Humility + An Avocado Smoothie

March 24, 2015March 24, 2015 ~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

What comes to your mind when you think of humility. A wide array of scenarios come to my mind whenever I think of the word. Merriam Webster defines humility as the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people: the quality or state of being humble. So far this year has been a roller coaster ride and among those ups and downs, I have met truly amazing people. People I am not worth talking to let alone shake hands with. One thing I noticed with them all is the fact that they are down-to-earth people. As much as I could not fathom the fact that I met these incredible people, they were just being normal regular people. They would not throw the fact that they are famous, well learned, seasoned travelers, successful and talented in your face. I was incredibly humbled by their humility.

What is your definition of humility and what one person, event or thing has taught you to be humble? Leave your response in the comments section below.

I am sharing a quick and easy smoothie that I am sure you will like. Don’t you love the texture and versatility of avocados? There are so many things to do with avocados.

What you will need:

1 Avocado(fully ripe)

1/2 C. Milk

2 C. Cold water

5 Tbsp. Sugar

Method

Peel the avocado, remove the seed and thinly slice it . Put the sliced avocado in the blender. Add the milk water and sugar. Blend till pureed. Serve(especially with breakfast).

Have a great week.

🙂

Sophie

PS: To add flavor to the smoothie, you can add half a teaspoon of either cinnamon or ginger spice while blending.

Honeyed Sweet Potato Balls with Simsim(Sesame)

March 17, 2015March 16, 2015 ~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

There are days when food is in season (and those are the best days) that we find ourselves stocking up on fresh produce. For example, there was one time when sweet potatoes were in season (and incredibly cheap) that we bought half a sack for only 5000 shillings. After sometime though, people started complaining since we had exhausted all methods of cooking sweet potatoes known to us. But then there is this cookbook that resides in a corner somewhere and I remembered flipping through it and bookmarking all the dishes I want to try out when the time is right(I am still waiting for the time to be right!) and these sweet potato balls were high on that list. So I set out to experiment with everyone skeptical on how it will turn out since sweet potatoes, sugar and milk are an odd combination. I’d like to say I was not disappointed. These balls turned out great. They are a little bit on the radical side and it would take a real food enthusiast to love the flavor and texture. Nevertheless, they are really great and can be cool fancy desserts to impress your guests.

What you will need:

4C. Sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed

2Tbsp. Margarine(blue band)/butter

500gm Bread crumbs/ 4 slices of bread)

1/2 C. Milk

1/2 C. Honey

I cup simsim(sesame)

Method

Peel sweet potatoes, cut them into medallions and boil them till tender. Let them cool completely. Using a glass, mash the potatoes in a bowl. Add the margarine and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix the 1/2 cup of milk with the 1/2 cup of honey and stir till a syrup forms. Pour the syrup in the sweet potato mix and mix well. Next add the bread crumbs and mix till the mixture forms a firm dough. Using your hands, form small bite-sized balls and roll them in the simsim. After all the mixture is formed into balls and rolled in simsim, chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Serve

Apart form steaming, how do you prepare your sweet potatoes? Let me know in the comments section below.

Oh and by the way, head over to AfricanWoman to get a recipe on how to prepare Sautéed Irish Potatoes.

Have a great week.

🙂

Sophie

PS: This recipe is adapted from Tickle Your Taste Buds Internationally.

Lemon Iced Tea

March 10, 2015March 11, 2015 ~ Sophie ~ 9 Comments

I remember the first time I had iced tea, I was sold. I vowed to make it one day. That was way back in primary school. Somehow the taste of that lemon-mint flavored bottled iced tea stuck in my memory till this tea was made this last Sunday. Tasting it, I realized it was so close to that tea I had tasted over six years ago. Nothing can beat that feeling of recreating something. So I am here to share with you this relatively easy iced tea recipe.

What you’ll need:

3 Litres water

5 Teabags

2 ½ Lemons

Ice cubes/ crushed ice

Sugar

Method

In a large sauce pan, add the water and the teabags and bring to a boil. When the tea has boiled, remove from fire and let it cool completely. Squeeze the lemons and sieve the juice. Add the lemon juice and sugar in the cooled down tea and stir thoroughly till the sugar is fully dissolved. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Serve with lots of ice cubes and a lemon slice or wedge.

I know you are wondering why all that much tea but it goes in an instant, trust me. Especially now that the weather is scorching hot. The secret to making great iced tea is having a lot (A LOT) of ice cubes!I did not put any measurement for sugar since we all have different preferences when it comes to sweetness. For the record, almost a kilo went down while making this.