Weeds, money, coffee and a good novel

Patricia McCracken sheds light on some gems to help those with a ‘Januworry’ money hangover, who may need a strong brew to end the weed curse and take solace in a spectacular war-time novel.

My 5 key words: Nikki Brighton

Most people curse weeds – not Howick’s Nikki Brighton. Her new book Wild About Weeds (R400, order at www. plantabundance.

co.za) entertains and intrigues with musings and memories of non-indigenous weeds and recipes to introduce you to their flavours and nutritional value. This weedeater’s found an unusual business opportunity in this niche and explains five of the things that drive her:

ȊȲLove: I remember saying as a child that I wanted a garden full of weeds when I grew up – just because they were pretty. My Aunt Jess, who was wandering round the garden with me, was horrified! Now I’ve even written a poem about that moment and it’s in the book.

ȊȲDiscovery: I lived on a farm in the Dargle for many years and began learning to be a weed-eater from two Basotho women who also lived there, Alina Mofokeng and Nombuizelo Nokhoakhoa.

ȊȲReassessment: Weeds are a powerful source of nutrition and health but many South Africans dismiss them as poor people’s food. Six years ago I compiled Mnandi, a cookbook celebrating the cooks and gardeners of nearby Mpophomeni township, complete with a section on edible weeds.

ȊȲValue: Most farmers already appreciate the value of weeds in various ways, often using them as a diagnostic tool to indicate what minerals are missing in their soil or using them to make compost.

ȊȲExploration: For a long time I’ve been a writer, locavore and food activist, well known in the Midlands for my passion for local living and community. I also host Weed Walks and Wild Lunches, helping people experiment with tasty, uncultivated food. Once people take a small step, they can’t look back.

How To Drink Coffee by Sarah Ford (Skittledog, R515)

With Januworry still looming over your bank account, you might wonder whether this A5 book of 130 pages is worth the price, but it’s packed full of tasty treasure. Spectacular coffee flavours are relatively cheap ways to impress guests, and if you have a B&B, farmstall or café, these ideas could help give a coffee rush to your business. Its 100 pages of coffee recipes contain plenty of drinks, but also desserts, sweets, cookies and cakes and even savouries such as maple and coffee ribs with BBQ sauce, gingerbread latte, Japanese coffee jelly, espresso risotto with roasted oranges, cod with coffeebuttered noodles and tipsy orange, and coffee lollies.

There is a history of coffee drinking, the importance of terroir to beans and the finished product, and polishing up your coffeemaking skills, including how to make espresso without a machine and how to do latte art – a whole lot more than just drinking coffee.

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline (No Exit Press, R300)

Most of Scottoline’s nearly 40 novels are legal thrillers. This time she’s written an absorbing piece of historical fiction set in Rome, opening in May 1937 as World War II looms. At the heart of the novel are three schoolfriends, Elisabetta, Sandro and Marco.

The war in which they come of age shakes their families and community to its foundations and strains their bond as the friendship evolves into a poignant love triangle. Worse, Marco follows his father into the fascist forces while Sandro, a Jew, finds himself trying to defend his community.

The novel opens with the famous quotation of hope,

“Love conquers everything.” But loyalty and love are severely tested here. Scottoline knows a classic romantic happy ending is unrealistic but evocatively captures the resilience and hope that helped this wartime generation through their ordeal.