Too Delicious

I first arrived and lived in Dodoma almost 14 years ago! We had no landline phone, mobiles hadn't made it to Tanzania and internet was so limited that all the staff at the school had one email address between them! To receive messages the sender had to write your name in the subject title and then we would book time slots to read and reply to any messages we had!

How times have changed! Everyone has internet access relatively easily, either through a wireless connection at home or via mobile phones ... which by the way, are EVERYWHERE and are much better than even those we were using when we lived in the States last year!

As you will know if you've been reading this blog recently, all our belongings continue to be stuck in Dar Es Salaam and I have already commented on the fact my recipe book is among those things! The longer the time lasts, the more I'm searching the internet and Pinterest especially, for new recipes or for alternative versions of ones I haven't got to hand. There have been occasions when we've had no internet or electricity that have scuppered my cooking plans but for the most part and if I forward-plan, the internet has been a Godsend in the kitchen, as well as to keep in touch family and friends.

This weekend I was looking for an Anzac biscuit recipe when I stumbled across a blog that I know I will be returning to again and again and again, Butter Baking. I have to admit I got a bit side-tracked because there were so many delicious looking recipes included but eventually remembered what I was looking originally for! The Anzac Biscuits were perfect. My only criticism, if you could call it that, is that they were too delicious and left me wanting more and more!

I got in touch with Natasha, the author of the Butter Baking blog, who like me loves baking but is not a huge fan of cake (finally someone who understands where I'm coming from, strange but true!) and asked her permission to share the yumminess with you and she agreed! Thank you Natasha! While the container is delayed I will continue to turn to the internet for cooking inspiration and for anything sweet, my first stop will definitely be at Butter Baking! Here's the recipe ...

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup dessicated coconut
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 125g unsalted butter, melted (4.5 oz)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and line 2 trays with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, coconut, sugar and salt.
3. Add the melted butter and maple syrup and stir well to combine.
4. In a little bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water. Mix it through the dough.
5. Roll large tablespoons of the dough into balls and place them on the baking trays, allowing room for spreading. Flatten a little for a chewy cookie and flatten right down for a crisp cookie like mine.
6. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until golden. Makes 16 large, palm-size cookies, but you could always make 32 smaller Anzacs.

Soon after my container does arrive I plan to try out the Butter Baking New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. Why wait for the container? You can't buy chocolate chips here in Dodoma, so I included some in the shipping  ... although I think the heat in the container may well mean they arrive as one big chunk of chocolate anyway!

Making Do!

Making do doesn't have to be settling for second best, it can be making the most of whatever situation you find yourself in! Making do isn't all that bad really. Making do ... is the story of our lives right now!

This weekend we will have been here in Tanzania for seven weeks. Seven weeks of settling in. Seven weeks of finding our feet. Seven weeks of waiting for a car and our container. 

We said goodbye to all our belongings about 4 months ago and we know they arrived here in Tanzania only a couple of weeks after us. But African bureaucracy keeps us separated nonetheless. 

Without our belongings, our house still doesn't quite become our home. Without our belongings, it is difficult in this time of transition to properly settle. Without our belongings we feel we're in a state of limbo ... or as I wrote before in 'Holiday Mode'.

We were dealt a blow this week, with the news that our visas and subsequently our container could be held up until Mark gains his in-country licence, something never before required by MAF engineers. Meetings that have followed since, have uncovered the possibility of being granted a 'special pass' in the meantime, which should allow the release of our container from the port. Our fingers, toes and everything else are crossed right now!

It is a time to learn. It is a waiting game. One with lots of prayer from us, family, friends and supporters. A time to learn patience, to make the most of what we have ... to make do! We have been well looked after but with the continued delays we are beginning to search out alternatives instead of just waiting, in an attempt to get better established here as a family.

When we were in the UK, I picked up a few little 'frivolous' bits and pieces, things to brighten up our house here, to enjoy, to make me smile. Simple things like an Ikea spotty tray, a Cath Kidston  apron and tea towel. With all the waiting and borrowing, it's been nice to have these few bits and pieces of my own. They don't feel so frivolous now!

