Food Fight Friday - Loadshedding Blues
Anyone out there know where the word Loadshedding is used?
'Only in South Africa', I hear all the peoples of our country shout out in frustration and anger!
I have no idea what the thinking was behind calling organised electricity blackouts loadshedding! Perhaps our state-owned power utility ESKOM, (which by the way is becoming an ugly word roundabouts here), can shed a light on that but I doubt it, as they literally are keeping us in the dark in more ways than one!
Why did we get to this point?
Now this entity is state owned and that should explain it all - our government have failed to deliver in many facets, gross mismanagement sadly being the order of the day!
Not sure who to credit these Whatsapp Eskom jokes to but it's two of many doing the rounds right now.
One thing I can say with my head held high is that us South Africans have not lost our sense of humour!
So they can fight us by putting the lights out but we will be prepared now that this darned loadshedding is back; that's once we've worked out which block they've put us into!
Of course the hot topic at any event around here at the moment is how to survive loadshedding -
- Switch over to gas for cooking
- Install Solar panels
- Set up costly UPS systems
- Install noisy and smelly generators
- Buy Solar lights, LED emergency lamps, torches, and even candles and matches
- Keep keys for remote gates and garage doors handy
Our burglar alarm batteries, automated gate motors batteries are failing, appliances are being fried if you don't have surge protection!
There's been some good commercial spin-offs from loadshedding, so you know what to do if you want to make money!
Not with candles and matches though!
Running a small bnb is a nightmare when guests arrive in the dark, although we do have adequate lighting inside the units with LED emergency lamps everywhere.
I still enjoy using candle power and it's so much more romantic dining by candlelight not so, although even the candles are starting to look tired!
So I will show you how to make Saucy Baked Meatballs but when it came to dishing up, loadshedding was under way and I forgot to take photos in the dark of the night; the above photo is of the leftovers minus the delicious gravy!
Careful meal planning is a necessity, so either you cook early enough or go hunting takeout in a neighbouring suburb that's not undergoing loadshedding!
These meatballs were made just in time and served with creamy mashed Potatoes, Peas and glazed Carrots.
EASY SAUCY BAKED MEATBALLS
- Ground Beef
- 1 Potato - grated
- 1 Onion - grated
- Fresh Parsley & Mint - chopped
- 1/2 packet Brown Onion Soup powder
Mix all the above
Shape into meatballs
Roll in flour
Pack into ovenproof pan
Pour over 2 cups Veg Stock
Bake for about 40 minutes in a hot oven
NB Before loadshedding kicks in!
And then it did kick in, from 6pm to 8pm, to my annoyance but we had an inkling we were being moved to a different block!!!
My meal was cooked just in time but I forgot to take the final photos in the dark!!!
The night after loadshedding!
I still have an old electric stove so used a little gas cooker to boil water for morning coffee as our next outage was from 6am to 8am and I simply cannot face the day without my cup of coffee!
Thank goodness the current guests are self catering. They had an early Braai (barbeque) the night before and get up late so were not fazed by the early morning outage! Apparently where they come from, loadshedding is active for much longer periods so they think we're lucky!!!
I think I've complained quite enough, have my boxing gloves on and am rearing to get into the ring to work off my frustration at this horrid thing called loadshedding so a big thank you to @foodfightfriday, who claims to be
The Head Cheese of this wild Kitchen...
The Top Dog...
Head Chef...
Master Egg Beater...
Toothpick Stackin' Champion 30 years running...
Supported by our head honchos @dandays, @idig and @jlsplatts; not forgetting the fearless guys and gals from #fff for their wonderful support each week!
And of course no contest can be held without a sponsor, so I take a bow to the generous @appreciator for sponsoring the Fabulous Foo Fong Food Flinging Food Fight Friday!
Hope to be in a better mood next week once I've acclimatized to this annoying thing called Loadshedding; now I know what all my fellow South Africans have been complaining about!
Have a great weekend one and all!
Connecting the people of #STEEM across South Africa. #steemsa JOIN US ON DISCORD (South Africans Only) JOIN US ON TWITTER JOIN US ON FACEBOOK 
Thank you for stopping by
Copyright @lizelle - All Rights Reserved
I am so glad we opted for gas when we moved here! I am hoping that they are resolving the issues. I also said in my post, that I think we need to prepare to bit the bullet. I hope that in the New Year we get new plans for how this is going to be fixed.
I have to believe that.
Otherwise my wine stash will really suffer!
Just read your post now, brilliant! I was racking my brain trying to think who had written previously about this horrid subject, yep they can't take away our sense of humour not so, I will certainly have to add a supply of wine to my survival kit :):)
Posted using Partiko Android
Do it! It does help!
Nerves definitely get frayed when this has been going on for so many years already. Loved the humour!
You mentioned an old stove, I switched over to local branded stove with gas tops and thermofan oven in the 1990's before load shedding was 'invented', never looked back. Gas burner cooking is a lot quicker as is the thermofan for anything in the oven.
Survival kit definitely needs to be added with 'op-sit-kers'
Haha for sure Joan, how could I forget that one;) Really need to look at that gas stove otherwise I'll have to serve continental breakfasts when we have business guests, gas is the way to go for cooking.
We all muddle through how best to cope, if you don't like the idea of gas in the home one can always build a small outdoor kitchen using gas, if you have space.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 5/15 - need recharge?)
Thank you so much @miti!
Posted using Partiko Android
My pleasure, @lizelle!
Tell the world about Steemit, share your post on Twitter and read all about #posh and #oc here
My Twitter link
Your Food Fight Friday Contender has been entered into Round 73
May your contender make it out alive and not be placed in a permanent
Food Coma
source
Good Luck
and
Have a
!BEER
Hahaha that's so funny;);)
Thank you!
View or trade
BEER.Hey @lizelle, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @foodfightfriday for you. Enjoy it!We are SO proud to have you as a member of our
FANTABULOUS Power House Creatives family!
upvoted and resteemed!
❤ MWAH!!! ❤
#powerhousecreatives
JOIN US HERE
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Posted using Partiko Android
Cool! I love the little quips you've shared with us. I need to show my SA expat friend... to remind her of what she no longer lives with!
I'm sure your friend will enjoy those and at the same time be happy that she doesn't have to out up with all this. We do have a beautiful country with wonderful people but unfortunately it's not being run correctly so government systems are failing, the poorest of the poor feeling it the most, very sad! Thanks for popping in @viking-ventures:)
Posted using Partiko Android
I love the creative kitchen - great work.
@lizelle, I've got a feeling you could cook in complete darkness and prepare a meal fit for a king. Loadshedding, that is a funny word for sure. Take the word eskom and switch out a letter and add a letter, and you have Eskimo.
I could understand that name for this power company if you lived in the Artic, but not where you live. 😁
Ah that's a nice comment! LOL, I like the Eskimo story, that's another funny thing, it used to be called Escom (Electricity Supply Commission) but now it's called Eskom, can't work out why! I'm curious now to find out. Thank you so much for stopping by!
The pleasure is mine.