Monkeying Around

Hi!  Guess what?  Exciting news!  Today I am guest blogging over at From the Monkey Bars, a great blog about the pleasure and pain of parenting.  One of my favorite cooking blogs, The Kitchen Witch, is the lead contributor to their Eat series.  She was looking for guest bloggers and guess who went knockin'.  I will be over there once a week sharing Tanzanian takes on recipes from my kitchen, as long as the lion's don't eat them before I can type them out ;).  Hope you enjoy!

Kanga Cloth - Fashion & Utility

One of the most ubiquitous images in Tanzania is the kanga or kitenge cloth worn (mostly) by women.  It's used as an everyday item as well as for special occasions.  Typically, you see women wearing kanga's like a sarong but over western-world clothes, like t-shirts and pants.  The wannabe anthropologist in me did some field work on this phenomenon by taking my inquiries to the remote corners of my house.  I spoke with Christina, our nanny, and she indicated that the kanga is worn as a sarong usually out of either modesty, cultural traditions or purely for fashion.

Some people (and its not just generational) think its inappropriate for a woman to wear pants because "it accentuates their backside" (Christina, 2010).  Rather than just wear a long skirt (which Christina does, but her sisters do not!), they wear the pants underneath to function somewhat as an "insurance policy" from any rogue bursts of wind or overly curious male children. During special occasions like birthdays, funerals, parties or holidays, the kanga is transformed into an outfit - skirt made of kanga, blouse made of kanga and sometimes even a matching headdress made from kanga.

The Arusha Spouses Association.  Speaks to our shared humanity - all cut from the same cloth

Beyond fashion, kanga also serves a utilitarian purpose, most commonly carrying babies. I think the whole premise of Happiest Baby on the Block was based on the baby wearing out-of-sheer-necessity you find in Africa.  Believe me, it doesn't elude me when I'm walking in our neighborhood with Millie in my $100 Ergo.  For their sake, I hope the local women are getting a good chuckle out of it.

Kanga has made its way into the wazungu (Kiswahili for 'white person') world as well making up the base of many curios and trinkets that tourists can take home from their travels.  Better yet, it also shows up in the accessory world in the form of bags, purses, ballet flats, necklaces etc.  Once we come back to the States, I should be easy to spot - I'll be the woman with faded and stained solid color tee's but blinged out in kanga-lined ballet flats and tote bag. 

For the time being, we're doing our best to make our house kanga-chic so check out the new kanga's going on the throw pillows! Whatever scraps of fabric we have left over, I usually turn them into cloth napkins.  You know, doing my part for the Earth (i.e. trying to offset the disposable diapers we use that are subsequently burned.... yeahyeahyeah, I can hear you gasping way over here).

At the kanga shop.  From many....

.... to three

What images stand out most from some of your travels?  How have you been able to preserve those images - photographic or otherwise? 

Ready for our move to The Hague!

Working on our fitness for the flat roads of Holland



Ta-ta my friends!  Off to see the Van Gogh Museum!

 We are not really moving to The Hague. However, it being the center of international justice and all, it very well might figure into our future one day so it doesn't hurt to be prepared!  Which reminds me of a embarrassingly true story.

As we packed for our move to Arusha, I was a 3 month old mom who barely knew a lick about where we were moving to much less infant illnesses.  Also, I still didn't have my pre-baby bod back, so the clothes packing was not very fun.  I assumed Arusha streets (and motherhood) wouldn't be conducive to all my wedge heeled shoes, so I pretty much left those all at home (sniff, sniff).  But I did bring my Dansko clogs.  And this was my thinking when I packed them in the suitcase: "what if Millie gets sick and we have to fly to Europe for medical care, and its cold there, and we'll probably be in Holland (b/c there are direct flights from Arusha to Amsterdam), so I should have some sensible cold-weather shoes that are versatile in case I'm hoofing it all around Amsterdam, and that make me look sort of local because they're clogs and would also look ok with all the new clothes I'll inevitably be unable to resist buying because living in Africa finally gave me the flat stomach and skinny thighs I've never had."  Yup, that's what I was thinking.

