Tanzanian Taxis !

Tanzanian taxi's are usually beautifully decorated & often showcase things such as the taxi owner's favourite sports team or musician

The majority of Tanzanian taxi's (or 'dala dala's' as they are called locally) are beautifully decorated with all manner of pictures, quotes and advertisements written on their sides, doors & even roof tops ! The taxi names / themes change frequently ... for example, around 1999 we had a spurt of 'Millenium' themed taxi's on the streets and recently we've had many 'Obama' themed taxi's. Some Taxi owners also like to decorate their taxi's with their favourite religious quotes and e.g. pictures of Jesus (or John Lennon !), yet others like everyone to know which sports team/club they support.

Part of my ancestral roots (on my father's side - he is British) lie in Liverpool, England and my father has supported the Liverpool Football Club his entire life (some of my earliest childhood memories are of him listening to the weekend matches on our transistor radio in 1970's Rhodesia - and thinking how noisy it all sounded !)

So, when I happened to see this taxi driving in front of us in the city the other day, I just had to take a photo of it. (I hope that all my UK readers - no matter which team they support - will enjoy it !) Tanzanian's love watching football and many local bars often screen the matches on TV for patrons to enjoy. Many of these TV's are often run on generator power if no electricity exists in that specific building/part of the village. Some places may even charge a small entrance fee to watch the match !

I must admit that I have never been, nor will I ever be a 'sporty' person and don't enjoy watching sports - unless this man is playing, of course. In fact, he could probably convert me and I must admit that I would probably support any team he played for - ha ! Pity it was only a rumour last year that he was planning on climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in the near future *sigh* but a girl can always dream, can't she ?!

(If you'd like to see some incredible photo's of someone getting a 'discounted taxi fare' on a Tanzanian taxi & the post I wrote about this almost 2 years ago - then you really should click here and prepare to be amused ! There's a link at the bottom of that post to some more 'crazy - free ride' taxi photo's, too !)

Deliciously Tasty Peanut Butter Bread

Great eaten on it's own fresh from the oven - or with a filling ... or even toasted - this recipe for Peanut Butter bread is a winner all round !

This peanut butter bread is more like a cake-y bread than a bread, if you know what I mean ! I’ve been making it recently to put in my daughter’s school lunchbox – she likes it plain but you could also add fillings such as jam or cheese. It’s also great toasted for breakfast !


Peanut Butter Bread (from ‘Cook and Enjoy It’ by S.J.A. de Villers)

500 ml (2 cups) Cake Flour, sifted
125 ml (1/2 cups) Sugar
10 ml (2 tsps) Baking Powder
5 ml (1 tsp) Salt
190 ml (3/4 cup) Smooth Peanut Butter*
1 Egg, well beaten
190 – 250 ml (3/4 to 1 cup) Milk

Preheat the oven to 180’C/350'F/Gas Mark 4 and grease a small loaf tin in advance. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend the peanut butter with the dry ingredients using a fork. Blend in the egg, still using a fork. Add the milk, mix well and turn the mixture into the tin. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Slice and butter.

* I used crunchy Peanut Butter along with a large handful of roughly chopped peanuts

Lots Of Things To Talk About Today ......

Kilimanjaro viewed from the bottom of the farm - well, she's just peeking out of the clouds in this pic !

Thanks to everyone who voted in my poll last month, which I put up to see how long readers have been visiting the blog for.

I was interested to learn that 39% of readers first started reading the blog in 2009, for 28% of you it was your first visit, 16% of you started reading the blog in 2008, 4% of you are new readers this year, 5 % of you have only been reading the blog for a few days/weeks only and a further 5% of you have been reading me since the very beginning, 2 years ago !

So, thanks once again to everyone who ‘reads’ me so regularly – both old and new readers alike !

I’ve been having some computer problems and several weeks ago transferred data from one computer to the other and somehow managed to lose some of it – most importantly, many of my emails ‘disappeared’. Two blog readers emails have been ‘lost’ and if you are reading, please could you resend them to me – Marilyn (who had a dog called ‘Tiny’ when growing up here in East Africa !) and Jaco (a South African now living in the US) – I am so sorry that I have not been able to reply to either of you.

I know of few really good African blogs out there – blogs which really showcase parts of Africa in a vibrant, positive light – so it came as a wonderful surprise when I recently came across the blog ONE STONED CROW (who visited & left a comment on my blog - and with a name like that how could I not be a little intrigued ?!)which is written in – and about - Namibia, in Southern Africa. I just know that readers of ‘Food, Fun & Farm Life !’ will enjoy this blog as it contains some fascinating glimpses into Southern African life aswell as gorgeous photography throughout. (Some of the followers of this blog are also followers of ONE STONED CROW – so there you go !) I am all for promoting wonderful fellow African bloggers …. so please do go and have a look …. you won't be disappointed !

And speaking of African blogs and bloggers, I am proud to tell you that according to 'Afrigator', the stats for my blog are currently as follows -:

Blog Rank:
FOOD, FUN & FARM LIFE IN EAST AFRICA ! ranks 926 in Africa and 16 in Tanzania

I’m thrilled that my blog has made it onto Tanzania’s ‘Top 20’ list and Africa’s ‘Top 1000’ and of course, I only have all of YOU to thank for reading me & for your loyal support – as we say here in Tanzania ‘Asante Sana !’ …. thank you very much !