Category: Appetizer (Page 1 of 2)

Apple Pecan Feta Salad with Zesty Dill Ginger Dressing

July 14, 2021 / Kaluhi / 13 Comments

I always get super excited when I make a salad because I know it is always going to be bomb AF!!! It has been a minute since I made one with you guys, but better late than never! I had bought some feta some weeks back which I had planned on using in a certain project (I shall be sharing with you guys in 2 weeks) but never got to use. So instead of watching it go bad, it just made sense to have it in a salad. This apple pecan feta salad has all the right flavors! You can get a rainbow of notes which makes every bite even better!

There is a complimentary YouTube video to this blogpost. But before we get into that, let us get into this exciting blogpost.

Cheesy Beef Meat Pies

May 19, 2021 / Kaluhi / 16 Comments

I enjoyed University!! I loved Primary School, I deeply hated Highschool and later on loved University studies and the whole experience. I enjoyed B.com and all Finance units were my favorite. I never skipped classes. Was I uptight? Maybe lol. But I just loved all the classes and it never felt like a chore for me to be present. During my final year, Wednesdays were the heaviest, busiest days. We had back to back classes with brief 30 minute breaks in between. The first break at 10.30 after double Audit and there after double Macro-Economics which I loooooooved! During that 30 minute break, as the reigning Miss High Metabolism, I always had to eat. I reached out for a spring roll, or a samosa but often, meat pies did the deed for me!

I felt a bit nostalgic about my favorite Uni snack and decided to make some, but of course with a delicious twist of my own! These beauties are meaty, explosively flavorful and cheesy too! Mtapenda!

Cumin Nduma Fries with Roasted Garlic & Grapefruit Aioli

January 20, 2021 / Kaluhi / 23 Comments

There really isn’t any place on earth where you can get the freshest, most bountiful, most flavorful, cheap organic produce than you would in Kenya. Most African countries also have the best tasting fresh produce but god was in a fantastic mood when he gave Kenya her fresh produce. I know for a fact we do appreciate it and I hope we intentionally enjoy it because life is to be lived and enjoyed!

If you have been following me for a long time now you know I love potatoes. I however never shy away from switching things up and in as much as regular potatoes are dope as hell, other root tubers also really bring alot to the table! Nduma in particular not only tastes fantastic, they are also so versatile and they take up flavor so beautifully! We made this nduma recipe waaaay back in 2015 ( I cannot believe I have been blogging this long!) and today we add another one that is even better, and for sure, plenty more are coming in the future!

Garlic Broccoli and Carrot Stirfry

February 26, 2020 / Kaluhi / 21 Comments

I always remember watching cartoons growing up and I remember broccoli being depicted as a disgusting veggie that everyone hates. Dexter hated broccoli. PowerPuff Girls fought slimy Broccoli aliens. Billy form Billy and Mandy haaated broccoli too. So in my mind, broccoli was not that great of a veggie. That all changed the day I actually gave broccoli a try. I loved them so so much and I that was when my life long love for this gorgeous veggie begun.

We prepare them in a very simple fresh way, which preserves the nutrients of this veggie. You will love this one!

Thyme & Oregano Scotch Eggs

October 16, 2019 / Kaluhi / 7 Comments

My mom looooooves hosting! She always goes out of her way to make sure the guests she has over have the time of their life not to mention, an elaborate banquet to feast upon. She would make sure our food was set aside first and the rest taken to the dining table for the guests. I remember the first time I had scotch eggs was on one of such days. Mum had guests over, and before dashing out to play, my sisters and I were sat down for lunch. My little hands reached out for this unfamiliar brown ball. I was skeptical, and left it for last. Until my sister Kadesa took a bite and exclaimed “Ni tamu!!”. I reached out for mine, and indeed, I loved it! This new thing, that had both egg and sausage – things I love- was delicious! I later on learnt that they were scotch eggs and have been inlove with them ever since!

Today I put my own twist on my mom’s recipe and give to you my thyme and oregano scotch eggs. Mtapenda!

