Chicken Wings

About a month ago, I started craving some buffalo chicken wings, but didn't really have the time to make some. I decided to pick some up at a pizza joint about a block from my home, but they just didn't do them right (they were breaded - an obvious no no for the true buffalo wing connoisseur). I guess I should have known - 'this west coast folk don't know nothing about no buffalo wings'.
Finally, I decided to go ahead and make mine. The recipe is simple - toss the wings in seasoned salt, let sit for about 30 mins. Toss them in a little bit of flour (about a teaspoon), deep fry and toss in your favorite buffalo sauce. Yummy!!!

After cooking up a second batch about a week later, I got sick of eating buffalo wings, but I still had some frozen wings left in the freezer. Not really a dilemma, but, since I am always looking to add something new to my mental recipe book, I decided to try making 'Teriyaki Wings'.

I picked up a teriyaki glaze/marinade from the store ( I picked a teriyaki glaze over a teriyaki sauce because it is thicker, which makes it more likely to stick). I tossed the wings in salt and black pepper, cooked them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they started to brown, tossed them in the glaze, then put them back in the oven for about 10 mins to brown.

The result - a simple but excellent and tasty wing dish. I made mine a meal with some homemade coleslaw on the side.

Shepherd's Pie

My love for Shepherd's pie started at the British School of Lome. Okay, what we were served from that kitchen during lunch was not quite the real deal, but I could imagine its potential, if done right.
I was part of a cooking club that met at one of the teacher's houses in BSL, and it was there that I made it for the first time. I cannot claim to remember every step from back then, but a simple and straight forward tutorial given to me by my sis-in-law, Daureen, brought back memories.
I tried it again a few months ago, and have made it a few more times since for my sis, who loves it.

What you need:
Mashed potatoes - I like to make mine (potatoes, butter(low fat spread), milk (I prefer lowfat/skim)
Ground beef/turkey - have used both and both taste great (Sister claims she does not taste the difference)
Onions - chopped
Mixed veggies - whatever kind you have will work. I have even used Asian stir-fry mixed veggies
Gravy - l like to make mine with a dissolved bouillon cube and a little flour for thickening, but, store bought is great.
Salt and black pepper to taste.
What to do:
Spray cooking spray into a heated pan
Sautee onions until cooked
Add ground meat, salt and pepper (to taste), and brown until cooked
Add mixed vegetables, cook until tender
Add gravy and simmer for 5 minutes
Grab a casserole dish, add the beef mixture
Spread the mashed potatoes over the mixture
Run lines over the surface with a fork (optional)
Bake in a 400 degree (F) oven for 45 minutes or until starts to brown and sauce starts to bubble over.

Simple and delicious.

Chili con carne

As the temperature starts to drop (didn't summer just start?), we don't feel like going out as much, usually because it means layering up, etc.

A good hearty meal for one of those nights you might feel like laying in your bed or sitting on the couch with a good movie or book, and a blanket or two wrapped around you, is chili con carne (translated as peppers with meat).

My chili is a tasty combination of ground beef, onions, cooked kidney beans (canned is fine, but I prefer to cook mine), onions, tomatoes (crushed or chopped), chili powder, and salt, pepper, herbs and garlic to taste.

Slow cooked on the stove for 1 to 1 1/2hours, chili is a one pot delight that tastes great topped with grated cheddar cheese, fresh chopped onions, crackers, or chopped green peppers like I do.

*I like mine thick, so I add a little or no water. Feel free to adjust to your taste.
*Ground turkey is a perfect substitute for the healthier eater.
*Want to kick things up a bit? Use a mixture of ground beef and sausage.

Bacon wrapped scallops

I love seafood in general, but scallops are one of my favorites. Scallops are delicious and most importantly for me, easy to cook. Like most seafood, it does not take long to cook, and if cooked too long, the texture becomes rubbery.

One of my favorite dishes is 'Bacon wrapped scallops'.

Here is what you need:-
Fresh or frozen (defrosted) scallops
Bacon (I use turkey bacon because it is healthier and just as tasty)
Toothpicks
Black pepper (optional)

Step 1:
- wrap each scallop in a piece of bacon
- stick a toothpick through the wrap to hold in place


Step 2:
- line up on a backing sheet, about an inch or so apart
- sprinkle with black pepper (optional)


Step 3:
- bake in a 350 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for 15-20 minutes (until bacon is slightly crispy).


Serve alone as an appetizer, or serve as an entree like I did with couscous.



*Don't like scallops, substitute with shrimps or prawns.
*This dish is an excellent one to do with the kids. My 8 year old niece and I had fun making bacon wrapped prawns and then eating them.

'Africans don't like potatoes'

About a month or so ago, while over at a friends, quite confidently, she said to me, 'Africans don't like potatoes'. The reason she made this statement was because I was cooking a few dishes for dinner that night, and my oven roasted herb potatoes (will definitely put it up the next time I make it) was one of them. She was cautioning me not to make too much.

