Fourth of July Fruit Flag.

Shrimp Dodo

"Shrimp, just Shrimp"

Moriam Olowo

Everyone went through the infectious stage of gizdodo and as delicious as that was, nothing beats a good shrimp dodo. If you’re a shrimp lover like me, you won’t stop thinking up ways to add shrimp to your everyday meal. I once made a shrimp sandwich so trust me, I love shrimp. Since I knew how to make gizdodo, I just applied the same principle here and Voila!

Ingredients:

·         1 pound shrimp

·         3 large ripe plantains

·         ½ of a medium sized red bell pepper, chopped.

·         ½ of a medium sized green bell pepper, chopped.

·         ½ of a medium sized orange bell pepper, chopped.

·         1 cup of thick blended pepper ( I usually have blended pepper in my freezer, makes it easier when I need to cook anything that only requires little of it)

·         Salt to taste

·         Canola oil

·         1 cube Maggi

Instructions:

1.   Dice the plantain, add salt and fry until its golden brown, set aside.

2.   Pour pepper into a medium sized pot and let it cook for about 6 minutes, add shrimp, all chopped peppers, seasoning and 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Let it cook for another 5 minutes.

3.   Add in the fried plantain and stir until everything is properly mixed together. Let it cook for another 5-7 minutes until the pepper is sort of dried on the dodo and shrimp before serving.

In the picture below, I served mine with potatoes because I was craving potatoes but it can be served as a side dish with jollof, fried and white rice.

Baked Chicken with potatoes and Kale.

“I was a Kale hater but now, I'm still not a lover"

My sister is a lover of potatoes hence the constant struggle to give up completely on McDonald fries. Boiled, fried, baked, she will eat it but I don’t know if she has eaten raw potatoes. That would be weird.

We have been trying to eat different types of potatoes just so we can get out of the everyday Russet potato taste hence the Yukon gold potatoes. Kale was a vegetable that I was just like umm I’m not so sure but hey I’ll try almost everything so I decided to figure out what the best way to cook it would be for me.

For this dish, you need;

·         2 chicken whole legs

·         1 pound Kale stem

·         1 pound medium sized Yukon gold potatoes

·         ¼ cup extra virgin oil

·         Salt to taste

·         Ground pepper

·         1 teaspoon paprika

·         1 cup chopped onion

The quantity for the ingredients should be at your own discretion because it depends on how many people you’re cooking for. This serves 4-6 people.

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 450 degrees, chop onions, kale and cut potatoes into two or three depending on the size of the individual potatoes.  

2.      In a baking or roasting pan, toss kale, potatoes, onion, olive oil and the seasoning and spread out in the pan.

3.      For big chicken pieces, I usually cook them on the stove before boiling them because it saves me the time of having to pop them back into the over if they are not cooked all the way.

4.      Cook with salt, pepper, onion and paprika and brush with olive oil before setting it on top of the kale and potatoes; cover with a foil and bake for 20 minutes.

5.      Remove the foil and let it bake for another 25-30 minutes till the chicken is cooked completely and vegetables are tender.

6.      The juices from the chicken should keep the vegetable and potatoes moist and delicious.

Yam Porridge (Asaro)

If there's anything I crave often but eat rarely, its yam porridge.

Moriam Olowo

Ingredients

· Yam

· 1/2 cup Palm oil or canola oil for health conscious people.

· Salt to taste

· 2 Maggi cubes

· I small onion

· 1 small tomato

· 1 bell pepper

·  2 scotch bonnet peppers

·  1 teaspoon curry powder

Optional ingredients

· Stock fish

· I've used mackerel fish also cut into small pieces

Directions

1.    Start out by blending the pepper to be very fine. It shouldn’t be too thick or too watery, just somewhere in the middle.

2.    Cut yam into small pieces. I realized there are two types of porridge eaters in the world, those who like more solid yam pieces like my sister and those who like more of the mashed yam like me. Well there are also those who don't care so three types of people i guess.

