Work Horses of the Ocean, Saldanha Bay

The Public part of voting in the South African Blog Awards are closed now. Thank you for all the visitors that I have counted on my blog and if you have voted, many thanks. (Late voters, sorry but our Midnight is 8 hours ahead of the USA. Nobody's fault!) I will publish the results on the next post, and provide my readers with links to the 3 best travel blogs.

The painting shows a morning scene in tranquil Saldanha Bay, and the "work horses of the sea", the crayfish trawlers are ready for the early risers who should soon appear to board them.

Saldanha was named after Admiral Antonio de Saldanha, who anchored here in 1503 to look for supplies. He was unfortunately wounded by Khoikoi men. For some time it was thought that Saldanha Bay would become the docking harbour for sailing ships, but water was unobtainable. Thus Table Bay became the major port for ships coming in for supplies.

Now, after three and a half centuries there might be a reversal of roles. With steel and great fisheries there already, Saldanha could begin to play a role in Import/Export of goods. There are plans to expand Saldanha Harbour and give Table Bay Harbour some breathing space.

Back to my painted scene and photos: what a lovely place this is! I wonder if the seagull and the cormorant are eager for the fishing boats to start hauling in their harvest!

Waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyos)

Waterblommetjies also known as Cape pondweed, Cape hawthorn or Cape asparagus, is an ingredient in one of the most loved traditional dishes in the country called waterblommetjie-bredie (This word is a mouthful!!!!) While I lived briefly in other provinces of South Africa, I had to rely on the tinned products to make the popular stew. Here, of course, I am so close to many traditional food sources: only 90 km from where the bokkoms are harvested and a 3 minute walk from crayfish and other seafood. The nearest dams for harvesting waterblommetjies are on Lelieblom Farm in the Darling district. (The farm where I get so much material for my blogs!!)

I find that they appear in the markets more and more and this might mean that they will soon be available in fresh form all over the country. The ones I painted here were from a large fruit and veg market. The first people to utilize these greenish hard little flowers growing on long thin grass-like stems, were the Khoikoi people. They used it in stews, mostly with mutton, onions and potatoes and flavoured with salt, pepper and sorrel. Sorrel, of course grows in springtime so it is available at the same time as the waterblommetjies, and it is used to give a slightly acidic taste to the dish. I do not use the common garden sorrel at all, as it is much safer to have the plant positively verified by an expert. In fact, we will only eat it if three experts point them out! The little sorrel flowers on my cooked dish was placed there briefly for the photo!

Recipes? Just do what comes naturally. I always fry some onions first, then some lamb knuckles, add cubed potatoes and water, stock or wine and prepare for a slow simmer. Add the sorrel only if you know your garden weeds! The waterblommetjies are added last and steams on top of the dish as they soften and break up quickly. Mixed herbs, a little salt and some white pepper are a must. We find this dish filling and would eat it with salad things only, but rice is the traditional accompaniment.

For soup: Steam the waterblommetjies with potato and onion in a little milk and vegetable stock. Flavour with garlic and the usual dried herbs/salt/pepper. Liquidize, serve and enjoy this healthy vegetarian soup with some warm crusty bread.

I was unable to visit a waterblommetjie harvesting, but in the background I painted a man, knee-deep in water, harvesting the plants and putting them in a floating dish.

(Thanking South African Tourism for the photo of the harvesters)