Random Thoughts of a Girl in Nairobi

  What on earth is reddish velvet cake? It's what happens when the chef gets a little too enthusiastic when adding cocoa powder to a red-velvet cake recipe. But I think what's important is that the cake turned out great...especially considering the fact that I totally abandoned the recipe and went with my gut feeling and what the ancestors told me to do.    I made this cake for a friend's birthday and it's honestly the biggest cake I've made to-date. I used two 12x9 inch rectangular cake tins. So now I can check that off my bucket list.     I've also been promising several friends that I'd sit down and start sharing my cake recipes so here goes. When I eventually find the right balance of cocoa powder to everything else and make an actual 'red-velvet cake' I'll be sure to do a follow-up post. But for now, … Ingredients For the cake: 4 cups self-raising flour 1 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon instant coffee (for flavou...

   I am obsessed with Indian food. My family knows it and I know it. I’m currently looking for a support group. One which hopefully bankrolls trips to local Indian restaurants.  :-D  So you can only imagine the glee I felt when I stumbled across this gem of a recipe on Pinterest . It’s quite simple especially if your chapatti making skills are on point! And even if they’re not on point, it’s still easy enough.  I modified the recipe a bit and improvised here and there but it still turned out great!  So without further ado: Ingredients 3⁄4 cup warm water 1 tsp. honey 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 2 cups all-purpose flour 1⁄2 cup plain yogurt 2 tablespoon cooking oil 1⁄2 teaspoon salt ½ a cup of melted butter ( or cooking oil ) ½ cup chopped cilantro ( Dhania ) Instructions 1.        Stir the water and honey in a bowl; add yeast and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. 2.   ...

   It’s been a while. Months actually since I last wrote anything. School got so crazy that I could barely muster the strength to write anything worth-while. And I don’t do things half-way. Go big or go home right? But I have a bit of a reprieve at the moment and this is me trying to get back on the writing saddle. What better way to do it than with a recipe that will absolutely blow your taste-buds!       I mentioned a while back how much I love fruit-juice marinades. They have this unique flavor and have a way of making food sweet without being as overwhelming as sugar can be at times. Plus, they are healthy!    Short biology lesson: Pineapple juice contains an enzyme called bromelain which actually breaks down tough proteins, such as the ones found in the harder cuts of meat therefore softening the meat. It’s a natural meat tenderizer! No more boiling for hours on end or using a pressure cooker to make meat chewable. Just marinate...

   It’s been a while since I made a Foodie Friday post. I could say it’s because I’ve been experimenting a lot with my palate. But mostly it’s because I’ve been busy. And hopefully you guys will get to see what my palate has discovered when I’m not busy.    So I’m sure you saw this photo doing the rounds on Facebook a while back:    Since that day this recipe has been a culinary goal for me. So yesterday I figured, why not! I borrowed the basic concept of the photo and combined it with what I know about pasta cooking and bam! This is what I got. So without further ado... Ingredients For the pasta: 10 sausages sliced into thick chunks Spaghetti 4 cloves garlic finely chopped 1 tablespoon of parsley ½ tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon cooking oil 5 cups hot water For the marinara sauce: 1 large onion finely chopped 4 cloves garlic finely chopped 1 table spoon butter 4 large ripe tomatoes Red chilli / Cayenne pepp...

   Do you know what happens when you travel to the Coast and buy a whole lot of coconuts for very little? You go wild trying to figure out what you can and can’t put the coconut in! Rice? Yes! Smoothies? Yes! Pancakes? Huh? Yes! My obsession with breakfast foods continues and I’m not even a bit sorry. This was definitely an experiment that paid off! The pancakes had a new flavour and texture that was just fun to experience. Crunchy with a hint of beach vibes! :-)    So how did I make them? Just follow my basic pancake recipe here , minus the raisins of course. Then add about half a cup of grated coconut flesh to the batter before you start frying. Now, take some time to enjoy this montage of pictures I took while going through the process. Batter is ready   Grated coconut Batter + grated coconut   Fry it up All done Breakfast time! Bon apetit!

   I loved trying out this recipe for several reasons: 1. It's super quick and easy ( Lazy-day hack anyone? ) 2. It sounds so fancy ( Way to impress! ) 3. I got to use spices that have lingered in my kitchen for ages. Who knew basil could be so amazing. 4. The end-result was delicious!    I initially got the recipe from this site . When it came down to it, I realized that I had macaroni instead of spaghetti...and a vegetable mix instead of spinach, among other things I chose to substitute. But I decided to soldier-on. Once I get an idea in my head, the rest is ancient history. Experimenting definitely paid off, so here goes: Ingredients 4 cups water/vegetable broth 2 cups macaroni 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 cup chopped vegetable mix 1 cup diced tomatoes 1 medium onion 4 cloves garlic ½ Tbsp dried basil ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper Method 1. Add four cups of water to a large pot. Add the macaroni, tomatoes, cooking oil, vegetables, onion (thinly sliced),...

      Dear fellow cake-loving foodies, I have found the solution to all our midnight cake cravings. Cake-in-a-mug, which is probably the best thing since sliced bread! Thank God for Pinterest. As promised in my last Foodie Fridays here is an easy-to-make healthy meal for the busy 20-something on the go ( A healthy diet includes carbohydrates and some cake every now and then won’t kill you so stop judging me :-D ) All you need for this 10-minute craving fix is a microwave and basic cake ingredients. I adapted the recipe from this site and I substituted a few things to suit me. So here goes: 1. Vanilla cake-in-a-mug Requirements ·          4 tablespoons flour ·          2 tablespoons sugar ·          1 egg, whisked ·           2  tablespoons of milk  ·   ...

   It's been a while since my last Foodie Fridays post. Mostly because I moved to my own place so I wasn't really feeling pressured to cook much since I'm alone. Not to mean that I don't still cook. Just that I don't necessarily cook elaborate meals. I'm a student on the go from books to classes therefore I try to keep things simple. But maybe that's what I'll blog about next. Easy-to-make healthy meals for the busy 20-something on the go? Do I hear a yay? Ok, you got me, I'll do it! :)    If you've been following my Foodie Fridays posts you may have noticed that I have a thing for breakfast foods. I won't lie, for me it is the most important meal of the day. It would take a mutually agreed-upon fast for religious reasons for me to miss breakfast...I kid you not. Anyway, last night I found myself craving pancakes so I decided to make some ( No judgement please ). However I was all out of milk but I had plenty of yoghurt in the fridge. ...

   This is undoubtedly one of my favourite cake recipes ever! There’s just something exciting about little bits of chocolate that you’ll randomly find within a cake with every bite. This is also one of the laziest cake recipes I have and it can easily be used to make a large cake instead of cupcakes if one were to reduce the baking temperature to gas mark 3.  So without further ado: Ingredients: 400 gm self-raising flour 150 gm sugar 150 gm butter/ margarine 200 ml milk 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ a bar of cooking chocolate 1 heaped teaspoon of icing sugar Utensils: Large mixing bowl Wooden spoon Blender Sieve Cupcake tray Cupcake liner Method: 1.        Pre-heat oven to gas mark 5. 2.        Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Sieved flour 3.        Put the sugar...