YOUNG AND INSPIRING: BEN ANDINO

HELLO EVERYONE!

I apologize for the slight pause in posts. I decided to move away from the foods a little bit and I have been scouting young talents to inspire the youths and show us how our hobbies can be turned into a career!

First up is a very fine young UK based freelance photogragher BEN ANDINO in his 20's who stumbled onto his love for photography as an undergraduate student by chance and developed it into a career. His beautiful captions of the cities and events he has been to, showcases the amount of talent and very sharp detail sense.

This wonderful entrepreneur is proof of how the hobbies you love and enjoy can become a promising career.

Here are some of his works

Enjoy.

for more of these inspiring works please visit his site on www.benandino.com

The encouraging interview with this talented young man will be posted soon on this blog.

Photo credits: Ben Andino

AFRICAN STREET FOODS et al: Nigeria

African foods have so much splendor, color and spice. Their mouth watering aromas and displays are exceptional.

My favorites are the street foods. They are small chops usually made and sold in little outdoor stands of local pubs though they can be personally made as small chops for house parties or traditional occasions.
Here are some from Nigeria..

Will be dropping recipes one by one in subsequent posts so watch out :)

SUYA (BEEF/LAMB KEBAB)

 ABACHA/TAPIOKA/AFRICAN SALAD

 FRIED YAM AND FISH STEW

 BOLI (ROASTED PLANTAIN) & BEEF KEBAB

 BOLI (ROASTED PLANTAIN) WITH CREAM

 ISI EWU (GOAT HEAD)

 STOCK FISH AND UGBA

BUNS 

 CHICKEN PIE (PASTY)

 ASSORTED SNACKS(FRIED CHICKEN, SPRING ROLLS, SAMOSA, SCOTCH EGGS, PUFF PUFF, AKARA AND EGG

 SUYA VENDOR (BEEF KEBAB)

 PUFF PUFF (UP CLOSE)

 MIXED FRIED RICE AND FRIED MEAT

 SALMON KEBAB

FRIED COCONUT BALLS COATED WITH SUGAR

 FRIED SNAILS

UKWA (BREAD FRUIT)

 NKWOBI (COW MEAT IN PEPPER AND OIL PALM)

 NKWOBI

 MIXED MEAT PEPPER SOUP

 BEANS PORRIDGE AND FRIED PLANTAINS

PRAWN FRIED RICE WITH FRIED SNAILS AND PLANTAINS

AND OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE, NOODLES!

Photo credits: 9jafoodie.com

                      Nairaland.com

                      Alhaji's cuisine

                      spicebaby.com

                      All Nigerian recipes

RECIPES: Moi Moi.. African bean cake...

Hello lovely family!

This week, I will be dropping recipes for the African dishes I can lay my hands on.. This was requested by visitors to the blog.
I always tell people its never too late to learn to cook.. in fact ANYONE can cook.. It just takes your creativity, your taste and of course Mr. Stomach's wishes (yes thank you..LOL)

Today I will start with Moi Moi a bean cake dish from Nigeria. Its so yummy I'm literally salivating thinking about it...
Will send more pictures as soon as I've made mine so please feel free to send me a picture of yours :)

Enjoy and happy cooking...

photo credits: Alhaji's cuisine

MOI MOI
COUNTRY: Nigeria (universal)
How I love me some moi moi.. everything about it makes your mouth water.. (salivating already..lol).
INGREDIENTS: (serves 4)
1 cup of beans (brown or black eyed)
2 cooking spoons groundnut/soya oil
2 small red peppers
2 small red chillies (tatashe)
4 tbsp crayfish
1 medium sized onion
2 small tomatoes (optional)
2 large hard boiled eggs (optional)
1/2 small tin of corned beef (optional)
2 tbsp of sweet corn (optional)
1/2 cup of water
2 seasoning cubes
salt (to taste)
containers: aluminium foils, plastic boils or Uma leaves (Thaumatococcus Daniellii)

RECIPE
About an hour before cooking the moi moi, soak and wash the beans to remove the coat. When the entire coat has been removed, place the beans in a bowl and pour enough water to cover it. Leave to soak for three hours. This is so that the best consistency will be achieved when you blend the beans.
If you will use eggs, cook till hard boiled, cut into small pieces and set aside. Open the can of corned beef and separate the beef into small lumps.
Now go ahead and prepare the moi moi containers.


Next..
Wash the tatashe, onions, red pepper, crayfish and set aside. Ensure to remove the tatashe seeds as they have a tendency to give meals a bitter taste.
Now that the beans is soaked (the bean seed is tender when you pinch it), it is time to blend it. The taste and feel of your Moi Moi depends so much on the consistency of the blend. If in doubt, put a small quantity of bean seeds in your home blender and grind to the best of its ability using as small quantity of water as possible. Feel the resulting paste with your fingers and if you notice any tiny pieces at all, then the blender is not good for Moi Moi.


Cooking Directions
Blend the beans, tatashe, onions, crayfish and pepper together and put in a big enough bowl.
Prepare about half a litre of warm water. This will be used in mixing the moi moi. You do not want to use hot water for this purpose as it may cause the mix to be lumpy.
Slowly add the warm water and stir the mixture at the same time. When you have achieved medium consistency, add salt to taste, 2 cooking spoons of oil.
Stir the mixture very well and start putting the mix in your choice of containers. Now is the time to add one egg piece per bowl/ aluminium foil/ uma wrap. The corned beef pieces should be added this way too if chosen.


