip from Sydney to Auckland across the Tasman Sea. We had no problems at the airport with customs; we just declared all our chocolates and bubblegum etc. It just took time to get out of the airport: we only got out at around 1.30am. Tired, but very excited we were very impressed with the sights at the airport complete with ethnic Maori carvings in wood, water running past soft wavy green ferns and bird calls echoing around us.

It also takes a bit of adjusting to realize that while we are awake, South Africans are all sleeping, so there is no such thing as picking up the phone at midday to phone anyone! In New Zealand they have daylight saving, which I must say we are battling to adjust to – it throws your timing right out! Somewhat like when we landed here. I was getting hungry at 3am in the morning (which was in fact my old lunch time) and frying eggs and ham with toast and tea! It was so weird! Poor neighbours! Must have thought I was from the loony bin! I actually was for a time – ha, ha!

Falling asleep, the kids didn’t even stir with the phone ringing right next to them, such a funny sight. Blankets all over the place, arms flung wide, feet sticking out at right angles to bodies, mouths gaping at the ceiling, eyelids positively glued shut – hair all askew….. a sight for my sore eyes! And mine sure were! When my husband, Peter phoned me from Gisborne on the extreme East coast of the North Island and said hi, I knew he sounded familiar but just couldn’t place him, until he told me who he was: “this is Peter”. My exhausted mind went blank – still working out why it was so dark when I had had lunch and why at 10am I was so exhausted! I hope I am not like that again when I go back for a visit. I had heard of jetlag, but never anticipated that I would experience it in such an extreme form.

The first stop was Longbay, North of Auckland, where Peter had booked us in, which was very pretty. The next day at the beach, the sea greeted us with lapping waves like a dam (not like the wild seas of the South African coasts) and I found it amazing to see the shells through the clear water so far out and the sound of the water on the beach like a ‘fizzy woosh’ sound – really nice. The one spot along the beach we passed through was called “Grannies Bay”! Some very odd names they have here! Most in the Maori language, much like Africa, now. Driving the hired car was an experience I shouldn’t have tried in my exhausted state, as I was just not familiar with the roads and just got us lost repeatedly!

Peter came up to Auckland and we then embarked on the long car journey to Gisborne, along windy narrow roads that led us through hundreds of small sheep and cattle farms, through a gorge of innumerable twists and turns next to a 30 meter drop to a winding river. I actually got dizzy from so many ‘S’ bends.

We have found people we have spoken to in New Zealand to be totally ignorant about violence as we know it, – they just can’t imagine what we South Africans are on about when we begin to recount the hijackings and attacks, especially that people are being killed just for a cell phone. They have grown up with such peaceful, quiet and orderly lives with an abundance of everything, especially food at very affordable prices. So far they have just given us a blank vague look, so we invariably give up trying and just chat about those things to fellow South Africans. That’s when you realise that there is a big difference in our cultures.

The schools are a bit different in that although they have a uniform it is worn in a rather ‘relaxed’ way (well, especially in Gisborne). Shirt hanging out and they wear sandals (strops), long shorts, white shirt hanging in and out, in the two hot months of the year. And very varied hair styles. Very! Some are dreadlocks, some short like a marine, some just (and I mean just) like a mop, others never brush theirs, so the variety is quite endless….. all of course – if you’re cool – with hands in pockets. The girls have skirts and sandals, painted toenails, loose hair of all lengths and styles. Many earrings, toe-rings and finger rings. To top it all they are keen chewers of gum!

The Maori people seem to be of a very large type of build on the whole; tall, very well build people – some of those that my son met love to have fights anywhere about anything! The schools have the most wonderful choice of subjects I have ever seen: photography, learning how to drive, design, how to start your own business, art and painting, the usual academic subjects like English, maths, Japanese and Spanish languages, science, technical drawing and design, accountancy, geography – all in all about 44 subjects to choose from.

The kids had to get used to new phrases: for example Kiwi’s say ‘sweet’ where we would say ‘good’. They also say groovy, and yip instead of yes. (Or our usual ‘Ja!’). As well as ‘cheers’ for thanks and ‘trundlers’ instead of trolleys at the supermarkets, sneakers instead of ‘takkies’ and ‘utes’ instead of ‘bakkies’! It was wonderful to find out that at the age of just 14 you can get a job and earn money over here, but on a more frightening note you can get a learners licence to drive a car at just 15 years old so it still takes me aback to see these young kids driving around.

I think a lot of the New Zealanders over in Gisborne look like Prince Charles’ descendants long removed – very British looking. Then they get crossed with the Maori who look like Chinese crossed with red Indians, some very like the red Indians crossed with Vikings! And to top that juicy description many are covered with tattoos and earrings with long bushy wavy dark hair or dreadlocks! I wonder what we look like to them?! Actually made me get some history books out of the library and check up on the history of New Zealand!

Something interesting when we moved into the first house was what was left for us to use. There were curtains on all the windows, everything was washed, there were plugs in all the drains, pegs on the washing line (there was even a washing line) dishwashing liquid in the kitchen cupboard, a type of Handy Andy in the bathroom, toilet spray in the toilet, kettle in the kitchen, potato masher and peeler and a few other kitchen utensils, even a shower curtain in the shower. It felt like the previous people had forgotten their stuff. But when she came back to collect her mail she said that was the house stuff. She looked at me like I was a little odd, not knowing that sort of thing! We were amazed! However, we are also still amazed at how small the houses are.

We have since moved to Auckland and have found a few wonderful South African shops to buy ourselves some familiar treats and are beginning to adapt to the small Island that we have now made our home.

Regards

Sharon
Auckland, New Zealand

What a wonderful surprise to receive a copy of your newsletter!

It made me even more homesick than I already am!

I am a South African, working in Germany for the past 5 years, enjoying the challenge, but Oh my goodness!!! This is just not South Africa.
Life in Germany is indeed very different. South Africans are a sociable nation and here one needs to make an appointment with acquaintances (very rarely do they become friends) and it takes the pleasure out of doing things on the spur of the moment.

But it is a beautiful country and over Christmas it was indeed a Winter Wonderland scene.
Back home one is used to having big homes with big gardens, but here we live mostly in flats with no garden. That off course makes the lekker braai impossible!

I have met with other South Africans near Frankfurt and it is always a pleasure to get together and just be ourselves. Even the occasional lang-arm-dans puts a bigger smile on our faces.

I would love to receive the newsletter in future and keep up the good work.

With warm regards

Antoinette Meinhardt
Frankfurt, Germany

We returned to SA for a month in Oct/Nov and it was really good to be back, to see old friends -but oh the pain of parting again! The last week was spent in the glorious ‘Berg at a time share at Drakensberg Sun, truly a piece of Paradise on earth.

Our feelings on being back in ‘the old country?’
Well that warm welcome from airport staff at Johannesburg International was great. The level of service in most shops, restaurants and public places has definitely improved and that was good to see.
Sadly the suburb where we used to live has deteriorated badly and it was sad to see once beautiful gardens unkempt, dogs roaming the streets and houses looking run down. BUT all in all it was wonderful to be back and we hope to make another trip as soon as funds allow.
Keep up the good work with your Newsletter (feel free to use the above to fill a gap if you like.)
Please note that my email address has changed and please amend your records as I’d hate to lose touch.

With best wishes to you and yours for a safe, happy and peaceful 2006.
God bless

Wendy
(Reverend Wendy Jackson)
Plymouth, England

Something to smile about

The original Computer

Memory was something you lost with age
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity

A keyboard was a piano
A web was a spider’s home
A virus was the flu
A CD was a bank account

A hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And if you had a 3 inch floppy . . .. . . you just hoped nobody ever found out!!!

The following was sent in to us by Dave from the UK.
It is obvious that he is not a happy chappie!

Sport talk

Links to the sport pages

I’m fit, not fat, says Smith
Graeme Smith has hit back at one of his biggest critics who has accused him of being fat and unfit.
Former national captain Kepler Wessels wrote in his column in a Sunday newspaper that the level of fitness and weight of Jacques Kallis and Smith was not up to scratch for international cricket.
Full Story…

Mbeki unhappy with dismal Bafana showing
Bafana Bafana’s dismal showing at the African Cup of Nations in Egypt has earned a stinging rebuke from President Thabo Mbeki.
Full Story…

Bacher brokers Van Rooyen deal
In exchange for getting his name cleared and not having to face an investigation into alleged poor corporate governance, rugby boss Brian van Rooyen would withdraw from the race for the South African Rugby Union (Saru) presidency next month.
Full Story…

Something for free?

Please help us to help others

As a South African orientated web site we are constantly looking to contact more and more South Africans across the world.
Not only to tell them about how they can make their own Biltong but also to give them a chance to share their stories with other South Africans the world over.So, here is your chance to help us.

If you know about a South African family or friend living near you or perhaps somewhere far away, why not tell them about us and then us about them.
Perhaps you can send us their email address so that we can mail them a copy of this newsletter.
If they like it they can stay on the mailing list, if not they can just let us know and we will remove them from the list.

If the response we receive is large enough and, directly due to your efforts people place orders with us, you could be rewarded by receiving one of our products totally free of charge.

What an easy way to perhaps get your own Home Biltong Maker without having to pay a cent for it!

You can mail us at info@biltongmakers.com

During the last month many people went to the trouble once again of submitting their friend’s and family’s names and we would like to thank all!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Why not write to us

Now that we are already well into the new year it would be nice to get some contributions for the newsletter from all our readers.

Many people are subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

It is winter in our part of the world now and no-one will be going outside for a braai anymore (except the die-hards)
But, that does not mean that you cannot have Boerewors rolls any longer! Boerie rolls are great for indoor parties and even as a meal!

We will be making our last batches for the year shortly and suggest that you place your orders for the winter timely to avoid disappointment.

You can contact us on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or mail us at Boerewors-Benelux.

The price is € 7.50 per kg

Potjiekos

Potjiekos …… a fun way to entertain!

The Potjiekos season is over for this year. No more nice sunny days to stand around the Potjie, beer in hand just enjoying yourself.
But, you are probably already making plans for the spring and next summer. If so, keep us in mind for our famous “Potjiekos”. We do this for a minimum of 50 and up to 100 people.

We make our “Potjie” in our size 25 Pot (see left) and you can have a choice between Beef, Chicken and Lamb.

The Chicken “Potjie” is the most popular because it is a really inexpensive way to entertain.
A Chicken “Potjie” costs only € 6.50 per head and this includes everything from the “Potjie” itself to the plates and eating utensils.
For an extra € 2.00 we even make the Pap!

To book please give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25

(Please note that our “Potjiekos” can only be done outside because we cook on gas or coals!)

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the spit ……. something special!

