DSH-Consult - ... a plate on life by Dennis StrydomDSH-Consult - ... a plate on life by Dennis Strydomhttps://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/author/dennisstrydomMon, 20 Apr 2026 18:52:25 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[BRUISED BUT NOT BROKEN]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/bruised-but-not-brokenSometimes we need to go through adversity to become better versions of ourselves.]]>


Life has been a bit tough lately, and I'm feeling somewhat lost and uncertain. It’s like God is busy with something, but I can’t quite pinpoint it. 

Yesterday, during prayer, I had a vision of a pestle and mortar. As a chef, I immediately thought of basil pesto and how it’s made. 

Knowing God, I believed this might be a clue to something significant happening in my life at the moment. 

Before we proceed, here’s a quick basil pesto recipe—perfect for a snack with ciabatta, charcuterie, and cheese.

 BASIL PESTO

Ingredients:

-200g soft basil leaves, washed and dried

-30g toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds

-30g dried grated Parmesan cheese

-2 teaspoons salt

-10g garlic, finely grated

-1 cup olive oil

 

Equipment:

-1 large and heavy pestle and mortar

 

Method:

1.Place the basil and nuts or seeds in the pestle and mortar and start crushing until they begin to break down.

2.Add the salt, garlic, and cheese, and continue crushing until the ingredients are broken into smaller pieces, but not into a paste.

3.Slowly pour in the olive oil and emulsify the mixture.

4.The pesto should be emulsified when finished, but not completely smooth.

5.Store it in the refrigerator with a layer of oil on top to prevent oxygen from entering.

 

My thoughts on this:

 

Pestles and mortars are used for blending ingredients or crushing spices. When herbs or spices are crushed, they release their oils and aromas. What’s on the inside comes out, so basil can never release rosemary flavours.

 

This can relate to a challenging time in your life when it feels like you’re being bruised. You have barriers to break through, but in the process of crushing them, your aroma emerges.

 

I think Mark Twain said, “Forgiveness is the aroma of the violet on the heel that trampled it.”

 

Who do I become when my life is bruising? 

What comes out of me when I am challenged?

 

Let’s look at how Job responds to losing basically everything and what James says about a spring of water.

  

Job 1:20–21

"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.""

 

James 3:11

11 Can a spring produce both fresh and salt water from the same source?

 

We often focus on the negative and push God away. But Job’s worship is truly inspiring.

 

I never felt the need to worship when I was struggling. Then, think about James. Can a single spring produce both salt and fresh water? So, when things are good, we say the right things, but when circumstances change, so do we. Basil, on the other hand, remains the same and keeps smelling wonderful.

 

Why do we make basil pesto?

Basil is turned into pesto so we can enjoy its flavour all year round. 

But to keep it fresh, we need to cover it with oil and store it in the fridge. 

So, the circumstances around the basil pesto greatly influence how long it lasts.

 

Similarly, our circumstances are important in helping us avoid trouble again. 

How do we maintain our peace? Are we kind to others after tough times? 

Do we get along well with those around us, like the pine nuts, cheese, and oil? 

Are we and our friends better together than apart?

 

Yes, making basil pesto has made me reflect. Sometimes, we go through tough times with others, which disrupts our plans. But in a way, these experiences make us stronger than we would have been otherwise. They also build resilience, helping us to carry on even when things get tough.

 

Look at Isaiah 53:5

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. I am so grateful for this truth—Jesus was the ultimate crushing, and His aroma still lingers after 2000 years.

 

What is your aroma like today?

 

“Lord, help me to see life’s challenges like Job did. Lord, everything comes from You. I am simply here to care for it. Please help me to share my positive energy with others, even after things improve.”

]]>Tue, 09 Sep 2025 05:48:31 +0000<![CDATA[THE STOCK POT OF LIFE]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/the-stock-pot-of-lifeWhen making stock, you combine basic ingredients that, on their own, may not hold much value.   However, by taking time and effort to clean, ]]>

When making stock, you combine basic ingredients that, on their own, may not hold much value.  

