My HUMBLE abode
So a few weeks ago my pal Githengi called me asking me how he should prepare some liver he had (BTW I have a bachelors corner coming up just for you and my brother) . As we were talking I dunno how I ended up telling him that I live in one room, I don’t know whether to call it a studio or a bedsitter, I think it’s something in between. So Githengi was shocked, he was like “WHAT!!, you cook all that in such a small space?” I was like yes, I’ve posted it on my About page but guess I was not specif on what my living situation is like.
Now this room of mine, many a person have made fun of it, my brother Kiboi has called it a shoe box, Mr MF calls it my 2*2 (2 feet by 2 feet) because I can say I am in bed then I can VERY easily reach out for a drink in my fridge and in two secs after that Il be in my “kitchen” . We have a colleague who actually says she lives in a kitchen (she is an adorable lady, I laugh every time she says it)
But I have come to love my little room. In 2010 when i had just come back home from college I REALLY wanted to move out of home. I felt so crowded and my parents leave FAR. But I was an unemployed graduate and people kept telling me that I could afford to leave in a studio and I would always say “NO WAY how will i fit?” but when I moved to Kakuma I had to fit.
If I can say so my self we (we being me and my colleagues who sued to live in another compound that did not belong to UNHCR) have come a long way. at first i lived in a very small place what Mr MF would call a 1*1 it was sort of ok at the beginning but it had no AC and the power rationing was crazy; no lights during weekday lunch times plus no power on Saturday mornings from i think 8-1pm and on Sunday afternoons. It was CRAZY hot. Then I moved to a prefabricated room, with my kitchen that was even more cramped and now I’m where I am and I love it. I especially love the color. I have an accent deep purple wall then the rest are in a soft soft purple. I LOVE IT. so here are photos 🙂
my whole room minus the “kitchen” thats the little guy who keeps me company 🙂
the view from the bathroom door
my “kitchen”
my microwave/ grill/ oven 🙂 had a pizza baking!
photos of my family minus my little bro Charles 🙁 I still love u I keep saying Il look for your photo and I will
my favorite fridge magnet “if you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen” and the pretty baby??? that’s me 🙂
my stash of GoodFood magazines
my cookbooks
Well that’s it. hopefully soon i’ll be posting more pics of my desert life
Tales of Fake Scotch!!!
So over the last few weekends my friends have all been home on R&R (rest and recuperation) and its been quite a lonely time 🙁 You sometimes do not realise that its the people in your life that make it your life till hey ALL leave you in the desert. Anyway last weekend i invited my friends Dennis and Krista to come over for dinner and i made a fish curry, some rosemary potatoes and dhania rice. I think they quite enjoyed it. after dinner we decided to go over to their compound ( we work for different organizations) for a drink.
So we went and i THINK they do not sell spirits in tots so we had to buy a whole bottle. I then got a bottle of Johnnie Walker. As i drunk it i kept think ” gosh this thing has a funny taste” but my other voice told me i was being paranoid.
On to the morning AFTER!!! I woke up feeling like I had drunk a whole litre of vodka even though I had probably only had about 4 tots. i felt ill. My head was paining and it wasn’t paining, my stomach was paining and it wasn’t paining, i was thirsty but i didn’t want water. it was such a HORRIBLE feeling. So i decided to look at the bottle that i had bought at Kathrines and what was the first thing i saw????? the seal on the cap was written 750ml!!!!!!!!!!! Gosh. ok then i put it aside and forgot about it as i nursed my hang over.
Two nights ago I decided to compare the Johnnie I bought at Kathrines with what I had from the commissary and boy was there a big difference! As evident on the photo the color on the smaller bottle is much lighter, the smell is also a bit different and obviously from experience the taste is too.This guys of river road seem to have penetrated all markets. How sad!!
Well I am never buying a bottle from there again. Might just resort to carrying a sippy cup 🙂
KARAGE CHICKEN
When I first had Japanese food MANY years back I really hated it. My dad had taken the family to some restaurant in Hurlingham to welcome my aunt Ciru back home. All I remember from that night is how me and the toilet bowl were best friends for the night. I cud not stand the food especially the thought of having raw food. Years later I was introduced to more “African” friendly dishes (read fully cooked) I was introduced to sushi rolls with cooked fillings and also to Karage and some saucy chicken wings whose names I do not remember, from there at least I have been able to move to the more experimental foods.
Anyway as I had posted last week I asked my Japanese colleague Tomoko to teach me and my gals a few Japanese dishes and in addition to Teriyaki Chicken she also taught us this dish that Liz kept calling Karanga (dry fried meat in Swahili). It was really good. We ate it with just a bit of mayonnaise and rice and it was really good. Hope you like it too. HAPPY COOKING!!
2 chicken fillets (butterflied)
· 1 egg
· 2 tablespoons Sake ( you can use sherry if you do not have, but you can buy from Health You stores)
· 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce (Tomoko swears by Kikkoman brand)
· 1 teaspoon of sesame oil ( if you do not have regular oil will do)
· 1 teaspoon garlic
· 1 teaspoon ginger
· 1 ½ tablespoon of corn/potato starch (if you do not have replace with corn flour or regular flour)
· 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
· Oil for frying
Ingredients Instructions Mix the Sake, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and oil in a bowl.
Cut the chicken up into cubes and place into a zip lock bag. Pour the sauce into the bag and mix up well. ( if you do not have the zip lock bag you can mix this up in a bowl. Refrigerate for 30mins.
Break the egg and whisk it, add it into the zip lock bag and mix well. Refrigerate for a further 30mins.
Remove the chicken from the sauce and drain out excess fluids. Mix the corn starch and flour and place the chicken in the flour and toss till well coated
Heat the oil till hot. Place the chicken in the oil and cook till slightly brown. Remove and set aside. Cook till all the chicken bits are browned then return them to the hot oil ( start with the ones you first removed)
Cook until completely cooked. ( this makes the chicken crispier). Serve hot. HAPPY EATING!!!
