How I learned to cook Stew

For all of you who have been blessed to eat my mouth watering cooking you all need to thank the 2nd man in my life. Please understand that I have always been a rebel, my mother is a good African woman and tried to instill good values I was just rejecting them early in life.. Growing up my mother had to force me to assist her in the kitchen. From cutting okra, to cleaning the meat I hated it.... with a passion. I would just tell her that cooking makes your hands look funny. And I wanted to maintain the beauty of my hands(VANITY). So, when I met my African man he was used to eba, okra soup, goat meat....
Me on the other hand had not ventured out and prepared such meals on my own. So after about a year of eating out and avoiding to cook I was pushed in a corner to show my good wife skills. Keep in mind all this time he thinks that I can cook. All my excuses of not cooking in a mans house and my lack of of time were fading. So one morning before he went to work he called me and said that he really wanted stew and hen. That I should either cook it at home and bring it or come over and cook. Money for the ingredients will be on his table. What could I say? I just agreed. I mean really how hard was it to cook. I have assisted to cook this dish many times.

So off to the store... knorr cubes, fresh tomatoes, peppers, canola oil, curry powder....

Got to his house forgot the hen... back to the store...hen, onion....

So now I am in the kitchen trying to remember the process. I only had to call my mom once to ask her how long the tomato should fry. Of course I had to lie and say that I was cooking stew for one of my American girlfriends because she would definitely not approve of me cooking in a mans house. At the end of the day I cooked stew on my own. I have to say that is was very tasty. I know, I know I would be a little partial but my African man ate it with speed. This started a trend of requests to cook African dishes that I never cooked before. Through trial and error I have become the great cook that I am. So I want to thank that once very special African man. Without you I would still be looking around for someone to help me cook stew, egusi, edikiakong....
For those of you who have always wanted to know how to cook that our famous Akwa Ibom/Cross River dish here is a recipe I found online at africanfood.com. Don't hold me responsible if it does not come out to your liking. Only a true AkwaIbomite can make this dish good enough to make all the men come a running:)


What you need
Ugu Leaves (subsitute Spinach) -- 2 Heads (2 standard Packages of Spinach)Waterleaf -- 2 HeadsCrayfish -- 1 Cup(Dried Fish -- 1 MediumGiant Snails (escargo) -- 4Beef or Goat Meat -- 1.5lbsKpomo* -- 1 lbPalm Oil -- 1.5 cupsOnions -- 1 Whole LargePepper -- 6 to 10 fresh hot or to tasteSeasoning -- 1 or 2 cubes of beef stockSalt -- about 2 teaspoons (use discretion
Preparation:
If necessary wash the ugu leaves. Pluck the leaves from the stem. Discard the stems. Collate and chop the leaves into thin (1/4 inch) slices. Set aside. Do same with waterleaves. Blend crayfish into coase powder using electric grinder. If african giant snails are available prepare them by cleaning the meat by rubbing with lemon or soaking and massaging in vineger until all slime is gone and meat is gritty to the touch. Canned escargo is a poor substitute for african giant snails. another substitute for snail may be scallops or any other sea mullusk. However, if any of these are not available, this part of the recipe may be omitted altogether. Break up the dried fish in a bowl pour in boiling water, add about 2 spoon heaps of salt. Wash the fish in the hot salt water to remove sand and other dirt. Remove fish from salt water and set aside. Grind peppers to a paste. Set aside.*Traditionally, kpomo or hide of beef, is also added when preparing Edikaikong soup.
The Cooking:In a medium sized covered pot, bring all meats (beef, kpomo) but not snails to steam without adding water. Add beef stock seasoning, 1/4 cup of water and salt, and cook till meat is tender (5 to 15 minutes). Add waterleaves to meat and beef stock. Stir. Add the crayfish, stir and let boil until most liquid in the pot evapourates. Add the snails at this stage so that it will cook just right. Over-cooked snails are leathery, cooked just right, the snails are crunchy and easy to chew. Add pepper and salt. Stir. Add the ugu or spinach, stir and allow to boil over (about one minute). Add the palm oil, stir and let boil for five more minutes. Turn off heat and serve. Should be able to feed four adults.
DON'T FORGET THE FUFU:)

How can we appreciate life more...

