Bitings and other forms of entertainment...

I've discovered a new favorite term: "bitings". I've seen it on a few menus and latched onto it as a new phrase. Basically, I think it means 'snacks' or 'appetizers'. But isn't 'bitings' so much cuter?

We've been busy home-making. This has involved starting a lot of bigger projects- one of the first things to do was clean out the water tank! All our water comes from a lorry (initially, it comes from the muddiest river ever, then magically gets purified then put in a lorry...) which fills our tanks. The tank, however, was filled with mud/sediment. Nathan's expertise in Water Resource Management came in handy as he and Geemi cleaned out the tank the other day. (Note that Geemi is talking on the cell phone while straddling the tank and the house, suspended about 10 feet up in the air.)

I've been cooking a little. We are without an oven which is definitely cramping my style. However, I did manage to whip these up the other day: 

(Sorry, the photo is blurry.) I'm a HUGE fan of savory pancakes. These were made by incorporating sun dried tomato in the batter, and topped with fresh avocado (the size of my head!) and lime-cumin yogurt sauce and sprinkled with chili powder. Yum! 

We're also cooking for others. 

You can sort of make out the blur of four skinny dogs lined up, salivating, at the door. We have been feeding the dogs about 3 times a week- we buy frozen packages of 'chicken parts' (ew) and throw in a few cups of rice. The dogs are thrilled. Feeding time is wild. We don't think they get fed otherwise, although one dog, Chief, gets fed by his owner (our guard Ezekiel) but the dog food is this powder that is mixed with water. It's kind of disturbing. The other three are still skinny but definitely gaining weight. 

Finally, we're spending time getting to know the area- there are several other families living on our compound and everyone's been pretty friendly so far. There are 5 kids living next door- we brought some gifts back from the States for them- a whiffle ball set (which led to a confusing though raucous game of 'baseball') and some crayons. The cutie below came over the day after our gift-distribution and stood outside our door for about half an hour. We kept going outside and asking what he needed and he replied in mumbled Swahili. Finally, his dad came over to retrieve him and translated the mumble- "colors". We realized he wanted more crayons! Luckily I had one box left and handed 'em over. He left. It was pretty cute. 

We're headed to Nairobi later this week- I'm excited to buy an oven (!!!!!!) and visit the very westernized mall- it had a bakery chock-full of pastries and really good coffee. We plan to hang out there for a while! We also need to stock up on some groceries. Last time we thought we'd scored with 5 different types of cheese (brie, cheddar, feta, etc.) but discovered once we were home that all of them were expired. Several months expired. Totally inedible. Very sad. We'll check the expiration dates this time! 

The Great Rooster Controversy of 2010

So, this may not seem like a food-related post, but hang in there.

At our new house, we were 'blessed' by the presence of about 20 chickens, which included 19 calmly clucking hens and adolescent pullets, and one incredibly loud, obnoxious rooster. Scratch that. Initially, there was "The Wiz". The Wiz was the largest rooster I'd ever seen- handsome, tall, shiny-feathered, broad-breasted. He performed his roosterly duties with grace and for the most part, silence. He did let out the occasional jubilant "cock-a-doodle-doo" but for the most part he was the silent sort. We were big fans of the Wiz.

However, about a week or so ago, he disappeared. We have our suspicions as to where he went (dinner plate of the neighbors?). He was immediately replaced by a smaller, gimpy, shabbier rooster. (We never named him.) This rooster was the rooster from hell. He crowed loudly, painfully, at the top of his rooster lungs, beginning at 3:45 am and continuing until about 5 pm. I woke up (every morning) at 3:45 and lay in bed seething with hatred. The rooster stood outside our window and aimed his crows in at us. During the daytime we threw rocks to chase him away, cheered the neighbor's rooster on when there were cock fights, and even chased him around the yard with a broom (ahem... Nathan.)

This went on for a long, sleepless week. At the end of the week, I cracked. (This isn't to say that Nathan was dealing well with the noise, either, but I was definitely the first to crack.) What followed was perhaps a series of cultural faux pax,  but perhaps (hopefully?) also a bonding experience between us and our Masai guard, Ezekiel.

