Posts by Nyasha Denhere

A farmer who is delighted when people enjoy healthy plant based diets. I find peace in blogging about food and nutrition. Very passionate about improving the world system and ending hunger and poverty

brown oyster 🍄 mushroom

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

hey my friends! It has been long. The month of April was packed with a lot of adventurous activities.

yes, I mean what I am saying, We have just started growing our brown oyster and it’s so amazing that the results came perfect. We had our first flash in the last quarter of April. Can you imagine the joy that befalleth us when we harvested our first mushrooms.

Oyster mushrooms are very delicious, and packed with health benefits. They are the perfect choice for vegetarians. So if you are a vegetarian and you in Manicaland, we are here for you. We have the freshest mushroom. It is very easy to start your mushroom farm. All you need is your substrate, spawn, grow room, a perfect environment, yes it’s simple.

Next week I will be introducing you to a new journey of mushroom farming and I am quite sure you will like it.

So fo now stay put. I am here to just share my happiness with you my friends.

Guys! I am harvesting and harvesting and, this is my month of giving, l am just giving out because I have plenty fresh mushroom at home.

For now just chill waiting for an exciting journey of mushroom growing, I promise, I will be your companion in this journey. Protein alternatives are the way to live chao.

IMPORTANCE OF INDIGENOUS FOOD SYSTEMS.

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Climate change has taught societies that they can not do away with indigenous food systems because they are resilient to shocks. Let me explain why indigenous food systems are important :

  • Traditional food contribute to health and wellbeing. Many many years ago, there were no hospitals but people lived long and health. This means that their local food systems played an important role in enhancing their immunity. So it is wiser to consider exploiting indigenous food sources
  • Indigenous food systems maintains and enhances biodiversity. Indigenous food grows naturally allowing other species to grow freely without disturbing the ecosystem. For example, African bees produce honey in the forests, the production of honey does not disturb the growth of trees but human beings benefit from both trees and the honey produced
  • Communities are also benefiting from sustainably gathering wild fruits, weeds, and mushrooms. Many villagers are making a living from gathering edible mushroom and selling them in streets.
  • Sustainable ways of producing, preparing, preserving and consuming. Most of the indigenous food is very easy to store and preserve. For example many people in Africa preserve their food by sun drying which does not pose any problem to the planet earth.
  • Food is not over processed and free from unnecessary additives. Indigenous food is free from diseases caused by chemicals used during preservation.
  • Proximity : Food is produced within communities allowing members to eat what they want at any time. This reduces transportation costs and pollution caused by shipping food from other countries.
  • Resilience: traditional food systems can withstand shocks , for example each and every region has special grain suitable for for a certain environment. In drought stricken areas, people grow finger millet and sorghum which are drought resistant

So you see, our indigenous food systems have relevance to our livelihoods. We can save our planet by embracing indigenous food systems

We still have a chance to save the planet earth

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Hey my friends! I hope you are doing well and you are enjoying every profit from your businesses. As you are producing, there is someone ready to consume, but my question today is, “Have you ever thought of what is making you produce or consume?”

I know many people believe that it is their unique tactics that enable them to beat others in the market, ok fine! I do not deny it, for you to be successful in every business, you need to employ strategies that will maximise your outcomes.

But where are you getting all the factors of production, who holds them? Ok, let us not waste time.

Everything that we use during production and consumption comes from the earth. Mother earth is a provider for all, She naturally provided all natural resources, living or none living and for human beings to produce made- made goods and services, the earth provides a perfect environment. Although people have tried to manipulate some environments, the earth has proved to be the best mother. Thousands of years ago, the earth was beautiful. Mountains and forests were home to a variety of animal and birds. Rivers flowed continuously, oceans and seas were also homes to a variety of life. Life was just good. There was a natural ecosystem that ensured everything is in harmony.

Of all the living creatures, man proved to be controlling activities on earth, his control has ensured that he benefited more than other creatures. Due to his dominion, man has dominated every part of the earth. This has disturbed the natural ecosystem and has led to considerable damage of the earth. The activities of man has destroyed flora and fauna. Things are falling apart. Currently, everyone is raising alarm on the rate at which the ozone layer is being depleted. The climate is changing, countries are experiencing extreme wheather conditions. Rainfall patterns are now erratic, everything is just upside down. The most hard hit countries are developing countries, they do not have good technologies to predict weather patterns, families are vulnerable to extreme hunger and poverty.The future looks bleak, it seems as if the earth is exhausted and angry with the man’s behaviour.

