Roasted Cornich Hen

How does cornich hen roasted the African way sounds like for dinner???

I really like cornich hen because of its natural flavor which is little coarser than this mechanically produced fatty chickens they sell us everywhere, and its taste and texture is closer to our naturally produced poultry which they call here "organic" to sound fancy and which is the norm for us back home. What I also really like about the hens is the fact that I can roast them without having the boil them forever before like our african "strong chicken". They will come out moist without falling apart. The other thing is that they are small enough for the serving size to be half of a hen per person.

I usually prep my hens the day before, I clean them and prepare my mixture of Maggi seasoning cubes, parsley, mustard, a little bit of oil, some crushed habanero peppers, garlic, a little bit of ginger and stick my seasoning inside the hen (I usually make holes with a knife) and also between the skin and the flesh and let it sit overnight in the fridge or if I'm in a rush I would do it in the morning to have it roasted in the evening.

When you are ready to put it in the oven, repeat the same process with your mixture of spices (adding about half an onion or a small onion this time), add a little more oil when you are done and rub the poultry all over with it. Put it in the oven at about 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 2 hours, rubbing your hens with the mixture every now and then.

Serve with the side of your choice!

served with a side of salad, potato gratin and stuffing

Okra Soup

People usually tend to have a love/hate relationship with Okra. Either they love it or they hate it. And Okra soup can be very nasty looking and tasting if not cooked well. Though it is rather easy to make and the taste will depend a lot on the spices and the kind of meat that you put in there.

I usually either cut my okra in very very tiny pieces or I blend it. I'm not a fan of big slices of okra. My husband likes it drawy while I don't. So I make it drawy but not too much.

Say Hello to this yummy plate of Okra Soup!!

This is how I make it.

 

1. Boil your goat meat and cow skin together with a few slices of onion, salt and pepper
2. When cooked, drain the meat, and keep the broth.
3. Fry your onion, then add your tomato and let it cook for 5-10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 Next blend this...

4 cloves of garlic, half an onion, 2 habanero peppers, half a tomato

...into this:

 And add that mixture to your pot

Let it cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, then add your meat and let it cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. You want the flavor of the meat and that of the sauce to combine and cook together for a little bit.

 In the meantime blend your okra

Add your okra mixture to your pot

add your smoked fish and your crayfish and let it cook for about 10 minutes...

  

 

...before adding about half a cup to 2/3 cup of palm oil. 

Let the oil cook and combine into the soup, adjust your seasoning and let simmer for about 10 more minutes. It's ready!

served with yam foufou

Pof pof, beans and chicken gizzards

Does this look appetizing or what????

Chicken gizzard spiced up on a stick, with pof pof (our african doughnuts) and deliciously slow-cooked beans...

This takes me back to my days as a student, when my really close friend and then roommate, my sister and I, literally searching for pennies in all corners of the apartment we shared, our bags or the pockets of our clothes, would need to make happen lunch and dinner from whatever we had, as long as we didn't go to bed hungry. And you know what? It's one of these times of my life that I keep good memories of, despite the hard times...

You really do not need to dine out (or to budget long grocery list) to enjoy good food!!!!

*** Eru and Fufu *** A Delight!!!

Hello dear readers!!

I have truly missed you. Have you? **everybody said "Yes, Sasi!!!"** I know, I know...

First my husband got sick with a bad case of flu for almost a full week and the week after, I was down with the same exact illness. So it's been a little crazy. 

I am feeling much better now, except for this very annoying nasal congestion that gets worse at night.

I hope to be able to share a few pictures/recipes in the next couple of days. I really prefer posting detailed recipes in response to demand so if there is something you would like me to explain, please feel free to ask in the comments section. 

Otherwise, I'd rather share food pictures and tell a little bit of the story behind the particular dish, enjoying the "spirit of the food", rather than the technicalities of step-by-step recipes...

Thus said, I will be posting the recipe for cameroonian fishrolls very soon, as I am making a big batch today, as a few of you have asked me to. But for now let's all enjoy this picture of a dish which is a staple in our house. For those of you who are not familiar, it is called Eru (made from Eru leaves also known as Okazi leaves in Nigeria and Mfumbwa in Congo), originally from Cameroon, served here with Oat Fufu.

I'll soon share more details on Eru.

French Toast, Potatoes and Eggs

Brunch Time!!!!

