Nma Chioma's Fried Yam and Pepper Sauce - Redefining Naija Street Food"

In 2010, when my siblings and I went back to Nigeria for our yearly visit, my mom prepared this amazing fried yam and pepper sauce. OMG, this meal was so amazing that I could not stop eating yam until we left Nigeria back for the United States. The pepper sauce was made of dried fish, stock-fish and crayfish. You are allowed to imagine how great this combination would taste.

My husband and son love eating yam, so I try to make lunch and dinner very interesting and appetizing. Today, I decided to make my mom's famous fried yam and redefined pepper sauce for my boys. Here are the items you will need:

• 1/2 Yam (peeled and sliced)
• 4 tbsp crayfish 
• 1/4 red onion bulb (diced)
• 6 csp palm oil
• 1 cup cooked stock fish ()
• 4 scotch bonnet (chopped)
• 1 cube knorr and pepper to taste (or Salt)
• Salt and pepper

1. Soak the yam after slicing in water for 15 minutes. Then sprinkle salt and shake to evenly distribute it.
2. In a small saucepan, add palm oil into the pan and heat for about 4 minutes. Then add the chopped onions and fry for a minute.
3. Add the cooked stocked fish pieces and fry for 4 minutes. 
   
4. Then add the chopped scotch bonnet and fry for a minute. Season with knorr and pepper and adjust taste, if necessary
   
5. Add the crayfish and fry for 5-6 minutes. Stir, so that the crayfish is distributed evenly. 
   
6. Fry for 2 minutes more and serve. 
   

Shrimp Asparagus-Mushroom Wheels Pasta

I decided to make this mouth-watering meal for my son and my brother's girlfriend, Amanda. Amanda helped take care of my 10 month old while I was sick and the best way to show my appreciation was to make her a perfect meal. I chose shrimp because she is vegetarian. She also loves veggies and that is why I added asparagus and mushroom. Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 1 Pack Barilla mini wheels pasta
• 1 lbs shrimp
• 1/4 cup green onions (spring onions) for garnishing
• 1/2 cup mushroom (chopped)
• 1/2 cup asparagus (chopped)
• 3 roma tomatoes 
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red onions (1/2 to be blended with tomatoes and other half chopped)
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 csp olive oil
• 21/2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cubes knorr
• salt
• pepper
• water
• Cilantro for garnishing

1. Blend the tomatoes, red bell pepper, scotch bonnet, and half onion. Cook until the water dries up
2. Chop green onions, onions, asparagus, mushroom and cilantro.
3. In a large saucepan, add cooking spoon of olive oil, then add the diced onion and fry until translucent. Fry the blended tomatoes for about 3 minutes. Add seasonings and fry for 2 minutes. Add water and let it boil. Then add the mini wheel pasta and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust taste if necessary. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. In a medium saucepan, add 11/2 tbsp olive oil and heat over medium heat. Then add shrimp and stir continuously. Sprinkle salt and cook continuously for 8 minutes. Add asparagus and mushroom and cook continuously for 6 minutes. Set aside.
   
5. Stir pasta occasionally until it has cooked thoroughly, Then you add the sauteed shrimp and asparagus and cook for another 3-5 minutes. 
   
6. Garnish with cilantro and green onions. Serve with pan-roasted salmon. 
   

Bell Pepper Deviled Egg - "Simple Nutritious Breakfast"

I made this simple breakfast meal last week Saturday, but I have been so busy to post the recipe on my blog. I apologize.

I signed up to recipe.com because they have amazing recipes. Every Morning, I look forward to the mouthwatering recipes sent to me daily. Last Saturday, I got a recipe that was all about cooking with eggs. Starring me right in the eyes were these wonderfully made deviled eggs, and I instantly started craving eggs. Rather than using their recipe, I decided to recreate the deviled eggs into a more healthy breakfast, These resulted into creating my own recipe known as the "Bell Pepper Deviled Eggs".
Below are the ingredients you will need:

• 5 eggs ( hard-boiled)
• 1/4 red bell pepper  (diced)
• 1/4 green bell pepper (diced)
• 1/4 yellow bell pepper (diced)
• 1/4 orange bell pepper (diced)
• 1/2 Avocado  (diced)
• 1 roma tomato
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 5 oranges
• 1 lemon 
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Boil the egs for about 15 - 20 minutes. While egg is boiling, diced the bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado. Chop the cilantro.
2. Squeeze the orange, and half of the lemon into a bowl. Sieve for any seed and then put in a bottle and refrigerate.
3. In a small bowl,  mix the bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado and chopped cilantro. Squeeze in the other half of the lemon and mix properly. The eggs should be ready by now.
   
