NIGERIAN PARTY JOLLOF RICE

Hello guys! Who missed me? So it has surely been a heck of a week, but here we are! I've been stressed and energized, down and back up, moody and back to my fun self. No one has to know that right? Dust yourself up and go be the strong woman, everyone expects but guess what? It's allowed to be vulnerable, weak and even down sometimes but it is how long spent down that is counted. It's how strong we become when we get back up that matters! Talk to your special someone, it helps, it did mine! A special friend told me "Open a line of communication with your partner or whoever you've, speak up so he or she understands and knows how to help you". 

So to anyone going through it, shaken and feel like everything ends here and now, I'm here to tell you that it is never the end. God only tests His strongest soldiers; He wouldn't give us battles He wasn't sure we could come out victorious from!

Okay, enough of the emotional outpour lol, let us get into the business of the day or should i say evening as I've only just got the chance to make this post after all the cooking for the day.

As usual, we're going to lay out the ingredients so we can have a visual of what we want to work with.



                        INGREDIENTS

1. Rice
2. Bell pepper, tomatoes and scotch bonnet
3. Onions
4. Vegetable oil
5. Maggi
6. Salt
7. Tin tomatoes
8. Butter
9. Bay leaf
10. All purpose seasoning
11. Chicken stock 
12. White pepper (optional but helps)

                   PREPARATIONS

• Lay your ingredients out as mentioned earlier

• Place your pot on the stove, pour in your oil (I made use of the oil previously used to fry chicken)
• Pour your onions in

• Stir and leave to get translucent 

• Pour in your blended pepper ( tomatoes, bell peppers, scotch bonnets and onions )  and stir.

• Scoop in your tomato paste and stir until there is no more lumps in the pepper

• Put your spices in ( maggi, white pepper; optional , salt, curry , all purpose seasoning and bay leaf). Stir in together and cover up to fry for 15 to 20 minutes.

• When the oil floats to the top of the pepper, pour in your stock (chicken or meat but for this illustration, i made use of chicken stock) , stir and let fry for another 10-15 minutes.

• Wash your rice and pour into the pepper ( it is quite advisable to reduce the pepper so you can control the amount). Combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon (so it doesn't burn and prevents lumps) and make sure the pepper is only about a cm over the rice when combined as it is better to start with a little amount of liquid and add as you go. When fully combined, add in your butter and stir mildly. When that is done, taste and adjust; if needed, add spices not enough and if needed, put in your dry blended ginger and garlic.

P. S - the above picture was taken after the butter had gone in and cooked a bit. This was the part when the hunger really set in and I just wanted to eat lol.

Also note that jollof rice cooks with steam and not gallons of water, so you would want to add water little by little and keep stirring the rice so it doesn't break up nor turn too early.

Make sure to use foil paper to cover the rice before placing the lid of the pot. Like i said earlier, steam cooks rice. It is also okay for it to burn, that's what gives it the party signature. 

And voila, we have our J rice!

Oh don't be scared by the second plate lol. Remember i mentioned that i used chicken stock, well i have peppered chicken wings on the side. Peep those tomatoes used as garnish, ate them all anyway lol.

• The fried wings before peppered lol

Enjoy and make sure to send a pic, comment, stalk and subscribe! Let me know what you think in the comment section and if you've any meal you want me to try it out, feel free to let me know also. 

BYE LOVELIES! 

AYAMASE SAUCE

Hello people! 

It has indeed been a while. Apologies for the wait, I've had a longggggggggggg week plus some technical issues. All would be resolved as soon as possible. 

My week was literally crazy, my whole body hurts from physical exhuastion from work, driving and not getting enough sleep. Not to worry, i would be fine!

Speaking of which, let us get down to business, shall we?

As usual, let us make sure to lay out the ingredients so we've a mental picture of what we are working with. This way, we know what is missing.

                    

                      INGREDIENTS 

1. Green pepper
2. Green scotch bonnets
3. Onions
4. Palm oil
5. Spices; salt, maggi
6. Shredded beef
7. Tripe
8. Boiled eggs
9.  Liver
10. Cow skin
11. Chicken 

P. S - You can make use of any protein of choice, i only listed the ones in the illustration!

                   PREPARATION 

•   Set out all the ingredients as per usual and get ready to blend.

 P. S - I put the green peppers, scotch bonnets and onions into the blender before realizing lol 

• I added two pieces of red chili peppers just because i can customize as i like. 

 

• Blend altogether but not too smooth as we need for it to be a bit rough so as to achieve the consistency needed.

• Place your pot on the stove and get your oil ready

• Pour in your oil and let get heated until transparent. (I strongly suggest opening all the windows and air vents lol)

• Pour the onions in and let it fry until translucent. Don't you just love the smell of fried onions lol

• When certain that it is subtly fried, you may pour in your pepper now.

