My Year of Meaningful (2011)

TWIGGLES - chippies that taste like spicy tomato (a flavour we certainly never had growing up), in the shape/form of something like a cheeto (i.e. long, bumpy, finger-like crunchy thing)

and

Koo brand Chakalaka. OK fair enough, they call anything remotely hot&spicy "chakalaka" here, so therefore you can get "chakalaka sausage", "chakalaka dip", etc. But this is the actual ITEM, or NOUN "Chakalaka". Basically it's canned shredded veggies (i.e. the consistency of a cole slaw or something) in a yummy spicy indian-esque sauce. You can stir it through noodles, you can have it on toast, you can eat it as a cold salad straight from the can (as i do for lunch)... or you can experiment to the 9's with it in the kitchen and be quite the gormet. I have already added "Chakalaky-Joes" (a play on the american Sloppy Joe - minced beef + chakalaka topped with cheese on bread) and "Chick-alaka Special" (chicken stirfried into chakalaka and then stirred into cooked rice) to my repoirtoire.

It comes in the following varieties: "EXTRA SPICY" (which is damn hot), With Sweet Corn, With Butternut Pieces, With Extra Beans, and "regular".

oh it is so delicious.

here is the ingredients list (it's actually all quite virtuous, really, except for the sweetner and madey-uppy-type-acid content):

Tomatoes

Cabbage

Whole kernal corn

Carrots

Onions

Cane sugar

Vegetable oil

Green peppers

Red peppers

Spices

Salt

Acidifer

In the words of my friend Sandra's kid: "yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum"