My love for cooking started when I was 14 years old. I moved to another country and we had no wafanyi kazi (maids) to help around with the house chores any longer. My mother started training me to cook the simplest drink that all swahili people love—Chai ya Maziwa (tea with milk). I used to hate it only because there were so many steps involved for such a simple hot beverage. In addition, back in 2002 the Ketepa tea bags were not so common, she taught me that the tea had to be dark and that the chai should not boil over. And the taunting task was to stand right beside the stove as one waits for the tea to be ready, it was a nuisance!

My mother is a perfectionist when it comes to everything but when it comes to food-the color has to beautiful, the texture has to be appealing to the eyes, the presentation also matters a lot to her, before it touches the plate you cannot just use any plates to present the food, there are specific kinds of plates that you need to use before transferring the food from the cooking utensils to the eating utensils. Now this is where my story begins, I have come to adapt the same concept of perfectionism and not only do I make sure that my food tastes great, I make sure that three senses are deeply affected—that is your sight, your palate and your hands.

Not to forget to mention my father who has always given me two thumbs up even when the food wasn’t as great as I hoped it to be, thus I give credit to both my mother and father because they made me the cook that I am today. I would try-out a new recipe my mother would say it lacks salt, it wasn’t fried right but my father was always positive and said “it is good and I know you when you continue practicing you will re-create the same dish in a different way and it will taste better than the first time.” Both helped shape the “cook” that I am today. My sisters are also great cooks, I hope to one day be like my sisters and my mother. My parents, my siblings and my friends inspire me everyday to re-create dishes or invent new dishes. And today I would like to share one with you. Please find the recipe for one of my re-created “recipes”: Bread Slice Pizza!

1. Garlic Paste,
2. Tomato Basil Sauce,
3. Oregano Seeds,
4. Onions,
5. Diced Bell pepper,
6. Diced Onions,
7. Olive Rings,
8. Parmesano Cheese.