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Sue really likes pineapples so I decided to make her some pineapple atchar. The recipe is simple, easy to make and quite delicious - perhaps you want to make some for yourself.

Ingredients
1		Cup		White vinegar
1		cup		White sugar
1/2		Cup		Water
2		teaspoon		Maizena (Maizena is a brand name for a popular cornstarch)
3/4		Cup		White vinegar
3		each		Large ripe pineapples - peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
Spices - to be fried together
2		tbsp		Masala
1		teaspoon		Cumin seeds
1		teaspoon		Mustard seeds - white or black
1/4		cup		Sunflower oil
2		each		Curry leaves
3		each		Green chillies - chopped
Directions
In a large pot, bring to boil the first 3 ingredients together. Then add maizena and vinegar, cook until thick - stirring all the time. In a pan, fry the spices together until the mustard seeds start popping. Add the pineapples and the spices to the syrup in the large pot. Stir a couple of times and bring the mixture back to boil. Once at boiling point, can into sterilised glass bottles. Make sure the lid seals properly. The atchar is ready to eat from day three.
Servings - 4 x 500 ml bottles

We just had to visit the same restaurant where we had the delicious Mocqueca de Piexe meal the other day. We devised all sorts of devious plans to get hold of this specific recipe - we will tell them we are from a food magazine ... tell them we are writing a recipe book ... we are from BBC Food ... and many other schemes. In the end, Sue did the direct and honest approach asking if she can watch the Chef prepare the meal. Permission was granted and Sue met the Chef in the restaurant's kitchen where she watched for around 10 minutes as the delicious meal was prepared. It was served a bit later and we all once again thoroughly enjoyed the food. For you lazy okes, here is the recipe as eye balled by Sue. So now there is no excuse for you not to try this meal at home.

Ingredients
800		grams		Fish - White fish such as Hake, Cod or similar (you can also use frozen fish)
1		ea		Onion - coarsely chopped
2		ea		Tomatoes - coarsely chopped
2		cups		Coconut milk
1		bunch		Fresh Coriander leaves - coarsely chopped
4		tbsp		Dente or Palm oil
1		ea		Lemon
1/2		tsp		Salt
1/2		tsp		Ground black pepper
1/2		tsp		Dried garlic flakes
Directions
Mix the salt, pepper and garlic flakes together and set aside. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and set aside. Wash fish with water and 2/3's of the lemon juice. Now wash the fish with fresh water, pat dry, cut into 8 large chunks and set aside. Add coconut milk into a clay pot and bring to boil. Quickly rub the fish with the salt, pepper and garlic flakes mix. When the coconut milk reaches boiling point, add the ingredients in the following order; Fish, chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, palm oil and coriander leaves. Do not stir the dish - only use spoon to stir around the edges of the clay pot. Boil for around 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Serve on a bed of cooked white rice and a fresh salad on the side.
Servings = 4

Since arriving in Salvador, we have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen (or "galley" as referred to in yachting terms). Besides sampling the local Brazilain dishes, we have taking full advantage of the abundance of food and fruits available in this near tropical climate. We bought a large amount of various spices from a spice merchant and then mixed our own masala mix to be used in Indian style dishes. With this masala as our base material, we found some beautiful large mangoes and decided to make our our home made mango atchar. I have always enjoyed atchar with food - especially curries, chicken and other Indian dishes. What I do not like about the commercially made bottled atchar available in stores all over South Africa, was the chopped up and inedible mango stones within.

Here is the recipe and you should certainly try making it back home. It is easy to make and you will agree that it is the BEST mango atchar you have ever tasted!

Ingredients
2		Kg		Mangoes - Very firm mangoes, peeled, stoned and cut into 2 cm chunks
7		ea		Green chillies - finely chopped
100		grams		Masala
50		grams		Blanched nuts - Almonds, Cashew or Peanuts - chopped into 2 to 4 mm pieces
3		tbsp		Chilli powder
2		tbsp		White sugar
2		tbsp		Salt
1		tsp		Cumin powder
1		tsp		Coriander powder
2		tsp		Chopped Garlic
1/2		tsp		Chopped Ginger
100		ml		White vinegar
100		ml		Sunflower oil
Directions
Heat up the oil, add all the spices, garlic and ginger. Immediately lower the heat, stir all the time and fry for a minute or two - be careful not to burn the spices! Add the vinegar and the sugar - stirring until dissolved. Then add the remainder of the ingedients. Cook until the mango flesh is softer but still firm (5 - 15 minutes) Pour into clean, hot sterilised jars and seal. Store in a cool, dark and dry place. Place one bottle in the fridge and it is ready for eating from the very next day.

Once in a blue moon, I will cook and prepare a meal for ourselves. Although I can cook, I'm not a decent cook never mind a master cook, but this Chili Pepper Prawn dish certainly tastes real good. There is no fixed recipe, it changes all the time and I mainly follow my own head depending what spices are available. The 3 cups of rice gets cooked up like normal. To prepare the prawns, I add about 10 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp chopped garlic, 4 tsp ground black pepper, 2 tsp chilli flakes, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper and a couple other fragrant spices to a pan. After frying this for a minute or so, I then add 1 large diced onion, 1 chopped red pepper (yellow or green pepper if you prefer) and a handful of chopped button mushrooms - continuously stirring until the onion is translucent. Then 1000 grams of cleaned (deveined) prawns are added, stirring all the time for a couple of minutes and until cooked. The prawns only are then removed from the mixture in the pan and the cooked rice is then added. Sometimes I will also add a small packet of defrosted vegetables for colour. Stir this around for a couple of minutes and it's time to dish up. Salt to taste. Serves 4 to 6 people.
Really delicious!

Tips

• Make sure to devein the prawns and then wash them under cold water.
• Dry them properly with paper towels - this will remove excess water when frying.
• You need high heat to prepare this dish - but be careful not to burn the food.
• You will need a large pan or wok for this dish.

Earlier today, I ate a delicious Bunny Chow prepared and served at a authentic Indian restaurant. This Bunny Chow must surely rate as one of the best I have ever eaten. The exact origins of the Bunny Chow are shrouded in myth and legend but one school of thought has it that it was invented by a chef at the Queen's Tavern, Durban, South Africa.

The Bunny Chow should always be eaten with the fingers starting with the lump of hollowed out bread dipped into the curry gravy. You should then help yourself to the curry and tear pieces off of the side of the loaf and dip them in the gravy. The trick here is to avoid tearing off pieces of loaf which are below the current gravy line otherwise you end up with a steaming-hot mass in your lap. For much the same reason you should check whether your Bunny Chow was made from the end of a loaf or whether it is a Funny Bunny made from the middle and, hence, without a crust at the bottom. A Funny Bunny isn't any less tasty but you do have to be careful to support the base in case it gives way and gives onlookers something to laugh about; you begin to see how it got its name?

We had this delicious meal earlier this evening. It was quick and easy to make.There are 2 problems though; it's not good for your health and I already smell of garlic (imagine the pong tomorrow!). But man ... it was real good, I gorged myself and I'm now so "dik" I can hardly move!

Get the recipe here!