Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2012

My Home made remedy for cold

Heres my little cold remedy Ingredients  1 Lemon half of a fresh ginger root, cut in pieces 2 tablespoons of honey 1 cup of very hot boiled water cut the lemon into pieces, add the ginger to a mug and the honey, pour very hot water over it so its like brewing tea or infusion. the water becomes infused with the ingridients.stir and its ready to drink! note:  according to research,ginger has been known to reduce blood pressure,If you are on anti hypertension meds, please be easy on the ginger to avoid lowering the blood pressure beyond what should be normal.

Vegetable Coconut rice.....my version

A really good coconut rice has a coco-nutty taste! Some people use fresh coconuts by grating and extracting the milk, some use canned coconut milk. I have tried cooking with processed coconut milk twice. As much as I dont encourage frequent consumption of canned foods, I think this method is way easier  than the freshie, and it has the same great flavor,if not more coconutty(once or twice wont hurt)However If you prefer the fresh coconut milk, happy coconut-grating...smiles! Ingredients parboiled rice 1 can of coconut milk/fresh coconut milk                garlic white pepper blended red pepper/tomatoes(already boiled) 1 large onion olive/vegetable oil bay leaf stockcubes/chicken or beef stock diced carrots,runner beans,thinly shredded cabbage diced green pepper and red bell pepper(tatase in my local language) chopped spring onions 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic mixed with grated ginger Procedure cook the rice half way,wash off excess starch and set aside in a pan

Pasta a la Italia...or so

Pasta can be cooked in so many ways. I came up with this one sunday afternoon when I really needed to eat something different. then I gave it an interesting name, afterall, pasta is synonymous with Italy. Ingredients · 1 packet of Spaghetti · 1 large red onion · spring onions or shallots · 2 large carrots,diced · Half of a small cabbage · 2 large green peppers · 1 large red bell pepper (tatase in my local language) · 1 large yellow bell pepper(optional) · 1 large bay leaf · 2 tablespoons of cornflour                              · 5 tablespoons of cool water · stock cubes/chickenstock/seasoning · Garlic-crushed · Some cream cheese (optional) · Some real butter (not magerine) · 4tablespoons of oil                                                    · Cherry tomatoes or   small tomatoes,halved Lets cook Pour the pasta into already boiling salted water, stir occasionally to avoid the strands sticking toge

Say whOAT?.......Oatmeal

Oatmeal !!! Did I hear you say “yuck”? Well, this is the response I get from people when I recommend it as a healthy meal. I remember as a kid, it took me hours to finish up this meal, as I often broke into a sweat, wondering why this bland meal had to be included on our menu often! I soon found out its importance and that’s what I want share with you:   After reading this, we hope that oatmeal makes it to ‘top 5’ on your menu subsequently. Oats , known scientifically as Avena sativa , are a hardy cereal grain able to withstand poor soil conditions in which other crops are unable to thrive. Oats gain part of their distinctive flavor from the roasting process that they undergo after being harvested and cleaned. Although oats are then hulled, this process does not strip away their bran and germ allowing them to retain a concentrated source of their fiber and nutrients. [i] making it one of the healthiest meals. Oatmeal is a porridge made from oats or its grounded groats like co

2 of ma favourite God-sent Spices

Natural spices for me are just a must in my cooking. Apart from the fact that they are products of nature, they have medicinal uses as well as culinary uses.this post will just give an overview of TWO of the very many, we will look at these and more, intricately during the "foods that heal" series. Ginger; Mainly grown in Africa, India, jamaica, China, this spice produces a hot fragrant kitchen spice. ginger roots can be steeped in hot water to make ginger tea. In western cuisine, its used in making ginger ale, ginger snaps ,gingerbead and other sweets but I dont negotiate its use when boiling meat, cooking jollof rice ,fried rice,grilled fish and other savoury dishes. its a must have! I can almost grate it into my omelletes.wide grin! Somehow I prefer the fresh ginger root to the powdered one...I remember one of my friends telling me I just like "wahala" (stress) by peeling and grating/crushing the fresh ginger knowing that the powdered ginger is easier and fas

Spaghetti stirfry, stirfry spaghetti????

