RECIPES TO ‘DIE’ LIVE FOR

Author: Sally Andrew

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Reviewer: Nancy Richards

It was the shweshwe on the cover that did it. Then again it may have been the rather sensuous heart-shaped chocolate cake. But a quick flick through the body of the comfortingly soft-back book, and finally it was most definitely the Spekboom Ice Cream that spoke to me. Spekboom ice cream for heaven’s sake, you just don’t get more S’efrican than that! I earmarked it immediately for my book club, but noted that Tannie Marie had devised the recipe exclusively for the birthday party of a goat named Mildred who had escaped from her owner, Goat Lady’s bakkie to nibble the juicy plant in the veld. Also noted that the decadent confection on the cover is in fact a Venus Cake combining chocolate, coffee, cream, apricot jam and peanut butter. Say no more.

Cards on the table, I am a dyed-in-the-wool Tannie Maria fan. And for those who’ve been under a literary rock for the last decade, Tannie Maria is the fifty something curly-headed soul who lives in the Karoo and writes an agony-aunt styled cookery column for the Klein Karoo Gazette. The twist in the sheep’s tail is that, due to a set of accidental circumstances, she also doubles as an amateur detective.

When I first spoke to author Sally Andrew back in 2015 on the publication of her Recipes for Love and Murder – a Tannie Maria mystery and she told me she planned to write a series, I thought, to be honest, she may have lost it. Was this not a little niche as a genre? Well, four books and a very successful TV series later, how wrong was I! So Ms Andrews has now seriously put her mouth where Maria is, and to quote the Tannie herself “So here it is, at last, my recipe book. Which is what I wanted to do all along but murders kept getting in the way. And love.” Nothing if not a serious romantic our Maria.

Whilst it’s primarily about comfort cooking – think Tamatiebredie, Creamy Potato Bake, Marmalade Rusks and Apricot Jam – it’s really the nostalgic romance of the Karoo that makes this book so covetable, if not cuddleable. In these days of online everything, most especially recipes, cookbooks are almost a thing of the past. But that is exactly what this book is – dishes styled with old enamel, sieves and griddles, weather-worn timber, crank handles, cake tins and cross-stitch embroidered napkins – it is an irresistibly delicious Thing of the Past. But as anyone who has read about or watched Tannie Maria in action will know, she’s also a gal with a keen eye on the present, and what and who matters within it. On who matters, the really nostalgic ingredients are the ‘hand-written’ letters from ‘clients’ in the community as well as Maria’s thoughtfully penned replies. And on what matters the essence of the book, the very flavour of it, are the evocative Karoo visuals complete with windpumps, aloes, storm clouds and even a bokkie.

Other TM fans will be especially pleased to note recipes for their best-loved characters: Karel the Mechanic’s Chocolate Mousse, Pikkie’s Pumpkin Pie, Zabanguni’s Harissa Paste amongst others, and of course, Henk’s Favourite. But you’ll have to buy the book to find out what that is. Enjoy!