Leslie Mathys

12: A Lazy Sunday

Today, 8 June 2025, was a Sunday.

Sundays can sometimes be a bit dread-filled for me. But not today. Today I had the best kind of Sunday.

Woke up, it was cold and rainy. I went to the shops to do our weekly shop. On my return, I was outside getting my equipment ready:

Today I was making a potjie. One of my favourite things to do is to cook on an open fire. I think it's part of South African DNA. Twenty minutes later, the coals were roaring. Poured them out. Manoeuvred the pot into position above the coals. It needs about ten minutes like this so the cast iron pot can absorb the heat.

Ten minutes pass, in goes some olive oil. I can tell by the oil reacts that the pot is hot enough, that means I can brown the meat. We used lamb shanks today, a cut that responds best to slow cooking. Once the meat was brown, in went the onions to sauté. Following that I then put in the following:

That has to sit for a bit so the flavours can marry to form the base of our dish. The meat goes on top of the oniony goodness, then its topped. up with some water, stock pots and I also used some frozen bone broth we had in the freezer. Now, we wait.

The next 4 hours requires me to maintain the coals at the 'right' level and adjusting the seasonings to taste. What is the right level for the coals? Well, you need to listen to the pot... We need a low, slow boiling sound when you put your ear near it. If the fire is too hot, you'll be met with a vigorous rolling boil.

The time spent tweaking coal position and my daughter running in and out of the house to 'help' me, my wife and I chatting through the servery window while she made some homemade mini pizzas for lunch, was just... amazing. This was life at its most mundane, but I felt a great sense of calm and contentment. This is the good life.

Some hours later, my in-laws rocked up and we all sat at the table and had a wonderful dinner. Then came the usual tidy-up and bedtime routine for my daughter. That went smoothly, which is a plus.

I'm typing this at 23:22 while under the covers. I've done some coding practice for a few hours and tomorrow is a public holiday, so no work. All in all, a bloody great day.

This post was last edited 3 months, 3 weeks ago.

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