Jollof rice

Hey lovelies,

I hope you are all having a great weekend. I had a 3-day weekend and I am still enjoying it so far. I finally got baptized yesterday, it’s been a long time coming but I am so excited it finally happened. I chose Joanna as my baptismal name which means “The Lord Gives Graciously”. After being healed by Jesus from an unknown ailment, Joanna became a great supporter of Jesus by giving totally to His ministry and following Him wherever He went. God honored her by making her one of the first witnesses of the Resurrection when she found the empty tomb. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles (Luke 24:10).  Just like Joanna, I want to spend my time giving to those who are in need and to the Church of God. So what better way is there to celebrate my baptism than to cook some jollof rice and chicken:). Here is the recipe for the jollof rice.

Ingredients

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (with basil, garlic & oregano)

1 small green bell pepper (remove seeds)

2 large red bell peppers (remove seeds)

1 small red onion

1 small yellow onion

2 habanero pepper

2 tbsp. tomato paste

½ cup vegetable oil

2 bay leaves

½ tbsp. thyme

1 tbsp. curry

½ tbsp. salt

4 bouillon cubes (I used Knorr)

4 cups of parboiled rice

1 can whole sweet corn (optional)

Directions

1. In a blender, combine tomatoes, green bell pepper, red bell peppers, red onion, habanero peppers, and tomato paste
2. Blend until smooth and puree-like in consistency
3. In a medium sized pot, heat up ½ cup vegetable oil
4. Once the oil is hot add the chopped yellow onion
5. Allow onion to become soft then add the tomato sauce
6. Add the spices: bay leaves, thyme, curry, salt,  bouillon cubes
7. Bring to boil
8. Wash the rice and add to boiling tomato sauce
9. Bring to boil
10. Reduce to low heat and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil (picture below)
11. Steam the rice till tender(which takes approximately 30 minutes)
12. Stir lightly 1 to 2 times during steaming period
13. Drain the water out of the sweet corn can
14. Rinse the sweet corn*
15. Add sweet corn to the cooked rice and lightly stir to mix into the rice

*Healthy tip: always rinse out canned vegetables to remove some of the sodium used in preserving it

The jollof rice is going to get burnt at the bottom, don’t worry about it, it adds to the overall taste of the dish. Have a blessed week.

Ajike…Xx

Banana-Raspberry Smoothie

Hey lovelies,

TGIF! I trust you all had a great week. I am so excited I was not scheduled to work this weekend, I can finally get some quality me time. After clinicals, I headed over to a classmate's house for girls night which was lots of fun. I just made it back home and I'm about to end the night with a glass of smoothie and the Oprah magazines I ordered from groupon (got a one-year subscription for $10 *insert bbm dancing smiley*). If you have leftover fruits from the week, you should try this recipe it works with most fruit combinations. 

Ingredients

2 bananas

1 cup raspberries

1/2 cup ice cubes

2 cups coconut milk

2 tbsp honey (may substitute for sugar)

Directions

1. In a blender combine bananas, raspberries, ice cubes, coconut milk, and honey

2. Blend until smooth

3. Pour into glasses and serve

PS: if you don't already have the groupon app on your phone download it now! You can thank me later:).

Ajike...Xx

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey lovelies,

I hope you are all having a great week so far. My fiancé, Mr.B and I had to celebrate our Valentine's Day over the weekend due to the fact that we are in a long distance relationship. It really sucks being in a long distance relationship, however, we still had a lovely weekend filled with lots of food and laughter. 

This post is for those of you still scrambling around trying to decide what to do for your special ones..P.S:I am totally judging you right now if you fall into this category! LOL. To make your lives easier I will be sharing with you this Rachel Ray inspired chocolate mousse cup recipe I got from one of my friends. It is very easy to make and the taste is simply divine.

Ingredients
1 egg
Pinch salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2/3 cup whole milk 
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. hazelnut liqueur or dark rum (I used Kahlua)
4 dessert cups


1 cup whipping cream (I used cool whip)
2 Tbsp. sugar
Mint springs,strawberries or raspberries for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Heat milk in a small pan over moderate heat until it comes to a boil

2. In blender combine egg, sugar, a pinch of salt, semi-sweet chocolate chips and liqueur

3. Turn on blender to low setting and pour in boiling milk in a slow stream

4. The hot milk will cook the egg and melt the chocolate

5. Blend 1 minute until smooth

6. Spoon chocolate into 4 demitasse cups and refrigerate over 1 hour or up to overnight

1. In another bowl beat whip cream until soft peaks form

2. Add sugar and beat to combine

3. Top the chocolate cups with a dollop of cream and garnish each cup as desired 

I hope you all have an amazing Valentine's Day!


Ajike...Xx

Hello

I hope you all are having a great week. I am starting this blog with the hopes of discovering myself in the kitchen and making new friends while doing so. This blog will be dedicated to delicious recipes and happenings in the culinary world depending on what catches my attention at the time. Feel free to join me on this new exciting journey!

Ajike...Xx