Penne in minced beef with mozarella,olives and cherry tomatoes.

Penne us a common kind of shaped pasta especially at the coast where I'm from.
People however call all the long and stringy ones spaghetti and the shapes one are all called macaroni... Yes i know. 😄
However point is their taste and their interesting shapes makes them good for this dish. The hollow parts get to be filled with the delicious minced beef cheese and the spice thus getting a taste of everything in one bite. I added olives to my dish to give it a bit of tang. Below is the recipe try it out,it will be your new favourite dish!

Ingredients
- 500g Penne
- 250g minced beef
- 1cup mozzarella cheese
- 5 pitted olives
- 100ml fresh milk
- 4 cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 large white onion
- 100ml chilli soup pack (i used kevian)
- 1tbsp garlic powder
- 1tspn ginger powder
- 1tspn mixed spice
- 1tspn basil
- 1tspn mint leaves
- 1/2 tspn  black pepper
- 3tbspn vegetable oil
- salt to taste

Procedure
1. Boil the penne in some water and a pinch of salt till cooked and drain the water. Approximately 15 minutes. Set aside
2. Place the minced beef ,garlic powder,ginger ,mixed spice and black pepper in a sauce pan n let it cook till the beef browns and is dry.
3.Add the oil and fry the beef further. Add the onions and chilli soup. Cover and leave to simmer for two minutes.
4. Next add to the beef mixture the penne and milk..let the milk cook down. Approximately ten minutes
5 .Lastly add the basil ,mint and halved olives and the mozzarella .cook for a minute.
6 . Add the halved cherry tomatoes and serve garnished with coriander leaves.

Bon appetite !

AYIECHO

 I came across Ayiecho from a friend in high school who was so excited about being luo she was practically well versed in the culture and the foods despite being only half luo.
I on the other hand,fully fledged had no idea its name..so i asked my mother and she told me how it was made, traditionally its preparation would take not less that three days of boiling and adding of milk & covering till the milk is sour enough. She made it for me and its safe to say its been a personal favourite since then. Thank you Stacy Thank you Mum 
Fast forward with modern technology we already have the milk made sour in advance. So preparing this dish isn't a lengthy process.
Here's how to make it in forty minutes as opposed to four days .

Ingredients

I used just the normal bunches of these green vegetables as sold in the market. The number of leaves vary in different areas but ideally i took one bunch of each and two of mchicha (amaranth). So here goes

-1 bunch Managu/Osuga/Mnavu
- 2 bunches Mchicha
- 1 bunch kunde
-1 bunch mrenda
- 2 table spoons baking powder
- 1teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon royco beef mchuzi mix
- 500 ml sour milk/ mala
- 3tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic or garlic powder .

Method

1. Sort the vegetables some leave the stalks intact some discard the stalks and leave the leaves. Personally i like a little stalk so just a bit of it when sorting.
2. Wash thoroughly(at least four times) to get rid of the sand.
3. Chop them up roughly especially the osuga because it might have big leaves.
4. Place in a pot on a flame,add chopped onions, garlic,vegetable oil ,salt to taste, royco, black pepper and the baking powder.
(The baking powder is to soften the vegetables as they may be tough and require a long period of boiling,this makes it faster).
5. Cover and leave to boil till there is no liquid approximately 15 minutes.
6. Add the sour milk and cover for another ten minutes. Reduce heat.

*Serve with hot ugali and any animal protein available.
* Goes very well with fried beef or kienyeji chicken

.

SUGAR COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

-2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1\2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup powder, softened
- 1 1\2 cups white sugar
-1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD 
 1. Preheat oven at 190 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and baking powder.Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased aluminium foil lined baking sheet. I used cookie cutters so as to have hearts and stars.
3. bake 10-12 minutes in the oven until golden brown. leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring on wire racks to cool.
4. Garnish by dipping in melted chocolate.

* serve with black tea or milk

MANGO MOUSSE

Ingredients

- 2 large Mangoes (ripe)

- 1/2 cup thick cream

- 2 tbspn honey

- 1 tspn pinapple flavour 

- mint leaves and cherries for garnish.

Procedure

Blend all the ingredients till smooth.

Serve mango mousse in glasses.

Chill for twenty minutes.

Garnish with mint leaves and a cherrie.
Serve and enjoy.

Whisky Sweet Tea

The sun has come out to play and this sweet tea is a quick way to enjoy your whisky especially this holiday season. It is ideal for when you have friends over for that slow breezy afternoon seated by the balcony or garden chatting the afternoon away.
Its easy to make,doesn't take long to concoct and above all its absolutely delish! So mix it up real quick and take it down slowly though we don't want anyone to get too loud around the relatives do we?CHEERS!!

Ingredients
- 3cups water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 or three blacktea bags (I used ketepa lemon tea bags,I only had flavoured tea bags,plain could do as well) 

- 1teaspoon pinapple essence

- 1 lemon sliced into wedges

- 1 orange sliced into wedges
- 1 lime sliced into wedges
- 1 cup whisky (I used Singleton,because its sweet and fruity so it goes well with the citrus)
- sprig of mint for garnish

Method

To make the tea: Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil,stiring to dissolve the sugar.Add the pinapple essence.