Sometimes we get so caught up with the day to day issues that we forget about all the good things that are going on in our life. We complain that gas is so high but we forget that we are fortunate to at least have a car to choose to drive or that we live in a society that gives you the freedom to drive.

I don't think that I complain much about the hustle of life, but I also think that I do not enjoy enough things/people around me. So busy with trying to succeed and do the "right thing" that I overlook all the good people/things around me. Last week I had an eye opener. I have and I hope those around me really begin to take it easy and enjoy life. There are just things in this world that we cannot control. We need to leave it to our higher beings to handle.
So I know I need to work on is showing emotion to people I care about. I am not sure why it is hard for me to say "I love you", "I miss you" or things along those lines... It amazes me. My sis is always telling me whenever we leave each other" See you later, and I love you" ( she also has a thing about saying "BYE") It is like force to say "I love you too". That is not good. My own sis..... So you can imagine what I go through with non family members. They get no emotion. I am quick to hug people I don't know that well when I greet them but my all my "personal persons" I barely move in during the greeting. NEED TO WORK ON THAT.
Need to stop putting off til tomorrow what I want to do today. If I wan to go out and enjoy friends then I should, not think "maybe later on in the month" the same goes for when I want some ME time.

Here are some other things we could ALL do to add happiness into our life:

• 
  Each night as you go to bed, list the 6 things you are most grateful for that day. If you’re having trouble counting to six, remember the little things such as having a roof over your head, food to eat, eyes to read this with and friends who care.
  
• Read positive quotes and stories. A quote takes only seconds or a minute to read so even the busiest of people can fit this in.
  
• Stop what you are dong and stretch your arms and legs. Feel the sensations of stretching and the pleasure of using muscles.
  
• Go out of your way to thank someone for what they are doing. It doesn’t have to be something they do for you – maybe thanks the lollipop lady for helping children stay safe, a stacker for keeping supermarket shelves full or a recyclers for saving resources.
  
• Smile. Yep, that’s all it takes – just smile occasionally even if no one is there to see it!
  
• Have a cuddle. Find a child, lover, pet, teddy bear or friend and cuddle them often.
  
• Wear things you like – perfume, after shave lotion, jewellery, favourite clothes. Wear them and enjoy wearing them rather than leaving them stored for rare ‘special occasions’.
  
• Contact a friend or relative and chat about unimportant things – use email if you haven’t got time for a long phone call or visit( but we need to try to get away from this being the only form of communication).
  
• Eat and drink slowly – it is less stressful on your body and mind and gives you time to actually taste it. Experience the textures on your tongue, too.
  
• Take notice of nature. Watch a sunrise or sunset, literally smell a flower, listen to the rain on a roof, walk on some autumn leaves and breathe in some fresh air. Taking a few seconds to appreciate beauty and nature is a great way to forget your worries and bring a smile to your face.
  
• Indulge in a hobby. If you can’t actually do it every day, read, talk or daydream about it instead.

Reading...

Very hectic weekend for me. This weekend I realized that I am not as strong as I thought, at least emotionally. The hard exterior can be broken down to crumbs when it comes to my family and loved ones. I pray that it shall be well for me, my family, friends/loved ones....Amen.

That being said I decided to pick up an old book that I think I have been reading for close to 8 years. I am not sure why I still have it and have not finished reading. Normally if I do not like the book I will pawn it off on one of my friends to see if they can enjoy.

Anyway the books is "Airing Dirty Laundry"by Ishmael Reed. The book just comes off as a black man upset. Sorry to say. I continue to read it because it is attention getting, makes you really think....