4. Remove the eggs from heat and run cold water, Let it stand for 3 minutes. Peel and half lengthwise. Remove store in the the yolk and store in the fridge.
5. Fill the hollow of the egg white with the bell pepper mixture, sprinkle with cayenne pepper and cilantro if you like. Serve with the freshly squeezed orange juice. YUM!!!
6. I served mine with turkey too. YUM YUM!!!  
   

Mint-Lemon Tilapia and Pepper Sauce with Steamed Veggies and Rice

Over the weekend, I went crazy cooking healthy meals. One of the meals I prepared was the Mint-Lemon Tilapia Fillet.

A friend of mine came over to make my hair and during our conversation, I told her about my blog and she said that she had seen it. She was like, "I can't believe you cook". I looked at her and said are you serious? Apparently she was very serious. So I decided to make something for her. I was going to make fish pepper soup, but I ran out of pepper soup spices. We went to the grocery store, picked up different items while still unsure of what I was going to cook.

I started chopping up stuffs and then I thought to myself to make something that has all the nutrients. That is how I came up with the Mint-Lemon Tilapia Fillet with Pepper Sauce served with steamed vegetables and rice. Also, I prepared Jellof Rice, the way my mom would prepare it, except I forgot to add her secret ingredient. I also made peppered snail, shrimp black beans salad, bell pepper deviled eggs and healthy smoothies. The recipes of every meal I cooked will be posted on my blog. Stay Tuned.
Here are the items you will need:

• 3 tilapia fillet
• 4oz mint leaf
• 4 Lemon 
• 4 tbsps olive oil
• 4 tbs chopped ginger 
• 4 tbs chopped garlic
• 10 sweet mini peppers (chopped)
• 7 cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)
• 8 white mushroom caps (cut)
• 1 cup broccoli
• 1 cup cauliflower
• 1 handful Shredded carrot
• 2 tsps cooking wine
• Knorr
• Pepper
• Salt

1. Season the tilapia fillet with a salt  and 2 freshly squeezed lemon. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes. In a small sauce, add 2 tbsps olive oil. Immediately add 2 tbsps chopped garlic and ginger each. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. Now add the mushroom, knorr and pepper for taste and stir fry for 5 minutes.
2. Add the cooking wine and cook for 3 minutes. Check for salt and pepper. 
   
3. In a large skillet. heat up the remaining olive oil. Add the well seasoned tilapia fillet. Let each side cook for 5 minutes before  flipping.
   
4. In the small saucepan, add bell pepper and cook for two minutes, then immediately add the cherry tomatoes and cook for another two minutes.
    
   
5. In a small saucepan, heat up water  for about 5 minutes, add the broccoli and cauliflower and let it cook for 3 minutes. Drain the water and let the vegetable stand for a minute.
6. While steaming the vegetables. Chop the mint leaves, in a small bowl, add the chopped mint leaves, add the remaining garlic and ginger, mix properly. Then squeeze the remaining lemon and mix properly.  
   

The whole process should take about 30 minutes including preparation because you will be multi-tasking.  Serve with steamed rice. I cook my rice with rice cooker, so it is pretty fast.

The Sumptous Ofe Okazi and The Okazi Festival

Ofe Okazi...... "The Journey to Emii, Owerri"

Ofe Okazi is one of my best soups and I love eating it with fufu. Every time, my siblings and I visit Nigeria, I always tell my mom, please make okazi soup and fufu for me. A typical Okazi soup has so many orishirishi.

For my people, I mean people from Emii, Ofe Okazi, is one of our major soup and it has a story behind it. In fact, we have a festival which we celebrate every end of the year, known as "The Okazi Festival". On that day, every of the ten villages that make up Emii serve their household and visitors Ofe Okazi with fufu or garri.  During this festival people and masquerades' from the ten villages (Umuorisha, Umudule, Nkpehi, Mgbahiri, Umuolu, Eziala, Umuebeh, Ubah, Umuawuka and Emeohe)  meet up at Umuorisha (the older of Oche's Son), where the celebration of the festival continues.