However, by taking time and effort to clean, simmer, and reduce, you can create something greater than the sum of its parts.  

In some classic French restaurants, the stock pot is kept going by just adding the peels and offcuts of the day to the stock pot.  

This process provides a consistent supply of good usable stock for cooking. 

This emphasizes that even the “offcuts,” which may seem worthless, 

can blossom and release their flavour to the greater good when placed in the right circumstances.

Ingredients:
  • 1kg beef/lamb/pork/chicken bones or meat offcuts
  • 15ml oil for roasting
  • 5 whole black peppercorns
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 200g unpeeled carrot, washed, chopped roughly
  • 200g unpeeled, washed, onion, chopped roughly
  • 100g unpeeled, washed, celery, chopped roughly
  • 2-3 lt. cold water
  • good dose of persistence
  • lovely attitude

To prepare the stock:

  1. Place all the ingredients on a roasting tray, except the water, & toss with the oil.
  2. Roast in an oven at 180°C, uncovered, until nicely charred.
  3. Add all the ingredients to a stock pot along with the cold water.
  4. slowly bring the pot to a gentle simmer, ensuring it stays on this slow simmer for 5hours
  5. Skim the impurities from the top as they appear. The stock should be clear when strained. 
It’s important to note:
  • Charring generates the initial flavour. Without it, your stock is going to be bland & flavourless. The same way a difficult life situation can develop the person you become. You have to live a little to gain experience, it generates tenacity, & it gives flavour to your existence. 
  • Stock should never boil. Boiling makes the stock cloudy, this is the same as getting angry, when life hits us hard. Our judgement is clouded, we say things we don’t mean. It’s essential to manage the heat in our lives & remove impurities as they happen. 
  • You never salt a stock. You could end up with a salty sauce or soup. This is like when we make assumptions about current situations before letting the process complete.
  • When finished, strain the stock, & discard the meaty bones, vegetables, & peels. All the nutrition & flavour are now in the water, so it’s important to prioritize what is essential.
  • Reduce the stock further, this increases the flavour & starts to thicken it naturally. This is like the concept of waiting for the right time rather than forcing situations. Now that the stock is done & reduced, you can use it to make sauces or soups. When making sauces, you add more flavourings, wines, & butter for shine. This teaches us that it is important to spend time on the process, caramelising the onions, reducing the wine, showing discipline even in good times.

Life works in a similar way. We are challenged with various experiences to create a “pot of life,” 
& just like a chef watching over the stock pot, God never leaves us alone. In the most challenging 
times we are facing, we can turn to Him for solace & peace. 
Deuteronomy 31:8 It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; 
He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
]]>Thu, 30 May 2024 16:58:19 +0000<![CDATA[Green Bean Stew (Bredie)]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/green-bean-stew-bredie

This is one of those warm nostalgic childhood memories. My mother used to make these pots of comfort very often, I would say stews raised me. It was always served with rice and sweet and sour beetroot salad.  

So as the season is currently changing I thought it would be great idea to start the chilly season off on a warm note. This is a recipe that I have worked on, I think it works well with beef as well as lamb or mutton.  Preferably use stewing cuts with a little fat in them,  I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

I N G R E D I E N T S

    • 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
    • 200g Onions roughly chopped
    • 2 Bay leaf
    • 3 Cloves
    • 500g Stewing beef / Goulash or soft shin
    • 500ml Beef stock
    • 250g Potatoes
    • 2 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground
    • 200g Green beans, topped, tailed and halved.
    • Salt to taste
    METHOD
    1. Add oil to the pressure cooker, as well as the onions, bay leaf, and cloves, sauté until soft.
    2. Remove the onions and brown the stewing beef.
    3. When the onions are done add the beef stock, potatoes, and black pepper.
    4. Follow the instructions of the pressure cooker manufacturer and pressure cook the items until the meat is soft, 30 - 45min.
    5. As soon as the meat is soft, add the green beans and cook without a lid until the beans are soft.
    6. Push the beans under the cooking liquid, do not overcook.
    7. You want the liquid the reduce to a thin sauce consistency.
    8. Serve with rice and beetroot.
]]>Mon, 27 May 2024 19:37:12 +0000<![CDATA[REPOST: Refining success in the kitchen]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/repost-refining-success-in-the-kitchen

