Comments on: Comfort Food http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/ ...food and family from a vanielje spiced kitchen Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:45:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Jeanne http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-167 Jeanne Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:25:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-167 OMG youake that lamb sound fantastic... I reallymiss my Karoo lamb with its madly herby taste. Last night I felt in dire need of comforting (surrounded by friends going through awful and life-changing traumas at the moment) - so I did pan-fried boerewors with a caramelised onion gravy on a ton of mash. Everything including the towels in the bathroom now smell like boerewors... But who's complaining ;-)<br/><br/>I never knew my maternal grandmother - she died when my mom was only 8 years old. And my dad's mom never lived in the same town as us. She did teach me to play checkers though...<br/><br/>Btw, your e-mail address is not accepting my messages. Trying to send details for Saturday but keep getting bouncebacks? OMG youake that lamb sound fantastic… I reallymiss my Karoo lamb with its madly herby taste. Last night I felt in dire need of comforting (surrounded by friends going through awful and life-changing traumas at the moment) - so I did pan-fried boerewors with a caramelised onion gravy on a ton of mash. Everything including the towels in the bathroom now smell like boerewors… But who’s complaining ;-)

I never knew my maternal grandmother - she died when my mom was only 8 years old. And my dad’s mom never lived in the same town as us. She did teach me to play checkers though…

Btw, your e-mail address is not accepting my messages. Trying to send details for Saturday but keep getting bouncebacks?

]]> By: african vanielje http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-166 african vanielje Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:14:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-166 Marye, you are most welcome. TH efeeling is mutual, and I often pop over to your side of the pond for a cup of tea and a meander as well. Marye, you are most welcome. TH efeeling is mutual, and I often pop over to your side of the pond for a cup of tea and a meander as well.

]]> By: marye http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-165 marye Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:22:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-165 As always... :) lovely. You and Marie and Valli always supply me with a needed break, like picking up a good book and a cup of tea when I need it most..<br/> Thank you. As always… :) lovely. You and Marie and Valli always supply me with a needed break, like picking up a good book and a cup of tea when I need it most..
Thank you.

]]> By: african vanielje http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-164 african vanielje Sun, 09 Sep 2007 14:42:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-164 thanks Rebecca. Good healthy food always seems to be tangled up with family and memories, doesn't it. My grandmother and mother both always kept extensive herb gardens, so fresh herbs are a big part of my culinary repertoire. thanks Rebecca. Good healthy food always seems to be tangled up with family and memories, doesn’t it. My grandmother and mother both always kept extensive herb gardens, so fresh herbs are a big part of my culinary repertoire.

]]> By: Rebecca Lemke http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-163 Rebecca Lemke Sun, 09 Sep 2007 07:10:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-163 A wonderful post! I love lamb and I tend to eat it in moderation during the colder months of the year. But last week a friend wanted me to cook lamb in the middle of a heat wave we were having here in Southern California. I indeed cooked it and enjoyed the heck out of it! I love your writings about your Grandmother and your mention of herbs. A wonderful post! I love lamb and I tend to eat it in moderation during the colder months of the year. But last week a friend wanted me to cook lamb in the middle of a heat wave we were having here in Southern California. I indeed cooked it and enjoyed the heck out of it! I love your writings about your Grandmother and your mention of herbs.

]]> By: african vanielje http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-162 african vanielje Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:07:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-162 PP, thank you for such a lovely comment. Yes, family traditions are important and I think it would make a good meme. It would have to include mothers though, as it was my mother who taught me everything I know.<br/><br/>Belinda, thanks for taking time out from your horses. I love that sentiment too, especially as I hate ordering pizza. I ALWAYS think I can make it much better... PP, thank you for such a lovely comment. Yes, family traditions are important and I think it would make a good meme. It would have to include mothers though, as it was my mother who taught me everything I know.

Belinda, thanks for taking time out from your horses. I love that sentiment too, especially as I hate ordering pizza. I ALWAYS think I can make it much better…

]]> By: Belinda http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-161 Belinda Sat, 08 Sep 2007 23:51:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-161 It is so true that much of our love of cooking and baking can be traced back to times spent in the kitchen with our grandmothers. Isn't that a lovely way to think of and remember them too? As for rosemary, I'm with you...I love it. I enjoy it for its beauty in the garden as much as for its distinctive fresh, vibrant flavor. Cook with love, or order pizza...what a delightful sentiment. :-) It is so true that much of our love of cooking and baking can be traced back to times spent in the kitchen with our grandmothers. Isn’t that a lovely way to think of and remember them too? As for rosemary, I’m with you…I love it. I enjoy it for its beauty in the garden as much as for its distinctive fresh, vibrant flavor. Cook with love, or order pizza…what a delightful sentiment. :-)

