Chicken Curry and Jollof Rice

Hi guys!

So I have turned to foods that I can just leave to slow cook, or that doesn’t require standing for long periods of time.

 
I have had Jollof rice for the first time a couple of days ago, and I love it! Sort of reminds me of the Portuguese tomato and coriander rice, but with a bit of a kick!

For the Jollof rice, I have fried 1 onion until soft, added 2 tablespoons of tomato purée, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of paprik, some salt and pepper, a little bit over 1.5 cups of chicken stock and when the chicken stock is bubbling away hot, add one cup of long grain rice, and cook if on minimum fire for about 10-15min – make sure you keep an eye on the rice so it doesn’t burn.

For the curry, I fried some 1 onion, 6 closes of garlic and a bit of minced ginger – once the onions are soft, I have browned the chicken thighs (boneless) in the same pan – I like using chicken thighs because they are so nice and moist.

Once the chicken is brown, add 3 tablespoons of garam masala, 1.5 tablespoons cayenne pepper, 3 tablespoons of tomato purée – you can also use tinned tomatoes if you want – and half a cup of chicken stock. Let it slow cook until the sauce gets thick.

Once the curry is ready, I’ve added a bit of the curry sauce to some plain yoghurt. It is equally delicious without the yoghurt sauce.

I hope you’ll try this and let me know how it turns out!
Ana x

Pecorino and Garlic Ramen Fries

Hello guys!

I have seen this recipe on BuzzFeed Food on Facebook and I had to try it!!

Cook two packets of ramen according to directions. If you’ve never cooked ramen before, then please crawl back to the whole you came from… I’m only joking.. But no.. Do follow instructions because you don’t want to overcook it!

After straining ramen in a colander, run cold water over it until noodles are cool. Once they have cooled down, whiskey eggs and seasoning packets together, and add in cold, strained ramen noodles. Mix the egg mixture in to evenly disperse.

Line in baking/foil sheet with plastic wrap, and dump your ramen egg mixture in. Mash the ramen into a tight, even layer and add another sheet of plastic wrap on top. Put something heavy on top to weight it down, this part is critical – it is important that you do this, otherwise the noodles will turn out loose when you fry them. Throw it in the freezer for 2 – 3 hours.

You should have a semi-frozen ramen brick, and now you can start cutting it into long rectangular shapes and fry them until pleasantly crispy and brown.

In a bowl, shave some pecorino cheese, you can use Parmesan if you like. Add some black pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley. Sprinkle this on top of the ramen fries when ready to eat.

I would definitely suggest you to try this at home! At least it would be a new way to cook your instant noodles.

Ana x

Vegan Mocha Mug Cake

Hi Petals! 

Have had a rough day today dealing with confusion emotions. I must say.. I am not doing this house bound patient thing very well.. Staying in and not having anything to do kills me. 

I have had the proper cast put on on Friday and will have to have this on for the next 4 weeks. Still makes it very hard for me to cook! 

So to cheer myself up, I have made a quick and easy Mocha Vegan Mug cake

  
For this recipe, you will need to add 1/2 teaspoon ground coffee, 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal, 3 tablespoons hot water to a microwaveable mug, mix it all together and let it sit for 2-3 minutes

Then add 3 tablespoon of plain flour, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of sea salt. Mix it all together and microwave it on max for 1 minute. Yes, 1 minute is all it takes for this delicious mug cake! 

I have served this with a coconut milk “yogurt” and sprinkled some cinnamon on top. 

This recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make.. I am not a vegan but sometimes I will try recipes like this! I like to know how alternatives will taste like and how it works. And I must tell you, this recipe it’s pretty good. The cake is moist and fluffy. 

Sopa de Ajo – Garlic Soup

Hello guys.. My posts won’t be as often as I would like now because I have broken my ankle and I can’t stand for long periods of time.. Unfortunately I have a lot of time on my hands but will not have time to cook as much as I want, which means I won’t be able to post on my blog either 😦  All I do these days is eat take away and watch tv shows… I am running out of things to watch!  I have managed to cook one meal since I broke my ankle on Tuesday night. I thought that making a soup would be quite easy.. It is however I still sweated like a nun in a brothel! It was like I was in a threadmill running for 10k! Sweat drops rolling down my head.. My back completely soaked! This isn’t life you know?

  

   For this recipe, you’ll need a bunch of flat parsley, about 8 cubes of bread (I’ve used French baguette), half of garlic head (finely chopped), 4 slices of ham (chopped in pieces), two eggs, paprika, chicken stock, extra virgin olive oil and some special black truffle oil. 

I’ve put the cubes of bread in a tray and soaked them with olive oil with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bake the bread until crispy.  Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan and fry the garlic until is golden. Add the ham and the paprika (our paprika is special homemade from our housemate’s mom!). Pour bread into pot and toss to coat with hot oil mixture. Pour chicken stock into bread mixture, add salt (I like to be all fancy and use truffle salt) and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and stir in parsley. 

Make 2 depressions in the bread on top of the soup with a spoon. Crack and slowly pour an egg into each depression. Cover the pan with a lid and cook until egg whites are firm and yolks are thick but not hard.     This recipe takes no more than 10 minutes and it’s super delicious! You can easily make this at home when you don’t have much at home or if you just want something quick after a long hard day!   

This is going to be me for some weeks.. If you have anything that I can do to kill time in the meantime.. Any books or shows that I should watch please don’t hesitate to suggest some!  Ana xx

Pork Kebabs

Hello guys!

It’s been a bit hectic at work – my full time job as a customer relations advisor at Kurt Geiger – and busy weekends chilling out with my best bitches.

We’ve thrown out our old BBQ, so until we replace it with a new one, I got to use the grill for my BBQ style recipes.

This weekend I got some nice camera lied red onion pork sausages from lovely Waitrose – you see I only shop at Waitrose at the beginning of the month.. When my bank account is still popping with sssshmoney. And of course my obsession for courgette salad will never die, so I have made a nice fresh courgette and feta cheese salad to go with my pork sausages kebab!

 
For the pork sausage kebabs, I’ve cut the sausage into pieces.. 3 chunks of cut sausage per stick! So if you get a pack of 6 sausages, you can make 6 kebab sticks, that could be a nice meal for two people! One whole red onion cut into chunks and one red pepper cut into pieces – I wanted to use vegetable that would bring some life to the dish.. The bad thing about being on Atkins, the color of the food can be a bit boring!

I’ve put the kebabs in the grill until the meat was cooked.. I like when the vegetables still have a bit of crunch. While this is cooking, I’m using my baby Benriner (vegetable spiralizer) and cutting the courgettes in long thin strands. I’ve seasoned it with salt, black truffle olive oil and garlic.

 

You can use any meat for the kebabs, if you have left over burger meat from BBQ or other vegetables you can also use that too! Good thing about my recipes, it’s to YOUR taste. I’m here to guide you and give you ideas!

Please try them at home and let me know how it goes!

Much love, Ana xx