Now, Just Now, and Now Now

Now - adv. (South African) sometime in the future; 'when I get to it.'
Just Now - adv. (South African) shortly, soon.
Now Now - adv. (South African) immediately, Now!

A grammar lesson isn't usually included in a cooking lesson, but tonight, Enid - my beloved friend and short-term tenant is from Cape Town, and she used these adverbs as she taught us how to make a lovely Cape Malay curry. Now (and I'm not really using that as an adverb here), my other young friend, Jessie, has explained all this now business to me once before, and how it took her a while to figure it all out when she spent some months in S. Africa...so it didn't come as a shock to me the first time I heard Enid use now to mean, "Babes, I'll get there when I get there." But it's all in good fun, in the spirit of diversity and all...:)

Menu: Lentil and Potato Samosas w/ Chutney
Cape Malay Chicken Curry
Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad
Roti
Milk Tart and Rooibos

Mmmm...curry. I knew there was some magic to curry. It couldn't just be that vague mixture of exotic spices that costs a small fortune but really just came from McCormick's. Enid spent a day hunting for the ingredients, not unlike a safari from back home. She loaded bags, large bags, of tumeric, cumin, coriander and yes, a vague mixture of exotic spices called "curry" on my kitchen counter. But she only paid $1.99 for like, a pound of cumin! I've got to hit up the Indian grocery store.

Everyone shared the load of chopping no less than 8 onions, until the 'last man standing' was a brave young lass, who apparently wears contact lenses, which protected her tender corneas. In the pot went the onions, oil, spices, chicken, potatoes...and an hour later there was this thick, yellowish-green, fragrant stew that just seemed...healthful. At the very end, we watched as Enid grated - that's right, grated - a tomato. All that flavor has got to be good for you. And when you eat it, there are so many things going on inside your mouth. It's like your tastebuds are on a wild ride. And then...about 20 seconds after you start, it hits you. That growing fire at the back of your throat, on your tastebuds and in every crevice of your mouth. But it's not overwhelming, it's understated, but intense. And it hangs there throughout the meal. Enid says no South African meal is complete without meat, potatoes and rice. I guess you need all that starch to mitigate the heat.

She also taught us this incredible salad which included raw onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. These are not the sweet Vidalia variety either. They are the potent kind. The relationship-breaking kind. The no-kissing kind. But she showed us this method of toning down the intensity of the onions - she salted them, let them sit for a few minutes, then squeezed them out. Then she poured boiling water over them in a colander, and let them cool down enough to handle, then another squeeze. Then she added vinegar, salt and sugar, mixed them with the tomato (that's, 'to-mah-to' now...thank you 2-year-old Rosie for correcting me) and cukes.

We also had rotis (a tortilla-type thing for mopping up the curry juices), and samosas dipped in Mrs. H.S.Balls chutney, which also served as a lovely accompaniment to the curry.

And then...Enid rounded up all of my most beautiful china teacups, made a pot of Rooibos, and served it with silver spoons and proper Milk Tart. Milk Tart is just a simple, what I would call, Chess Pie. Lightly sweet and delicate, it just feels like something a British lady would have with her tea, for sure.

Enid doesn't consider herself a great cook. As a matter of fact she confided in me that she had to break out of her daily steamed broccoli and cauliflower habit when she married, fearing her new husband would starve to death if she didn't. But now, a well-fed husband and three kids later, I think she's a pro. I've certainly learned a lot tonight. And she is a born teacher - she seemed to relish the opportunity to share with others what she so clearly enjoys. It was a complicated menu, but she taught it with patience, grace and exuberance.

And we consumed it that way, too. Thank you Enid, for taking us to a far-away land tonight!