Lake Naivasha

On Friday, Nadia and I started with a boat tour of Lake Naivasha where we saw hippos and oodles of birds. The sky was blue and full of big fluffy white clouds; a beautiful day for a boat ride on the lake. Perfect for photos! We stopped on Crescent Island, a funny little island where giraffes, zebras, gazelles, and waterbuck were imported in from the Maasai Mara for the filming of “Out of Africa” in 1984. I don’t know why but they left all the animals there but now tourists can visit the island and walk among all the “wild” animals. The zebras are so used to humans gawking at them that they continue to just stand in the field and continue to graze while people saunter around them.

Hungry Hungry Hippo! Photo cred: Nadia Moledina

Afterwards, we were taken by George to a little known flamingo hangout on the other side of the lake. There are 2 different types of Flamingos in Africa, the Greater Flamingo and the Lesser Flamingo. Not many flamingos hang out in Lake Nakuru anymore contrary to popular belief.

Flamingo City!

Then a rainstorm came. It timed out really nicely; we were just finishing messing around with the flamingos when we ducked into our van to escape the downpour. We drove to our final destination of the day – Hell’s Gate National Park. This is the only National Park in Kenya where visitors can tour the park on bicycles. The area is not heavy with wildlife but the scenery is spectacular! Our bikes definitely weren’t top-notch – Nadia found this out the hard way when she hit a ridge and flew into a bush, but it is definitely the most exciting way to experience a national park.

Hell’s Gate National Park

At the end of our 7 km bike tour we arrived at the Hell’s Gate Gorge. Visitors are taken by a guide to explore the gorge, rock, and mini-hotsprings. Our guide was full of fun little facts; he told us that scenes of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider were filmed there and showed us the hooks used to swing Angelina Jolie through the air. After a busy day, we went to our hotel, The Sopa Lodge, to enjoy a big buffet dinner and quickly fell into a deep sleep at bedtime.

We woke up feeling refreshed and ready for our Nakuru safari; little did we know that Nakuru had a different plan than the one we had envisioned. After a 2 hour drive from Naivasha, because of traffic, we finally arrived. Previously, neither Nadia nor I have had any problems with our working permits which give us the benefit of the waaaaaaay cheaper resident rates. Tourist rates are exorbitant, usually around 5-7 times the price of a resident.

The manager in the ticket office told us that Nadia’s 3 month pass did not qualify her for resident fees, even though we had no problem in Hell’s Gate the day before. Both of us were feeling stubborn and ended up arguing with 2 different Kenyan Wildlife officials outside of the park gate for the next 30 minutes. We were definitely those tourists that kick up a fuss and the tourists/spectators nearby watch in amazement, and then roll their eyes, wish we would shut up and get out of the way so they can get in the park themselves. We lost our battle with the man in the office, who was behind a big thick plastic window probably for his own safety, because I would have chucked his own calculator at his head. What are the chances that in a country FULL of corruption that all the dudes who follow the “rules” work at Nakuru National Park!?

On the plus side of things, we saw some Rhinos… the entire reason I went there. And we saw a lot of exotic beautiful birds. Nakuru is Bird Paradise.

Rhinos

George making sure Nadia makes it up the mountain

View of Rift Valley from Mt. Longonot

Mt. Longonot Crater

Nadia & I in front of the Crater

Diani Beach is a short airplane ride and taxi ride away from Nairobi; a popular vacation destination for Kenyans and tourists alike because it is a little slice of heaven that is very accessible. Our travel to Diani Beach took a bit longer because we hit CRAZY traffic in Mombasa; suddenly the expected 1 hour taxi ride from the airport turned into a 3 hour drive in a damp, heavy heat. But when we arrived at our accommodation we were quickly rewarded. I stepped out of the van and was blown away… I was staring at a postcard. I immediately wanted to kick off my sandals, run through the fine white sand and plunge into the ocean.

Instead we were greeted by the cottage’s personal chef, Mohammed, with fresh orange passionfruit juice to enjoy on the patio. But I quickly made it into the ocean; I’m a water baby forever and always.

Our cottage was beautiful but still beach friendly- the walls and floors were whitewashed so we could traipse in and out of the house soaking wet no problem. It was modestly decorated but really homey and we immediately settled in as if we had been there for weeks. There was even a lovely little bookshelf so no one would be left without a beach book. Our personal chef was a great, making us breakfast and supper each day we were there. Vendors came to our doorstep to sell us fresh seafood and vegetables; the seafood vendors would take our requests and do their best to catch what we wanted. Over the weekend we had white snapper, crab, and prawns and each meal was divine.

