Some Favourite Corners Of My Home ...............

How personal is my blog ? How much of who I am - my tastes, my beliefs, my views do I really share on here ? Mmmmmmmm ..... I rarely show personal glimpses of my life on the blog, or glimpses of my home ..... but here are a few to share with you today, because a few of you have asked .... and because I, too, like peeking into people's homes and seeing what I can tell about them from the things that they keep ......

Above ..... a shelf of recipe books in my kitchen ...... Whittard of Chelsea hot chocolate tins (now empty) were a gift from my sister & brother in law in the UK .... I use these to keep spare coins in, for buying local village eggs ..... an invitation to a local political event for our region in the party's colours .... a babies monitor .... photos of a long passed but still beloved cat .... a message scribbled across it in desperation when she went missing one day .... a message to her - along with beaded charms and things given to me by a wise old man .... charming her back home again. (She came).

Below .... a 'spirited' spice rack .... it holds all my spices (I cannot live without these with all the cooking I do) and once had a life of it's own .... we had been living on the farm for only a few days when a shadow passed behind me one day & then the spice rack jumped off the wall and the spices were flung far and wide, scattered about the kitchen by ??? This was not the only odd thing to happen to me here .... but everyone - everything - is at peace here now ..... and I've kept the spice rack up. To show that I am not afraid.

Our kitchen table ..... rowdy family lunches, homework, writing Christmas cards, casual meals with old friends or family from afar, giggly girlie chats over cups of tea, tipsy dinners over bottles of wine .... laughter, arguments, love, tears and food .... always food ..... precious framed baby foot prints on the wall behind, children's artwork, vitamins and omega 3 high up out of little people's reach, fruit bowl, bread bin and wine rack of lovely reds ......

Tears in my tea. One of the first rituals of my day ..... I make tea and talk to her, she's with me always and sometimes I still can't believe that she's gone. A photo of her in her happier, younger, cancer free days. A ball in her mouth, her eyes begging me to throw it for her. I will never get over losing her ......

Part of one of the many bookshelves in our home ..... a favourite framed Taung mask from the Cameroon .... medals from North Africa ..... photo of hubby & I on our wedding day ..... photo of my sister and I on her wedding day. She lives so far away. I walk past her photo several times a day & think of her. (I miss you !)

Mantlepiece over our fireplace in our main lounge. Flowerless in this photo, I'm afraid ..... framed prints above bought in Mauritius on our honeymoon, framed photos of family below .... my niece and nephew .... candlesticks and clock from a market in South Africa ..... a silver dish I bought in Doha, Qatar .... hedgehogs from my Zimbabwean childhood ..... an old brass bell from Tanzania's past .... photo frames from Zanzibar ..... a secret box where 'emergency' cigarettes were once stashed ... now forever empty .....

Carved Malawian dining table, with monkey balls in woven basket plate atop .... hand carved Tanzanian Mninga chairs ..... too heavy to lift almost ! Brick fire place peeking out behind ..... oh, the stories this table could tell, if only it would speak ! Most recently .... privvy to late night chats and melting candles - and melting hearts .... the tears and anguish of a friend in need, hubby and I sat up late into the night offering our support to him ..... and the next morning, a full table of bright, cheerful children (too many of us to fit around the kitchen table today) fighting for the cornflake box and golden flakes spilling happily into all the carvings on it's surface ....

My favourite time of the day .... late afternoon, just before the the sun sinks below the horizon and night falls .... when the shadows are long and the rapidly diminishing light is a deep golden colour ..... the view out of our veranda doors, with my favourite little man crawling happily across the floor ....


It must be these cold Winter months that prompt me to write blog posts like this one. If you click here you can see a similar one I wrote last year, about my favourite Winter things ......

Chicken Kebabs with a Thai Peanut Sauce

The Thai Peanut Sauce is a spicy, flavoursome sauce which goes well with either chicken or beef

I’ve had this recipe for years and am not sure where it originated from as it is hand written into one of my recipe books. (I think it may have come from a South African magazine in the late /90’s ?) It does take a little time to prepare – and uses many different ingredients/spices – but is certainly well worth the effort.

Both the marinade and the Thai Peanut Sauce work really well with beef in place of the chicken.

