WRITTEN ETURN R
issue two July 2015
Bio monthly digital publication
Food Issue
issue two July 2015
Bio monthly digital publication
Food Issue
Order
oductions, We begin with the editor’s intr is ops syn a history and
Issue one: In this issue we introduce our line up and feel. We hope to feature you or someone making waves close to you, we don’t go for celebrities but impact makers. If you enjoy the content, please share.
Chapters A thought for the seeker:
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Is there such a thing? Matome Kgatle dives into the topic and challenges us to re-discover our “contribution” to everyday discourse
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** PASSWORD**
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Alternatives to complaining.
In this issue We do a bit of a “reality TV” thing in following our friends and engaged couple on their journey to chasing love and wedding bells
Faith Acts.
We speak to an extra ordinary and power woman. entrepreneur and successful business woman “Mandla”on “ARE YOU EATING TO LIVE OR ARE YOU LIVING TO EAT” Get ready for fascinating insight.
SLICES:
Mass media and social media affects us deeply and often dictates our world view. In slices we look at a trending topic and rope in one of our “wise” contributors to give it a smash. to respond to #slices @WritternReturn2
Anomaly
We love positive content. Culture building and daring message through the arts. We want to encourage you to support and nourish upcoming content creators who do great art. In this issue we speak to a young, creative and flamboyant chef.
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WARNING: This is your normal magazine, just done a little bit differently. we are driven more by conviction and less by religion. If we do it the way you don’t like. Engage and lets grow. we will feature your best and worst moments in hopes of showing redemption as we experience it.
Alternatives To complaining
Matome Kgatle I know. The type breaks on the left are odd and awkward to read. What are you going to do about it? Complain? So sorry that’s a low jab, I jut couldn’t resist. Let’s get into it. Complaining is seemingly an efficient and necessary way to solve problems. Get attention and stop systems from falling apart. Surely this is good. We can all admit perhaps that is true, however the basic reaction to complain is often not based on fixing anything or taking any positive action.
9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you [yourselves] may not be judged. Look! The Judge is [already] standing at the very door. James5 Outlined in this short articles is “alternatives to complaining” I always read the bible to practice it, so I had a very hard time after reading the quoted verse. How can you really fulfil it? You need to get that God wants you to grow so you can exemplify him! So even in such situations he wants you to aim for His way! Are you ready? Alternative 1: Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4.15). The bible doesn’t teach us to draw away, rather to confront with love. Instead of sitting at the Corner and tender yourself a victim! Talk to the person involved! Might go your way or not but do your part. Alternative 2: Be patient. Yes this means you will have to purposefully take more just as Jesus did! Think about the word even above your own comfort, that’s how you win souls to God and confuse the plot of the enemy! The bible teaches us to consider how many times we fault and God forgives us. We must give others the same #Agape privilege (Matthew 7.3)
Alternative 3: Have you ever spent time disliking and complaining against a person/ system? Are you the one who is always complaining against leaders? Father, boss or church leader? Never getting involved, but commenting from a distance? This is a great source of complaining!
WRITTEN FB RETURN
Once you get involved, you can’t help but have a different perspective. It’s not as easy as you think, be supportive, educate yourself, get involved and make a difference. Would love to hear your thoughts. http://www.openbible.info/topics/ complaining
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RETURN
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Our journey to love and marriage. In This issue we Join Lerato and Shibejo as they chronicle their romantic journey to love and marriage. As a young couple we were keen to learn about what bound them together and what lead them to marriage. Stay tuned for this inspirational journey. (To both) how did you guys meet? How did you know she was the one. How about dealing with those exes? Him: We first met at a wedding where we were both part of the entourage. A few years later, we met back in Pretoria in church and later on at a mutual friends place. I knew she was the one when I went through a family tragedy and she stood by me even at my lowest point. I had never experienced such compassion and care before and didn’t know how to handle it in the midst of all that was happening. Her: Quite a funny story actually (lol, it’s not but I always wanted to say that)! We met a number of times before we really met, you know how people wish they could both be born in another country and meet their significant other in that country just so they would know what it feels like to fall in love with the same person in a different country speaking a different language? Well, it wasn’t in such a large scale for us but yeah, it was something like that. I knew he was the one when my ‘darkest’ days (for lack of a better word) didn’t send him running in the opposite direction, he was committed to us working and I couldn’t ask for anything more. To Both What kind of fun things does a young couple get up to?
all your energy and having your person doing that with you, that is just almost perfect.
