Mandazis are best described as doughnut-like breads very popular in Kenya. Anywhere you travel to in Kenya there are Mandazis being served in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and are traditionally served with my favourite beverage, Chai (Indian tea).

In light of the Kenyan crisis and my appeal to support the Kenyan people, I thought it might be nice to share one of their recipes with you. As with all traditional recipes, once I get into the kitchen I tend to re-work them (habit of occupation!) and with this one instead of making the traditional larger Mandazis I have made smaller ones that are perfect for morning or afternoon tea. I highly recommend you make up a pot of chai with them too, the spices in the tea perfectly compliment the spices in the mandazis. So,invite your friends and the kids over for some Kenyan inspired afternoon tea and munch on these baby mandazis.

Makes about 50

How To:

In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, and spices. In another bowl, mix the water, butter, milk, and egg together. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic (add a little extra flour if necessary). Leave the dough to rest for a few minutes.

Roll the dough out and then break apart into small pieces or cut into little shapes if desired (baby heart shapes would be nice).

Heat a few cups of your chosen vegetable oil in a deep pot (I use a wok). To check when the oil is hot enough, I place a little piece of bread and if it sizzles it is ready, if it does not, try again in another moment. Deep fry the baby doughs in the hot oil, gently rotating. Remove when the baby mandazis are golden brown. Place onto a paper towel to drain. Dust with a little icing sugar. Serve warm with a pot of milky chai.

The Hope Street Markets were created from a love of independent Australian art + design and the genuine love of finding new treasures at the markets. Hope Street is not an actual street address, it quite simply means “bringing hope to the street”. The Hope Street Markets is a non-profit organisation, raising funds from the markets to help support the ‘HopeStreet – Urban Compassion projects’ which help to bring hope to Sydney’s homeless while also supporting and exposing new Australian design talent.

Two of my picks are the very talented duo from Turn Me On Design with their Fiddlesticks jewellery range shown above. I do love their poem too:

And summerblossom’s range of handmade head pieces does it for me too. Rochelle uses cotton, recycled and vintage fabrics and aptly describes her pieces as being perfect for cocktails, weddings, high-tea, picnics and parties. And I love her extra suggestion: “Or, simply pop one in when you’re all alone in your nightie and enjoy that frosted cupcake in divine style!”

The dates for the next markets in Sydney are the 2nd and 3rd February 2008. And if you are not in Sydney then head to the Hope Street Markets website and check out all the designers there. Have fun!!

If you haven’t already spotted them wandering around the (blog)house, my new guests David Knight and Michelle Verghis settled themselves in the guest quarters yesterday evening (yes my head is now throbbing from a little over zealous ‘welcome to the (blog)house!’ party last night). I am thrilled to introduce this dynamo couple to you – David is a photographer who has just been selected as a finalist in the inaugural National Photographic Portrait Prize for the National Portrait Gallery with this beauty:

And Michelle is a fabulous illustrator who designs information graphics for news as well as T-shirt graphics and artwork for private and corporate clients.

I will display more of Michelle and David’s work during their stay in the (blog)house, but for now please make them feel welcome by saying hello, and be sure to follow the links to their associated websites because there is a lot more to see.

Hope you like your stay guys! ooh and watch your feet in the (blog)abong there, some nasties like to think it’s feeding time…

Ronel Jordaan is a a textile designer from Gauteng in South Africa. Inspired by nature, she gives “free reign to her imagination” using felt as a preferred medium and sometimes combining it with other natural fibres like cotton and silk. Ronel has trained women in the art of felting and these women now produce the designs with her and have also begun creating their own designs.

Stunning work Ronel. My faves are the rock cushions. For more visit her
website here…

Who else receives the gift of Bob Sherman’s Daily Doses in their inbox each day (thanks to DesignDNA for leading me to him!)? Bob won me over with his Daily Doses when I read that he sends an image and a quote or two each day. HEAVEN for my obsession confession #1! And after a day of mayhem, it is the nicest email to receive.

Noticing that Bob has such a variety of images from all over the world, I thought I’d ask him if he had been to Africa and if he would allow me to borrow some images for one of my Africa In The Spotlight posts. He replied in the affirmative, and lead me to a video that his fiancé Beth Chapman had made to raise awareness for the children of South Africa. I watched the video, titled “Sometimes I feel Like A Motherless Child” which is accompanied by Beth’s magical voice, and another piece of my heart promptly fell out of its little shell and crashed to the floor. A beautifully created video from Beth and Bob, please make the time today to watch it.

World powers have been shocked and horrified by the violence in Kenya – it is or ‘was’ one of the most stable countries in Africa. Over 500 people have been killed, and there are recent reports of a massacre of about 30 people sheltering in a church near the western town of Eldoret.

But what does that have to do with you? Everything. This is happening in our world and the world is our backyard. Imagine yourself standing at your window, watching your children and neighbours playing in the backyard and then noticing that one is bashing another. And then you turn away and go and have a cup of tea.

The petition now has over 10 000 signatures from the international community. Just by signing your name you are helping to restore democracy and peace in Kenya – that is the beauty of the internet these days – it brings all of us together to be able to make a difference in the world. It empowers us to show that we care what goes on in Kenya and the rest of the world, just like it was going on in our own backyard. It gives us the means to speak to our world leaders quickly and efficiently and guide them.

So let’s say you’ve had your cup of tea, hoping that the bashing between the kids has settled itself, and you decide to take another look out your back window. Guess what you see: your entire backyard destroyed – plants ripped up, your expensive imported palms on fire, complete destruction. You didn’t think forward to consider that the bullying and bashing could actually take direct affect on you. If you acted swiftly and intervened you could have saved that child from suffering and saved your backyard, and more over been a model for all the kids in the backyard, showing them that it is possible to speak up when you know something is just not right.

So, to show support for Kenya we can sign the petition, we can support African designers and artists who support their local community which in turn will help put the power of peace for their country in their own hands, and we can advise our friends to do the same. That way, we all enjoy a cup of tea.

Thanks again Bob, for such beautiful images and for your support.