On Saturday we decided to take a break from reading on the beach and go to Leonardo’s, the place to go for gelato. They had at least 24 different flavours! I had a scoop of cashew nut and a scoop of double dark chocolate; I had never had cashew nut gelato and it did not disappoint. The perfect mix of sweet and salty. On the way home we each jumped on a Boda, a taxi motorcycle, to get back to our cottage 3.5 km away. It was so fun to have the water blowing through my hair (Sorry Ma, no helmet… but I’m still alive!) but my hat blew off. I had tapped the driver to say “oh no! my hat! we must turn around!” and looked back to see an SUV coming up quickly behind us, its passenger wheel just about to annihilate my hat. Luckily, they stopped and a man on the side of the road came out and picked up my hat for me. I didn’t even have to leave the back of the motorcycle for that rescue mission!

I spent the rest of the time lounging on the beach and swimming in the ocean. There is so much life in the Indian Ocean! I saw/poked/stepped on jellyfish (thank goodness they weren’t stinging ones!), saw floating coral, seaweed everywhere, and crabs dashing into their holes in the sand. I decided not to go snorkelling to convince/bribe my Papa Bear that we need to go on a nice family vacation to a beautiful lively ocean. This way we can drive the rest of our family crazy by talking incessantly about ocean life together.

Kite Surfing

Each night the moon was insanely bright. On Saturday we saw the lunar eclipse over the ocean laying on beach lounge chairs enjoying a pre-dinner Tusker Malt. Early Sunday evening, the moon was bright orange and as it got higher in the sky it got brighter and brighter until it was a spotlight for the ocean. Absolutely stunning…

On Monday, we had to leave in the afternoon to catch our flight in Mombasa. We gave ourselves 4 hours thinking that would be lots of time, but then we reached Mombasa and found a line-up for the ferry that was 3 kilometres long. It could have been less but the amount of people around, honking horns, and the slowness of the ferry only enhanced our potential panic. Our driver first attempted to skip the line and bribe the ferry people to let us on but they weren’t having any of it. So, he made a few calls and found another cab for us to jump into to cross on the ferry. We pulled on the side of the road of a busy intersection and grabbed our bags to run across the street and through some street shops to get to the other car. In the process I was almost completely run over by a matatu. I had my hands on the hood of the car pushed myself away and managed to slip between a slim space between another vehicle and the matatu; simultaneously watching the matatu move forward while exchanging a few profanities with the driver…

I never believed that matatu’s would really ‘not stop’ for pedestrians and I probably pushed my luck a few times in Nairobi. My theory was that it was like Italy and I would just give the driver the stare down while I crossed the street. On Monday, I found out if there are people in a hurry in a stressful environment those things aren’t stopping for NOBODY. Unless you are paying them. But because of our driver’s connections we got to the airport with an hour to spare.

Back to the cool mountain air of Nairobi for my last 10 days in Kenya.

The Recipe:

1 big can of peeled whole tomatoes
1 regular size can of kidney beans
1 reg. can of brown beans
1 reg. can of butter/white beans
1 reg. can of sweet corn niblets
1 medium butternut squash cubed

4-5 slices of bacon chopped
2 medium white onions chopped
500 grams of ground beef
2 big cloves of garlic finely chopped
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
2 tsp of chilli powder

Garnish with sliced avocado & a dollop of sour cream

Instructions:

1. Chop up onions and bacon. Caramelize together in a BIG soup pot on medium-high heat. Once onions are soft and bacon is browned, add the ground beef (defrosted if you’ve had it in the freezer) and finely chopped garlic. When the ground beef is fully cooked and your kitchen smells like meaty goodness…

2. Add your canned tomatoes and beans. Be sure to drain the fluid from the can of kidney beans and butter beans.

3. To spice (and you are working with very minimal kitchen tools) make a little cup with the palm of your half and fill half of that with salt and then toss it in the pot. Then ground some pepper into your pot and add your chilli powder. Do the waft test and if your nose says “More spice!” go for it, but taste it along the way to make sure it doesn’t get too intense. This is the fun part!