In an industry that really asks so much of the individual, how do you get to the top alive? 
The easy answer is real hard work, but there is nothing easy about working in a kitchen. With a head chef constantly in your face, guests complaints an absolute reality, a kitchen that is warm and stuffy, a pressure cooker of attitudes and emotions, there is really from the outside nothing nice about this. You see to enjoy working in a kitchen you need to enjoy working, being busy- FULLSTOP. 

This is one of those jobs where the work never stops, you just choose to stop and go home for a while.

Think about this…a (normal) person will go to a shop, buy a bread, tomatoes, and cheese, go home and make a sandwich, 
They may even put in a toaster, and yes it would probably taste great…but being a chef means you think about everything you do, 
nothing on the plate should just be to fill it, it should have a place of importance. 

The best cheese and tomato toastie I have ever had was with beautiful red ripe tomato thinly sliced, topped with thinly grated parmesan, black pepper and salt held between two slices of home baked bread covered in real butter on the outside then slowly toasted in pan on low heat until golden brown, nutty and crispy - absolutely delicious...that is the difference…the details, the experience, the smile on a person’s face after he or she just ate that and cannot believe that a sandwich can taste that great or make you feel that good. 

To get to the top, you need to decide at the start if you are willing to grind it out for a few years to get to that office at the top, to be that chef that makes people come back for more. It means from day one If the rest leaves work early, you leave last, if they start late you start early, If everybody takes two days off a week, you take one and still spend it in some or other way bettering yourself for the future. 

Being a chef is not a job, it is a way of life. You will be tired almost always, sore, hurt, humiliated, frustrated, you will cry (probably in the dry store) more times than you would like to admit , but at the end of the day, when a single person stands up and says… “chef! That was the best meal I have had in a long time” That day it all becomes worth it, that day you know what it means to be a chef, when you are tired out of your wits and no one really gets it, because no sane person will work like that, but someone, just one, acknowledged that you’re effort was good. so keep on learning, keep on smiling, keep on keeping on, and your day too will come.
Get Started Now
]]>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 16:49:13 +0000<![CDATA[Breakfast Salad: ]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/breakfast-salad

Coriander Dressing:

  • ½ cup coriander chopped fine
  • ½ cup spring onion sliced finely
  • 2 tsp. crushed garlic                     
  • ¼ cup lemon juice               
  • 2 cups blend oil
  • seasoning to taste   
 Combine everything in a bowl and mix well. Store in fridge untill needed.
Salad Ingredients:
  • 100gr x boerewors of your choice grilled to your liking
  • 1 x egg, soft poached
  • 1 x small tomato, cut into halve grilled
  • 40gr x ricotta cheese sliced into cubes
  • Few thin rings of red onion
  • ¼ of a small ice-berg lettuce shredded

Method:
I absolutely love sausages.  My grand mother used to make her own, so while growing up we had the best of the best. In thinking of this dish I was trying to take something I ate a whole lot when growing up and make it really delicious. A quick lunch when I was a kid was boerewors with eggs, tomato and salad. This is me, taking that memory and spicing it up a touch for breakfast. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

When plating salads I like to make things look as organic and natural as possible. I will start with a bed of lettuce topped with the onion and ricotta. Then drizzle some dressing and  carry on stacking the items on top finishing with the egg and a nice drizzle of the dressing.

