In the mad 1980′s I established a security business initially to service business people in the townships. Some peers said I was crazy but the people I met and experiences that I had were legend – to this day people are amazed that I can navigate the townships and place their homes within the context of shops and businesses – you must remember that in those days all street signs were removed as soon as they were put up to make it harder for the authorities to find and arrest so called ‘miscreants and agitators’.
Upon a day I found myself installing an alarm system in a spaza shop in the heart of the Red Location. I observed the lady of the house cooking up a storm in the time leading up to lunch and it was with some trepidation that I accepted her absolute insistence that I join her and her family at the lunch table.
Looking back, it was an incredibly kind gesture on her part. I can tell you for certain that I never received an invite to sit down to lunch when working in the suburbs – those madams liked to keep distance between themselves and me, the common working boy!
One of the side dishes served with my Red Location lunch was a decadent, fatty cabbage dish which I just had to get the recipe for. The Lady of the House was delighted to share her cooking secrets with me which I now, in the true spirit of Ubuntu, share with you.
Red Location Cabbage:
Ingredients:
- Half a shredded cabbage
- Holsum – enough to fry the cabbage in (you can try using Olive Oil if you are chicken!)
- One Oxo Chilli Beef Stock Cube
Method:
- In a deep frying pan warm up the Holsum and toss in the cabbage.
- Stir fry the cabbage until it starts going limp
- Crumble the chilli beef stock cube over the cabbage and continue stir frying to taste – a little bit of bite and a lovely deep dark caramel colour is what you are after.
Feeds: Just ME!
Time: 15 minutes
In the mists of time I have sadly lost my Red Location hostesses name and, even more sadly, not one of those Red Location shacks or businesses has been left standing. I salute you wherever you now may be, Mamma!
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