How to Cook Asparagus in a Gizzard and Tomato Sauce

Asparagus is becoming one of my favorite vegetables, though I feel guilty sometimes when I use them in my own recipes. I just feel like I should only use asparagus in the classic recipes like asparagus stuffed chicken, or asparagus wrapped in bacon, that sort of thing.

Picture Tutorial - How to Make Gizzard and Mushroom Sauce

At the beginning of starting my food blogs, I didn't think I could take pictures while cooking. I'm usually very fast and functional whenever I'm in the kitchen, but I was on my phone the other night while making dinner and thought, hey, I can do this picture tutorial thing, you know? It was a bit touch and go, but I think I got the most important steps :)

Let me know what you think, picture tutorial or step-by-step description recipes?

Plantain Porridge with Shrimp and Spinach

I love unripe plantain and cook with it more than the ripe one because I tend to stay away from fried foods and ripe ones mostly lend themselves to dodo. Like I said in this plantain with Afang soup post, the sugary sweet taste of ripe plantain means they don't play too nice with most sauces, in my opinion anyway.

For this meal, you cook it just the way you would yam porridge, or is it pottage?

Ingredients

3 Fingers of unripe plantain
2 tablespoons of palm oil
1 pack of frozen shrimp
Four medium sized tomatoes, blended
Half a medium sized onion, blended
1 tablespoon of ground dry crayfish
Ground pepper,
Salt and other condiments to taste.

How to Cook Thick Chili Con Carne - Serve with Pap

Chili is what we call beans porridge in Nigeria, beans stewed in oil, tomatoes, pepper and other condiments. Chili Con Carne is when you add meat to the equation, in this instance minced beef. There are various ways to cook this, as usual, but mostly kidney beans are used more than black-eyed beans. The way I cook this one, you'll have a thick outcome, best served with pap.

Ingredients:

1 pack of 85% ground beef
2 packs of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 ladlefuls of vegetable oil
2 large tins of tomato puree
5 medium sized fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 large chopped onions
1 tablespoon dried garlic or to taste
1 tablespoon dried ground cumin or to taste
1 tablespoon dried oregano or to taste
2 tablespoons chili powder or to taste
Salt and other mixed spices to taste

Egg Noodles Pasta with Fish and Mushroom Sauce

Pasta is a quick and simple side dish, and it offers loads of variety in the different forms it comes in. There's Penne, Macaroni, Spaghetti, and some even come in rainbow colors. I love all the types and usually have a selection available. For today's menu idea, it is simple boiled Egg Noodles Pasta and Fish and Mushroom Sauce.

PASTA

1. Boil water in a large pot until it is in a roiling boil.
2. Put in a little salt for more flavor and a drop of oil. The oil helps the pasta not to stick to each other and the water not to boil over the pot.
3. Add your pack of egg Noodles pasta and stir immediately
4. Leave the pot open and stir every now and then.
5. There is usually cooking directions on the pasta package, but bite one after about 10 mins and remove from heat when you like the texture.
6. Strain immediately and if you want, run cold water over it. I'd rather eat like that.

How to Make Beef in Celery and Mushroom Sauce

Theis sauce is very similar to this celery recipe, but there's no tomatoes, it is replaced by mushrooms.

Ingredients

A pound of Beef
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
A small bunch of celery stalks with some hearts if possible. Washed and sliced
Four medium sized tomatoes, chopped
Half a medium sized onion, sliced
Ground pepper,
Salt and spices to taste.

Grilled Beef Ribs with Vegetable and Mushroom

Most of us, myself included, believe it's not a proper meal if there's no carbohydrate involved. So most of our meals feature a starchy element either as the main meal or a side. If you're a typical Nigerian like me, it had to be the main dish jare, at least by size.

So the eba/poundo/amala has to be bigger than the efo, the rice has to fill the plate, then you'll add a jot of stew or sauce to the top, if you're eating moi-moi or beans, there has to be akamu/ogi/custard or you drink garri with plenty sugar. If you've seen the moi-moi post you'll know I really have a ways to go myself on this issue.

But last year while on the Bouari program, I made a realization. The program promotes healthy eating and calorie counting and wherever possible, all their menu and recipe samples asked for me to quit the carbs. While on the program I did, afterwards, I regressed. But I had learnt some things and they stuck.

Boiled Plantain with Afang Vegetable Sauce

This is a picture heavy post since I assume most people know how to boil food? This is a simple meal using some leftover soup from my Afang recipe. I love unripe plantain because I tend to stay away from fried foods and ripe ones mostly lend themselves to dodo, their sugary sweet taste means they don't play too nice with most sauces, in my opinion anyway.

I fell in love with that tangy [Atala calls it bland] taste of unripe plantains after a family member became diabetic and had to adjust their menu. It makes sense to me in the well being journey not to wait till you're sick before taking measures to be healthy. So I look at the menu of diabetics or those with high blood pressure and borrow a leaf.