🎀 🎅🎄A Merry Chips-Mayai 🙌

Jamani kila mtu!

Imebaki siku kumi na mbili na dakika kidogo kuzaliwa Yesu Kristo. If you don’t understand, I said, Hello world! It is just 12 days and some hours to Christmas day. (Not a direct translation)

Lolz xx. That was Swahili. [Whispers] Between you and me, I don’t even know how to read it myself. 😂😂😂

How are y’all doing? This morning, I saw the Harmattan’s shadow but it looked like it wanted to rain too. His appearance this year was dramatic. Maybe, he had a chat with the rain before the rain left. 😒😒😒

That was just by the way.

Meet Chef Addo. For this Christmas, he is teaching us a new recipe all the way from Tanzania! This is a great opportunity to add a new meal to your Christmas dinner/ New Year party.

Today, we will be learning how to cook chips-mayai, a very popular dish in Tanzania!

Thanks to Chef Addo for sharing this with the Marietta DeGrant Blog and with some friends.

Ingredients:

8 medium sized Irish potatoes

3 medium sized carrots

2 medium sized green peppers

3 medium sized tomatoes

10 eggs

Salad oil to fry the potatoes

Salt to taste

Method

Wash and peel potatoes

Cut potatoes into French Fries sizes and wash them again

Put oil on fire at a reasonable heat

Fry the potatoes and set them aside after frying.

Cut vegetables (green pepper, carrot and tomatoes) into smaller sizes.

Set vegetables aside and beat the 10 eggs together. Add salt to taste

Put frying pan on fire again and pour a little oil for shallow frying

As you wait for the oil to be hot, add vegetables to the beaten eggs and mix together

Take some French fries (few) and spread them on the hot pan.

Take a ladle and fetch some of the beaten eggs and vegetables and spread them over the pan. Make sure it does a full circle of the pan.

Cover the pan with a cover, and let it heat for about a minute. Make sure the heat is moderate to avoid burning.

Without removing the cover, and using a napkin to hold the cover, flip the pan so that the chips mayai lands on the cover.

Put the pan back on the fire and let the uncooked part of the food stay at the bottom of the frying pan.

Allow it to stay on the pan for a few minutes and flip it back again.

Serve on a plate

Serve with a scoop of ketchup and a cold drink.

Enjoy your meal.

 

A Chef happy with the results

Thanks to Cephas and Caleb for supporting this festive cook-out!

Most photos were taken by @bleceph.

Do you want to know more about the Tanzanian culture? Call him to be your chef this Christmas and during the New Year. He will not only cook for you, but you will learn a lot.

Book him now by sending an email to degrantm@yahoo.com.

Have a merry chips-mayai!!!

Some friends enjoying Chips-mayai

 

Santa Claus and one of his elfs😄😄😄

Book Review: Christmas Stories from the Heart

Every December, I do a festive book review and this year’s own is a book I bought in the middle of the year and I am so glad that I bought it. It is one of the best festive book ever. It is filled with miracles and sweet little nuggets which you can keep and cherish in your hearts all year long.

One thing I love about the book is the foreword which was written by Avalon, an award winning singing group. I totally agree with the foreword and I can read it over and over again.

They said Christmas seemed so much simpler when I was a child……in fact it seemed like pure magic. It’s true and the foreword reminded me of the cartoon movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas, where Charlie Brown complained of the way Christmas has been commercialized.

This book can be a perfect gift, for people who love reading and treasure little stories and poems that touch the heart.

Get a copy, and thank me later.

Simple Ways to Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Hello world!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s poem. I wrote it last year and it’s one of the simplest poems I have written.

It’s another blogmas post day and I have a short post for you.

How to have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Before that, let’s try and sing a carol related to the song

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on
Our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yule-tide gay
From now on
Our troubles will be miles away

Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

Through the years
We all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now

This is one of my favourite Christmas song and I can sing it all year round.

Today, I will be sharing some tips/traditions on how to have yourself, a merry little Christmas. Having a merry little Christmas doesn’t have to be so glamorous. It’s the peace that we need, not stress and tiredness.

I do not do all of these, but I will also add the ones I do and maybe, in the future, we can try them all.

Set up a nativity scene. How cute can it be?

Get an advent calendar to help you countdown to the day of Christmas. Here is a perfect example of it. #LightTheWorld is a perfect way to countdown to the Christmas day by participating in good will activities starting December 1^st, ending on Christmas day. 

There are other ways of also counting down by purchasing advent calendars that are filled with goodies.

Read your favourite Christmas themed books

Watch your favourite Christmas movies. Home Alone is very popular in this country, Ghana. Hahaha.

Play your favourite Christmas songs. You can create different Christmas playlists for the season, example, Quiet Time Christmas carol playlists, Workout, out and about etc.

Remember the less fortunate this Christmas. Donate, spend time with them, show them love.

Spend more time with family. They are very important.