4. Add the can of corn niblets (be sure to drain the fluid from the can first), then toss in your cubes of butternut squash. Turn your heat down to medium and put the lid 3/4’s over the pot. Let your chilli flavours harmonize and meld together for 60-90 minutes. It’s a big flavour party in that pot!

This recipe was inspired by recipe from Perry’s Plate.

When ready to eat, garnish your bowl of chilli with a big dollop of sour cream and a couple of slices of avocado. Curl up on the couch with a blanket and a good book (or movie) and relish in the fact that you are warm and cozy even while its pouring rain outside.

I was lucky and had a surprise visit from Jonathan, a fellow intern from my university, and he brought carrot cake over! We had a lovely visit about our vastly different experiences here. It definitely turned into a quality Thursday evening and I’m ready to take on my 3rd last weekend in Kenya.

The atmosphere was lovely with a nice patio and friendly service. The food is presented in an impressive manner for sharing the experience with friends and family. Eating from one plate signifies the bonds of loyalty and friendship. The injera bread serves at the base for a giant platter which various meats, salads, curries, and sauces are then served on. Then the sauces are served separately in cast-iron pots that have coals underneath to make sure it stays warm, bubbly, and aromatic.

mmm Ethiopian Platter of Yum!

The waiter and the manager found out this was my first experience with Ethiopian cuisine so they made sure they were around for my first bite. I was taught that the trick to eating this tasty, taaaasty food is to flop the injera onto the sauce, pick the injera up with 5 fingers to get the optimal amount sauce, then grab up some grilled meat and toss it in your mouth. Aahhh – It was so good! There are a variety of sauces to choose from with varying degrees of spiciness. My favourite was an orange one that was made of chickpeas and unique spices, that was pretty mild because I am wussy with spice here.

From a quick internet search of Ethiopian cuisine I found out some interesting facts:

1. “Injera” is the staple flatbread made of a fine grain called “Teff“, which is unique to Ethiopia. The teff is fermented, so the bread is nice and light but expands in your belly when it is being digested and suddenly you find yourself very full.

2. A big part of Ethiopian food is “Wot“, which is a stew that consists of a lot of red onions, some cooking oil, berbere (a chilli pepper sauce), meat such as chicken, beef, lamb, or goat, and then veggies such as legumes, lentils, potatoes, carrots, and chard in different combinations.

3. Ethiopian food uses a variety of cooking oils such as sesame and safflower.

4. Many of their dishes are vegan because the Ethiopian Orthodox Church requires a number of fasting periods.

5. “Tibs“, which is what I had last night, is meat such as beef, chicken, lamb, or goat and veggies that are sautéed with salad as an accompaniment. I really enjoyed having the injera, sauce, meat and some salad in one bite.

6. Food is served under a Mesob, which is like a little straw woven hat for the plate to keep the food warm.

7. Ethiopian food is meant to be eaten with your hands. The right hand is used to rip off a piece of injera and pick up all the fixin’s and then eaten. There is a tradition called Goorsha, where one would prepare a bite of food in this way BUT then feed it to their friend as a display of friendship. The bigger the Goorsha, the stronger the friendship.

8. Ethiopia is famous for excellent coffee and it is a big part of the dining experience and at the end of every meal a coffee ceremony is prepared and enjoyed.

For more info check out this website!

I recommend everyone to look up a good Ethiopian restaurant and try it out one night… Food Adventure! Prepare yourselves friends … I’m introducing you to Ethiopian when I get home. And I am definitely going back to Abyssinia before I leave Nairobi :)

“Hey Honey, I know your blog is supposed to be focused around food and drink but don’t you think your readers would like to hear/see more about your work there? Just a thought, of course it’s up to you. Love, Mom”

Now, my mother is a wise lady and if she is wondering about my work and life in Nairobi there are probably a few more people who are as well. Maybe residents in Lougheed have asked her what I have been up to… or my Grandma is getting sick of all the recipes? I gave the issue some deep thought this morning and I have come up with a few reasons why food has been a constant for me in Nairobi.