Him: Well, we both enjoy going out for dinner and movies. We go to concerts together and most of all we enjoy each other’s company in all kinds of circumstances.
To the groom to be: Meeting the in-laws or family from the other side? How was the experience, what was your expectation?
Her: We throw papers at each other (that is mostly me *hides*) , we do a lot of church activities together, it’s the nicest thing to serve God in your youth with
Him: I was a bit nervous throughout, I didn’t have any expectations so there were no disappointments. I ended up enjoying my time with the In-laws.
So what kind of movies does he/she like how do you trade off (to the bride). Her: We love the same movies! So there is no need for tradeoffs, unless I want to repeat ‘Pitch Perfect’ for the umpteenth time, then I know that won’t be happening. Sci-fi Action Thriller Rom-Com! yup that’s the genre we both love and there isn’t any punctuation there because that’s our thing. Money is a big issue. So who gets the bigger piece of the last pizza, seriously must be hard to teach each other about cash. How are you managing? (To the gentleman) Whoever is the hungriest, otherwise we share it. We are both relatively open about money It was hard to open up at first and there are still some areas of improvement What is your favourite thing to do together. Why? (To the bride to be). It has to be watching movies and series’ . Also browsing Tech-news and blogs (he is reading and paying attention, I’m the one who browses) He loves doing that, and because I’m a help meet, I love it too and do it with him, It’s really fun to watch him do something with so much passion. Her without God would you choose her? To be with him without him knowing God, would you? (To both) Him: Her relationship with God grounds her. Her up bringing taught her to love and respect others. So yes, I would choose her.
Thank God I don’t have to make that choice though Her: We met in church, so I suppose I never had to ask myself this question, I have always believed I would get married to a Christian man, so we probably maybe would never have really crossed paths if it wasn’t for the church and I can’t imagine him without God... He would still be pretty amazing though I’m sure. Cooking, who cooks better? Do you mind cooking? (To the groom) lol, that’s obvious, I cook the best… Just kidding, she cooks lovely scrumptious meals with a flair of creativity. - I don’t mind cooking, not my favourite activity though Your first argument? How did you get over it? ( To the bride) I honestly can’t remember, but, If a little over two years later we are still together and planning a wedding, I suppose it wasn’t that bad and we dealt with it pretty well. Three months after your wedding day, what will you be doing? How do you envision your life moving forward? (To both) Him: By the Grace of God, at our new house admiring a beautiful sunset with the wife of my youth on my side… Her: three months after the wedding, I suppose we will be doing what married people do, one of the greatest driving force towards marriage, 3 to four times
a day, twice in the morning lol. I mean who wouldn’t want to be told they are loved that many times in a day? I know I want to. I’m kidding, we will be going out for ice cream, l will be cooking while he reads the latest tech news, and I’ll put to great use all those bridal shower gifts!
FAITH ACTS Mandla is a God fearing, daughter, wife and mother to 2 beautiful girls aged 7 and 3. She is a visionary who firmly believes that once the human body is fed healthy food and is not hungry anymore, it has the ability to think of progressive ways to end poverty and equality for itself and for the society.
