Meat pie

Meat Filling
-small potatoes, diced and cooked (to save time, use frozen hash brown potato cubes)
-lean ground beef (or chicken, or turkey)
-frozen mixed vegetables, cooked (I use the peas, carrots and corn mix)
-onion diced
-red and green sweet peppers, diced
- seasonings (salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, knorr/maggie etc, whatever you like)

Dough
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) (it should be cold and hard)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water

-Prepare the filling by browning your meat and spices. WHile it's cooking, stirfry your peppers and onion and veggies. Mix it all together. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.

-Once ground beef is cooked, add the diced cooked potatoes and heat for 5 minutes. (not too much potatoes). The main purpose is to aborb excesss liquid from the meat mixture, so that you don't end up with soggy meat pies.

-To make dough: Sift together dry ingredients and cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork until mixture is crumbly.

-While mixing with a wooden spoon, add water a tablespoon at a time until dough holds together in a ball (you may need more or less water. Just add small amounts at a time). If the dough is crumbly, add a little more water by drops until the dough stays together when you pinch it.
-When dough comes together into a ball roll out the dough until flat.
- Cut out circles (I use a giant cookie cutter for this). If dough becomes sticky or too soft put in fridge for 10 minutes to cool and then take it out again and continue cutting the circles.
-Place meat stuffing in center of pastry circles.
-Fold over and seal using a fork.
-Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Different restaurants where I've enjoyed the food and ambiance

African Kitchen Gallery Restaurant
Drummond Street
London

They make an incredible Tilapia dish

Florences African - American Cuisine
West Harlem
Good clean home cooking

Gaucho Grill in London. Great Steaks

A little piece of heaven

Ingredients
3 oz. Cranberry Juice
2 oz. Orange Juice
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 1/2 oz. Malibu Rum
1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps
Instructions
Mix all ingredients over ice. Garnish with a slice of orange and a speared cherry.

simple shrimp pasta

Ingredients

* 200g linguine or spaghetti
* 25g butter
* 200g raw peeled prawns , preferably tiger prawns
* 1 garlic clove , crushed
* 100ml white wine
* squeeze lemon juice
* small handful flatleaf parsley , roughly chopped


Method

1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water according to pack instructions.
Meanwhile, heat a small knob of the butter in a frying pan.
When it starts to sizzle, add the prawns and fry for 1 min until they start to change colour.
Add the garlic and sizzle for 1 min more, splash in the wine, then bring to the boil.
Swirl in the rest of the butter, season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, then stir in the chopped parsley.
2. When the pasta is just cooked, drain and toss through the prawns.
Divide the pasta between 2 bowls, pour over any excess sauce and serve straightaway.

Grilled Lamb Chops With Rosemary and Thyme
Ingredients:

      2 garlic cloves
      1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped
      1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
      2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
      8 lamb chops, about 3/4 to 1 inch thick (about 1 1/4 pounds)

Instructions:
Preheat a lightly oiled grill to medium-hot.
In a food processor, with the motor running, process the garlic, rosemary and thyme. Add the oil, and pulse to combine. Season generously with salt and pepper. Rub over the lamb chops and marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.
Season lamb chops with salt and pepper and grill for 7 to 9minutes per side for well done

To round out the meal: Corn on the cob and mixed green salad

Per serving: 221 calories (percent of calories from fat, 56), 23 grams protein, trace carbohydrates, no fiber, 13 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 74 milligrams cholesterol, 110 milligrams sodium.

Lemon porterhouse steaks with spicy mash

Ingredients

Mash
30 ml sunflower oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 fresh chillies, finely chopped
4 large potatoes, cooked and mashed
30 ml lemon juice
handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
olive oil

4 thick porterhouse steaks
freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon (juice only)

Method:
In a pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
Cook the garlic and chillies until the garlic just begins to colour.
Whisk in the mashed potato with a fork, adding the lemon juice and coriander.
Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside in a warm place.
Rub olive oil on to the meat, enough to make it shiny and slightly slippery all over.
Coarsely grind a little black pepper over the steaks.
Cook the meat for 5 minutes on each side, a little less if you like it rare.
Put the steaks on warm plates.
Squeeze a quarter of lemon over each steak and sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Serve immediately with the spicy mash and steamed greens

babyback ribs

These are tender and the meat falls right off the bone. Generally, people think of baby back ribs as a meal they would only order when at a restaurant, but they are so easy to make at home. This recipe could not be any more simple.