1. Food Culture is HUGE here! My social life revolves around food and restaurants. Feeling like going out? We might as well make an evening of it and go for dinner and then drinks at a nearby bar/nightclub. Kenyan people love to gather and chat over some great food and drink. Nairobi has a fun food culture that is very accessible for visitors. The food restaurant website Eat Out Kenya provides the location and reviews of many, many restaurants. Most special events held in the city have an area dedicated to buy food and drink, sit at picnic table and relax in the sunshine. There is a wonderful event, that I haven’t had a chance to attend yet, called Blankets and Wine, where people bring their blankets to an outdoor park, watch live performances of Kenya’s rich music scene and enjoy a few glasses of wine while showing off their hippest clothes. Football is HUGE here, and it is common to go to local sport’s club (our’s is K1) to watch the game, drink some Tuskers, and eat some Nyama Choma or chicken wings.

Stuffing our faces, drinking beer, and watching Liverpool vs. Man. U on 3 big screens

Enjoying a Vanilla Latte

2. Too Tired to Go Out? This happens fairly often. I keep pretty busy at AKUH working on the redesign of the Pediatrics’ print media and by the time Friday comes around I want to stay in the house, do some yoga, make something sweet & yummy and watch a movie. Or, there are days where I really don’t feel like putting in the effort of getting beautiful, calling a cab, and then rejecting the advances of men at the bar who want to buy me for 5 goats… kidding! That doesn’t happen.

3. No Power? Muffins are the solution. There are days when we wake up in the morning and there is no power. This means no tea (because our oven is electric… wait, everything in our house is electric!), no toast, and lukewarm juice or yogurt. As result our house is full grumpy girls who don’t want to go to work. My solution is to make muffins almost once a week. Now, the girls and I can each grab a yummy banana muffin, then go to work and enjoy a tea with warm milk there. Problem solved!

Work is going really well though. I am well on my way to accomplishing the goals I laid out for myself and I have met a lot of very nice and fun people who are teaching me a lot about Communications as well as life in Kenya.

I realized this week I only have 5 weekends left in Kenya! It seems a lot shorter when I think about it in terms of weekends as opposed to weeks. So I sat down and made a list of things I NEED to do before I leave: see flamingo’s and rhinos, climb Mt. Kenya and Mt. Longonot, ride a bicycle through Hell’s Gate National Park, and have a beach holiday on the South Coast. After doing some research and arranging, all of my weekends are booked up from now until I leave on December 22. It’s going to be a whirlwind! And this means that my dear friends and family are going to get a break from reading recipes ;)

On another note, a giant beetle bug flew into our house Sunday morning. Of course I documented it.

Giant Beetle Bug

"Jess! Act Terrified!"

Close-up of the Giant Beetle Bug

I love going to Diamond Plaza and sitting in the food court enjoying a fresh glass of Tree Tomato + Mango juice with the girls sharing a plate of cheese samosas (something else I didn’t know existed.. maybe this is Kenyan thing?). Anyways, these cheese samosas are amazing… and I actually find that I crave them. I’m craving juice right now… and sunshine. After this I am going to gather up the girls for a juice date. Here are some pictures of us at our favourite local ice cream parlour/juice bar/cheese samosa overdose haunt.

1. It tastes how it is supposed to (not bogged down with water, injected with hormones, or whatever the heck they put in supermarket meat in North America).
2. The majority of meat is locally raised and not factory farmed.
3. The price of meat is much more reasonable in Kenya compared to Canada.

Disclaimer: I sound like a meat-basher now, but remember that I am a born & raised Albertan and I still believe that we have the best beef steaks in the world. However, I find that buying meat at home requires some extra research. I am blessed to be from small town where if so desired, I can buy a cow from local farmer, have it butchered, and then stored in my deep freeze but this luxury is not available to the majority of people who live in the city.

Anyways, this casserole turned out pretty tasty and got the approval of both of my roommates…
The Recipe
500 grams or 1 lbs of ground beef
2 big cloves of garlic sliced
2 medium-sized onions chopped (medium or small chunks whatever suits your fancy)
2-3 large peeled carrots chopped
1 or 2 tbsp of Olive Oil
1-2 pinches of Sage
1-2 pinches of Thyme
1-2 pinches of Basil
1-2 pinches of Rosemary
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Knorr Savoury Gravy Mix (with a bit of leftover Turkey Gravy mixed in)
A bunch of fresh mushrooms sliced into quarters
A few drops of lemon juice for the mushrooms
A big bowl of mashed white sweet potatoes (I also had one regular potato thrown in the mix)

Variation of Nairobi Style Casserole

Instructions:
For those of you who don’t have leftovers kicking around: For mashed potatoes, I chop the potatoes into cubes and boil until really soft. Then I drain the water from the pot and add about 2 tbsp of butter, a splash of milk, and a splash of whipped cream if is some around. Then mash. Add a couple splashes of milk if the potatoes are not creamy enough or the lumps are being stubborn. Mash until fluffy and smooth.

