Tea with Thulasi

The Honey Guide.

I purchased THIS book at a sale and chose it because I did not have much choices. The synopsis seemed interesting. I also have the habit of choosing at least one new author whose books I have never read before to give myself a wider scope for appreciating new genres and styles of writing.

Richard Crompton is a former BBC journalist and producer, living in Nairobi where the story is set so he truly brings to life every scene and gives a vivid description of parts of Nairobi.

What grabbed my attention at the very start after the foreword was a page titled, The Origin of Death which gives readers a traditional Maasai story on the subject matter before the author begins his storytelling THAT is in diary entry style. Reading becomes more structured in a good way.

The Honey Guide is a very fascinating mystery novel which will keep you in suspense and guessing who the culprit is till almost the end of the story so get ready to turn the pages till you reach the conclusion.

Detective Mollel is a Maasai warrior first and foremost and he takes his work seriously to the extent that he is transferred to the duties of traffic police until a brutalised body of a Maasai woman turns up in a park.

Mollel is summoned to investigate the case. There’s a looming presidential election and the police force is under pressure to keep the peace whilst upholding law and order in a sprawling megacity where death is a fact of life and life is cheap.

The overworked police wants to write off the body as another dead prostitute but when Mollel senses there’s more to the case, he takes it upon himself to investigate further. It leads him to another prostitute who identifies the body and starts helping him.

Honey gives Mollel information about a powerful and influential church Minister and his wife who together run an outreach program for young girls to be off the streets. The couple have connections with a businessman who’s also involved in the case. Kiunga, who is assisting Mollel in the investigation does not trust Honey but supports and does his best to help Mollel.

Mollel puts his family in danger when he gets more embroiled in the case and even defies his superior to solve the mystery of the dead Maasai woman.

The ending is totally unexpected.

The storyline is gripping and flows with exceptional details for a great read. I’m recommending this book.

Pulut/Wajik.

Pulut or Wajik is made from glutinous rice and very popular in Asia. It’s a sweet dessert THAT can be bought at food stalls as well as restaurants.

I made some recently using Sheena’s cooking passion’s recipe and it turned out so delicious 😋!. Sheena graciously shares her recipes on Facebook.

Every time I decide to try a new recipe, I prefer a small portion to begin with. Glutinous rice grains need to be washed and soaked overnight preferably before it’s steamed. Good quality palm sugar is essential to make the thick dark brown syrup. THIS recipe is an easy 2 step method of gently mixing the steamed glutinous rice with the bubbling palm sugar until the grains are well coated, absorbing all the thick syrup.

The pulut or wajik is transferred to a pan or plate of your choice and smoothed out using the back of a spoon. Once completely cooled, cut into desired shape and serve. I like to have mine while it’s still hot and straight from the wok!.

The recipe is a keeper so do check out the page I mentioned if you wish to give it a go. Have you tried pulut?. Do you like glutinous rice?. I’d like to know – thank you!.

Miracles. Magic & Many Blessings.

May 2023 be a year filled with miracles, magic and many blessings. Make time to experience them everyday. Mind your thoughts. Move your body. Marvel at nature. Make moments matter, meaningful and memorable. THIS is my prayer, wish and hope for us.

The greatest life lesson we can ever learn and practice to experience living is THAT miracles, magic and many blessings are truly in our everyday lives. We just need to make time for them – our views and perspectives, choices and flowing with changes as well as the willingness to learn and grow opens up a world of wonders. ✨

I’ve learned that minding my thoughts, 🧠 moving my body 🏃🏽‍♀️ and marveling at nature 🌈 have given me inspiration in my writing, provided peace and pleasure for greater enjoyment of life. My creativity motivated by what I see and experience. Finding my calm oasis within me and accepting the truth about life.

It’s on me to be happy 😃 and find joy 🌞 in my everyday. To make moments matter , meaningful and memorable.

Thank you 🙏🏾 for reading my posts and supporting my writing. It means a lot and I am grateful 💗. I am happy to hear your thoughts and the engagement is welcomed. 🙂

Here’s to us!. Happy New Year 🥳🎉🎊

Festive Fudge.

I was always curious about fudge and chose an easy one to make called festive fudge, recipe shared by self taught chef Parth Bajaj whom I follow on Instagram. He shared THIS recipe with simple guidelines and I simply had to try it!. Also, gave me a ‘Yay’! when I shared a picture of mine and tagged to thank him. His unexpected reply and response was a sweet suprise!.

