Week 2: Can Emeril Save the Tuna Fish Challenge?

I decided to stick with the theme of tuna fish as a salad, since I am hoping that a tuna melt will convince Curry Delight of the greatness that is canned tuna. 

Emeril has a "Kicked-Up Tuna Melt" that appeared easy enough (more so than some of the crazy recipes with a thousand and one ingredients just for pasta/salad).

The Month of Tuna Fish: Part 1

Carmie loves tuna fish month

As Americans we always like to re-state the obvious in our vocabulary. For example, instead of bin, we have "wastepaper baskets or trashcans" and so forth. Which is why the following attempts are "tuna fish" recipes and not "tuna". Tuna = the whole fish or a fillet. Tuna fish = canned tuna. 

For me to attempt to perfect a tuna recipe would be very ambitious, thus is why February was deemed tuna fish month (and because the first week of the month we had barely anything in the kitchen pre- and post- travels) except miscellaneous canned/dry foods.

Hungry Expat's "Tomato-Cream Pasta Sauce"

One of my New Years resolutions this year (since I actually achieved the few I made over the last couple of years, I got cocky and set a "monthly" goal), is to perfect a dish each month that I can make for any occasion.

January's attempt was a creamy marinara sauce (I've clearly been a bit slow in writing/posting). I have, of course, cooked this many times since moving abroad since the bottled marinara sauces in Kenya and India leave much to be desired, in my opinion. They are either too sweet or too ketchup-like for my taste. 

Hungry Expat's "Indianized" Stovetop Scrambled Eggs

Inspiration for my next "Indianized" dish came quickly today. I am a huge fan of breakfast for dinner which is why I took my leftover "salsa" concoction from my baked potato and Indianized myself some dinner out of it. Scrambled eggs are another favorite of mine and super quick and easy.

Source

3-4 eggs                              1/4 c milk                           2 tsp butter 

For some pizzaaz one may also add some cheese and cilantro and definitely salt and pepper, but they're pretty bland the traditional way, even with a side of bacon and toast.

Hungry Expat's "Indianized" Best Baked Potato

Growing up, baked potatoes were my go-to meal because they were quick and easy and required pretty much zero level of skill to make. An American baked potato, while filling, comprises of very little and is easily cooked:

Source

potato                            butter                        sour cream                   cheddar cheese              salt                            ground black pepper

It was also common to spice it up a bit with the ever popular Bac-os (for those of you uninitiated in American imitation food - that is bacon flavored "bits" made out of soy or some such) or chives. If you were really ambitious, you could also cover lightly in olive oil and dust with sea salt for a better baking result, but I rarely exerted that little bit of extra effort and opted for the quick and dirty microwave.

Meze Fresh Gourmet Burrito Bar

With only a few hours to kill in Kigali after a two week Byumba-imposed diet of chips and croquettes, my friends and I moto-ed across town in search of the famed "Chipotle-inspired burrito place". It's located between Kimihurura and Kacyiru. Not known to many moto drivers my friend told them to drop us at a well-known Chinese restaurant in the area (Great Wall Chinese) and then we just walked up the hill towards the boulevard. 

Popular among local expats, if you did not know what you were looking for when you stumbled across this restaurant you might be confused by the bright colors and traditional Rwandan art. However as soon as you approached the counter and saw the selection of fresh ingredients and multitude of options you would undoubtedly be filled with joy.

Many Americans will recognize the Chipotle-style layout (Freebirds, if you're from Texas). There's a wide selection to choose from including chicken, beef, pork, or vegetarian burritos, burrito bowls, and salads and prices are reasonable at 2,800-4000 RWF for burritos and 1000 RWF for a beer. 

Franco's

So for all of you aid workers out there, as we well know, not all trips to the field are as exciting as the DRC/RoC or as happenin' as Kampala. But not to fear, Hungry Expat has scoped out the dining options at Kakuma Refugee Camp and has found an option both convenient and edible. Granted, it's not the most high class of joints, or even the best Ethiopian food, but it is a great place for a quick breakfast or working lunch at their satellite location on the IOM compound in Kakuma 2 or day drinking at the original in the Ethiopian section of Kakuma 1. 

