My New Favourite Meal.

Oh Em Gee.

So yesterday I was watching Master Chef Australia, and Chris had to make Gnochi for the celebrity chef challenge. It looked delicious. Then, by Lord's willing, I was at Ya Ya centre later in the day looking around the supermarket- and I'm never at Ya Ya (an expensive mall too expensive for my paycheque) so I don't know that it carries things like Gnochi. But, I found it. And, I splurged and I bought it. And this is what I did with it. If you have never tried Gnochi, you really should. It's basically a potato pasta dumpling, is the best way to describe it. Takes no time to cook at all so it's a really easy dinner.

This meal has three easy parts: the gnochi, the vegetables, and the sauce.

Step 1

-package of Gnochi

-chopped vegetables for steaming (I had broccoli, green beans and carrots)

through the gnochi in a big pot of boiling salted water. Put a collander on top, and through your vegetables in it to steam. Put a lid on the veg to speed up the process (gnochi only take about 5 min to cook so chop your veg small)

step 2 (sauce)

-olive oil and butter (butter is important. be generous)

-onion

-garlic

sautee together.

-white wine

add a splash to deglaze pan, let it boil away the alcohol for a few minutes

-cream or milk (obviously cream will give you a creamy-er sauce..but use what you want)

-parmesan cheese- grated

simmer this all together until the cheese melts and the sauce comes together. I'm not awesome at this yet so mine kind of separated but I'm sure there is a technique you can use that makes this not happen, I was just hungry and impatient.

Drain the Gnochi. Toss them in the sauce. Place your veg in a bowl. Dump the gnochi and sauce over the veggies, and toss again altogether. (I love sauce, so it just kind of oozed and covered the veggies on its own).

EAT IT ALL TO YOURSELF.

Guest Post! from my brother Mike!

My brother Mike spent a long time backpacking east Africa a few years ago (the one year I was actually not here, of course!) and this recipe we agree is a classic broke traveller east african meal. I unfortunately didn't have a frisbee and my coffee is made in a french press not an italian stovetop, but the feeling is the same.. One day when I get a better camera I'll show you better photos of food. For now, here is a screen shot of my darling brothers and me talking on Skype when they were in Sweden. Followed by one of those avocados and me eating the chapati concoction.

Love you Mike.

Budget veggie backpacker meal: east africa edition:

1 chapati
1 diced ripe tomato
1 small, finely chopped red onion
1 sliced, giant, delicious creamy africa avocado
1 chopped chilli
1 squeezed lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Buy a couple chapatis for a nickel. The rest should cost less than a 1.50$ (2008 prices). Chop up all ingredients with a dirty swiss army knife on the back of a frisbee

Place chopped tomato, onion, avo and chili in center of chapati. squeeze lime juice over top. Add salt from packet swiped from a restaurant. add ground pepper from the mini plastic pepper grinder bought in rome that traveled around aftrica with me. Just a few turns - fresh ground pepper is like gold in africa

Roll.

Enjoy.

Finish with coffee from little Italian stove top expresso maker perking on open gas burner flame, also purchased in rome

Where We Go: Make a Better World (Kenya) in Mukuru Slum

So this is part of the Life section of our blog.

Dan is starting and Victoria will fill in more info. about Mukuru Slum where she works.

Below are maps, video and background information about the slum area.

MaBWoK is a tiny organization which is truly grassroots.

It was started by a few friends who lived in the Mukuru area in 1999 starting with youth education.

Now they do

Early Childhood Development

Internet & Computer Training

Adult Literacy

Cyber Cafe

Entrepreneurship Training

Business (Plan) Development

Sales of Water

Feeding Program

Saving and Loans Groups

HIV/AIDS Awareness

Child Protection Programs

Maternal Health Programs

Vocational Skills Training (ie. Brick making, metal fabrication, etc).

Small Scale Manufacturing Skills (ie. Dress Making, Soap Making, Etc).

Perhaps they are trying to do too much with too little... but they have been a part of the community for over a decade and have helped make Mukuru a better place a little at a time.

Rooftops Panorama

This is a photo from the second story Balcony of MaBWoK


This is one of the cleaner areas.

This Is the place

View Larger Map

Click Here for In-depth Information on the Slum

This is a terrible thing that recently occurred there

Hot Hot Mediterranean Salsa Chicken with Quinoa Cakes

Mediterranean Salsa Chicken with Quinoa Cakes

MSC!

Oven at 375

Salsa is

3 cloves chopped garlic

1 green Chili

1 red Bird Chili

handfull of fresh Cilantro

Handfull of fresh Parsley

1/4 red onion

Zest of one lemon

Pinch of sea salt

(I would also recommend a small tomato chopped... we did have one on hand)

Rub breasts with olive oil salt pepper, Put on broil pan

dolup the salsa mix on top of the chicken, squeeze of lemon over top and throw into the oven.

Quinoa Cakes

Put a pan on the stove with a enough veg oil to just cover the bottom

Put left over quinoa and veg (from last night) into a bowl

Add two eggs and 1/4 cup corn starch (or white flour if you can eat gluten)

Mix it up and form two inch circular patties

Place in the hot pan cooking each side till golden

Plate with a pinch of salt and pepper

Shaved Cucumber Salad

Shave a cucumber lengthwise (use a speed peeler)

In a jam jar

1/2 clove of garlic smashed to a paste Jamie's How to Videos

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

pinch salt and pepper

Shake well and dress salad

Guacamole

One giant avocado in a bowl

add 1 1/2 cloves garlic (pasted)

add 2-3 heaping table spoons of plain yogurt

pinch of salt and pepper Squeeze of lemon Juice

yum!

Lime Chili Tilapia with Quinoa and Veg.

Lime Chili Tilapia with Quinoa and Veg

Since Tilapia is the only fish you can find in most places in Nairobi that is the fish we used.... however any white fish would work with this recipe.

Start by putting the quinoa in a pot and filling with water till it just covers the grain.

On the stove on high.

Put the veg in a metal colander or a steam top level on top of the quinoa. Add the harder veg immediately (like carrot) and softer veg about half way through (like zucchini)

We used:

Broccoli

Carrot

Zucchini

Move on to the fish (this is the amounts for two filets..... make sure it is thawed if you have frozen filets)

Oven at 375

Chop up 2 cloves garlic (a handful of Fresh basil would be nice too... but we have not found it in Nairobi)

thin slice 1/4 inch red onion (break up rounds to get delicate

Thin slice 4 slices of red jalapeno (or more slices if green)

thin slice 4 slices of a lime (cut in half and take the slices from the centre)

In a broil pan rub the fish with olive oil, salt, pepper and Garlic (+basil)

Add above sliced ingredients make them distributed relatively evenly under and and on top of the fish.

Slice half a red/green etc into little finger size pieces and add them to the broil pan

Squeeze the remaining lime over the fish and throw into the hot oven.

ok now....

Cook the Quinoa till the water is gone.... give it a taste test so you know it is moist... add a little more water if needed

Fork check the veg till soft but not mush... take it off if done before the quinoa

Add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon to the quinoa (to taste)

Mix in the veg

mmm....

so make extra quinoa and veg cause the next recipe is awesome!