Okay, so I interchange the name, depends on whichever comes to mind. spaghetti stirfry,stirfry spaghetti. this particular stirfry is a curry based veggie meal, I like it because its colorful and tasty and you can substitute just about any other veggie/meat/seafood if you get bored with one style of cooking it. Its also crunchy and interesting to eat....wide grin! In addition, you are assured of eating a good helping of veggies with your pasta. I bet a lot of people have tried this meal or something similar, I decided to put it on my blog when friends began to ask about the ingredients that made it so colourful. Ingredients (please note that you can substitute with similar ingredients depending on your preference) One packet of Spaghetti 1/2 of large can sweetcorn 2 large red bell peppers 1 large onion 2 large green peppers  one bunch of spring onions 3 large carrots a cup of raw peas(steamed) or a small can of peas a cup of cooked chicken/meat/shrimps crushed ginger and ga

Good old french toast

My husband usually says the only thing He learnt from the french is, 'making a french toast'.So I guess its okay to say his  recipe might be more original than mine !lol! Sometimes I get tired of the usual omelletes and bread,which is actually delicious. Sometimes I just waNna eat something different! I guess I like the fact that it doesn't necessarily have to be toasted in a toaster but is done in a skillet/pan!mum also did a good job of adding it to the breakfast menu especially when she noticed that I in particular was tired of eating 'oatmeal'(tongue sticking out)! I also enjoy making this for some kids that are dear to my heart and they just love it and If I may borrow their slang,I find it very 'yummy' too! I hope you try it out too! Ingredients 8 tablespoons of butter 6 large eggs 1 cup whole milk Salt and cayenne pepper to taste 8 to 10 slices white loaf bread, crusts removed Maple syrup Procedure In a shallow bowl, whisk to

Beef stew !

Beef stew! first thing that comes to mind if we share nationality is our tomato and pepper base fried stew with beef in it. Well this isn't the Nigerian beef stew but  it does taste yummy and is a winner for kids meals. Ingredients boneless beef ,cubed or diced in semi big pieces                      8 baby carrots or 4 large carrots sliced in sticks 4 large boiled potatoes,quartered/halved 3 large bay leaves 1 green pepper 3 serving spoons of beef stock/broth seasoning to taste: i teaspoon thyme,1 teaspoon dried parsely,1 teaspoon ground garlic+ginger one large onion and/or spring onion/shallots 2 tablespoons of Cornstarch/corn flour dissolved in 3 tablespoons of cold water 2 tablespoons of oil and a teaspoon of butter. one cup of fresh/frozen peas Let's cook Season  the beef with the ginger and garlic,pinch of salt.Boil till its cooked and drain the stock/broth,then set aside.  In a non stick pot, add some oil and butter, fry the onions and the bee

Curry chicken

This recipe is common to different countries and they all have different ways of preparing it. my Guyanese friend Remi says its called 'curried chicken/chicken curry' in her country Guyana, where the chicken is cooked in the curry sauce. Indians also have a number of sauces cooked in a rich curry base.I remember an Indian classmate,prachee, who cooked one of those delicious sauces, I think it was called chicken garam marsala.....hmmn, I need to confirm that. the recipe I am adding is quite easy and faster to prepare  if you have precooked ingredients like hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, cooked chicken.  Ingredients 2 large carrots,diced or cut in thin strips, one large green pepper,chopped, 2 cloves of garlic,crushed,2 chicken breasts,well spiced and cooked,chicken stock(3 tablespoons),one chicken stock cube or one tablespoon of adobo, one large red bell pepper,6 medium sized boiled potatoes,3 hard boiled eggs,2 tablespoons of corn flour/corn starch,one spring onion

Naija salad

So one day my friend whom I can also call a sister in New Jersey,USA, pinged me to send her the recipe for "naija salad" as she put it. The first recipe that came to mind is the typical salads we eat at Nigerian parties with jollof and fried rice. its funny how these salads have very similar recipes and taste so alike, well, they could be called "garden salad" if we were to go by the cuisine name. Another characteristic of the Naija salad may be the cream/salad dressing, its often "heinz salad cream' or "mayonaise". However, some commercial restaurants or hotels mix their creams from the scratch. here is the recipe I gave her Ingridients cabbage lettuce tomatoes cucumber carrot onions vinegar tuna fish/baked beans hard boiled eggs procedure wash the vegetables thoroughly in vinegar or a mild sterilizing fluid,layer the shredded cabbage, lettuce and grated carrot in a tray or salad bowl, dice the cucumbers or slice as desired on t