www.denamoore.com April 2, 2012

I love cooking and finding a balance between the flavors of home and what is available here has been great fun.  I am teaching a couple of the ladies who live here how to cook some of my favorites.  We meet once a week and as we are cooking they teach me the language.  Using a common phrase “how do you say…” and a few sherades has been commical at times but great fun.

In the last few weeks I have built a website with my name and will be posting all future recipes there.  Just go to www.denamoore.com to find all the recipes from the blog plus all the new ones we can dream up.  If you have suggestions or know tricks that will improve one of the recipes you see I would love, love, love to hear from you.  On my website you can still add comments and there is a contact page so you can email me directly!

Happy Cooking and go check out the latest Chicken Noodle Casserole on the new website!

Dena

Related articles

• where did you go? (denamoore.wordpress.com)
• How To Write A Recipe (answers.com)

Banana Bread (or Mkate wa Ndizi) February 24, 2012

bananas (Photo credit: Fernando Stankuns)

When I was a child grandma would buy bananas for us but invariably someone would not get to eat their banana for some reason.  She would have one or two left over every week.  Grandma would waste nothing!  After all as I heard so many times “there are starving children in Africa.”  So grandma would put the extra banana in the freezer and when she had 4 or 5 she would make a loaf of banana bread.  Oh those memories of grandma’s fresh baked banana bread still linger in my heart and on my tongue.

In an odd turn of events I am now in Africa and have seen many of those starving children that I always heard about.  Now I am looking for ways to waste nothing.  Bananas are plentiful here and I love them.  So in an effort to use them as often as possible I am adjusting my tried and true recipe.  You see electricity is not reliable here…at all!  Many days we will be without power for several hours.  At times we have 12-24 hours rolling black outs.  That is not good on the appliances or the food you keep in the fridge.  Also spending a short time living in a village where there was no power opened my eyes to new and different needs.

I wanted to create a recipe that needed nothing refrigerated.  I think I have done it.  There are some notes at the bottom of this page you should take into account.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe or a little over ripe bananas
• ½ c. shortening
• ½ c. sugar
• ½ c. brown sugar
• 2 small eggs ( or one extra large)
• 1 ts. Vanilla
• 1 ts. Baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 ½ c. flour

Directions:

1. Smash bananas and shortening together (I use a potato masher) until smooth.
2. Mix in sugars, egg, and vanilla.
3.  Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir again.
4. Add flour in small amounts as you mix.
5. Pour batter into a greased 4×8 loaf pan and bake at 350° for 50 minutes.  To check to see if the bread is finished you can lightly touch the top and it should spring back or you can use the old tooth pick trick.  Stick the tooth pick in the middle if it comes out clean or mostly clean it is done.

Notes:

Grandma always froze left over bananas.  I do as well but mine sometime thaw before I am ready to use them.  Frozen bananas turn an ugly brown or black and as they thaw get very mushy, even a little slimy.  They are not bad, that just makes the mashing easier.

If you have refrigeration and prefer butter change the shortening to butter and use only refined sugar (no brown sugar).  In the states I usually a white sugar but here the raw sugar is just soooo much cheaper I have switched to it.  If you use raw sugar you need slightly less.

There is a way to clarify butter which requires no refrigeration.  I don’t know that method yet.  But will post it on here when I learn and if I think it is any good.

In the states I always bought large or extra large eggs.  Here farm fresh are the only option some are smaller than others.  I like using the smaller eggs for this recipe.

Mixing in small amounts of flour at a time reduces lumps. It will create a smoother batter.

 

Chapatti February 18, 2012

Chapatti is unleavened flat bread that is popular throughout Swahili speaking regions in East Africa.  During a visit to a village in Tanzania my hostess taught me to make this wonderful bread that also serves as a utensil.  Just break off a piece and scoop up your mboga (vegetable, meat, whatever).  While in that village we had chapatti for breakfast many days.  I loved smearing peanut butter or Nutella on mine but that is not very African.  They are better hot but will keep well, like tortillas.

Ingredients:

• 2 c. flour*
• 1 ts. Salt
• Oil
• Water

1.  Mix the flour and salt.  There is no need to use yeast or baking powder.  Add about 2 Tb oil and mix until clumpy.  Add little bits of water until it forms dough and leaves the sides of the bowl.
2.  Separate into four pieces and roll out on a floured surface.  When rolled to about ¼ inch thickness roll up like a jelly roll and then roll again into circles like a cinnamon roll.  Cover in oil and let set.  These can sit for a few minutes to rest or several hours while you do other chores!
3. When ready to cook, heat a skillet (I like cast iron) and a little oil, about 2 Tb.  On a floured surface roll the dough into 10-12 inch rounds and fry in hot oil until the edges start to turn golden and it is bubbled in several places.  Flip and fry until crisp.

*I use a bleached flour made from wheat.  There is an option here between wheat or corn flour, but there is no self-rising available.  When making my recipes always opt for all purpose.

Pancakes February 17, 2012

• 

  Pancakes, anytime of day!

  1 ½ c. all purpose flour

• 3 ½ teasp. Baking powder
• ¾  ts. Salt
• 3 Tb.sugar
• 1 ½ c. milk
• 1 egg
• 3 Tb. Melted butter
• 1 or 2 ts. Vanilla

Sift together dry ingredients and make a well in the center.  In a separate bowl mix together milk, egg (slightly beaten), butter and vanilla.  Slowly add liquid to dry mixing as you add to avoid lumps.  Pour onto lightly oiled griddle or fry pan.  Cook on medium heat until edges start to turn brown and bubbles appear in center then flip.

Serving suggestions are to serve hot with syrup or smear your favorite jam over them.  No syrup?  Try using honey or fresh fruit and whipped cream.  For a yummy chocolately treat use Nutella instead of syrup or jam.

NOTE:

I have found if you want to add fruit or chocolate chips instead of mixing into the batter you can sprinkle a few pieces on the cake just after pouring it onto the pan.  This way you get evenly placed bites of flavor.  No more clumping.