So here we are at the grocery store,  the Nakumat.   It is the "Target" version of a store here in Africa.  It has everything from fresh veggies to lightbulbs to appliances to lawn furniture....It actually began as a mattress store from the Nakura region, just north of Nairobi.  This photo is actually taken at the Nakumat store located in Westgate Mall, probably a week before the attack.   Weird.  Now this store is just burnt rubble.   More on my thoughts about this later...

Finding great food was not all that difficult, but brand names are all different and the American brands are expensive....So, we are experimenting!    The fresh fruit and vegetables are so good and plentiful!   It is better now that we can eat all the fresh fruits, after a several week waiting period.  At first the motto was:  cook it, peel it or don't eat it!    There are many free standing markets here in Nairobi that sell the best and freshest fruits and vegetables, so it is like having summer all year round!

At my favorite local market, they ask me if I want the avocadoes, tomatoes, bananas, mangoes, passion fruit and pineapples "for today or tomorrow?".   They hand pick everything I request, then put it in the bag, then bring it to the car...very nice.

The greens are unbelievably fresh:  spinach, kale, arugula and even the iceberg lettuce is nice... One of my favorite dishes is the traditional cabbage/carrot/onion dish sauteed with balsamic vinegar.   I could have that every day!

We are truly enjoying traditional Kenyan food, and our cook, Bridget, has been making Kenya food on Friday nights, which has been declared "Kenya night".   Always good with a cold Tusker beer.:)
Tusker is the local brand of beer which has 3 styles and all very good.   The Tusker lite is my favorite with 4% alcohol still but fewest calories!   I had a funny conversation with my Swedish neighbor's mother the other day where she was hesitant to try the lite beer because she didn't want to miss out on the alcohol content:).

Lily of course is eating with her hands as a true Kenyan.   She said that I look funny using my hands so I am still using utensils.   Their traditional dish, called "ugali" is polenta/corn based food that tastes a bit like tamale.   It looks like mashed potatoes but tastes more like grits.  Sam is not that big of a fan.   He doesn't like potatoes much either, so not a surprise!

We all like the homemade "chapati", which is something like a tortilla, and Lily is helping to make these in the kitchen.   Sam loves the Samosas, mostly the veggie ones.  The Kenyans eat a lot of meat, so we are not in the majority here.   But because there is such a wide variety of fresh veggies, we are truly enjoying the bounty.

Indian food is fabulous here.   The best Italian and Mexican food is still made at our house.   We found a great sushi place called "Zen Garden", which is our family favorite.    And most of the restaurants here offer indoor/outdoor dining, so that's a bonus.  

This entry is making me hungry, so later!