Making Healthy Tomato Basil Soup…For One.

How many times have you been talking to someone about cooking and you or they have said, “I just don’t like cooking big meals just for myself.  It’s much more fun and interesting cooking for others”.  While it’s true that cooking for others is a special joy –because I do like cooking for Sergio - cooking for your own DEAR and PRECIOUS self should be just as joyful. Don’t you still love that process of starting from nothing and ending up with a flavorful creation made from your own hands. Don’t you still enjoy sitting peacefully, even if alone, and enjoying the fruits of your labor and a quality homemade meal? Isn’t impressing yourself JUST as important? Or learning to make something new for your arsenal of go to recipes equally as satisfying?  YES, IT IS!
I cook for myself – even if I’m all alone now that Sergio is back in the States. Why should I eat boring, meaningless food just because another human being is not in the room?  I destroy my kitchen weekly even just for a party of 1.
On Monday, my newest creation was Homemade Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. LAWDY!- it was pleasurable and I have been eating it every day this week and it makes me happy – It tastes like restaurant quality soup and I am proud of this one. In fact it tastes almost exactly like Cosi Tomato Basil Soup, which I obsess over when I go home. It’s just a low-fat version since it doesn’t have cream.  If you are a tomato soup fan like me, you have to try it. It makes me want to say: Yay, soup's my favorite! (haha -if you read this post, that will make sense.) I got the recipe from the Food Network – It was one of Barefoot Contessa’s recipes. Here’s what you need:

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
  
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil (I used some good stuff Sergio bought from his friend who has an olive farm in Croatia..man that stuff tastes pure olives..oil.)
  
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
  
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (but I did not use butter at all..just olive oil)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  
• 1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice
  
• 4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  
• 1 quart chicken stock or water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

before

After

Prep work - chopped onions, fresh thyme, garlic and basil

In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown.

Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock.

Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

 Then puree!  I used my immersion blender that my step mom bought me back in college – that thing has been the most useful thing ever – I don’t have large equipment since I tend to move a lot. It’s the perfect little portable device.  Looks like this:

 
VOILA! Then, just taste for seasonings and enjoy. If you want your soup a little creamy you can add a dollop of sour cream – so DELISH. And you made it yourself for yourself! or to share, which is nice too. ;-)

West African Bead Market Day

It’s the Hobby Lobby of Nairobi! The shady West African bead and handicraft market!
My friend Megan told me about the place, though she had never been.   So, me, Megan and her friend Marianne decided to go together one weekend.  The plan was to meet up there, which wasn’t so easy.  This place was in the heart of downtown Nairobi – In a place very culturally distant from my Westlands bubble, a place where business is going on everywhere and traffic is chaotic with buses and overloaded trucks and cars and PEOPLE squeezing into every inch of space possible. I had a driver accompany me that day since driving downtown AND finding parking is mostly out of the question – Plus, there is no way I could find my way around there without hitting a pedestrian or ending up in Timbuktu (literally).  My driver wouldn’t even let me out of the car until my friends showed up since he was honestly worried about my safety down there. So this is all to say, this place was in an area of Nairobi that i don't frequent but for Hobby Lobby, I had to try.
The place has no sign – you just have to know to find the Safety Line Lodge – a hole in the wall joint – and then find the nearby stairway and just go up. The stairway is dark and leads to an open sort of courtyard where you see about 3-4 small rooms/shops. It's the type of place that I've been taught my whole life to avoid..you know the creepy, dark stairway leading to the shady hidden from the street rooms.
But it was so pretty great -  All the beads that make all the necklaces sold at the artisan markets were there! The recycled glass beads, the bone beads, the painted beads, every color and size imaginable..all sorts of beads could be bought by the strand.
 
The shop owner was not happy about me taking photos so I could only take a few inconspicuously.  Imagine what you see in those photos, just covering 4 large walls. There were TONS of beads. And those cool beaded drums – those were around $60 though. The beads varied in cost – some were around $1 for the whole strand, some were like $20 or higher. I bought a few of the cheap strands of white bone and then some brass pendants – I’m no Tiffany and Co designer but I figured I’d take a stab at making something.  How can you really mess up a white strand of beads anyways???

Besides beads they had some pretty cool West African textiles – There is a noticeable difference between east African and west African textiles – the West Africans are known for the stuff; so colorful and vibrant and interesting.  So I couldn’t resist getting a couple of pieces – No clue what I’m going to use them for – but I keep thinking that once I’m gone, I’m gone and maybe I’ll wish I bought more stuff.  Okay, that’s Doubtful since I own enough African materials, masks, art, jewelry to open my own shop at this point – but I figure that if I was living at home, biweekly stops at Costco, Target and CVS buying stuff I don't really need would cost me even more..so I’m justified.  Anyways, I’m thinking I’ll use them to make a wall hanging or headboard for a bed, or maybe table runner?? Or perhaps a nice toilet paper or tissue box cover…KIDDING. jeez.

