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eG Foodblog: GSquared - An Innkeeper in Eden


gsquared

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Why am I thinking that the "stuff" in your refrigerator is far tastier and nicer than the "stuff" in mine? :wink:

Kathy

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. - Harriet Van Horne

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I don't know if this will help you, but here is the South African address of the website I use to buy boating gifts for people. They seem to have a lot of cleaning and protective supplies. BoatingWorld!

edited by me, because but is SO like nut, and I AM becoming a nut!

Edited by Rebecca263 (log)

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I don't know if this will help you, but here is the South African address of the website I use to buy boating gifts for people. They seem to have a lot of cleaning and protective supplies. BoatingWorld!

edited by me, because but is SO like nut, and I AM becoming a nut!

Thanks, Rebecca, I'll investigate.

Gerhard Groenewald

www.mesamis.co.za

Wilderness

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The phyllo thingies did not work out. The phyllo pastry, which has been in the fridge for 3 days, had blue mould spots. Substituted a rosti.

Pear poached in Pinotage (says well, does it not?) with blue cheese.

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Fried eggs sunny side up with rosti, rosemary lamb chops and balsamic tomatoes.

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Mushroom omelette with smoked snoek fish cake and a light curry sauce.

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Gerhard Groenewald

www.mesamis.co.za

Wilderness

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Time to show you a bit of our town. (sudden memory from way back - I played the narrator in Thornton Wilder's eponymous play. First and last stage appearance.) Wilderness is bound by the sea, the foothills of the Outeniqua mountains and the Touws river. Population 6000. Here is the main street of the business area.

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We have a chemist, a small supermarket, a doctor, a dentist, a hair salon, a petrol station, a post office, a laundromat, 4 curio shops, 16 restaurants, bars and coffee shops and 6 real estate offices.

The residential streets are tree-lined

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and colourful.

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The river winds peacefully through the village.

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The town square canopied with milkwood trees.

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Gerhard Groenewald

www.mesamis.co.za

Wilderness

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Your town is very pretty. I love the town square.

The breakfast this morning looks very nice.

I have a love/hate relationship with phyllo dough and have decided to try warka sheets next time I make something that needs phyllo. A friend of mine told me that they are a bit easier to work with than the phyllo that comes in the roll. The warka sheets I can buy here come come in flat rounds and they don't stick together like the rolled up phyllo.

How long was the phyllo in the fridge? I find that it only lasts three or four days in the fridge.

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I have a love/hate relationship with phyllo dough and have decided to try warka sheets next time I make something that needs phyllo. A friend of mine told me that they are a bit easier to work with than the phyllo that comes in the roll. The warka sheets I can buy here come come in flat rounds and they don't stick together like the rolled up phyllo.

How long was the phyllo in the fridge? I find that it only lasts three or four days in the fridge.

Goodness, Michelle, I have never heard of warka sheets! Research indicated.

Three days, which was probably one day too long.

Gerhard Groenewald

www.mesamis.co.za

Wilderness

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I have a love/hate relationship with phyllo dough and have decided to try warka sheets next time I make something that needs phyllo. A friend of mine told me that they are a bit easier to work with than the phyllo that comes in the roll. The warka sheets I can buy here come come in flat rounds and they don't stick together like the rolled up phyllo.

How long was the phyllo in the fridge? I find that it only lasts three or four days in the fridge.

Goodness, Michelle, I have never heard of warka sheets! Research indicated.

Three days, which was probably one day too long.

Warka leaves are used for Maghrebi dishes, such as Bistiyaa or Patilla, depending on the country. The dough is thinner than phyllo dough.

Here is an example from our own eGullet member Chef Zadi.

I don't know if you have a Middle Eastern store near you, but that is where you would find them.

You can also make them yourself, but you will have to ask Chef Zadi or Paula Wolfert for guidance. I have never tried to make them.

Edited by Swisskaese (log)
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Today's pear and lamb look beautiful!

