You Need a South African Friend

My favorite place to be is around the dining room table. It is not because of the food, which of course is a bonus, but because of the conversation that seems to flow most easily at meal time. Tonight we had the pleasure of spending the evening at the home of our friends Mark and Kelly Ushpol who happen to be South African. Long before I met Mark and Kelly I had been a big fan of South Africans. They tend to be warm, fun loving and hospital people and the Ushpols embody all those qualities.

After Russ and I came home from the best vacation ever to Africa, Kelly had wanted to get us over for a Braai, which is South African for a barbecue. Since we did not encounter any food in SA that we did not love and we so enjoy the company of the Ushpols we gladly accepted. Although I begged to be given an assigned dish to contribute Kelly would not hear of it.

After drinks and nibbles we went to the table set with a huge platter of Boerwors a very long sausage, mieliepap – a ground corn dish with onion and tomato sauce and a lovely salad. The flavors of South Africa aided by the conversation in the appropriate accent made me feel as happy as I was back on vacation.

Then came dessert. My rule is I eat what I am served when I am invited to dine at someone’s home. Not a hard rule to follow when Kelly brought out a something called Jennifer’s a peppermint crisp fridge tart. It was a gooey, creamy center with coconut cookies as a layer and chocolate peppermint candy ribbons running through it. If there was ever a reason to break one’s diet it was to taste this yummy dish and it was not just to be polite.

Kelly had sweetly made the grown-ups servings in these tiny little shot glasses while the kids were served from a big oblong pan. It was kind of her to know that I should not eat too much of this sinful dish. But as Mark, Russ and I each took our first bite our lively conversation slowed down to a practical silence while our brain caught up with our mouths. “What is this?” I asked. Kelly said it was not really a fine dish, but more of a joke. A more perfect joke there has never been.

That is when talk turned to dissecting the parts of the recipe and what American substitutions had to be made. If this was a second fiddle rendition I can’t imagine what the real macaw tastes like. Russ, Mark and I all asked for seconds. Kelly retrieved her I-Pad so she could show me what the right peppermint crisp candy was and Russ of course found it on Amazon.

After dessert Mark pulled out the South African Liqueur we love called Amarula. What the hell, I’ve eaten dessert, I might as well have one finger. We retired to the living room where the laughing continued. There is nothing better than the generous hospitality of being in someone’s home, unless it is being in a South African’s home.