Serve warm.
]]>Mon, 02 Feb 2015 07:38:09 +0000<![CDATA[Food For Thought:]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/food-for-thought
"We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." -- Jim Rohn, Motivational Coach
]]>Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:50:39 +0000<![CDATA[Watch out! Curve ball...]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/watch-out-curve-ball...

It is always so interesting to read my previous writings; gives me a sense of direction. So, when I bumped into this one now, I was taken aback, this was written on the 6th of March 2011 and this is exactly my current position...still!! This made me realise that God will not move you forward until you have overcome whatever He needs you to overcome and also it made me see that I have been struggling with the same thing for years now and the emotional fallout off that has actually started to flow into other areas of my life as well. This needs to stop. Hopefully this is the last time that I write about this topic from this perspective… Dennis when will I (GOD) be enough for you?

 

This question has been haunting me now for weeks if not months. Revelation crept into my thoughts whilst making plans to pursue a girl, (let’s call her Eve), whilst making plans to spend time with Eve, whilst NOT making any plans to spend time with God or to pursue Him in any manner, He just silently came and dropped it into my spirit… Dennis, I cannot bless you with a wife before you stop putting Eve in front of Me. Man does it suck to hear that and to know it’s from Father. I actually felt sick, and to top it off, He gave me a scripture too…Mat 6:33 but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 

Does this scripture now magically erase everything I feel for Eve? No, of course not, but now I am forcing my emotions to go under God’s will. In fact, now it takes my emotions out of the picture, because emotions can sometimes lie! I will search for Him, and He says in scripture I will find Him…

Jer. 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer. 29:12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. Jer. 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jer. 29:14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

 

This was the first time in my life I have had to let go of something because God says so. My cousin says I am giving up my “Isaac” and through your life you will have to give up a few of these “Isaac’s”; I have to walk away from Eve. My soul is weeping, I am feeling ill, it is like I am giving up my soul or something bigger, but then again, where there is pain, there is growth.

 

When we choose to change, our character builds…so tonight I declare: God, this is my dream, this is my desire, I want a wife, a family; I want to belong to this union that You created. I want the covenant of marriage, but God tonight I am walking away; tonight, You can have my dream. I will pursue You; I want to know Your heart before everything else, you are My First Love!

 

Jer. 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.  Jer. 17:8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." Jer. 17:9 the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jer. 17:10 “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."

 

This is no easy task, it’s hard, and I really feel like crying my eyes out, but I know God, I know how He deals with me, I know this is a season, this is a growth period, and in time this will also pass and I will have my dream, but for now it will not control me anymore, for now I have peace and I will not be in pieces! I am a son of God Almighty, the creator of the universe, I am in victory, and I am here! Thank you, Lord! I am here! Thank you Lord!
]]>Sat, 27 Oct 2012 05:28:49 +0000<![CDATA[relating to relationships…]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/relating-to-relationships
I have done them all, or at least tried to. I have chatted up a storm for a quick fling; “hunted” for a life partner, searched for a wife. I have cried myself to sleep on more occasions than a guy would want to admit to in this testosterone driven world we live in… and for what? A woman…

The truth is after all that, the only thing that I could get out of it was that I am human, I can hurt, I can feel: in every essence of my being , me like all macho buffed up men,  contrary to popular believe possess a heart with blood, meat, veins and all those things that make it tick and I promise you, oh boy, can it hurt! I have been batted from point A to Z.  I have been tossed and turned in the excessively hot cauldron of so called lost love…blah, blah, blah! “It seems you just not meant for real relationships “a voice would whisper in my ear and an irrevocable feeling of my increasingly disability as a man would constantly taunt me. 

My whole identity was bound up into one big bouncy ball called “RELATIONSHIP” and it sucked because I was not in one… This brought me back to Christ, and to somehow again figure this out from square one. Why was I not getting this right God? Do You not want me to be happy, may I not have that sense of belonging, that sense of mattering to someone else (mom and dad does not count) why do I have to struggle like this? It drove me insane, I was questioning myself the whole time, my faith, my intention, my heart for God and His work in and with me.

