A Recipe for Tanzanian Jam Buns

You could use any type of jam for the filling, I used strawberry for these

Called “Jam Buns”, these are actually more like biscuits (cookies) in texture. Most local bakeries here in Tanzania sell some version of the “Jam Bun”, and this is just one of them.

The photo does not really do them justice. The dough for these did not turn out as I’d have liked because I had to use quite a coarse brown sugar (which is all I had in the house at the time). A finer white sugar would work better and create a more ‘finished’ looking final product. Still, they tasted delicious !

Tanzanian Jam Buns

1 ½ cups Flour
2 heaped tbsp Custard Powder
2 tsp Baking Powder
3 tbsp Margarine
3 tbsp Sugar
¼ cup Milk
Strawberry Jam

Sift the flour, custard powder and baking powder into a bowl and mix. Rub in the margarine and stir in the sugar. Add the milk to make a stiff dough. Roll the dough into small walnut sized balls, press a hole into the middle of each ball with the back of a teaspoon (or your finger !) and bake at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for 20 – 25 minutes.

A Calorie Counting Cat ...

Tessa, after she had been put on her special 'diet' and had already lost some weight

Well, not quite. Rather …. a cat on a diet ? Earlier this year when we took Tessa (you can read the story of how she came to us here) to our wonderful vet’s for spaying, they returned her to us, saying that she was too fat to spay ! I was both taken aback and amused at the same time .... in fact, I wasn’t quite sure what to say. (Which, for me, is pretty rare as I usually can’t stop talking !)

Apparently, much like humans, if cats are overweight it makes operating on them difficult as the fatty tissue does not heal well – if at all. As Tessa was carrying most of her weight on her stomach, and this is the area they needed to cut to perform the operation, it would be unlikely that it would knit together and heal well and, the vets sadly informed me, they had lost 2 cats to septicemia through this over the years, and therefore would not take the risk by operating on another fat cat.

So, we were sent home and Tessa was put on a diet. Justin was amused by this, as Africa and dieting do not really go hand-in-hand. To give you an example, fat people are valued and prized in society here – especially the women – the fatter the better as fatness is a sign of health, wealth and in women, the sign of a good child bearer. If you are too thin you are deemed to be weak, sickly and poor. If you are too thin, you’d better watch out ‘cause your husband might just find himself a fat woman on the side ! In all the years Justin has been with us, I’ve been taking thin, starving cats and dogs and fattening them up (Tessa being one of them !) and now we had to make Tessa thin again ? (Ha ! This time, he thought, Mama really HAS gone mad ….)

Anyway, Tessa was put on a diet of meat only (no more expensive, imported dry cat food for her). I could no longer leave a bowl of dry cat’s food out on the counter for the other cats to snack on whenever they felt like it. It had to be locked away in the cupboard and fed to them ‘on the sly’.

But, Tessa is the greediest cat I’ve ever known (I think this stems back to her being starved as a kitten – now she feels she has to eat everything in sight, all the time, just incase she never gets any food ever again ?). She would eat the dog’s food, try and eat my daughter’s cereal in the morning if she left it unattended on the table. She would eat crusts of bread left out for the birds (bread ? a cat ?!) and one night, I even caught her licking the empty dinner plates which were about to be washed …. she wasn’t starving, she was getting enough food. Just not as much as she wanted. She would sit in the kitchen at lunchtime and beg like a dog for food. It was terrible.

So, Tessa on a diet has been a bit of a nightmare in our house and although she’s not as slim as she should be, as she was on heat for the first time last week (and escaped from the house and spent 2 nights in one of the nearby villages “Tessa has found herself a boyfriend, Mama” as Justin put it) she was taken to the vet yesterday by my husband, who was traveling that way for work related stuff. Luckily, she’s (almost) reached her goal weight and was accepted by the vet for the operation. So we can all breathe a sigh of relief … and take the locks off the fridges !

East African Masala Coated Trout

The Masala coating added a nice 'bite' to the trout, and the lemon juice seemed to enhance the spicy flavours even more

We usually just have leftovers or sandwiches and a salad for lunch, and then we eat our main meal at night. Sometimes though, I will cook a light lunch instead (then we tend to eat ‘lighter’ that night).

My husband comes home for an hour’s lunch each day (the staff go off) and we sit around the wooden kitchen table as a family and eat together. It’s a really nice time and I realize how lucky we are to be able to eat together, as a family, for lunch.

Sometimes it isn’t such a peaceful scene, though … what with the dogs begging on the kitchen floor beneath our feet (“Can’t the dogs just go outside while we eat ?!” says my husband “Zonde’s breath STINKS !”) and the odd cat trying to jump onto the table (“No more cats ! We’ve got enough ! This is SO unhygenic” says husband as he scoops Tessa off the counter top just as she’s about to take off for her ‘flight’ on to the dining table - and deposits her firmly outside). Then of course there’s our daughter, feeding herself and making a great mess whilst she’s at it …whilst licking the tops of the salt and pepper shakers and trying to climb on to the table ! You get the picture ….

I had some frozen Tanzanian trout fillets in my freezer and decided to use them yesterday. So yesterday was a “light cooked lunch” day - which made for a happy husband as he’ll settle for that over a sandwich any day !

A lot of Tanzanian people, especially those who live at the coast, traditionally cook their fish in a ‘Fish Masala’ spice mix. Lightly coated, quickly pan fried and served hot and fresh to the table, you really can’t beat the taste. So I decided to try this yesterday. Only instead of Fish Masala, I used Garam Masala, as it’s what I had in the house -:


East African Masala Coated Trout

250 gm Trout Fillets
1 Egg
3 heaped tbsp Flour
3 heaped tbsp Garam Masala*
1 tsp dried Garlic flakes
1 tsp Salt
Lemon Juice to serve
Butter for frying

Beat the egg well and pour it on to a dinner plate. Mix the flour, Garam Masala*, Garlic flakes and salt together until well blended and then spread out in a thick layer on a dinner plate. Put your pan on to heat, and add a little butter to it. Then dip each fillet in the beaten egg and then quickly toss in the flour/Masala mixture.
Place immediately in the hot pan of melted butter and cook on both sides until done. Squeeze a little lemon juice over each fillet before serving with a nice side salad and some buttered bread.

*The Garam Masala (powdered) mix which I used contained Coriander seeds, Cummin seeds, Cinnamon, Cloves, Black Pepper, Ginger and Bay Leaves.

To Market, To Market, To Buy A Fat Pig ...

We laid the pig out on the kitchen counter, chased the dogs outside, got the book open on the "Pork Meat Cuts" page, sharpened the cleaver and got ready to - CUT !

Well, not quite ‘to market’. Rather a knock on the door one night late last week, and 2 large stainless steel cooler boxes glinting in the moonlight, being carried on to our front veranda by staff from another farm. The pig was inside the cooler boxes. Killed just a couple of hours before, skinned, beheaded (thankfully) and neatly chopped into 6 large pieces. A thank you present for me. (Unfortunately, we do not have a chocolate and fresh flower door-to-door delivery service in remotest Africa.)

Let me explain. I think I’ve mentioned before that we have a small guest house on the farm. It is actually more like a cottage and lies on the other side of the farm workshops (with magnificent views out the back door to Mt Kilimanjaro, and Mt Meru out front). It has a fenced garden, covered veranda, 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a lounge/dining room. It sits empty almost all year round as if we have guests, they stay with us in the main farm house. People have asked me why I don’t rent it out but honestly, my tourism days are behind me now – I dedicated 11 years of my life (weekends, public holidays, Christmases, late nights, early mornings – you get the picture !) looking after paying guests, and I really don’t want to have to do it now.

