Welcome to the Jungle

Guns N' Roses

J'taime Jamie gave us Guns N' Roses and 2 Britney Spears songs today in spin class. I liked the Britney---after all, I gave those songs to her...the rest of the class liked the G-N-R...

I like that song too...although I like Paradise City and Sweet Child O'Mine a little better.

So when my friend Dollface suggested it for a blog title I just had to do it...I'm still running my little "contest" but this one seemed to be a no-brainer.

After spin I had a workout with Dimples...we discovered our park had been almost flooded but we made it work...and then I headed to school for some prep work for our Art a la Carte lesson tomorrow.

Have I bored you to death yet?

So now I am making butternut squash soup (recipe on the bottom in case you dont want to look for it in "Hungry Like a Wolf" blog...

I decided that I would peel and chop up my squash vs. buying it already peeled and diced.

I do not recommend my plan.

I almost ended up in the ER...

Cutting up the squash just to try and peel it was tricky enough...it almost slid off the countertop. So then I get it into managable chunks and can't find my vegetable peeler.

So I use a knife.

Not a good plan.

That almost resulted in some gouges in my fingers and my thumb being cut off.

Most of the way through the first squash I found the peeler...

Thank you, kitchen fairy!

So I chop up the first squash and dive into the second.

This time I have the peeler.

They can be dangerous too...

And for some reason the squash got a little "slimier" so it was hard to hold.

But then I got that squash diced and mission accomplished!

Tossed it with some olive oil, sea salt, and cinnamon and put it in to roast.

There is an easier way...2 easier ways:

1) buy it peeled and diced---this is my choice from now on

or

2) slice it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, lightly oil it and bake it cut side down until it is soft. Let cool and scoop out.

Why didn't I do "plan 2" with the squash?

And for some strange reason I have this film on my fingers now that I cannot get off...I've tried a scrub, I've tried olive oil, I've tried dish soap...

on the other hand I think I may have discovered a really great natural skin-tightener that I might be able to market as "facelift from a plant"...

So now that I have (hopefully) amused you with my tale of dangerous cooking, I'll get to the "jungle" part of this story.

I've never been to a jungle unless you count the fake one at Disney World...or Middle School (that is a very very scary jungle).

I've been in "the bush" when my brother and Sister-in-Love (that is what I have renamed her...not Sister in Law but Sister in Love because she is my sister through love...my love for her!)...

Anyhoo...

They lived in South Africa and we went to visit them. My kids were in 2nd grade and Pre-K. It was the trip of a lifetime.

We went to a game park and saw lions eating after a kill, zebra running wild, and my brother had a giraffe that thought he was the family pet.

I feared the Black Mambas (deadly snakes) and loved watching the weaver birds in the tree that they all built nests in.

Those weaver birds are pretty smart little birds...at least the females are. The males build the nests...show it to the little wife bird...if she likes it, she moves in. If she doesn't, she rejects it and makes him make her a new home.

I like that...

We spent 4 weeks in South Africa. I hated to leave...it is a remarkable country.

We spent most of our time at my brother and SIL's home about 3 hours north of Johanessburg. We also went in to Johannesburg to shop and enjoy the city.

Something exciting ALMOST happened there...I say "almost" because the exciting thing didn't actually happen but it ALMOST happened...

Because...

OPRAH WAS THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mom, Ke$ha Barbie and I walked into a shoe store. The girls working there noticed we were American. They asked if we knew Oprah.

I said: "No, I don't personally know her but I know who she is and want to meet her".

Then they told us we had just missed her by like 3 minutes.

I went running all over the Sandton Mall trying to locate her. I just wanted to SEE her...I wanted to be in her proximity.

I still cannot explain to you my fascination and obsession with her, but there it is...

I chased her all over a South African Mall.

I could have been shopping but I was looking for Oprah...oh, and I had a prety delicious lamb shwarma in the food court...we thought she might be there.

When we returned to the states, Oprah had a television special about her trip there.

She was deeply affected by her trip there. So were we.

It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. I never felt unsafe although I know there is crime there. Johannesburg is like any big city...you have to know where to go and where to be.

We stayed in the Sandton area (think nice residential)...we avoided Soweto (a terrible sad slum).

We shopped in the flea market and bought treasures. I bought bowls made by women who used telephone wire to make the bowls. They are beautiful. I have a wine opener that is a tusk from a wart hog. I have beautiful wooden bowls. I have beaded salad tongs. Treasures...

The best part of the trip...finding out SIL was pregnant with my nephew.

