Choconana Muffins on the Mountains

A recent article that was Written By Jackie Collins that featured in the zimtrader! Mountain club gets famous :D

 

 

One of my favourite things to do on a Saturday afternoon is to go on a walk with the Mountain Club. It is fantastic to be able to go to totally new places in Zimbabwe due to the wealth of experience of some of the older members. Of course, in the past the members were mainly what my husband disparagingly called, “old cotton tops.” However, I have always found that I struggle to keep up with the older members, who are like tough mountain goats and get up to the top with no trouble at all. I have to confess that I often need the help of a few jelly babies to manage some of those steep climbs. Recently, I have found it to be such fun, meeting different and interesting people on these walks. These days this vibrant club is thriving and going from strength to strength, attracting younger members as well as the older folk. In fact, we often get the odd tourist and I always love talking to tourists as they always remind you of just how lucky we are to live in Zimbabwe. In fact on the last few sessions, I have met tourists from Australia, a country very similar to our own country in some ways, although I have to say after our LSD (Look, See and Decide) trip we did actually decide that we preferred Zimbabwe. This was mainly due to the fact my husband was rather put out when he had to watch football matches in the early hours of the morning, and also the fact that I just felt it was so far away from home that I would never get to see my parents. It seems to me that Australians often seem to travel on one long trip around the world and then settle down, get married and have children. So I always feel with the Australian tourists that they are really good adverts for Zimbabwe, as they will share their experiences of Zimbabwe all over the world with fellow travellers. On this trip, the Australian tourist was a photographer and I expect he will influence a whole hoard of tourists to come to Zimbabwe when they see his beautiful photographs. He just couldn't stop snapping away as he had totally fallen in love with Zimbabwe, which is very common among tourists. It is so heartbreaking to think of all that accommodation waiting for visitors and yet often almost empty, when we could have such a flourishing tourist trade. With just a few tweaks, like for example improving the border posts, mending pot holes, attacking the rubbish situation and upgrading and modernising the police force, we could be really pulling in the tourists. I have to say the highlight of the Mountain Club walk is the most amazing tea that is produced at the end of the trip. After a long walk in the dusty bush, somehow tea just tastes like the nectar of the gods and it is a real treat to tuck into the authentic home- made rusks, and other goodies on offer. This week I am focussing on my favourite things, rather like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music to avoid gloomy thoughts after reading that 700 businesses have closed down in the Independent. I suppose that at least some new businesses have started up and although one wonders about how long they might be viable, at least there are still some people confident enough to give it a go. At St John's Fair, one of my favourite stalls, Zarelle Furniture, was selling very pretty notice boards and blackboards, and I quickly snapped up one for my study. I have to say as a teacher, it was rather a shock to walk into the classroom one day to find my dear old blackboard removed. Now I have my own little one to write up all the things I have to remember in one day, a very useful item I must say. Then, after many friends saying that I should visit the Ginger Tree, a shop near the Bistro in Borrowdale, I finally went there and discovered that it is indeed my favourite shop in Harare. I can see that a fairly high percentage of my wages will go there in future as I just fell in love with so many of the things for the home there. I just adored the beautifully restored old colonial furniture made from wood like Burmese teak and oak. I also fell in love with a crystal chandelier, a decorative cake stand, quaint tins and lace edged serviettes which I might just have to treat myself to. This is one of my favourite muffin recipes as it is very easy to make and ideal to take when you are asked to bring a plate of eats. I think I will have to make them next time I go to the Mountain Club as I have not contributed to the tea for a while. 

185g cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder 
4 medium bananas 
160g sugar 
1 egg, beaten 
80ml oil 
100g dark chocolate 
60 mls milk if necessary 

Turn on the oven to 180° and grease muffin tin. Chop up the chocolate; this is the hardest part of this recipe. It is a bit of a fag, but it is much better than grating it. At this stage I usually hide the chocolate in a covered bowl as invariably the children come in wanting a taste and it quickly disappears. The melted chocolate in these muffins makes them taste really yummy and as a bonus you then do not have to worry about icing the muffins because they are delicious on their own. 

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mash bananas and then combine with sugar, beaten egg and oil. Mix well. Add sifted dry ingredients, chocolate and milk, if necessary. Mix until just combined. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 180° for about 20 minutes.