Thankfully, we've never had to evacuate to Europe (or even Nairobi) for medical care so my clogs are just collecting dust in my closet.  Likewise, it's a sad point as well since I still haven't had my European shopping spree nor magically gotten flat abs and skinny thighs.

For the Grandparents - It's Millie Time

Well, it's been quite a while since I've opened the fountains of maternal effusiveness to update you on little Miss Millie.  Ironic, you might think, since this blog at one point was ONLY about her.  So let us begin.

Millie is developing at a rate of speed so fast it's hard to keep up.  We are at that stage where we have to definitely watch what we say because within a minute it will becoming out of her mouth as well.  Case in point - last night, after having a girls night out (Roger away for work), we returned home in the dark and the full moon had just risen so it was illuminating the otherwise pitch black streets (curious point - Arusha has street lights, they're just never on).  Millie was mesmerized by the moon and kept craning her neck to keep it in her sights.  When we got home, she kept staring at it, even while I was chatting with the guard and asking him how to say 'moon' in Kiswahili.  Interestingly, the word for 'moon' is the same word for 'month' which I remarked on to the guard.  Millie was still staring at the moon, but she managed to hear me say 'month' and then she kept repeating it throughout her bath!

In addition to mimicking words, she loves to mimic actions.  The nerdy experts call this symbolic play.  She does it quite frequently with lotion and soap, trying to rub it in to her arms and legs.  She just started doing it with deodorant as well (cleanliness is a virtue!).  But then yesterday, as she was eating oatmeal (on her own, mind you!) a little bit spilled on the chair.  She requested a napkin (by name) and proceeded to clean it up!  While this may be emblematic of her developmental acumen, it's probably speaks more to her mom's type-A tendencies when it comes to meal time, sadly.  But I think you get the point.

Millie's favorite activity is probably stickers, followed closely by singing and looking at books.  Oh my, the singing.  She has a rotating play list of favorites and at the moment its 'Wheels on the Bus', 'Pop a Little Pancake' and 'Zoom, zoom....'

The weather here has been funny lately.  The cold stuck around much longer than last year, then we had about 10 days of blisteringly hot weather and now we're back to moderate and comfortable temps.  During the hot week, we went to the pool about four days in a row and it's been really fun seeing her enjoy it at this age.  When we go, she says 'pool, yeah!' and is really confident in the water.  She particularly enjoys drinking it while trying to blow bubbles.  One thing about Millie is that she is a brave and confident little girl.  She will choke at least 10 times in the water (or while drinking water from a non-sippy cup) and isn't really deterred.  She even finds it humorous.  Seems kind of disturbing to laugh about it, but she is quite hearty. 

Mille has learned about five animal sounds - lion, cat, dog, horse and sheep.  Next weekend is Halloween and feels like we should take advantage of her talents (roaring) and attributes (massive mane of hair) by making her a lion.  I have the brillant idea of teasing her hair to make it into a lion mane, but methinks that could be more painful for us afterwards.  Thankfully, Roger is in charge of bath time, so its sounding like a better idea even as I write this.  What do you all think?

Tabbouleh

I have three food dislikes.  Tuna fish - just can't get over the smell enough to even try it.  Back in my office days, I silently cursed the person who ate tuna for lunch in the office kitchen and stunk up the whole place.  Olives - I don't know, just have never been able to get into them.  And tomatoes - just always worry that I'll get a mealy one, so I generally avoid them.

With the exception of tuna fish, I like foods made from olive and tomatoes.  Olive oil is a staple in my pantry (and I'd gladly dip loads of fresh made bread in it).  I like ketchup with my fries, salsa with my chips and prefer tomato sauce to cream sauce on my pasta.  But the actual tomato plain, I just can't do.  Unless...... it's in *my* tabbouleh (I didn't actually make up the recipe.  I got it from a vegetarian cookbook years ago and haven't the faintest idea what it's called.  All I remember was that it was square-shaped book). 