But for the life of me I have not been able to finish it. So I wanted to put the book out to the public. Look it up. It maybe something you are looking for. All the conspiracy theories from the eyes of a mad black man.....

He doesn't look like a mad black man...

?The effects of spending to much time with your boyfriend/girlfriend?

Should you only see your significant other a specific amount of hours per week? If both of you work at least 40 hours a week, work out, hang with your platonic friends, and have some personal time... how much time should you dedicate to showing your partner some attention? Does it depend on your age? Length of the relationship? What about constantly sleeping over? Is that still a taboo? Everybody likes there space...I guess it should be ok to see your personal person 5 out of 7 days of a week..?... Not really sure, you can really just like being around someone. Or you may just like sleeping in the bed with that special person. I don't know?? How can you miss someone if you are always together? But how do you get to know the person and there ways if you don't spend enough time together? Can you get bored if your together but doing new things? Looking for lots of feedback.........

The HEAT is on

It is hot.... For those of us in the ATL we should be used to the heat. But I am not. The last couple of Summers I have spent them in Germany or Nigeria. I know you may think well Nigeria is hot, well it is a whole different kind of heat compared to the ATL. As soon as I walked out the doors of my job yesterday afternoon i was choked by the heat. I felt horrible. Instantly my neck became moist with sweat, that is not cool when you are being cute. In Nigeria I expect it to be hot. Actually I could care less if I am sweating. When I am back home, my bush mentality comes out full force so I could care less if I am drenched with sweat.
I walk to my car, and as I approached my car I see brown spots all over my seats and windshield. Then I remember my friend gave me a peps.i the night before. I was PISSED. The can was on the seat with the remainder of the soda dripping on my nice leather seats. I gracefully emptied a plastic bag that was holding a recent buy from DSW and used it to sit on. My steering wheel sticky, my moon roof super sticky, just disgusting. So I spent the afternoon hand cleaning my the inside of my car( I refused to pay the guy off of Jimmy Carter $50.00 to clean it).
That being said I am sure others know better, I normally do.... Good thing it was leather not cloth because I would have had to use next weeks gas money to clean my car.

Nigeria: Militants Strike Again, Kill Nine Naval Officers

Per allafrica.com

Barely 24 hours after some gunmen attacked an oil facility in the Niger Delta, killing 1 and injuring several others, a second attack was recorded in yet another vessel in the oil-rich region yesterday morning in which nine Nigerian Navy personnel were killed and four civilians injured.
Spokesman of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF), Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, who confirmed the incident, said a vessel belonging to Addax Petroleum was attacked in the early hours of yesterday.

"Another supply vessel working for Addax Petroleum, the Seacor Macor, was attacked early this morning (yesterday) and nine navy personnel were killed and four civilians injured," he told AFP.
Yesterday's attack came a day after a member of the Nigerian Navy was killed and four other Nigerian seamen injured when gunmen travelling in two speed boats attacked an Addax vessel some 40 kilometres from the Nigerian coast.
It would be recalled that last month, Nigeria's most prominent militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), attacked an oil pipeline run by Dutch Shell in Delta State, killing 11 soldiers in the attack.
However, no group has so far claimed responsibility for the two attacks.

The international price of crude oil has been seriously affected as a result of series of attacks, according to Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) figures, resulting in cuts in daily production by about a quarter.
However, when contacted, spokesperson for the Nigerian navy, Capt. Henry Babalola, confirmed the second attack but insisted that only one personnel of Addax Petroleum was killed, while two others were injured.
A spokesman for Addax Petroleum Nigeria Ltd could not immediately confirm the attack as at the time of going to press.

WHAT THE HELK!!! Why is this still going on? I can understand being from the the Niger Delta area that we are upset that the community has not benefited from all the oil production, but darn these militants are killing innocent people!!!! Stop, abeg stop!! And for those of us here STOP saying that this is the best way to handle the situation. IT IS NOT!!