Just sharing with you an absolutely exquisite brunch picture... This was sometime in the middle of winter a while ago, with my sister, not knowing what to make, not wanting to confront the dry, windy and cold Ohio winter. It was made with whatever we could find in the fridge and needless to say, it was better than some meals for which we make ingredients lists and plan a budget. Improvised is always better anyways!

PS: To those of you who are my friends on facebook, I know you've seen this before. 

For everybody else, say hello to French Toasts the Sasi way (LOL) with my special whip cream (which really is half whip cream - too light by itself for my liking - and half cool whip to balance out the whip cream), a few fresh strawberries, potatoes cubes and spiced on a skilled, topped with finely shredded mozzarella cheese with an over medium egg and spices served with a few slices of turkey bacon. Wheww!!! Indulgence is the word...

Thank you Readers!

Hello everybody!!

I just wanted to start out by saying thank you for all the likes on Sasi's Almost African Kitchen's facebook page as well as the comments, positive words of encouragements and suggestions whether you arrived here through a click here and there, through another blog (thanks fellow bloggers!! -- sending you some love too!!!) or few websites like Spicebaby.com, the leading African cooking website on which I am also a writer (my first article should be published shortly! YAY!!!) or nairaland.com. 

It's been awhile since I posted. It's funny how since I started this blog, I feel a pressing need to take pictures before, during or after the cooking process. And I realized just how much I cook!!!! I literally can't keep up with myself LOL and neither can this blog!!

I have also been working on a new project, something I have been wanting to do for a while now... Making and decorating party cakes!! This deserves a new post of its own but for the short story, I made my first engagement cake for a friend this past weekend and it was a total success considering I am a newbie!! Pictures and details coming soon on my Let's Get Baking page.

Before ending I would like to honor Sasi's Almost African Kitchen's first follower: HoneyDame. She seems like a very nice person and she had kind words for me. She is also a fellow blogger, with a light, very entertaining and captivating writing style. Please check out her blog ("Musings..illusions...delusions") and give her some love.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>HoneyDame, THANK YOU!!!!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

(Did you say) Pork Ribs?

This is one of these meals that we make Friday evening when we know the week-end is finally here and that we can enjoy a little bit of exotically flavored ETOH...

I just make my seasoning, it's usually:

2 tablespoons brown or dijon mustard

1 medium size onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 ginger root (about the length of my little finger)

1 habanero pepper (We eat HOT! It's optional, you can do black pepper or paprika)

3 or 4 Maggi seasoning cubes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

the juice of 1/2 lemon

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor/blender. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Rub your ribs with the mixture and let marinade for a few hours. I let them roast in the oven for about 1 hour at 350 F then for another half hour at 425F. I usually check them half way and rub some more marinate on them.

They are spicy, tasty and always cooked through with the meat almost falling from the bones... incredible!

Serve with fried plantains (or fried rice or any other side you would like) and a spicy pepper sauce and the alcoholic drink of our choice. I usually do the Seagrams flavored beers or some Mojito Ice, and my hubby always gets the Irish beer Guinness which is very popular back home. No better way to start the weekend!!

Classic Apple Pie

I probably get my love for cooking from my mom, who is herself an excellent cook and baker. She has always been a very open minded person, fostering in me the importance to learn from and make friends with people from all sorts of cultural background. She (and my father to a certain extent) developed in us that attitude of wanting to integrate into any place we would find myself being/living in (without ever losing who we are.)

From her various interactions, she would learn recipes from other countries or different ways of making meals that she is already accustomed to making and incorporate those into our diet. 

Just like her, I find food and culture beautiful. And I just wish, and I am speaking to my African people, that we could try to be more open minded when it comes to enriching our diet with dishes/ingredients that we might not be familiar with. I mean, getting curious about what our neighbor eats, finger foods from other African regions, stews and desserts and main dishes from other African countries. How can we when we despise some of our neighboring countries or adopt a condescending attitude towards others languages and cultures from the Motherland? 

Getting to know who we are as a people (not limiting ourselves to that tiny piece of land that we call "our country" and that was drawn on a map and named by foreign governments in a faraway land without our approval/opinion), in the beauty of our diversity, is the only way to figure out where we are going.

What does this ranting has to do with apple pie? Nothing! Except that the recipe for the filling came from watching my mom do it and my mom did not grow up eating apple pie for dessert...

Enjoy pictures for now, coming back a little later with the recipe!