The Moral of the Story

Rack of Lamb

Sadness and concern or loss cause us turn our energy inward and think, far more so than happiness. It seems that we need a crisis to make us appreciate what we have and what we’ve lost.

When I was growing up, life experiences were passed on among generations by means of stories, myths, fables and legends. Every story had a lesson – something to tell us that it is better to do good than be unkind.

These stories were simple and were carefully constructed around everyday incidents and invariably, they contained at least two opposing characters: one kind and good, and the other unkind and with impure intent. The odds are stacked against the kind one, yet in the end, they always triumphed.

And therein lies the moral of the story – kindness always triumphs over the unkind, irrespective of the odds.

Just last week I observed a young lady scold an old beggar in one of the city’s parking lots. From the quality of her clothes, the size of her bracelets and rings, and the car she alighted from, I guessed that she might be well-off. Much better off than the beggar who accosted her with a delighted request for some spare change. A crafty old bugger he was too. He complemented her looks with good intent and truthfulness. Oh yes, she was rather pretty. Then he asked for only a small amount. All he wanted was enough for a bite to eat and maybe, just maybe, some Kaalgat. Yet, despite his careful craft, she was scornful. Condescending and unkind. Three times she interrupted her journey; turned back each time to pummel his ears some more. Her insults were aimed mainly at artifacts hidden below his belt and between his ears.

My presence must have caught her off-guard. She explained that they know each other and that she always makes these jokes with him. With that she handed him a two-figure banknote and disappeared down the escalator. He, on the other hand, could not believe his luck. “Jirre mineer. Kyk net soe!”

This incident reminded me of a story I was told many years ago.

A hungry and thirsty beggar arrived at the house of a very rich woman and asked for something to eat and drink. The rich woman ordered her servants to get rid of the beggar. One female servant who was quite ugly felt pity for the beggar and secretly gave him some bread and water. To repay her kindness he gave her his only possession, a dirty old handkerchief. The next morning before service, she washed her face using the handkerchief. Upon arrival at the rich woman’s breakfast table, she was met with sheer shock and disbelief. Thinking there must be something on her face, she wiped it again with the handkerchief. More shock and disbelief. When she looked in the mirror, she saw the reason for the shock and disbelief – she was as pretty as a girl could be. Her ugliness was gone.

When asked by the rich lady, she explained that she fed the beggar and gave him water and that she wiped her face with his handkerchief. The woman grabbed the handkerchief and wiped her own face. But no change, her face remained the same.

At once the rich woman sent all her servants to bring all the beggars in the city to her house for a feast of fine food and drink. She fed them and gave them wine. When they had their fill she demanded their handkerchiefs. No beggar bar one had a handkerchief. With the first wipe with his handkerchief, her face became ugly. Ever uglier the more she wiped.

The moral of the story: a good deed done for selfish reasons can never be an act of true kindness. True compassion cannot be forced and requires a pure heart.

Sadly, we do not tell stories like this anymore. Instead, we are being fed fairytales and fables that were given a modern, violent makeover on TV or in the movies. In recent times the Grimm brothers have become grim indeed.

I continue to mourn the loss of the elderly companions who passed on this month. With them, we have lost irreplaceable custodians of our food, our traditions and our stories. But more importantly, we have lost pure hearts filled with true compassion, and judging by the behaviour of the pretty young lady in the parking lot, we could all do with an extra helping of kindness.

And that is the moral of this story.





Rack of Lamb

Ingredients

• Two racks of lamb (about three to four cutlets each),

ask the butcher to ‘french’ it for you

• One egg, lightly beaten

• One tablespoon of rosemary, finely chopped

• One tablespoon of thyme, finely chopped

• Half a cup of Parmesan cheese,

finely grated

• Half a cup of bread crumbs

• Salt

• Black pepper

Confit tomatoes

• 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

• Olive oil

• Salt

• Pepper

• Half a red onion, medium sized, cut into broad

strips

• Two cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole

• One twig of thyme

• One twig of rosemary

Dressing

• Olive oil

• Reserved tomato juice and insides

• Salt and pepper for seasoning

• A pinch of sugar

Samp and beans

• Two cups of samp and beans, soaked overnight and

cooked until soft.

Directions

Samp and beans:

These take a really long time to cook, so it should

be soaked overnight first. Then it should be cooked

for a few hours until soft. Alternatively, it could be

cooked overnight in a slow cooker.

The rack of lamb:

Cover the bones with aluminum foil. Mix the

cheese, bread crumbs and chopped herbs on a plate.

Lightly whisk the egg and mix with the dry ingredi-

ents on the plate. Season the meat with salt and

pepper and cover with the crust. Place on a baking

tray crust side up, in an oven pre-heated to 200

degrees. Cook for 35 minutes for medium-rare, or

longer if you like your meat more cooked. Remove

from oven and set aside to rest.

Confit tomatoes:

Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out all inside

flesh, juice and pips. Save these for the dressing.

Line a tray with aluminum foil and add about

two tablespoons of olive oil.

Season with salt and black pepper. Add the herbs,

whole garlic cloves and the onion slices and drizzle

with more olive oil. Place in an oven and cook at

160 degrees for about an hour and a half. Check

regularly to make sure that it does not burn.

The dressing:

Add about one-and-a-half times as much olive oil

as tomato juice, pips and flesh. If you need more,

add the juice and flesh of more tomatoes.

Season with salt and pepper, add the pinch of sugar

and cook in a pan until the mixture has reduced and

starts to thicken. Stir in a few of the cooked onion

slices from the confit and some of the garlic. use this

mixture to dress the samp and beans.