Zimbabwe (Africa) — coming in a few weeks

Zimbabwe is located in the continent of Africa. It Zambia to the north, Malawi to the northeast, Mozambique to the east and southeast, South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, and Namibia to the west.

The capital is Harare.

The official languages are Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangaan (Shangani), Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa.

The climate is subtropical with the hot, dry months from August to October, monsoon winds and the highest rainfall from October into April.

The staple foods are maize, millet, sorghum, rice, wheat, pumpkin, tomatoes, onions, chicken, goat, lamb, carrots, mashed potatoes, and so much more (https://togetherwomenrise.org/customsandcuisine/customs-cuisine-of-zimbabwe/#:~:text=Maize%20and%20corn%20remain%20staple,quintessential%20Zimbabwean%20dish%20is%20sadza).

https://www.britannica.com/place/Zimbabwe/

MAFE (African Peanut Stew) (https://www.preciouscore.com/african-peanut-stew-mafe/):

• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 lb. beef, cut into 1-2” pieces
• 8 oz. tomato sauce (3/4 C)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ C natural peanut butter
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 C sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces (or substitute butternut squash)
• ½ C carrots, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 habanero pepper

1. Place oil in a pot and heat up on high heat for about 3 minutes.
2. Add he chopped onions and saute while stirring from time to time for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the beef, tomato sauce, four cups of water, salt and bouillon powder.
4. Bring everything to a boil then reduce the heat and let them simmer.
5. Add the garlic and the peanut butter and stir well.
6. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the sweet potatoes and carrots.
8. Cut the habanero pepper into 2 and add to the pot.
9. Cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sweet potato is tender when pierced with a fork.
10. Remove the habanero pepper and discard.
11. Serve warm over boiled rice.

In this I substituted a Butternut Squash for the sweet potato so that I could try to keep this as close to keto as possible. I also used chicken thigh instead of beef. Still the flavors were great!!

MUPUNGA UNE DOVI (Peanut Butter Rice) (https://www.chefspencil.com/mupunga-une-dovi-peanut-butter-rice/):

• 1 C long grain rice or basmati rice (white or brown) (or substitute riced cauliflower)
• Salt
• 1 TBSP peanut butter
• ½ C water
• Cook the rice following the instructions on the packet, omitting the oil.
• Once cooked, add another ½ C of water to the rice and the peanut butter.
• Stir and continue cooking covered for about 10 more minutes, until the rice grains crack and look a little overcooked.
• Stir the rice and peanut butter together using a flat spoon, making sure the rice is evenly coated.
• Reduce the heat to low and leave covered for 10 minutes or until ready to serve.
• Serve the delicious peanut butter rice with your favorite stew.
• This rice is also good the next morning, enjoyed cold with a cup of tea.

In this one I substituted riced cauliflower for the rice. Still the flavor was really good!

CHIKENDUZA (Zimbabwe Candy Cake ) (https://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/recipe-zimbabwe-candy-cake-chikenduza/):

• 2 tsp yeast
• ¾ C sugar (or monk fruit etc.)
• ½ C warm milk
• 2-1/2 C flour (or almond or coconut flour)
• ¼ C softened butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 C powdered sugar (or Swerve substitute)
• 1-2 TBSP water
• Red food coloring

1. Add the yeast, sugar, and warm milk to a bowl.
2. Let proof until frothy, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, measure out the other ingredients.
4. Mix them all together until a thick but wet dough forms (kind of like cookie dough).
5. Let proof for 1 hour.
6. Measure in ¼ C sizes, roll into balls and place into a greased muffin tin.
7. Preheat the oven to 350F while letting the cakes rise a second time, for about 20 minutes.
8. Bake until puffed and golden about 30 minutes.
9. For the icing, find some Zimbabwean sugar cane.
10. Whisk the powdered sugar with enough water to make a thick icing (I only needed about 1-1/2 TBSP of water).
11. If you use too much water, it’s easy to fix simply whisk in some more powdered sugar.
12. Add a drop or two of food coloring, to make it pink.
13. There’s no “right” way to get the pretty pink icing on top.

And in this one I utilized almond flower, and all sugar substitutes and still they turned out really good.!!