Fridge Clearout Recipe | Spicy Prawns Rice Mix

There were two reasons to how I came about with this recipe:

1. It was time for my fridge clearout. I sometimes refer to this as a cleanse
2. I needed something hot and spicy to shift a head cold that suspiciously also feels like hay fever. #Springishere. 

Baking|| Banana Walnut Coconut Chocolate Bread

Banana Walnut Coconut Chocolate Chip Bread

Well its officially now Spring and yep; you read it right and the title says it all. It's another version of Banana Bread folks. The third I have made by my count, which probably makes me bonkers for Banana Bread. One thing they all have in common though is that they have been well received by my privileged circle of critical tasters.
This version however turned out more moist and stickier in comparison with the previous ones I have made. So I recommend allowing it to stand for about an hour before slicing to avoid crumbling.

Tastes of Nostalgia:: Akara/Kosai (Fried Bean Cake)

Akara (Fried Bean Cake)

Referred to as "akara" in southwestern and southeastern parts of Nigeria, and "kosai" in the northern parts. No matter what it is called, it is a very popular breakfast meal which is served alongside corn, millet or sorghum porridge called "ogi"

Baking:: Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Cookies have been a while in coming back on this blog. Simple reason being that, everything just seemed "samey samey" to me. I find that now 6 months into blogging, I have somehow evolved into a form of snack snob - so hard to please!

Now oatmeal cookies have never been a favourite of mine; not sure why, but I think it has always seemed just so boring in flavour.

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Whenever I have come across foods that waver within the precipice of not appealing to me, I always feel left out because I seem to be the only one in the universe who ever owns up to not liking the such foods. I mean there has to be someone else out there who finds oatmeal cookies a tad boring!

Mini Crab Cakes | Conversation Starter

Mini Crab Cakes

After the unusual December - February (weather-wise) that we've had in this neck of the wood, March seems to have finally arrived with some very late chill in the air. And at the beginning of last month I decided to take things easy after the hectic start of the year that I had. This included sticking with easy recipes for the blog, which I think worked out alright. I am thinking that March might be following along with that theme, but we'll just have to wait and see what how that intention pans out.

Baking || Banana and Walnut Chocolate Bread

A couple of months back, I posted a recipe of one of my all time favourites - Banana Bread. Since that post, I have made Banana Bread countless times for myself, friends and colleagues. So effortlessly quick and easy to put together, I have worked on several variations trying to add some character to the current package. And I think I finally nailed it with the help of some staple ingredients in my kitchen.

Banana and Walnut Chocolate Bread

In trying to incorporate the walnuts and chocolate chips into the recipe, I quickly realised that I had to make some slight variations to my original recipe. Of course the bonus of the recipe trials was the discovery of the hit show House of Cards.

Apple & Avocado Slaw

Apple & Avocado Slaw

Ever since I came across a recipe on a fellow Google Plusser's (+Shinae Choi Robinson) blog a couple of months ago I haven't stopped waxing lyrical about it. I even made it for Christmas dinner. I have made it several times since then and along the line, I have also made some variations here and there.Which brings me to today's recipe. You see I figured incorporating avocado into the original recipe would make an interesting texture combination. Verdict = It works!!!

Roselle (Sorrel) + Strawberry Jam

Jams have always been a hard sell for me, mainly due to my reservations about the preservatives in most of the shop bought varieties and my indecisiveness in settling for a flavour preference with the home made ones I have tried. Hence I have always had it in the back of my mind to find that one flavour that would finally "hit the spot" with me.
Now enter in today's offering; which is a no-brainer really.
This is the third time that roselle has come up on this blog. So I decided to try out using the roselle I had left in my stock to try out this idea.

Easy Courgette Crisps

So while now gradually truding further into February, I am beginning to realise that the pace with which I started the year was on full blast. In hindsight, January was such a busy month for me as I had alot going on on my plate at the same time. Thankfully, I am able to now pause, even if for a moment, to appreciate, take stock and slow down a little.
Therefore in the spirit of all things slowed down , my culinary foray has been a translation of my recent laid back approach.

Ingredients:: Roselle (Hibiscus Sabdariffa)

This is a follow up to my Sorrel Juice post a few months back when I promised to highlight the benefits associated with them.
To be honest, I have been putting off writing this for a while now, just because I am wary of my approach towards food being translated into some kind of health freakishness since my love for food and eating probably makes me the unlikeliest candidate for such a label. I mean health benefits would be the last thing on my mind if I came across a serving of meatloaf that has my name written all over it. Having said that though, the benefits of foods to our health and well-being is something that is now a part of our daily consciousness (and sub conscious) which is alright as long as food and eating is not treated as some form of self medication.

For the sake of clarification: Sorrel (Rumex Acetosa) is not the same as Roselle (Hibiscus Sabdariffa). So even though the beverage is usually referred to as Sorrel Juice/Tea, it is actually made from the flowery waxy calyces of the Roselle and not the leafy Sorrel plant.The plant is native to a broad demograph of the world tropical regions, which spans across Australia, Nepal, Thailand, Africa, Middle East, Caribbean and even Latin America.

Health Benefits of Sorrel (Roselle) Juice:
While there are just loads and loads of health claims floating about about this amazing plant I am going to be minimalistic and stick with the basic scientifically proven facts.

