Quinoa and vegetable mix

I hadn't cooked in a while but I've been able to change that recently. I made of mix of quinoa and vegetables. It is so simple to make and you can find all the ingredients easily.

Good food, a book and some juice make up a good weekend ;)

Cooking time : 40 minutes
A lot of this time would go into cleaning and chopping the vegetables.

In search of mangoes

I love mangoes, so naturally, I was pleased to see lots of them in Bangui when I arrived. They were also quite cheap. I had mangoes almost everyday for the few days I was in Bangui before my move to Bouar.
Since I got to Bouar, I haven't eaten mangoes to my satisfaction because I tried a few and they were not so great.
Growing up, we had about 5 mango trees around the house which produced different kinds of mangoes, two produced the same kind. Our neighbours had different ones which we gladly shared and there were names for all of them.

Mushroom sauce

I went to the market and there were mushrooms everywhere so I got some. I was chatting with a friend and she asked for the recipe I would use. 
I told her that I would have to form one especially as I did not have fresh cream to make a usual mushroom sauce. She doesn't like cream anyway and was keen to know the outcome.

Cooking time: 1 hour

Where is my ogbono soup?

If you live outside your home country, you would know the craving of food from home that comes every now and then.

I had one of those cravings over the weekend and cooked up a storm. I made different sauces, what we call soups in Nigeria. I made ogbono (irvingia) and egusi (melon) soups. With satisfaction I packed it all in bowls, each bowl enough for two servings, and put them away in the freezer. It has been four months since I had any of these delicacies.

My mother, bless her, by now is used to her children moving away from home every now and then. She is always ready to pack some Nigerian food stuff for us to move with. When she was doing her job, I kept telling her how the food she was packing was too much. She packed it anyway and packed my suitcase for me :-) On days when I have the craving for any of these food items, I am thankful for her wisdom. 

Pasta in tomato and cream sauce

I needed a quick fix for lunch so I made pasta with tomato and cream sauce. Here is how I made it.

Total cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

5 tomatoes

1 green bell pepper

4 onions

1 clove of garlic

Fresh parsley

500ml fresh cream

Pasta

2 table spoons of butter

Olive oil

Sausages

Seasoning:

Oregano

Italian herbs

Salt

Black pepper

A Delighful Few Days in Kigali

I went back to Rwanda for a few days, but this time I only stayed in the capital as I went for a meeting. It was a quick trip but I was sure to make the best of it.

I went by road from Kibondo in Western Tanzania and it was an 8 hour drive. There are hardly any tarred roads in Kibondo so I was on bumpy roads for about 4 hours then close to the border, the road was tarred but had a lot of potholes so it wasn’t different. From the border to Kigali takes 3 hours and a half and the roads are good. There are parts that are rough but the road is good in general. The scenery for me was the best part. Rwanda is beautiful indeed. 

An Exciting Trip to Portugal

My sister and I visited Portugal between the end of October and early November 2017.

Before we made the choice, I had three options - Hungary, Austria and Portugal. She chose Portugal and we were more than pleased that we went with that choice.

Around October, winter starts to say hello but Portugal was bright and sunny. My sister who lived in England at the time was so excited about the sun. Coming from Nigeria, I was pleased that the sun was not as hot!

We arrived Lisbon from London and were picked up by our super amazing host. We used CouchSurfing while we were in Lisbon. From our research on Lisbon, we saw that there was a lot to do. Having a local guide is always helpful and that’s one of the advantages of CS when I’m going to a city where I do not know anyone. From the minute he picked us up, we knew we made the right choice. He was warm, chatty and even took us around to see a bit of the city before driving home.

Banana oatmeal cookies

I had a few bananas in my kitchen that I knew would not keep till the next day. I had to come up with something to do with them.

Most of the ideas that popped into my head were smoothies but I wanted to try something new so I looked online and here is what I found!

I didn't have all the ingredients, so I made do with what was available in my kitchen.

Couscous and vegetables

Looking for something to try this weekend?

Again I looked in the fridge and decided to use what I had available. Here is what I whipped up last night.

Ingredients

Zucchini

Carrots

Green beans

Onions

Garlic

Ginger

Cabbage

Pork Sausages

Couscous

Oil

Salt

Seasoning cubes

Spices of choice

These were the spices I used. Didn't have any herbs so tried to make up with these

Detoxification and well-being

I detoxify my system from time to time, especially when bloating or constipation stay for a few days. I have no regimen or time frame with which I know to detoxify, but I just know when…

I was bloated for a few days and was hoping my system would sort itself out. Well, not until my tummy started singing loudly in the office. Last night I decided to use all the ingredients I had in the fridge to make a smoothie. I was not sure how the smoothie would turn out but I made it anyway!

After I made it, I mentioned to a friend that I was unsure of it. When I listed the ingredients, he agreed that it might be a weird combination but he also wrote that it had all the vitamins one needs and if I were to take that every day, I would live till 102! Lol 

DIETS

I am not the best person to diet. I probably like food way too much to cut any food group out of my diet, except it causes harm to me. I am an adventurous eater, and food, I will continue to try every time I can in different countries and places. People bond very easily over food and food says a lot about culture and about people. 

There seems to be a new trend of people cutting out things from their food for dieting purposes. Some are extreme, some might be for health reasons, but there are other purposes.

