Located approximately an hour to the west of Port Elizabeth is located the unique village…named Cape St. Francis…
Last Saturday evening…we took an evening drive to meet Mr. P’s brother and his wife…a little nervousness in tow…
I was a little taken back by the scene of the numerous wind turbines lining the highway…if I hadn’t known better…I would have sworn I was back on Highway 64 heading toward Indianapolis…but exceptionally pleased that SA is developing alternative forms of energy…
Mr. P and Whiskey Dog are very familiar with the area…he had a vacation home there when his family was young…so we traveled onward with my brain being filled with much info…Mr. P is like a walking encyclopedia about the history of the area…
In between Port Elizabeth and Cape St. Francis is a sleepy little town named Humansdorp…it is the commercial center for the local farming community…founded around 1849…with trees lining the city walkways that were planted before WWI…
I have a love-hate relationship with the dairy products here in SA…different than the milk, cheese, and butter products in the USA…for the better…I am coming to believe…but frustrating from a cooking point of view…
I was a little surprised that the butter never seems to melt here…it’s on the counter…and softens…but doesn’t melt…shredded cheese has to be added to milk and flour to make a decent cheese sauce…you should have seen the clumps in my scalloped potatoes when I just layered the cheese…rather embarrasing for an accomplished cook serving a first time guest…uggg…
The flavors are exceptional…although cheese is a little pricey…the cream is “OMG” awesome…no cottage cheese…or rather very small containers that are of the “smooth” variety…appears to be used for spreads…not my “cottage cheese with “curds”…we spent over a month trying to find some…gave up on the search…
But I digress…with my culinary distress…
…short version…the evening meeting Mr. P’s family was enchanting…beuatiful jazz…flowing wine…steak on the braii…stimulating conversations…stories shared all around ( **Mr. P’s brother and wife sailed around the world in a yacht that they made themselves)… and discussions on subjects that only a few would broach on a first encounter…
The evening ended way too soon…so I look forward to our next time togather…although a meatloaf was promised…it is interesting that something that we find so common in the United States…and even a little considered a southern country food would be so appreciated here…although it had been 8 years since they had enjoyed the southern delicacy..
Before we left the next morning…Mr. P took me to view the beautiful Cape St. Francis morning view…I am still in awe of the beauty that surrounds the sea on these eary morning jaunts…
…more to share from the Cape St. Francis…a beautiful lighthouse that is still operational…and St. Francis Bay…
