Visit www.instantpot.co.za for stockists or see

Why the Instant Pot wins!

Consistently voted as the very best Smart Cooker on the market

Removable lid is dishwasher safe. Replaceable silicone seals inside Over 10 built-in safety measures

Up to 9 appliances in 1, including Pressure Cook and Slow Cook

Stainless steel inner pot is durable, healthy and dishwasher safe Digital panel with intuitive interface

#BestRecipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients: 1 Tbsp olive oil, ½ medium onion, 2 ribs of celery, 3 carrots, 3 cloves garlic, 300g chopped chicken, ½ tsp each dried thyme, turmeric, 1 tsp freshly grated ginger, 150g dried pasta,1 litre good quality chicken broth, 500ml water

Method: Set your Instant Pot to Sauté (high) and allow it to heat up. Add the olive oil along with your veggies, herbs and spices and sauté for 5 min. Add chicken, pasta, broth, and water. Season with salt. If you’re using a storebought stock as your broth, decrease the amount of salt. Place the lid on. Cancel the Sauté function. Pressure Cook on high for 10 minutes, allow for a 3-minute Natural Pressure Release then release the remaining pressure manually. Serve with: Freshly cracked black pepper, flatleaf parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Which Instant Pot works for you?

Duo Plus 9-in-1 Smart Cooker 6L • Includes advanced programs like Sous Vide • Easy seal lid and upgraded control panel

Try Sous Vide for gourmet style steak and fish

Duo 7-in-1, 6L & 8L size • Vast cooking repertoire • Versatile, easy to use and dependable • 8L for larger family size or batch cooking

Duo Crisp & Air Fryer, 6L & 8L • Interchangeable pressure cook and air fry lids • One pot meal wonder • Ultimate kitchen convenience

Know your methods

QUICK PRESSURE RELEASE

How? Release pressure from the pot by turning pressure release knob, or pushing button down, to "steam" or "vent" as soon as cooking time is up. Why? Stops contents cooking immediately and ensures foods don’t overcook.

NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE

How? Food continues cooking in residual heat as the pressure drops. Why? To soften tougher cuts of meat and intensify flavours.

This air fryer will change your life

Instant Vortex is Food Network's #1 air fryer for 2021 & 2022 Touchscreen smart programs allow you to customise how you cook by saving Rectangular your favourite times and temperatures. drawer design fits more in and makes cleaning so easy. The air fryer tray is removable and dishwasher safe. Drawer just requires a soak and wipe down.

Compact with impressive capacity – shape and size Easy-slide drawer ensures no contact takes up minimal kitchen with hot element and makes turning counter space and shaking food a breeze.

#BestRecipe: Popcorn Chicken

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients: ½ cup corn-starch, 2 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1tsp each onion powder, mustard powder, garlic powder, 4 skinless chicken breasts, salt, to taste, 125ml buttermilk, 3 cups cornflakes, crushed, olive oil or canola oil spray Method: Slice chicken breasts into 3-4cm cubes. Season generously with salt and set aside. Whisk together corn-starch, paprika, onion powder, mustard powder and garlic powder. Dredge chicken in corn-starch mixture, shaking off the excess. Dip chicken in buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off. Finally toss chicken in cornflakes to coat all over. Lightly spray the Vortex basket with oil and place half of the chicken in a single layer in the basket and lightly spray. Air Fry at 202ºC for 10 minutes. Remove chicken and sprinkle with a little flaky salt. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Serve popcorn chicken straight away with honey mustard sauce for dipping and healthy snacks like carrot and celery sticks.

Which Instant Vortex works for you?

Instant Vortex 4-in-1 Air Fryer • Excellent value + large capacity • Intuitive and easy to use –

Bake, Roast, Air Fry, Bake functions • Set and forget – accurate cooking times

Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer • Extra Grill and Dehydrate functions • Stainless steel finish, stylish and finger print resistant • Latest EvenCrisp air fryer technology

Instant Vortex 7-in-1 Air Fryer Oven • 9.5L capacity, multi-tray design, fits more in • 7 functions including Grill,

Rotisserie and Dehydrate • Ideal for scaling down or student digs

NEW!

SA's new generation air fryer: the

Vortex ClearCook™ Dual Air Fryer

with see-through windows! The BIG 7.6L capacity means you can double up your portions or cook two separate dishes at the same time. Watch the revolutionary EvenCrisp™ technology at work as it turns your favourite meals into healthy dishes that taste as good as gourmet. Use SyncFinish™ to automatically ensure both drawers cook to perfection at the same time… Priced from R4,699.

Visit www.instantpot.co.za for stockists and recipes.

DEAL OF A LIFETIME!

The peeps at Pafuri have made a deal available and I’m letting you Villagers in on the secret: From 1 November to 15 December, it’s R2950 per person sharing – ALL INCLUSIVE – game drives, meals and accommodation included. Here is the link to the special offer they have running from 1 Nov – 15 Dec.

