Going through my notes, thoughts go out to the families in the project of Volunteers Foundation in Kibera, Nairobi when I come across these two recipes.
Since the covid pandemic took over, life has changed dramatically for most of the students in our program and school. Locked up at home for a long period of time in poor living situations, small spaces and often with several generations make me wonder how resilient they all are and only emphasizes their flexibility, endurance and hope.
Gone are the days of Saturday outdoor football and dance activities. Silence has since long replaced the normally colorful and happy playground at the villa that is the school just a few yards away from Kibera, Nairobi. With the strengths of the teachers, the commitment from many parents and the volunteers we built community tighter over the last months. Keeping the children on track, contacting the parents, making sure that in these extreme unsettling times no child falls out of the program or slips through.
Although the lockdown came to an end under Kenyan law and regulations are less severe now, schools won’t be able to start the school year yet and in a most optimist vision the new school year resumes in January. Instead we will continue in facilitating online learning, weekly meetings through zoom with the teachers and provide (when the funds are there) that what’s needed most: food to avoid malnutrition and keep the pupils healthy all along. While looking into alternative ways of learning, proposing activities that help them distract, concentrate and learn from home.
Returning to the notes from where I started this piece of storytelling. My notes this morning in Cassis throw me way back to Kenya and fill me again with so many deep and good memories. From the time we lived there and I miss the easiness to connect to the school grounds, the children, the faculty, the school-kitchen- garden.
A story told in a recipe
Lucy (the niece of one of our most brilliant leaders in the program) write the notes down while asking the parents at the football training field about the ingredients. Ingredients of two traditional Kenyan, East African sweet recipes.
While watching the children play football, mothers (bu far the majority of today’s supporters) are sitting and hanging at a couple of benches while cheering up the kids. A superb group of amazing women spending a morning at the biggest sport event of the year.
I got tempted by the sweet taste of the fried donut and pancakes treats the mothers brought along this morning. It felt like an easy way to get a conversation going. We’re in Nairobi outside Kibera at a large field for a friendly and yet competitive football tournament among the children of all grades.
Food is a happy and comfortable way to get the chatting going. Recipes are a way to exchange secrets about culture and heritage. We’re what we eat (my motto) and memories of all of us are filled with flavors and smells from moments in our life bringing us back to our childhood. The recipes look straight forward, measurements not very detailed and the cooking ask for a good portion of imagination from the cook. What a lovely moment this was. Women, children, conversation, sports, health, physical and mental and love for tradition as in love for food and culture.
https://www.volunteersfoundation.org/
Please see where you can help with the program, make a donation, run a fund you activity ... bake and cook the recipes and sell to friends or share and invite friends, people to have a chat about food and education.
CHAPATI
Ingredients:
wheat flour
Warm water
Cooking fat
Pinch of salt
PROCEDURE
Warm the water and mix it with the salt and cooking fat. Add the flour and kneed until the dough is firm enough. Divide the dough as per your requirement. Heat the cooking pan as you roll the dough. Be careful with the oil, to avoid the dough from burning.
Repeat the same for the other side.
When both sides have turned golden brown, remove it from the hot pan put it on a plate ready for consumption.
MANDAZI
Ingredients:
Mandazi flour
Sugar
Eggs
Lemon juice / lemon peel
Cooking oil
Milk
Margarine
Water
PROCEDURE
Mix all the dry ingredients including the lemon zest and add margarine until you get a crumble mixture. Add the wet ingredients kneed using the folding in method to incorporate air and place it in a cool place for it to rise. Heat the oil in a pan and roll the dough while dividing it into desirable sizes then deep fry them.remove when golden brown ready to serve.
togetherness