As with the Potjiekos our Lamb-on-the-Spit is also something of the past this year (unless you want one in the snow!).
But keep it in mind for next year

Lamb on the spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!
We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40 people for just € 15.00 and € 12.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad.
Bread rolls are included as well with garlic bread as an optional extra.
For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small charge of 25c per km.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25
-May and June 2006 are almost booked out-(As with our “Potjiekos” a Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005

June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005

October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to this newsletter or tell a friend about Biltongmakers.Com! and the incredible Biltong Makers!! You can be included in this newsletter by clicking on the following link.
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!If you prefer not to receive email from us, you can unsubscribe from Biltongmakers.Com! by clicking on this link.
Unsubscribe me please.

January 2006

The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

January 2006

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!

In this Newsletter

What did you drag across the world?

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
January 7, 2006It was a winter wonderland again last week.I just came home from a trip to Holland. The skies were dark, unusually so for 3 o’clock in the afternoon. During high winter in January it only gets dark around 4 o’clock.

There were a couple of things on the shopping list so I decided to quickly go out and get them.

No sooner was I in the car and the heavens opened. No, not with rain but with snow! On top of that the wind was howling so I soon found myself crawling along in a virtual snow storm.

Now I must be honest, I love that type of weather, everything turned white in an instant and the car’s wipers had a hard job keeping the snow from the windscreen.

The traffic was crawling along and at my first stop the shop’s staff was already out spreading salt all over the parking area. Coming out of the shop after a couple of minutes the cars were covered with a 5cm thick layer of snow.

I crawled back home and it was like being inside one of these pictures you see on postcards. The street lights shone dimly on the snow-covered roads and everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.
No sooner was I back at the house and the storm abated a little and I was walking along our road, savouring the beauty of it all. June, unfortunately, did not come along because she had been in bed with a nasty cold.

It is so picturesque this time of year!

So, Christmas has come and gone and so have the New Year celebrations.

A new year is upon us and we wish all our friends and customers all over the world a very healthy, prosperous and, most of all, peaceful 2006.

How time flies. It seems just like yesterday that we were sitting in a Japanese restaurant on the Schelde (river) in Antwerp celebrating the new century.

We had a lovely time during the festive season.
Christmas day was spent at the Krijgers’ residence in Schoten and Boxing Day we had a grand time in Den Haag at Tony and Catherine’s house. Especially the kids enjoyed themselves and that is what counts. They have enough toys and games to play with for another year!
As always June was in charge of the kitchen on Christmas day and I must say that the turkey this year was probably one of the best she ever made. That, together with a fare of Brussels sprouts, glazed carrots and whole fried little potatoes made for an excellent lunch. On Boxing Day we had an amazing dish of huge prawns and calamari. Where we put it all I will never know!

And so we are entering the New Year. Still recovering from too much food and drink and totally overweight. I must do something about it this winter because I don’t feel like looking and feeling like a big whale when the summer comes and we go on holiday! The last time I looked ridiculous in the swimming pool. I am sure that every time I got in the water level jumped by a couple of centimeters. I don’t even have to swim, my body fat will keep me afloat! But then I keep promising myself every year that I will do something about it and very little happens usually. Sound familiar?

This year we are looking at some major changes in the structure of Biltongmakers.Com.

The first change will be the appointment of agents in those areas where most of our customers are to be found. We hope to start off with the UK and Australia. The main reason for this is to bring down the shipping costs for our products. As all of you who have a Home Biltong Maker will most certainly know, the cost of shipping is quite high. At the same time, with stock in the major areas, the shipping time can be drastically reduced.

The second change is that we are stopping the monthly competition. Our competitions have run for the better part of four years now and it is time for a change. We are working on some very exciting ideas at the moment!

Well, that is it for this month.

In order to carry on with the monthly newsletter we are going to need some help from you, our readers. Any input whether big or small, will be welcome. You might have read an interesting article or found a nice recipe or you might even be brave enough to write something yourself.
Perhaps someone would like to start a regular monthly column. Perhaps about where you live or what you do?
Anything of interest will be most welcome. It will certainly make our newsletter even more interesting than it is right now.

So, from me, take care and till next month!

Lo

Food for thought

New Year’s Recipe

Take twelve, fine, full-grown months,
see that these are thoroughly free from
all old memories of bitterness, hate and jealousy; cleanse them
completely from every clinging spite:
pick off all specks of pettiness and
littleness; in short , see that these
months are freed from all the past;
have them as fresh and clean as when
they first came from the great
storehouse of time.Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one
equal parts. This batch will keep for just
one year. Do not attempt to make up the
whole batch at one time (so many persons
spoil the entire lot in this way), but
prepare one day at a time, as follows:Into each day put twelve parts of faith,
eleven of patience, ten of courage, nine
of work (some people omit this ingredient
and so spoil the flavor of
the rest), eight of hope, seven of
fidelity, six of liberality, five of
kindness, four of rest (leaving this
out is like leaving the oil out of the
salad, don’t do it), three of prayer,
two of meditation, and one well selected
resolution. If you have no conscientious
scruples, put in about a teaspoonful of
good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of
folly, a sprinkling of play, and a
heaping cupful of good humor.

Pour in love and mix with happiness.

Cook thoroughly in a fervent heat; garnish with a few smiles and a sprig of joy;

then serve with quietness, unselfishness, and cheerfulness, and

a Happy New Year is certain.

Story of the month

What is Boxing Day?

So, there I was sitting in The Hague at Tony’s and Catherine’s house on Boxing day when it dawned on me that I actually had no clue what Boxing Day was all about!

Where does the name come from and how did it start? Does everybody celebrate Boxing Day? I know that in Belgium this day is like any other and is a normal working day.

So, I did a little research and this is what I found:

Boxing Day

Despite the lively images suggested by the name, it has nothing to do with pugilistic expositions between tanked-up family members who have dearly been looking forward to taking a round out of each other for the past year. Likewise, it does not gain its name from the overpowering need to rid the house of an excess of wrappings and mountains of now useless cardboard boxes the day after St. Nick arrived to turn a perfectly charming and orderly home into a maelstrom of discarded tissue paper.

The name also has nothing to do with returning unwanted gifts to the stores they came from, hence its common association with hauling about boxes on the day after Christmas.

The holiday’s roots can be traced to Britain, where Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen’s Day. Reduced to the simplest essence, its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less fortunate were bestowed the day after.

And that’s about as much as anyone can definitively say about its origin because once you step beyond that point, it’s straight into the quagmire of debated claims and duelling folklorists. Which, by the way, is what we’re about to muddy our boots with.
Although there is general agreement that the holiday is of British origin and it has to do with giving presents to the less fortunate, there is still dispute as to how the name came about or precisely what unequal relationship is being recognized.

At various times, the following “origins” have been loudly asserted as the correct one:

Boxing Day is the following day after Christmas Day. The name goes back to medieval times, more than 800 years ago, when alms boxes were placed at the back of every church to collect money for the poor. Traditionally, it is on this day that the alms box at every English church is opened and the contents are distributed to the poor.
Historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off.
As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with Christmas boxes.
These Christmas boxes were made from clay and were not made in the shape of a box. They were hollow clay balls with a slit in the top.
During the late 18th century, Lords and Ladies of the manor would “box up” their leftover food, or sometimes gifts and distribute them the day after Christmas to tenants who lived and worked on their lands.
The tradition of giving money still continues today. It is customary for householders to give small gifts or monetary tips to regular visiting trades people (the milkman, dustman, coalman, paper boy etc.) and, in some work places, for employers to give a Christmas bonus to employees.

Centuries ago, ordinary members of the merchant class gave boxes of food and fruit to tradespeople and servants the day after Christmas in an ancient form of Yuletide tip.
These gifts were an expression of gratitude to those who worked for them, in much the same way that one now tips the paperboy an extra $20 at Christmastime or slips the building’s superintendent a bottle of fine whisky.
Those long-ago gifts were done up in boxes, hence the day coming to be known as “Boxing Day.”

Christmas celebrations in the old days entailed bringing everyone together from all over a large estate, thus creating one of the rare instances when everyone could be found in one place at one time.
This gathering of his extended family, so to speak, presented the lord of the manor with a ready-made opportunity to easily hand out that year’s stipend of necessities. Thus, the day after Christmas, after all the partying was over and it was almost time to go back to far-flung homesteads, serfs were presented with their annual allotment of practical goods.
Who got what was determined by the status of the worker and his relative family size, with spun cloth, leather goods, durable food supplies, tools, and whatnot being handed out. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obligated to supply these goods.
The items were chucked into boxes, one box for each family, to make carrying away the results of this annual restocking easier; thus, the day came to be known as “Boxing Day.”

Many years ago, on the day after Christmas, servants in Britain carried boxes to their masters when they arrived for the day’s work. It was a tradition that on this day all employers would put coins in the boxes as a special end-of-the-year gift.
In a closely-related version of this explanation, apprentices and servants would on that day get to smash open small earthenware boxes left for them by their masters. These boxes would house small sums of money specifically left for them.

This dual-versioned theory melds the two previous ones together into a new form — namely, the employer who was obligated to hand out something on Boxing Day, but this time to recipients who were not working the land for him and thus were not dependent on him for all they wore and ate. The “box” thus becomes something beyond ordinary compensation (in a way goods to landed serfs was not), yet it’s also not a gift in that there’s nothing voluntary about it.
Under this theory, the boxes are an early form of Christmas bonus, something employees see as their entitlement.

Boxes in churches for seasonal donations to the needy were opened on Christmas Day, and the contents distributed by the clergy the following day.
The contents of this alms box originated with the ordinary folks in the parish who were under no direct obligation to provide anything at all and were certainly not tied to the recipients by a employer/employee relationship.
In this case, the “box” in “Boxing Day” comes from that one gigantic lockbox the donations were left in.

More elaborate versions of this origin involve boxes kept on sailing ships:

The title has been derived by some, from the box which was kept on board of every vessel that sailed upon a distant voyage, for the reception of donations to the priest — who, in return, was expected to offer masses for the safety of the expedition, to the particular saint having charge of the ship — and above all, of the box.
The box was not to be opened until the return of the vessel; and we can conceive that, in cases where the mariners had had a perilous time of it, this casket would be found to enclose a tolerable offering.

The mass was at that time called Christmass, and the boxes kept to pay for it were, of course, called Christmass-boxes.
The poor, amongst those who had an interest in the fate of these ships, or of those who sailed in them, were in the habit of begging money from the rich, that they might contribute to the mass boxes; and hence the title which has descended to our day, giving to the anniversary of St Stephen’s martyrdom the title of Christmas-boxing day, and, by corruption, its present popular one of Boxing Day.