“But you could rent the cottage out as a self catering unit” my friends say. Ummmm – yes. Until there is a problem in the middle of the night – a power failure, no hot water, a broken toilet, a snake - and I am needed to help out. No thanks. (I am very lucky that I do not have to work and earn a living but I promise you, even though I’m still young - I’ve earned it ! Maybe one day, I’ll write about that time of my life on the blog. But I’m not quite ready now.)

I’ve wandered off topic again …. where were we ? Oh yes, the guest house. Well, about a year ago, I was approached by a lovely German couple who have a farm some distance away from ours (too far away to be considered “neighbours”in the true sense of the word, but neighbours all the same) who run horseback safari’s. They are also vets (which are like hens teeth here – very rare). They needed a 2 night stop for their mobile safari clients about once a month, every month, and asked if they could use our guest house. It would be perfect, they said, with room in the garden for the horses and staff tents and of course they would come complete with chefs, housekeeping staff, waiting staff etc and I would not have to do a thing. There were a few things we’d have to do first, though – like re-doing the bathroom, tiling, painting and general repairs. (Which we’ve since done).

They wanted to know how much I would charge. Well, I told them that there would be no charge but if they really wanted to repay me in some way, could they rather help me with things like vaccinating, spaying and neutering the stray cats and dogs around the farm ? Yes, they said, we will do that with pleasure ! We will do that AND we will also give you a fresh pig once every 3 months. An organic pig, raised with love and care and lots of good food, and humanely killed.

So whenever I talk about catching a stray dog or cat and taking him/her to the vet for spaying or whatever, now you know which vet’s I am talking about, and how we came to this agreement !

As for the pig – well …. I am not a butcher and the first time I was presented with a whole pig, I must admit that it was pretty daunting having to learn how to cut chops, steaks, fillets, ribs etc. But thanks to a handy cookbook and a very sharp meat cleaver, between Justin and I, we managed okay. I give a lot of the meat to the staff, the rest goes in the freezer, and the scrappy bits and fat get mixed in with food for the stray village dogs. So, not a bit is wasted – and everyone is happy !

Lynda's Luscious Lemon Loaf

Tasty, tangy and moist, we enjoyed this with a nice cup of tea ...

Following on from my post on Sunday about the glut of lemons I have at the moment, I decided to make a Lemon Loaf this weekend.

This is one of my own recipes - it is a nice moist loaf with a tangy lemony flavour, accentuated by the addition of the lemon icing (although you could use water in place of the lemon juice and just keep the icing plain if you prefer).

Lemon cakes and loaves are not that common here in Africa … I mean, you do not often see them in shops, bakeries or on restaurant menus or even in people’s homes, for that matter. I’m not sure why ? But anyway, it is a loaf I sometimes like to make for tea when we have visitors as it is slightly ‘unusual’ here, and always gets rave reviews !

I had just iced the loaf and was waiting for the icing to set slightly before I sprinkled the grated lemon rind on the top, when I caught my husband brandishing a knife “Can I just have a little taste off the end ?” he asked me “NO ! DON’T YOU DARE !!!” I shouted at him “I haven’t taken a photo of it yet !” My poor husband eventually got to eat a piece (he likes the crusty end pieces slathered in - wait for it - peanut butter !) about 5 seconds after I’d taken the photo !


Lynda’s Luscious Lemon Loaf

125 gm Margarine
150 gm brown Sugar
2 tbsp finely grated Lemon rind
4 tbsp Lemon juice
2 Eggs, beaten
¼ cup Milk
175 gm Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
pinch of Salt

For the icing :

130 gm Icing Sugar
3 – 4 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated Lemon rind

Cream the margarine & sugar together. Add the lemon rind & juice, and continue to beat. Add the beaten eggs & milk and mix and then fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Blend well together and pour into a greased loaf tin. Bake at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for 40 - 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, mix the lemon juice, rind and icing sugar together and once the loaf is cool, pour it over the top and smooth with a knife. (You can keep a little of the finely grated lemon rind back, and sprinkle it over the surface if you like.)

Blog Housekeeping .... Some Updates

The "Metrification and the Housewife" pamphlet which gave me such a laugh ! (Read more about it below)

No school runs this week – it’s half term – yippee ! I’ve told my husband that I do not want to set foot off the farm during this time. Not a FOOT ! I am tired of bumpy roads (and packed lunches !), and am relishing the thought of – just staying put for a while.

So, no excuse then, time to do a little housekeeping … no, not THAT sort of housekeeping, silly ! (I have house staff to help out with THAT !) But rather, some blog housekeeping …

Thanks to the people who’ve suggested that I alter my header (sunset) picture so that the title/description is more readable. I know that the green does not show up clearly against the photo background, so I’m working on that as we speak …

As the largest percentage of my blog visitors are from the US (happy Memorial Day to you all, by the way !), and the UK, and as both countries follow the Imperial measurement system, but all my recipes are written in the Metric measurement system, I have added a gadget to the bottom of the blog (right above the “Recent Visitors Map”) that enables you to quickly calculate between Metric and Imperial. (Thanks to Ginger, for bringing this to my attention.)

I’ve removed the Google “Search” bar to make way for the new conversion gadget, as I don’t want my blog to become too cluttered. (I don’t know about you, but I find nothing more annoying when visiting a blog/website to find that it takes ages to load due to all sorts of flashing, beeping gadgets, adverts and falling snowflakes all over the place ?)

I have also changed the number of blog posts on the first page from 5 to 3 so that the blog still loads fairly quickly.

If you need a giggle to cheer up your Monday, the picture above is of a leaflet I inherited along with some old family recipe books recently. It was issued in Salisbury, Rhodesia (present day Harare, Zimbabwe) in December 1970 and it’s title is “Metrification and the Housewife” … the front cover (pictured) reads -:

“THE MASSIVE LADY - Weight will be known as Mass”

The blue diagram is of a lady standing on a bathroom scale, wrapped in a towel and the words underneath read “My weight used to be 220 pounds but now my mass is only 100 kilograms ”

The pamphlet goes on to reassure the 1970’s ‘housewife’ ….. “How will these changes affect the housewife ? Will all her favourite recipes and cookery books become quite useless ? No ! She can still bake as she always did, but she will buy the ingredients in amounts measured in the new system of units.”

The pamphlet was produced by the “Domestic Functional Committee of the Metrification Council” – my goodness, what a mouthful ....

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone ;)

A Lemon Cordial Drink Recipe

Our lemon tree, laden with fruit at the moment

The Lemon Cordial syrup, simmering away on the stove

The lemon tree in our garden is heavy with fruit at the moment. Each time I spy it out of my kitchen window, it beckons to me “Come ! Pick my ripe fruit and make something delicious to eat !” I kept ignoring it. Until yesterday, that is. I went out, brandishing a broom stick with an excited child at my feet (along with several dogs) and whacked as many lemons off the tree as I could ! The dogs ran around excitedly, picking them up in their mouths and my daughter shrieked in delight, trying to pick up as many as she could in her chubby toddler’s hands.

So, now I have a huge bowl of lemons sitting on my kitchen counter and their fragrance is intoxicating … enticing me …. teasing me ….. what on earth am I going to do with them ? A few things spring to mind …. lemon marmalade, lemon pickle, lemon meringue pie, lemon curd, lemon sorbet, lemon pudding, lemon biscuits, lemon cake, lemon loaf ….. but I wanted something quick and easy – and immediately thought of my Mum’s Lemon Cordial recipe.

It’s one which she made us as children growing up in Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe) and South Africa, and it is one that her mother made her and my Uncle as kids growing up in Northern Rhodesia (present day Zambia). I have now made it for my daughter to enjoy here in Tanzania …. so I guess you could say that this is a real “African Lemon” recipe !

