What a lovely treat to get a day off in the middle of the week! How many of you will be planning a braai? As September 24th has become known as Braai Day, the spice laden smoke spirals will no doubt start early and continue well into the evening. I wonder what some of your braai traditions are and how involved your family gets in the preparations. For some families, convenience seems important and it is more about the experience of the get-together, the smell of the meat cooking and then tucking into the spread. For others, the preparation is almost more important than the end result. The planning begins well in advance with different people being tasked with various segments of the day according to their strengths. Marinade is made “from scratch”, meat carefully chosen and tenderly turned in the marinade periodically, side dishes and snacks are all planned and prepared.
In our house, as I am sure in many others, we have 2 pairs of eager hands ready and waiting to help wherever they can. Our boys love helping to get the braai ready, lighting the fire (and a few extra twigs along the way!), using the tongs (for the braai as well as anything else nearby!), carrying the meat, chopping the salad (and tasting as they go!), making “braai-brood” and of course helping to eat the snacks. This Braai Day I thought I would try out some new braai activities that our boys will hopefully enjoy. Here are some of the ideas I am thinking to include:
1) Making something fun to braai, e.g. Braai Turtles. These funny looking turtles have a burger for a tummy, bacon weaved around that and sausage legs and heads. I am hoping with all the “help” I will have to make them, that they will look kind of like a turtle in the end!
2) Playing Bean Darts – place a handful of dry beans into bandanas/pieces of cloth, gather up the material and tie with string/ribbon, throw your “darts” at targets in the garden (e.g. hoola hoops or cardboard boxes)
3) Making Stick Bread – using pizza dough, roll into snakes (with some expert help from little fingers) and wrap around a clean stick. These snake breads can then be held over the braai, turning frequently, to cook them. Once cooked you can slide a sausage into the space made by the stick or add butter and jam to the middle and enjoy!
I may even include our camping favourite..…smores! I am thinking about adding strawberries this time Go to http://allrecipes.com/recipe/smores/ to find out how to make these easy and oh so delicious treats!
Happy Braai Day Everyone!
Xx Carly