Whichever theory one chooses to back, the one thread common to all is the theme of one-way provision to those not inhabiting the same social level. As mentioned previously, equals exchanged gifts on Christmas Day or before, but lessers (be they tradespeople, employees, servants, serfs, or the generic “poor”) received their “boxes” on the day after.
It is to be noted that the social superiors did not receive anything back from those they played Lord Bountiful to: a gift in return would have been seen as a presumptuous act of laying claim to equality, the very thing Boxing Day was an entrenched bastion against. Boxing Day was, after all, about preserving class lines.

What did you drag across the world?

All those things we took with us….

Since March last year we asked people to write in to us and tell us about something unusual that they had taken with them from South Africa when they moved overseas.
We did not get as many entries as we expected but some were really unusual. From a boat mast to a bowl of pebbles or flower petals to 20 fishing rods and a Bidizzo!We promised the person who sent us the most unusual entry one of our Rockey’s 5kg Home Biltong makers.The winning entry is not only because it is unusual but also because the person who sent it is, in our opinion the most determined and caring of all.

Therefore the Home Biltong Maker will go to Gavin van Heusden from Durban in South Africa.

Here is his story:

After eight years of living in the UK it was time to return home to South Africa. Leaving as a bachelor in 1997 I was returning a married man and my wonderful wife was expecting at the time!! This is where the plant in my life (Henry) comes into the story.
Before meeting my wife to be (April 1999) I moved to Windsor, it was late 1997 and there on the dining room table was this rather sickly plant. After adopting it and nursing it back to health it followed me from house to house, which included 3 moves over 7 years. Now this is one hardy little plant which has gone for 4 weeks at a time without water (on a number of occasions) and by all means should have gone back to dust a good few times.

After deciding it was time we go back to our roots in South Africa the BIG MOVE got under way in November 2004. After everything was moved and all our suitcases for the last two weeks stay were packed and booted I was walking out the door for the final time with Henry in my arms. He was to be given to my cousin for safe keeping. This I believe was preoccupying me, and low and behold my jacket got caught on the door handle as I was walking through. I stumbled, found the lip of the step, slipped and launched into the air……trying to get my balance meant letting go! Watching the pot tumble through the air in slow motion was sickening but at the same time it felt like a fitting end for my plant.

One smashed pot later, and a plant that had snapped at the root system and leaf system I was cleaning up the mess before the new owners moved in. I actually found a few leaves still joined together and thought I would drop them in some water and see what happens. Well, what did I expect, after a few days there were a few roots off the bottom of the leaves. On the day of leaving we wrapped him in wet cotton wool and stuffed him into my golf bag. Expectations of survival were highly based on past performance and as expected we now have Henry on our balcony looking healthier than ever before.

I dragged a doomed plant, which I have known longer than my wife all the way across the world!!

Congratulations Gavin. Your Biltong Maker will be on its way shortly!

Our Home Biltong Makers

Some of the GuestMap entries of 2005

To see all the entries and to meet other South Africans in your area just visit our GuestMap!

Hi every one its been fun learning how to make biltong and hearing so much feed back thanks.
Nathan
Sydney, Australia
December 28

Lived in the good old U.S.A for 8 years know, got the biltong maker, good stuff!
Terence Douglas
Jacksonville, USA,
December 09

This country is wonderful, but you still feel like going home sometimes, just to get the South African feeling.
I miss the bushveld, Saturday braaivleis and friends.
Miss you all
Meisie Doubell
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates,
November 22

Hallo almal hier van onder af. Ons is nou al 9 jaar hier en geniet rugby, sonskyn, boerewors en biltong!
Melinda Malherbe
Hervey Bay, Australia, October 16

Good OLD South Africa!
Congratulations on an excellent site keeping the spirit and ideals of the true South Africa alive.
Alan Harvey
Herne Bay, England
August 28

Great website, great newsletter, by great people – keep it up!
Steve Caddick
Linbro Park, Sandton, South Africa
August 13

It’s just too good to be true. Finally my own homemade biltong
Sean Kern
Lohmar, Germany
July 19

Nice to read about SA things. Love making my own Biltong here in Japan. I don’t even want to share it with my wife!!
Uli
Yokohama, Japan
July 04

Sunsets and biltong on the Med! What could be better! Almost like home!
Johan
Kas, Turkey
July 03

You people are the pits and are irritating us with your disgusting products. We have moved on and do not eat SA food any more thanks.
Fed Up
Spain
June 17 (Anonymous of course! Ed)

Well okes,
Going on ten years life is but to lekka, have all i need here, biltong and windhoek lager, oooops almost 4got my wife 🙂
Rugby on the big screen its almost like home only thing is that bloody cold winters :). if you in Hungary drop me a line and we sort out the partaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiii.
Till later, boeties
Zulu
Felsopakony, Hungary
June 15

Ons is regte egte biltong, braai en potjie mense. Biltongmakers is tops!
Rinie Hill
Pretoria, South Africa
June 15

We live in Paradise, eat the food of the “Gods” have the lifestyle of the “rich and famous” make biltong eat boerewors and have created the opportunity for Aussies to sample real biltong, now I have a thief stealing it out of my kassie when I am away from home!
Nico
Cannonvale, Australia
June 13

Biltong is a drug….a lekker Seffrican drug.
Charles Clayton
Milton, Ontario, Canada
June 12

After 8 years I’m a bit of a”Rooinek” but still a”Jaapie” at heart and our “Ankle Biters” love to “Braai”.
Viva the NEW AGE VOORTREKKERS!
Hugo and Louise Van Den Dool
Cambridgeshire, England
June 09

Life is great, when you are a boerseun, eating boerewors and biltong in Boedapest!
God bless all you beautiful cravers.
Tom Kiss
Budapest, Hungary
June 11

Every time I get the newsletter, it costs me a fortune to go to the local butchery for biltong. Love your site and the newsletter.
Jeremy Dannheisser
Johannesburg, South Africa
May 05

Very pleased that I purchased the biltongmaker and so are my friends!!
Billy Rundle
Lydenburg, South Africa
April 04

Love our Biltong Maker. Still miss SA Biltong, it is the best!!!
Richard and Orleen
Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA
April 03

I LOVE this site – biltong is the food of the gods – it should be illegal to not have any in your freezer, cupboard, biltong maker…..
Ingrid Kennedy
Rockhampton, Australia
April 03

Everyone should be born with a Home Biltong Maker!! It’s a little bit of home wherever you are!
Astrid Bjørvig
Copenhagen, Denmark
April 03

You can say goodbye to your friends and family but NEVER to biltong, boerewors and braaivleis.
Daniel
Vila Nova de Famalicao, Portugal
March 29

Everything local and lekker starts with “B”; Biltong, Beer, Boerewors and Biltongmakers.com!
Monty Cordingley
Durban, South Africa
March 14

We love our Biltong Maker!!!
Chris en Jeanine Van den Berg
Willebroek, Belgium
March 12

It’s great reading and makes one feel part of a South African family, although we are, in Johnny Clegg’s words, “Scatterlings of Africa”
Kath Peasey
Brisbane, Australia
February 03

The most popular Home Biltong Maker in the world! You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

It's as easy as 1-2-3 to make your own Biltong!

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s special offer

Something special to start the New Year!

Well, the festive season is no more but that does not mean that we cannot carry on with giving you the best value possible for all our products.

Until the end of January the following products will be on special:

To kick of the New Year and also because of the tremendous response we had in October of last year the price of Rockey’s 5kg Biltong Maker will be only R 695.00 for the month of January. The normal price is R 850.00 so that means that you will be paying less than R 150.00 below the actual retail price!!
Our ever so popular wooden Blackwood Biltong Cutter will be priced at only R 290.00 till January 31, 2006. That amounts to a discount of 25%!!

Make use of this opportunity because we expect a price increase from the factory early this year.

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

Two useful tips!

Cooking converter

Quite a lot of people have been asking us to convert cooking measures such as from American to European metric etc.
We have always had a very handy cooking converter on the Biltongmakers.Com web site. You can access this converter by going to www.biltongmakers.com and then click on the SA recipes page or the Potjie recipe link. On the left you will find the link to the cooking converter.
If you are too lazy to go though all this just click on here to get there instantly.

(Happy Cooking! -Ed)

Problems with flies?

We have all had a problem with flies on our meat at some stage. A fly can lay thousands of eggs in an instant. These eggs will very quickly turn into maggots and then you can throw your meat away.
Normally our Biltong makers are sufficiently protected against flies getting in the box. However, if you have an abundance of flies or there are the so-called fruit flies around additional protection is needed.
I normally use a piece of net curtain which I drape around the Biltong Maker. No fly can get through that!
Also be very careful when preparing the meat!

Important notice!!

It was brought to our notice that some people try to use a higher wattage and different shape globe than supplied with the Biltong Makers. They do this to try and decrease the drying time. Not only does this not work but it it also dangerous!
Firstly, a higher wattage light will dry the meat too quickly resulting in a hard outer crust and a soft inside. And…..a higher wattage globe could damage certain of the components in the machines. ONLY USE a candle shaped 25 watt globe for the Biltong Buddy and a 40 watt candle shaped globe for Rockey’s 5kg machine.
If you can’t get a 25 watt candle shaped globe for the Buddy you can use a 40 watt but the 25 watt globe is normally sufficient and works the best.

Questions and Answers

Here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

Thanks for a splendid news letter.
I am producing biltong in Ghana but am surprised that out of 3 kg fresh top side beef, only 1.2 kg is left after drying!
I feel the weight of the finished biltong is too small after drying.
Anything I can do?

Best regards
Jan Madsen
Ghana
ommel2@yahoo.com

QUESTION

Dear Biltongmakers,

I have one of your units and LOVE making Biltong in Arizona (perfect “it’s a dry heat” ) for it.
However every time I make the Connoisseur Biltong with the ” good quality” Rock salt it always comes out SALTY.
What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards,
John Gerhardt
Arizona, USA
John@deltacp.com

QUESTION

Hi Lo,

I think this is a great site, with all the recipes from good old South Africa.
We moved to the Netherlands nine years ago, just for the kids safety and wish with all our hearts to go back.
Just don’t know if that will ever happen.
So if there is anyone out there that can help me with an original recipe for good old pork sausages?
We tried the ones for on the BRAAI but they are not the same as the ones that you would use for breakfast on a Sunday morning!
So, if there is any one out there that can HELP write to me asjeblieft?

Susan Bubb
Veenwouden, Holland
a.bubb@wanadoo.nl

Stoep Talk

Nothing like the traditional sounds of South Africa
By James ClarkeOne of the attractions of Kruger National Park – that tranquil corner of South Africa where one can cruise along knowing that all who are there are there to enjoy what you enjoy – is that it brings out the best in us. Nobody is in a hurry.Strangers swop news on what they have seen and there’s the camaraderie of the camp at night, especially as families and friends gather in the cheerful glow of their braaivleis fires.

But somebody recently complained of one particularly anomalous sound – the grating noise made by those heavy wood-and-steel Kruger Park chairs as they scrape on the well-polished stoep floors.