This got me thinking. Although the statement is an obvious generalization (my sis loves potatoes, she claims they are her favorite vegetable), could the reason we are not crazy about them be that we feel potatoes are boring and usually there is not really much that we do with it. Often times, we simply boil it and eat it with stew.

I guess the texture/taste of a potato in the boiled form is quite boring. For example, my brother has no problem with mashed potatoes or fries, but something about it being boiled, does not quite interest him.

On the contrary friends, potatoes, can be fun!

There are quite a few simple side dishes that you can make with potatoes. Oven roast them chopped into bite size pieces with your favorite seasonings - Italian seasonings work great; mash them up with milk and butter, add a little sour cream for added yumminess; or do as I did a few days ago, thinly slice up the potatoes and bake them in a cheese sauce (Knorr makes a great three cheese sauce) in the oven for about 40 minutes, for a simple but delightful scalloped potatoes.

Calorie conscious, substitute milk with fat-free/low fat milk, and butter with low fat/cholesterol free spreads, and you won't even remember it's low fat.

Dinner in about 20 minutes

Sick of eating the same thing? Tired of leftovers? Hungry but not up for an hour by the stove?

On you next visit to the grocery store, pick up sachet or bottled sauces like 'Mongolian Beef', 'Thai Curry', 'General Tso', 'Thai Basil', 'Teriyiaki' or 'Curry Garam Masala'. Also grab some frozen mixed vegetables, or if you prefer fresh, a medley of onions and sweet peppers work great too.

Grab a wok or a frying pan, some cooking spray, frozen mixed vegetables (or chop up onions and peppers) and your sauce of choice.

Heat the pan, spray with the cooking spray, sauté the vegetables, add the sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over rice, vermicelli or even udon noodles (You can add some store bought cooked shrimp or chicken just before adding the sauce, and simmer a little longer, for a heartier meal).

Always works out great for me. Not only do I get a meal in just a few minutes, but I don't have to go to an ethnic restaurant to get ethnic food.

p.s - In the pictures above, I used 'Essensia Mild Curry Garam Masala'. It is a low calorie sauce.

Mangoes

About a week ago, I bought some mangoes from the grocery store, and when I tried one, it was basically rubbish.
This kinda sucked since the ones I got a few weeks back from the same store took me right back to West Africa. I thought I had finally found a place that sold decent mangoes.
Anyway, I figured all was not lost. So, I looked up a pretty easy dessert recipe online. It was delicious !!!!

Mango Shortbread

	CRUST 1 1/4 cups butter
	4 cups flour
	1 cup sugar
	FILLING
	2 cups mangoes, sliced thinly
	1/4 cup flour
	2/3 cup sugar
	1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Directions	Cream crust ingredients. Pat 1/2 of mixture into a 9x13 inch pan. Set aside other half. Mix filling ingredients (sugar, flour, cinnamon) - and fold in mangoes. Spread over crust Add rest of crust mixture over mango filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Nigerian style barbequed beef (Suya)

Living on this side of the pond made treats like suya a rare commodity.
Yes, there is 'Suya Master' in DC, and a few other places in London, Houston and Atlanta, but for me, since I do not live in any of those cities, it is hard to come by.
I had attempted recreating this gem once or twice as a teenager, but it wasn't until 2001, when my roommate at the time, Mercy, made some for her birthday party that I was bold enough to give it another try.
Much thanks to her, it has become one of my most treasured recipes, and a party pleaser. Cooked in the oven, instead of on a charcoal grill like the masters do it, I like to garnish with onions and green peppers, and stick it on a toothpick for finger food. As an alternative, I skewer a few thinly sliced pieces, and serve with rice and plantain as an entree.
It might not be as good as the real thing, but it is a pretty good substitute, if I do say so myself.

I just love cooking!

Ever since I was little, I have loved cooking. I still remember being 7 years old in the kitchen with my mother learning how to chop onions the right way.
By the time I was a teenager, I had learned how to cook quite a few Nigerian meals like Jollof (Jellof, keeping it Naija) rice, Fish Stew, Egusi Soup, Banga Soup, and I even attempted to make pounded yam from scratch. I had also attempted a few dishes from my mother's British cookbooks.
At 17, I went to college and that was when I really started to experiment with food. I love food from all over the world, and once I taste a dish, and I love it, I am desperate to learn how to cook it myself.
Once I accomplish making a meal the traditional way, I like to put a little bit of 'me' into it the next time I cook that meal. 'Me' is learning about or experimenting with substitute ingredients that taste just as good; such as ground turkey when you don't have beef, using brown rice in Jellof rice, or adding spices I love and grew up with - like curry, thyme and cayenne pepper to create a fusion of sorts.
I love cooking that is simple but delicious, so at times, I go for a semi-homemade approach, especially when it comes to pastries and baking. I get bored of eating the same thing, so, I am at the stove quite often.
Anyway, above is a picture of some food (meat pies, mini pizzas, spring rolls with beef samosa filling, Singaporean noodles, and shrimp spring rolls - also made a Sangria) that I made for my sister's birthday almost two months ago. Many thanks and love to you sis, for encouraging me to do this xoxo.