Warm up your sauce pan, pour in around 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and thrown in the onions and garlic. Let them simmer for a bit until onions are soft and the pot is smelling awesome. Add chopped carrots and cook until they begin to soften. Throw in your (defrosted) ground beef and brown. On another burner, start making your gravy. When gravy has thickened to your desired consistency throw in the pot (make sure your beef is cooked with no hint of blood). Mix it all up.

When I spice food I use a little trick I learned from my friend Philippe, a Frenchman who loves food. He taught me to hold the spice bag over the pot and then do a nose waft to see if the smells mesh well together. Take a couple of pinches of sage, thyme, basil, salt, & pepper and do a lot of wafting until your gut instinct says “mmm yup, I wanna eat that!” Let the pot continue to simmer while you chop up your mushrooms. This time I tried a trick I learnt from Billy’s Dad, Michel; he told me when cooking with mushrooms to add a little bit of lemon juice to them and this keeps the mushrooms full and juicy. Don’t go crazy and douse them in lemon juice just a few drops will do. Then chuck them in the pot!

Let everything meld and harmonize together in the pot (or have a few sips from your glass of wine) and get the oven warmed up to 350 F or 175 C. Find a casserole dish and pour your beef mixture in the casserole dish. Then grab your mashed potatoes and cover the beef mixture with the mashed potatoes. Add a couple of pinches of rosemary to the top of your potatoes. Then put it in the oven for around 30-40 minutes. Voila!

Yummy Bowl of Casserole

This is a “Man’s Dish” and best prepared listening to Queens of the Stone Age.

Our first stop after leaving Nairobi was at a viewpoint of the Rift Valley. Driving along the snakey, mountainside road reminded me driving along sea-to-sky highway between Vancouver and Whistler with my friend Kalin. This road wasn’t as wet with rain and didn’t have an ocean to look out at; but it has an amazing landscape that is so flat and vast it still manages to remind me of the ocean. Gives me a feeling of wildness and peacefulness at the same time.

The Rift Valley- absolutely stunning

The Bumpy, pothole road to the Mara

On our arrival, our group had a chance to have some lunch and a beer before driving 10 minutes to the reserve for our evening game drive. Here is a little montage of my first game drive…

Strange Animals

Cape Buffalo

African Elephant

Dusty Trail

Mara Sunset

Saturday we got up bright and early for a full day in the Mara. By 11 am I had already seen tons of elephants, antelope, and zebra. In addition to watching a lioness nurse her 2 cubs, a male lion, 2 cheetahs lounging under a tree, a leopard sleeping in a tree, another mother cheetah hunting a hare to feed her 3 baby cubs, and 2 elephants fighting over territory. How lucky can one girl be?! In the afternoon we went to the river and saw a few hippos and one crocodile. During the last part of the afternoon we stumbled on a big lion pride who were lounging around and keeping a close eye on the buffalo herd that was grazing a couple of miles away. At one point, a male lion with a giant mane sauntered in front of our van and went into a bush directly across from our van. We all stood in the van looking out from under the canopy top while the lion stared back at us through the bush. I think if he wanted to he could have jumped up with his paws on our van and bit my face off (well I had a brief mental picture of this happening… I guess I shouldn’t have watched “The Ghost and the Darkness” a few months back). Lions are truly amazing, majestic creatures. Here are some highlight pictures of the day…

Lounging Cheetahs

Cheetah Cub

Giraffe Party at the Watering Hole

Zebras Struttin’

Elephant Mud Bath

Looking a little rough from Safari, but this is an example of how close we were most times.

We made it to the orphanage just in time for the elephant’s playtime, which is from 11 until noon. The healthy elephants get to come out and put on a show for all the tourists and citizens who stop by. Sometimes they will play soccer with each other or (if it has rained) have a little mud fight. Unfortunately, neither of these things happened for us, but it was still fun to see them. This was my first “tourist experience” in Kenya and it made me thankful that I get to live here for 4 months instead of a whirlwind tour. Everyone there was super happy to see the elephants and it was very heartwarming to see them interact with their trainers. The whole time I was thinking about this amazing episode of “The Nature of Things” with David Suzuki on CBC. It was so informative about what The David Sheldrick Elephant and Rhino Trust does to contribute to wildlife conservation. The knowledge I gained from watching this documentary previously really contributed to my experience at the orphanage.