Yet on a recent visit to the park I realised that if I were far away from home – say languishing in Australia trying to whip up some interest in kangaroos, or swatting mosquitoes in Canada where nothing has happened since 1759 – then the recollection of that very sound – the scraping of a Kruger Park chair – would fill me with nostalgia.

I would be wretchedly homesick.

I then contemplated producing a recording of characteristic South African sounds for sending to friends who have emigrated – ah, there are so many of them – to induce them to return. The Hadida bird

No commentary – just sounds. Perhaps, perhaps, with the occasional strains of kwela music in the background.

In that record I would certainly include the raucous call of hadedas, who always sound as if they are scared of heights.

I’d record the cheerful morning song of the black-eyed bulbul and, of course, the far-carrying cry of the fish eagle.

Ah yes, and the distant roar of lions heard from Satara camp.

I’d have the strident voices of Zulu women talking to each other across the width of a suburban street, and the rhythmic songs of strikers toyi-toying among impatient traffic.

I would also include the sound of Johannesburg traffic, permeated by the deep drumming sound (which is all one hears, thank goodness) of the latest nightclub hit coming from out of a passing car, driven by somebody whose sound system is probably worth more than the car itself.

I’d include a summer thunderstorm as it moves nearer and nearer, and then the sound of the first heavy drops of rain striking broad leaves, and the torrential rain that follows at 4.30pm and as it diminishes (at 4.52pm, op die kop). Lekker!
I’d record the song of a grateful thrush greeting the return of the sun.

I would include the sizzle of meat on a braaivleis fire, the sharp hiss of a can of Castle being opened.

But to ensure that the listener knows that a braaivleis is not just any old Aussie or American barbecue, I’d have the background sound of suburban hadedas going home to roost at sunset.

I’d include the sound of crickets and the bushveld nightjar that we call the litany bird with its quavering call of “Good Lord deliver us!” The sound of a packed Ellis Park stadium singing Nkosi, sikelel’ i Afrika, followed by the roar as the match starts, and then Shosholoza.

I’d have a snatch of SABC news read in a strong Sotho or Zulu accent, and the rumbling voice of a Ventersdorp boer pontificating about the Bokke.

I’d have the high-pitched, highly accented voice of an East Rand woman complaining about Beauty pinching the sugar again.

I’d have a Soweto choir and a few minutes of pounding Zulu drums and the foot stamping and the ululating.

Have I missed anything out?

Ah yes, and I’d end by repeating the scraping of Kruger Park chairs and then the characteristic squeak of the heavy-duty spring on the fly screen door as one enters one’s rondavel to retire for the night. I’d then let the sounds of the Lowveld night take over.

That’d bring ’em home.

Recipe corner

Trotters and Beans

Often cooked together with tripe and known as “Pens en Pootjies”, this is a great Cape specialty. Serves: 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

8 pig’s trotters or 8 sheep’s trotters and a tripe (optional)
300g sugar beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
25ml vinegar
5ml white sugar
2 cloves
5ml ground coriander
5ml allspice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, sliced
20ml medium-strength curry powder
10ml turmeric
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped, to garnish

Method

Cover trotters with salted water and soak for one hour
Drain the trotters
Simmer sugar beans in cold water for 45 minutes or until tender
Cool them in water
Cover trotters with plenty of fresh cold water and cook until tender, about 45 minutes
Remove trotters and dice, retaining the liquid
Return meat and add all other ingredients to the stock, except the beans
Simmer covered for about 45 minutes
Season
Drain the beans
Put in a warm serving dish and pour curry over
Garnish with coriander and serve with rice

Note
This dish will improve if cooked in advance!

Click here for our handy cooking converter

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

The following we received from Shelagh Liebenberg in Sarasota, Florida

My daughter Lesley lives in Anchorage, Alaska and loves it.
The Alaskans are a different breed, that is for sure. They all seem to be independent and hardy, and definitely are the alleenlopers of the world.
Many of them have moved bit by bit, further north each time to get away from the crowds. My daughter is a registered nurse, is married, has no intention of leaving Alaska any time soon, and revels in the isolation of the country.
There are many artists living in the area in the absolute backwoods of society, seldom seen except for shopping sprees every couple of months or so.
It is a fascinating place which I love visiting and which my husband hates. Too cold, too dark, too isolated and too darn far!!!
Strange as it may seem, there are a few other South Africans there. I don’t know if they pass through or stay a while.
My husband Les, and I live in Sarasota, Florida and have not been very successful with our biltong making (too impatient I think).
We enjoy the newsletters!

Best wishes to all for a very happy New Year!

Shelagh Liebenberg

Something to smile about

Green Power

Sport talk

Links to the sport pages

Even early days will be tough for the Bulls
Coach Heyneke Meyer’s Super 14 Bulls face three extraordinarily tough pre-season friendlies against the Cats at Ellis Park on January 14, the Stormers at Newlands on January 21 and the Sharks at Sun City on January 28, games which are sure to shake off the cobwebs ahead of what will be a demanding 13-game competition.
Full Story…

A rugby year of blunders and burst bubbles
The 2005 rugby year will not just be remembered for the brilliance of the dominant All Blacks, but also for the several bubbles that were burst and the hard-earned reputations that were left tattered and broken by the end of it.
Full Story…

Positives and negatives from the rugby season
It was another memorable year for South Africa, a season when the Springboks came so close to achieving so much, but always seemed to be “chasing the game”, never quite in control of their destiny.
Full Story…

The monthly competition

The winner of the December Competition!

The winner of the December competition is:
Jannie Theron from Cape Town.
Congratulations Jannie. Your Biltong Maker has been shipped and will reach you shortly!
Please let us know how the first batch of Biltong turned out?

The correct answers for the competition questions for the month of December were:
Question 1: 26-20 to France – Question 2: PST Rigid Styrene – Question 3: Canberra

The last Competition

The December Competition was the last one in the series. We have been running our competitions for almost four years now and will stop with them, for a while at least.

We are busy looking at something different and very exciting so keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground!

Something for free?

Please help us to help others

As a South African orientated web site we are constantly looking to contact more and more South Africans across the world.
Not only to tell them about how they can make their own Biltong but also to give them a chance to share their stories with other South Africans the world over.So, here is your chance to help us.If you know about a South African family or friend living near you or perhaps somewhere far away, why not tell them about us and then us about them.
Perhaps you can send us their email address so that we can mail them a copy of this newsletter.
If they like it they can stay on the mailing list, if not they can just let us know and we will remove them from the list.

If the response we receive is large enough and, directly due to your efforts people place orders with us, you could be rewarded by receiving one of our products totally free of charge.

What an easy way to perhaps get your own Home Biltong Maker without having to pay a cent for it!

You can mail us at info@biltongmakers.com

During the last month many people went to the trouble once again of submitting their friend’s and family’s names and we would like to thank all!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Why not write to us

Now that we have started new year it would be nice to get some contributions for the newsletter from all our readers.

Many people are subscribed to our newsletter and many more are joining every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

It is winter in our part of the world now and no-one will be going outside for a braai anymore.

But, that does not mean that you cannot have Boerewors rolls any longer! Boerie rolls are great for indoor parties and even as a meal!

We will be making our last batches for the year shortly and suggest that you place your orders for the winter timely to avoid disappointment.

You can contact us on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or mail us at Boerewors-Benelux.

The price is € 7.50 per kg

Potjiekos

Potjiekos …… a fun way to entertain!

The Potjiekos season is over for this year. No more nice sunny days to stand around the Potjie, beer in hand just enjoying yourself.
But, you are probably already making plans for the spring and next summer. If so, keep us in mind for our famous “Potjiekos”. We do this for a minimum of 50 and up to 100 people.

We make our “Potjie” in our size 25 Pot (see left) and you can have a choice between Beef, Chicken and Lamb.

The Chicken “Potjie” is the most popular because it is a really inexpensive way to entertain.
A Chicken “Potjie” costs only € 6.50 per head and this includes everything from the “Potjie” itself to the plates and eating utensils.
For an extra € 2.00 we even make the Pap!

To book please give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25

(Please note that our “Potjiekos” can only be done outside because we cook on gas or coals!)

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the spit ……. something special!

As with the Potjiekos our Lamb-on-the-Spit is also something of the past this year (unless you want one in the snow!).
But keep it in mind for next year

Lamb on the spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!
We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40 people for just € 15.00 and € 12.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad.
Bread rolls are included as well with garlic bread as an optional extra.
For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small charge of 25c per km.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25
-May and June 2006 are almost booked out-(As with our “Potjiekos” a Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005

May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005

September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to this newsletter or tell a friend about Biltongmakers.Com! and the incredible Biltong Makers!! You can be included in this newsletter by clicking on the following link.
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!If you prefer not to receive email from us, you can unsubscribe from Biltongmakers.Com! by clicking on this link.
Unsubscribe me please.

December 2005

The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!

The Biltongmakers.Com Newsletter

December 2005

You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link.

Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!

In this Newsletter

What did you drag across the world?

From the editor

Keerbergen
Belgium
December 7, 2005

Standing outside the back door by the kitchen a minute ago I saw two squirrels playing in the trees. Running up and down and jumping from branch to branch they really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I should put some more nuts out for them. They must be hungry for there is very little for them to eat right now in the winter.It’s lovely to watch them stuffing their little cheeks full and then disappearing in the undergrowth to store it somewhere I suppose. A little while later they will reappear to start the whole process all over again.

We are a little like them, especially over the festive season. The only difference is that we don’t take it away to be stored. We store it in the ever-increasing waistline, which just seems to grow and grow as we draw closer to Christmas and the end of the year!

The little exercise I get at the moment does not help at all it seems. Just the other day I spent yet another day in the garden clearing away leaves and making it somehow a little presentable but the scale that night just did not want to cooperate!

I have just finished with the Christmas lights outside. Always quite a job but certainly worth it! They’re in the bushes and up the trees and along the gutter in the front. I’m quite proud actually. Sadly our neighbours are too lazy to do anything of the sort. In other towns people have really put in an effort and some houses look quite spectacular!

Driving around the little towns in Vlaanderen last night it was great to see all the trouble some people have gone to. I even saw a Father Christmas complete with reindeer on top of a roof, all done with rope lights!

It gets dark around 4.30 in the afternoon now so that’s when our lights come on and we sit inside, nice and warm, and enjoy them!

Christmas in Europe is so totally different from the Southern hemisphere. It is dark and cold outside and, with a bit of luck, you even have snow! But, everywhere you go it is warm and cozy with lots of candles and of course the Christmas tree!

Going into town is incredible to say the least. Everywhere you go there is an air of festivity. There are decorations everywhere. In the streets, on the squares, along the buildings and in the trees. It is just one big light show.