What should we do now? If the earth is being destroyed at this alarming rate, it means that there is no future for the earth, if the earth is futureless, all creatures are also futureless because if the mother becomes helpless, how can the offsprings survive?

The good thing is that we still have a chance to change, we can still employ solutions that can protect our mother.

Let’s s rise and unite and build a sustainable future for everyone lest we all become extinct.

I know that you are asking me a question in your heart, and you are saying, “what can I do as an individual to save the earth. It seems impossible, but if we put our hands and heads together we can be somewhere.

let us build a culture of responsibility and accountability in our heart. Do responsible production and consumption. Consider sustainable production, practice recycling, reduce waste and reuse what you have.

Your company should be known for good production practices. Inspire others by introducing new production methods that are innovative and are saving our mother earth.

Never be greed! Greed has led the world into shame. It’s because of being greed that you cannot think of generations to come. Being greed causes people to emit harmful gases into the atmosphere.

Yes, we all need profits but think of the people around you and planet earth where you are doing your production activities. Think twice before you continue to cause damage to the earth. Think of how you will enjoy the profits if the earth is destroyed. We can only have a brighter future if we change our ways of thinking and producing.

A brighter future for the earth is also a brighter future of it’s inhabitants

Lets all unite and build a sustainable systems that allows the earth to be a safe place to dwell.

Importance of water in the food systems.

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Many people do not have an appreciation of the importance of water in the food systems, there is nothing that we can eat without the aid of water. Water plays a pivotal role in bringing food on the table.

Let me give you a second, be silent and just think of how the food you ate today is made, what is the process? What quantities of water was involved at any stage.

yep! I know you have visualised it yourself and you found out that water is just important. It is clear that we cannot eat if water is not present. Therefore everyday is a water day. Look at the water bodies around you. How are you conserving them . The truth is without water no profession can thrive. One day I was shocked when a young man said he did not know why God allows rain to fall. I started telling him the importance of water in agriculture and he said he was not a farmer so he was not even concerned about rain falling or not. This shows that he did not understand that if rains does not fall it will affect every citizen in an indirect way but it would affect the farmer directly. So we need to be thankful for all the water bodies that we have and since we all know that there is climate change, it’s true that many people will find it difficult to access clean water. Yesterday was world water day, but how did you celebrate it? what measures have you put in place to ensure that your community have a sustainable water source. Presently it is quite clear that we cannot rely on water from rivers and dams only because rivers are drying up due to continuous droughts.

Today I am talking about underground water.

did you know that underground water is not visible but it’s positive effects are visible to veryone. In every community, people are sinking boreholes which are tens of meters deep so that they access clean sustainable water. Underground water has proved to be an answer to our problems in this period of climate change.

So if you realise that there is need for safe water in your community, the first thing that comes in your mind is having a well or a borehole.

Although many well wishers are playing great roles to ensure that members of the society have sustainable water sources, the members of the society are the ones that can work against people’s effort. When you move around, you even witness treated water gushing out, the community is reluctant to report about burst pipes. Some they do not care, they use tapes and leave them running. The reality is dams and Rivers are drying up, it also means that very soon it is going to be difficult for people to easily access underground water.

When ever you think of eating or drinking, think about how food is made, this will always remind you to take good care of the water that we have. If it is possible learn how to harvest rain water so that you can have continuous supply of water even if rain goes away.

For those who once lived and stayed in rural areas understand how difficult it can be to access clean water. In the village, women and girls travel long distances in search of safe water. They even carry it on their heads, it’s a painful experience that has been witnessed and is still being witnessed by many villagers. Some find it difficult to access only a few litres of safe water to drink. Only this people are in a better position to tell the world how water is important. In some drought stricken areas, people can hardly grow vegetables making many people to have poor nutrition.

This shows that water is as important for life on this earth

Exploiting wild fruits: Annona Cherimola – the wild custard Apple (Maroro)

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

The month of January was an exciting one for me. I spent much of my time in the village. I had the privilege of tasting a lot of wild fruits that I had long forgotten about. Among all the wild fruits that I consumed, I favoured the wild custard Apple .

Those who grew up in the village may not understand why I like them most.This is because the fruits occur naturally in Zimbabwe and there is no limit in eating them as long as supply is available .Therefore abundance may cause people to undermine the value of things they have.

Custard wild apple grows naturally on a bushy tree, when unripe, it will be green in colour. Ripened custard Apple is yellow in colour. This fruit is sweet and has a soft texture. I grew up eating a lot of it but I did not enjoy it the way I did this year.

I guess it was because of the way we prepared it that changed the whole story.

prepare your fruit like this.

