As you may probably know,  October is breast cancer awareness month. Breast cancer among many other  cancers,  is this monster that robs us of our brave women,  mothers,  sisters, grandmothers and friends. And more often than not, we are all left helpless in its wake. It doesn’t have to be this way. Collectively we can all work together to support, uplift and remind each other to make better health  choices that can reduce our chances of being victims to this deadly disease. This, for example, could be through  going for screening whenever a chance arises and eating foods that help boost our immune system. To raise and increase awareness, I have teamed up with Bloggers in East Africa and BreastIt, a cancer screening App, to let you know where you can go for screening free of charge and to bring you these pink mandazis.  

BreastIT has a few selected hospitals where they conduct free cancer screening and some of them include:

• Nakasero Hospital – every Friday starting at 2pm at The Executive Wellness Centre

• Uganda Cancer Institute – Monday–Friday 8am–5pm

 As someone who experiments with food a lot, I am very conscious about the ingredients I use on a daily basis. For example boiling beets with dried hibiscus flowers gave me this rich pink colour that is a better substitute for artificial food colouring. When it comes to watching the food we put in our bodies, I believe being intentional helps. Because a simple choise as choosing natural food colouring over the artificial one goes a long way. Now for the pink donut recipe;

What you will need:

2 C. Baking flour

4 Tbsp. Sugar

1 C. Pink Water

2 Tbsp. Butter/Margarine

1 Tbsp. Baking powder

1 Tbsp. Grated ginger 

A pinch of salt

Powdered sugar (optional)

Observations:

1. The water should be cold. Note that you may need more or less water.  
2. Make sure your oil is not very hot because this will cause the mandazi to burn before cooking through
3. To make the pink water, boil 1 beet (that is peeled and cubed) and 4 dried hibiscus flowers in two cups of water. Boil till the water reduces to 1 cup 
4. If you are using less oil. Make sure to flip the mandazis occasionally so the dough is fully cooked through.

Method

In a clean bowl, sift flour and baking powder. Add salt, grated ginger and sugar and mix well.

Rub in the butter till the flour becomes coarse.

Gradually add water and mix till a firm dough forms and is no longer sticking to your hands.

Set aside to rest for ten minutes.

After ten minutes, flour your surface and roll out the dough to about 1 ½ -2 inch thickness.

Cut out rectangular shapes from the dough. You can also do irregular  shaped mandazi. 

Place a pan of frying oil on medium to high heat. Let the oil heat through.

Fry the mandazi until rised and golden brown.

Dust the mandazi with powdered sugar and drizzle with honey. 

Serve.

Visit  Breast It here for more information https://thehyphengloveproject.wordpress.com

Also don’t forget to go for screening.

Happy New month! I know I am not the only one who is still puzzled at how fast this year is flying by. It’s not to late, though,  to still work on those resolutions.

Last week I had a chance to visit Cassava Repulic and try their mouthwatering menu (as seen on instagram!). Cassava Repulic is located in Entebbe, a few kilometres from the airport. It is a surprising little corner in the heart of Entebbe. Once you enter,  it’s a different world altogether, with chill earthy and wooden interiors.

We had the house recommend mixed platter which came with an assortment of meats,  sauces, salads and surprising sides.

We started off our meal with chilled passion fruit juice.  Both our  platters had two kinds of  chicken, which were, hands down, some of the best chicken I have tasted in a while.  The contrasting flavors ( smoky and sweet) were just done right.

Alongside the chicken was roasted goat skewers.  The goat was soft and tender although minimally spiced. The platter also included Nile Perch fingers with a salty herbed mayo dip. There was coleslaw which was refreshing and had the right amount of  sweetness. Steamed cassava with a spicy curry sauce plantain chips  and avocado on the side.

We were stuffed.

If you would like to have a laid back and unapologetic dining experience of Uganda’s street foods and more,  I recommend Cassava Republic.

Check them out on Instagram and Facebook.