Antidotes to depression

 Stanley - Thursday

For the past few months I've been increasingly depressed by what I read in the newspapers every day. Seldom are there any stories that are uplifting or funny or encouraging. Most stories are about something bad. To make the situation worse, many of them confuse news and opinion. And as for the quality of writing..... I gnash my teeth.

Talking of gnashing, one antidote I have been indulging in to ease my depression is sending myself into the past by listening to songs and pieces of music that I loved many decades ago. Simple pieces; pieces intended to entertain; clever pieces.

For example, one of my all-time favourite duos, was lyricist, actor, and singer, Michael Flanders, and composer and pianist, Donald Swann. They were a sort of a modern-day Gilbert and Sullivan, except they wrote revues rather than operettas.

Michael Flanders and Donald Swann

Their three best known revues were At the Drop of a Hat,  At the Drop of Another Hat, and The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann. I love most of their songs and know many by heart. Two in particular link me with my African background: The most famous is the Hippopotamus Song, which you can listen to here, and I encourage you to sing along. 

In typical British fashion, it was adapted for performance at one of the Proms concerts. You can listen to that version here.

The second song I like is titled A Gnu, which takes me back to the gnashing. Enjoy it here, not in the original but performed by the muppets.

I can't resist adding one more Flanders and Swann classic, to which most of us will resonate: The Gasman Cometh.

The second activity I've been doing to lift myself from my news misery is cooking, often while listening to Flanders and Swann or Gilbert and Sullivan or Mahler's Second. I've been focussed on the cuisine for which Cape Town is famous: Cape Malay food, which had its origins among the slaves brought to the Cape by the Dutch East India Company three-hundred years ago. It is gently spiced, more aromatic than hot, often with a hint of sweetness. Here is a simple chicken recipe I've adapted from one I found on BBC Good Food. Cook it while listening to something you enjoy; eat it with someone you like. Bon appétit.

Cape Malay Chicken Curry at Chez Stan

Cape Malay chicken curry with yellow rice 

2 tbsp (30 ml) canola oil 

1 large onion, finely chopped
5 large garlic cloves, finely grated 
3 tbsp (30 ml) finely grated ginger 

6 cloves
2 tsp (10 ml) turmeric
1 tsp (5 ml) ground white pepper
1 tsp (5 ml) ground coriander
1 tsp (5 ml) ground cumin

Seeds from 8 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
14 oz (about 400 gm) can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp (30 ml)  mango chutney
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

A deseeded, sliced red chili, or cayenne to taste. Should not be very hot.

12 bone-in chicken thighs or 6 large chicken breasts or 12 drumsticks or a combination thereof. Remove the skin.
About 17 oz (500 gm) potato, cut into chunks

Small bunch fresh coriander, chopped 

Yellow rice recipe

1 oz (50 gm) butter
12 oz (350 gm) basmati rice
1 oz (50 gm) raisins
1 tsp (5 ml) brown sugar
2 cups (500 ml) lukewarm water
1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric
1⁄4 tsp (1.5 ml) ground white pepper
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half 
12 cardamom pods, lightly crushed 

1.    Heat the oil in a large, wide pan. Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until softened, stirring every now and then. Stir in the garlic, ginger and cloves, and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring frequently to stop it sticking. Add all the remaining spices and the fresh chili, stir briefly, then tip in the tomatoes with 2 cans of water, plus the chutney and crumbled stock cube. 

2.    Add the chicken, pushing the pieces under the liquid, then cover the pan and leave to cook for 35 minutes. Stir well, add the potatoes and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes more until they are tender. Stir in the coriander. 

3.    About 10 minutes before you want to serve, make the rice. Put the butter, rice, raisins, sugar and spices in a large pan with 2.5 cups (550 ml) water and 0.5 tsp (3 ml) salt. Bring to the boil and, when the butter has melted, stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes. Fluff up and serve with the curry. 

If you want to cook the dish the day before serving, for example, reduce 2 above to 5 minutes. Then refrigerate when cool. Before serving, heat until simmering and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve with a nice sparkling or dry white wine and a big smile.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

September 1; launch of A Deadly Covenant, Detective Kubu #8, in North America

Early November: worldwide release of the audiobook of A Deadly Covenant

December 8: launch of A Deadly Covenant, Detective Kubu #8, in the rest of the world