3.    If you're more like me, cut the yam smaller to make it easier to mash and if not you can have bigger pieces but still small enough.

4.    Pour pepper in non-stick pot, add chopped yam, Maggi and salt and let it cook for about 20 minutes then add the oil and let it cook for another 15 minutes.

5.    If you are using any of the optional ingredients, now is the time to add it.

6.    When the yam is soft, you can now start mashing it to your preference. I use a whisk to mash my yam because i still want little lumps of yam in it compared to using a potato masher.

7.    Mash a little and stir often so you can see the consistency you want instead of just mashing continuously and you end up with mashed yam.

8.    Let it cook on low heat for an additional 5 minutes and serve with fried fish stew.



Kudos to Dami for the fish stew. J

Baked Scotch Egg

          "If you're going to put all your eggs in one basket, make sure it tastes just as good as scotch eggs."

Every now and then, I have these weird cravings that most times I end up fulfilling in a day or two. With scotch eggs, I couldn't bring myself to eat one big ball of fried sausage meat; I mean what kind of example would I be setting for my body? Very soon it'll start craving everything fried so I just ignored it until last weekend while grocery shopping, I couldn’t get the small package of sausage meat out of my head. I bought it and decided I'd find a way around frying it.

I knew sausage meat could be baked but I wasn’t sure if it would work for scotch egg. I googled it and lo and behold it had been done before so I guess there are some people out there thinking like me.

Anyways, you need the same ingredients as you would if frying the scotch egg so:

• 7 Eggs: 6 hard boiled and one extra egg beaten for coating.
• 1 pound Sausage meat. I've read that lean turkey might work too and it’s healthier. Don't know that it would taste the same. When I experiment I’d let you guys know.

·         2 cups breadcrumbs

• ½ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt

·         ½ tablespoon pepper if you like spicy

Directions:

• Boil the 6 eggs for about 10 minutes to make sure they are completely cooked, peel and set aside in cold water. Pre heat your oven to 375F
• Mix the meat thoroughly with the salt and thyme and divide it into 6 equal parts. It’s best to use a spacious clean surface because things can easily get messy.
• To make things easier and smoother, put the sausage, breadcrumbs, beaten egg and flour in plates that are not completely flat and line them up
• Start by wrapping the egg in the first portion of the sausage. What I found worked (after 2 failed attempts) was put the scoop on my hand, spread and flatten it out with a spoon. Put the boiled egg in the middle and use my two hands to mold the sausage around the egg. Make sure there is no part of the egg that is not thoroughly covered. While still in your hand, coat with flour and set aside.
• Do that for all the eggs before you coat them with egg. Again after 2 failed attempts I realized getting into the egg was a process best left for last.
• After all the eggs are coated in flour, dip them in the egg bowl and make sure it is well coated and then roll in in the bread crumb plate.
• Do these for the remaining eggs and place them lined up on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until it’s properly cooked and breadcrumbs are crispy.

I really always forget to take pictures as I go mostly cos my hands are usually occupied but I promise to do better.



Check out this amazing blog I recently started visiting and guest writing for.  http://www.romancemeetslife.com/ 

For Avocado Lovers with Love.

For the past month or so, I have been addicted to avocado, I want to eat it with everything, try it with new dishes, and use it as a substitute for other ingredients. I have compiled a list of my easiest favorite avocado recipess, doesn’t mean there are my favorite in the world, it’s just these are the things I have done with avocado and I was very happy with the taste afterwards.

The best way to cut avocado that I have found is by cutting it in half, take the seed out and slice it horizontally and vertically. After doing that, just squeeze it out of the skin or scoop it out with a spoon. This also makes it easier to mash it if needed.

Avocado Butter

This is the simplest one. All you need is 4 tablespoons of avocado and 4 teaspoons of butter. Mash both together until it is completely smooth. I ate mine with French toast that I made with French bread I got from my local grocery store. It just made it more delicious because the bread had a little depth to it than just what sliced bread can offer.  

