Doing Good While Eating Well, Again.

Logo copyright Jambo Cafe; all rights reserved.

Home again. And absolutely beat.

We had some business to take care of in Santa Fe, in addition to picking up some supplies. We had to go today, because snow is due tonight, and we're supposed to pick up several inches of the stuff tomorrow. But no matter how early we go, it always seems to take longer than planned.

The one good thing about the trip is that it gave us a chance to have lunch out, which is rare. And when we go to Santa Fe, we nearly always go to the same place: Jambo Café. I've written about it here before: It's owned and run by Ahmed Obo, from Lamu Island off the coast of Kenya. He serves real African food, and like most indigenous foods I've had in my life, it's the very best kind: much more home-style than haute cuisine, and unbelievably good. Also modestly priced, with extremely generous portions; my lunch leftovers will be dinner in a little while. That would be island-spiced chicken peanut stew with rice and roti (traditional flatbread), and it is serious comfort food. Wings has the lamb stew and a couple of beef kebabs waiting, along with his own order of roti. 

Mr. Obo has also opened Jambo Imports, two doors down from the restaurant in the strip mall where both are located. Dangerous place. Beautiful African-made art, craft items, textiles, spices . . . in other words, kind of our idea of heaven. Again, everything is modestly priced, but also clearly very well made. And I now have a place to get pomegranate molasses and roasted coconut milk. [Yes, I do cook, believe it or not.]

But there's another, very important aspect to Mr. Obo's businesses, and it's why, aside from the quality, we like being able to give our own small amount of business to him. I wrote about it last year, so I won't go into detail again. Suffice to say that he has used a healthy chunk of the profits from his restaurant (and now import shop, too) to set up child and maternal health clinics back home on Lamu Island. 

Mr. Obo has set up the Jambo Kids Foundation, and all monies donated go straight to programming work; he picks up the overhead costs. You can read more about his work here. So if you have a few bucks that you don't know what to do with, consider making a tax-deductible donation to this effort; it's important. And, of course, if you live in the area (or are traveling here), don't miss out on the food, too.

Except as otherwise indicated, all content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.