• Mix in your pepper and leave to boil.

• When the oil settles right onto of the sauce, pour in your protein of choice (tripe, beef, boiled eggs, et al) and stir right in.

• Leave to fry and stir once, twice or maybe thrice so it doesn't burn and also to keep the spices locked in. When fully fried, the oil should totally be on top without any liquid. (You can take off excess oil and store in the freezer for a next use).

P. S - This sauce can be had with either rice or even pasta! I hope you enjoy and leave a comment if / when you try it out. I'm still considering what to settle for but I am leaning towards pasta, I would let you all know what i come up with in the next post lol. 

BYE FOR NOW GUYS!

5-MINS AVOCADO TOAST

Hi guys! So your favourite girl is back (assuming I am lol). So one or two people asked me for more breakfast ideas and i came across this avocado toast in which I'm well pleased and decided to share it with you all. So much so that i woke up early to prep it. My insides are churning for me to share it! 



                            INGREDIENTS 

1. Bread ( i made use of whole wheat for this illustration)
2. Avocado (2 pcs)
3. Tomatoes (1 and half)
4. Olive oil (optional)
5. Boiled eggs (2)
6. Crushed chili flakes 
7. Black pepper
8. Salt (to taste)

                           PREPARATION

• Lay out all your ingredients so as to have a visual and know how to go about the preparations.That way, you know how to measure and commence.

• Crush the tomatoes (i made use of a tiny little mortar and pestle; rather cute). Now, this is optional but i chose to include it for the juiciness and also for colour!

• Set aside the tomatoes and crush the avocados subtly so it still has tiny lumps for crunchiness. 

• Mix the crushed tomatoes and avocados together, pour in the crushed chili (depends on how much of spice you want) add a pinch of salt and include a little of olive oil (also optional). 

• After thoroughly mixing together, set aside and grab your bread out to toast.

• Toast bread to your taste ( either slightly or brown). I just love anything crunchy lol. Lay your avocado spread on the toast.

• Slice your boiled eggs and lay on the spread, sprinkle a bit of black pepper on it and voila! Breakfast is ready. 

P. S- I had mine with a side of salad, seasoned with oil. And before you ask, this is just an illustration, i had two slices alongside a cup of honey ginger tea. This meal also serves vegans (tweaked to their specifics) and also those on a diet.

Enjoy your breakfast and say a little prayer for me in the process (or after), it doesn't matter when lol. Have a fabulous day!!

OVEN BAKED BEAN PUDDING

Hi guys!!!!
So, today's post was inspired by my overly intuitive mind; I guess my knack for all things polish and perfect lol. This meal is basically moi-moi that travelled abroad lmao. It is a steamed bean pudding which is a mixture of protein rich ingredients. It is a common staple in Nigeria! 
Without further ado, let's get right into the prep. Firstly, we've to get our ingredients laid out as per usual so as to have a mental breakdown of what we're working with; that way, we do not forget anything and we can also see if we miss anything.

                     INGREDIENTS 

1. Beans
2. Vegetable oil
3. Palm oil (optional)
4. Scotch bonnet
5. Bell pepper
6. Onions
7. Seasoning (incl. of salt)
8. Eggs (boiled; optional)
9. Shrimps (raw)
10. Garlic & ginger ( i made use of the grounded one)

             

                     PREPARATIONS 

• Measure desired amount of beans into a wide bowl (wide enough as we'll use it to peel and wash the beans)

• Get your scotch bonnets, bell peppers and onions out too. 

• Press on one or two to be sure it is ready to be peeled. Then peel accordingly and rinse thoroughly until the skin is off the body. You could peel in batches to make it easier.
• I added shrimps and boiled eggs into mine. Should in case you want more, you could also customize yours to your taste. ( maybe use shredded turkey, chicken et al)

• Get your oil ready to pour in ( I mixed a bit of palm oil and vegetable oil)

• Pour in your oil and other spices ( maggi and salt like i used. Just in case you want to add other spices, make sure it does not overpower the beans in itself)

• Mix together and set aside.
• Get your pan out alongside your cooking spray

• Spray your pan all round; this is to prevent the pudding from sticking.
• Preheat the oven at 160 degrees F (depending on if the oven is fan assisted) or 180 if not.

• Pour in your beans batter and gently put in your cut out eggs, and the shrimps.

• Carefully place the pan in the oven and turn up the heat to 250 degrees F. 
• Set the timer to 35 mins and control accordingly.

And voila! The oven baked bean pudding ( a.k.a moi moi) is ready! 