In our second issue of Written return we speak to Mandla Tshabalala. A seasoned and successful businesswoman. Hold on to your seat. She comes of as very humble and friendly. She is always open to listen and has an ease that makes you feel that nothing is impossible. When she opens her mouth she connects ideas that sound like a scientist describing a launch to the moon and when she is done. You will be convinced. We begin by asking Mandla Tshabalala about who she is. Mandla is a God fearing, daughter, wife and mother to two beautiful girls aged 7 and 3. She is a visionary who firmly believes that once the human body is fed healthy food and is not hungry anymore, it has the ability to think of progressive ways to end poverty and equality for itself and for the society. I am very curious. Why a dietician? Maybe a farmer one might suggest is a bit relatable in terms of our historical career choices. In addition to that what led you to opening Masana Dieticians. Being a dietician enables me to understand the specific nutritional interventions that a human body needs for it to perform at its optimum throughout all the stages of its life-cycle. The current statistics around malnutrition and the unhealthy gap created by a lack of culturally acceptable, high quality and proudly South African healthy food products in the market spurred me to come up with a comprehensive nutrition solution composed of both products and service. Trying to be smart we posed this question to Mandla “It seems like either than the natural need for sustenance. Food and eating is something we do influenced by two motivations. Pleasure and cost. How do you get your client to make better choices with these two barriers literally dictating over our thinking?”
Our vision is guided by the genuine desire to change the mindset around food and eating hence our marketing theme: ARE YOU EATING TO LIVE OR ARE YOU LIVING TO EAT seeks to create awareness around food and the role that it plays in all areas of our lives beyond just the cost and the pleasure aspects. We would like to as much as possible keep this conversation practical. There are many books out there that tell us about the ideal. In most cases people try for a few months only to give in. Please give us three things that if anyone can slightly change or tweak in their diets will improve their health.
Mandla’s response was both startling and revealing.
> There is no good or bad food but good and bad eating/dietary habits. > Aim to eat healthily 80% of the time and have a little indulgence 20% > Be mindful of your portion sizes
MASANA INSTANT PORRIDGE
This is a Convenient, Culturally Acceptable, Tasty yet very Healthy Breakfast Option, suitable for the whole family. For our next question we asked Mandla if it’s better to do this individually or as group? I mean how do you get your medium rare loving“braai snob uncle” to agree to a healthy diet? How do we do it? No surprise here, Mandla believes that It is always better in a group. You get everyone’s buy-in by creating an awareness on why they should follow a healthy dietary plan ie Ask them if they are eating to live or living to eat? I think I will be using that line for some time. Are you eating to live or living to eat? Linking to a similar thought we asked our expert What kind of products does she sell? What are the benefits? How does one get in contact for a sample or to buy? We sell Dairy- free, Wheat-free Filling, Easy to make, healthy breakfast cereal products suitable for the whole family called Masana Instant Porridge. We are listed in Metro Cash n Carry Wholesalers, selected Link Pharmacies and through our Independent Agents Nationwide.
When you eat MASANA INSTANT PORRIDGE® Nutritionally Complete
It’s very sad to say but, we find that most people alter their diets only after ending up at the hospital. Sometimes it’s too late by then. If someone is overweight and feels they can’t reduce their portions. What’s your advice? Mandla in her answer revealed that weight is not only related to portions. She replied by saying. We advise them to consult a dietician who can identify if there are underlying causes to their nutritional state as our eating habits are sometimes a symptom of an underlying medical or psychological condition. If you don’t mind me asking how is the sale of your products going? Any tips for us on launching a product like you did and keeping up the momentum? We have been selected as a Gauteng Success Stories for SEDA 2014. We have been selected to be the Nutrition Ambassador for the Bongi- Ngema Zuma Foundation. We are already doing 5000 units of Masana Instant Porridge month-onmonth through the pharmacy channel alone. Tips would be: Have the end in mind before you even start, do a thorough due diligence, be consistent and be passionate about what you do. Christianity and faith in my experience can be good and very bad for how people think about diet. For instance as you grown in your faith you tend to have little if no desire for drinking and smoking. You experience a lifestyle change. However most Christians think that because they are praying they don’t have to watch what they eat, so you find a lot of sugar in diet, multiple starch rations in one meal. Eating late at night after services etc. Like we did with previous advice give us small tweaks we holy rollers can start to accommodate that can perhaps affect us positively by six month or so.
