How to survive a night of load shedding

I was far too busy at work today to even realise that we were up for load shedding tonight. So I went about my usual business and came home just after 6 to a dark complex. Instead of being grumpy and hating on Eskom, I decided to get on with my unexpected Friday evening. Here are my tips on how to survive a night of load shedding without having to leave home.

Take advantage of natural light. We’re so used to switching on a light whenever it gets a little dark and sometimes all you need is to open up the blinds and curtains…and then there was light.

Invest in an emergency light. I had the bare essentials when I lived alone. I don’t think I even had candles. The husband has an emergency light – you charge it when you have electricity (I would totally forget to do that) and voila! Light…for when the natural light runs out.

Acquire a gas stove. Or a gas cylinder thingy with a stove-top attachment – that’s the one we have. The husband actually told me there are actually tons of these kinds of gas powered stove things. Some even come with a wok attachment! I suppose a braai would do too. Anyway, get one of those and you don’t have to resort to KFC for supper. We made a gourmet dinner on a little gas stove – coffee crusted steak with mash potatoes (couldn’t quite do a potato gratin without an oven) and a blue cheese dressed salad.

Always charge your laptop. And make sure you have series or movies loaded on it. Entertainment for the evening sorted! Who needs TV anyway.

I just found the flaw in my post – the router is off. How am I supposed to upload this? *Goes back to hating Eskom*

Simply Asia: re-defining Thai cuisine for me

When I first met the husband, his friends loved meeting at their favourite Thai restaurant. At that time, I already knew that I was pretty much the only person in the world who didn’t like Thai food. So I would look through the menu for a tried and tested dish I could stomach: crispy duck with some stir fry veggies and maybe pad thai.

Of course, his friends would be super amazed by the food, each person boasting that their food was tastier than anyone else’s. And so, in true Thai style, everyone would share each other’s food and I’d dread it cos it really didn’t taste that great to me.

Fast forward to a few years later when I suspected that I actually just didn’t like the taste of coconut milk. That explained why I hated those dreaded Thai dishes I tried. I had pretty much written off Thai food from my palate repertoire. That was until Simply Asia opened up close to home in Kyalami. The husband insisted that we go as it used to be his favourite restaurant when he lived in Cape Town. He also maintained that this restaurant would get me to like Thai food.

And how right he was! From the first time we went there, I loved every dish I tried. Since I know that the curries are all coconut milk-based, I steered away from that and tried anything else off the menu. I loved it so much that I pretty much go there at least once every two weeks. But it’s more than just the food that I like.

The staff are really friendly and I really like that they help you decide what to eat. They’ll often point out the specials or tell you what their popular desserts are. And if you pick a meal that is slightly out of the usual Thai dish expectations, they tell you so that you know, e.g. if I dish is prepared very dry and isn’t saucy. I’ve also overheard them advising customers on what heat level to choose which is so important to being able to enjoy your meal instead of burning your taste buds off. While I can handle hot, I find medium a lot more enjoyable.

If you fancy yourself a vegetarian dish, they have quite a few veggie options but you can pick any meal and they will transform it to vegetarian for you by substituting the meat for tofu or soya. It’s so handy when you’re fasting. I also like that they cook with loads of veggies so I feel like I’m eating healthily.

I wouldn’t recommend any specific dishes (since I like them all) but a dessert you should definitely try is the mini chocolate spring rolls. Decadent chocolate encased in light spring rolls served with a huge dollop of vanilla ice-cream. It’s a lot lighter than it sounds…so you’ll definitely have space for it. But don’t just take my word for it, try it…I know you’ll like it.