Disaster struck...for the third time since the latest loadshedding which thankfully has come to an end, for now that is!
First my washing machine gave up the ghost, then the freezer and on Sunday when the Roast Chicken was just cooked; but the roast potatoes and roast pumpkin not yet! the stove died a sudden death!
What to do now, as we had my best friend 
A delicious lukewarm loaf of homemade bread that my lovely friend baked for us that morning.
The Microwave became the new Hero!
I had to make Granny's Sago Pudding in the microwave, something I told you all about just the other day; I had only ever done that on the stove top in the past.
Veggies were quickly transferred to glass dishes and the cooking process completed in the microwave as well, so disaster was averted and dinner ended on a happy note!
Potjie Pot
All you need to cook with this cast iron pot is a fire, fresh ingredients and you're good to go!
We had a young couple staying in our studio apartment, and they had been cooking a giant Potjiekos (literal translation a small pot of food, although this one was a large pot) on the fire all afternoon; enough to feed an army;)
As they had their fill of potjie by nightfall, they asked if we would mind taking the remainder.
Ask any South African if they would ever say no to a gorgeous potjiekos!
As you can see, this is a large cast iron pot on legs and it's filled with a gorgeous casserole with meat, vegetables and a rich gravy, slow-cooked on the fire; a crowd-pleaser for sure.
I'm super fussy when it comes to food handling, but knew the guest was just as fussy, if not more!
These cast iron pots come in sizes from 0.7 to 70.5 litres, so you can decide which will suit your lifestyle.
The Steamer
So, my son bought this for me as he's super health conscious and concerned about Mother Hen and Dad, but I've been too lazy to pull it out.
I think the stove breaking down was meant to happen as I learned just how quick, easy AND delicious it is steaming food in this; 30 minutes and a meal of steamed fish and vegetables were all done!
Herbs, fish spice and butter added the finishing touch.
Instant Pot
So my instant pot has come to my rescue a couple of times of late, but I had not made a one-pot meal in it yet AND I'd forgotten that it has a sautee function plus a whole host of others that I will be trying out.
Hubby is still trying to figure out the stove problem, fortunately all current guests are self-catering, otherwise we would have called someone in, but this is the third appliance to get damaged by power spikes so it's becoming a tad costly!
I will share a real easy and simple one-pot dish with you here...
Chicken Risotto
This is not a genuine Risotto as I'm not using short grain Arborio Rice, but using a brown rice.
- Chicken fillets
- 1 Onion
- Olive Oil
- Brown Rice with sun-dried Tomatoes
- Packet of dry cook-in-sauce - Chicken & Mushroom
Sautee sliced Onion in Olive Oil, add Chicken fillets, then Rice, cook-in Sauce and enough liquid to cook rice.
Deliciously creamy Chicken Risotto, a little too runny for some, but that's how we like it.
So I hope the saga of me having to be inventive ends soon so I can get back to baking again as I don't think any of my appliances can replace my oven; but hey, I do have a cottage and the guests are out all day long, so who knows what tomorrow may bring;)
There's always the waffle maker, the sandwich toaster and the bread maker; or else I could just go on strike until I get my old stove back ;)
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