Well, that was easy!

I took a recipe for gluten-free banana bread and thought I would experiment in making it dairy-free and sugar free as well.  These things always take a failure or two before getting it right, but this time I simply substituted the butter for coconut oil and the sugar for some stevia, and viola!

Living in Uganda doesn't exactly afford you the luxury of going to the grocery store to buy a gluten-free flour mix, so I often have to experiment with recipes using the flours I have.  These gluten-free pancakes were easy to make and had a great fluffiness to them that won some approval!

Sometimes living in a foreign land and attempting to blend in can really wear on you. So, when Americans living abroad have a chance to get together and celebrate our own culture and heritage, we're not afraid to let our American out.

One of my favorite things in the whole world is to sit with a friend and chat over a steaming cup - a simple, but always deeply gratifying time.  From tea parties with my niece to sipping tea with Bedouin men in Jordanian desert, I have many memories made over hot water and herbs. I've since experimented with a few different blends from my own herbs and from other spices.  Here are some of my favorites:

An idea we brought back from our honeymoon in Madagascar - spicing our own rum!

Life is a scavenger hunt and Uganda is a great place to search for unexpected delights.  I'm always scouring the road side shops or glancing around the ground to see what may be right under my nose.  Here are a few of my latest and favorite finds in my never-ending scavenger hunt called life:

I plan to use this blog and my own experiences to uplift the local, the natural, the simple, the healthy, and the traditional.  Allow me to begin by featuring some elements in my own home.

I haven't shampooed my hair in almost a year. And before you run far, far away, let me explain.

There may be no major craft stores in Uganda and there are very few stores with reasonably-priced home wares, but that doesn't mean that you can't decorate your home nicely. 

I was brainstorming ideas on how I could display several of my photos in our home, when Eric came up with the idea of making a wire mesh photo display

One of my favorite things in the whole world is to sit with a friend and chat over a steaming cup - a simple, but always deeply gratifying time.  From tea parties with my niece to sipping tea with Bedouin men in Jordanian desert, I have many memories made over hot water and herbs. I've since experimented with a few different blends from my own herbs and from other spices.  Here are some of my favorites:

Although I've made my fair share of mistakes, I have found herbs easy enough to grow and way more rewarding than I had predicted.  I kept adding more plants whenever I could find the starters, and now my herb garden is one of my favorite parts of my home.  I really love being able to use fresh herbs in my own cooking while also learning how other cultures use spices and herbs.

I am definitely no gardening veteran, but I found growing and harvesting coriander seeds so easy and its something fun and new to experiment with in the kitchen.

Living in a tropical environment provides plenty of life to wonder at and I love the thought that my small plot of land can nurture so many different forms of life.

There is little else so satisfying as looking at a plate of food entirely made and grown by yourself.  Now, I'm just getting started on gardening and homesteading, so tonight it was fun to make these simple caprese bites as an easy appetizer from what I had available in the garden!