Wonderful Wonderbag!

Just about a year ago I remember starting my post off with a joke about Eskom (our Power Supplier) and the Prince of Darkness. Well, here's another one:

What did South Africa use before candles? And the answer is................Eskom!!!

We have been warned again about using and saving electricity, every evening on the radio and TV, there are red/orange or (very rarely) green 'adverts' telling us that our usage is too high and sharing hints like wear a blanket, hug a hot water bottle, pop a beanie (a woollen hat) on your head, shove an extra pair of socks on, read with gloves, you get the picture? The words 'load shedding', 'rolling blackouts' and 'power outages' are bandied about like threats, and our tariffs are going up with a promise. The new power station that was supposed to be completed and on-line by the end of this year is now only going to be 'ready' by the middle of next year, if we're lucky, so the chances are very very good that we shall suddenly be plunged into darkness just as the programme we are watching gets really interesting!

So, for a while now I have been thinking about alternate ways of producing a meal! Or rather, how can Rob do his potjies and soups without using electricity! We are lucky in that we have a gas hob, and our wood burning stove works well for re-heating, but for the really slow cooking stews an oven is a necessity. Or is it?

The Wonderbag! (Image thanks to Google)

This is where the 'Wonderbag' comes in! Basically it is a polystyrene 'beanbag' with a lid.

The brainchild of a South African lady called Sarah Collins, she came up with the idea a few years ago during a power cut. (Necessity is the mother of invention after all!) She surrounded her dinner with cushions to retain the heat and after several hours her stew was done to perfection. A plan and a pattern, a few nips and tucks later, and voila, the 'Wonderbag' was born! I love the idea that meat, veg, stock and seasonings are thrown into a pot, it's brought to the boil, simmered for about ten minutes and then tucked into the bag for the day. It's safe and can be used anywhere, especially in the places where income is limited and electricity supply is unreliable! So far, over 600 000 are in use here in SA and over 4500 have been sold in the UK.

It cooks rice beautifully and porridge can be prepared overnight so that a creamy, hot breakfast is ready without the chaos that usually accompanies the morning rush (unless you're retired of course!) Meat, chicken, seafood, paella, side dishes and even  puddings can be prepared and enjoyed hours later. You need to keep it warm for later? A quick re-heat and pop it back into the bag, no problem.

There is a website and an online shop and they retail new in a variety of sizes and colours for between R150 and R350. There are recipes and hints on how to make your own and I must admit I was tempted to try to make one. But.......on Thursday morning I was on duty at the Hospice shop and guess what I found? For R20!

Our Chilli Beef tucked up!

On goes the lid, and six hours later............

And look what Rob cooked? Delicious!

Cooked to perfection, delicious and hot!

I wonder how long it will be before Basil finds it to sleep in?