  • Remove the outer skin and all the seeds
  • Add this to your fruit salad, try this I tell you, your taste buds will feel another thing
  • If you do not like this, you can also blend mangoes, wild custard Apple, banana to come up with a creamy juice , you can even put some plain yoghurt in your smoothies.

After trying this recipe, if you are in Zimbabwe you will always find yourself in the forests searching for custard Apples.

besides the natural sweet taste, you are also going to enjoy lots of health benefits the fruit is packed with vitamin C, magnesium and potassium. The fruit promotes heart and eye health.

so exploiting wild fruits allows us to enjoy life at lower costs.

baked okra

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

This season okra is abundant in Southern Africa. I really know by this time noone is craving for it because it’s readily available. I know there is someone who is saying, “I nolonger want to hear about okra again”, but I tell you not after reading the whole text. If possible you must read faster so that you quickly reach to the recipe. If you try it, you never stop it again, you will always keep your oven busy.

So let’s start baking okra.

You need

  • Young and tender pods sliced length wise into chips
  • Some few drops of white vinegar
  • Spices e.g black pepper
  • Salt

Eveyone knows that okra is slippery so how can we turn it into a snack.

Simple dip the slices of okra into vinegar for more than 20minutes, there after wash with fresh running water.

Pat until dry.

Add 3 teaspoons of olive oil and mix together with your favourite spices.

EnSure that this well mixed in your okra.

Turn your oven on and in a non stick greased baking tray add your okra.

Then bake until golden brown and crunchy.

Serve your okra snacks, if needed you can season with salt but I like it without salt.

This is delicious I tell you, you will never forget me and you will always befriend your oven.

Try this recipe and experience the magic of plant based diets.

Amaranth microgreens and food presentation .

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Hey my friends! I hope you are doing well in this new season, Actually compliments of the new season. I am very optimistic that this year will bring you joy and happiness. Remember ! A lot of things contribute to a better life style and one of the contributors is good food.

At times we have good food around us but we cannot appreciate it, we believe that we will have better food if we go to other places. Today I would like to encourage you to exploit the available food in your pantry or in your garden.

As An advocate for plant based diets, I always want you to make use of the available fruit and vegetables in a unique way.

So,

Today we are talking about food presentation and nutrition using microgreens.

We are using red Amaranth microgreens . Red Amaranth is a versatile plant, it has high nutrition content and is a very good plant to decorate and add colour to your plant.

Choose red Amaranth microgreens to decorate you plate but at the same time be assured that your clients and family are also going to boost their immune system.

With red Amaranth, you will never go wrong as the microgreens are eye catching, many people will definitely taste your food and they will enjoy their day.

So go and try to add red amaranth microgreens in your plate and enjoy a double benefit.

Using passive hydroponics to grow herbs.

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Did you know that farming can be very funny and interesting. You do not need to follow a rule book to be the best farmer. All you need is to be experimental so that you can come up with simple and easy ways to grow your plants.

So, today we are growing coriander using hydroponics. When we hear the word hydroponics, we think of the complicated method of growing. I know you are actually thinking of energy, air pumps, the cost of procuring grow profiles, substrate and water pumps.

But did you know that the method that you employ depends on:

  • Your income
  • Space
  • Availability of electricity and other resources.

So now we are going to learn how we can grow coriander in a passive hydroponic environment which is cheap and simple to construct.

Resources required.

  • A grow profile, in this case we are going to use green house plastic, bricks , one square metre chip board and net cups
  • Coriander seedlings that has been raised hydroponically
  • 30litres of borehole water. The water that I used had a pH of around 6.0
  • Grow media. In my area pine bark is readily available so we are going to use pine bark but the choice is yours , choose a media which is cheaper for you but we are not going to use soil.
  • Nutrient solution: there so many nutrient solutions available in your area so I advice you choose the cheapest and readily available solution. Here I am using aqua fert.

Come on ! Let’s start working on our grow profile. This is where our coriander is going to grow in.

Measure a 1m by 1m space which is at a position which receives full sunshine .

MaKe sure your area is gentle , I mean even or flat so that we have an even distribution of water in the profile.

Use bricks to form your square, make sure you have two layers of bricks above.

Now, if satisfied with the slope of your area, measure 2square mètres of doubled green house plastic.Ok you can use any plastic that is thick and ensure that your plastic will not tear when you pour water inside.

Layer the plastic inside your box made from bricks and allow the plastic to spill over in all borders so that it effectively holds water.

Pour 30litres of water in your grow profile and add ten to 15 mililitres of nutrient solution.

Spread the nutrients evenly in the water.