Initially, through our assistant, Geemi, we conveyed to Ezekiel that we would like the rooster removed from the premises. Perhaps Ezekiel could transport the rooster back to his village? Ezekiel agreed, but several days later the rooster was still here, crowing. We asked Geemi to take the rooster away, so the rooster moved several houses away for a sleep-over. He noisily found his way back in the morning. Then, finally, we told Ezekiel that we would feel honored, delighted, and humbled to be allowed to purchase the rooster from him. (Nathan gave a little speech at this point.) We would love nothing more than to share the rooster with him and his visiting Masai friends. We could all share in a feast! Hooray! We brought out 500 shillings (about $6) which is about 150 shillings more than market price for a rooster. This sealed the deal. Ezekiel agreed.

With joyous relief, I boiled a large pot of water. Nathan sharpened the knife. Geemi and Ezekiel captured the rooster.

The rooster was kindly dispatched. I managed to keep my enthusiasm hidden and calmly took pictures while Nathan and Geemi plucked, gutted, and butchered him. The Masai looked on, probably thinking that we were the craziest muzungus  that they'd ever met.

I peeled my way through about 10 lbs of potatoes and made a large pot of mashed potatoes, Nathan pan-fried the rooster parts (there was a decent amount of meat on the evil rooster) in garlic and olive oil. Geemi helped us take the feast over the Ezekiel's hut to share. The Masai (there were three men and two women, plus a cute baby) seemed happy enough with the unexpected feast and I think were really amused by having the white people serving them. The rooster tasted pretty good- the meat was darker than a hen, and gamey and tough, but flavorful and pretty edible. (The garlicky mashed potatoes were a perfect side.)

The next morning, I slept solidly until 10 am. Best sleep-in, ever.

We're here!

After more than 30 hours of travel, including two flights, a 7 hour stay in a rent-by-the-hour 'yotel' in the Heathrow airport (highly recommended for layovers), a night in Nairobi and a 2 hour taxi ride (during which I saw baboons and zebras), we've arrived at our new home in Narok. I'll post more pictures soon of our very humble abode, but we're still settling in and it's pretty messy.

Yesterday was a long day- our jet lag caused us to wake up at 3:30 am, so we started unpacking and organizing before the sun was up. We also purchased our first new appliance together- a shiny brand new fridge. I am pretty excited about it. I didn't have a functioning fridge in Samoa so I think this beauty will be a welcome part of my current living situation.

Our house is located on a gorgeous hill. We have a view over the town of Narok and can see rolling hills in the distance towards the west. While it is definitely not a lush, green landscape, there is a definite beauty in the dryness, too. There are a ton of bushes and trees that I've never seen before.

Perhaps the highlight for me are the animals, though. There are about 15 chickens (and one very, very loud rooster named "The Wiz". The chickens make lots of soothing clucking sounds but unfortunately aren't great layers. However, yesterday when we were outside playing baseball with the neighbor kids, I heard a clattering rolling sound and looked at the coop. Apparently one quirky chicken decided the corrugated steel roof of the coop was the best place to lay an egg, and I barely caught it as it rolled off the roof. The egg is pictured above- we're still deciding how to cook it.

In addition to the chickens, there are 4 dogs who have adopted us- Chief, Chewy, Bonnie and Simba. They're all related and have incredibly sweet dispositions. We're already feeding them random snacks, and they spend most of their day curled up on our doorstep. Since both Nathan and I are dog lovers, we're thrilled to have been adopted by them.

We're headed to town in a bit to buy some fresh fruits and veggies- yesterday we bought sweet potatoes, zuchinni (!), green pepper (!) and carrots. The selection is FAR better than Samoa, so I'm feeling optimistic about cooking potential. In Nairobi, we shopped at the Nakumat and found an unbelievable selection of bulk dried beans- I bought 7 different kinds! I don't think we will lack for ingredients.

So far, so good.