Garam Masala Coconut Milk Carrot Soup

November 7, 2018 / Kaluhi / 5 Comments

I love tall, hairy men. We all have a type, and that is my type! There is something about that form of raw, uninhibited embodiment of masculinity that just gets to me. I think that’s why I really loved how Captain America in Infinity war – the beard!! He is really good looking either way, but I feel facial hair adds a bit of spice, ya feel me? I have made it my weekend habit to re-watch all marvel movies. I enjoyed them when they premiered in the past and still love them today! From all Iron Man & Captain America series, to both Guardians of the Galaxy volumes, Avengers , X-men…Everything! I am waiting with baited breath for Captain Marvel next year! I haven’t quite enjoyed Ant Man, and Ant Man and The Wasp, but all the rest are worth re-watching ! And of course, watching along with something delicious makes it all worth while!

My garam masala coconut milk soup is among my favorite soup recipes! Such amazing full flavors that I know without doubt that you too will deeply enjoy as well!

Karafuu and Rosemary Carrot Soup

August 5, 2016 / Kaluhi / 6 Comments

August started with such a huge burst of sunshine and warmth. Glorious month it is, even more so that it is my birth day month! Unlike this year, last year or the year before it always has the first two weeks of August still shaking off the July freeze. This year has been different. Warmer. I however feel we have one more week of cold temperatures before we finally move on and enjoy beautiful sunshine. I prepared this carrot soup in anticipation of cozy cold nights in, but the weather decided to surprise us with some warmth. But in all honesty, soups can be taken in any weather. And I believe my soothing karafuu and rosemary carrot soup will warm your body and keep you comfy.

Mango Mint Salad with Passion Fruit Syrup

March 22, 2016 / Kaluhi / 11 Comments

Admit it, that title made your mouth water, even just a little ;). For me, each time I read it, I literally drool like a wild beast. And when I remember how fantastic it tasted, I literally drive myself to the brink of insanity. My mango mint salad with passion fruit syrup is a taste of heaven. It captures the warmth of golden Kenyan sunshine and almost embodies the fullness of the hearts of the Kenyan people and beauty of Mango season. I am in love with this salad!

I love my mangoes. They are still in season for the next few weeks and I want to make the most of it. Last year, I was busy eating mangoes (duh!) and experimented very little with them in the kitchen. This year, I have really tried :)). As we head into the dusk of 2016’s mango season, let me leave you with a salad with flavors so beautiful it tastes like music <3.

Mango and Dark Chocolate Parfait

March 4, 2016 / Kaluhi / 6 Comments

If you have been following me for quite sometime now on Instagram, You know how much I love mangoes. This love dates back to my primary school days. As we go through the final weeks of mango season, I am taking full advantage of this and eating as many of my favorite fruit as I can and incorporating them in my food and snacks too.

I love parfaits because they are the easiest things on earth to make. They make the perfect post-meal indulgence and can also make the perfect snack. There are infinite variations to a parfait but here is mine. It is sweet, fulfilling and pretty healthy too :)) This mango and dark chocolate parfait just shows you you can make the perfect snack or dessert without spending too much and with ingredients you can easily obtain.

Carrot and Grilled Pumpkin Soup

November 24, 2015 / Kaluhi / 7 Comments

I once heard someone say “If you find yourself talking about the weather on a first date, its time to goooo” LOL Our generation has issues! Anyway, lets talk about the weather. Last week was pretty frigid. I wanted to bump this post and have it earlier but I was too excited about my biryani and tilapia peri peri recipes and decided to stick to how I had originally scheduled my posts. This soup would be perfect for last week’s weather. But as you know with November, the weather is rather unpredictable. Yesterday was beautifully sunny but it could be rainy later this week or today. Today looks like a soup day! This is one recipe you should save for a rainy day ;)).

Buttered Carrots and Red Onion Sautee

September 29, 2015 / Kaluhi / 4 Comments

Mum: What are you making?

Me: I don’t really know, but I feel the flavors will work.. carrot-something

Mum: That’s the name you will use?

