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I like making food that I can spend 15 minutes on and then leave for 1 or 2 hours while I get other things done. The Lamb Shank recipe and this one are exactly that. This chicken curry recipe will serve 3-4 people and is good for the next few days if refrigerated. Jackie is obsessed with this curry She makes top quality Basmati rice to go with this but I haven’t included that recipe as you can have it over any rice or even mash or toast.

Stonewall have Red Bull as a client and recently launched the Red Bull Big Wave Africa website along with the Red Bull Press Vault which is a local website listing articles and media on Red Bull events worldwide. The clip below shows some insane tricks performed by a helicopter during the Red Bull Helicopter Aerobatics:

I am not a huge fan of Corvettes but after watching this, I am tempted to visit their website. This video, recently released by General Motors, shows you how it performs at the hands of a pro around the 20.8km Nurburgring. The time was 7 minutes 26.4 seconds:
NOTE: If the video says ‘No longer available, just refresh this page a few times until it works.

The driver was Jim Mero and he was driving the 2008 Cheverolet Corvette ZR1 which looks like this:

We booked to go on the Independence of the Seas in May 2007 so we had been waiting for our departure date of 25 May 2008 for a loooong time. I had also decided around December 2007 that it was time I took the next step (engagement) with Jackie and my relationship. Because we were going on the trip, I thought I may as well wait and make it a little more special by asking her overseas. I wanted to surprise her so everything was top secret, not even her family knew at this stage.

I enjoy cooking, it’s something that relaxes me. I can forget about the code and focus on creating something else.

On the boat we ate quite a bit of ‘Angus’ Sirloin, I also had it a few times in the UK - seems Sirloin is a more popular cut up north. I have never been a fan of pan-fried steaks having grown up around braai’s but they managed to get it tasting pretty damn good. So the other day Jackie and I were shopping and I grabbed a 2-pack of ‘matured sirloin’ (from Superspar @ Paddocks) which looked pretty good. I also grabbed some red onions, red wine and watercrest. I set out making my first pan-fried sirloin. I fried the steaks in a hot pan with a little oil and when we sat down to eat, the steaks were appalling. It was actually one of the worst steaks I had ever eaten and I was horrified that I had produced it. The only other pan-fried steaks I had attempted were rumps and those seemed to come out okay? So what went wrong? How could I have totally destroyed this cut of meat? I had to get this right.

I was thinking about things I could cook for dinner and Lamb Shanks came to mind. My dads friend Gilby Samassa used to make a killer lamb shank. He used to grill them in a pizza oven which, unfortunately, I didn’t own So I checked some recipes online. I couldn’t find one I liked but I got the general idea of what’s involved in the cooking process: Create bed of flavour, add liquid, simmer for 2-3 hours. Everything else is just a variation on that framework.

Mine is: Lamb Shanks in port/red wine with rosemary/thyme served on a bed of mash.

First job is to get some nice fat lamb shanks from your local supermarket or butcher. It’s usually 1 shank per person but if you’re a big eater go for 2. Have the size of your biggest pot in mind though Ingredients you’ll need are:

I am very fond of driving. Driving is fun. Driving fast is even more fun. I’ve been looking at the Golf GTi and Subaru (after driving in Barry’s) since last year and finally went for the GTi, largely because of Jeremy Clarkson’s review and that it won Automobile of the Year last year.

The Clarkson Review

After much hard work by George and I and a little bit of help towards the end from Richard and Louise, the new SAAF website went live. For those who experienced the previous website this one has breathed new life into the SAAF site. It has also saved the owner Dean Wingrin a lot of time with updates.

Some launch comments.

Couple more comments.

There is a new series on Discovery called ‘Engineering the World Rally‘. I have wanted a Subaru WRX STi for some time now, in fact I am sure most guys (even ones who drive 6 series) still want one. Jackie hates them. I told here it’s only a matter of time before there is one parked next to her car. Barry took us for a ride in his black one and I was sold. We took a corner at 120kph (all 4 of us) and the car just stuck to the road like glue.

This program is really interesting and follows SWRT for a season. Rally drivers are on another level and Petter Solberg is incredible. He says that if the team move his seat 3mm he can feel it as that is his ‘office’ and he feels everything through his seat.

It has made me even more focussed on buying a Subaru. But when I buy one I want the latest model so I’ll have to wait a few years

This book caught my eye one afternoon while I was ’shopping’ with Jackie. CNA is always a great stop for us men, especially when compared with Foschini, Truworths, YDE, etc. An Unpopular War was sitting at number 6 in the top 10. I’ve read 2 books on the Border War and find it very interesting - like the cover says - it was a war that was swept under the carpet, most young South Africans don’t even know it happened. Yet in the 70’s and 80’s it was a reality which you faced as you finished school.