    *   2 pounds pork baby back ribs
    * 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce

DIRECTIONS

   1. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil big enough to enclose each portion of ribs. Spray each piece of foil with vegetable cooking spray. Brush the ribs liberally with barbeque sauce and place each portion in its own piece of foil. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
   2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
   3. Bake ribs wrapped tightly in the foil at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from foil and add more sauce, if desired.

Fish 'n chips

Beer Batter Fish
Ingredients:
• 4 pieces of Cod, Flounder or Haddock roughly 1/3 rd lb each
• 1 sprig fresh parsley
For the batter:
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup heavy beer (Guinness is best but any heavy beer will work)
First, make the batter and let stand. In a bowl, sift the flour and salt. Next crack the egg into the bowl and whisk the mixture. Next, slowly add the beer, whisking all the time. Keep adding the beer until the batter is a thick consistency. Set aside.
Place the oil in the pan, no more than a third of the way up the side and heat
Now, wash and chop the parsley finely. Next, sprinkle some flour on the cutting board and sprinkle the parsley over the flour.
Next, wash the fish under cold water and roll in the flour/parsley. It should now be coated in flour and parsley. 
Make sure the oil is hot.
Dip the fish pieces, one at a time into the batter and drop into the oil.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown.
Remove and place on a paper towel to drain and serve immediately.
These will not stay crispy and must be served straight away.
Serve with chips, salt and vinegar or tartar sauce.
If you want to be really old fashioned, serve them on paper.

Chips are actually different to French fries – they are fatter. A good chip has the following qualities:
Crisp on the outside
Soft on the inside
They are dry, i.e. not soggy

Ingredients:
• Potatoes
• Oil 
• Salt

First, peel the potatoes and slice them into chips. Cut them lengthwise, about ½ inch thick, and then cut them into slices about ¼ inch wide.
Fatter is healthier.
Put the sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water to cover them
We will wash the excess starch off in the water.
Leave them to soak while the oil is heating.
Now, pour the oil into the pan, making sure that it doesn’t come more than a third of the way up the pan. This is also important – If there is too much oil in the pan, there is a risk of the oil bubbling over the top. This we do not want.
Next, heat the oil on a high heat to around 375F. If you do not have a thermometer, just drop a small piece of potato in the oil – when it floats, the oil is hot enough.

When the oil is hot, dry the potatoes thoroughly, place in a frying basket and lower them into the oil slowly. When the chips are covered, and the bubbling has stopped, cover the pan and cook the chips for about 6 minutes.
This is to blanch the potatoes and do the actual cooking. They should not be brown when you stop this, just cooked.
Now take the chips out of the pan and allow the oil to heat back up to around 390F.
When the oil has reheated, put the chips back in the pan to brown.
This should only take a couple of minutes.
A soon as they turn golden brown, remove them and place on paper towels in the serving dish.
After a few seconds, the excess fat will drain of into the towels.
Remove the towels, sprinkle the chips with a little salt and serve hot with fried fish

French toast

Ingredients:

* 4 eggs
* 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup milk
* 10 to 12 slices white bread
* butter

Preparation:
Break eggs into a wide, shallow bowl or pie plate; beat lightly with a fork. Stir in sugar, salt, and milk.

Over medium-low heat, heat griddle or skillet coated with a thin layer of butter or margarine.

Place the bread slices, one at a time, into the bowl or plate, letting slices soak up egg mixture for a few seconds, then carefully turn to coat the other side. Soak/coat only as many slices as you will be cooking at one time.

Transfer bread slices to griddle or skillet, heating slowly until bottom is golden brown. Turn and brown the other side

Spring Roll Wrappers
Ingredients:

1 Egg
225g Plain flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Water
Cornflour

Method :

o Lightly beat the egg.
o Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.
o Make a well in the center and mix the beaten egg and water into the flour.
o Stir with a wooden spoon to form a smooth dough.
o Place the dough on a floured board and knead it for 10 minutes until smooth.
o Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for about 30 minutes. Roll the dough into a 30cm sausage, then cut into 4cm pieces.
o Dust with cornflour and flatten with the palm of your hand.
o Roll as thinly as possible, then trim to 15 X 18 cm rectangles.
o Dust with cornflour and stack them up.
Makes about 20 wrappers