Drill holes on your chip flat board that fits your netcups. Make sure your board is flat and firm so that it can hold all the plants without breaking.

Lift Your flat board which has holes which fit your netcups and place on top of your water tank that you have made with plastic and bricks. Make sure it is fitting well on your tank .

Depending on your grow media, prepare your media the usual way and transplant your seedling to the grow profile Coriander can be transplanted in groups so you can have four coriander plants in one netcup.

When you are transplanting, make sure your seedlings has a long tape root. Ensure that the tape root is deeped in water when you put it in the grow profile.

ThIs is the easiest way of growing coriander. You can even go for a week without checking on your plants. Do not worry about oxygen. Next time I will explain how plants survive in a passive hydroponics environment.

I accidentally discovered this way of growing herbs when I forgot to transplant my coriander, when I came back after two weeks my coriander was nolonger seedlings but they had grown very big and healthy.

Since then I am religiously using this method to save water, energy, time and other costs associated with active hydroponic farming.

The most important thing is to check on your ph when you are transplanting your coriander.

NB: your water tank can be anything that holds water and allow plant roots to grow inside.

That’s it for today , please enjoy farming.

You can only enjoy healthy food by investing in these kitchen gadgets

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Whenever we think of good food, we visualize and see ourselves going out for a treat. We were made to believe that good food is found at the restaurant or at the hotel.

Did you know that you can also create your own hotel at home and enjoy good food as long as you live? What you only need to do is invest in simple kitchen tools that makes food preparation easier. You need some simple tools that will help you with good food presentation.

At Times we take a long period of time preparing food because we do not have the right tools. I also observed that many people may not eat certain food because the food is badly prepared or presented.

Let me tell you an interesting and heartbreaking story.

Ok, the story goes like.

We grew up in the village and our parents were peasant farmers. We always had abundant food because my parents liked farming and they still like it.

Our family would grow a variety of grains, sweet potatoes, potatoes, pumpkins , varieties of squashes, gourds, round nuts, groundnuts, soya beans, yams. I tell you the list is endless. In our garden we would grow a variety of vegetables.

My father was very fortunate to have worked with the whites so he knew some food which we did not know. He tried by all means to bring good food on the table but we did not know how to cook, prepare, present and consume. He even started his orchard in the village. We had oranges, lemons, mangoes, peaches, plums, apples, mulberries, gooseberries, loquats, 🍇 ,paw paws and a variety of herbs.

The unfortunate thing was that we did not know how to eat all this. I still remember, if we were eating watermelons and cucumbers, we did not have time to cut them into nice pieces. So I did not appreciate the value of the food that we had at home. All I wanted is to go in town to buy french fries. Little did we know that we were capable of frying our own at home.

When it comes to summer squashes, we did not know that they are eaten when they are very young and tender. So we would wait for them to grow big and firm. Wen we tried to boil them , we found out that they did not taste good. This made us to think that summer squashes were not good food .

We also had a lot of gooseberries and mulberries but we did not use them because we did not know how to prepare them.

I only came to the point if realizing that we had treasure in the village when I came to town. I started seeing the prices of fruits and vegetables that we used to throw away. How people were buying gooseberries in town? How they were buying passion fruits, how they were buying oranges and even lemons. I was shocked. In our village we used to know that lemons are useless fruits which people should enjoy without paying anything.

I Started making my own research on why people buy the fruits that we even throw away. That is when someone told me how they eat and prepare different food.

That same day I went to the market, I bought some few yellow sweet potatoes. I prepared my salad and soup with them. Guys I tell you, this was delicious. This way of preparing food showed me that people are not enjoying good food because they lack information on food preparation and the simple tools they need to do so.

I realized that many people in the village can access good food cheaply but noone has informed them on how to eat what they have .

So today I will talk about a few important gadgets that every family must have so that food preparation becomes cheap.

  • Peelers. Many fruits need to be peeled before eating. If you do not have a peeler, it means that you will use a knife. At times the knife may not do the job very well, you can end up cutting yourself e.t.c. With a peeler you can remove the rinds of potatoes, yams and even cucumbers. This will make life easier and it will motivate people to prepare more food.
  • Fruit cutter. We usually cut our fruit using a knife. If we want amazing shapes, it can take ages to cut many fruits. Fruit cutters will help us to have different shapes that are wonderful to look at.
  • Grinder. Some recipes Call for powders that may not be in our kitchen but If we have a grinder we can make our own powder like chilli powders even onion and garlic powder.
  • Grater. Nowadays these come in a variety of shapes and blades, some blades will allow you to form spirals, squares, rectangles and so forth. It’s difficult to use a knife for this.
  • Blender . Blenders are powered by electricity but nowadays people can buy portable blenders which are rechargeable. This allow people from all walks of life to enjoy smoothies at home.
  • Mortar and pestle . If you do not have an electric grinder, you can also choose to buy a small mortar and pestle that will enable you to grind your herbs fruits and vegetables into powder.

