240 hours in Zimbabwe || Christmas in Africa - [Part 2]

On Part 1 of my 240 Hours in Zimbawe trip I shared pictures of my family's Christmas trip to the villages to see my Grandma from my Mum's side. We got back to the city, in Harare, on the afternoon of Boxing Day (Dec 26th). All of us were tired and had an early night. This is because early the next morning, on the 27th, we had another road trip planned to go to the Nyanga Villages to visit my Mbuya ('Grandma') and Sekuru ('Grandpa') from my Dad's side. I dragged myself out of bed, showered, and packed my road-trip essentials into the car. I didn't need to pack much with me because we were just visiting for a day.

 

About three and a half hours on the main road, we took a turn and headed on to the dust road that leads to my Mbuya and Sekuru's home. The landscape in Nyanga is so lush and gorgeous! I love how beautiful it is!

My family and I obviously took a picture break. Who wouldn't? :) We took way too many pictures.... It was awesome!



Look how gorgeous my Mama is!! I love her.

After taking a 'million' pictures, we got back into the car and continued on our way to my grand parent's place. Thirty minutes later we arrived!!

The hut above is the kitchen area. It is where my Mbuya and Sekuru cook their meals. Close-by, they have a house which they sleep in.

Look at that view! My grandparents get to wake up to this EVERYDAY! Also they are rockstars at farming. Look at all that corn!

Me and my Daddy! You should know, I really am a Daddy's girl.

At every village, within about 5-10km of each cluster of homes, there is a community borehole. This is where people come to get their drinking and bathing water. It's very sanitary. The locals usually collect the water with buckets. We took a pit-stop at one of the boreholes to refill our water bottles.

We left my Ambuya and Sekuru's place at around 4pm to head back to Harare. It was so good to see them both after so long! We got home, in Harare, at around 8pm.

By this time I only had 3 days left in Zimbabwe. Of course my family and I planned for more awesome stuff to do. My last adventure in Zimbabwe was visiting the Lion and Cheetah Park! We got to see lots of lions, zebras and other wild life! You can check out details on that visit here on Part 3 of my 10 Days in Zimbabwe!

Xx

Rati :)

Happy New Year || 2014

Happy New Year to all you beautiful people. I am so excited for 2014. Its only 6 days in and its already crazy for me. I feel this year will be a really good adventure and I am ready for the ride. The last half of 2013 was not a glorious month for me for blogging. I have a million excuses but I don't feel like boring you with them all ;) . So instead here's a video!!!

I am really excited to share some new recipes with you and parts of my life with you all. I have one more month left in Amsterdam with my internship, so I want to take advantage of these last few weeks here and take you around with me and explore the new

Oh I forgot to share that over Christmas I got to go to Zimbabwe for 10 days! I got to see most of my family. It was summer time there. I got to go to the Lion and Cheetah park and see lions and a giant turtle over 250 years old. It was AH-MAZING! I'll post about it soon, but in the mean time here's a cheeky collage for you all.

How was the festive season for you? Are you excited for 2014?

Let me know in the comments below :)

Xx

Rati

p.s. New recipe coming in a week :D

For the Runners.

I know I need this encouragement when I run. Especially yesterday.

Training yesterday was overall good but it started off with me feeling so HORRIBLE. I wanted to just quit and sit it out. My body was feeling stiff. My legs felt like they were not responding and moving naturally. I just wanted to stop, give up and sit it out. But I kept on going. Eventually my body realized I wasn't stopping, I pushed through and by the end of the training session I felt brilliant.

Running is a mental battle. Yes your physical fitness and training play an important role in your runs. But to move from being a good runner to becoming a great runner your mental strength is what takes you there. Our bodies are far more capable than we think. When we take the time and effort to push our selves mentally, we begin to see ourselves accomplishing things we only dreamed off.

Do not always rely on how you feel. Feelings are fickle and can often be deceptive and limiting. Instead, look at your goals and keep going towards them; whether you feel like it or not. Develop the mental discipline to push through and be what you want to be. Of course it is important for you to use wisdom so that you make sure you are not pushing yourself to the extent of bringing harm to yourself.

Train hard.
Work smart.
Give it your all.

Enjoy it.

I wish you an amazing training week.

Xx

Rati :)

Spicy Zucchini "Pasta"

This is such yummy goodness, I cannot even fully describe or explain how good it is. The best part is... it is so EASY and QUICK to make. I had it last night for dinner and my taste-buds and tummy were thanking me.  

Zucchini is usually one of my vegetable staples, so I thought, "Why not make some Zucchini pasta!".
And I did.
And it was epic.

The thing that really makes this recipe so great is the sauce that you mix it with. I was feeling creative so I just experimented with the ingredients and spices that I had at home and it turned out quite fantastic.

So without any further delay, here is the recipe:

Equipment:

• Blender
• Vegetable Spiralizer (I got mine quite cheap on ebay. The one I use is a small hand held tool. You can buy it here.)
•  Knife and Cutting Board

Ingredients for "Pasta":

• 2-3 medium zucchinis
• 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 can of garbanzo beans (or 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans)
• 3 chopped long stalks of celery

Ingredients in the Sauce:

• 1 small red beet
• 1/2 large persimmon (or 1 medium peach)
•  Chili peppers (put as much as you want for the spiciness you desire) 
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (or curry)
• 250 grams of ripe cherry tomatoes (or 1 medium ripe tomato)
• 4 juicy dates (optional. Also note that if the dates you have are a bit dry, soak them in water for some time to soften them)
• 1/4 cup of water. (Eye the amount of water according to the blender contents. Add or decrease the amount of water to ensure a good thick saucy consistency)
• 1/2 red onion (or normal onion)
• 1 - 2 garlic cloves

Recipe for "Pasta:

1. Spiralize the zucchinis
2. Mix in the chopped vegetables and set the plate/bowl aside

Recipe for Sauce:

1. Chop the red beet and persimmon.
2. Place all the sauce ingredients into the blender.
3. Blend all the ingredients together. remember to start out with a bit of water and keep adding until you reach the desired thick, saucy consistency.
4. Pour the sauce all over your pasta.
5. Mix it all together and leave it for about 10-15 minutes for all the flavors to mix and the zucchini to soften a bit.
6. Eat it all up

Serves: 1 person

Trust me, this pasta is really so yummy. It is a great way to replace actual pasta. The ingredients are almost all raw. Due to the fact that we use mostly natural foods, you will find that you can eat a whole big bowl of "pasta" and feel full and satisfied without the guilt of eating actual pasta. 

This meal is great for both dinner and lunch.

I will definitely be experimenting with different kinds of sauces for the Zucchini Pasta and I will share with you the yummy concoctions I come up with.

I hope the new year has started up great for all of you.

Enjoy.

Xx

Rati :)

Persimmon Lover

I just got a box yummy PERSIMMONS!!! Since the large part of what I eat constitutes of fruits and vegetables, I try to buy in bulk when I can. It is cheaper and it cuts down my trips to the grocery store.

I recently discovered a new fruit and vegetable market which happens every Saturday in my city. I am excited to go and see all the fresh fruits and veggies I can get at lower prices than at the store.

I hope you have all had an incredible 2012. Mine was definitely filled with so much adventure, the building and breaking of some dear friendships and incredible growth as a person.

I wish you all an amazing 2013. May it be filled with so much more joy, adventure, peace, laughter and love. May it be the best year of your life yet.

Enjoy the New Year celebrations.
Please be safe.

Many hugs and much love.

See you next year ;)

Xx

Rati