Our barbecue has been packed away for the Winter now as the days get cooler, but these kebabs can just as easily be cooked under the kitchen grill, and are great served with baked potatoes on the side, as a light meal -:


Chicken Kebabs with a Thai Peanut Sauce

1 kg Chicken meat, cut into strips

Marinade:
3 tbsp Honey
7 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Corriander powder
2 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tbsp fresh Ginger, grated

Thai Peanut Sauce:
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Onion, chopped

1 cup Peanuts, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh Ginger, finely chopped
½ tsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 2/3 cups Coconut Milk
3 tbsp brown Sugar
Freshly ground black pepper – to taste

Kebab sticks

Mix all the marinade ingredients together, stir in the chicken strips and place overnight (or for 3 hours or so if you are running short of time) in a covered glass bowl in the refrigerator.

Once marinated, thread the chicken strips on to the kebab sticks (I use wooden ones, which I soak in water before using, to prevent burning) and set aside.

To make the sauce, sauté the onion in the oil until golden, then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to blend & simmer on a low heat for around 15 minutes. Remove from heat. (You can place the sauce in a liquidiser once it has cooled, and blend until it is smooth if you don’t like a chunkier sauce)

Now place the chicken kebabs on a hot grill (or cook on the barbecue), turning frequently until cooked through. Serve hot with the peanut sauce poured over.

My Recent Holiday .....

Our daughter (in yellow shirt) having fun in the rock pools on the beach where my parent's live in South Africa - with a group of friends she always hangs out with when we're there !

Back on the farm - approaching the gate leading to our house - can you see who's waiting for us ?

Why - it's Dibble, Lulu and Maxie of course - ecstatic to have us home again !

Part of our house, viewed from the side - it's great to be back home again !

It’s great to be back home again. So, where were we ?! Well, we decided to fly to South Africa for a short break. As you know my parents have retired on the Eastern Cape coastline (click here to read a previous blog post and see photos of that), so we went to spend the time with them.

Of course, travel in Africa is rarely a straight forward thing, so first we had to fly from Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya – where we spent the night in Nairobi at a nearby airport hotel (the same one my daughter & I went to when we were ‘stranded’ in Nairobi last year – I was 8 months pregnant at the time ! – you can read about that adventure over here). We had an early morning flight out of Nairobi to Johannesburg, South Africa and then from there we flew from Johannesburg to East London – the closest airport to where my parents live. Phew ! Then we did the whole trip in reverse order to get back home again …. only this time, we spent a night in Johannesburg before flying home.

Our son celebrated his first birthday whilst we were in South Africa – my Mum and I baked him a giraffe cake (photos and recipe to follow sometime !) and we had a small birthday tea party for him with close family. I can’t believe that this time last year he was struggling to thrive and had just come out of Neo Natal ICU, yet today he is a chubby, healthy, bouncing little boy, full of the joys of life – just shows what a year can do ! (And for those of you who followed my struggles at the time – after being advised NOT to breastfeed him & to put him on to formula so that he could gain weight quickly, I ignored this - well meaning - advice and breastfed him until just over 1 year – and am so glad I followed my instincts as a Mum, and not those of the paediatrician !)

We had some wonderful meals out whilst in South Africa, caught up with family, enjoyed walks on the beach (a little too chilly for swimming though !), did routine things like have haircuts and update vaccinations and go to the Doctor – and also did LOTS of shopping ! I spent a morning shopping alone with my Mum … and then we left the kids with my parents one day & my husband and I spent the whole day out together and had a nice quiet lunch together – the first time I’d ever left our son for so long, but he was in good hands and hubby and I had some alone time together, which was great (and we still missed the kids – especially when we sat down to eat and saw other families sitting together !)

So that, in a nutshell, was my brief holiday. Came back to a hectic schedule for the few weeks ahead – have already been to a Christening in the city this past weekend, have various friends coming out to the farm this weekend, a company lunch we are hosting here today, an overseas visitor (work related) arriving on Sunday from Holland …. then next week, a 50th birthday party, school Sport’s Day … then an engagement party, and more company lunches/teas at the farm in between. Phew ! So much for living a quiet life on the farm !

School breaks up in July for 2 months, during which time we are hoping to take another few days break as a family …. to an exciting destination I’ve not yet blogged about, so watch this space ! Then in December we are going away for the entire month and will be away over Christmas and New Year …. but don’t worry, I’ll take you all with me and keep you updated via blog posts during that time !

So, that is where my life is at right now. Back to regular posting for me now, and I have some posts coming up soon which I know you’ll enjoy – showing some more of my life here in Tanzania and what I’ve been up to here lately …… but until then …. I'd better go and make a start on lunch .....