My Mum says that she remembers times as a child, when if unexpected visitors ever arrived on a hot summer’s day and there was not much to drink in the house, my Grandmother would send the kids out to pick some lemons off the tree so that she could quickly whip this recipe up -:

Lemon Cordial Recipe

8 medium sized Lemons
500 gm’s white Sugar (I used brown, as we cannot get white sugar here easily)
1 cup cold Water

Squeeze the juice from the lemons and set aside. Keep the peels of 2 of the lemons, and place in a pot along with the sugar and water. (Try to ensure that there is not much of the white ‘pith’ on the inside of the lemon peels, as this can make the cordial bitter). Bring to the boil, stirring constantly and then turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes – just stirring now and again.

Remove from heat, add the reserved lemon juice and bring back to the boil briefly, whilst stirring. Allow to cool and then strain into a bottle or jug (to remove the peel and any other bits like pips etc) and store in the fridge (it will keep for weeks) and add a little to some iced water whenever you feel like a nice, cool drink.

“Cheers !”

Three New Cats To Care For ....

If you look closely, you can just make out a timid ginger cat hiding in the shade of the old chicken coop - she was very wary as I took the photo, & didn't take her eyes off me for a minute !

As you know, I have ‘rescued’ several stray/neglected animals since I’ve been living on the farm. As soon as I become aware of an animal in need, I see what I can do for that animal. (If you’d like to read more about the wonderful animals which have blessed my life, you can go to the “Categories” section in the right sidebar, and click on “Pets”.)

Many people here cannot afford to feed themselves, let alone an animal and the common misconception here (and indeed, in many parts of Africa) is that dogs are pack animals and should hunt for their own food. There is also a ridiculous belief that the hungrier a dog is, the more vicious they will be. Many people do not know any better, and I try to educate as many of them as I can. Justin (my right-hand man, who you can read all about here) is wonderful in that he helps to get the word out to many people who live in the villages around the farm, and has a genuine love for animals.

Earlier this week, my husband came home and told me that Frank, the owner of a local shop (no more than a small cheap wood and tin roofed building selling basic goods like soap, candles, sugar, flour and drinks) had a cat sitting on the counter who had made a home there a few weeks ago. When Frank told him that the cat belonged to him, my husband said that he’d better take good care of it and feed it else I would be along to give him a piece of my mind ! We are now providing Frank with de worming medicine and some food for the cat, and as soon as we can, we will vaccinate the cat and organize to have it spayed/neutered.

Then a couple of weeks ago, there was a huge commotion in the house late one night and I found a stray ginger cat cowering under the dining room table, s/he had obviously come in through an open window, looking for food, and had been chased by Ollie and Dibble. The cat has since taken up residence at Justin’s house (which is in the farmhouse/workshop area near to our house) and is living in an abandoned chicken coop and we are feeding her (discovered that she is a female) every day and have de wormed her, too.

Then a few days ago Justin said that a very thin, extremely starving young grey cat had followed one of our 100 casual farm labourers down from the village one morning, in search of food. No one would own up to ‘owning’ the cat, so Justin took it and brought it to his house. I went around to see her (also a female) and found her curled up, asleep, on a sofa. She is very tame but was SO SO weak from hunger, she was all lethargic but hungrily wolfed down the food we gave her. I checked her over and she is in good health otherwise. I don’t know why she is so starving as usually cats manage to survive on rats and birds, and I wonder if she has been locked up somewhere, perhaps ?

Anyway, both cats are now living at Justin’s (our cats here will just chase them away) and are being fed daily. They’ve been de wormed and will soon be vaccinated and spayed once we can get them into a travel box. It’s great finding female strays, as they are the ones who are important to spay to keep the population – and more unwanted kittens – down.

Thanks to everyone who clicks on the “Animal Rescue Site” button in the right sidebar to donate a free bowl of food daily (it costs you nothing) and if you’d like to click on it today before you leave, that would be GREAT !

Marinated 'Kechap Manis' Pork Kebabs

I used pork for these kebabs, but chicken would work just as well

In Tanzania you will find “Mishkaki” which are seasoned or marinated cubes of meat (goat, beef, mutton or even fish and chicken) threaded on to a wooden skewer (sometimes with vegetables in between, sometimes not) and cooked over the open coals. This is a variation of the popular South African “Sosatie” (which is the same thing as a “Mishkaki”, but with a funny name !) or the wider known Kebob, Kabob or Kebab.

Who doesn’t like a nice Kebab (as we call them in English here) ? They’re great served at a barbecue – I usually make vegetable kebabs threaded with onions, peppers, courgettes (zucchini), tomatoes & carrots and baste them in a simple lemon, oil and fresh herb marinade.

Yesterday I decided to make some Kebabs and cook them inside, under the grill. We had them for supper with a side salad and baked potatoes, and they were really tender and very tasty.

I was 'inspired' to create a new Kebab marinade when last week in the big city, I found a new ingredient in a local shop called “Kechap Manis” (or “Kecap Manis”). This originates from Indonesia (the bottle I bought came from Thailand though) and is basically a thick, sweet, syrupy soy sauce that has the same colour as soy sauce, the consistency of runny honey, and is much sweeter. It is thickened with sugar (or molasses), and has a distinctive flavour with just a hint of liquorice (I’m guessing that it has aniseed or star anise added, although the bottle does not say !).

I was first introduced to this syrupy delight a few years ago by some Dutch friends (it seems to be used quite commonly in Holland ?). It is great for stirring through noodles, adding to rice, using as a basting sauce, adding to a stir-fry or even, I am told, can be used to make Peking Duck.

This is the marinade recipe I came up with, and it worked a treat -:


Marinated ‘Kechap Manis’ Pork Kebabs

1 kg Pork fillet, cubed (or another cut of pork meat)
4 Onions, quartered
3 tbsp Kechap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)*
3 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Garlic, finely grated
1 tsp Ginger, finely grated
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Lemon (or Lime) Juice
Black Pepper
Wooden Skewers

Whisk the Kechap Manis, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, salt, lemon juice and black pepper together until well blended. Then add the cubes of pork and the quartered onions. Stir to blend & then cover, & set aside to marinade for around an hour. In the meantime, leave your wooden skewers to soak in a bowl of cold water (this helps to prevent them from burning when you cook the kebabs).

After the meat/onions have been marinating for about an hour, break the onion quarters up slightly and then thread a piece of onion followed by a piece of meat and so on, on to the skewer until all the meat/onions have been used.

Cook under a hot grill until done, turning often and basting with the marinade to keep it moist. You could also cook the kebabs on an open fire/over the coals.


*If you can’t find Kechap Manis in your part of the world, you could always and equal parts of honey and soy sauce instead.

A Walk On The Farm

Can you see part of our house through the field of green wheat and all the trees ?

As I mentioned in Monday’s post, we had some visitors on Sunday and after lunch we went for a nice long walk on the farm.

Now, living on a 3500 acre farm in such a remote, beautiful spot, you’d think I go for regular walks and take advantage of the beauty and wide open spaces, wouldn’t you ? But I don’t. The reasons why, might just surprise you …

In most places in remote parts of Africa, if you have a white skin, you are seen as something of a curiosity. Something to be stared at, laughed at, called out to, touched (especially your hair – they are fascinated by this). In some parts, they believe that if you touch a white man, you will be blessed and will have good luck in your life. (This is all by children, I might add.)

Many a time we have been traveling on remote roads and have had to stop for a roadside toilet/food/water/stretch- your-legs break, only to be surrounded, within minutes, by wide eyed children who seem to appear from nowhere, peering at us, laughing, calling out, watching. We have a friend who has been literally mobbed on his motorbike here, when stopping at a remote petrol station for fuel. Surrounded by a sea of people who closed in on him - in awe of the motorbike – wanting to touch it, and the white person on it. A pretty scary (but harmless) experience.

We have staff who live on our farm with their families. We also have people living on the border of our farm. As we have no fences here, we allow people to walk through parts of the farm to get where they need to go. Especially children passing to and from a local school, or fetching water (we have water supply points on the farm for the use of the local people).

