Chips & Salsa!

As Logan and I are preparing to leave Kenya, we find ourselves talking about home a little bit more. We are remembering what life was like, and frankly, the everyday things are so much easier! For instance , in the US enjoying the most simple snack, chips and salsa, involves popping open a jar of salsa and ripping into a bag of Tostitos. Oh wait, you have to drive to the store first and make the big decision of what brand of salsa you want. I forgot that step!

Here in Africa it is a little more difficult! We have to make our own tortillas in order to make our our tortilla chips! I combine flour, baking soda, salt, and water then knead it for 5 minutes. Kneading is the key to a good tortilla. Then I make about 20 little dough balls and roll them out as flat as I can. After that, they each get fried on both sides on a dry skillet. If things are moving right along, this process takes about two hours.

I then cut the fresh tortillas into triangles, brush with olive oil and lemon juice (no limes locally here). I sprinkle a little salt, cumin, and paprika on them for a slight kick and into the oven they go!

Now for salsa! I throw Liam on my back and we go down the hill to the woman who grows cilantro. Mmmm. Now we walk up the hill to the vegetable ladies who are ready to haggle for a good price. We buy tomatoes, onion, garlic, green peppers and a lemon. After convincing them that Liam does not need any mangoes at this time, we walk back down the hill to our home.

We have to wash our vegetables in a bleach-like solution and rinse with rainwater that has been filtered. After they are dry, I start chopping! I don't have a blender, so my salsa is the chunky kind! I dice tomatoes, onion, garlic, green peppers and cilantro. I add vinegar, cumin, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Of course we taste it along the way to make sure it is just right!

So now, half a day later, our chips and salsa are ready to enjoy! We have learned to savor every bite because it takes so much time and effort to make. Homemade chips and salsa taste much better than store bought because of the fresh ingredients and the effort that goes into it. Logan wants to dig in right away, but I insist on trying to arrange the chips and salsa so that I have a beautiful presentation. It's the least I can do! I will never view this "simple" snack in the same way again!