For now if you do not have the above simple tools, please make an effort to have some and next week I will list some more gadgets which are important.

You will easily enjoy plant based food if you invest in simple kitchen tools

Exploiting jute plant leaves(Derere renyonje) for food.

Posted on by Nyasha Denhere

Hey my friends! It has been long, first, my apologies, I could not connect with you for almost a week because of the tight schedule I had. Please forgive me.

I missed blogging but anyway, I am back, not only back but back with another source of nutritious food which is readily available and found in arable lands especially here in Africa.

What can this be, I know you are asking me questions and today I do not want guess work, so let me get straight into the topic.

JUTE.

We used to sustainably gather this from the forest. Whenever the first rains fall, I always think of this weed. In Zimbabwe it naturally grows in summer and does not need any special attention. As long as rains are pouring religiously you are assured of a continuous supply.

I know you now want to know which part of the jute plant is edible.

No Problem, let’s go!

The tender leaves, flowers and tender pods are all consumed. The leaves are best for me, I do not miss my summer, I have to visit the village only for this.

How do you cook the jute leaves, flowers and pods.

Those who stay in town who are a little bit informed do not cook these parts of the plant. They take the tender parts of the plant and toss in their salads. It’s good this way.

But others will stir fry and add it in their dishes. If you over stir fry, jute is slippery, I tell you, you will not like it especially if you are not Zimbabwean.

BuT Zimbabweans they like the slippery part of the jute leaves.

Today I would like to teach you how rural folks in Zimbabwe prepare their jute meal and how they use the cooked jute leaves as a relish.

The Zimbabwean traditional way if cooking jute leaves.

The most important thing needed is an agent that will break down the leaves into slippery component.

NB: jute is a substitute of okra in my country, so I am about to talk about is the same way that is used to prepare okra in a traditional way in Zimbabwe.

Ok, let me continue.

the agent that is needed is soda. But people are rarely using soda because they want to be healthful so they have resorted back to their traditional method of making an alkaline solution using residues from plants . People from my village use dried maize Cobbs to prepare their agent. Every region has its own way of preparing this liquid, I went to Nyanga, in Hwesa to be specific, in that area sorghum and millet is grown there therefore they use finger millet plant residues.

How To prepare the agent?

Gather your maize Cobbs that has been shelled and make sure they are dry.

Put them on a clean metal plate or sheet. Burn them until they are reduced to ashes.

Wait so that they become cold.

WheN They are cold place them in a cup filled half way with water, add some ashes up until only 2cm of water is on top of the ashes. Stir gently and leave to settle for about 30mins.

Strain the resulting liquid in a clean cup.

This brownish liquid is your agent that we are going to use to prepare our jute.

Lets cook our jute leaves now.

You need

  • 2 cups of cold water
  • 1 teaspoon of your prepared agent
  • 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
  • 2cups of freshly picked jute leaves chopped
  • One large tomato
  • Shallots or any other onion cut into pieces
  • A pot
  • Wooden spoon
  • With this method you do not need a lid

Now empty all the contents in a pot and put on stove top.

Allow this to come to boil, make sure you stir occasionally and beating the content.

Please do not go away put all your attention on the pot. If you are too experimental, experiment by going away for three minutes when the pot is now boiling and you will witness with your eyes what will happen, so I am not going to tell you what will happen, it’s your home work to find out,

Continue beating and stirring occasionally for 15 minutes, you will realise that your contents will become a very slippery porridge that is very delicious. The amount of water will determine the thickness of your output. At this stage make sure you have reduced the heat, even if I do not tell you to reduce your heat, there is something that will happen that will force you to reduce your heat.

This is how jute leaves are cooked in a traditional way in Zimbabwe. This way is also used to prepare okra in Zimbabwe.

If you hear a true Zimbabwean saying he is craving for okra, cook it this way , you will become his best friend. Frying okra and jute is contemporary and it’s not very popular with senior Citizens.

If you do not have any appetite please try jute leaves

Jute leaves are consumed together with Sadza(Zimbabwe’s Staple food).

There are vitamins, iron, magnesium and other minerals in jute.

Please try jute leaves for your good health.

When you hear the word jute, you think of of ropes, bags and sandals but try jute for food.

Bye for now!