I believe a healthy body is an honour to God. A firm believer in Christ my saviour would eat to live and not live to eat because they know that they are called for a bigger purpose on this earth and therefore they will not allow the devil from distracting them by offering them all these diseases in disguise through unhealthy eating habits. Our role is to always remind each other of who we are in the bigger scheme of things as Christians. The other benefit of a praying and meditating is that you get to clear your mind and detox your emotions. Being free in your spirit is really being free. How important is your state of mind in this whole “health� thing? We call it conscious living, that is an understanding of how things operate in and around you and how to then react to that. We believe your spiritual life is sometimes reflected in your eating habits. Refer to earlier questions. Please tell us about the product Masana has for sale, where and how can we conveniently buy them? How they assist? People can contact us directly on 011-074 6081/073 563 7929 for their nearest sales agent or they can go to their local Link Pharmacy and/or Metro Cash n Carry near them. PS we are always looking for more agents who can helps us grow our foot print even bigger than it is ... We are interested in working with people who are already in the distribution space, self-driven, loves to serve and hard working. I have also attached our A5 advert.
To keep in touch Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Masanainstantporridge Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasanaDietician
so says social media, so says i
#KFCBRAAM The frenzy started after someone shot a picture and video of KFC Braamfontein staff hozing chicken on concrete floor. Not sure about the official charges or actions the company took. However Twitter had it’s say
#ASKMMUSI Mmusi Maimane is one of the most prolific and admired poloticians in South Africa. He was recently crowned leader of the DA. With that he used twitter to thank and engage with ordinary south Africans on topics the care about. The #ASKANYTHING twitter campaing is not new or unique to him. However some of the responses where uniquely South African. I literally cried myself to sleep, tears of laughter that is.
to respond to slices #slices @WritternReturn2 To support and join initiatives Facebook: Joburg Against Xenophobia
aly AnomLes-DaChef The rise of the Chef as a mainstream celebrity has brought attention to various levels of food production, food security and the ever evolving debate of “correct diet”
food has always been the way we Africans and humans in general welcome people into our homes and lives. We celebrate with food, we mourn with food, we share life’s events over food.
Q: What is your basic philosophy on food? Do you serve food to fill the stomach or something more?
Q: I am interested on your journey as a Chef. How did a black young man like you make a leap from Chicken feat to something so extra ordinary, please share a bit of that journey with us.
A: My philosophy on food is based on my upbringing. I believe in order for people to try new cuisines and food they wouldn’t ordinarily eat. I try base it on food they know already. I take food from our heritage and put a twist on it. That element of familiarity immediately draws someone in and they aren’t as hesitant to try new things after that. I cook because
A: I began working as a process engineer at the age of 20. I was lucky enough to be selected along with 50 others from 12 000 students based on our intellectual abilities to work for a corporate company in Sandton. I realised after 6 years that I wasn’t following my passion. I didn’t
enjoy being an employee and at one point was even diagnosed with mild clinical depression. I decided to embark on this dream and goal of mine to own a restaurant. I chose to first go study and understand the industry and become a chef instead of making the mistake a lot of new restaurant owners make, opening a food business without any experience in the food industry is often very detrimental to the success of your business. With time I’ve come to love what I do and the industry I am in. For some reason I’ve become well known. Q: For someone like me who always risks burning down the house every time they switch the stove on. What are three basic tips you can give for preparing breakfast?