There is no shortage of tomatoes here.  In fact, you only have to locate one person selling a small kilo of tomatoes in order to find 4 dozen others selling the exact same kind of tomatoes for the same exact same price right next to them (more on this curious developing country phenomenon later).  But what there isn't much of is cherry tomatoes!  So when I do find them, I go straight to the parsley, cucumbers and green onions at the farmer's market and head home to make this recipe:

Tabbouleh
1 cup cracker bulger wheat
1/2 tsp salt
1 large bunch Italian parsley
5 green onions, cut into thirds
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small cucumber, diced
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

1) Place bulger, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 1/2 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until al dente, about 13 minutes

2) Cut off main parsley stems, then cut remainder of bunch into thirds.  Combine parsley with green onion and finely chop in food processor.

3) In large salad bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper to taste.  Add the bulger, parsley mixture, cucumber and tomatoes and stir to combine.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Chill.

The picture isn't of the tabbouleh on its own.  I don't have much patience for pictures when a fresh batch is made.  Rather this was the result of having run out of pita bread to eat it with but having some salad greens on the verge of wilting in my fridge. And since all that green stuff just looked too healthy, I grilled up a few slices of halloumi cheese to put on top.  You know, for protein ;).

NY State of Mind

Just came across fresh-made soft pretzels in Arusha for sixty cents.  Can this place get any better?  Seriously!  Not to mention I just scored an arrangement to have really good bagels delivered from Nairobi.  All my carb dreams have just been realized.  Shhh, don't tell Roger about them.  There may not be any by the time he gets home.

Pili Pili Ho Ho

That's the Kiswahili word for green pepper. Can you think of a word more fun to say than 'pili pili ho ho'?

What foreign words have you come across that are fun to say?

Image courtesy of Liz West via Flickr

Simple Technologies

On a daily basis I am simultaneously amazed and annoyed by the technology of the mkokoteni, which is simply a wooden cart used to haul all manner of cargo.  From oranges to sofa's to tires and manure.  It's pulled by a man weighing no more than about 140 lbs and quite often the load he's carrying is five to ten times his body weight.  I never know what's harder - hauling it uphil or downhill.

With the roads as narrow as they are, sharing the road with an mkokoteni can be quite frustrating.  They're hard to overtake with a constant stream of oncoming traffic but at the same time, you don't want to mess with their momentum.  It's not like they have a gas pedal!

Like every city, Arusha has trafiic, but no where near as bad as Nairobi.  Nonetheless, I also wonder how much more crowded the streets in Arusha would be if every load on a mkokoteni were in its own individual truck.  Would traffic flow better since it's a mechanized vehicle or would the congestion just be doubled?

What simple technologies have you encountered?  Did you admire them or did they frustrate you? Are there any simple technologies you use on a daily basis?

Boardwalk & Park Place

On our recent trip to Kenya, it reminded me of how so often foreign money can seem like Monopoly money.  Usually, it's more colorful than American greenbacks and the notes are sometime even different sizes.  So when it's your turn at the till, you fumble through your wallet exposing who knows how much cash and just hope that the cashier is being honest with you when you say 'is this right?' 

When I studied abroad in Mexico oh so many moons ago, I remember one of our first class trips to Patzcuaro, Michoacan.  We were just boarding the bus to take off for our first excursion of the day and the bus was surrounded by tons of little kids selling gum, peanuts and papitas (the most delicious and amazing potato chip ever made).  I wanted to buy some gum - the cute little colorful chicklet kind.  This was October and I had been in Mexico for about 2 months with oh, I dunno, like eight years of Spanish under my belt, so when I asked how much the gum was, I probably should have understood immediately that he was telling me something like five cents.  But no.  At that moment, I entered a Spanish comprehension void and just handed the kid a bill equal to like ten times the costs, asking "is this correct."  That look of bewilderment when those big brown eyes looked up at me to say 'Si' should have tipped me off!  But no.  I think I only figured it out months later!

With over one year in Tanzania under our belts, we're pretty savvy to the value of things and what each note is worth.  The largest note, 10,000 T. Shillings, is equal to about $7.  And since this is a cash economy, imagine how many 10,000 T. Shilling notes you have to have in your wallet just to get the basic errands done.  Never mind when its pay day for the staff and all the monthly bills are due!  Plus, the largest amount you can take out of the ATM at one time is 400,000 T. Shillings, equal to about $270.  Thankfully, you're not limited to how many withdrawals you can make in a day, but that just leads to people making multiple transactions at the ATM and the ATM's running out of money!