NOTE: Moi Moi is one of the Nigerian food recipes that is prepared cold. All the mixing and adding of ingredients is done off the stove. That is to say, once you start cooking, there is no going back! You cannot decide to add more salt or seasoning or a new ingredient later. So getting it right at the mixing stage is very important.
Pad the base of a big pot and set the moi moi containers in the pot, add a small quantity of boiling water and start cooking.
Add as small quantity of water as possible at a time while cooking the Moi Moi as detailed in preparation and use of moi moi containers so that the moi moi will not become watery when done. This is the case especially when using aluminium foil or uma leaves.
The length of time you will cook your Moi Moi depends on the quantity and the Moi Moi container you used.
The Moi Moi that gets done quickest is the one wrapped in Uma or Banana leaves, followed by Moi Moi wrapped in aluminum foils then the one that takes the most time is Moi Moi cooked in aluminium or plastic plates.
But whatever Moi Moi container you use, it is advisable to cook your Moi Moi for at least 1 hour, before checking it. Confirm that it is done by putting a knife through it, if the knife is stained with Moi Moi paste, then the Moi Moi is not done, but if the knife just has a slight smear of Moi Moi, then it's done. Also, when you cut through the Moi Moi, the insides will be set and not watery.
If you are cooking a few wraps of Moi Moi in a small pot on high heat, then it will only take about 45 minutes to get done while when you are cooking a large pot of Moi Moi, it will definitely take more than one hour.


CONTAINER PREPARATION
Small Plastic/Aluminium Bowls
Before putting the moi moi mix into the plastic/aluminium bowls, first of all rub the insides of these bowls with oil. This is to prevent the moi moi from sticking to the bowl after cooking.
When putting the moi moi mix, it is advisable to keep the contents only up to half of the container. This is because moi moi rises during cooking. If the container is filled to the brim the contents will overflow during cooking.
While cooking the moi moi, water that is poured into the pot should only be half way up the bowls at the bottom of the pot. This is so that the water used in cooking the moi moi will not go into the bowls.


Aluminium foil
Scoop some moi moi mix into the aluminium foil bag through the open end of the bag. Just as in the case of bowls, it is advisable to keep the contents only up to half of the folded aluminium bag. This is because moi moi rises during cooking. If the bag is filled to the brim, it will burst during cooking with the contents flowing into the pot and making a mess.
When you are happy with the quantity, fold the open end of the aluminium bag and place the bag in a padded pot. Padding should be placed at the base of the cooking pot used in cooking moi moi that is wrapped in aluminium foils. Placing the bags of aluminium foils directly in the pot will cause the bags at the base to burst due to intense heat.
The bags of moi moi should be placed into a pot of boiling water and not cold water. This is so that the contents will set almost immediately thereby preventing accidental leakage.


Uma (Thaumatococcus Daniellii) Leaves
The stalks of uma leaves that were taken out during its washing should be used to pad the base of the pot and the folded moi moi placed on these to prevent burning of the wraps at the base of the pot.
It is advisable to use at least 2 leaves to make one wrap. This doubling ensures a better reinforcement for the moi moi wraps to avoid leakages. Please note that with uma leaves, it is hard to achieve 0% leakage but we can live with tiny leakages.
To make uma wraps: First of all, place 2 leaves on top of each other, fold them into a cone. Then bend the pointed end and hold it there. Put some moi moi mix into the cone. Fold the open end and place the wrap in a pot of boiling water. The quantity of water should be so small that your fingers will barely touch it.
If you do not get it the first time, do not worry. This skill is perfected with practice. With time, you may even device your own easier method of doing this. Just remember that the goal is to make a wrap that allows the moi moi stay in the leaf without leaking out.

FOOD ART 2: THE STAR THAT YOU ARE

Hello beautiful people!

Today I continue on my food art buzz since the last one was such a sensation, I was thrilled to hear your comments on facebook, twitter, on here and EVEN ON BBM! God bless you all *hugs and kisses*

Well last night we (the boys and I) whipped up some JOLLOF RICE. Its an African kind of rice in tomato sauce.
I will begin dropping recipes of the foods I make soon.

As usual, we used whatever our scanty kitchen could provide (We are students on a budget so you get the picture) LOL. Again we whipped up a feast!

All we had was some left over white rice, a tin of chopped tomatoes, 2 bell peppers and half a can of sweetcorn... and of course sardines in a can!

This just shows you how much you can do with so little... again, you don't have too break bank to have a good meal.

The star is just a representation of who we are and all what this blog represent. We all are special in our own way, we all have something to show the world through our talents. Everyone is good at something. So believe in yourself, leave your foot prints in the sands of time. Let the world remember you for something positive. Be the STAR that you are!

"Let your light glow, xoxo!"

AFRIQ A'MOUR..

Here are some pictures that remind us of the beauty, love and warmth of Africa our motherland. I saw these on some African inspired sites and couldn't be any more prouder than I already am.

In all the trials and wars and hunger and drought and poverty and corruption and fear, regardless of our social status, let the faces in the pictures below help us all remember the happiness in our hearts, the joy in our tears, the natural beauty and love from AFRICA.

Enjoy..