Don’t slop me – Easy sloppy joes

Sunday dinners are always laid back and easy to make (at our place). My brother and I made sloppy joes and even though there was a blackout – meh! we kept at it.

Saucy minced beef and a bun is all you need to make this simple meal so no excuses!

I decided to add some spinach and kale just cause I love greens 🙂

What we used:

• Minced beef – 529 g
• Coconut oil – 3 Tbsp
• Curry powder – 11/2 tsp
• Black pepper -1/2 tsp
• Ground paprika – 1 tsp
• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
• Salt -1 tsp
• 1 Medium size red onion
• 3 tomatoes
• Dhania – 1 Tbsp
• Ginger -1/2 tsp
• Garlic – 6 cloves (crush the ginger and garlic together to make a paste)
• Tomato paste – 3 tsp
• Buns (Brown or white)
• Mayonnaise (optional)

Spinach and Kale

• Kale – 4 large leaves
• Spinach – 4 large leaves
• 1 red onion
• Fresh cream – 1 tsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp

   

Method

I always start by slightly cooking the onions and spices so that once the meat goes in maximum flavor is obtained…

   

..once the all the dry spices, tomato paste, ginger and garlic have combined and the onions have become translucent add the minced beef and mix until all the meat gets evenly brown as in the 2nd picture below..

 

…add the tomatoes and combine. Cover the pan and let it cook over medium heat. This allows the tomatoes to break down and it will start getting saucy.

  

After about 10 mins add 1/2 cup of water to prevent the meat from drying out. Cover the pan and let it cook for another 5 mins over low-medium heat.

Add the chopped up dhania and cover for another 3 mins before taking it off the heat.

Preparing the Spinach and Kale

Shred the spinach and Kale together using a sharp knife, put them in a sufuria (pot) along with the salt, diced onion and coconut oil. Stir over low-medium heat.

…after the greens have shrunk add the fresh cream and stir.

  

after about 3 mins the greens are ready.

Assembling

Cut the buns into halves and toast the inner side..

..spread the mayo then add the minced beef and greens and that’s all that is to it.

  

serves 6

It hugs you on the inside..seriously! 🙂

Hope you are all enjoying your holiday and as always thanks for passing by! till next time X

Getting grilly with it – Grilled short ribs

When walking by random kiosks in some neighborhoods in Nairobi you might just get hit by the thick aroma and smoke from roast meat over a charcoal grill which instantly makes your mouth water. Nyama choma (Roast meat) has won the hearts of many and I can tell you my love for meat knows no bounds.

Today’s post is on grilled short ribs which my brother helped make. They have a lot more meat on them and can take a while to grill but this depends on whether you prefer them medium rare of well done. Grilling time can take 2-3 hours. 

I don’t have much experience with grilling and with that being said, I was expecting whatever outcome but they turned out okay – phew!

I have to say that the yogurt added that extra oomph when it came to flavor.

What I used:

• Plain yogurt – 1 1/2 cups
• Oregano – 1 heaped tsp
• Basil – 1 heaped tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder – 1 tsp
• Paprika – 1/2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Garlic – 6 coves
• Ginger – 1 tsp
• Olive oil – 3 Tbsp
• Short ribs – 790 g

You will also need:

• Aluminiunm foil
• Cling film

 

N.B. Put the salt into the marinade just before grilling since salt is known to draw moisture out of meat.

Method

Step one: Marination

 First, I decided to separate the ribs just for convenience sake…

  

…crush the garlic and ginger together using a pestle and mortar (adding salt brings out the juices of the garlic)..

    

… put in the yogurt, olive oil, dry ingredients, garlic and ginger into a bowl that can accommodate all the ingredients and mix well..

   

   

 

…put in the ribs and mix making sure each piece is coated well. Go on to cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate for 4-5 hours before grilling. 

   

 

To learn more on meat marination check out Allrecipes.com

Step 2: Grilling

Alrighty! so it’s now five hours later and time to grill. If you have aluminium foil you can use it as it prevents the meat from drying out too fast as it roasts but since I ran out of foil, the meat went into the grill as it was. Remember to shake off any excess marinade before grilling.

 

  

 

We prefer well done meat, I used a temperature of 150 degrees centigrade for 2 hours 15 mins turning the meat regularly so that it can cook through (the meat on short ribs is a bit thick) 

  

once the meat has cooked to your liking, take it out and keep it covered with the foil to keep it moist..you are now ready to serve with Ugali, roast potatoes or whatever you’d like to eat your ribs with.