When we first moved here, I would strap my daughter (who was then just a newborn baby) into a pouch and with the dogs at my heels, would set off on a walk. Only to be followed by children. First a couple, then a few more. Then even more. At one stage, I had around 12 following me, all shouting “Mzungu ! Mzungu !” (White man ! White man !) and the braver ones would cry “Good Morning, Teacher ! Good Morning Teacher !” and my worst “Mzungu, Mzungu, give us money !” or “Mzungu, Mzungu, give us pens !” (In some parts of Africa, the only white people they see are volunteer/aid workers or missionaries, who give them hand outs so in some places they only equate white people with …. free stuff !)

Of course, this would annoy the dogs who would then chase the kids. I could not hold 4 dogs on a leash, and carry my daughter ! The children would shriek, which would annoy the dogs even more. My daughter would start crying. It was terrible. So, I started walking at times of the day when there were less people around. But there are ALWAYS people around, so that didn’t help. I left the dogs at home. Which encouraged more people to follow me, as they had no fear of the dogs now. So I started taking Justin with me, to control the dogs. Then one day a child threw a stone at the dogs, the dogs chased the kids (3 of them) and as they ran off one tripped, the dogs jumped on him but luckily did not hurt him. That was the last walk I ever took here. It was just not worth it. Now I keep my walks short and stick to the farm workshop/main house/guest house areas.

So on Sunday, as there were 4 adults and 3 children (we had to leave the dogs at home) we had strength in numbers and luckily my husband was with us and no one would dare carry on like that with the “Meneger” (Manager) around. So it was a peaceful walk, and I managed to take some photo’s of the house from a different angle than I normally would.

I love exercise DVD’s, especially Leslie Sansone’s “Walk Away The Pounds” which is basically, indoor walking in front of your TV – sounds crazy, doesn’t it ?! Often, in the middle of one of these workouts I laugh and think to myself, these DVD’s are meant for people living in small spaces and high rise apartment buildings in big cities and I really do wonder what Leslie would say if she knew that she had an avid follower, who lived on a 3500 acre farm in the foothills of Kilimanjaro yet was unable to set foot outside her front door and just ..... WALK !!!!!!

Malva Pudding Recipe (You just HAVE to try this one !)

Such a simple looking pudding - but don't be fooled ! It's spongy, almost honeycomb like texture & sweet, syrupy sauce is out of this world delicious .....

Malva Pudding. Ahhhh ….. the name does it no justice whatsoever. I think it should be renamed “I Think I’ve Died And Gone To Heaven Pudding”. It really is THAT good. Every time I’ve served it, I’ve had people ask me for the recipe - honestly !

Malva Pudding is South African, and originates from the Dutch. Any restaurant that serves traditional South African cuisine will have it on it’s menu. (Well … any restaurant worth it’s salt, that is !)

Some say the pudding was named after a lady called Malva and some say it was named after the dessert wine “Malvacea” (from Madeira) which traditionally, used to be served with it to end off a main meal. No matter the origin’s of it’s name … it is delicious, either way !

Such a simple sounding recipe ….. and such a simple looking result once it comes out of the oven – but don’t be fooled, this is possibly one of the tastiest pud’s you will ever eat !

This recipe comes from one of my all time favourite books “The Saffron Pear Tree (and other Kitchen Memories)” by Zuretha Roos. It’s a great book about Zuretha’s life growing up in South Africa (where she was born) and spans 3 generations of family recipes, with stories of her life in between. If you are interested in food and cooking, especially South African food, it is a must read.

A word of warning, however – only make it when you are expecting visitors to help you to eat it. Otherwise, you may find yourself standing (barefoot and belly full) guiltily licking the spoon and scraping the bottom of the empty pudding dish, wishing you hadn’t – and we don’t want that now, do we ?

Malva Pudding Recipe (from the book “The Saffron Pear Tree” by Zuretha Roos)

200 gm Sugar
2 Eggs
15 ml Apricot Jam (I use Strawberry Jam as we cannot get Apricot Jam here easily)
150 gm Flour
5 ml Bicarbonate of Soda
3 ml Salt
15 ml Butter (I have used Margarine – but butter is best !)
5 ml Cider or Grape Vinegar
100 ml Milk (I use Skim Milk)
5 ml Vanilla Essence

Sauce:

200 ml Cream (I have used Full Cream Milk or tinned Cream in place of this)
100 gm Butter (I have used Margarine – but, once again, butter is best !)
150 gm Sugar (I used brown Sugar)
100 ml hot Water

Preheat the oven to 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark . Beat the sugar & eggs well in a food processor (or with an electric mixer) until thick & lemon coloured, & add the jam, beating in.

Sift together the flour, soda & salt. Melt the butter & add the vinegar. Add this mixture & the milk & vanilla to the egg mixture alternatively with the flour. Beat well & bake in a covered oven proof dish for 45 minutes.

Melt together the ingredients for the sauce, stirring well, & pour it over the pudding as it comes out of the oven.

Serves 4.

(I usually serve this hot with custard).

An Ornamental Ginger Flower - for Ginger !

An Ornamental Ginger flower picked from my African garden for my friend Ginger, in Canada !

One of the great things about blogging, is that you get to ‘meet’ so many interesting people from all over the world. A fellow blogger who I’ve had the pleasure to ‘meet’, is Ginger. Ginger lives in Canada which to someone who lives in Africa, sounds very far away and rather exotic ! (She is a kindred spirit in that she, too, takes care of animals in need and is also a cat lover.)

Last week when I posted my recipe for Chocolate Cake, Ginger mentioned that she might just try the recipe out sometime. Which she did. So imagine my surprise when she not only baked it, but photographed it with a message stuck into the icing for me, and put it on her blog !

I’m tickled pink that my Chocolate Cake recipe has been made, and enjoyed, on the other side of the world and I just wanted to thank Ginger for ‘featuring’ it on her blog – and what better way to do that, than by giving her a bunch of flowers … or, what I thought a little more appropriate … an Ornamental Ginger flower, picked early this morning from my garden.

Do check out her blog Gingembre’s Place sometime.

Thank you, Ginger !

Is There Such Thing .... As A Free Ride ?!

Free wheeling down the main tar road, holding on to the back of a passing truck. (At least he didn't have a basket of chickens on the back of the bike aswell )

Last week, on our way to school we saw a familiar sight on the main tar road, which of course I just had to take a photo of (because seeing really IS believing !)

It’s common here for people on bicycles to catch a ‘free’ ride on the back of a truck (or similar large vehicle) by holding on to a back portion of the truck with one hand, and steering their bike with the other ….. especially when going up a hill, or I suppose when they are just too hot / tired / bored to want to carry on pedaling the bicycle themselves !

So, here is a photo of a young chap who was out early in the morning last Friday, when there was not too much other traffic about. He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world as he happily enjoyed his free ride whilst watching the world go by.

It’s things – and people - like this which make up the ‘spirit’ of this country. It’s sights like this that make me smile, despite the poverty around me.

I suppose, it’s just another one of those ‘indefinable’ things that, despite all her faults, makes me love Africa so much …….

To see another crazy photo taken on the road a few weeks after this one, click here.

Sunday Visitors .... & A Pasta Salad Recipe

The crunchiness of the sweetcorn & raw vegetables are a nice contrast to the softness of the pasta in this easy to prepare salad

Yesterday we had visitors to the farm for the day. A lovely family who moved to Tanzania a little over a year ago, and who have a son in my daughter’s class at school. They are originally from Germany and are doing volunteer work here. They really wanted to come to Africa to try and make a difference – they didn’t speak much English before they arrived, so they learnt as much as they could, and since they’ve been here are now also learning how to speak the local Kiswahili language.