Hooray for savory breakfasts! I am not a huge sweets for breakfast fan, so restaurant breakfasts in the States don't do much for me. One thing I liked about Costa Rican food habits was having pinto gaillo (sp?) for breakfast -- just the previous days rice and beans sauteed with aromatics.

Come to think of it, the scenery and climate in your town calls to mind the Pacific coast towns of Costa Rica -- green mountains quite close to the beach. But your food looks much better than what I've had there (though next trip I vow to try the new Four Seasons resort :wink: ).

Bridget Avila

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We have a really warm day today. 32C. Thank goodness for a light sea breeze. The foreign guests are slumped like red lobsters in their loungers. The beer consumption is way up, as is the mineral water, which we supply free of charge.

In any event, tonight we will dine on the 5 Ladies Chicken Florentine. The girls produced 20 odd meals for freezing and it behooves us to do a quality check. Producing frozen food can be tricky. When we worked on the recipes and methodology, we hit up against a few unexpected snags. For example: we found that you cannot simply freeze cooked rice and expect it to reconstitute. The solution was to place two tablespoons of water in the container, then the rice, then the chicken. That provides sufficient moisture to soften the hardened starch coating.

Here is Veronica and Miki velveting the chicken.

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I'll report back on the quality later.

Vincent, who services my two Saeco coffee machines, has dug up a distributor of Russel Hobbs pod coffee machines. One will be delivered early next week for testing. I am sceptical of free placement of coffee machines, as that inevitably requires a contract for the supply of coffee. All sorts of variables to work on, if the coffee is decent. No, make that is the coffee is bloody good. I am not going to spend money unless it takes our in-room coffee to a whole new level.

Gerhard Groenewald

www.mesamis.co.za

Wilderness

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The 5 Ladies Chicken Florentine was acceptable.

gallery_7837_2715_17651.jpg

Maybe they should not have used carrot and pumpkin as sides, colour-wise. The chicken was tender and the dish had a great depth of flavour. It reconstituted well. I would not serve it at a dinner party, but in terms of frozen foods, it was better than anything available in the supermarkets.

I have to leave for Johannesburg tomorrow morning, doffing my innkeeper hat and donning my consultant hat. I still consult on stock market trading and analysis systems, and have been requested to attend an urgent series of meetings tomorrow and on Saturday. Veronica will run the business, with the Artist advising. Good opportunity to blood Veronica. I will tell her tomorrow morning that she has the helm and then head off to the airport at 8am. I am sorry that I have to terminate this blog prematurely. I have enjoyed it immensely and if in the process I have enticed some of you to visit South Africa, I am content. Perhaps the two days in the hustle and bustle of the big smoke will re-affirm my love for life in Wilderness. And at Mes Amis.

End of blog.

Gerhard Groenewald

www.mesamis.co.za

Wilderness

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I have enjoyed it immensely and if in the process I have enticed some of you to visit South Africa, I am content.

Not since a school chum's stories 30 years ago have I "visited" your beautiful country. After this short week I add another place to the "must visit" list. Thank you Gerhard! Much luck in JBurg and may you see your way back in haste.

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

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The town square canopied with milkwood trees.

gallery_7837_2715_36685.jpg

I wonder what kind of cheese you get from milkwood trees.... :wink:

Lovely blog. Thanks so much. I would be a very happy person if somebody would prepare breakfasts for me with as much care and creativity as you and your staff do for your guests. What a beautiful way to live.

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Thank you, Gerhard...it has been such a lovely escape from my days here.

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

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This was fabulous, Gerhard. So sorry it had to end so quickly.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

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gerhard,

sorry to be off topic a bit.

but the beach out-back...

looks like a nice left break...

is there a point break out there, or is it beach break?

is it surfable, and how often does it go off?

-m

Nonsense, I have not yet begun to defile myself.

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Thanks for the great blog.

I would have enjoyed hearing about the food/dining scene of Johannesburg.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

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