   

If you’d like to know more on the amount of time taken to grill ribs then check out Addicted to grilling for an in depth explanation. 

Thanks for reading! Till next time x

Smoothville – Healthy, delicious smoothie.

Smoothies have that unexplained satisfaction..I’m not sure if it’s the unique mix of flavors or if its just the fact that it’s so easy to make. Either way they just make me happy 🙂

Plus it’s healthy and you can drink to your fill knowing that its beneficial to your body..seriously what’s not to like?

The ingredients aren’t rigid so you can change them according to your preference..have fun with it! Being in the kitchen is all about experimenting.

What i used:

• Plain Yogurt- 2 cups 
• 1 Banana
• 1 smooth and creamy Avocado
• Diced Mango  – 1 cup
• The juice of 1 orange
• Honey -Two Tblspns
• Milk – Half a glass
• A blending machine

Method

 Pour the yogurt and add the fruits,orange juice, honey and milk into the blender… 

                                            

..blend until all the ingredients are combined..

                

and voila!you have your healthy drink…easy peasy 😀 

 

 

 

feel free to add milk if you think it’s too thick.

Have fun making your smoothie

Thanks for reading and have a lovely week! Till next time x 

 

Swahili tea-Mahamri na mbaazi

Mahamri and Mbaazi (Pigeon peas) has to be one of the best marriages in food heaven, they just go so well together. It’s a treat for breakfast, tea time and everything in between.

My mum makes some good mahamri and mbaazi so this time she was the cook and I was busy taking photos.

So what exactly is Mahamri?…well it’s like mandazi but has yeast and cardamon added to it. Yes those two extras make all the difference in the world and the marriage of flavors is amazing. Mbaazi on the other hand is pigeon peas boiled, cooked in onion, spices and coconut powder and milk.

I’ll leave you with some photos from that cooking session as well links to recipes so you can make some of your own. Hope you try it out.

P.S: if you can’t get pigeon peas, beans would be an amazing substitute (preferably green beans since they have a creamier texture than the others)

     

   

   

For Mahamri and Mbaazi check out Fauzia’s kitchen fun.

Thanks for stopping by! Till next time X

Winging it – Simple chicken wings

Chicken wings are hands down one of my fave things to eat… no justification needed!

I made some last week and you guys can now get to see what I managed to cook up and yes I cooked up the recipe too. I’m not really into honey (or anything sweet for that matter) on chicken or ribs I just prefer the savory type of recipes but for all of you out there who beg to differ then to each their own 😀

Most of the ingredients used are basic and if  you decide to use this recipe you can definitely tweak some of them to suit your taste. OK enough talk, lets get to the good part..here’s what i did.

Ingredients

• Chicken wings – 700g                                                 
• Oil- for deep frying 
• Olive oil – 6 Tbsp
• Tomato paste -1 tsp
• Salt and Black pepper- put to your taste
• Curry powder-1 tsp
• Oregano – 1 tsp
• Cayenne pepper
• Paprika – 1 tsp
• Tumeric – 1/2 tsp
• Green pepper-half 
• Red onion – medium size
• Ginger – 1/2 tsp
• Garlic – 4 cloves
• 3 Tomatoes 
• 2 tsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of lemon zest

 

Method

Split the wings into two sections as in the second pic below

      

 

deep fry in oil until golden brown and drain on a kitchen towel…

cut up the veggies …

 

pour  the olive oil into a big pan that will be able to accommodate all the wings  and put in the onions and garlic/ginger…cook till translucent and then add the tomato paste, curry powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika and turmeric do all this over low heat to prevent burning.  After about two minutes add the chicken wings (I prefer putting them in at this point so they can get some flavor)

 

So at this stage my onions burned 😀 so had to take some of them out. Just make sure you are on low heat to prevent this. After a bit -about two mins I added the tomatoes and salt and mixed well.

       

Before adding the lemon zest and juice let the tomatoes break down  for about 5 mins, put in the julienned green pepper and Oregano and mix well. Let it cook over medium heat for about 10-15 mins so that all the flavors can merge then you are ready to enjoy some finger licking wings .

       

Give this simple but oh-so tasty recipe a try and see how you’d like it.

 

Thanks for reading! Till next time 🙂