A while ago, I started receiving revelation & things started to clear up. It was actually quite simple. I cannot be in a relationship with a woman until I can be in a relationship with God. That is the only way He will trust me with any of His daughters hearts. 

The Bible says seek first the kingdom of God and then everything else will be added to it. Hence why, I am searching, and it is tough at times and easier at other times, but I know that God has a great plan for me, it all depends if  I am going to let Him work it out for me, or if I am constantly going to interrupt Him and do my own thing for a while again. 

My prayer for this week is total submission to God and His path. I want to be the guy that God can trust with His daughters. I want to be the guy that listens when He talks and I want to be the seeker of His Kingdom with or without a person holding my hand.

God, You are enough for me. In Jesus Name, Amen.

]]>Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:10:16 +0000<![CDATA[Plough the land]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/plough-the-land
I was walking from work this afternoon and looking at freshly ploughed soil between the vines and it struck a nerve. For the new seasons seeds to be sowed the soil must be ploughed, the top hard layer must be broken up and aired. This is the only way that maximum growth and effectiveness would be achieved. This made me think how much this is true of our daily lives, when God wants to sow new seeds in our lives there will be a preparation time. A time when the soil will be prepared, ploughed, raked, stones removed and so forth. Normally these times are not nice; there is pain and discomfort, frustration and anger, basically just a whole lot of hurt. We might thought we have dealt with something in our past, but God knows that for the new seeds He wants to sow we need some more ploughing, some cleaning and pruning. God loves us as we are, but He loves us way too much to leave us this way. The ideas and dreams we have for our future are not close to anything God wants to give us, if we are just prepared to be ploughed, to go through times of character building and embrace them…with the right attitude. Attitude is the key here, you cannot go around with a negative view of life and expect positive outcomes, this is not positive thinking, this is spiritual law, Galatians 6 says it clearly that you shall reap what you sow. Therefore, if you are going to be down and out the whole time, and speak negative thoughts that is what will start to manifest in your daily life. You need to expect the best to get the best. God cannot give you something you do not have the capacity for to receive. It is the old cliché of the cup; if you go to God with a small cup He will fill that and if you go with a bigger cup He will fill that as well, so basically our understanding of God’s ability to provide is the link to our provision. My prayer for this day is that we would let God plough us, rake us, remove the stones that’s keeping Him from sowing the seeds in our spirit for the new season, the seeds that will produce a harvest like nothing seen before. I ask that God would carry us when times are tough, that He we would help us endure rather than ask Him to make the load lighter.   Many Blessings!
]]>Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:59:41 +0000<![CDATA[So what are you doing with yours?]]>https://dshconsult.com/aplateonlife/post/so-what-are-you-doing-with-yours

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” (ESV)

  Last night I had the pleasure of spending a quiet evening at home watching some television. With only a national talent search and Paralympic highlights to watch, I actually stood amazed at the amount of talent and just sheer guts that we as a country possess. A country that people so often criticise (myself included) for numerous faults and wrong doings, but it takes people like this, people that actually do not have the ability that I have and yet they go and achieve so much more, something much greater, they actually outperform most able bodied people. This brings me back to the talents that God gave us, and the question arises, what am I really doing with those talents? The short answer is…nothing.  I have legs, arms, eyes, I am able and don’t even want walk anywhere, much less run! I am shamed, before God, before these athletes, I can do something and I don’t: what a waste.  I am humbled. It just shows the amount of greatness that can be born through hardship; when you actually have to fight for something in life, when you have to take your place because nobody will give it you. This is a life lived well. Today I salute you, Athletes of the Paralympic Games for you embody what we all should aspire to; pure, raw, unadulterated  GUTS!! You guys rock!! My question therefore stands… What are you doing with yours?
]]>Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:51:34 +0000