I have great admiration for them because they have whole heartedly embraced the African lifestyle and really are trying to make a difference in the lives of the people here. They genuinely want to be here, it has been a life long dream of theirs to work here and having a young family has not stopped them. The fact that their children have had malaria countless times since they arrived has not stopped them. The fact that they can only return to their home country for a visit sometime next year, has not stopped them. They don’t complain, they just get on with it and it was nice to see Tanzania through their eyes, through the eyes of “newbies” so to speak. They are passionate about what they do, and what a difference they hope to make – and I admire them for that !

We had a lovely day and I served Chicken Broccoli Bake for lunch with baked potatoes, homemade bread and this Pasta and Vegetable Salad. Afterwards we went for a long walk on the farm, but I’ll post about that (and some photo’s) another time. Here, instead, is a recipe for the salad I made (sorry the photo isn’t that great) -:


Pasta & Vegetable Salad

½ packet (about 250 gm’s) Pasta, cooked
1 x tin Sweet corn, drained
2 x large Tomatoes, chopped into cubes
½ cup grated Courgettes (Zucchini)
½ cup grated Carrots
½ to ¾ cup Mayonnaise
Salt & Pepper to taste
Spring Onion tops (or chives), snipped – to garnish

Simply mix all the ingredients together and top with the spring onion or chives to garnish. Best served chilled.

Redecorating ... African Style (& a Recipe for Homemade Wallpaper Glue)

The border has stayed put with this homemade, flour based wallpaper glue/paste for over 3 years now - amazing !

I am busy doing some re decorating in the house at the moment. (Or, let’s be honest here – I am supervising Nelson, the painter who is doing all the hard work for me !) My daughter has had a “Peter Rabbit” theme in her bedroom since she was a newborn baby, and I thought is was time to upgrade it a little, seeing as she is now (as she keeps pointing out to me) a “big girl who goes to school without crying”. When I was in South Africa earlier this year, I brought a whole lot of décor items for her room back home with me, as we can’t get stuff like that here easily. You know the sort of thing – linen, curtains, bedcovers, loose rugs, pictures and ornaments. We’ve (the “big girl” & I) decided on a pink and lilac theme of butterflies and fairies. (*Update - you can see photo's of the new room here)

So all I needed to get here, was pink and lilac coloured paint. (Not as easy as it sounds.) This week when in town, I went to one of the local hardware stores to look at their (limited) selection of tinted (coloured) paints. After dodging the beggars outside the shop (it’s in a bad part of town), and vegetable “mama’s” balancing baskets of onions on their heads and harassing me to by a few, I side stepped a man who spat on the pavement (sidewalk) – a common trait of people here – and entered the dimly lit shop (they were in the middle of a power failure), narrowly missing tripping over the display of cheap Chinese generators “Spesial ofer this week only” – which I must say, made me wonder WHY they weren’t, infact, using one during the current power outage).

I finally made it to the service counter, explained what it was I wanted, and was handed a well used booklet of grubby paint swatches to choose from (slightly tricky to see the exact shades with no overhead lighting). Once I chose my colours, my order was shouted through to a back room where a man in a white coat & glasses (thankfully, sans stethoscope) mixed it up for me (once again, slightly tricky with no overhead lighting).

From previous experience, I know that this is usually “hit or miss”. I know that the colour on the swatch will NOT match the colour in the tin exactly. I know that I’d better order enough (and a little bit extra, just in case) because if I return say, one week later, to order some more paint in the exact same colour, I will get a similar ‘version’ of the original shade which won’t match 100%. I know that the colours in the tin are usually a shade or two darker than the swatch sample. So I have learnt, through trial and error, to always order a few shades lighter to get the shade I actually want.

I came home with the paint and Nelson will be starting on my daughter’s room next week, as this week he has been busy re-painting our bedroom and bathroom and part of the veranda.

Anyway, now on to what I was originally going to post about …. wallpaper glue. Wallpaper is not as commonly used in Africa as it is, say, in the UK where most homes you go into have it. Growing up in Zimbabwe, wallpaper was something completely foreign to me ? Living in Tanzania, wallpaper is non existent. So when I came back from the UK in 2003 with a “Peter Rabbit & Friends” wallpaper border for my (then unknown) child’s bedroom in 2003, I was flummoxed as to how I was going to stick it on to the actual wall.

I had a quick look around the local hardware stores and the best I could come up with was “Simba Glue” (“Lion Glue”) which smelt awful and goodness only knows what it contained – did I really want my newborn baby breathing in those toxic fumes ? No. So I set about searching for a homemade wallpaper glue (wallpaper paste) recipe with ingredients I could easily come by, and this ‘recipe’ below is what I found – and it worked a TREAT. The wallpaper border has been stuck firmly to the wall (no lifting, tearing, mould or the like) for over 3 years now. So I highly recommend it. Now the only problem is how to get the jolly stuff OFF the wall for the new “butterflies & fairies” theme. (I’ll let you know !) *Update - it came off perfectly by simply using a sponge and some boiling water, you cannot even see that there was once wallpaper there !*

Non Toxic Homemade Wallpaper (Paste) Glue Recipe:

1 ½ cups white Flour
½ cup Sugar
1 tbsp Alum (a spice I couldn’t find here, so I left it out & it still worked fine)
1 cup cold Water
2 cups boiling Water

Combine the flour & sugar. Slowly add the cold water & mix until there are no lumps. Place mixture in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the boiling water, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to the boil. When the mixture is stiff, remove it from the heat and add the Alum (I left it out). Store in an air tight container – it keeps for several weeks. If the paste hardens, just soften it by mixing small amounts of warm water into it.

A Recipe for Paneer Tikka Masala

This Paneer Tikka Masala dish is lovely served over plain boiled rice, with some garlic naan bread on the side

I had never tried Paneer Cheese until I came to Tanzania. We have some fantastic Indian restaurants here. Really, really good ones. Despite the fact that the meat is delivered to the front door in a plastic bag by a chap on a bicycle. Despite the fact that the restaurant has an irregular water and electricity supply. Despite the fact that the Chefs wear the same uniforms for 3 – 5 days running. Funnily enough, I have never been sick or even had so much as a slight stomach upset after eating in a restaurant like this. (Which can’t be said for some of the ‘posh’ restaurants I’ve eaten at in “first world” countries – ha !)

Anyway, back to the Paneer Cheese. It is made simply with cows milk, not aged at all and if you taste it on it’s own, uncooked, it doesn’t taste like anything. It is similar to tofu in that way, as it takes on the flavour of whatever you cook it with. It does not melt when you cook it, either. We can buy paneer easily here in most of the local shops, it is made by people in their home kitchens and supplied to the shops and there is always a ready and fresh supply of it.

Now, this recipe is one I’ve altered and developed over time. I know that most authentic Indian chefs would not agree with some of the ingredients I use (like the addition of the ground Cumin and the use of smoked Paprika) but this is just one that I’ve come up with that we enjoy eating. You could adjust the spices to suit your own taste, or just use the ones which you have available at the time.

It does take a little time to prepare and cook, but is well worth the effort. I usually make this on a day when I have a lot of time on my hands, like a Saturday afternoon. It’s one of those recipes which you just can’t rush ….

Paneer Tikka Masala

450 gm Paneer Cheese cut into cubes
½ cup Full Cream Natural Yogurt (Greek works well, too)
2 tbsp Lemon juice
1 heaped tsp Coriander powder
½ tsp Cumin powder
½ tsp Smoked Paprika powder (use plain Paprika if you don't have smoked)
½ tsp Chilli powder
1 tsp Garam Masala powder
2 tsp Garlic, crushed
2 tsp Ginger, finely grated
1 heaped tsp Salt

Mix the yogurt, lemon juice and spices together. Pour over the Paneer cubes and leave in the fridge, covered, to marinade for a few hours or overnight. Once they have been marinated, place on a baking sheet in a single layer & bake at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for about 30 minutes until cooked (the outside of the cheese should be crisp). Turn a few times during cooking to ensure that they don’t burn & also so that they cook evenly.