Avocado Egg salad

If there is anything that goes well with avocado it is egg. I don’t know if it is the fatty acid in them that makes them so compatible or maybe just because they are absolutely delicious. Anyways for this you need; 2 hardboiled eggs, I medium sized avocado, I tablespoon mayo and a pinch of salt to taste.

·         Mash the avocado; it doesn’t necessarily need to be completely smooth

·         Cut the egg into small pieces, mash together with avocado, add salt and mayonnaise and stir.

Since I wanted mine to be a cold wrap, I put the boiled egg in the fridge for about 15 minutes after I cut it up. I didn’t take a picture of mine because if I remember I was too hungry on said day. However this is what it is supposed to look like, photo from pinterest.

Spinach avocado salad/wrap

Another avocado delight which I had for dinner yesterday was a salad wrap. I realized that instead of using so many different types of salad dressing, avocado is an easy substitute for me because I love it so much. I t provides the creaminess that some salad dressings have so I have used it occasionally.

For this you need spinach, grilled chicken, cheese (parmesan or cheddar) avocado and a little bit of Caesar salad for the spinach.

·         For the grilled chicken, I use just salt and black pepper to season it, pop it in the oven for about 25 mins at 375 degrees.  Too much seasoning of the chicken and the avocado won’t be able to shine since its taste can sometimes be subtle. Chop up the chicken into small pieces.

·         Take your large wrap and lay it flat on piece of foil. Add chicken, cheese, spinach, avocado and Caesar dressing, put it in the oven for about 5 minutes to get it warm and cheese melted. When you bring it out, push the ingredients to the center left side and wrap from the left to the right to get everything into the wrap.

Baked Avocado and Egg

This really could be served as an awesome breakfast dish or as a side dish for dinner.

• preheat oven to 425
• Slice avocado in half, take out seed
• crack egg in avocado
• Put whatever you want on top e.g. cheese, cream cheese, peppers, bacon bits, really anything you desire can go on top of the egg.
• place in oven and cook till your eggs desire

I ate this as dinner with baked potatoes and grilled veggies that my sister made. It was delicious.

All these recipes are fairly easy to make, if you have some avocado favs as well, please don't hesitate to share. :)

Goat Meat Asun

Red meat is not bad for you.  Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you!  ~Tommy Smothers

Ingredients

v  Goat meat

v  Blended pepper (red bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, Jamaican pepper)

v  2 pieces of Jamaican pepper, cut into small pieces

v  One large sized onion chopped into small pieces

v  ½ cup vegetable oil

v  2 know cubes

v  Salt to taste

v  ½ cup dried pepper

Instructions

o   Boil goat meat with onion, salt, 1 packet of know Maggi, curry and dried pepper. Cayenne pepper can be a substitute for dried pepper. Make sure that the meat is soft especially the skin if you’re using smoked goat meat like I did. Cut the meat into small parts.

o   I usually have blended pepper at home in my freezer so I used 1 cup of blended pepper. If your blending from scratch make sure you use as little water as possible so that the pepper can be very think in texture.  Boil in a small pot for about 10-15 mins. Do not add water because you want the pepper to be very thick.

o   Once the meat and pepper are ready, heat 1/3 cup of vegetable oil and fry the onion and Jamaican pepper until the onion is properly cooked.

o   Add salt, one cube of Maggie and dried pepper to your preference (some people like their food to be very spicy and others don’t) keep in mind that the Jamaican pepper already makes it spicy.

o   Stir the onion and pepper and add chopped meat. Let it cook for a few minutes then add cooked blended pepper. You only need a little depending on how much meat you have. You want the meat to be coated with the meat so add slowly, stir and add as needed. You are not making stew so be cautious of how much pepper you use.

o   Let it cook for about 5 minutes or until the stew is completely dried on the goat meat and it is ready

Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya

                                                 “I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food” 

                                  ― Erma Bombeck

Ingredients:

• 1 pound medium shrimp
• 1 boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces smoked sausage, such as andouille or Polish sausage, 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 cups long-grain rice

Preparation:

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, boil the shrimp over high heat just until they turn pink, about 2 minutes.