P. S- I had mine with a side of jollof rice but i was too hungry to show the sliced out portion. 

Need suggestions on ideas of what you can have it with or want to suggest? Leave it in the comment section. 

SIMPLE HEALTHY SANDWICH

So, today's post is a simple easy to make 5-minutes max prep time sandwich. This is amazing as you can have the ingredients ready a night before and just get them together on your way out of the door to work, school, the gym (if you're the one that munches before lifting those weights), to an outing et al. 

                        INGREDIENTS 

1. Bread (in this illustration, i made use of wheat bread)
2. Lettuce
3. Tomatoes
4. A slice of cheese
5. Chicken bologna
6. Two (2) tbspn of vegetable oil 

• I had a side of lightly pan-fried sausages!

                         PREPARATION

• Make sure your ingredients are laid out. As usual, you want to have a mental breakdown of everything so as to know what you're working with.
• Rinse out your desired amount of lettuce , slice your tomatoes thinly, get your cheese strip out also.

• Get your pan on the stove; medium heat. When hot, put the tbspns of oil into the pan

• When heated, gently place your chicken bologna into the pan ( i included my sausages too)

• Sautee for at least a minute and keep turning sides until desired result is achieved ( i like mine a bit crunchy). 
• When done, set pan aside and get on your way to sandwichville lol
• Place a slice of bread on a plate, put a cheese strip onto it first and a bologna ( I did this as i like the way the cheese slightly melts a bit due to the warmth of the bologna)

• Then put your desired amount of lettuce ( you can stack simultaneously if you like), then add in your tomatoes (also as much as you desire)

• Add the second piece of the bologna on the pile

• Lastly place the other bread slice on the stack and voila, your journey to sandwichville is ready!!!

Enjoy as you like or if you're like the enjoyment minister (I), you can as well have this with a side of fruits. I had blueberries, strawberries and grapes. And of course, with a cup of tea!

EGG VEGGIES MUFFINS

This is my very first post and I'm super excited.
I came across this invention lol and i haven't stopped grinning from ear to ear. why?simply because it is;

• One of my favourite go-to and a great source of protein
• It is literally fast to make (plus i would love to love the fact that it is healthy and the calories are not much) 

Here is the end result of this amazing breakfast and tell me you don't just love it. I'm in awe of my meal and yes, i didn't invent it. It has been in existence since 2015 but no one else has to know! *winks*

                  INGREDIENTS 

1. Eggs
2. Baby spinach
3. Onions
4. Olive oil ( optional; you could use regular vegetable oil)
5. Your option of spices
6. Bell peppers
7. Scotch bonnets 
8. Salt 

P.S- I didn't state the amount as the ingredients would vary considering the volume you intend to make. I made use of the muffin pan with 6 muffin slots, there's also a 12-pc and this post is just to give an idea of making process.

          PROCESS (STEP BY STEP)

• Bring out your ingredients, that way you've a mental image of what you're working with.

• Dice your bell peppers, scotch bonnets and onions
• Chop your baby spinach (equal to the amount of peppers and onions, we don't want it to overpower the eggs now do we?) 

Set aside these ingredients...

• Break desired amounts of eggs ( I made use of 6 eggs in this illustration) into a bowl big enough as we would mix veggies into them later).
• Add in your spices ( I made use of maggi and salt)
• Whisk together so there is no lumps whatsoever in it)

Also set aside these bowl...

• Place your frying pan on the stove (make sure it is on medium heat)
• Put in your desired amount of olive or regular vegetable oil ( I made use of the regular vegetable oil i used to fry plantains a night before. It gave the egg muffins an extra taste)
• When hot, pour in your peppers, onions and spinach
• Sauté for about 5-7 mins until you see changes in the texture (you could decide if you want your veggies crunchy or super soft)

• Pour the vegetables into the eggs and whisk well (make sure to whisk so it doesn't get lumpy and the eggs don't separate from the ingredients poured in).

My favourite part of it all lol. 

• Get your muffin pan and cooking spray

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Grease the muffin pan with the spray ( reason being so it doesn't get sticky underneath and is easy to remove when done baking)

• Pour into the pan, your mixed eggs and veggies

• Bake for about 10-12 mins or until the tops are firm to touch (you can check by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If done, it comes out clean without liquid)
• Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before taking out of the pan.

• Serve immediately with your choice of sides; fruits are my go-to. And i enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea depending on how I'm feeling at the moment.

NOTE- You could refrigerate the rest ( if not all consumed at once) for at least 2-3 days. You may see extra liquid at the bottom of the storage container but that is totally normal. If it does bother you, you could blot the muffin with a kitchen towel before you warm them up in the microwave. 

                        ENJOY AND SAY A LITTLE PRAYER FOR ME!!!!