While the paneer is baking, you can make the sauce -:

Oil
2 Onions, sliced
4 tsp Garlic, crushed
3 tsp Ginger, crushed
1 x 400gm tin whole peeled Tomatoes, not drained
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
¼ cup Water
Salt to taste
3 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves

Fry the onions in a little oil. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until golden. Then add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, water and salt to taste. Continue to cook, simmering on a low heat until the sauce thickens and the onion is soft. Add 2 tbsp of the chopped Coriander and stir. Add the baked paneer cubes, stir to blend/cover them with the sauce and cook (heat through) for a further 5 minutes.

Place in a serving dish and scatter the remaining 1 tbsp Coriander leaves over the top to garnish.

Serve with plain, boiled white rice. This dish is also great when accompanied by garlic naan bread.

The Meaning of Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro - so many meanings to her name .....

I know this photo of Mt. Kilimanjaro looks similar to one I’ve posted on here before, but it’s actually taken from a completely different spot on the farm to that one. Kilimanjaro can be quite difficult to see, let alone photograph. She is usually only visible clearly in the very early morning, and most times is covered in cloud which moves quite fast, so you can miss her if you’re not quick (or up early) enough !

Many people have come here on safari and not seen her at all – I know it took me 2 years to catch a glimpse of her, but that was when we were living in another part of the country, so those 2 years included the times we traveled to this region (which is the only time we would be able to see her).

This photo was taken on the last stretch of our farm road before we hit the main dirt road leading to ‘civilisation’. In this photo, she is on our right as we are traveling down the road (on an early morning school run !)

I thought that I’d share some interesting facts about Kilimanjaro’s name with you, which I discovered when we first moved to the farm and read up about it.

There are different versions of what the name “Kilimanjaro” actually means. A local Kiswahili translation is “mountain of greatness” or “mountain of water” and it has also been called “mountain of caravans”. I found this fascinating. Caravans ? Whatever for ? (Especially since I have never even seen a caravan in Tanzania !) I went on to learn that some say it was called the “mountain of caravans” because it served as a landmark for caravans which used to travel around looking for slaves. Yes, this country has an awful slave trade history. Really, truly horrible. The reason for that name turned me cold, and made me feel quite sad.

Some say that the name means “demon of the cold”. Snow in Africa is very rare, so I could imagine how Kilimanjaro’s snow could be perceived by some superstitious people back in the day (before TV, radio and books opened our eyes up to the rest of the world) to be ‘evil’ . I have found that to this day, different people have different interpretations for it and likewise, the mountain means different things to different people.

The one thing that makes her really stand out though, is that apart from the fact that she is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world (and, of course, the highest in Africa) she is only three degrees south of the Equator, yet is covered in snow – and that in itself, makes her pretty unique, I’d say !

An Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe

I iced the Chocolate Cake with some simple butter icing and garnished it with red cherries (very 'seventies' don't you think ?!)

In yesterday’s post I wrote how I’d baked a Chocolate Cake for afternoon tea. So today, I thought I would post the recipe, and a photo of yesterday’s cake !

This is a “basic” cake mixture recipe which I’ve used for years, and also used (adapted) when I recently made cupcakes with my toddler (you can see the recipe and photo here).

I made the cake in a single layer, but you could easily pour the batter in to 2 smaller cake tins and sandwich the layers together with jam before icing, if you prefer.

It’s a great, quick, easy and fail-proof recipe that has never let me down -:


Easy Chocolate Cake

100 gm Margarine
¾ cup Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups Flour
½ cup Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Baking Powder
¾ cup Milk

Cream the margarine & sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into the mixture. Add the milk.

Pour into 2 greased cake tins and bake at 180’C/’F/Gas Mark 4 for 20 to 30 minutes.

A Tour of the Farm, followed by Afternoon Tea (& Chocolate Cake !)

Tea table & view out our over our garden

We got word earlier this week that hubby’s boss would be bringing 4 clients out to the farm today. We grow seed beans for export to Europe, and these are 4 of the company’s French clients. They came out for a tour of the farm (stopping to look at and walk through the bean fields) followed by afternoon tea at the house. Luckily it wasn’t raining and the skies were a lovely African blue, and the garden was looking fresh and neat as Hemmed had just mowed the lawn and watered all the flower beds for me this morning.

The clients just arrived in Tanzania on the KLM flight last night (via Amsterdam – KLM fly daily to Tanzania from Amsterdam and this is the flight we usually use when we go to the UK on holiday. Ahhhh … holiday. Just typing that word makes me feel like going on another one soon.) But anyway, back to the tea …..

First time visitors to Africa (as some of these clients today were) are always struck by the sheer vastness and wide open spaces we have here, and as we have a really nice view from the veranda of the house, I always like to serve refreshments there (rather than from, say, underneath a tree at the bottom of the garden) - especially for first time visitors to the farm. The view from here stretches out over rolling hills and valleys as far as the eye can see, with Mt Meru to the left (and Kilimanjaro behind us, a little to the right) and is really breathtaking. (I wish I could photograph it to show you, but photo’s just don’t do it any justice !)

So, for the actual ‘refreshments’, I served a big pot of Tanzanian tea and another of delicious Tanzanian filter coffee and baked a chocolate cake to go with it. It went down a treat and after an enjoyable hour or so chatting on the veranda (it’s always nice to meet new people and hear news from their part of the world) they all left just before the sun set on yet another African day ……

Delicious Recipe for Homemade Chelsea Buns

I made these over the weekend & they were lovely served hot out of the oven with butter .... aaahhh !

Ahhhh … Chelsea Buns. Originating in England in the 17th century and still enjoyed today hot out of the oven with a nice cuppa tea. Nothing beats baking your own, and I really mean that. There’s just something about creating a Chelsea Bun from scratch that is so …. so satisfying …… so, ‘soulful’ if I could use that word to describe a ‘mere’ bun !

I believe that the secret to a good Chelsea Bun is in the dough. None of these quick rise ‘passing-themselves-off-as-the-real-thing’ baking powder doughs will do for the Queen of all buns. Oh no. These buns require a proper dough made with yeast and lovingly kneaded, rolled and coaxed into the perfect curled round. Another secret ingredient is the use of real butter. Not margarine. It really does make a difference to the taste.

We used to bake these buns fresh daily in the safari camps we ran here in Tanzania. Guests used to come into the “Mess Tent” for breakfast after an early morning safari or bush walk, to be welcomed by the delicious, cinnamony scent of freshly baked Chelsea buns wafting through the air. At that time, as far as we knew, we were the only camp in Tanzania making these buns, and they were a real treat for our guests. To this day, I’m not quite sure why I love them so much … because of their delicious taste, or because of the memories they evoke in me every time I bake and eat one ?

Try this recipe and I promise, you’ll never buy another one again …..


Chelsea Buns

Dough:
2 ½ cups Flour
½ tsp Salt
3 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Instant Yeast
½ cup Milk, warmed
3 tbsp Sugar
2 Eggs, beaten

Filling:
2 heaped tbsp brown Sugar
3 heaped tbsp seedless Raisins, chopped
1 tsp Cinnamon powder
1 tbsp Butter, melted

Topping:
Glace Icing or Apricot Glaze or Sugar/Honey Glaze (see below)

Mix the flour & salt together. Rub in the butter. Sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk, & stir in the sugar. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes before adding to the flour mixture, along with the eggs. Blend well and then knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a bowl (covered with a damp cloth) in a warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Once doubled in size, roll out into a rectangular shape and spread the filling over it. Roll up as you would a swiss roll, and once you have a “sausage” shape in front of you, slice it into rounds. (You should get about 14 – 16 rounds out of it.)

Lay the rounds on a greased baking sheet and cover with a damp cloth & leave to rise until doubled in size again. (When they rise they may overlap/touch each other, but this is fine.) Then bake at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for 20 - 30 minutes until done.