Here’s my final products on the jewelry:

And this one below is something I want to make but I don’t quite know how to execute it. I don’t have any clasps or anything..I just have some elastic string that someone gave me. Hmm, I’ll have to make up an equation and come up with some logarithm cause it’s such rocket science. LAME.
Any ideas on what I can do with the cloth I bought? Lemme know!

For you on Valentines Day

There are all different kinds of love out there and today is a day to celebrate all that love..not just romantic love, but familial love, neighborly love, and love for yourself. It's a day to remind ourselves that EVERYONE needs love. Everyone.
Days like this can often highlight loneliness  - so maybe everyone that reads this can be inspired to give a rose or a hug or a call to someone you know that may not otherwise receive a valentines message from anyone..or just give a stranger a compliment - anything to reach out. Because love is love - and Love is valuable. And to show love is perhaps our most important calling.  On top of that, love yourself. You are a uniquely created amazing person that brings value and joy to this world.  Dwell on that all day.  

My 4 favorite quotes on love as it relates to every single human being are as follows:

•  "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these.  Mark 12:31

• Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle - Plato

•  “Dedicate yourself to Love. Decide to let Love be your intention, your purpose, and your point. And then let Love inspire you, support you and guide you in every other dedication you make thereafter.” - Robert Holden     

•   “Something inside you emerges….an innate, indwelling peace, stillness, aliveness. It is the unconditioned, who you are in your essence. It is what you had been looking for in the love object. It is yourself.”- Eckhart Tolle

Little India in Nairobi Part 1

It's just like I always say -  if you can't go to India, let India come to you!


There is no shortage of Indian influence in Nairobi.  In the early 1900's, when the British were still at the helm in Kenya, they brought over hoards of workers from India to build the railway from Mombasa to Nairobi.  The current giant population of Indians in Kenya is the result of that.  So, there are tons of amazing Indian restaurants here, Indian shops, and lots and lots of Indian people.  Indian presence here is like latino presence back in the US.


One Indian shopping center here is called Diamond Plaza.  This place is seriously like stepping into Mumbai all the sudden.  I go there a lot - for one, they have some great Indian food vendors - okay, well it's more like crappy fast indian food that is fly infested but cheap and as long as you don't look in the kitchens you enjoy the flavor..it's an outdoor food court type place, not like fine Indian dining and remember -  there is no McDonalds here - we have Diamond Plaza.  The place is nuts - as soon as you sit down, you are literally, seriously bombarded by like 20 guys shoving menus in your face so you will pick their restaurant out of the whole line up of choices in that food court..it's nuts.  Aggressive and nuts but it's a part of how the place works.  The other reason I go to Diamond Plaza is because my tailor is there. It's these Indian brothers that are very serious but funny at the same time. And getting clothing tailored is SUPER cheap here. So I take stuff to them at least every 2 weeks, especially a lot of the African clothing I've had made that needs adjusting. Here's what we are talking about here:

The Grand Entrance

Chicken Tikka With an Ice cold coke - It's my Kenyan go to meal. No fastfood hamburgers or burritos here - but Chicken Tikka is a welcome alternative.

ohhh Maru's Bhajias - crispy fried potatoes with some kick. Indian French Fries. I can't have mcdonalds or Taco Bell but I can  have Maru's Bhajias! This is how the food stalls look. There are about 20 of them and they all compete for business when you sit down.

And you can buy these at Diamond Plaza

They have HOT mens fashion - that you can sport with your giant fro

You can buy anything here - from sari's to fake IPODs and other electronics to fruits and vegetables, and hundreds of colorful bangles and jewelry

How cute is this?

Dimple Tailoring - That's my joint!

The older brother runs the show. And they have just 3 staff members that work the sewing machines like nothing you have ever seen. They crank out your finished product in 20 minutes regardless of how complex the alteration is.

and they sell TONS of Indian Tunics

So beautiful and colorful and detailed - I love them.

I tried a couple on while i was waiting on my clothes to get fixed.

I actually decided to get this one. They took it in through the waist and back for me and it was perfect. It has some awesome bead work on the top and the sleeves and it's silky and slightly transparent. Love it.  Cost me around $20 and it's all hand done. But is it nuts that this was a size 3x in Indian sizes? Lawdy! I'm an Indian Giant Lady.