Pour the sugar water into a jar,add the tea bags and let it steep for 5 to 10 minutes depending on how strong you want your tea.
Remove the tea bags add the lemon,lime and orange wedges.
Pour in the whisky.Cover the jar and chill for an hour
Serve in mason jars or tall glasses garnished with orange wedges n mint leaves.

Crépe with fresh fruit filling

CREPE WITH FRUIT FILLING 

Crepe

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Procedure

1. In a blender, combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, and butter.
2. Puree until mixture is smooth and bubbles form on top, about 30 seconds. Let batter sit at least 15 minutes at room temperature (or refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 day; whisk before using).
3. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat with butter. Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover bottom of skillet. Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Loosen edge of crepe with a rubber spatula, then with your fingertips, quickly flip. Cook 1 minute more. Slide crepe out of skillet and repeat with remaining batter. (Coat pan with butter as needed.) 
   
   

   Filling

   Ingredients

   •  1/2 cup whipped cream
   • 6 large strawberries
   • 1 banana
   • 1 slice pineapple 
   • 1tspn shaved chocolate(for garnish)
   • 1tspn roasted and salted peanuts   
   
   1. Dice the fruits into bite sized pieces. Whip the cream  and add the chopped fruits folding into the mixture with a spatula.
   
   Assembling.
   Place about 1 table spoon of the filling on one corner of the crepe and wrap into a diamond quarter shape,sprinkle with the shaved chocolate and the roasted nuts.
   Chill for 15 minutes in the freezer and enjoy!
   
   

Thai Fried Green Bananas with Mango Chutney

      Bananas and mangoes are typically fruits that we know to eat raw and in the special occasion when bananas are green we make the usual matoke. A friend was once very shocked that i cooked ripe mangoes instead of eating them. Well variation is important in different foods, otherwise, we would be stuck with the same recipes and food combinations all our lives.Who wants to live like that?Live a little dangerously,take your taste buds on a trip,experiment and it will sing you praises for years to come.( Thank me later)
      Now in this case cooked mangoes are a common occurrence at the Kenyan coast,but for those who are not acquainted with our coastal cuisine prepare to be blown away. Mango chutney is my favorite way of pickling my mangoes and peppers(i am a majooooor pepper fan) So any given time its never missing in the fridge; except in the sad no mango season .
      As for bananas there's usually a time when you have had matoke a number of times and they still don't seem to get depleted so what to do? Most of the time we know how to prepare it how our mothers did it and we hardly try to find out what else to do with them.I bring you good news! There are a dozen or so ways of preparing the bananas,as a desert,a main meal,a snack,drinks, the list is endless. My new favorite is the fried bananas.I remember my home science teacher used to mention banana fritters so often and i went and tried it one day,it backfired so bad i never attempted it again, and my mother wasn't very amused i wasted food too,lol. This is a variation of the fritters only 100 times better and it all got eaten.
Below is the recipe for both . Adiamo a Mangiare!

MANGO CHUTNEY
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe mangoes
- 10-15 peppers
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 10ml white vinegar
- 1 red onion
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- 1 sprig rosemary leaves
- 1tspn black pepper
- 2tspn salt
- 2tspn garlic powder/4 cloves garlic
- 3tbsp vegetable oil
- 2tbspn masala powder (optional)

Method 
1.Peel and chop the mangoes ( size doesn't matter provided its minus the seed) and set aside.
2. Wash and chop up all the other vegetables, i.e peppers,garlic,onions and tomatoes.
3. Place all the chopped vegetables plus mangoes into a saucepan add the vinegar ,sugar, black pepper , rosemary, salt and masala powder.
4. Set on a flame ,leave to cook for 15 minutes whilst stiring  till the contents are tender and soggy .
5. Add the oil and leave for an additional 1 minute  (the oil is to preserve it )
6. Turn off the heat, pour into a blender and blend till smooth.
Mango chutney is ready to serve.

THAI FRIED GREEN BANANAS
Ingredients
- 12 peeled and boiled firm green bananas
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut,or freshly grated coconut
- 3/4 cup water mixed with 1/2 tspn baking soda
- 1/2 tspn salt
- 1tbspn untoasted sesame seeds
- 1 tspn curry powder
- 500 ml vegetable oil

Method
1. Slice the banana lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices, set aside
2. Whisk together the rest of the ingredients except the oil.
3. In a frying pan heat up the oil, keep the temperature steady.
4. Put the banana slices into the batter. Ensure they are thoroughly coated in the batter.Carefully lower into the hot oil one slice at a time.
(Do not fry too many at a time as this will lower the temperature of the oil and make the bananas soggy)
4. Cook for a minute on either side,or till evenly brown.
5 Once brown, remove them and place on a plate lined with absorbent paper to drain off excess oil.
Serve while still hot with the mango chutney.