Living in the country that we do here. To have a house and belongings that we can use, even if they are only for an indefinite temporary period, makes us very fortunate. This morning after heavy rains overnight, Maria, our househelp, arrived a little later to work than usual. Her home which has no power or running water and would probably fit into our living room (with room to spare) had flooded.

Sometimes 'making do' for us, is more than others can dream of in a lifetime. With that perspective things are actually very good ... and for however long it will be until we are reunited with our belongings, as a family we will choose to be grateful and satisfied with all that we have. A roof over our heads, money for food, enough things to be comfortable. It is a time to be thankful and know that we're exactly where God wants us to be.

Easter Eggs

Well, the internet is back up and running for us again for the most part ... except when we have no power and any other random time it decides to stop working. I realise that my blogging from now on will be for the most part 'business as usual' but with times when, like for the last couple of weeks, it just won't be possible! Unless I say otherwise my absences should only be temporary!

In some ways though it was nice to just have the long four day Easter weekend without having to think about blogs Friday and Monday. As Abigail went to school just over 48 hours after we arrived here, these were the first full four days we've had together as a family since we arrived in Dodoma just over 6 weeks ago and they were much needed!

It is strange to celebrate significant events in the calendar, like Easter across the cultures ...

In the UK, it really is about the chocolate Easter Eggs to a large percentage of the country. Supermarkets are stacked with them for months in advance and every different chocolate manufacturer seems to come out with their own special ones. They get stocked months before hand ... pretty much as soon as the Christmas things get taken down in many cases and are definitely there after Valentines. But Easter is primarily about the chocolate!

(It has been interesting to read about the introduction of 'The Real Easter Egg' over the last couple of years. One that not only contains the chocolate but also the Christian message of Easter on the box. I have been able to catch updates as to how different supermarkets have debated as to whether or not to sell them.)

Living in the States for three years, it was interesting to see the differences. The supermarket is stocked with Easter stuff ... but it's different. Lots of Easter baskets and plastic eggs. There are very few special chocolate eggs as the Brits would expect. Just lots of all different varieties of 'candy' to stick in the eggs for the myriad of Easter Egg hunts that take place. There's a lot more Easter Bunny stuff going on too ... having a photo with him each years is like having a photo with Santa at Christmas, just something that has to be done!

Another tradition we found a little strange in the States linked with Easter was that a lot of our church friends would get new outfits (often matching with other family members) and wear them to church on Easter Sunday and also have family photos taken in them. The  perfect Easter Outfit was something some people would be looking out for months in advance! It was just an American thing, at least where we were living!

Now in a third culture, we have just celebrated Easter here in Tanzania and of course it has been different again! There is no hype here, no tv adverts with Easter bunnies and Spring chickens, no plastic or chocolate eggs piled high in any of the shops ... in fact you could be forgiven for missing Easter altogether!

In a country that, in many reports, is listed as being roughly an equal percentage of both Muslim and Christian, public holidays are often observed for both religions but with no particular hype for any. In our family we knew it was Easter because my husband had a four day weekend and we celebrated it in church and with friends ... but for a lot of local people it was just business as usual! Interestingly without the advertising onslaught, it was almost easier to concentrate on the real meaning of Easter.

While we didn't have eggs of either the British chocolate or American candy-filled plastic variety, we didn't miss out totally! We had an Easter/70th Birthday party on Easter Sunday afternoon and during the party I had planned an Easter Egg Treasure Hunt for the kids ... hiding the eggs (shown below) around our compound, to unveil the truth of the story of Easter for me, that 'Jesus is Alive'!

As a Christian this holiday is more significant than Christmas and the birth of Jesus. This is when he paid the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of every person that has ever lived. Before he goes to the cross, Jesus has one last conversation with God. He prays about all kinds of things including his disciples. In John 17:20, though he says ...

'My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message' (italics mine)

... that means you and me! In those final hours and words between him and his Father in heaven he prayed for us too. Amazing and mind-blowing all at the same time! 

Easter Sunday is a celebration that his death wasn't the end of the story but just the beginning. Jesus overcame death and lives ... then and now! That's more exciting than any Easter Egg, on any continent, I have ever experienced!