mayurisjikoni

MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON -SEPT 2017 #80TH BLOGGING MARATHON THEME: PROTEIN RICH DISHES DAY:24     What is Moringa? Its considered as the 'new' superfood with plenty of health benefits. Moringa is what we know as drumstick tree, the tree of life, horseradish tree, ben oil tree etc. One can consume the pods, flowers, seeds and leaves of this tree. India is the largest producer of moringa. My all time favorite is making the pods or sarghvo as its called in Gujarati, in a yogurt and chickpea flour gravy.     Moringa powder is a rich source of protein, 28g in every 100g. It's one of the few plants that contains what is known as the complete protein. It easily can compete with animal based protein. It contains all the essential amino acids. Besides being rich in protein it is also rich in Vitamins A,C and E, calcium and potassium. It fights free radicals in the body to and therefore helps to keep the organs healthy, fights inflammation which is good to fight inflammator...

too hot   The past few days have been so hot and humid. I am completely zapped of any energy by afternoon. Usually around this time of the year it begins to get hot but at the same time we get a lovely breeze too. However, this year things are different. The weather is changing. It's all to do with global warming. Our greed for better homes, infra structures and better goods is all destroying our environment. Trees are disappearing at an alarming rate. 3 years ago when we moved to the apartments we are living in at present, we could see lots of trees from any of the windows you may choose to look out from. More building and second hand car yards are destroying the trees. Some of the newer apartments coming up are trying to leave a few trees but the second hand car yards are chopping down neem, mango and coconut trees. For a town (its officially classified as a city) like Mombasa, its baffling to see every second business is selling second hand cars. The roads are narrow, infra stru...

Do you like reading true stories?   Every time we have guests who come to stay with us, they tend to leave something or the other behind for us besides the presents they may have brought for us. I have loads of half used shampoo and hair conditioner bottles, some shower gels, bath towels, slippers, magazines and even story books. I leave all that stuff for the next guests who may need to use any of these items and I get to read all the magazines and books. One such book left behind was Shame Travels by Jasvinder Sanghera. I am about to finish reading this book. I read it in spite of not having read her first two books, Shame and Daughters of Shame. All three are true stories. Waiting to get hold of the two I have not read but I just couldn't resist reading her third book. Its all about how Jasvinder runs away from home at the age of 16 because her parents wanted to get her married off to a boy not of her choice. She gets married to someone of the lower caste and her family disowns ...

Eid Mubarak         Wishing all fellow bloggers, followers and friends a very happy Eid. Lets pray that there is a conscious effort to maintain and bring peace world over, we don't need more innocent people being killed, we don't need to be scared of coming out of our homes to carry out every day chores and above all in this very short life that God has granted us we need to be more loving and tolerant towards other cultures.         For the past few months, life in Mombasa is not what we have known for so many years- a sleepy, friendly, happy coastal town. Grenades in buses, on the beach, killings in villages around, has changed Mombasa forever. Every day Julius our house help voices his fear that crossing the Likoni Channel by ferry is a great risk as they fear someone maybe carrying a bomb. Security checks are not enough. The term Raha Mombasa is no more applicable to this tourist town. Raha in kiswahili means happiness or joy. People are not h...

Healthy and refreshing    Did I mention its pretty hot here, yes I think I did. Yesterday we were without power the whole evening and night! Afternoons can get quite humid. These days, we don't even feel like have a cup of hot tea. So I resort to making iced tea. Sometimes, I just get the herbal tea bags and infuse it in hot water in the morning and put it away in the fridge to cool. Today I decided to make some lemongrass and mint iced tea. There was a time when I had a huge lemongrass plant in my garden and I was giving away parts of it to friends and relatives to plant in their garden or pots. Now I have to either buy it or get it from my friends! One of friends gave me a huge bunch of lemon grass just a few days. I am enjoying making iced tea and normal tea with it. Make this refreshing and cooling iced tea on a hot day or serve it after a heavy meal. LEMON GRASS AND MINT ICED TEA Serves 4 3 cups of hot water 1 tea bag a handful of fresh mint leaves, or about ½ cup 3 to 4 ...