Me: That’s not it’s name-name. I will think about it as I type out the post.

Mum: What if you do not get a name?

Me: *Gives mum a polite and respectful side-eye* Then I will not post until I get a name.

***

My mum asks too many questions. For real. Especially when watching a movie and when she finds anyone making a new dish. Besides that, she provides much needed constructive criticism that has aided my growth as a food blogger. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Hours later after that conversation and long after they were devoured, I decided to name this after its ingredients. Just four ingredients, all of which are beautifully married to each other.

Onion and Lime Guacamole

August 21, 2015 / Kaluhi / 2 Comments

There are certain things you know will always upgrade any meal, and Guacamole is one of them. Whether in small bits of huge amounts, guac will always add some excitment to your food. Want to add flavor to your githeri? Guacamole will save the day. Want something to accompany your ugali and nyamachoma? Guac is here for you. Or maybe you want to add something creamy to add to your bhajia…no need to go any further than guacamole. Perhaps you would like something creamy to temper the spice of your chicken wrap..You guessed it! Guacamole is the answer.

In addition to being so easy to make, guacamole is very very healthy. And when you have healthy and tasty in one package, its a win!

Tomato and Ginger Soup

August 7, 2015 / Kaluhi / 4 Comments

As we go through the final weeks of the cold season, no better way than to make the most of it than with some soups. I have recently grown to like soups because not only are they warming, but they make the perfect appetizer and are so nutritious.

During the unveiling of the new menu at Sarova Panafric’s Flame Tree Restaurant, one of the appetizers was tomato soup. This soup can be a bit tricky to make since it tends to get acidic but the one we had was phenomenal. I decided to recreate the same at home and liked it just as much. I am sure you will too :)).

Garlicky French Beans and Carrots

July 3, 2015 / Kaluhi / 21 Comments

This is one of the most common dishes in Kenya. For me, I like it as an alternative to cabbage, which I am not a big fan of. Also known as green beans or sting beans by different people around the globe, they are still as good by by other name. They are also very very healthy. There are many ways to cook french beans and carrots but here is my take on them. I like mine alot more savory and rich that is why I have them with plenty of garlic. Garlicky is not a word but today it is. If you are looking for an alternative to your usual veggies or a substitute to those you do not like, today is your lucky day!

Potato Salad

June 23, 2015 / Kaluhi / 8 Comments

Among the shows I am always glued to are cooking shows. Recently I have been watching Pioneer Woman which is quite new on food network. It is one of my favorites these days. The host, Ree Drummond, makes her recipes so easy and do-able and I guess that is why I gravitated towards her since it is the same thing Ii try to achieve with my blog. I liked her warm aura too and her show immediately from the very first episode. Plus she lives a life that I hope to mirror one day: She is family oriented, she loves to cook and does it damn well, she lives on a ranch (I want to live on a ranch too :)), and she is so graceful.

Todays recipe was inspired by her. She made this pea salad and I decided to put my own twist to her recipe using ingredients I have at hand and ended up with a potato salad. And it was fantastic! Thank you Ree Drummond 🙂

While we enjoy some sunshine before the July iciness, this you have to try this out guys!

Butternut Soup with Crispy Toasted Seeds

June 12, 2015 / Kaluhi / 16 Comments

I could hear the rumble of thunder from a distance, and I knew that particular weekend would be a cold, rainy one. The house grew dark & cold, so I went upstairs to grab myself a pair of socks. No sooner had I come back down than the rain began aggressively beating on the roof. Huge, angry drops of May Nairobi Rain. A bright flash of lightning lit the entire sky and with it, power was gone. Typical! Since I could not go anywhere outside, nor watch anything I decided to retreat to my favorite place: the Kitchen. That day, I decided to prepare some soup to warm myself up as I waited for electricity to return and keep myself busy.