There are people everywhere either doing shopping or listening to one of the many little groups and choirs playing or singing Christmas carols. The bistros and cafes are chock and block with people enjoying a “pintje” or a glass of wine by a roaring fireplace. Many of them are open throughout the night and if you drive into town early in the morning you still find most places full to capacity. Funny enough there are no incidents of drunkenness or hooliganism. So much for 24 hour drinking in Europe!

And so it is almost Christmas and yet another year has gone by. A year that promised a lot at the start and kept itself to its word by and large. We must just try to get away a little more next year.

It’s always nice to look back on what you did during the year and to pick out the highlights.

Our trip to northern France, Reims and Paris with Penny and Skye was one of those highlights. Paris is great any time of the year as long as you don’t end up with a mad taxi driver like we did on our way to the Moulin Rouge.

Then there was our trip to the UK a couple of weeks ago

We always enjoy those trips when we go to see June’s sister Carol and her husband Peter in Worthing. This time we decided to take the ferry from Calais to Dover instead of the tunnel train. It was lovely! It’s about 200km to Calais from where we live and if you take the train you are in Folkestone (near Dover) in 25 minutes and you have to do another 200 km to get to the Brighton area right away.

But, with the ferry we had a nice break. It takes about 2 hours all-in-all and you have a chance to walk about, have a nice breakfast or lunch and browse through the shops on board and you can see the white cliffs of Dover! We’ll certainly do that again!

Another highlight for me was an unexpected visit to Jake’s school where all the little children were waiting in the school hall to meet Sinterklaas. And sure enough there he came, just after nine in the morning, with his Zwarte Pieten in tow. The look of total awe and trepidation on those little ones faces was enough to bring a tear to the eye. It so reminded me of when I was that age and went through the same thing every December 5th, the birthday of the dear old man.

The children all sang songs and presented him with the presents they had been making especially for his birthday. One class even made a big pot of carrot soup for his horse!

Above, on the right you can see a picture of him and if you want to read the story of Sinterklaas just click on the newsletter for December 2004.

The worst news this year was when I heard that my best friend of 40 years, Kel Malherbe, had passed away suddenly on the 4th of November. Kel and I first met in May of 1966 and literally went through thick and thin together. It was Kel who originally developed the first Home Biltong Maker which he roughly based on an old cardboard box dryer he had from way back. The original 2kg Home Biltong Maker became what is now known as the Biltong Buddy and is used by thousands of people all over the world.
I will miss him dearly and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and those who were close to him.
But, while we feel sad because he has gone we can also smile and feel happy because he was alive and so much a part of us.

And so I will leave you for this year.
Both June and I hope that you will have a great Christmas and a very nice end of the year.
Don’t overdo it now!
Like my dear old Mum always used to say: “You can do anything you want as long as it is in moderation!”

Sadly, although I totally agree with her, it somehow never works for me and I always end up doing exactly the opposite and suffer the consequences afterwards.

So, to all our friends and customers all over the world, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and may the New Year bring you all the happiness and health and the fulfillment of all your dreams!

Till next year,

Take care,

Lo

Food for thought

Steady effort

Sometimes the way to move ahead faster is to slow down. Sometimes the way to get more done is to stop trying so hard.
When you’re relentlessly pushing yourself, then the pushing becomes your focus and you can lose sight of your true objective. When you’re constantly busy being constantly busy, it can be easy to forget what you seek to accomplish.Hurrying through a task can burn you out and create mistakes that you’ll have to spend more time fixing. Keep in mind that sprinting is not a workable strategy for winning a marathon.Slowing down to a sustainable pace can actually make the results come faster. Remember that your goal is not simply to be busy, but to accomplish something of value with your efforts.

Take a deep breath, calm your mind, and focus your thoughts on where you’re going. There is much power in moving thoughtfully and deliberately.

Time and steady persistence will achieve much more than frantic, hurried turmoil. Go fast enough to get it done, yet slow enough to get it right.

Ralph Marston

Story of the month

The search for the real father Christmas

Henry Christmas has spent 50 years researching his surname. A team of scientists in Oxford is trying to prove whether families with the rare surname of “Christmas” all descend from a single male ancestor.

They want to compare the DNA of men from different Christmas clans to see if they are linked by a common genetic heritage as well as by their surnames.

This will be done by looking at similarities and differences in the male, or Y, chromosomes of volunteers.

The work is part of wider research on the links between surnames and DNA.

DNA analysis company Oxford Ancestors is currently appealing for volunteers to participate in the study and is being assisted in the effort by Henry Christmas, a former telecommunications engineer who has spent 50 years researching the origins and history of his own family name.

Professor Bryan Sykes, who is leading the study at Oxford Ancestors, told the BBC News website: “There are several interesting questions such as was there one original ‘father’ Christmas or were there several different ones?”

A bit of cheek

His team will be taking cheek swabs from those volunteers selected by Mr Christmas in order to extract their DNA.

Every male possesses a Y chromosome which can be inherited only from his father, so this package of genetic material represents a unique record of paternal inheritance.

“If it’s a single family with one original founder, then most of them will have the same Y chromosome fingerprint. If there’s more than one, we’ll identify that,” said Bryan Sykes.

“But generally this is the kind of name that, from experience, has one or very few founders.”

The work forms a small part of a wider project being conducted by Professor Sykes on the genetic history of Britain.

Surnames can be remarkably informative in reconstructing the genetic family tree of the British Isles, especially those of moderate frequency that can be tied closely to genealogical records.

“Generally speaking, the rarer the name, the more likely it is to have one founder. Most surnames are moderate frequency,” he explained.

“Many, even now, are clustered around the historical origin of the name.

“This gives you a way of measuring how much spreading and mixing and movement there has been over the last 800 years – because many English surnames started then.”

Norman origin

Professor Sykes found about 70% of the men he studied with his own surname had near-identical Y chromosomes. The 70% were all descended from one man who lived in Yorkshire in the 13th Century.

The Christmas family name is established widely through the home counties, but there are two significant geographical clusters; one in Essex and one in Sussex.

“We will select volunteers from those two branches,” said Professor Sykes.

“If you didn’t have that genealogical information, you wouldn’t have the first idea about those two branches or where they come from.”

Some genealogy books state that the origin of the surname derives from “one born at Christmas”. But Henry Christmas believes this is “too easy”.

“The original spelling was ‘Chrystmasse’, which perhaps indicates Norman origin. There were also Huguenots who came over [from France] with that name,” he told the BBC News website.

Professor Sykes said the study should also be able to show how people with the Christmas surname were linked by their genes to other lineages.

And it should connect the common male founder – if indeed there was one – with one of the major population groups that have settled in the British Isles over the ages.

But the technique can also reveal signs of female infidelity, turning up errant Y chromosomes that do not fit in the overall genetic tree for a particular

What did you drag accross the world?

All those things we took with us….

Did we not want to take everything, thinking that if we got rid of something we might not be able to replace it wherever we went to?
Then, once on “the other side”, we either realized how lucky we were to have taken all those “special” things or how stupid it really was.I for one remember that is was very difficult to part with all the things we had gathered over so many years.But some of the things …….really!!

I can just think of the SEVEN braais we took! There was our Cadac gas braai (with every conceivable attachment!), our Weber, spitbraai, large cast iron braai, another (smaller) Weber, our gas bottle with the large cast iron top……just to mention some!
All we have used in the end has been perhaps one or two of them. The rest stands in the garage collecting dust!
And those are just some of the many things we could have left behind.

In this part of our newsletter we are inviting you to write in telling us what YOU took with you when you left.
These may be things you really need right now or things that you could have left behind and were really totally unnecessary to have taken along.

We will have a small Competition to see who writes in with the most unusual item that they dragged with them across the world!

We will be running this competition until the end of the year so submit your entries as soon as possible.

The person with the most unusual item (and we will want to see a picture of it!) will get one of Rockey’s 5kg Home Biltong Makers!

So, here we go!

This one is from Nico Botha in Australia
We bought a very old antique French bed, in France, then packed it all up moved with it to South Africa, and that with my inheritance furniture is now here in Australia.
I have three braai dromme, a smoker, a 4×4 Camper Trailer,about 20 fishing rods from RSA a few cast nets, enough ander kakkas for camping and even our Venter Trailer the 6 ft Venter Camel here in Australia!
If I have to list all Skippy’s kakkas, the newsletter will be just a bit too small to list everything!

From Lorraine and Derek Austin in Brisbane
We emigrated and wondered what to take with us to Brisbane Australia, so we took everything with us, plus two new fridge/freezers.
When we got here, one fridge packed up, so we thought we would make it into a tool cabinet, and it even has a built in lock so when the second fridge packed up just at the end of last year, we did the same with it.
Now in the shed we have two lovely KIC fridges that no longer work but are our two lock up tool cabinets. The neighbour asked us one day why we have a fridge in the shed so we joked with him and told him to keep the beers cold. So that’s what happens to lockable fridges from South Africa!

From Paddy Johnson in Australia
Great newsletter !!!
I have been in Aussie for 8 yrs. now and whilst unpacking an old tool box the other day came across this most unusual ” BRINGALONG”.
Just in case not everybody knows, this “deadly” piece of weaponry is a pair of BIDIZZOS!
They are for castrating young bulls and turning them into oxen.
My partner (Aussie-City girl) thinks that this little operation she wants to perform comes a little too late. I have twin sons (22 year olds).
They came for the ride as we stopped farming in South Africa 33 yrs ago. I am 50 now and my Dad had these before I was born. I guess they are just part of the family.

From Kerry Booysen-Finch in Holland
The strangest thing I “HAD TO” bring with when we left SA in 1999 (and I will be surprised if anyone has anything stranger) is approximately 1 kg of dried rose petals which came from the garden of the first home we ever owned.
I had them in a bowl on the coffee table in SA for 6 years before leaving and now they proudly (and a little faded) sit in the same bowl on a different coffee table in The Netherlands (and NO I am not smoking some good stuff)!!
Let’s see if anyone can beat that!!

From Tanja Köhn in Dushanbe, Tajikistan
As for the strangest item that we took: Bruce is absolutely boat mad and had started building boats in Cape Town. He always collected bits and bobs for boats for future use, so in our driveway in Hout Bay we had this massive 7 m square wooden mast lying around.
He promised me to get rid of it before the movers would arrive, but when they stood in the door and he looked at the container, he decided to take it along, because it fitted in!
I was not amused, and I am still not – it is now lying around in our driveway of the little oriental townhouse we are renting here in Dushanbe!
Tajikistan is an inland country with no sailing boats in a 500 km radius! – I already considered cutting it up and using it as braai wood… Maybe we should put it up as a flagpole though and fly the South African flag high above the roofs of Dushanbe!

