Memories of My Grandma….

She refused to eat any type of margarine or artificial butter; she preferred the real butter made from cow’s milk

She never used any kind of hydrogenated fat for cooking; she always used ghee which is also made from cow’s milk

If you talk with her and use an English word, she catches it and deciphers it
without asking you and will always use it too while talking

She always advised that when going to sleep, never leave knives or any weapon in the open

She did not like eating anything that is made with powder milk, unless you trick her by not telling her the truth. She knew that powder milk is made from corn (I have no idea who told her that)

She will not eat any food that is left open in an area where there are flies. She told us she read a book about the flies and how nasty they are and has no desire to share food with them.

She never went to school but taught herself how to read Kiswahili.

Had a problem with lazy people; if you sleep during the day you are lazy, if you wake up late in the morning you are lazy, you must be awake at least 6am in the morning.

Refused to eat any processed ready to eat food. You have to cook from fresh ingredients for her to eat.

Rice is our staple food and her rice must be made with coconut milk always

She always preferred cooking using fresh coconut oil, which we used to make in our home most of the time.

If you really want to make her happy then you would cook her favourite dish in one of her legendary clay pots.

She never brushed her teeth with toothpaste and plastic toothbrush; instead she used salt with the traditional brushing stick. Amazingly her teeth were very white and never had any problems with her teeth.

She always dressed up in the traditional Swahili attire (kanga/leso), would only wear a dress if she has to go outside the house.