Baby Elephant getting a treat

Big Crowd

Baby Elephants spread joy to everyone!

Trainer and Elepant (both seem pretty happy)

Next, we went to the Karen Blixen Centre for lunch in their café. Karen is notorious for being the ‘white suburb’ and it looks like a ‘tiny Europe’ since it was settled by european colonizers. I had an amazing butternut squash, pumpkin, coconut and coriander soup. It was nice but again very touristy with tourist/rich Karen inhabitant prices.However, the grounds are beautiful and it would be a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

After lunch we went to the Giraffe Centre which is run by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. Through their program they have boosted the population of the Rothschild’s Giraffe that originated from from a small wild herd. Their other aim is to educate children about conservation. It was nifty and I got some sweet pictures. So, it ended up that I dedicated my Mashujaa Day to Kenya’s wildlife conservationists who have worked very hard throughout Kenyan history to boost the population of their animal friends. A great lead-in to my Safari in the Mara and a great way to spend a day with a new friend.

Close-up!

Friday evening I made some tasty little muffins out of some super ripe papaya and bananas. I found this recipe online and figure I should share it with you because they turned out really nice and are actually fairly healthy (for a muffin). They were really easy and fast to make as well. I didn’t make the icing that is included in the recipe but I thought I would here in case anyone was feeling adventurous or decadent. But I haven’t seen any cream cheese here so I thought I would save myself a headache and just use butter :P

Papaya-Banana Muffins

by Ann Vanderhoof for “An Embarrassment of Mangoes”

(Makes 12) Actually made 9 for me ;-)
1 2/3 cups flour (I used light spelt flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (+ I added 1/4 tsp cinnamon)
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar (I reduced to 1/2 cup organic sugar)
1 cup mashed ripe papaya
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (1 large banana)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F. and grease a medium-sized muffin pan or line it with muffin papers.Combine dry ingredients and

Beautiful Ripe Papaya

Ann’s Tips:

If the papaya is quite ripe, it will yield a lot of liquid when mashed. Drain off this excess liquid before adding the fruit.
You can make the muffins entirely with papaya if you like; just increase the quantity to 1 1/2 cups. The muffins will have a slightly moister texture and a flatter top.

Pineapple Cream Cheese
“A Taste of the Caribbean Cookbook” by Angela Spenceley
(Makes about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup fresh-diced pineapple
just of 1 lime
1/2 tsp lime zest (I used the zest of the entire lime)
6 oz cream cheese (I used vegan cream cheese)

Fold the pineapple, lime juice and zest into the cream cheese with a pastry cutter or fork.

Notes/Results: Wonderful, moist and flavorful muffins–like a more complex banana muffin, and lightly flecked with the orange papaya. They are excellent on their own and topped with the Pineapple Cream Cheese they are amazing. I used up some light spelt flour that I had on hand in these and reduced the sugar since my papaya and banana (I used two smaller apple bananas) were very ripe and sweet. I left out the nuts and added some cinnamon because I like it with my nutmeg.

Recipe from: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/

After I pulled my muffins out of the over, the power went out again. This time for the whole evening! I found out Monday morning that Nairobi is practicing rolling blackouts to conserve energy. Many places have generators, but of course, ours does not. Jessica and I had planned to do some yoga and then go out for some dinner and drinks, but once the power went out we lost all ambition to leave the house. Thankfully, there were a couple of beer in the fridge to aid us in finding our Zen place. Strange pictures ensued…

On Saturday night, us girls were invited to a BBQ at our friend Fahim’s. It was so great, but probably not good for my heart. Fahim later told me that 400 grams of butter was used in meal preparation! Fahim made his famous chicken wings and corn on the cob with sweet chili sauce. His sauce is a secret recipe that is soooooo yummy! The featured dessert was grilled mini banana’s with Dairy Milk chocolate melted on top. Decadent! Here are a few pictures from the night:

Fahim putting his secret sauce on some corn

Fahim & Sam doin' some grillin'

mmm yummy!

Sam enjoying corn on the cob

Sabrina, my other roommate, enjoying a Kenyan delicacy, Toasted beef hump meat sandwich.