a day in the kitchen . . .

I spent yesterday in the kitchen with the new cook, Damaris. For lunch she made a couple of traditional dishes – Ugali, a cornmeal mush, and Sukuma Wiki, which translates to push of the week. It is made with greens (Collards, Kale or Spinach), and then a variety of other ingredients such as carrots or tomatoes or onions. And then I made the lentils, adding a little spice to them with curry, onion, tomato and garlic.

Sukuma Wiki

Steve’s Lentils

Carrots – fresh from the Shamba!

One of the stoves we use – a coal fired stove.

Then for dinner, Damaris made a traditional rice dish – Pilau. It was so good! She used a muddler and muddled garlic, ginger, and cilantro, then fried this with fresh green onions from the Shamba. It was all cooked with a spice blend called Pilau Masala. She also made more Sukuma Wiki and I made Beef Stew. The beef stew was a hit – I sautéed ginger, garlic, red onion, tomato, curry powder, beef masala spice, and oregano. To this I added the beef and the broth it was cooked in. As the meat began to get tender, I added sliced carrots, thickened it with roux and then finished with Peanut Butter. The peanut butter addition was a big hit with the matrons and Kenyan staff.

All in all a productive day!