You just need 4 ingredients THAT are probably already in your pantry and it’s so quick to make which is a plus point when you’re celebrating a festival, juggling countless other chores. The slow is in having to wait for it to set before sampling the decadent fudge.

White chocolate has to be melted using the double boiler method. Add condensed milk, whisk and it’ll thicken. Scatter in chopped dried cranberries and pistachios. Spread mixture on a greased pan and refrigerate for 4 hours or till set. Cut into squares and indulge!.

I only had enough ingredients to make half of the recipe and relished each delectable bite of my festive fudge. I’m definitely going to make it again and this recipe is a keeper.

Do give it a go and check out the chef’s page on Instagram for the full recipe. Do you like fudge and have you tried making your own?. I’d love to hear from you.

Fantasy Fiction To Entertain, Educate & Empower.

I finished reading THIS fascinating series in early October, 6 months after I dived into the fantasy world creatively told by a master storyteller of the genre – Rick Riordan.

The most prominent feature of books by this author is THAT he provides a comprehensive glossary and alongside it, readers will be educated or have their memories refreshed on ancient mythologies, some historical facts as well as receive life lessons. Entertaining and engaging storylines, sub plots interspersed with humour are assured. In the end, readers will feel good about themselves, be empowered and have empathy toward others.

The Olympian series brings demigods from both the Roman and Greek camps together to stop Gaia from destroying humanity and the world. Follow the courageous and daring adventures of Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang as they confront Gaia’s minions and win in the final countdown.

The 7 demigods prophesied to lead the final quest, face challenges not only from Titans and giants but have to overcome their own personal demons as well as conquer fears in the midst of fighting ghost armies, solving riddles along the way, that will lead to victory.

The demigods receive some help from their godly parent but otherwise need to fight their own battles that come in various forms. They need to overcome many obstacles before learning about true courage, have confidence in their own individual powers to vanquish and be victorious.

The author touches on the subject of sexuality and there’s a scene where Nico, the son of Hades is confronted by Cupid himself forcing Nico to accept the inevitable and find peace in truth. Rick Riordan also explores the subject of love and relationships with scenes of kissing, hugging, holding hands among the demigod couples – Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, Frank and Hazel. In the end, even Leo who always considered himself as a third wheel finds love with Calypso.

I’m recommending this series and the other series by this author too. I am definitely interested to read the series on Norse mythology!.

The Last Visit.

The mist cleared as I finished my coffee. I reclined on the easy chair, wanting a few more minutes with my thoughts. I knew it was a waste of time to ruminate over what took place but a nagging unease made me replay the events of last night over and over again.

“Aren’t you going to be late?”, Cody’s voice startled me. Smiling down at me, he looked the picture of calm. “What time is it?”, I asked and he said that I will miss the train if I don’t hurry.

Annoyed as well as disgruntled by Cody’s cool demeanor, I started to get up when he abruptly laid his hand on my shoulder and stopped me from doing so. I looked up at him questioningly. “I didn’t mean to use you as an excuse. Forgive me and please don’t tell Cherry what you saw. If our 30 year friendship means anything at all …”. Cody did not finish the sentence instead he watched me, waiting for a reaction.

I didn’t give him one nor say anything as I stood up and left the patio. The gall of him, I cursed silently.

That was my last visit with Cody and Cherry.

A Great Galette.

A Galette is similar to pizza in so far as it has a base and toppings but it’s more of a tart THAT is rustic with hand pinched edges. I have been wanting to make one for the longest time but stayed away for fear of a failed pastry base!.

Determined to make a galette from scratch, I searched for sweet as well as savoury recipes which were easy and simple. I settled on Nadiya Hussein’s Tomato Galette which had few ingredients I could find in my kitchen. Her recipe was almost vegetarian excluding the anchovy paste which was optional anyways and THIS in itself motivated me to get going with accomplishing a bake challenge I had set for myself.

The pastry base is most important for a tart as it needs to hold the toppings without getting soggy and lending taste as well as texture to the overall experience of enjoying it.

The recipe uses a delightful combination of all purpose flour and besan/chickpea flour – a brilliant idea which makes this tomato galette very delicious. I’m proud to say that despite my trepidation, the pastry turned out very well.

I used local tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes and opted not to use anchovy paste as the tamarind was sour enough for my liking. Also I was on a vegetarian diet when I made the galette. I skipped the garnish of capers and basil leaves too – I did not have capers and do not like the smell and taste of basil leaves.

This recipe was easy and quick to put together. I had a great galette for lunch! that day and my mother agreed on the taste too – Very delicious!.