A PEEK INTO VANESSA’S LATEST SOUTH AFRICAN ADVENTURE

POSTCARDS FROM PAFURI

If you take a ruler and draw a diagonal line from Cape Town to the northernmost tip of South Africa, where the Pafuri and Luvuvho rivers meet at the gloriously named Crooks’ Corner, you will find perfection. Simple as that. It is quite far. Should you make the journey? Er… Yes. Yes. YES. First things first: There are no prides of lion, packs of wild dogs or cheetah on demand at Pafuri. You do not make the six-hour drive from Hoedspruit for a colour-by-numbers zoo experience. It’s testament to just how special this area of the far northern Kruger Park is that it now rates amongst my very favourite bush destinations, even without the safari rock stars making a regular appearance. To be honest, most game reserves now have an eye on the bucket lists of their international guests and ensure they deliver the Big 5. But as my spoiled rotten husband says, “Lion Schmion. Seen one? You’ve seen them all.” As the very metropolitan Plus One of a person who writes about game reserves, he is often irritated that I love to spend hours watching the same animals we’ve watched many times before, doing, let’s face it, what they do every day. In the lion’s case, he says “lioning around”. And maybe he has a small point. There comes a time when if those of us who love the bush are asked what we’d really like to see on a game drive, the answer is, “Something different”. And that’s where Pafuri knocks it out the (Kruger) Park. HIGHLIGHTS REEL The unique delight of this particular spot is the extraordinary backdrop through which its abundant wildlife wanders – from the luxurious and beautiful lodge’s exquisite position on the banks of the Pafuri River (it’s not dissimilar in feel to Singita’s eye-

There comes a time when if those of us who love the bush are asked what we’d really like to see on a game drive, the answer is, “Something different”.

wateringly expensive Boulders and Ebony Lodges, but at a fraction of the price) to its magnificent Fever Tree Forest, abundance of precious, ancient Baobab trees, and the breath-taking Lanner Gorge. We were visited in our room one afternoon, for a delightful half an hour, by a casual elephant (we could have reached out and touched him, he was that close), then watched long winding lines of elephant families splash across the river in front of our room. And as if that wasn’t enough, on one evening bush drive we were gifted the most incredible sighting of the elusive aardvark. Pafuri is home to more general game than any foreign tourist could ask for, including my personal favourites, warthogs. They have survived a terrible drought and are now flourishing. Hooray! Putting our elephant guest to one side, our Pafuri highlights reel included seeing more hippos than we could count at sunset at Crooks Corner, with a pink and purple Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the background, and observing a Nat-Geo style incident with 5 vulture species. The area is a bird watchers paradise with more than 350 bird species in the neighbourhood, which is just a joy to behold. Keen photographers will love the fact that Pafuri is not your average bush canvas – everything we photographed looked beyond exquisite! Foodies won’t be disappointed either, the food is superb… and there’s the bonus of getting to say goodnight to the adorable kitchen bush babies each night as you stagger off to bed after another first-class dinner. If you can go, guys, just go. Life is short, and if you can end just one day drinking gin and tonic as the sun sets over the baobabs of the Pafuri? In my opinion, that’s a day well worth living.

Redemption song…

Kruger was occupied by several indigenous tribes before it was proclaimed as a game reserve. Most of those people were forcibly removed from the area by the apartheid government, without compensation. Very few land claims have been resolved in the Kruger, but in a historic deal forged with the South African government, one exception was the Makuleke, who had occupied this area for generations. in 1998, a creative resolution was reached. Instead of insisting on the right to reoccupy the land, which would have compromised Kruger’s wildlife heritage, the Makuleke clan agreed to enter into a private-sector partnership to develop new tourism facilities in the North. Pafuri is now leased, and the lodge provides work and funds to support the local community. Ask for the brilliant Andile to guide you, if you visit. Listening to the stories of the grandparents and greatgrandparents who have lived in the area is a humbling experience… as it should be.

The Village’s Top 5

SLEEP REMEDIES FOR TWEENS AND TEENS

Supported by BioteenNutrition

SLEEPLESSNESS...

We’re not the only ones in our homes struggling to get a decent night’s sleep. Our kids are suffering too and growing bodies and brains need help to fall asleep and stay asleep, even more than we do. Here are 5 simple, sensible tips from Villagers about what works for their offspring.

1. Romy Schneigansz

“For my tween – melatonin and a white noise machine”. White noise machines provide steady, continuous noise that blocks out all the other stuff, like sirens, barking dogs, siblings yelling at Fortnite, parent’s snoring (!)

2. Elidh Venning

“My girls, partner and I always sleep better after we have been adjusted by a chiro, but simple interventions make a big difference as well. Having a good hard bed and decent pillows are an investment worth making. Making sure that our rooms are dark and quiet, no screen time before bed no electric appliances in bedrooms and low light throughout the house through the evening, all helps.”

3. Kandi De Klerk

“Doggies in the bed with them and calm app playing rain music.”

4. Nicky Lailvaux

“Body Stress Release, chamomile tea, no screens.”

5. Tracey Roos

Tried and tested “Supersleep" from Bioteen, is working for my teen. Also a weighted blanket is very helpful for some teens and tweens. As Tracey says, the ready-tomix sleep aid, Supersleep, from Bioteen, is an invaluable aid in the battle for deep, healthy, teen sleep. Supersleep reduces the time it takes to fall asleep, reduces the time it takes to get into a deep sleep, reduces the frequency of awakenings during sleep hours and delivers a improved feeling of wellbeing and energy, upon waking up!

Learn more about SuperSleep and Bioteen, CLICK HERE.