Decorate! Decorate! Decorate!

Create a miniature Christmas village. At St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, they had one and it was very creative.

Try your baking skills or a recipe that you have been meaning to try.

Create family traditions if you do not have some.

Try other traditions found in other countries.

Here are some traditions you can try.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!!!

Of Your Absence and the Harmattan

Hello world!

Welcome to another blogmas post (#DecemberMiracles). I have a harmattan poem to share with you, even though the harmattan is not fully in force. I wrote it last year. Do not forget to share with friends and someone you love and missing so much.

{Source}

Of Your Absence and the Harmattan

Far away you are

I miss the sound of your breath

And the rhythm of your heart

The harmattan dries off the memories of wet kisses and tight hugs

Your absence makes my heart to beat a thud

I cannot complain more

Of your absence and the harmattan

Welcome Blogmas 2017

Hello World! 

Happy December!!! I just can’t hide my excitement. I have changed my desktop wallpaper, decorated some parts of my room, made a bucket list and blaring out Christmas music. Let December roll. 🎄🎅🎆🎇🎈🎉🎊🎧🎥🎶

Drum roll for December please!

*drum roll*

I am doing blogmas this year. It was a success last year and I blogged every day in December. I really enjoyed blogging every day in December. There have been a change in plans this year. Instead of blogging everyday till December 25^th. I will be blogging every other day. I will inform you when a new post goes up live, so make sure you follow me on Twitter. However, I will daily post on my Instagram page, more like a photo challenge, but I am not strictly following many prompts. So, follow me on Instagram too.

I am also participating in the #LightTheWorld Initiative. It is a 25 days heartfelt activity in which we are encouraged to participate in service opportunities during the Christmas season to celebrate the life of Jesus Christ. This initiative focuses on celebrating and sharing the light of Jesus Christ who is the light of the world (John 8:12) and told us that we are also the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14). Last year was an interesting one. I am participating this year too. To learn more and join us in lighting the world, click here.

On Sunday December 3^rd, 2017, there will be a Christmas devotional, and you are all invited to come and watch/listen. You can watch it live on the YouTube Channel. This is a great way to start the festive season, so save the date

Now, let Blogmas begin. Call me MarieNoel.

I wish you a very Merry December!

Filled with December

Hello world!

You are most welcome to my first Blogmas 2016 post. Hahaha. I can’t believe I typed that.

Anyway, happy new month! I am excited it’s December now. You know how much I love December because of so many reasons; my birthday, the feeling, Christmas, family, loved ones, food, music, and chaw chaw things.🎄🎅🎆🎇🎉🎊 I don’t want to bore you with them. 😏

So, I am currently filled with December, and apparently, this weekend would be full of fun stuff, like bringing out the boxes of Christmas ornaments, and filling my planner of December things.

I have officially started blaring my life with Christmas music. I have created more than 3 Christmas playlists, which I don’t usually do, but I decided to make a change. I have gathered all my Christmas books and novels by my side, and I am on the Christmas movies scout, so please I am open to Christmas movies recommendations.

I did all of these this morning before coming to work, so I woke up super early. I am slowly waiting for the weekend to clear up, and do some changes and updates in my journal. More red, green, silver and gold in my surroundings.

Let December reign!!!

Boney M, are you there? What about you Piccadilly biscuits?

Source

#DecemberMiracles

p.s. I am participating in a festive fun exercise called LIGHTtheWORLD.  You can also participate no matter where you are, where you come from, or the church you attend. It’s for everyone and I invite you to participate.

It is about acts of kindnesses in 25 ways over 25 days. You can watch the initiative video here.

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world.

John 9:5 ….I am the LIGHT of the world.

You can read more details here. It consists of videos and a calendar you can download to participate.

Share all your activities with the hashtag #LightTheWorld.

Let the festivity begin!!!

Blogmas: #DecemberMiracles

Hello lovelies,

I have decided to do Blogmas. Do you know what that means? It means, I’ll be blogging every day in December till 25^th.

Hmmm.

Meaning, I will be blogging during the weekends too.

Hmmm.

I’m going to do it. I’m going to try and blog everyday till 25^th, the last blogmas day.🎄🎅🎆🎇🎈🎉

I’ll try to have time for this. I know it would be fun. I can talk endlessly about Christmas, so I hope I have a lot to talk about Christmas.

Tell everyone about #DecemberMiracles. Tell your family, your co-workers, your friends, your neighbours, your loved ones, even the kids, because they would be involved. I have stories for them too.

Starting on Thursday 1^st December, 2016. Stay tuned every day in December.

I hope my mind does not go blank on post ideas.

p.s. Do not forget to visit E! Online Ghana website for some of my contributing articles about Christmas. It is under the tab, ChristmasSparkle with Marietta.

I think I have to make my own show about Christmas, this and every other year. What do you think?

Christmas on the internet! Starting this December.