 Okay, so that is Diamond Plaza. It's like a little Indian world in Nairobi. It's a little bit dirty, a little bit chaotic, and a little bit out of my comfort zone - but I love it.

Neats Visit Kenya - Disturbing The Wildlife Tour

 I never got to do my recap of my family's visit to Kenya - and I know there are some eager readers out there that have lost a lot of sleep wondering how the trip went!

I'll keep it succinct. promise.
They arrived on Thanksgiving Night. It was so so so great to see them at the arrival area at the airport - I was feeling super charged to see them and show them everything. There were big hugs and lots of smiles when we all reunited. I wish we could do it over and over!
Needless to say, they were exhausted from the trip so Friday we planned to keep it local and just see some nearby attractions.
FRIDAY
We started the day by fighting some very ugly Nairobi traffic to get to the elephant orphanage. It was POURING down rain. They brought out the cute little baby elephants and they were just sliding around everywhere in the mud. But those elephants are sooooooooo cute - the rain didn't distract us.  For some reason I cannot find the elephant photos from that visit but just to give you an idea, below are the photos from when I took my mom there during her visit:

The clumsy baby elephants like to play with the soccer ball

awww..look at his little trunk

so playful - love those little munchichis

 After the elephants - we went to the giraffe sanctuary where we all got to show some love to the giraffes. Some of these giraffes will be released into the wild. The center was founded as an effort to conserve the Rothschild Giraffe sub-species. We learned alll about it when we went there.
.

It rained their ENTIRE TRIP. - But everyone was such great sports about it. Happy Campers.

The giraffes head actually makes my brother's look small.

Supa Freak.... of Nature.

Norma and the giraffe - A love story.

Happy Karen

He's eating right out of your hand..literally

My happy Dad

Bottom FEEDERS

me and my biker man

My sister looking like a tooth paste model  -  beauty!

Right before I almost got a giraffe-head smack down

Okay so the next big highlight of the visit was our trip to the Masai Mara game reserve. That's where we saw the real business. We took a tiny little 8 seater propeller plane from Nairobi straight to the Serena Lodge landing strip - it took about 45 minutes and was a surprisingly smooth ride..but the plane freaked me out a bit.

Always Stylin'

A view of our lodge from the air

Poser - just happy to be on solid ground

The plane suddenly looks even smaller

Zebra

Doing jumps at the Tanzania/Kenya Border

Karen and Norma holding up the landmark - And the head of david

Making friends with the park rangers...being friends with the guy with the gun is always good.

we took pictures in strange basket chairs at the lodge

The rare Norma mammal - spotted on the landing strip

In our safari vehicle - ready to roll

Fun

Amazing

We saw a TON of sleeping lions

More sleeping lions

And well, it was also mating season - for about 15 seconds

Then more sleep followed

Love these cranes - so beautiful

Perfect little dumbo.

And last but not least - the highlight of the trip. After we stalked a certain leopard by sitting outside the bush it was hiding in for about 5 minutes - it decided it had had enough of us and completely went ape shit (leopard shit?) - see photo - courtesy of David Neat. I'll never forget the sound of that growl. We, including our driver/guide, all freaked out and cranked our windows up as quickly as possible - because it literally lept at us - we all had  teenage girl spasms for a good 10 minutes in the vehicle afterwards.

This is why it's called the Disturbing the Wildlife Tour

After the trip to the Mara, we played around for a couple of days - we went to Lake Naivasha and boated around with a TON of hippo. One said hippo charged our boat, which was exhilarating and has traumatized my little sister for life. I need to find those photos. On the drive back, we saw an interesting logistical situation on the highway - a scooter carrying two men with a live cow between them - don't take my word for it -  see for yourself:

 And then we did some hanging out in Nairobi:

Karen modeled a designer giraffe mask and a giant African cloth purse. It's a great look all around.

David got a haircut

I tried on skirts at the masai market. Everyone bought a ton of good pan-african stuff. We did our part in supporting the local economy that is for sure.

Lastly - I wanted to illustrate the rainy season in Nairobi - It rained for about 4 weeks straight, including the entire duration of my family's visit. The rains were so so strong - it just seemed impossible that the sky could open like that for so many days in a row. It caused trees to fall down and take out power cords and cause tons of traffic issues - people just could not move on the roads - it was horrible and there was flooding just everywhere. The wall that divides our apartment and the one next to us pretty much just collapsed. It was a pretty intense month of rain.

 Okay, that's I'll share for now. It was a great great trip and everyone had a really good time, especially me. It was such a treat to get to show all these people that I love where I live.  It's a beautiful country.  That's why you, whoever you are, should come visit Kenya. It's amazing here.