This butternut soup is so beautiful I literally stared at it for so long. I took so many pics of it and it is one of my most visually appealing dishes yet. It is so filling, very nutritious and very warming. While it is currently not as rainy in Nairobi right now as it was a week ago, it is still rather cold especially in the evenings (22° C / 72F qualifies as cold in this equatorial country). This is the best soup for you to have. Whether as a the perfect prelude to a magnificent meal or just to warm you up, this butternut soup will still make you happy!

Cayenne Pepper and Cheese Deviled Eggs

April 10, 2015 / Kaluhi / 0 Comments

I really love boiled eggs. I had a rocky relationship with them when I was little, as highlighted in this post, but nowadays I just cannot get enough!! Its one of those foods that are so filling and yet so healthy. Even in Kenya, on a day to day basis, it is almost impossible not to come across street vendors hawking some boiled eggs. Those sold on the streets are usually cut in half and some kachumbari put in that hollow. It is as delicious as it is nutritious. What makes boiled eggs so good is that you can have them with almost anything, in in any way you want.

Today I decided to have my boiled egg with a different kind of filling. Deviled eggs can be made in so many ways, but here is my take on it. It was so tasty, and so pretty. I was so happy with how this turned out. This is fantastic enough for cocktail bitings, delicious enough as a meal starter/appetizer for and healthy enough for a breakfast meal.

Hope you enjoy these deviled as much as I did 🙂

Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad

March 24, 2015 / Kaluhi / 4 Comments

I love having some salad or fresh fruit with most of my meals. They add this freshness to all the meals and make them a lot more wholesome and complete. The easiest salad to have with your meals are coleslaw, and the most common here in Kenya is the amazing kachumbari. But this world has so much more to offer besides just those. And considering fresh produce can be found in my country at very low prices, this makes it even easier for us to indulge in this richness.

I have made this sweet corn and tomato salad and it was like sunshine and morning dew combined. It was so mellow, so light and so filling. It has the farmiliar flavors of kachumbari but has other additional ingredients which give it a more global approach. This is one salad that should never miss from your family dinner table.

Gourmet Coleslaw

February 24, 2015 / Kaluhi / 4 Comments

One of my most memorable childhood memories are those that involve family get-aways and short trips within the country. I particularly fondly remember the times when my parents used to take my sisters and I (sometimes together with my cousins) to a recreation spot deep in the breathtaking Maasai Land called Olooloitikoshi every other Sunday afternoon. As we had been told, olooloitikoshi means “The land of the Zebras” in the Maasai dialect (i stand corrected if that translation is wrong :D), and for us, it was the funnest place on the planet. Immediately after church, we would pass by home, dress down a little, prepare some bitings and leave for the Rift Valley. One of the things that my mommy used to make every single time was some coleslaw. This always made the perfect accompaniment to the tender roast meat and the steamy soft mukimu served by the locals together with all other delicacies we would have at the foot of the Ngong hills.

Today I present to you one of dishes that never never missed our outings,coleslaw, but with a delicious gourmet twist. It goes beyond the basic cabbage and carrot for coleslaw and includes an array of other ingredients that make this more wholesome and 5 star worthy. Read on to know exactly how to make your coleslaw fantastic <3

Thai Sticky Coconut Rice with Mango

February 3, 2015 / Kaluhi / 0 Comments

I thank God for jan-feb-mar for the sunny weather that, for some reason, makes me so energized, and that my favorite fruit, mangoes are in season. Because there are so many around, retailing at very affordable prices, I always try to have my fave fruit in as many ways as I possibly can.

I decided to make a mango dessert that has its origins in Thailand. This Thai Sticky Coconut Rice with Mango is a recipe I bumped into accidentally while searching for food photography inspiration on food gawker. I was happy that the ingredients they use are also available here. To add my own twist to an already existing recipe, I added sesame seeds instead of dessicated coconut to add a nutty taste. I also used coconut cream instead of coconut milk it make it thicker. I would never have though using rice as an ingredient in a dessert but this worked so well. The rice is meant to compliment the mango though, and not the other way round. And this is a healthy snack, that will still give you that sweet kick but minus all that sugar overload.

You do not have to go to Thailand. Bring Thailand to you!