Kentucky Fried Chicken

Between traveling for work and visiting home for the holidays I have been absent from the Nairobi social scene and foodie adventures for a few months.  Now that I am back in town I am ready to eat! 

Did you know that Colonel Sanders did not find his true calling of selling hot, fried chicken to the masses until he was 70?

Local Moshi Lunch Spots

While working in Moshi my work colleague and I both wanted to find affordable options for lunch so each day we walked around town and picked a small local place to try.  Here's what we found:

Name: Chrisburger / Club Alberto

Location: On Kibo Road next door to the Impala Coach office just near the clock tower roundabout

Price: Their fast food menu is quite affordable.  Samosas are 500 TZS each; veg rice is 1500 TZS; and chai masala is 1000 TZS.

Atmosphere: the covered patio is enclosed with greenery and is a nice place to relax over lunch. Apparently it doubles as a bar/club in the evenings.

The service here is just as slow, if not slower, than most restaurants in Kenya. They forgot to charge us for our samosas one day and when we returned several days later for morning tea they hit us up for the amount. In general I find that very unprofessional since it was their mistake and it's not like they gave us a written bill in the first place so they couldn't show that we hadn't paid. However, I was worried the money had come out of the waitress' own pocket so we didn't comment.  

Planet Yogurt

While wandering through the mall last weekend looking for a Safaricom store my friends and I stumbled on something wonderful, a fro-yo place. For those of you not in the know, fro-yo is frozen yogurt and a delicious, and (in my head) healthier substitute for ice cream. Since I'm not a huge fan of Kenyan ice cream, I was quite excited to try this place.

Location: Junction shopping center at Ngong Road and Kingara located inside by the elevator in the new section of the mall
Price: Um, the Handsome Hamburgler paid so I don't remember; I think it was less than 500 KSH (~$5.50).  It's done by size and weight.
Atmosphere: I felt like a teenager again hanging out at the mall with my friends.

Savannah: The Coffee Lounge

While I usually gravitate to Java House out of convenience and their more expansive menu, I definitely prefer Savannah's atmosphere and drink selections. I hadn't made it over to Savannah since I returned to Nairobi a mere month ago and took the opportunity to meet some friends there prior to an evening play showing just a few blocks away. Despite the fact that a ketchup bottle exploded all over my friend and myself and the waitstaff was more concerned with mopping up the table rather than bringing us napkins to clean up, the bitings and smoothies were good.

Mika Cafeteria

As I've completely given up on most Kenyans pronouncing my name correctly, I have resorted to going by Me-kah. So when my work colleague told me the local cafeteria was named that I knew I had to try it. On days that I don't hit up the street vendor outside the office for a 50 bob (~$0.65) fruit salad, you can find me grabbing a quick bite here.

Location: Hurlingham, it's on Argwings Kodhek between Rose Avenue and Woodlands in Roughton Plaza, across from Jabavu House and below Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant, next to a chemist (it's very much a hole in the wall and I had never noticed it before having it pointed out to me)
Price: "mini" meals start at 80 KSH (~$1) and larger portions are about 120 KSH (~$1.50)
Atmosphere: orderly (A strange term for a restaurant I know, but it's hard to describe.  The staff is polite and efficient but it's not somewhere you would necessarily linger.)

Otlob: McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, and more

McDonalds, McDonalds
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut 

You like it you love it

You know you really want it

(Lyrics: The Fast Food Song, Fast Food Rockers, 2003)

(Photo credit: http://otlob.com/)

Be still my beating heart for I have been introduced to the greatness that is Otlob.  Otlob is an online food ordering service similar to Dining in in the States.  It delivers 24 hours a day all over Cairo.  I was first introduced to the fantasticness the evening of my arrival.  After a night of shisha and Horreya coupled with American food deprivation we decided a late night order of McDonalds would hit the spot.  I don't eat McDonalds when stateside but I have found it tastes shockingly better in other countries.  A cheeseburger, fries, and a Kit Kat McFlurry later and I was ready to crash a happy camper.