A: 1. Get everything ready before you start cooking! People who burn their food tend to be people who aren’t ready when it’s time to cook. Those little trips back to the fridge and cupboard is when your food burns. So make sure it’s all put and ready before you start. 2. Get yourself good quality non-stick pans and only put something in the pan once the pan is very hot. This is one of the first principles of cooking. Don’t throw food you want to cook into a cold pan. 3. Use Spray and cook! This is your lifesaver when it comes to making sure your eggs don’t burn and stick. Spray the pans generously with spray and cook spray. Q: What do you think about fast food restaurants like KFC? Is that good food? What are your tips for eating out or buying fast food? A: I honestly have no issues with KFC. They use good quality chicken although a bit oily. KFC, Chicken Licken, Nandos and Fontana all use the same chicken from the same chicken supplier. My problem is with fast food places McDonald’s. The processed meat and preservatives in all the burgers is a main gripe of mine. I try go in twitter to show people what they’re eating when they eat there. My tips for when buying fast food? Ironically my rule of thumb for take out is... If its something that you can see yourself making at home then buy it. It means there is less processing and adadditives. For example you can’t make Russians, sausages, burgers etc. at home, then don’t buy. It means it had to go through processing and that’s when the additives and preservatives and other weird things are added to the mix. Q: Back at it again. Please give us 3 more tips for preparing supper. This time please imagine a man, woman or girl who believes they can and do cook very well, what can they improve on? What are the common mistakes or just tips you can give? A: Tip 1. Always make it fresh. I have recipes on my blog on how to make your own pasta from scratch, your own ice cream, your own beef stock and many more. There’s nothing more impressive than saying “I made this from scratch”. Try out new recipes and ideas. Cooking is all about understanding the basics of and then building up on them and experimenting. Tip 2. They way your mom cooked? Ignore and get that out of your head. The way our parents cooked isn’t necessarily the best way. I learned this the hard way at chef school. There are techniques and way of cooking that bring out the flavours of food. For example when making a stew always cook the meat first and get it brown before adding any other ingredients. There is a scientific reason for
it called the Maillard reaction. There are other techniques as well that you’ll learn by watching cooking shows and going onto YouTube or following me on social media. Tip 3. Don’t use processed products. Soup powders and things like polony and Vienna are a no-no. Try cook and make everything from scratch. Chicken sauces and stews use flour and butter nut soup powders. Stock cubes are NOT stock. Stock is a liquid made from bones and veggies. I have a recipe for it on my blog. The fresher the ingredients used the better tasting the final result. Q: For someone who wants to go into hospitality. What is your advice and what other kinds of career opportunities are available? A: My advice. Make sure you know what it is you want out of the industry. Lots of kids go to expensive chef schools believing they’ll become famous chefs like Jamie Oliver. Less than 1% of us chefs become famous, the rest of the time the industry is a tough and strenuous one. It’s not glamorous at all. Having said that, there are many opportunities in the culinary world. Menu designers, recipe creators, food science specialists, food testers, chefs, catering, baking, food artists, wedding catering etc. EVERY ONE WHO BREATHS EATS. If you’re smart and know what you’re doing then there will always be a job for you. Research your schools and speak to people like me
who have been in the industry for a while before you choose a school to study at. Q: This one is often tricky for most people. How do you politely tell someone their food tastes, well terrible without hurting their feelings? A: I try to not critique people’s food if they aren’t chefs or if it isn’t a restaurant. I always get stared at whilst I eat because people expect chefs to have an opinion on all things food related. When I
am asked for my opinion and I’m not impressed with what I’ve eaten I try be diplomatic and mention the positive sides of the meal rather than the negatives. Q: What are your hopes and dreams for the future in-line with your career? A: My hope is to get black South African chefs in the spotlight. I’ve been getting a lot of media coverage lately, the more people understand what we do and how hard we work they more they’ll book