In a large saucepan, combine the chicken breasts, 4 cups of water, half the chopped onion, 1/3 of the garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts from the cooking liquid. The chicken should not be well cooked since it'll still be added and cooked some more later on. 

In a strainer set over a large bowl, drain and reserve the cooking liquid, discarding the vegetables. If necessary, add enough water or chicken broth to make 4 cups. Chop the chicken coarsely and set aside with shrimp.

Heat the oil and add the sausage, green bell pepper, green onion, celery, remaining 1/2 cup onion, and remaining garlic and cook over medium heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid, the remaining teaspoon of salt, the tomatoes with their juice, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon. Stir in the rice, shrimp and chicken and let simmer over medium-low heat, tightly covered, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, or about 25 minutes or until rice is well cooked and soft. 

Fish Peppersoup

“Good manners: The noise you don't make when you're eating soup.”

       

  Let me tell you about my less than 200 calorie dinner; Tilapia pepper soup. I used the same ingredients I use in my previous pepper soup post. If you haven’t seen it, check Here. Anyways it was a quick dinner, put all the ingredients in the pan and waited for it to cook properly. Since fish doesn’t take long to cook at all, you want to make sure that the pepper soup itself is ready before even adding the fish because you don't want it overcooking and tearing up. All in all, it took me 13 minutes to make this delicious meal and it filled me up.

 

                                   

Coconut Rice and Tilapia stir fry.

In my desperate attempt to eat healthy, I have been eating a lot of fruits and fresh vegetable salad and rewarding myself with lovely dinners. Even with the rewards, the portions are not even enough to fill my baby Nathan who is only 18 months. Sigh this body of mine will eventually make its way to my youthful body one of these days. Anyways the goal is to lose 10 pounds before the end of March since I gained 8 pounds in 2 weeks from eating any and everything while I was in Nigeria. I can’t even be mad because in my opinion it was 8 pounds well gained. From all the suya consumption to my grandma’s cooking to the random street food, I’d gain the 8 pounds again. Anyways in 2 weeks I have been back, I have lost 2 pounds so I can say it works without me starving myself and going without food the whole day.

Saturday Breakfast at about 1pm: Fresh diced mango and vanilla yogurt.

Skipped lunch because I was out of the house till about 5:30 pm

Dinner had to be lovely hence the posted meal.

Ingredients

·         6 pieces of small Sweet peppers (Red and orange)

·         ½ lbs. of Tilapia

·         2 cups of white long grain rice

·         2 tbsp. of teriyaki sauce

·         Small onion chopped

·         I tsp. black pepper

·         Pinch of salt

Instructions

·         Parboil rice for about 15 minutes then wash. Pour in half of the coconut milk or enough to cook the rice depending on the portion of the rice. Add salt to taste.

·         Cut up the small peppers along the longest side so it comes out in thin slices, chop the onions and boil for 5 minutes.

·         Season the fish with the salt and black pepper and let it boil for about 5 minutes. Enough to make it easy to cut into small pieces.

·         After drain out the water from both the fish and the pepper, add a tsp. of olive oil in a saucepan, add the pepper and the fish and let it start to break up the fish in the pan, don’t break it up too much where it’s not visible, you want some small pieces but also some chunks.

·         Let it cook for about 5-7 minutes then add the teriyaki sauce. Use your discretion, you don’t want the sauce to be too watery but not dry as well. Add salt and black pepper and let it cook for another 2 minutes before serving.

Don't call it a comeback.

A month and half is a long time to not post anything but it has not stopped me from cooking. Let's just say I took a break and now I am back, well until my next break since I have life to live. :)