Food: Straight from the Cow

Bringing the milk to a boil. Yes, we have a local pot, don't judge. 

We recently moved to a new place and it is conveniently located across the street from a "milk dealer". Kilimanjaro has a rich tradition of cattle-raising, both in the dominant tribe of the Chagga and the Maasai. Milk is extremely common in the frequent and ubiquitous chai, cheese is available at a reasonable price, and even cheese cake is on the menu at some coffee shops.

At 7AM and 7PM each day, the residential house across the street has a small queue of people waiting for milk. The milk comes from a rural area just outside of town ensuring the deliveries are always fresh The milk is 1,200 TZS ($0.65) per liter, a very affordable price.

On occasion we'll drink it raw with our coffee but the majority of the time we bring it to a boil and then let it cool before bottling it and putting it in the fridge. We also use it to make yogurt to add to our smoothies, quite a treat!

The vast majority of developing countries I've spent time in do not have a culinary tradition of dairy, especially cows milk. Being a native of Wisconsin, I appreciate being back in a place with rich dairy!

Pouring the milk into the container. 

Ready to drink!

Random Pictures: Volume IV

Previous volumes: (one, two, three)

Getting our knives sharpened. 

The local butcher. Bonus points if you can spot the portrait of Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

I pass this view every day on the way to work and peep Kili if it's out. 

Waiting in line at the butcher. Sign assures us that clean meat is available here. 

One of the many types of lizards. 

Big brown guy. 

Peculiar grasshopper

Moving: New House II

UPDATE: I have moved in May 2015, see blog post here

Front door with a blue curtain. 

We've moved to a new location, the third place we have lived in Moshi (1,2). Our new place is located in the neighborhood of "Shantytown" neighborhood, which is, despite its name, the most affluent area of Moshi. You can see here on my map, that it's in the north west of Moshi. There is an "International school" located in the neighborhood and the houses are much larger and spaced out than any other neighborhood in Moshi. The area is heavily populated by expats and it's not uncommon for houses to have a staff of a gardener, guard, housekeeper, etc. See some examples here of the Shantytown housing market ($2000/month, $800/month, $900/month). 

The reason we moved was spurred by the fact we wanted to pay less for our rent. Although we loved our previous rental, it was too big for us and the fact that we could find places for half the price made us always on the lookout. We were happy with the property because the actual housing was good, and the house was located in a compound style setting. There are three houses on the property though it's spacious enough to give privacy. The best part is that we have a massive area in the back where we are allowed to farm!

The house is a locally built two bedroom flat, with small sitting room, bathroom and kitchen. The kitchen is pretty small though apparently it was built in after the previous tenant requested a kitchen. The woman that was renting it before us is undecided if she will return to Tanzania. Since the place is unfurnished we agreed that we would watch/use her stuff until she returned. This gives us time to slowly buy things like a bed, fridge, couch, cookware, etc. We've been lucky to live in furnished places before so I guess we're taking the plunge into investing in some house stuff. 

Main room. New furniture to come. 

Kitchen. 

Bedroom one (storage room)

Bedroom two 

The front of our building, adjacent to a workshop.

Food: Making Juice

Pineapple, papaya, and mangoes in the fridge. 

One of my favorite parts of mango season is making juice. Since mango trees tend to be very large and bear hundreds of fruits, there is inevitably a time when mangoes are literally left to rot on the ground. An overripe mango isn't that great when peeled and eaten raw, but when mixed with some other fruit and turned into juice...well, it can be quite a delicacy.

Juicing is overall a pretty simple activity. All you need is fruit, a blender, a strainer, and some water. Cut up the fruit, mix it in a blender while adding water to adjust for whatever consistency you prefer. Strain it, then, wallah, put in a container and you've got your homemade juice. Some people like to add sugar but I find it unnecessary when using sweet fruits and I don't usually venture out into the more exotic juices like avocado. 

Although you can make juices with a wide variety of fruits, I find that mango season is the best time as mangoes not only have a lot of flavor but also a lot of body to fill out a juice. Of course, anything that is in season and in overabundance may find its way to my blender!

The most challenging thing when making juice is the mess that remains. An ant bonanza typically follows a juicing session.  

Straining the mango and passion fruit. 

Passionfruit and mango litter our compost bucket. 

Ana pours the juice into bottles. 

Delicious final product.