]]> By: The Passionate Palate http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-160 The Passionate Palate Sat, 08 Sep 2007 21:11:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-160 I find it amazing that so many women and cooks I know have a strong connection with their grandmothers. I have read this many times on other food blogs, enough to believe there is some special bond between grandmothers and granddaughters when it comes to the preparation of food. I, too, often feel my grandmothers presence as I am making certain dishes or doing something in a certain way that they taught me. It always comforts me and makes me smile. As I am writing this, this would make some kind of a good meme, wouldn't it? Sharing stories, recipes, traditions of our grandmothers...hmmm. Shall we come up with something?<br/><br/>Simple lamb chops like you made are one of my favorite meats. I love them done simply on the grill, or in the oven. I only wish I could buy it locally raised like you can. Most of the lamb available here is from New Zealand!<br/><br/>As always, AV, a beautiful and heartfelt post. I find it amazing that so many women and cooks I know have a strong connection with their grandmothers. I have read this many times on other food blogs, enough to believe there is some special bond between grandmothers and granddaughters when it comes to the preparation of food. I, too, often feel my grandmothers presence as I am making certain dishes or doing something in a certain way that they taught me. It always comforts me and makes me smile. As I am writing this, this would make some kind of a good meme, wouldn’t it? Sharing stories, recipes, traditions of our grandmothers…hmmm. Shall we come up with something?

Simple lamb chops like you made are one of my favorite meats. I love them done simply on the grill, or in the oven. I only wish I could buy it locally raised like you can. Most of the lamb available here is from New Zealand!

As always, AV, a beautiful and heartfelt post.

]]> By: african vanielje http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-159 african vanielje Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:11:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-159 Kit, hi. Yep, there's no doubt I have a bevy of ancestresses watching over me - tut-tutting all the way, I'm sure. I'm not a very good gardener, but I always had my mom's gardens to wallow in, and now I ma lucky enough to live hwere there is an amazing park with woods, and an organic kitchen garden that we have access to. My grandmother was a very Colonial gardener. She grew up in Kenya & Nyasaland. When she wanted to plant roses she had her gardeners dig a six foot trench and fill it with manure, then she supervised the planting of the rose bushes. Needless to say, her gardens were always unbelievable lush and exotic. I miss her...<br/><br/>charlotte, when I grow up i want to be my mother . She says an awful lot of sensible things. And she's right, a meal made in haste is fine, but a meal thrown together without love or care is only ash in your mouth. You may as well eat a protein bar or something. Nice to see you here<br/><br/>Sognatrice, I think, like you and charlotte, that you can always tell how people approach their food. In my family it's a sacrament and a celebration. The one part of the day that brings us all together to give silent thanks for the day, the people and the land that sustains us. That may sound dramatic but is an unspoken thread which runs through all our lives. I come from a long line of pioneering women who left their homes and the lands of their births to make a new home in Africa. They were incredibly strong women and were fierce in their protectiveness of their families. I guess when you leave everything behind you hang on to what you do have, and the tapestry of family life, and love is strongly woven Kit, hi. Yep, there’s no doubt I have a bevy of ancestresses watching over me - tut-tutting all the way, I’m sure. I’m not a very good gardener, but I always had my mom’s gardens to wallow in, and now I ma lucky enough to live hwere there is an amazing park with woods, and an organic kitchen garden that we have access to. My grandmother was a very Colonial gardener. She grew up in Kenya & Nyasaland. When she wanted to plant roses she had her gardeners dig a six foot trench and fill it with manure, then she supervised the planting of the rose bushes. Needless to say, her gardens were always unbelievable lush and exotic. I miss her…

charlotte, when I grow up i want to be my mother . She says an awful lot of sensible things. And she’s right, a meal made in haste is fine, but a meal thrown together without love or care is only ash in your mouth. You may as well eat a protein bar or something. Nice to see you here

Sognatrice, I think, like you and charlotte, that you can always tell how people approach their food. In my family it’s a sacrament and a celebration. The one part of the day that brings us all together to give silent thanks for the day, the people and the land that sustains us. That may sound dramatic but is an unspoken thread which runs through all our lives. I come from a long line of pioneering women who left their homes and the lands of their births to make a new home in Africa. They were incredibly strong women and were fierce in their protectiveness of their families. I guess when you leave everything behind you hang on to what you do have, and the tapestry of family life, and love is strongly woven

]]> By: sognatrice http://vanielje.com/blog/2007/09/07/comfort-food/#comment-158 sognatrice Sat, 08 Sep 2007 09:39:00 +0000 http://vanielje.com/blog/?p=35#comment-158 Goodness I love coming here. <br/> <br/>The lamb sounds and looks delicious. I *love* rosemary, and now I'll always think of your grandmother too....<br/><br/>I just love how you effortlessly work in tidbits of your family and of love--and I, too, love your mother's adage. Just like Charlotte, I think that's been my unstated motto as well .<br/><br/>Lovely post, all around. Goodness I love coming here.

The lamb sounds and looks delicious. I *love* rosemary, and now I’ll always think of your grandmother too….

I just love how you effortlessly work in tidbits of your family and of love–and I, too, love your mother’s adage. Just like Charlotte, I think that’s been my unstated motto as well .

Lovely post, all around.

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