Springbokkies

With national pride bursting from South Africa's seams, it seemed only fitting to indulge in one of our best-kept secrets - marula cream liqueur*. And really, you'd have to be made of stone not to feel patriotic once you've downed a Springbokkie. But wait, what exactly is a marula? And what the heck is  a Springbokkie?

Let's start from the beginning. Marula is the yellow berry from a tree that grows only on African soil - if you want to get proudly South African it really doesn't get much better than this. Urban legend has it that elephants used to get drunk on the fruit that had fallen from the trees and fermented on the ground. Whether this is true, I don't know, what I do know though is that adding the marula fruit to a creamy liqueur base results in pure magic. It is heavenly served simply over crushed ice, but of course us South Africans just love to mix things up and this is how this shooter was born.

The name Springbokkie (which literally means small Springbok), is a reference to the colours of this shooter which resembles that of the Springbok's (the South African national team) jersey colours - green and gold. Mention the word Springbok and many South Africans (especially expats) will get teary-eyed. Little wonder then that when we feel a burst of national pride or are simply feeling nostalgic we often reach for the ingredients to make this proudly South African shooter. And, like the Pringles ad, once you pop, you often find that you can't stop.

===========<() Paaaaaaaaaaarppppppp! Enjoy the SA-Uruguay game tomorrow.

* Overseas readers - visit the Amarula website for details of a supplier near you. Jeanne from Cook Sister has also done a great post on marula cream liqueur - hop on over for more background info.

Springbokkies

1 part creme de menthe

1 part marula cream liqueur

1. Pour creme de menthe into a shotglass, filling it up halfway.

2. Now carefully and slowly pour the marula cream liqueur against the side of the shotglass, filling the glass up. You can also use a spoon to aid you in this process, as its quite tricky to do it right. Hold the spoon against the side of the shotglass and pour the marula cream liqueur directly onto the spoon and into the shot glass. Again, go slowly.

The result should be a clear layer of green peppermint liqueur at the bottom topped by a creamy layer of marula cream liqueur. The trick is to ensure that the layers do not mix in the glass, this is achieved by the slow pouring of the cream liqueur.

Apple Pie Smoothie

There aren't many food related things I'm scared of. My recent warthog adventure springs to mind... So when I was faced with a jar of coconut oil, I took it in my stride (even though I'd never even seen it before, never mind used it) and immediately set out to find out how I could use it. I'd heard lots about the health benefits of the oil and was quite curious to try it out to see what all the fuss was about.

That initial fervour gradually died down though. I tried baking with it, but something must've gone horribly wrong (user error?) for my lemon coconut bars did not quite live up to expectations. Edible, yes. In fact, it was pretty darn tasty, but it had some...um... structural problems if you know what I mean. I also found recipes online that advocated frying with the oil, but that didn't really grab my interest. I needed something that would let the oil shine in it's unadulterated form. And that would preferably yield something that would both taste awesome and look great.

Enter my trusty old blender. And a need for a quick grab-'n-go breakfast. Don't we all need those? Blame it on my autumn mojo, but the idea of apple pie in a glass really appealed to me. Not really having a plan except for apples and some vague notion of also wanting to incorporate coconut oil, I set out by peeling some Granny Smiths and allowing them to stew in apple juice until soft. It ended with me taking a lick of the finished product and declaring it "Heavenly". The coconut oil added that extra touch of "mmmm this is good". Not sure about the health benefits in the end, but it definitely tasted like apple pie in a glass. Just what the doctor ordered.

Apple Pie Smoothie

Serves 2

This really is apple pie in a glass (or as close as you're going to get anyway!). The coconut oil, strangely, seemed to really enhance the flavour profile too.

3 apples, peeled and pips removed

1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt

3/4 cup apple juice + 2 tbsp

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/4 cup oats

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (allow to cool slightly before using)

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp honey

1. Cook apples in a half cup apple juice until tender and liquid cooked away. 

2. Add apples along with the rest of the ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. 

Serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 383.6 , Total fat 13.8 g, Saturated fat 10.6 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.0 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.7 g, Cholesterol 8.6 mg, Sodium 227.5 mg, Potassium 682.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 68.6 g, Dietary fiber 10.3 g, Sugars 18.9 g, Protein 7.8 g

Good source of: Manganese 82.3 %, Vitamin C 67.6 %, Calcium 26.7 %, Phosphorus 20.8 %, Vitamin A 20.3 %

Full disclosure: I received Kapruka organic virgin coconut oil in my goodie bag at the South African Food Blogger's Conference. However I was neither asked to nor paid to endorse the product on my blog.