Once out of the oven, allow to cool slightly and then you can either ice them with plain white Glace icing or brush them with some melted apricot jam to form a glaze or you could brush them with a mixture of 2 tbsp each of sugar, butter, honey & milk which has been boiled together to make a syrup.

Note : These Chelsea Buns are best eaten the day they are baked

Mother's Day Lunch

The delicious meal we enjoyed included a Spicy Lentil dish (front), Murg Chicken Tikka Masala(back left), Pilau Rice (back right)& some Naan Bread

We had a lovely Mother’s Day lunch out yesterday, in a town which lies almost at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro. The restaurant we went to, is one we’ve gone to for years now … their menu boasts “Indian, Chinese & Western” cuisine. The “Western” part of the menu includes things like hamburgers, toasted sandwiches, chips (French fries) and omelet’s !

Unfortunately their Chinese chef was ill yesterday, so we had a choice of either “Indian” or “Western” food. We opted for the Indian and I’ve posted the photo above, so that you can see what we ate …

My husband had their Murg Chicken Tikka Masala and I had a Lentil dish described on the menu as “Tender lentils cooked in a gravy, with tomato’s and Chef’s secret blend of spices”. We shared a portion of Pilau rice with that, and some buttered and garlic naan bread. We shared everything between us, and it was all delicious - our daughter enjoyed the rice and a toasted cheese sandwich as the curry dishes would’ve been too hot for her.

Pilau spices (or Pilau ‘Masala’) can be bought here in Tanzania ready mixed and usually include ground Cummin seeds, Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon and Black Pepper. Added to rice with some vegetables (the pilau rice we ate yesterday contained onions, green beans, cauliflower and tomato) it makes an easy and tasty accompaniment to any meal !

Happy Mother's Day !

Roses from our garden, given to me with a lovely card by my daughter this morning ! (The stone carved baby in God's hand was given to me by a Dutch friend for my daughter's Christening a few years ago)

Today it is Mother’s Day here in Africa. I’m not sure which other countries are celebrating it today, too. I know that Australia is because my dear childhood friend Di, who lives in Oz now, mentioned it to me earlier this week. An American 'foodie' site I’m a member of has been featuring Mother’s Day recipes this week too, so I think that America also celebrates today ?

Well, to all the Mothers (and Grandmothers) out there reading this today, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to you – I hope it’s a good one for you !

Being a mother is the BEST thing I’ve ever done, and out of everything I’ve achieved in my life, it is my proudest accomplishment yet. I know it sounds clichéd, but honestly, my daughter has brought me so much joy in the past 3 ½ years she’s been on this earth that I realize now, how very empty my life was before she came into it, and the love I feel for her is – indescribable !

Mother’s Day is a bittersweet day for me, because I should be celebrating it with two children instead of just the one. I lost my second baby a little over a year ago now. I’m still heartbroken – and know that I probably always will be. But I choose on this day, to celebrate my daughter’s life and try not to dwell on what could have been …. and suppose if I could have a Mother’s Day wish, it would be that this time next year, I am celebrating the special day with not one, but two children.

Anyway, on a brighter note, although my husband is still busy with the planting (only another 10 days or so to go), he is taking a few hours off the farm today and we are going out for lunch, to one of my favourite restaurants in a town which lies almost at the foot of Kilimanjaro. We haven’t been there for months, so it will be nice to take a drive out that way again, and I hope to be able to take some nice photo’s to put on the blog, too.

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day, everyone !

How Does My Garden Grow ?

My garden has a lot of green, but needs more colour. The bed in the foreground is an old fish/duck pond which I had filled in ... too risky with a young child around ! You can see a row of banana trees just beyond the 'pond'

It’s finally stopped raining ! We’ve had a few lovely, sunny days this week and I have been able to spend some time working in the garden at last, which I’ve really enjoyed !

I can’t believe I just typed that ! I should let you in on a little secret - I never used to enjoy gardening or exercise (I especially detested the latter !). Lately, I enjoy both. Isn’t that odd ? Must be because I’m getting older – ha !

Anyway, back to the gardening. Almost all the seeds which I planted in March (you can read about that here) have germinated and were at the stage this week where they were ready for transplanting. The gardeners - who can’t read or speak any English - could not be left to transplant the carefully labeled seedlings on their own, so I had to oversee it.

I would go up to the seedling “nursery” and show them which seedlings to put into the wheelbarrow. Then I would escort them down to the specific area in the garden where that particular seedling was to be planted and show them the photo on the original seed packet e.g. “Do you see this picture here ? This is what this flower will look like when it blooms” (lots of head nodding and “safi sana’s” – very nice’s – all round). Then I would say “And it likes LOTS of sun and not very much water” … there would be more nodding, and Hemmed, my one very animated gardener would clap his hands and point to the sky “Lot’s of sun” he would say, smiling and pointing upwards, nodding his head again. Then he would point to the hosepipe and shake his head “Not much water. No no”. “Yes, that’s right !” I would say, before we would traipse back up to the seedling nursery to load the next wheelbarrow.

Of course this is all very well in theory, but leave the gardeners to their own devices and I can guarantee you that within days all the seedlings will be dead because they’ve mixed up which ones should be getting a LOT of water, and which ones shouldn’t *sigh* I can’t explain it, that’s just how it is here sometimes.

Anyway, I positioned the seedlings in their little black plastic bags in the spots where I wanted them (taller flowers at the back of the bed, shorter ones in front etc) and then the gardeners simply had to dig the holes, put them in and water them.

We were being watched most of the time by labourers working in the bean fields above the house and must have provided them with some great entertainment because they stared at us for ages …. Hemmed pushing the wheelbarrow with Lillian (the lady gardener) next to him, with Justin and I leading the way and my daughter trailing behind in her hot pink gumboots. Then behind her were Dibble and Tessa, who always follow us around when we’re gardening – and there I was, holding empty seed packets above my head and pointing to the sky and nodding furiously whilst Hemmed clapped and pointed upwards with me !

So, the seedlings are all in the flowerbeds now and of course (Murphy’s law) just when some rain would be most welcome, we’ve had none for days so everything has to be watered daily by hand, and we put the sprinklers on at night. Because if they are on during the day/late afternoon, my daughter runs through them until she is soaked to the bone and full of wet, red mud. (Not fun or ‘cute’ anymore, once it becomes a twice daily occurrence !)

So, I will take some photo’s as the seedlings grow and flower to show you how they’re all doing – hopefully the packets are all correct when they say “90-120 days to bloom”. But I won’t hold my breath. Because this IS Africa and things rarely happen when they should here, and also because maybe - just maybe -Hemmed will get the entire watering system mixed up and we’ll lose the lot. Until then, I’m holding my breath and crossing my fingers …..

Tangy Sausage Casserole

This is a tangy, filling casserole and is delicious served over rice or pasta

One of the first recipes I ever posted on my blog was for my “Lazy Sausage Casserole” (you can find the recipe for that by clicking here). This recipe below is a similar sausage casserole dish – it is so easy to prepare, and delicious too, with a lovely tangy flavour.

You could substitute the Tomato Soup mix for any other type of soup flavour (or even use a tinned soup) and it would taste just as delicious. This is a great, easy “Friday night” meal and is what we are having tonight !


Tangy Sausage Casserole

Oil
1 pkt Pork Sausages, cut into rounds
2 red Onions, sliced
2 tsp Garlic, chopped
1 Sweet Potato, peeled and sliced
1 cup instant Tomato Soup mix
2 tbsp Tomato Sauce (Ketchup)
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Black Pepper, freshly ground
½ cup Water

Pan fry the pork sausage rounds, onions & garlic until nicely browned.
Meanwhile, par boil the sweet potato slices until just cooked. Now combine the pork sausage mix with the potatoes and place in a casserole dish.