From John and Mel Berry from Loxahatchee, Florida, USA
We first moved from Johannesburg to Virginia 3 years ago before moving down to Florida at the beginning of this year.
We have some items that have made it all the way to Loxahatchee with us. We used to go off-road in our 4×4 in SA, so guess what came with us?
The hi-rise jack!
I’m not quite sure what John plans to do with it and it lives with our gardening tools, our gun safe, all our “Get Away” magazines and of course our Staffie dog Angel.

From Jacki Martin in New Hampshire in the US of A
I was reading your newsletter from last month and saw the section about the strangest things moved from SA.
My parents brought the top tier of their wedding cake. They had kept it for 20 years and were determined to have a piece on their anniversary!
Well, after dousing it with brandy, the cake was just short of cement and they managed a small bite …… but the rest was history!

I love the newsletter – thanks for the great stories!!

From Gavin van Heusden in Durban, South Africa
After eight years of living in the UK it was time to return home to South Africa. Leaving as a bachelor in 1997 I was returning a married man and my wonderful wife was expecting at the time!! This is where the plant in my life (Henry) comes into the story.
Before meeting my wife to be (April 1999) I moved to Windsor, it was late 1997 and there on the dining room table was this rather sickly plant. After adopting it and nursing it back to health it followed me from house to house, which included 3 moves over 7 years. Now this is one hardy little plant which has gone for 4 weeks at a time without water (on a number of occasions) and by all means should have gone back to dust a good few times.

After deciding it was time we go back to our roots in South Africa the BIG MOVE got under way in November 2004. After everything was moved and all our suitcases for the last two weeks stay were packed and booted I was walking out the door for the final time with Henry in my arms. He was to be given to my cousin for safe keeping. This I believe was preoccupying me, and low and behold my jacket got caught on the door handle as I was walking through. I stumbled, found the lip of the step, slipped and launched into the air……trying to get my balance meant letting go! Watching the pot tumble through the air in slow motion was sickening but at the same time it felt like a fitting end for my plant.

One smashed pot later, and a plant that had snapped at the root system and leaf system I was cleaning up the mess before the new owners moved in. I actually found a few leaves still joined together and thought I would drop them in some water and see what happens. Well, what did I expect, after a few days there were a few roots off the bottom of the leaves. On the day of leaving we wrapped him in wet cotton wool and stuffed him into my golf bag. Expectations of survival were highly based on past performance and as expected we now have Henry on our balcony looking healthier than ever before.

I dragged a doomed plant, which I have known longer than my wife all the way across the world!!

From Ansie and Tollie de Waal from Ireland
I have read the things that some of our ex-South Africans brought with them and I started thinking….what did we bring?
We brought two pieces of driftwood from Richards Bay and a glass bottle full of small glass pebbles that our son picked up on the shore of Mossel Bay!

Strange it is, but it means a lot to us!
Keep up the good work!

This is it! We cannot accept any more entries.
In January we will announce who we thought was the most original out of the above.

Our Home Biltong Makers

Some more comments from our GuestMap entries

To see all the entries and to meet other South Africans in your area just visit our GuestMap!

Hi to all the other South Africans home away from home. Been here for 7 years now and still enjoying….however I do miss the good old SA wors and biltong……….so maybe I need to get myself one of the Biltong Makers.
Biltong Mmmmmmmmmmmm lekker !!!

Phillip Gervais
New Westminster Canada
November 23, 2005
pgervais@western-rubber.com

The biltong maker is lekker…. and nice to see a few other SA faces…

Jade E Moore (JEM)
Narre Warren, Australia
November 20, 2005
jade_emoore@hotmail.com

Great to see we all love our heritage still.
Would love to come into contact with other South Africans or Zimbabweans. Need to share the Biltong!!!

Billy and Noeline Nagel
Brisbane, Australia
December 01, 2005
noelinen@multitrode.com.au

This country is wonderful, but you still feel like going home sometimes, just to get the South African feeling. I miss the bushveld, Saturday braaivleis and friends
Miss you all!
Meisie Doubell
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
November 22, 2005
meisie39@yahoo.com

Great website – I never knew making biltong was that easy. It’s edible everytime!
Kevin Albertus
Melbourne, Australia
November 08, 2005
k.albertus@ridley.unimelb.edu.au

The most popular Home Biltong Maker in the world! You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time.
Have a look at our Home Biltong Makers and see how easy it is!!

Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link.

It's as easy as 1-2-3 to make your own Biltong!

You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.

This month’s special offer

Something special for Christmas and beyond!

Well, it is almost Christmas and I suppose that most people will have either bought or ordered their presents by now. But, we will still tempt you with some final special prices for the year.

Until the middle of January the following products will be on special:

The price of the incredible BILTONG BUDDY Home Biltong Maker will remain at only R 565.00.
That is almost R 100.00 below the normal retail price!
Our ever so popular wooden Blackwood Biltong Cutter will be priced at only R 290.00. That amounts to a discount of 25%!!

Make use of this opportunity because we expect a price increase from the factory before the end of the year.

Click here to go to our on-line shop.

Tip of the month

How to buy/make tender meat

Last month Rob Fowler from Midrand in South Africa had a question to which we received quite some feedback.

The question was:
After realizing from sad experience that quite often fresh steaks from supermarkets are not very well cured (or aged) and may be quite tough, I was wondering if your readers had any thoughts on how to improve the overall tenderness of meat before braaing or hot frying.
Beating the meat to bits with a tenderising hammer is not an option!
We prefer our steaks rare to medium-rare so the cooking process should have very little effect on the eventual tenderness when its eaten.
Vacuum packing perhaps?
Marinading is probably one way to go but often changes the original meat flavour and may not please everyone.

All the best, wherever you may be.
Rob Fowler
Midrand, South Africa
robf@iafrica.com

Here is some of the feedback we received

Dear Rob,

I was wondering what type of meat you use for the braai and frying?
The most tender cuts are naturally the fillet, rib eye (cube roll), rump and sirloin. I would even recommend the eye-round from the knuckle, (the round has a sinew strip down the middle for easy identification) this is the part that I use most frequently for my braais as it is as tender as rump and sirloin, has flavour and can be eaten rare to medium rare which is the way you like it.
It is also a cheaper alternative.

Although vacuum packing is an option, you have to keep fresh meat vacuumed for at least 20 days for optimal results and this must be kept a constant temperature of 0-3 degrees which most kitchen fridges are not!

Here is a tip:
When getting meat from your local butcher shop, check that the meat has some firmness to it, this shows that the meat has at least been hanging for a while, maturing. If it is too soft it probably has just recently been slaughtered and will tend to be tough.

Meat is normally at its best if it has been dry-hanged for at least 20-30 days. Yes it will have fungus on the outside of the meat but trim this off and the meat internally will be tender. Also make sure that the product that you buy is A2 – A3. This is the ideal fat and conformation to buy. The markings are normally in purple, and I don’t think he would have a problem showing you the carcasses he sells, if he does beware.
Hope this helps your case, let me know the results.

Glen Norrie
Meat Specialist, Al Fair LLC, Dubai
glen.n@spinneys-dubai.com

Rob

Ask the butcher to cryvac it and leave for 3 weeks minimum. We leave ours for 6 weeks, but sometimes it has a slight bloody taste. Let it stand out of cryvac for a day and it will be as tender as fillet!

Fred Ericsen-Miller
Cape to Cairo. (Springbok Foods)
Box 506
Wembley, Australia
springbok2@hotkey.net.au

Hi Rob,

I had the same problem.
Then I found this product made by Robertons spices, called “meat tenderiser”. It worked for me, I hope it works for you. It can be found with all the other Robertsons spices in any supermarket. (In Southern Africa that is -Ed)

Sean Williams
Gaborone, Botswana
seanw@eafrica.bw

What to take and what not when emigrating from South Africa?

The following tip from Bruce Prescott in Johannesburg, was published last month as well. However, we received no feedback to it and wondered if anyone is really interested in pursuing this idea. We have published it again in the hope that there are some people out there who might have some thoughts on this.

Bruce wrote:

Just a suggestion – in your newsletter you have a section where you ask subscribers to list odd/strange items that they took with them when they emigrated from SA.
What would be really useful for those folks who are leaving or planning to leave SA, for whatever reason, is some recommendations from those who have been living overseas for a while what they should or should not have taken with them.
There are the obvious items such as TVs and electrical appliances which are not compatible with the US and Canadian TV and electrical supply (NTSC vs PAL, 110V 60Hz vs 220V 50Hz, etc).

With the benefit of hindsight, what should they have sold and what should they have bought before leaving SA?

Let’s see if between all of us we can come up with a list (for different countries perhaps?) of tips what to take and what not to take?

Please send your tips to the editor at the webmaster@biltongmakers.com.

Want to learn Afrikaans?

As julle iemand daar raakloop wat Afrikaans wil leer, verwys hulle na www.afrikaans.us
Groete,
Jacques du Plessis
School of Information Studies
Bolton 580
3210 Maryland Ave
Milwaukee WI 53211, USA
Tel 1.414.229.2856
www.sois.uwm.edu/jacques/index.html

Important notice!!

It was brought to our notice that some people try to use a higher wattage and different shape globe than supplied with the Biltong Makers. They do this to try and decrease the drying time. Not only does this not work but it it also dangerous!
Firstly, a higher wattage light will dry the meat too quick resulting in a hard outer crust and a soft inside. And…..a higher wattage globe will burn certain of the components in the machines. ONLY USE a candle shaped 25 watt globe for the Biltong Buddy and a 40 watt candle shaped globe for Rockey’s 5kg machine.
If you can’t get a 25 watt candle shaped globe for the Buddy you can use a 40 watt but the 25 watt globe is normally sufficient and works the best.

Questions and Answers

Here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world.
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them?
(Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com
so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)

QUESTION

Hi my name is Colleen.

I live in Kampala and have just started making biltong. I have also book marked your fabulous site!
I have been approached to make pepper biltong. I imagine I would then add black pepper?
Would you please be as kind as to help on how to do this. I am making 10 kilos silverside. How much pepper would be required? And what sort of pepper? Ground pepper?

Thank you for a wonderful site. It has certainly helped me a lot.

Colleen Kimmel
Kampala, Uganda
colleen_kimmel@hotmail.com

QUESTION

How do I know how to cut a whole carcass into the different cuts to make biltong from?
Can you help me with a picture where it shows the different cuts of meat on a carcass please?
This is actually to help my sister-in-law in Canada

Esmé van der Merwe
Namibia
esme@wce.com.na

QUESTION

Hi Lo, Probably a silly question for you, can you tell me the difference between the coated and uncoated Potjie?

Elaine Deysel
Luxemburg
elaine.deysel@jpmorgan.com

ANSWER

That is a good question to which I did not know the exact answer. I called our suppliers in Johannesburg and was told the following:

There are three types of finishes to a Potjie.