We also drove down to the coast. My brother decided we needed to take our lives into our hands and experience South Africa's version of real-life "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" called the Prince Alfred Pass.

Don't. Ever. Do. It.

It was horrific.

First, you are driving in some mountains like, oh say...Arizona. No problem. Just remember to drive on the LEFT side of the road.

Then you ascend into the mountains and it becomes very alpine...I kept thinking Heidi was going to pop up. It is what I imagine Norway or Sweden are like. Beautiful...

I was mildly terrified when I saw some cars in the valley...cars that had fallen off the road. Not a cool feeling.

so we are driving this winding pass...or rather my husband is driving. And the roads are narrow. And they hug the mountain.

And Mr. "I am the best driver" forgets what side of the road to drive on and we almost crash into another car...or into the side of the mountain...or down the cliff.

I really needed a drink after that.

Sadly it was hours away...

Needless to say we did NOT take that pass back when we returned to my brother and SIL's house...

Once we got to Plettenburg Bay (our destination)we met up with some friends of my brother and SIL's.

It was incredible to meet them...because the wife's father was one of my foather's dearest friends and I was once-upon-a-time supposed to stay with her (her name is Cathy) when we were in high school. I was to go to South AFrica, stay with Cathy and then go to her family's game lodge. But apertheid was in full swing and it became dangerous so I didn't get to go.

So 18 years later I finally got to meet Cathy...and we stood in her yard and cried with joy. There is a long story to how my brother became her friend but the shorthand version is that my SIL's dad (who is from Dallas) met Cathy's husband, brought my brother and SIL to meet him and Cathy and Cathy said her dad was good friends with a man from Texas...who turned out to be my father.

Fate...perfect fate...

I loved our time in Plettenburg Bay and with Cathy. My brother had always told me she was just like me with a South African accent. It is true. She and I finished each other's sentences. I long to see her again.

Leaving South Africa was hard...it was a wonderful country, we learned a lot...and we were flying coach....LONG TRIP...

Ke$ha Barbie sat on the floor of the airport terminal and declared she would not leave South African soil...

I pointed out that she was on the 2nd floor and had left the soil 10 minutes before when she got on the escalator.

While we were there we had incredible experiences...meeting friends, having a chance to feed and pet elephants, chasing Oprah...

But we had a really great "ah-ha" moment that I will never forget...

Ke$ha Barbie and The Cutest Boy in the World very much wanted a Nintendo Game Cube. They wanted Santa to bring it. Santa brought their gifts to our house in Houston...not South AFrica where I would have to pack them...

So Ke$ha Barbie was wondering aloud, on Christmas Day, as we were traveling south to Plettenberg Bay, if Santa had brought her the game cube.

At that moment we were passing a shanty town.

I asked SIL to pull over...

and pointed out to Ke$ha Barbie that those people didn't have phones, or tv, or bathrooms...and she shouldn't worry about a game cube when she was in this incredible country.

South Africa has no middle class...we would be wealthy there. I mean, we had a steak dinner for all 9 of us in a first class restaurant and our bill, including all the wine we drank and HUGE steaks...was less than $200.

We had pizza with beer and drinks for $11...and Ke$ha Barbie had pasta and juice...

So when I tell you that those people are poor...I MEAN POOR...

Oprah said something on her special that I have never forgotten.

She said that she and her staff took polaroids of the kids in one of the shanty towns they went to. The children did not believe that the photos were of themselves.

Because they had not ever clearly seen their own faces.

No one had a mirror....

So they didn't know what their own face really looked like.

Wow...

We learned so much there...I long to return...

even if I have to convince myself that a black mamba will not get me or my children...

I've got more stories but this blog is already as long as a novel so I will sign off and return my brain to Houston...and dream of Africa...

Inspiration Song: "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N'Roses...because J'taime Jamie played it in spin class and Dollface suggested it would be a good blog...

Bye Darlings...don't get lost in your own jungle...and count your blessings...

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup:

Roast your squash...either peel and dice it into 1" chunks (or buy it that way at Costco) or cut in half, scoop out seeds, lightly oil and bake and cool and scoop out pulp.

Put the chunks (or pulp) in batches in your blender or food processor and puree. Thin with vegetable stock or chicken stock.

transer puree to a pan...add chicken stock or veggie stock to thin out to soup (chowder) consistency. You can also add some cream, half and half, fat free half and half, or milk (lowfat or fat free is better for you).

Season with curry powder (hot or mild), cinnamon, and a pinch of salt (or to taste).

Heat and serve...

I read a recipe where you bake some apples and puree them in...gonna try that next time!