Kamhlaba Cookbook
As I've noted in previous posts, the food at Waterford makes me deeply sad. Iceberg lettuce - previously something I would only consume if using a leaf for a lettuce wrap - now causes a great deal of despair and general melancholy. Pork chops were once something I would pan fry with caramelized apple slices, but now I can only think of the tough, blackened things served here. So I've been doing a great deal of cooking, assisted by my trusty mini fridge Alberta, my small pot that I bought at the thrift store in Vancouver for $7, and a small cache of condiments and other foodstuffs smuggled from the T&T grocery store back home.
So, for the sake of curiosity and hopefully future IB1s nutrition, I thought I'd talk a bit about food availability/recipes.
Maia's Noodle Stir Fry/Bastardised Lo Mein
To my delight, I was able to find very affordable 'Chinese noodles' in the instant noodle section. They're just wheat flour egg noodles, but I think they caused more excitement for me then a whole aisle of vermicelli, mung bean, and egg noodles at the grocery shop at home. Along with green beans, (the most ubiquitous vegetable in the world) carrots, spinach (pick n pay has recently started stocking affordable English spinach - fingers crossed it's not just a seasonal thing), onions, and whatever other vegetables and/or proteins I have lying around, it makes a pretty good meal.
Ingredients
PnP egg noodles (25E for a largish packet)
Green beans (14E for a sizable amount)
Carrots (11E for a bag the size of a small cat - have never been able to finish said bag, feel a perpetual amount of underlying guilt because of this)
Spinach (40E for a 500g sack - this is my splurge but I figure the greenery is worth it cause god knows the school's not providing it)
Onions (dirt cheap)
Chicken breast or mince (suspiciously cheap - I'm sure it's fine?)
Ginger (a decent chunk is like 7E)
Garlic (a head of garlic is maybe 3E)
Soy sauce (PnP has a decent soy sauce selection that I was happily impressed by - don't be tricked by Woolworths into buying their 115E scam. Didn't look at the ingredients the first time I bought soy sauce so I went for the cheapest one and I think it was mostly molasses. Current bottle cost 45E)
Oil - of the basic vegetable variety (750ml for 15E. The soy sauce selection caused hope so I spent some time searching for seseme oil. I found it! 150E for a 200ml bottle at Woolworths. May have teared up.)
Honey - (from the school bees! 100E for a kg)
Whatever else is in the fridge.
Method:
I don't know what to tell you, it's a stir fry with a very basic sauce, just go for it, it has carbs and sodium.
Maia's Actual Legitimate Brown Bread
The school provides nightly snacks in the form of a box of bread and a fruit of the day. The bread is available in white and brown, but as you can fold a slice of the brown bread in half, in half again, and in half a third time, I find myself doubting its nutritional value.
Whole grain flour - (25E for a kg - it's quite nice, it's a much coarser grind than the flour back home which makes it very hearty and nutty tasting)
Cake flour - (30E for 2.5kg)
Butter - (45E for 1/2kg at ShopRite - don't be seduced by the fact that PnP is closer)
Salt - (25E for a lot of salt. Too much salt. I will die of hypertension.)
Yeast - (acquired from my friend from Brazil who wanted CHEMICAL yeast but accidentally bought BIOLOGICAL yeast. She was looking for baking powder. I think it's like 5E for a packet.)
If I'm feeling fancy I'll add honey and cinnamon.
Equal parts cake flour and whole grain flour. Some salt. Instant yeast packet and some hot water until it's almost bread dough consistency but a little dryer because you need to add butter. Add enough melted butter to make it properly bread dough consistency. Knead until you no longer feel stressed about your director's notebook. Bake in a 190C oven till done. Don't let your Dutch friend burn her hands trying to pick up a loaf of bread that just came out of an oven.
So, for the sake of curiosity and hopefully future IB1s nutrition, I thought I'd talk a bit about food availability/recipes.
Maia's Noodle Stir Fry/Bastardised Lo Mein
To my delight, I was able to find very affordable 'Chinese noodles' in the instant noodle section. They're just wheat flour egg noodles, but I think they caused more excitement for me then a whole aisle of vermicelli, mung bean, and egg noodles at the grocery shop at home. Along with green beans, (the most ubiquitous vegetable in the world) carrots, spinach (pick n pay has recently started stocking affordable English spinach - fingers crossed it's not just a seasonal thing), onions, and whatever other vegetables and/or proteins I have lying around, it makes a pretty good meal.
Ingredients
PnP egg noodles (25E for a largish packet)
Green beans (14E for a sizable amount)
Carrots (11E for a bag the size of a small cat - have never been able to finish said bag, feel a perpetual amount of underlying guilt because of this)
Spinach (40E for a 500g sack - this is my splurge but I figure the greenery is worth it cause god knows the school's not providing it)
Onions (dirt cheap)
Chicken breast or mince (suspiciously cheap - I'm sure it's fine?)
Ginger (a decent chunk is like 7E)
Garlic (a head of garlic is maybe 3E)
Soy sauce (PnP has a decent soy sauce selection that I was happily impressed by - don't be tricked by Woolworths into buying their 115E scam. Didn't look at the ingredients the first time I bought soy sauce so I went for the cheapest one and I think it was mostly molasses. Current bottle cost 45E)
Oil - of the basic vegetable variety (750ml for 15E. The soy sauce selection caused hope so I spent some time searching for seseme oil. I found it! 150E for a 200ml bottle at Woolworths. May have teared up.)
Honey - (from the school bees! 100E for a kg)
Whatever else is in the fridge.
Method:
I don't know what to tell you, it's a stir fry with a very basic sauce, just go for it, it has carbs and sodium.
Maia's Actual Legitimate Brown Bread
The school provides nightly snacks in the form of a box of bread and a fruit of the day. The bread is available in white and brown, but as you can fold a slice of the brown bread in half, in half again, and in half a third time, I find myself doubting its nutritional value.
Whole grain flour - (25E for a kg - it's quite nice, it's a much coarser grind than the flour back home which makes it very hearty and nutty tasting)
Cake flour - (30E for 2.5kg)
Butter - (45E for 1/2kg at ShopRite - don't be seduced by the fact that PnP is closer)
Salt - (25E for a lot of salt. Too much salt. I will die of hypertension.)
Yeast - (acquired from my friend from Brazil who wanted CHEMICAL yeast but accidentally bought BIOLOGICAL yeast. She was looking for baking powder. I think it's like 5E for a packet.)
If I'm feeling fancy I'll add honey and cinnamon.
Equal parts cake flour and whole grain flour. Some salt. Instant yeast packet and some hot water until it's almost bread dough consistency but a little dryer because you need to add butter. Add enough melted butter to make it properly bread dough consistency. Knead until you no longer feel stressed about your director's notebook. Bake in a 190C oven till done. Don't let your Dutch friend burn her hands trying to pick up a loaf of bread that just came out of an oven.
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