Kenya also uses the Shilling, but with one less zero on the end.  So 10,000 K. Shillings is more like $130, not $7.  You can imagine the kind of confusion this leads to when you're at the store and something only costs 1,500 K. Shillings.  Your Tanzanian brain thinks its a steal ($1) when in reality you've actually just dropped twenty bucks!

Millie has yet to learn the value of money.  To her its value is equivalent to fun times and to me, in her hands, it's equal to at least 20 minutes of distraction!

Looks like a lot, but probably wouldn't even cover one trip to grocery store!

What are your experiences with foreign money?  How long does it take for you to figure out how much you're actually spending?

Artist in the Making

Don't know if I have ever mentioned the play groups we go to in town, but our favorite is at the International School Moshi Arusha Campus.  It's about as far away from our house as you can get without being in a lion's den, but it's one of the most fun and well worth the drive.

[Tangent: To be sure, it's doesn't really fall into the we-took-our-newborn-to-Africa-look-how-bad-ass-we-are category.  It's an international school after all and so it's modeled after schools back in America and Western Europe (take a wild guess what kind of people attend!).  It's an amazing resource to have in town to be able to expose Millie to the developmental toys and activities associated with this type of educational system.  Naturally, she could learn her numbers by counting monkeys, but as an expat you can't help but crave familiarity and this fills that itch.]

One of the great things they have are quality paints and easels that unleash the creativity of little kids and leave their messes at school!  Behold, Millie's first artistic creation:

Her next creation!

Here are some pictures of ISM playgroup from my friends blog.  She is an awesome photographer, friend, mom, doctor of philosophy, cook and all-around partner-in-crime and she's going home.  Boo!

Yellow Squash Monster

Found this ginormous yellow summer squash (and it's even organic!) at the farmer's market this week.  First time I had ever seen summer squash here, usually just zucchini and butternut and all kinds of varieties of pumpkin.  I used one-half of it and made this zucchini curry from The Kitchen Witch.  Tasty indeed!

Just wait until you see the size of the avocados!  But they won't be truly in season until next year, around June.

Lawyer by day, but a cyclist to the end

Roger has been working his tail off lately!  And not on one of those carbon fiber contraptions he was so found of in Denver that called him to ride every weekend for 5 hours a day up the steep hills of the Front Range.  No, this tail has been planted firmly in a cushioned 12in x 12in office chair.  Poor fella.

Thankfully, relief is on the way.  Tomorrow he will trade in his Banana Republic suit for a spandex suit as we head up north to Nairobi where he'll take part in this crazy business called the Rift Valley Odyssey.

Yeah, so Roger is riding the fat tires these days.  About 4 months ago he bought a used mountain bike and has been taking it up the foothills of Mt. Meru on the weekends.  As far as I can tell, he's still got his biking mojo but his legs might tell you differently after this weekend.

Millie and I will cope with Roger's absence by finding an awesome moon bounce (please let no other adults be around so I can bounce too... fingers crossed) at the mall, eating lots of food that is not Indian, stocking up on toiletries on the E. Africa equivalent of Target and visiting the Karen neighborhood to see the Giraffe Center and the Karen Blixen Museum. 

Another Year Wiser...

... and more forgetful!  In the blogging blitz that was late September, I failed to mention that some of us (two thirds of us) had birthday's come and go.  For Roger's birthday we drove out West to the escarpment that overlooks Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley.  We stayed at a tented camp called Kirurumu.  We didn't do any game drives but rather opting for swimming at a nearby lodge with an infinity pool that over looks the Rift Valley and an ethno-botanical walk on the property of the lodge with a Massai guide.  It was ethno-botanical only in the sense that the Massai guide pointed to one leaf-less shrub after another and told us about the medicinal uses of each among the Massai.  The only tree I remember is the one he pointed out that they use (the roots) and boil it in milk and drink to treat gonorrhea and syphilis.  Roger tried his [adolescent] humor out on the guide with that one but it went straight over his head!


We went to another lodge nearby that has this amazing infinity pool over the Great Rift Valley

The day was cloudy, we were at about 4,000 ft and the water was ice cold.  Millie is made of steel!