1. Antioxidants - It has high levels of flavonoids which controls harmful free radicals in the body. Your heart will thank you for this!
2. Lowers Cholesterol 
3. Antihypertensive 
4. Reduces the symptoms of Cystitis and other Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) - Alot of women already vouch for the potency of cranberry juice to achieve this, but Sorrel Juice has been proven to be more effective
5. Weight Loss - The production of amylase is inhibited; which is the enzyme that breaks down complex sugars and starches
6. Mild Diuretic for water retention
7. Vitamin C boost - It actually contains 3 times more Vitamin C than blackcurrant and 9 times more than other citrus fruits (Citrus Sinensis L)

Sources
McKay D.L., Chen C.Y., Saltzman E., Blumberg J.B. "Hibiscus Sabdariffa L tea lowers blood pressure in prehypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults". Journal of Nutrition, 2010 Feb: 140(2): 298-303.
Hausawadi C., Kawabata J., Kasai T. "Hibiscus acid as an inhibitor of starch digestion in the Caco-2 cell model system". Bioscience Biotechnology Biochemistry, 2001: 65: 2087-2089.
Carvajal-Zarrabal O., Haywood-Jones P.M., Orta-Flores Z., Nolasco-Hipolito C., Barradas-Dermitz D.M., Aguilar-Usang M.G., Pedroza-Hernandez M.F. "Effect of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L dried ethanol extract on fat absorption - excretion, and body weight implication in rats.
Cystitis and Overactive Bladder Foundation.

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January 2014 | Round Up

Well the "longest" month of the year is finally over. It was a pretty quiet month all round but with a lot of activity in my kitchen.
So as a way of looking over what I got up to, I decided to put it all together as a video montage of sorts. All foods highlighted in it are on the blog, so if you see something that catches your fancy, don't hesitate to go on my blog grab the recipe and have a go for yourself.

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Review | Recipe | Balsamic Glazed Vegetable Meatloaf

Balsamic Glazed Vegetable Meatloaf

Apart from working on creating my own recipe development, another favourite thing of mine in the kitchen is trying out other recipes.
So I couldn't believe I pulled this off the first time round. And it was so good, I made another batch the next day.
Meatloaf, for whatever reason has always seemed to be one of those foods that I just had the idea in my head that it was just too complicated to make. That was until I came across a recipe on Google+ by Jeanette Chen - you should should check out her blog for the exact recipe - that was like a revelation!

Tastes of Nostalgia | Chicken Gizzard Kebabs

Chicken Gizzard Kebabs

Ok. I know the title says it all, but seriously, don't knock it till you've tried it. It's just like chicken feet which is very popular across a surprisingly broad demograph of cultures. You would never think that something that drab could be made to create an incredible fusion on the palate. Well the same principle applies to chicken gizzards - they can be amazing.
Well I thought since it has been a while since I last posted up a Taste of Nostalgia food, I thought I would inject some shock factor by way of return.

Baking | Quickie | Almond Walnut Brownies

Almond Walnut Brownies

Its amazing how creative I get when I am peckish. I was in one of my usual carb craving modes without really finding anything that I really wanted to snack on.
So I just dragged out all my baking stash and looked through what I had in stock. And this is what I came up.

Succulent Chicken Breasts

The first time I came up with this recipe, I wasn't really sure what I was going to end up with, but chicken being one of those ingredients that even though might seem bland in it self is quite versatile to incorporate into other ingredients to give it some life. As it turned out, it was an effort definitely worthwhile and since then, it has become a familiar dish in my kitchen. This is so easy to make. Infact it basically makes itself, with the effort going only into putting the marinade together.
The fullness of the flavours in the chicken makes this dish easy to pair with a variety of accompaniments such as rice, bread, couscous etc. You decide what works best for you.

Smoothie Run | One Week Diary - Endless Possibilities

This has been highly requested off the back of my instagram, google+ and twitter postings. I was however a little bit reluctant just because I don't consider myself to be a "health buff "and I love my food too much to treat it like a medication (apologies folks but this is just my opinion). In other words, my palate is just to adventurous to be pigeon-holed. Therefore, my relationship with food just revolves around being sensible and enjoying everything.

Spicy Lamb Tagine | Christmas Present

Tagine and Basmati Rice

Christmas now almost feels like a distant memory, and being my first one as a food blogger it seemed to make it easier - almost predictably - for family and friends to know what to treat me with by way of presents. One of such presents is what I used to conjure up this recipe - The Tagine. This was gifted to me by my Big Sis! Now I have always loved to indulge in tagines, but have never really been motivated to make it myself, because I just felt it would never turn out an epic fail. Besides it always seems to taste better when I eat out. 

Ras el Hanout

Baking:: That White Bread

Baking my own bread is now somewhat a regular thing, especially this one. Kneading the dough is a perfect tension/stress release. It was a good thing then that I decided to make this batch while binge-watching the series of Mistresses......talk about frustration on overdrive! This bread keeps so well for about a week, and even longer if frozen.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Mustard & White Wine Sauce

And so another year has begun and is now moving along. I am as always thankful for everything, including the weather that might otherwise dampen any mood.....good old January. As always there's food and talking about food to keep me happy.

Baking:: Strawberry Layered Brownies

Happy New Year. 2014 is finally here and I am looking forward to discovering what this year has to offer.
Well January is the time when everyone tries to get back on the health wagon after all the festivities, but I think we just have a little room to sneak this one in.
A combination of two of my favourite ingredients - strawberries and chocolate-  this is a dessert worth sharing.