Mix the tomato soup, tomato sauce (ketchup) and Worcestershire sauce together and pour over the sausage/potato mix in the casserole dish, season with black pepper & stir to blend.

Bake, uncovered, at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for about 30 minutes. Mix once or twice during the cooking process - you may also need to add around ½ cup water if the sauce looks too thick.

This dish is great served with rice or pasta.

Typical Tanzanian Shops & Village Life

One shop looks much like the next - what makes them stand out are their inventive names & colourful signage !

This is a photo of a typical Tanzanian shop – known as a “Duka” in the local Kiswahili language. You will find shops like this in most of the local villages, towns and cities. This particular shop is in a small town which we pass through on our way to school and to the city beyond. It is about 45 minutes from the farm.

I’m not sure how much you can make out in the picture, but there is a fuel pump outside the shop, which is called (see the Coca Cola sign on the right) “Okashi Shop” and the shop to the left (another Coca Cola sign) is called “Mama Tonga Shop”.

Coca Cola signs can be found everywhere here. Even in the most remotest, dustiest villages you are sure to find a Coke sign – how’s that for marketing, hey ? Other popular ‘branding’ which you find adding a splash of colour in the villages are logos/ads for mobile phone network providers, soap powder and toothpaste.

Tanzania has some amazing artists and any type of sign you need made or copied, can be easily ordered from a roadside “sign writer” and they will paint it for you out in the open, under the hot African sun. Many dull, dilapidated buildings have been brightened up with colourful signs and after 10 years of living here, I still have a chuckle at some of the shop names that I see.

Hairdressing salons are called “saloons” (think Wild West !) and are nothing more than a small, dark room with a few mirrors, chairs and basic equipment. In one of our local villages we have a shop called “Eat Mango Stationery Supplies” (I kid you not !) and we also have a “Good News Bar” and “Juma’s Fresh Shop”. Local butcheries have whole animal carcasses hanging in open windows (no glass) and you simply go up and order however many kilo’s of meat you require, which is then hacked off for you and weighed on an old rusty scale. (Butcheries are best visited early in the morning - before the flies come out!) I should just add here that I buy my meat from the only ‘proper’ butchery in the city, which has electricity, freezers and fridges !

In every village you will find ladies sitting along the roadside cooking food (like whole maize, mandazi - deep fried sweet dough 'cakes' - or meat) on small, open fires for passerby to puchase. The women are always wearing brightly coloured local kitenge cloths around their waists and heads, and this, too, adds a lovely splash of colour to the otherwise dusty villages.

Livestock such as cattle, goats and chickens are a regular part of the village landscape, as are skinny scavenging dogs. Wooden carts are used to transport goods around the villages – anything from furniture to vegetables – and these are all hand drawn by muscular young men who manoeuvre the carts in and out of the traffic without so much as batting an eyelid.

Just writing about village life here has made me realize that I really do need to take some more photo’s so that I can put them on the blog – especially of some of the local butcheries and the colourful, humorous signs … but hopefully what I’ve described here, has given you a small idea of what life in a Tanzanian village is like !

A Blog Post A Day .....

Part of the garden, and entrance archway, at the side of our house

I have decided that as this blog approaches it’s 3 month anniversary, I will start posting once a day only. As much as I love writing and blogging and sharing my recipes, it does take a lot of time doing 2 posts a day, and cooking/photographing/writing up 7 recipes a week to post - because I like to only post recipes which are 'tried and tested' favourites of mine which I can also provide my own photos for, not just odd recipes taken out of recipe books which I hardly ever use.

Being off the farm for 2 days a week now with 3 hour round trips to school for my daughter and the pre-planning that goes into days like these, also takes up a lot of my time, and has prompted me to decide to settle on "A blog post a day" ....

By scaling down to a single blog post per day (I will alternate between recipes and stories of life on the farm, my pets, gardening and Tanzanian life in general) my posts may be a little longer, and might be combined posts e.g. a recipe with a story behind it, and how I came to cook it.

Of course during quiet times here on the farm I may post more than once a day, but will just see how it goes. Whatever happens, I promise that I will still update the blog at least once a day, so you will still have something new to read each time you visit !

Thanks, once again, to everyone for 'reading' me and for the great support and enthusiasm for what I've been writing about so far !

Lynda's Easy Recipe for Rusks

These rusks are great dunked in tea or coffee, or even with a glass of milk

Here is a recipe for rusks, which a friend suggested that I post on the blog – so thanks for the great idea, K !

Rusks are similar to hard, sweet biscuits and are usually made from a dough similar to bread dough, which has been sweetened a little. They are usually made plain or with buttermilk, muesli or raisins added. They keep for ages in an airtight container, and are great with early morning tea and coffee (good for dunking !), road trips or teething babies !

There are 2 types of rusk recipes – those made with a bread type dough which uses yeast, and those made with a more biscuit (cookie) like dough which uses baking powder. I prefer the latter (I find that they are similar in texture to Italian Biscotti ?) and have been making this recipe for years – since I was a teenager, in fact ! They are always a favourite and whenever I serve them, people ask me for the recipe, which is always a good sign that you are onto a winner -:


Lynda’s Easy Recipe for Rusks

4 cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ cup Margarine
½ to ¾ cup Sugar
¾ cup Milk or Buttermilk (or just add 1 tbsp lemon juice to the milk and stir until thick)
1 Egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200’C/400’F/Gas Mark 6. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Rub in the margarine, mix in the sugar and stir in the egg and milk. Mix until a nice dough is formed (it will be a fairly dry dough) and then press it flat in to a greased baking tray.

Cut into rectangles before baking and then reduce the oven heat to 150’C/300’F/Gas Mark 2 and bake for an hour. Remove from oven, separate the rusks and return them to the oven (switched off) to dry out overnight.

(You can also add ½ cup raisins or muesli to the mix if you like.)

The Spices of Zanzibar

My Spice rack - which hangs on my kitchen wall & which I make daily use of !

The romantic, exotic island of Zanzibar lies just 37 km’s (23 miles) off Tanzania’s coast and is easily accessible from the mainland by ferry, dhow fishing boat or ‘plane. I have spent some time in Zanzibar and it really is a beautiful island.

Stone Town is a popular tourist attraction (it is the only functioning historical city in East Africa and has the narrowest streets in the world !) as are the beautiful beaches which are picture postcard perfect with powdery white sand and swaying coconut palms. Zanzibar is also known for her beautiful, heavy carved and brass studded wooden doors and on a musical note, for the fact that Freddie Mercury (of the band “Queen”) was born there.

The food in Zanzibar is unbelievable. Seafood is caught fresh daily and is served in all the restaurants, and I have fond food memories of sitting in a rooftop restaurant watching the sun set over the ocean and tucking in to “Prawns Pili Pili” (peri peri prawns) which were served as “bitings” (snacks) with sundowners, on our first night there. Zanzibar was also the first place where I ever tasted star fruit, which was served fresh by the platter for breakfast.

Also known as “The Spice islands”, Zanzibar and the neighbouring island of Pemba together supply around 75% of the world’s clove crop. (If you ever cook with cloves or clove powder, it is highly likely that they came from this part of the world !). The fragrance of the cloves that hangs over the island during the harvest season is incredible …..

We did a “Spice Tour” when we were in Zanzibar and it was an amazing experience to actually see the spices growing in their “whole” form, as we are so used to only seeing the final product (powders, seeds or pods) on supermarket shelves !

Aside from cloves, other crops grown on Zanzibar include ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon and vanilla to name but a few. When I buy spices here, most of them come from Zanzibar and as a result they are still very fresh. Many are simply packaged in plastic bags sealed shut by using the flame of a candle to melt the plastic together, with handwritten or photocopied labels. Aside from growing your own, I don’t think you’ll find fresher spices than these, and I am very fortunate to have them readily available (and reasonably priced) right on my doorstep …..