Foodie Penpal Feb 2013 Reveal
- The Parcel
So we have been away from the foodie penpal thing for about two months now. December was a disaster. As i had said in my January post my penpal did not come through. In fact she did not even bother to return my calls or text, I was not even told sorry I can not. Any way I moved on from that and in January I wrote to my list of penpals and told them that I wanted serious participants only. I got a few and Feb was a great success. I hope to keep doing this for many many more months to come.
My penpal was a beautiful soul by the name of Swabra. Have u ever just fallen in love with someones character even before you met them? that was what happened with Swabra. She has this way of talking to you as if you have been friends forever. She was soo kind too, though she was a bit nervous about pleasing me, why? beats me. This is what she sent me a lovely home cooked meal, she included a beautiful note that had me laughing all the way through. THANX Swabra!!
Chicken Tikka it was soooooooooooo delicious
Chicken Tikka spice mix that she used for the chicken
Viazi Karai they wre light and delicious especially with the dipping sauce
Tamarind/Ukwaju sauce
Egg Pilau, who knew you could actually do this mix. it was to die for
Kachmbari/ salsa this was the TASTIEST kachumbari i have EVER eaten. she added a bit of green hoho (pepper) and sweet corn. I LOVE LOVE sweet corn why i have never thought of adding it to Kachumbari………….who knows
Tende/ dates Swabra told me how to make date flavored milk. Use SUPER cold milk and about 4-5 pitted and chopped up dates put in a blender and drinks. Tried it, loved it.
THANK YOU so much Swabra. Thank you for taking the time to cook for me. XX!!
Spices from Malindi
I went to Lamu for New Years, it was beautiful, did you see the photos? and it is FAR so we stopped in Voi for a night on the way there and Malindi for the night on our way back. I went spice shopping and this is what I got (PS: two of the spices are from Dubai Fenugreek and Some pepper not sure what it is:-(
Garam Masala
- Hot Chillies
Aria or Tomatoes I do not know how to use this spice yet, any ideas?
Cardamom
Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
There are things in life that you NEVER imagined would please you or excite you. You know the type of thing that you just do coz you know it’s good for you eg walking to the market instead of driving or drinking water instead of Vodka (Mona yes this is for you) or taking Tea instead of Whiskey (Kiboi…:-) Well for me eating Ngwaci (sweet potatoes) is one of those things.
I bought ngwaci for the 1st time in my life towards the end of last year, coz those are things I eat at home when I’m visiting the folks or up country. Ngwaci’s are tasty but to me there is nothing special about how they taste but the moment I took a bite of these sweet potato fries all my taste buds were UP. Like a weed junkie who has just been given a shot of heroin and you wonder why no one ever told you there better ways to awaken your taste buds.
The fries were spicy and sweet, hot and sweet, my mouth had its own mini “O” because the pleasure was sooo damn unexpected. I mean who knew that ngwaci’s could taste like this? and when you add the Sour cream/sweet chilli deep HEAVEN, its just heaven in you mouth. I promise you even your kids will be begging you for more. HAPPY COOKING!!
Ingredients
- 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into "fries"
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (more if you want it hotter)
- 1 tablespoon of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon of ginger
- 1/4 tablespoon of garam masala
- 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
Heat oven to 200C.
In a bowl mix all the spices together then add the sweet potatoes. toss in the marinade and make sure they are well coated. Place in a baking sheet that has been covered with foil. Bake for about 30-35 mins but make sure to check for doneness after 25 minuted depending on your oven.
Put the two ingredients in a bowl, either side by side, one on top of the other or mix. Your choice
https://www.themothershipvillage.com/baked-spicy-sweet-potato-fries/
