EVENTS: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: C IS FOR CELERY RECIPE: APPLE CELERY SOUP Apple Celery Soup is easy to make, healthy, comforting, delicious home made soup. Ideal way to include celery in your diet. Well at least if you have ‘don’t like celery’ people in your family. While I enjoy tender celery sticks with cream cheese or finely chopped in salads, hubby is not a fan of raw celery. Therefore, the only way to get some celery included in his diet is through soups, in casseroles and occasionally in a juice if paired with fruits. Actually, come to think of it, I will not pick up celery like say we pick up potatoes or mushrooms at the grocery. It is bought if I have a specific…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: HOMEMADE RESTAURANT STYLE FOOD RECIPE: KENYAN STYLE MASALA CHIPS Kenyan Style Masala Chips also known as chips masala, is a popular dish on most restaurant menus in Kenya. Easy to make, spicy and tasty. It is a must to try out these chips when in Kenya. Here, chips is what the North Americans call French Fries. Being a former British Colony, chips is the word used for french fries and the North American Chips is what we call crisps. How did this popular dish come about? No idea but all I know that the love for Masala Chips started from Exotica Restaurant in Nairobi. At that time the restaurant was very small, so majority of the people ordered food from…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: 2022 IS THE YEAR OF THE TIGER RECIPE: KUNG PAO CAULIFLOWER Kung Pao Cauliflower is a vegetarian/vegan take on the traditional Chinese Kung Pao. Cauliflower is oven roasted instead of deep frying. With a spicy sauce, enjoy it on its own, with some rice or noodles. I know deep frying makes the cauliflower more crispier but oven roast them so hubby and I can enjoy this delicious, spicy dish without any guilt. What Is Kung Pao? Kung Pao, Gong Pao, Kung Po is traditionally a Chinese stir fried dish made from chicken pieces, peanuts, vegetables and chilli peppers. This dish originates from Sichuan Province of China. Sichuan pepper is used to make the sauce spicy. Chicken cubes are coated in flour,…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Apple Ginger & Turmeric Jam Apple Ginger & Turmeric Jam is very easy to make and delicious. This home made apple jam with a bit of fresh ginger and turmeric has no artificial colouring or preservatives. Apple Picking At Vergers & Cidrerie Denis Charbonneau Sunday 19th September The previous day my son asked us to be ready by 9a.m. as his girlfriend and he had planned a surprise trip for us. When we got ready, it was a bit chilly so we dressed accordingly. We sat in the car and kept on guessing where they were taking us to. As we got nearer to the venue, road signs for Mont Saint Gregoire appeared and we thought we probably were going for a hike. Then…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: EXOTIC BIRYANI AND PULAO RECIPE: TURKISH BULGUR PILAF Turkish Bulgur Pilaf is a healthy, nutritious, tasty, vegan one pot meal that comes together within 30 minutes. Especially popular as a side dish or as a main meal, the main flavour is from the herbs, onion and tomato. As a matter of fact, Bulgur Pilaf is a common Middle Eastern side dish served with kebab, grilled meat. However, many families enjoy it on its own with some plain yogurt or tzatziki. What is Bulgur? Bulgur, Burghul or Bulgar is a wholegrain that contains more fiber and protein. Specifically, it is a staple in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Cuisine. In fact, it is cracked wheat that is parboiled, dried, and…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: MAIN COURSE ACCOMPANIMENTS RECIPE: CHERRY TOMATO & AVOCADO SALAD Cherry Tomato & Avocado Salad is a very easy, healthy and flavourful salad that comes together in a matter of minutes. A versatile salad, you can use any dressing of your choice. Also can use salad leaves of your choice and add other ingredients. Recently, at a supermarket I frequent, both baby tomatoes and avocados were on offer. Yes, here in Canada am learning to look out for offers and some of them are pretty good.. get 2 for the price of one, 2 or 3 will cost less than if you buy one at a time. Such offers are a rarity in Kenya. With heat warnings and hot summers, I…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: NO BAKE DESSERTS RECIPE: PINEAPPLE MOUSSE Pineapple Mousse is an easy to prepare, light, creamy, summery, vegan dessert. It is unbelievably delicious and perfect for summer parties. I usually prepare it a day ahead to save on time. You just need a few ingredients to prepare this dessert. You may use fresh pineapple to prepare the mousse but you need to cook the pineapple and cool it down before proceeding to make the mousse. Bromelain present in fresh pineapple is a protein digesting enzyme. This enzyme prevents gelatin or agar agar to set. In cooked or tinned(canned) pineapple the bromelain are de -natured and thus don’t prevent the agar agar or gelatin to set. I use both, cooked and canned pineapples…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : AN INGREDIENT BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER Z RECIPE: ZUCCHINI HALWA – VEGAN Zucchini Halwa is dairy free, melt in the mouth, flavorful, aromatic halwa cooked in the Indian style. If you are a fan of doodhi ka halwa or bottle gourd halwa then you’ll surely love this one. My blog follower requested I make an Indian sweet but vegan. Lots of Indian sweets are made from dairy milk, or will have ghee (clarified butter). Recently, for my online shopping Iist I wrote 1 zucchini and I got 1 kg! That is a lot of zucchini. Used it to make zucchini paneer appe (recipe to follow soon), used some for handvo, added to my baked pasta. That is when…
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Continue ReadingWhat is Ugali? Ugali is like a porridge but much more dense made from white maize meal or maize flour. It is the staple diet of the indigenous people of East Africa. Also known as Nsima it is generally enjoyed with a vegetable and/or meat stew. People at the coast and around Lake Victoria enjoy it with fish. Ugali is also served with nyama choma which is grilled meat and kachumbari, a tomato onion salad. One of the most easiest dish to prepare, it is not only rich in fiber but also is a good source of carbohydrates, minerals and Vitamin B. And it is gluten free and vegan friendly. This post was first published on 25/10/2012 , renewed on 02/06/2021 Ugali Eating Etiquette Generally…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: CHILDHOOD FAVORITES RECIPE: MUM’S BUITONI/ MASALA PASTA Mum’s Buitoni/ Masala Pasta is a pasta with an Indian twist. It has all the spices that would go into any typical daily curry. Mum’s Buitoni/ Masala Pasta is not only tasty but also never fails to bring back fond memories of my childhood and my mum. This post was first published on 16/05/2012. Redoing the post with fresh write up and photos. The recipe remains the same. My Mum and Pasta My mum didn’t know how to make pasta at all. She probably had never heard of pasta, spaghetti, etc when she was growing up in the village of Koyali near Vadodara, India. But how she managed to make this pasta dish for…