Avocado, tomato and cucumber salad

Last weekend, there was a pool hang out I was to go to. I wondered what I could possibly take to eat that would not be heavy, so I opted for a salad. It's the easiest thing to make.

Ingredients
- lemon juice
- black pepper
- coconut oil (I used this in the absence of olive oil and it worked perfectly!)
- 8 avocados
- 4 tomatoes
- 2 large cucumbers

Method of preparation

I prepared the dressing a night before...
- juice from one big juicy lemon
- quarter teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil

Mix these three ingredients in a bowl and cover then leave overnight in a cool place. I wanted all the ingredients to marinate into each other instead of having the taste of each one stand out, especially the black pepper.

The next day, I chopped avocados, tomatoes and cucumbers into bite sizes then mixed them all up. I poured the dressing over, then put in the fridge.

The salad was a winner! Healthy and not heavy, everyone loved it. Apologies I didn't take photos of the dressing or the salad.

Feeling lazy, put this together, it is certainly one to try and it takes less than an hour to prepare!

Vegetable purée/soup

Last Sunday was such a lazy day for me. I literally could not get out of bed. It took such will power to finally do so around 2pm. I was starving but didn't have the strength to do any major cooking. I looked in my fridge and there were vegetables staring back at me. I knew that if I didn't use them, they would go bad so here is what I cooked up.

Ingredients:
- About 8 carrots
- 2 green bell peppers
- 3 onions
- Garlic
- One cucumber
- A table spoon of olive oil
- Salt

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Groundut soup/sauce

I have always liked this soup/sauce but I don't enjoy it when it is prepared in certain ways, with okro for example. I have made this before but decided to try it again. I read a few methods of preparation and got some ideas of how I wanted to make it.

Ingredients:
- chicken (I had four pieces)
- 3 onions
- garlic
- 5 tomatoes
- 1 pepper
- seasoning cubes
- salt
- groundnut paste
- palm oil/groundnut oil/vegetable oil
- crayfish
- a pinch of curry
- carrots
- green bell pepper

Minced meat mix

I was shown how to make this dish and I found it delish! I will definitely prepare it again.

Ingredients:
1) Leek
2) Basil
3) Celery
4) Green bell peppers
5) Parsley
6) Onions
7) Garlic
8) Tomatoes
9) Eggs (I used 2)
10) Ginger
11) Minced meat
12) Seasoning cubes
13) Salt
14) Carrots
15) Green beans
16) Potatoes
17) Tomatoes
18) Mustard
19) Black pepper
20) Lemon juice
I know this is a long list but it will be worth it... The amount of ingredients you use will depend on how many you are cooking for.

Salad mix

I have not been consistent with the food section of this blog, for that I apologise.

I saw a photo of one of Chrissy Teigen’s dishes and it was one I knew I would definitely like to try. I cannot give any references to the recipe for it because all I saw was a photo. I looked at the ingredients and I would say it’s a dish for any day, it is super easy.

The quantity of ingredients you use will depend on how many people the dish will be prepared for. I made this for one, so didn’t need much. At the end, it could serve two. Slight modifications to the photo I saw though. 

Yam Porridge

If you aren't Nigerian and are yet to try this dish, please hurry.... It's none other than yam porridge.

Ingredients:
- Yam
- Palm oil
- Tomato purée
- Pumpkin leaves (ugwu)
- Spring onion leaves
- Onions
- Dried fish or meat (optional)
- Crayfish
- Seasoning cubes

- Salt

                             I like to cut the yam into bite size cubes                          Spring onions leaves

Potato stir fry - lunch ideas for a child

I missed last week...I apologise.

A friend who has a young son sent me a message to ask for ideas on how to prepare potatoes for lunch for her son to take to school. My first question was, is he a lover of vegetables? She said he eats it but it's not his favourite.
Well I told her that you can't go wrong with potatoes, it can be prepared in so many ways.

I have made this dish at different times and it's so easy to prepare. So without thinking hard, it was my suggestion to her:

Ingredients:
- Potatoes
- Butter
- Carrots
- Green beans
- Green and red bell peppers
- Onions
- Garlic
- Salt
- Seasoning cubes (optional)
- Turmeric
- Sausages

Please note - Some ingredients are optional/can be substituted, and should be what your child/you might like.

Banana Split with Yoghurt and Jam

Today I bring you this easy to prepare recipe, no cooking involved.

Ingredients
- Bananas
- Yoghurt
- Strawberry Jam
- Sliced Almonds
- Blueberries/raspberries

Alternative ingredients
-Watermelon
- Unsalted crackers

In the original recipe, here is method of preparation:

Split the banana lengthwise and lay the two halves in a shallow bowl.
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the yogurt and put it on top of the banana.
Warm the jam in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds, or until it is very runny.
Use a spoon to drizzle the jam over the yogurt, and sprinkle the nuts over everything.
Top with the blueberries, and dig in!

Do nothing cake

My friend sent this recipe to me, I am yet to try it but I am sharing it here so we can all try then give feedback.

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar (she always uses 25% less for cakes)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs, beaten slightly
a pinch of salt
2 cups of crushed pineapple in the juice (you could buy it in a can so that will be 500g)