and request our services and the more of us will open our own business. My goal is to build a training kitchen or buy one where I can start training ordinary people on food. Right now I use my personal kitchen and home but I’d like to expand to a point where I own a large facility where I can do this with proper equipment. Personally I’d like my career to keep on the track that it’s on. I’d like to go do a few courses overseas just to keep my knowledge in check and learn new techniques but I’ll always come back
home to share what I learn. Of course all this needs funding! Something I’ve come to learn as a young businessman in South Africa is pretty difficult to come by. Q: Let’s end with this. A recipe for a meal you think every south African has to experience. Thanks so much I have a close friend who had two bunnies once. One disappeared, I assume it dug an escape tunnel under her fence and the other one mysteriously disappeared. To this day she still accuses me of being the mastermind of the Great Disappearing Rabbit Trick. As much as I love my craft, actually taking a live animal and making it dinner still defeats me. Although I come from a society that slaughters for rituals and customs, I don’t know of I’d be able to actually kill a rabbit. Something about those freaky eyes that are constantly watching you! Anyway, I digress. Whilst still a fledgling chef I was taught how to cook and clean a rabbit carcass. Rabbit meat in South Africa comes with the head of the rabbit still attached to the carcass. Apparently this is done so as to show you what you’ve got in front of you is a rodent and not a cat. Yep! The fun things we chefs have to deal with sometimes. So the first thing you do is get a large meat cleaver and chop the head off and get rid of it. There is no meat and nothing of real value to the head. The parts you want are the hind
quarters. They have the most flavour and the most meat and are awesome grilled. Rabbit meat tastes similar to chicken (yes, that old cliché) and if you blindfolded a novice to rabbit meat and asked them to taste it, they would claim it was chicken. It’s more gamy and more robust than chicken and holds its own in stews very well. Just like veal and lamb sometimes, because of society’s obsession with attaching emotion to certain creatures eating rabbit is a bit taboo amongst some circles. It’s an awesome meat and rather cheap to produce, it would be perfect in eradicating hunger if it was given the chance. It is slowly making a comeback in fine dining circles as chefs start looking to the past and finding new ways of cooking old proteins and dishes that have become less fashionable lately. This recipe is for a stew. I love stews, maybe it’s because of my South African upbringing. If the sight of eating a rabbit leg gets to you then it would be best in a stew. Just be aware that rabbit bones are very brittle and their rib bones can be dangerous so make sure you worn anyone who is eating about the small bones! By the way. This recipe is awesome with my ledombolo! I have the recipe for that on this blog too. Or you can serve it with herb mash like in the photo below.
Ingredients 2 rabbits, each portioned into 10 pieces 100g flour 100g butter Olive oil (for frying) Coarse sea salt 300g pancetta or streaky bacon Fresh Rosemary Fresh Thyme 250g shiitake or oyster mushrooms 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped 4 small baby onions 600ml Castle Lager beer (or any robust lager) 900ml chicken stock (nor stock cubes!)
Method: 1. Coat the rabbit pieces in the flour. Shake off any excess flour 2. Place the butter and olive oil in a thick based casserole dish on the stove on high heat. 3. Once piping hot, sear off the rabbit pieces 2 at a time, turning constantly to make sure as much of the rabbit is sealed as possible. 4. Once done, add the chopped bacon and chopped onions and carrots to the pot and stir till the bacon is crispy. You might need to add more oil to achieve this. Add salt and pepper. 5. Return the rabbit to the pot and turn and keep moving it around until it’s golden on all sides.
6. Only add the herbs and mushrooms now and fry for a further 10 minutes or until the veg is soft. 7. Stir in a spoon of more flour and pour your liquids into the pot. Stir til everything comes together. If you’ve made ledombolo then place your dumplings in balls around the meat. 8. Cover the pot with a lid and cook in the oven for 45 minutes. 9. If your stew is still slightly watery, remove the lid and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes.
Perfect for those cold winter nights.
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The late great “Lulu Dikana” was a rare and unique gem in South African music landscape. She will be remebered for some of the most authentic, real and eternal writing of recent history. From her debut album the Song “life and death” appealed so much to me for the flow and melody. Listneing deeper I was struck by the meaning and story behind the song. I love all that she repersented. She was not pretantious and was not swallowed by the lure of the industry. I encourage you to go deeper into her music and your will discover a legacy of work that will win over your heart.