In My Dodoma Kitchen

Whilst I am on the subject of routine and getting used to kitchen-based tasks in our Tanzanian life, I'm going to take this opportunity to use some of Claire's photos (thanks, Claire!)to illustrate some aspects of life In My Dodoma Kitchen.

*I am learning how to make yoghurt. Once mixed, the newly-made yoghurt has to sit on our roof for a few hours (in the Blue-Band Margarine tub we use to store it in), before it is ready to eat. I still find it amusing to climb up on the hot metal roof with our yoghurt and let it sit there under the burning sun! From experience: if I leave it too long, the yoghurt is wobbly and sharp. If I don't leave it long enough, it is runny and powdery! It's a tricky art to master and I still have a long way to go!


*Coconuts abound in the local market and we have the privilege out here of being able to use fresh coconut in our baking and cooking. But there is a catch- it needs to be grated first, using an ingenious contraption called an "mbuzi ya nazi" (mbuzi can also mean "goat"!). You sit on the wooden stool and use the sharp arm of the stool to cut open and then scrape out the coconut filings, which then need to be dried out in my oven. Here, Jane expertly shows us how this job is done:


*In November, I was taken aback by the large 5kg bag of flour I was encouraged to buy for our bread-making and baking. Now, we have progressed to a whopping 25kg bag of flour! It is then transferred to a mammoth blue bin in my larder and I am surprised by how quickly it goes down, since all our bread and cakes are home-made. Andrew is the only one strong enough in our family to carry it from the car to the flour bin:


* I am still getting used to other tasks, such as having to wash and sterilise all our eggs, fruit and vegetables and even wash out all our precious plastic zip-lock bags each day, so that they can be used over and over as bread bags etc. It looks strange to see plastic bags hanging on the washing lines, next to our clean washing!

Meanwhile, In My Dodoma Kitchen, Esther and Ben are honing their skills as Little Chefs and enjoy helping Mum and Jane with the daily tasks!