Orange and butternut soup

Sarie Kos/Sarie Food is a  quarterly Afrikaans food magazine affiliated to the favourite South Africn women's magazine  "Sarie". To translate:  - on the cover: (clockwise from the title) "my inspiration" above the title, and Autumn 2010 underneath it; 8 easy pasta sauces, Feel-good home cooked food, Soccer feast for the World Cup Soccer kick-off in South Africa on 11 June , 6 dream cheese cakes and chocolate cake in a mug (only 5 minutes!)

The day before I left South Africa to come back to the Sudan, my dear friend, Ida invited me to tea. We enjoyed delicious muffins, cream and jam on the deck in her beautiful garden. Even though I'd been home for three weeks, we'd only seen each other at mutual friend's houses and in the street; so this was a golden opportunity to catch up on each other's family news. She spoilt me thoroughly with a "going away" gift which included a packet of mixed herb seeds  - I've planted them in a container in my flat - and a glossy magazine. Sarie (a woman's name) is a South African women's magazine which I can remember as a child. Now there is also Sarie Kos (Sarie Food) magazine. (photographed above)  Wow, what a stylish and tasteful magazine. You just want to cook and bake (and eat, yikes!) as you flip through its glossy pages. I did! I made the delicious Orange and butternut soup for dinner when we returned from my last visit to the dentist this week. (yes, my root canal has been done and painlessly too)

A weekly bargaining session at the fruit market forces me to use my newly-learnt Arabic. When I think the price is not acceptable (I know how to ask: how much is a dozen oranges?) I reply that it's too expensive. I've also learnt to say: I know prices! (In other words, don't try to rip me off!) And so the bargaining progresses until I and the vendor agree we've both won!

Deliciously different: Butternut and Orange soup

Orange and Butternut Soup Sarie Kos Autumn 2010

(The combination of orange and butternut is a classic recipe)

Serves 6

50ml Olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1kg butternut, cut into blocks

300ml vegetable stock

2 slices orange rind

500ml orange juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in saucepan. Brown the onion until soft and transparent

Add the butternut and brown for a further 5 minutes

Add the vegetable stock and orange rind

Remove from heat and add the orange juice

Allow to cool and blend in food processor until smooth

Season with salt and ground black pepper

Heat before serving.

I don't have a food processor here in Khartoum. I used a sieve to achieve the smooth consitency visible in the above photo.