The dinning room was right on the escarpment



And you thought you needed to spend hundreds of $$$ on hiking gear at REI.  Behold, the Massai shuka - various woold blankets in complimentary colors and patterns drapped across your body as necessary all for about $7.



For my birthday we had a little celebration at home in which Roger gave me a cake the size of a bicycle wheel.  And how fitting since my prezzie is a a bike (which is due to make landfall any day now)! 

Two Worlds

While doing some work for the Washington Photo Safari, I was reviewing pictures sent by my dad for inclusion in a separate blogging project we're about to start.  Having wished many times that I had a coffee table book of Washington and/or Denver to show the staff where we come from, I got the idea to show the pictures to Christina, our nanny.  These are the pictures I showed her.

She was of course blown away by the sight and volume of snow.  She asked whether or not snow comes into the house (because here houses are not constructed to withstand such types of elements) and what happens to the car.  She asked how we find our car when it snows.

The Tidal Basin Cherry Blossom picture, which she viewed first, she found to be very beautiful.  But when the picture was followed up by the Cherry Blossoms in fall, she was in disbelief.  She said "In America, the leaves are red?"

I mention this, not to disparage Christina, but rather to demonstrate the deep experiential and informational divide between us and a local like Christina who has never left Tanzania.  I feel so grateful to have had such diverse experiences and plenty of education to rationally comprehend a phenomenon like snow and autumn.

Recipe: Hard-to-Mess-Up Autumn Soup

I love butternut squash, known as pumpkin here.  As if it hadn't endeared me enough with its luscious twilight orange color (one of my favorites, see My Wedding 2005).  Then it has to go and be all delicious and versatile and what not.  Not to mention dirt cheap here ($1.30 for 2.2 lbs!)

Although its technically spring here at the moment, butternut squash is available here in all its autumnal brightness (I actually get a little tingle up my spine when I make that first cut into its skin and see that vibrant color!  Geez, Becky, get out much?).  Cooking and recipe searching/swapping has become one of my most favorite hobbies here so I thought I would take the fruits of some of my labors out of my kitchen and day dream that they just might land in yours.

Today I will start with an original recipe, for butternut squash of course.  But down the road, most recipes will probably come from other (see blogroll of favorite recipe sites).  I think I will turn this into a weekly series where I share what's cookin' in my kitchen.  Will try to make it seasonally appropriate for your Northerners that don't have things like year round butternut squash and avocado's the size of pineapples.  Hope you enjoy!

Hard-to-Mess-Up Autumn Soup

2 large zucchini’s, chopped into ½ inch chunks (about 4 cups)
2 lb butternut squash (or other pumpkin) chopped into ½ inch chunks (about 4 cups)
1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1 ½ c)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c bulger wheat
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 – 6 cups water
1 tbsp fresh curly parsley
1 tbsp fresh basil
1 tbsp fresh oregano
(if fresh not available used 1 tsp dried.  You pick herbs, anything works)
Optional: 1 – 2 links savory Italian sausage
2 cups baby spinach
Fresh sweet corn
Fresh green peas

1) Pour oil into deep pot and tip in onion and garlic.  Saute until soft.
2) Add butternut, zucchini and mix with onion.  Saute for about 2 min
3) Add bulger wheat and coat vegetables.  Toast for about 1 min
4) Add tomato paste and water (sometimes I use 1/2 water, 1/2 chicken stock)
5) Cook for about 20 min, until butternut is soft.  Add fresh herbs and cook for another 10 min. 
6) At this point, if making ahead, I stop cooking and store the soup.
7) If serving immediately, add the optional ingredients.  I almost always make this with sausage for a little protein and savory boost.  Depends on what I have available.  If pre cooked sausage, I add in with herbs.  If uncooked sausage, I will cook it first in a pan before adding to soup (with herbs).  If using spinach, throw in just before serving and cook until leaves wilt.  Same with fresh corn and/or peas, throw in just before serving until heated through.
8) One of the great things about this soup is that it gets better with age.  Makes great leftovers and just gets thicker every day.  As a veg option, I suppose you could use quinoa for protein or also red lentils.