To further add flavor and characterize the soup, I added Utazi, which gives the soup a very interesting taste. Here are the items you will need:

• 3 Handful okazi leaf shredded
• 1/8 Cup utazi
• 1 csp cocoyam (can use yam or achi instead)
• 1 cup pieces stockfish
• 1 cup pieces dried fish
• 6  medium snail (small snails)
• 1 whole chicken (cut medium size)
• 8  pieces goat meat
• 12 pieces assorted shaki (tripe)
• 2 csps palm oil
• 1 csp crayfish
• Salt
• 6 cubes knorr
• Pepper

1. In a large saucepan, add the assorted meat, stock fish, dried fish and snail. Add pepper, water and 4 knorr cubes. Allow meat steam. 
2. Peel, wash and cook the cocoyam (If you dont have cocoyam, then use yam because it is also a thicken agent). Wash and utazi four times to eliminate dirt. Wash the Okazi five times to remove the dirt. 
3. Now add the remaining knorr, pepper, and more water to the pot. Taste and you can adjust the taste my adding a little bit of salt. Allow it to cook for another 15 minutes.
4. Add crayfish and cook for 5 minutes
5. In a mortar , take the well cooked cocoyam and pound it (I used yam instead because mine finished).
   
6. Add two cooking spoons of palm oil to the pot and let it cook for 5-7 minutes. 
   
7.  Add the pounded cocoyam/yam/achi and allow it cook for another 7 minutes or until completely dissolved.  
   
8. Add the utazi first, then add the okazi and stir. Remove immediately.
    
                                      This is the finished product.
9. Serve with Eba, Fufu, Pounded Yam or any swallow. You can also serve with  steam rice.

Steamed Rice and Fried Beef Plantain Stuffed in Red Bell Pepper

During my pregnancy, I organized my baby shower with the assistance of my siblings and friends. My husband wanted us to contract a caterer that would cook, but I refused because I detest wasting money on tasteless food. I decided to cook the meals myself. Hubby and siblings felt I was insane because I was 38 weeks pregnant and I was going to cook for 50 people. The shower was a success and it was absolutely amazing. Thank you.

Anyway the reason for this long story is because my sister made this amazing fried gizzard plantain. I don't know how she came up with the idea, but my sister, Chioma, did an amazing job. She served it with jellof rice and stewed assorted meat. To tell you how perfect the food was, all my guest wanted to take second rounds. Here are the items you will need:

• 2 ripe plantain (diced)
• 1 red bell pepper (1/2 diced)
• 3 roma tomatoes
• 3 garlic
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 orange bell pepper
• 1/4 onion bulb (diced)
• 1/2 lbs of beef (diced)
• 2 cubes knorr
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 11/2 cup rice
• Peanut oil (for frying the plantain)
• 2 tbsp olive oil

1. Wash the rice and put it in the rice cooker.  Dice the beef, season and boil.
2. Cut the red bell pepper into half, dice one-half of the red bell pepper. Also dice the yellow and orange bell pepper. Mix all bell pepper in a bowl and set aside. Dice the red onions and also set aside. wash the tomatoes and garlic and blend until smooth. 
3. Cook the tomatoes until the water dries up. While the tomatoes is cooking, fry the diced plantain. When the beef is properly cooked, fry it and also set it aside
4. In a small sauce pan, add olive oil  then fry the already boiled tomatoes for 7 minutes. Add the pepper and knorr  then cook for another 1 minute. now add the fried plantain, bell pepper, onion and fried beef. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Scoop the plantain sauce and stuff it into other half of the red bell pepper. Serve with a side of steamed rice and a glass of red wine. 
   

Spinach Omelette and Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

You know that crazy feeling you have in the money when you badly crave something, that was how I felt this morning when I woke up craving eggs. I wanted something tasty with a hint of crayfish. So I decided to prepare low calorie spinach omelette with freshly squeezed orange juice. Here is what you will need:

• 6 medium eggs (remove  four of the egg yolk)
• 1/2 tsp of crayfish
• 1/2 cup sliced cucumber
• 1/4 cup onions
• 1 cup freshly chopped spinach
• 1/2 Avocado
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 whole limes
• 6 whole oranges
• Pepper and Salt to taste

1. In a small saucepan, add 1/2 tbsp of  olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. 
   
2. Add the spinach, salt, crayfish and pepper. Saute for  another 4 minutes. Squeeze the orange and lime, then sift for any seed. 
   
3. Add the remaining olive oil into an omelet pan and heat over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to egg then whisk thoroughly (so that the salt and pepper are evenly distributed). Pour the egg mixture into the omelet pan. 
4. Using the  spatula, lift the edges of the omelet and tilt pan to allow the uncooked egg slide under the cooked egg. Add the sauteed spinach on the center of the omelet. 
5. Using the spatula, fold one-half of the omelet onto the other. Press the omelet with the spatula gently and flip to cook. 
   
6. Gently slide the omelet into a serving plate and garnish with avocado slices. Serve with the freshly squeezed orange juice.