Thursday, December 9, 2010

Final week, final blog

I remember the first day of class as if it were yesterday, it was nerve wrecking  and I didn't have the slightest idea what I was getting myself into;being the only Science Major made me freak out but now that its the last stretch of the semester, I feel very empowered and confident as I write this final blog. I have learned a great deal of self confidence in my writing  and am thankful to my classmates who made it a great experience. I would also like to thank Mr Lemmon being an awesome.

My final post is to give you  a sweet recipe that I love to make.You can get more recipes from
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes   search for Kenyan food.

Green Banana or Plantain Chips
Ingredients
They can be an appetizer or a snack (the chips here are a version of American fries). Traditionally they're made from plantains but green bananas work equally well and are quite delicious.
5 small plantains (or unripe bananas)
oil for deep frying
sea salt to taste
Method of Preparation
Peel the plantains (or bananas) with a knife (not as easy as it sounds!) then cut into long thin wedges. Basically you're cutting them into chips (fries).
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or a large wok to about 190°C . Add the plantain pieces in batches to the oil and fry until golden brown (about 6 or 7 minutes). Drain on kitchen paper, season liberally with salt and serve hot.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

My hate/love relationship with December


Don’t you just love the holidays?
It must have been a week ago, when I was walking around the stores of the Battlefield Mall and noticed a young boy around the age of nine years on the floor, crying his poor heart out. His parents were right beside him patting him to get up. I could clearly see their frustration, but they were too helpless about the situation and all the curious eyes around. Which leads to the question; What do you think about this phenomenon known as the holidays? Should I tell my child to believe in Santa? Should I raise his expectations with bigger gifts each year? Should I stop emptying my pockets at the stores that make me accumulate more debt?  Too bad we can’t avoid that headache.
We spend so much time looking for the perfect gift, looking for sales thinking that we are getting bargains, but in reality we may be paying the same price without a sale; and after all that, we either get a gift that we don’t like, or better yet we give a gift that someone else hates.
 I personally hate December. I can’t stand all the congestion in the stores, it drives me nuts looking for a parking, I hate it that we remember the poor and homeless for two weeks, and after that we forget about them until the next December. And don’t forget the crying children in the mall that want their parents to buy them gifts for Christmas.
 I usually blame it on culture shock, but it’s really very simple, I didn’t grow up with a tree or the countless gifts. I grew up knowing Christmas was when our family came together with our extended clan for a good meal and lots of laughter and fun. And when they left, you’d say, “That was fun I can’t wait for next year”.  Therefore, I find the expectations that are imposed on me very overwhelming.
While Decembers make me sick, Christmas is the one day that I love; the birth of Jesus Christ is what every Christian loves to celebrate. I just love the emotions brought about on this day and enjoy the simplicity of the moment. Christmas day signifies that January is right around the corner, hence more sun than gloom. 
 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Just ranting

Maybe I might be the only one who focuses a lot on the health links on every magazine but in reality, I am probably sick and tired of reading the same thing everyday. I am overwhelmed at all the information out there that has been put out proclaiming that their health diets work, that certain shoes will make you work out, that I need to be counting my calorie intake, and so on and so forth. To me this is just too much. Some of this information works and others just don’t. You never know until you try, right?
As much as we digest this information, we should keep in mind that we choose what we eat. It is a personal choice between good and bad information provided by the media.
The other problem I noticed is that fact that if we don’t solve the problems about our health, we are faced with the impossible task of fixing that problem. Therefore avoid leaving things until the last minute because trying to solve an overloaded problem can become quite impossible.
I think its great that we are recognizing our eating habits. Taking control of the situation is better than avoiding it. I greatly love the idea that it has become a business model for many to use food as a tool for hope.
Anyway I hope you get my drift.