Spring Rolls
Ingredients:
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated
• 2 green onions, sliced into matchstick pieces
• 1 red chili, minced, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (omit if you prefer very mild spring rolls)
• 1/2 cup shredded or finely chopped cabbage
• 4-6 shiitake mushrooms, cut into matchstick pieces
• add 1/2 cup cooked baby shrimp
• approx. 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp. oil, plus more for deep-frying
• 20 spring roll wrappers (thawed if frozen)
• STIR-FRY SAUCE:
• 2 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (if vegetarian, substitute vegetarian oyster sauce, or extra soy sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• TO SERVE:
• Thai sweet chilli sauce (available in Asian/Chinese food stores, and some grocery chains in the Asian section)
• OR TO MAKE YOUR OWN DIPPING SAUCE:
• Mix 1/3 cup plum sauce with 3 Tbsp. soy sauce. Add cut fresh chili or cayenne pepper if desired.
Preparation:
1. Place 2 Tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add garlic, galangal (or ginger), shallots, and chilli. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir-frying Tip: Add a little water to the wok/pan when it gets too dry instead of more oil.
2. Add cabbage, mushrooms, and shrimp. As you stir-fry, add the sauce. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
3. Remove from heat and add bean sprouts, tossing to mix in.
4. Does a taste test for salt, adding 1 Tbsp. more fish or soy sauce if not salty enough.
5. To assemble rolls, place a spring roll wrapper on a clean working surface. Place one heaping Tbsp. of the filling on the wrapper (if using large wrappers, you will need more).
Tips: Spread the filling lengthwise along the spring roll wrapper nearer the end closest to you. Also, try not to include too much of the liquid left in the bottom of your wok/pan (a slotted spoon works well for this - drier filling is better.
6. Now sprinkle some of the fresh coriander and basil over the filling.
7. Fold the left and right sides of wrapper over filling, then lift up the wide end nearest you and tuck overtop. Roll to the other end. Secure the roll by dipping your fingers in some water and wetting the end, "pasting" it shut.
8. To fry spring rolls, place some oil (about 1 inch deep) in a wok or deep-sided frying pan over medium-high heat. When bubbles rise, or when the oil begins to form snake-like lines across the bottom of the pan, the oil may be hot enough. To test it, dip one corner of a spring roll into the oil. If it begins to sizzle and cook, the oil is ready. If not, wait another 30 seconds to one minute and try again.
9. Using tongs, place spring rolls in oil, allowing them to fry about 1 minute on each side. Spring rolls are done when they turn light to medium golden-brown. Place on paper towels (or a clean dish towel) to drain while you finish frying the rest.
10. Serve spring rolls while still hot with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, or your own dipping sauce

Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Garlic powder
Paprika
Pepper
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1 egg white
Flour, as needed
Low-calorie vegetable oil spray


DIRECTIONS:
Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap.
Pound each piece until flattened.
Unwrap plastic and sprinkle each breast on both sides with garlic powder, paprika and pepper.
Dip in milk mixed with egg white
lightly flour and fry over medium to medium-high heat in a pan coated with low-calorie vegetable spray.
Pan fry until golden brown, about 8 minutes per side.

NOTE

If you love fried chicken but are watching your cholesterol and fat intake these days, try this version.

Shrimp fried rice is a great recipe for nights when you're looking for a quick way to use up leftovers. Feel free to experiment with using fresh mushrooms or other vegetables in place of the mixed veg, and to double up on the ham if you don't have frozen shrimp.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
• 4 ounces frozen uncooked shrimp, unshelled
• Marinade:
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons water
• Other:
• 4 ounces cooked ham
• 1 medium onion
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 cup mixed veg
• 4 cups cold cooked rice
• 4 to 5 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
Preparation:
Run the frozen shrimp under warm running water, pat dry with paper towels, shell and devein.
Chop into small pieces.

Add the marinade ingredients and marinate for 15 minutes.
Dice the ham, onion, and green onion. Add 2 tablespoons oil, or as needed. When oil is hot, stir-fry the onion and shrimp on high heat for a few moments, remove and set aside. Do the same for the veg, and then the diced ham.
Add 1 - 2 tablespoons oil, turn the heat down to medium and stir-fry the rice. Add a bit of soy and oyster sauce if desired. Add the other ingredients and combine thoroughly. Serve the fried rice with the green onion as garnish.**

serve with grilled chicken

Not much difference in the leaf per se as both cucumber & pumpkin are from the same family.

The cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae), commonly referred to as ‘cucurbits’, includes cucumbers, melons, quashes, pumpkins, and gourds.

Cooked pumpkin is a super cancer food.
One half cup of cooked pumpkin has over five times your quota for beta-carotene (vitamin A0) per day.
According to research at Tufts University it may be used to protect against many cancers

Worm stew anyone?

egg & plantain?

or,  is ogi more your thing?

It's the weekend,  no rushing to work, school yadi ya,
What is your fav breakfast?

Full English

Fruit granola & yoghurt

Pancakes

share your indulgences

A Reuben sandwich with lots of sauerkraut !!

Atery clogger yes yes I know, !

michelin89:

House chores may be for your wife, but you could at least have tried to learn a decent English. That is for everyone.

Moved to family.

MrCrackles:

Fuc.k that, it wont stop my mama from whipping up Egusi Vegetable's for me this weekend!

Brash will only die early if it has been destined

ok, ok, we know you're a mommy's boy na!

haba!!

amebo22:

@amakaone,
thanks for the picture effect, proves your point. do you mind my asking Y i tried the medium i just could not.thks

It's just a personal preference. I enjoy the beefy taste better when the meat is not cooked to death. Steaks tend to loose flavour the more they cook unlike other beef cuts which taste better slow cooked or stewed.
my opinion, I know other peeps will have different tastes and opinions.

Iranoladun:



Can anyone give me the recipe of okro soup (ila asepo) with crabs/shrimps and fish? Amakaone can you help?

Okra soup (no palm oil) with Shrimps, Stockfish &Dry fish
Okra (chopped)
Spinach
Stockfish bits (or Stockfish)
Dry Fish
Red crayfish
Large Shrimps/Prawns
Knorr
Kaun
pepper
Salt

Pre-soak the stock fish to soften (quicker to cook if you use stock fish bits)

start by cooking the stockfish with small quantity of water and seasoning (knorr, pepper, salt) and onions to taste.

optional; kaun (this can both soften the stock if very dry and also helps the okra to draw)

When stockfish is halfway cooked, add dryfish  and allow to simmer, taste for seasoning , add if required. Also add crayfish , allow to simmer for another 5-10 (before stockfish and dryfish is fully cooked)

Add already chopped okra , cook for 5-10 minutes.

Then add shrimp and spinach and allow to cook for another 3-5 so spinach and shrimp are not overcooked.

Tip: Gradually add water while cooking in accordance to your preferred consistency/thickness.

or how about some fish stew with Grilled Shrimp, Squid, Salmon head, Mussels, Veggies and a dash of Paprika and a nice crostini to mop up the juices ,

teissys:

Lol, Amaka
I hate that type of fish with passion. . .

lol @ teissys

Pan fried salmon nko?

Plenty of Omega 3 healthy tasty food

Smoked catfish in Soup nko?

no squid?

No Calamari?

yummy!!!

epi:

For kicks _{coz it looks tasty too}, I will cook (egusi) this meal and present it.

Question:  For dry fish can one use red herring/salt fish coz i don't think they sell  "dry fish" in NY, but I stand to be corrected

By salt fish you mean the one used inmaking Ackee & Salft fish. If it is then it's the right one now. Dried salt cod. you basically prepare it the same way you would if making Ackee & Salft fish  (soak overnight,  etc etc, )

Any African/ West Indian grocer should have it. I think you can get it in Europen deli's/ fishmongers as well ( the portuguese call it baccalà, (sp).

Smoked turkey legs and breast in soup  _**drool****

fish is awesome, so many different ways to prepare it. yummy!!

I like my steaks medium. Pink but no blood flowing

Nutritional Information for Egusi Soup (made with beef only , no palm oil & 2 or more cups of spinach/ greens)

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 758
Calories from Fat 459
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 51g 78 %
Saturated Fat 14g 70 %
Cholesterol 306mg 102 %
Sodium 860mg 34 %
Potassium 1706mg 48 %
Total Carbohydrates 16.9g 5 %
Dietary Fiber 4.8g 19 %
Protein 60g 120 %
Sugars 7g
Vitamin A 167 %
Vitamin C 70 %
Calcium 24 %
Iron 117 %
Thiamin 35 %
Niacin 174 %
Vitamin B6 59 %
Magnesium 91 %
Folate 106 %