Mchicha

 Last week, the kids went out to harvest mchicha (spinach) from the garden. We rinsed it off really well, since it was very sandy and then the kids got to work. Ms. Irene led the entire lesson and it was great to learn from her. She taught us the secrets of cooking mchicha and even taught us how to taste your dish like a Tanzanian while cooking. She is a woman of many talents. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• mchicha
• 1 onion
• 4 tomatoes
•  1.5 carrots
• 2 tbs oil
• 2 tbs blue band (butter)
• 2 tbs peanut butter with 1/3 cup hot water
• salt to taste (Irene says "salt is unpredictable, so just keep on adding.")

Cooking Method:

• Heat oil with onions until they are brown. Add carrots in, cover and stir for about 5 minutes.
• Next, add the tomatoes and cook down for a while until it makes a sauce. Add salt and taste the "Tazanian way" (see photos).
• Add peanut butter and keep on stirring.
• Finally, add the mchicha. Cover to let it boil and let it cook down for about 5-10 minutes.

The kids did a great job and the mchicha was delicious!  We even ate it with ugali, and the kids dug in with their hands just like the locals. Some kids even lined up for seconds. Yummm!