The first one is a normal rough cast iron pot that has not been treated at all but just painted black after manufacture.
These potjies take a long time to cure. Curing is normally done by boiling potatoes and some fatty meat like pork for a day or so.
The second type of Potjie is the oil cured pot.
This is also the rough cast iron pot but treated with fish oil. The curing of this Potjie is easy. Just boil some water with a cup of vinegar for about an hour or two to remove the fish oil and the pot is ready for use.
The third type of Potjie is the one which has been enamelled on the inside. This type of pot does not need any curing and is ready for use straight from the factory.

Stoep Talk

Stoep Talk

When Charlie shuffled and 60c was a lot
By James ClarkeSome older readers may recall the Phoenix Restaurant in Bree Street, Johannesburg, when the city was a real city and people came to town in the evenings to see a film or eat out, or simply to window shop.One could stroll about and one was hardly ever murdered.

The Phoenix, a very German restaurant, was across the road from the East Africa Pavilion. In the Pavilion the waiters wore red fezzes and white, floor-length robes and in the corner sat a punkah wallah – a man who pulled a string that caused a huge rectangular screen hanging from the ceiling (a punkah) to move back and forth creating a cooling draught.

The waiter at the Phoenix was named Charlie and he looked and shuffled about just like Manuel, the waiter from Barcelona in Fawlty Towers.

Charlie always had his thumb in the soup. It was expected of him. You took your friends there just to show them Charlie.

When we journalists were feeling flush in the 1960s we’d hotfoot it to the Phoenix and have an eisbein and chips washed down with a Hansa draught beer from “South West Africa”.

Charlie appeared humourless but that was a false impression. I remember us ordering four coffees and Peter Hawthorne (who later joined Time) saying, “Charlie! Make sure my cup is clean, hey?”

Later, Charlie shuffled back with the four cups of coffee and said, deadpan, “Now, which one of you wanted a clean cup?”

The maitre d’ at the Phoenix was a young fellow named Gerhard Maritzen and the other day I found myself in a restaurant called The Berliner in Coachman’s Crossing, in Peter Place, Bryanston. And who should own it but Gerhard himself. He is now 64.

And on the wall was a menu from the Phoenix in 1967.

An eisbein with sauerkraut was 60c. It was the most expensive thing on the menu. A mixed grill cost 40c.

The soup of the day was free and one wasn’t even charged for Charlie’s famous thumbprint.

A dozen oysters cost R1,25. Crayfish was 60c, the same as sole meunière.

These dishes were all way beyond our pockets of course because, as journalists, we had to take a vow of poverty.

A plate of a dozen LM prawns was certainly beyond our pockets – at R1,30.

For 45c you could order roast pork and apple sauce with vegetables; German pot roast and dumplings; braised ox tongue in Madeira sauce and a host of other dishes.

Cheese with bread and butter was 15c – unless it was fancy cheese. Then it was 17c.

A tankard of draught beer was 25c. A bottle of Chateau Libertas was 70c (32c in bottle stores). If you were seriously wealthy you could order a bottle of Zonnebloem Cabernet at R1,40.

At Gerhard’s Berliner I ordered roast duck, potatoes and vegetables and a tankard of draught beer. I then had coffee and a port. When the bill came Gerhard charged me 1967 prices – 70c for the duck, 20c for the beer, and 13c for the port and 7c for the coffee – R1,10.

We fell into conversation with Gulhan, the waiter at the Berliner, about “the good old days” and I recalled how, around 1968, I was cross with my wife because she had allowed the month’s grocery bill to hit R62.

“How can you spend R62 in a month for groceries for a family of four?” I asked angrily.

I think she replied, “Just watch me.”

Gulhan said how nice it would be to go back to those times, so when my bill arrived for R1,10 I gave him R1,20 and told him he could keep the change.

Recipe corner

Raan

Love, as the old song has it, is a many splendoured thing. So, we daresay, is the leg of lamb. It comes donning many garbs assuming dozens of alluring names.

One of those names is Raan

Raan is a leg of lamb marinated in a yoghurt-based spice mixture and originally roasted on the spit or over a wood fire. We will do ours in the oven.

Ingredients

2.5 kg Leg of Lamb

The sauce

60 gram almonds, blanched
250 gram onions, coarsely chopped
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 cubes ginger, 1″, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 green chillies, chopped
600 ml yoghurt, plain
2 tb cumin seed, ground
4 ts coriander seed, ground
1/2 ts cayenne pepper
3.5 ts salt
1/2 ts garam masala
6 tb vegetable oil
1/2 ts whole cloves
16 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, about 5cm long
10 peppercorns, black

The Garnish

4 tb Sultana raisins
25 gram Almonds, blanched and slivered

Method

Remove all the white membranes from the surface of the lamb. Prick it with a fork repeatedly and very thoroughly, down to the bone, until the fibres are broken and the meat is well loosened. The success of this special dish depends upon how well this is done!
Put the leg in a baking dish made, preferably, of Pyrex or stainless steel.
Put the almonds, onions, garlic, ginger, green chillies, and 3 tablespoons of the yoghurt into the container of a food processor or blender and blend until you have a paste.
Put the remaining yoghurt into a bowl and beat lightly with a fork or a whisk until it is smooth and creamy. Add to the paste from the processor, the cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and garam masala and mix.
Push some of the spice paste into all the openings you made in the lamb. Be very generous. Spread a very thick layer of the paste evenly on the underside of the leg (the side that originally had less fat.
Turn the leg over and do the same.
Pour all the remaining spice paste over and around the meat.
Cover with plastic cling film and marinate in the fridge for 24 hours (or overnight).
Take the baking dish with the meat out of the refrigerator and let the meat come to room temperature. Remove the cling film.
Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorns. When the cloves swell – this takes just a few seconds – pour the hot oil and spices over the leg of lamb. (Watch out because the spices might jump and splatter in the oil quite a lot – make sure your arms and counter are well protected)
Preheat the oven to 200 C (gas mark 6, 400 F). Cover the baking dish tightly either with its own lid or with a large piece of aluminum foil. Bake, covered, for 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Baste 3-4 times with the sauce during this period.
Scatter, or arrange in a pattern, the sultanas and the 25 gram of almonds over the top of the leg and bake for another 5-6 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it sit in a warm place for 15 minutes. Take the leg out of the pan and set it on a warm platter. Spoon off all the fat from the top of the sauce. Use a slotted spoon and fish out all the whole spice in the sauce. Discard the spices.
Pour some of the sauce around the leg and the rest in a gravy boat.

Recommended with hot Naan and Aloo Gobhi (see the following recipe)

Serves about 6 people

Aloo Bobhi

This dish of seasoned potatoes and cauliflower is one of the most popular accompaniments in Indian restaurants

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable or ground nut oil
60 gram butter
5 tb cold water
1 ts finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 ts turmeric powder
1 ts salt
1/2 ts cayenne pepper (optional, hot)
1/2 ts ground cumin
1/2 ts ground coriander or 1 tsp. fresh coriander
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 ts garam masala
1 medium cauliflower, broken into small flowerets
3 green finger chillies, finely chopped
2 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 smallish potatoes, diced into 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 ts mustard seed
1 tomato, finely chopped

Method

Wash the cauliflower well in salted cold water
Heat oil and butter over a moderate heat until butter is melted
Add mustard seed, ginger, onion, chillies and salt
Stir constantly 3 to 4 minutes or until the onion is deep yellow and translucent
Add the cauliflower and fry for a further 3 minutes until light brown
Add the other spices and continue stirring for another 3 minutes
Add the potatoes and tomato and continue stirring for 5 minutes
Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 160C (gas mark 3, 325F) for 40 minutes.

Serves 4 people

Around the World

Bits and Bobs from people around the world

The following poem was received from Wayne Visser who wrote it. Wayne is also the author (with Guy Lundy) of the book “South Africa: Reasons to Believe”.

I am an African…

I am an African
Not because I was born there
But because my heart beats with Africa’s
I am an African
Not because my skin is black
But because my mind is engaged by Africa
I am an African
Not because I live on its soil
But because my soul is at home in Africa

When Africa weeps for her children
My cheeks are stained with tears
When Africa honours her elders
My head is bowed in respect
When Africa mourns for her victims
My hands are joined in prayer
When Africa celebrates her triumphs
My feet are alive with dancing

I am an African
For her blue skies take my breath away
And my hope for the future is bright
I am an African
For her people greet me as family
And teach me the meaning of community
I am an African
For her wildness quenches my spirit
And brings me closer to the source of life

When the music of Africa beats in the wind
My blood pulses to its rhythm
And I become the essence of music
When the colours of Africa dazzle in the sun
My senses drink in its rainbow
And I become the palette of nature
When the stories of Africa echo round the fire
My feet walk in its pathways
And I become the footprints of history

I am an African
Because she is the cradle of our birth
And nurtures an ancient wisdom
I am an African
Because she lives in the world’s shadow
And bursts with a radiant luminosity
I am an African
Because she is the land of tomorrow
And I recognise her gifts as sacred

You can visit Wayne’s site here

Something to smile about

How to handle creditors

Dear Sir/Madam,I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September, 12 in which for the third time you request that I pay the monies owed to you. I first want you to know that by no means do I dispute my debt and I intend to reimburse you as soon as possible.

However, I bring to your attention that I have many more creditors, quite as honourable as you, and whom I wish to reimburse too. That is why, each month, I throw all the names of my creditors into a hat and draw one randomly whom I hasten to refund immediately. I hope that yours will come out shortly.

Sincerely yours,
Christopher Fisher

PS: I have great regret in informing you that given the unceremonious tone of your last letter, you will not be taking part in the next three draws.

Chicken at a Chinese restaurant

A couple go for a meal at a Chinese restaurant and order the “Chicken Surprise”. The waiter brings the meal, served in a lidded cast iron pot.
Just as the wife is about to serve herself, the lid of the pot rises slightly and she briefly sees two beady little eyes looking around before the lid slams back down.
“Good grief, did you see that?” she asks her husband.
He hasn’t, so she asks him to look in the pot. He reaches for it and again the lid rises, and he sees two little eyes looking around before it slams down.
Rather perturbed, he calls the waiter over, explains what is happening, and demands an explanation.
“Please sir,” says the waiter, “what you order?”
The husband replies, “Chicken Surprise.”
Ah… so sorry,” says the waiter, “I bring you Peeking Duck”

Self Analysis

It doesn’t hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started…

During a visit to the Mental Asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
“Well,” said the Director, “we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon,a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.”
“Oh, I understand,” said the visitor. “A normal person would use the bucket because it’s bigger than the spoon or the teacup.”
“No.” said the Director, “A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a room with or without a view?”

Sport talk

Links to the sport pages

The curse of the big away games
It is now eight long years since the Springboks have beaten one of the northern hemisphere’s big two – England and France – away from home, writes Gavin Rich
Full Story….

White gives 2005 Boks 70% pass mark
So what has it all told us, this South African version of Jules Verne’s journey around the world? Well, that the Springboks are one of only three sides with a realistic chance of winning the 2007 World Cup in France, reckons Peter Bills
Full Story….

SA to target Australia’s top order
The Proteas have marked Australia’s top three batsmen as a key target in the upcoming Test series
Full Story…

Smith will give Aussies no quarter
Former national cricket selector Hugh Page is optimistic about the Proteas’ chances against Australia – and a lot of his growing confidence is due to captain Graeme Smith
Full Story…

-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!

The monthly competition

The winner of the November Competition!

The winner of the November competition is:
Jenine Sjoblom from Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada.
Jenine found out via the new competition page that she was the winner before we even had a chance to mail her with the good news! Congratulations Jenine!
You certainly submitted enough entries!
Your camera is on its way and we would appreciate it if you would send us some pictures taken with it!

This from our previous winner!

Dear BILTONG TEAM,

Wow…..I’m blown away. This is the first time I have ever won anything. I’m looking forward to receiving my MP3 Player.
Once again many thanks, for the great web site. I so enjoy the recipes given and all the information you provide us with.

Many thanks,
Isa Kahn
Israel

Remember the following:

The monthly draw or competition is totally free to everyone at the moment.

You can enter as many times as you like.

You can only enter via the Competition link on our home page or by clicking here
All prizes are sent to the winners free of charge.

The prize for the December Competition
The prize for this competition is the worlds’ best known and most used Home Biltong Maker, Rockey’s 5kg dryer.

Click here to see a picture of it on the competition page!

To enter the competition all you have to do is to visit our home page at www.biltongmakers.com and click on one of the two competition links.
The winners of our competitions are notified by email.

Some of the other prizes for the year

Biltongmakers
Biltong spices
Boerewors spices
Braai tool sets
Potjie Pots
Barbecues
Digital cameras
Cadac Skottel Braais and ………. much, much more!!!

So, don’t wait!

You can enter right now by clicking on the competition link on our home page.

A free Biltong Maker?

Something for free?

As a South African orientated web site we are constantly looking to contact more and more South Africans across the world.
Not only to tell them about how they can make their own Biltong but also to give them a chance to share their stories with other South Africans the world over.So, here is your chance to help us.If you know about a South African family or friend living near you or perhaps somewhere far away, why not tell them about us and then us about them.
Perhaps you can send us their email address so that we can mail them a copy of this newsletter.
If they like it they can stay on the mailing list, if not they can just let us know and we will remove them from the list.

If the response we receive is large enough and, directly due to your efforts people place orders with us, you could be rewarded by receiving one of our products totally free of charge.

What an easy way to perhaps get your own Home Biltong Maker without having to pay a cent for it!

You can mail us at info@biltongmakers.com

During the last month many people went to the trouble once again of submitting their friend’s and family’s names and we would like to thank all!

Let’s hear from you too!!

Why not write to us

It is almost Christmas again and it would be nice to get some contributions for the December newsletter from all our readers.

Many people are subscribing to this newsletter every day. Mostly they do so because they enjoy reading it and like to hear from people in other parts of the world.

They would love to hear from you too!!

Why not put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard!), and tell us about anything interesting. About life in your part of the world, what you do and how you live. Perhaps something that happened to you.
You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask?

Perhaps you have some advice to give?
You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips.

Of course it does not have to be about Biltong or food. Anything that is of interest is welcome!

Share it with other people around the world!

Boerewors in the Benelux

Boerewors

It is autumn in our part of the world and not many people will be going outside for a braai anymore.

But, that does not mean that you cannot have Boerewors rolls any longer! Boerie rolls are great for indoor parties and even as a meal!

We will be making our last batches for the year shortly and suggest that you place your orders for the winter timely to avoid disappointment.

You can contact us on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or mail us at Boerewors-Benelux.

The price is € 7.50 per kg

Potjiekos

Potjiekos …… a fun way to entertain!

The Potjiekos season is over for this year. No more nice sunny days to stand around the Potjie, beer in hand just enjoying yourself.
But, you are probably already making plans for the spring and next summer. If so, keep us in mind for our famous “Potjiekos”. We do this for a minimum of 50 and up to 100 people.

We make our “Potjie” in our size 25 Pot (see left) and you can have a choice between Beef, Chicken and Lamb.

The Chicken “Potjie” is the most popular because it is a really inexpensive way to entertain.
A Chicken “Potjie” costs only € 6.50 per head and this includes everything from the “Potjie” itself to the plates and eating utensils.
For an extra € 2.00 we even make the Pap!

To book please give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25

(Please note that our “Potjiekos” can only be done outside because we cook on gas or coals!)

Lamb on the Spit

Lamb on the spit ……. something special!

As with the Potjiekos our Lamb-on-the-Spit is also somthing of the past this year (unless you want one in the snow!).
But keep it in mind for next year

Lamb on the spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive.

Not so!
We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40 people for just € 15.00 and € 12.00 a head respectively.

Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad.
Bread rolls are included as well with garlic bread as an optional extra.
For venues more than 50km from our home base in Keerbergen there is a small charge of 25c per km.

Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25
-May and June 2006 are almost booked out-(As with our “Potjiekos” a Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)

Previous issues of our Newsletter

You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.

December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005

April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005

August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

Perhaps you would like to subscribe to this newsletter or tell a friend about Biltongmakers.Com! and the incredible Biltong Makers!! You can be included in this newsletter by clicking on the following link.
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!If you prefer not to receive email from us, you can unsubscribe from Biltongmakers.Com! by clicking on this link.
Unsubscribe me please.

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Our Customers say...

Great machine

"Great machine, it pays itself off in 2 batches and is just as good as any I have ever had from a butcher....."

Nick de Klerk, Johannesburg

-Thank you for your kind comment! - Lo

Biltong Makers

5

2016-10-17T14:13:46+01:00

Nick de Klerk, Johannesburg

-Thank you for your kind comment! - Lo

"Great machine, it pays itself off in 2 batches and is just as good as any I have ever had from a butcher....."

https://www.biltongmakers.com/testimonials/great-machine/

Compact gadget

I was delighted that such a compact gadget could produce biltong in a hygienic environment and to my own particular taste so quickly! I enjoy dry, spicy and fat free biltong which was ready in four days! The one thing I did notice was that the meat must be correctly cut (much like steak). Great biltong maker which will be enjoyed by us on a regular basis.

Biltong Makers

5

2017-10-12T16:06:23+01:00

I was delighted that such a compact gadget could produce biltong in a hygienic environment and to my own particular taste so quickly! I enjoy dry, spicy and fat free biltong which was ready in four days! The one thing I did notice was that the meat must be correctly cut (much like steak). Great biltong maker which will be enjoyed by us on a regular basis.

https://www.biltongmakers.com/testimonials/compact-gadget/

Brilliant!!

Dear Biltong Team,

Yesterday afternoon, after three days, I tested my first batch. Brilliant!! The texture was just how I like it. Not too dry. My girlfriend had never tasted biltong but she'd listened to me raving on about it for years. She was most impressed. Just waiting now to hear how my son's first batch is going! This is the first time I've had biltong since 1986 so you can imagine how pleased I am! Thought I'd died and gone to heaven! Best regards to all the Biltong Team,

John Renwick England

Biltong Makers

4

2017-10-16T09:27:12+01:00

John Renwick England

Dear Biltong Team, Yesterday afternoon, after three days, I tested my first batch. Brilliant!! The texture was just how I like it. Not too dry. My girlfriend had never tasted biltong but she'd listened to me raving on about it for years. She was most impressed. Just waiting now to hear how my son's first batch is going! This is the first time I've had biltong since 1986 so you can imagine how pleased I am! Thought I'd died and gone to heaven! Best regards to all the Biltong Team,

https://www.biltongmakers.com/testimonials/brilliant/

Worth its weight in gold!

Hello Biltong Team,

So far my husband and I have been sharing a machine with friends and they want it back now, so I've decided it's time to get our own one. We can't go without biltong for too long! I make a batch and by the time we've eaten it, the next one is ready. It's definitely worth its weight in gold!

Georgie Neubauer England

Biltong Makers

5

2017-10-16T09:28:36+01:00

Georgie Neubauer England

Hello Biltong Team, So far my husband and I have been sharing a machine with friends and they want it back now, so I've decided it's time to get our own one. We can't go without biltong for too long! I make a batch and by the time we've eaten it, the next one is ready. It's definitely worth its weight in gold!

https://www.biltongmakers.com/testimonials/worth-weight-gold/

Fabulous product

Dear Biltongmakers,

I would like to congratulate you on a fabulous product. I received a biltongmaker a while ago for my birthday and, to be honest, it has not been switched off since then. I have tried Springbok, Beef, Kudu and even Kangaroo and have to say that is was amazing. Neighbours, friends and family can`t seem to get enough. Thank you very much.

Richard Rust, England

Biltong Makers

5

2017-10-16T09:34:58+01:00

Richard Rust, England

Dear Biltongmakers, I would like to congratulate you on a fabulous product. I received a biltongmaker a while ago for my birthday and, to be honest, it has not been switched off since then. I have tried Springbok, Beef, Kudu and even Kangaroo and have to say that is was amazing. Neighbours, friends and family can`t seem to get enough. Thank you very much.

https://www.biltongmakers.com/testimonials/fabulous-product/

A very professional organization

Hi there!

Thanks for your speedy reply. The Biltong Team seems to be a very professional organization and I will gladly follow your advice. If you have any extra advice or hints I would appreciate it.

Lawrence Israel

Biltong Makers

5

2017-10-16T09:47:21+01:00

Lawrence Israel

Hi there! Thanks for your speedy reply. The Biltong Team seems to be a very professional organization and I will gladly follow your advice. If you have any extra advice or hints I would appreciate it.

https://www.biltongmakers.com/testimonials/a-very-professional-organization/

Receiving orders

Hi Lo,

Just to let you know that my last lot of "billies" went down like a house on fire! I have subsequently received orders from at least 6 friends and each wants 2 kilos!!!

Mark Zetzer Melbourne, Australia

Biltong Makers

4

2017-10-16T10:03:55+01:00

Mark Zetzer Melbourne, Australia

Hi Lo, Just to let you know that my last lot of "billies" went down like a house on fire! I have subsequently received orders from at least 6 friends and each wants 2 kilos!!!

https://www.biltongmakers.com/testimonials/receiving-orders/

4.7

7

Biltong Makers

We look forward to hearing from you

	+27 (0)21 789-1856
	info@biltongmakers.com
	Paddock Drive Zilvermyn Equestrian Village Noordhoek Views Noordhoek Western Cape South Africa

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