Hey Peeps...

I apologise for not being up and about in these past few weeks... A loooooooooooooong tale it is indeed but that's gist for another day... The long and short of it being that I am far away from my Laboratories - the organism infested and foodstuff filled alike...

My annual leave sees me seeking to sojourn to distant lands... I sincerely do hope to learn a thing or two about their cuisines and rest assured I'll get it across to you asap...

I trust garden eggs and Moringa have added tremdoudly to your diets and delicacies... Me? I discover the beauty day by day...

Be U... Be Good... Just Be...

It's Naija gal... Benue born as always... Peace!

Did you know the awesomeness of the Garden egg?

Ok so it's been what two?... three?... almost four weeks since I posted. Don't ask me why but I'll furnish you with the deets.... ok so I had to round up lectures, set examinations and draw up marking schemes and bla bla bla... basically earn my salary and justify my employment.... Doesn't sound fun and trust me, it ain't fun but hey when was hard work ever fun? Only when it's "hard work" in the kitchen.... Yes you heard me, KITCHEN...

In the cause of my going up and down and reading stuff and experimenting in the laboratories... Hope you haven't forgotten one is in the office premises with ethanol, methane, MacConkey, CLED and Nutrient agar things while the other is tucked in one corner of my living quaters... This research was more in the second laboratory than the first so fear not... *she laffs*

I stumbled across yet another amazing find... the African Egg plant or just plain Garden egg as we know it. Yeah yeah what's so special about the garden egg... it's a bitter vegetable (in some cases tasteless) I'd rather not eat... well think again pal cos when you are done reading this, you might become the next garden egg ninja to walk the earth after me!...

*Confession* - I just enjoyed the vegetable without knowing crap... Oops forgive me... without knowing stuff about it. I eat it raw, savour it in stews and soups or with locally made peanut butter (in Benue and the Tiv extraction to be exact, we call it "nyatar", the Igbos also from Nigeria do have a name for it too but it eludes me as I write... I'll be sure to find out and let you know asap... that's a promise...)

So for you sisters out there craving to loose weight? Worry no more you just eat as much garden eegs as you can find. If you are an ulcer patient? Garden eggs are the way to go. If your sight troubles you? Just go with the Garden eggs and you won't be on the wrong path at all...

I know we should be cooking but let me bore you a little bit first...

Botanical name Solanum melongena. My people the Tivs call it "mgyishim", to the Yorubas it is "Obe-igba", in the East and South-East "ahara" or "afufa" as the dialect permitts.

From Lagos to Harare, Mozambique to Senegal, the African egg plant abounds and it is a high valued delicacy in African cuisine. It is a symbol of fertility, blessing and abundance as such always present at traditional ceremonies like weddings, naming ceremonies and even funerals...

It comes varied in shape, size and colour: oval, ellipsoid to elongated, big small, medium and greenish, white or striped in green... However it comes, it is always a delight to savour.

It is low in sodium, low in calories and very very rich in dietary fibre. It is high in potassium (the secret behind it's effectivity in maintaining the heart and regulating blood pressure)

Most people donot find the garden egg palatable as it can be bitter however, it is a good appetizer.

Garden eggs boost immune systems, strengthen body tissues as well as enhance free blood circulation. Continuing studies have shown it is great in constipations because of it's high fibre content, in the reduction of blood cholesterol because it boosts High plasma HDL-cholesterol and also very effective in the protection against poor eye sight as a result of glaucoma. Experts also say it is as effective against stomach ulcers, diabetis, strokes, excess body weight, heart disease and hypertension.

In a comparison between apples, oat meal and garden eggs in a research done at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benin City, Nigeria, garden eggs were found the best in lowering blood cholesterol... don't you just love this plant?

Be it Wurukum market in Makurdi-Benue State, Yaba market in Yaba-Lagos State or Wuse market in Abuja-FCT, garden eggs can be purchased and prepared as you best desire... In soups, stews or sauces... it's a versertile vegetable to work with

Today, after a very worship filled church service, I decided Garden egg Stew and pork chops won't be a bad idea to go with well pounded yam... talk about a sunday lunch... Hmmmm... Yummy! 

You can substitute pork chops for whatever chops you decide but I prefer pork chops.

You'll need...

1 kg pork chops

12 medium sized garden eggs washed and chopped into sections...

4 large red peppers, 2 medium sized tomatoes, 1 medium sized onions all pureed/ground

Nune (iru) ground

1 medium clove of garlic ground

Black pepper as desired

Ginger as desired

Palm oil

Salt to taste

Seasoning to taste (I prefer Knor cubes whether chicken or regular)

Lots of clean water

How to go about it?

Per boil the pork chops with garlic, black pepper, ginger, salt and seasoning to taste. A little red pepper will not be a bad idea as pork chops could be bland if not properly spiced and peppered...

To a large pot, add palm oil and allow to heat for a bit then add the puree and fry for 20 minutes. Add stock from the pork chops and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Add pork chops (you can fry the pork chops after perboiling to reduce the fat like I do), more salt and seasoning to taste if the seasoning from the per boiling isn't enough.

Allow to cook for 10 minutes then add the chopped garden eggs and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and you are good to go.

It makes a fine meal when served with pounded yam like I did or any other staple of your choice.

Ensure not to over cook the garden eggs so you do not ruin it's awesomeness with heat...

Ok so what are you waiting for?.... Hit the kitchen running and tease the taste buds around you as well as nurish the bodies...

See ya'll pretty soon... I have loads of scripts to grade... Phew!

Ciao!

I trust it is indeed a beautiful saturday for everyone.
Me? I'm enjoying my saturday as always because saturdays or should I say weekends afford me the luxury of spending quality time in my home zone (apologies to etisalat) which would be my kitchen...

So today I want to introduce to you the beauty and awesomeness of the "Miracle tree". Moringa oleifera is the scientific name. It is called different names by different people and cultures... Benzolive tree, West indian ben, Drumstick tree, Horseradish tree or Ben oil tree are all it's names as our "oyinbo" brothers call it. Locally, the Tivs call it "Jegelegeje" being a borrowed name from our Hausa brethren who call it "Zogalle" or "Rimin turawa".


Moringa as it's commonly called has always been in existence but nobody really understood that it was an embodiment of rich nutritional, medicinal, therapeutic and prophylatic properties; thanks to our Indian and Chinese folks whose love for natural medicine has helped us discover this miracle tree. It's leaves, seeds, stems and roots uses are endless. it may be used as forage for livestock, as a micronutrient liquid when extracted, as an anthelminthic and also a possible adjuvant... where are the pharmacists and pharmacologists, you should get busy in the laboratory  already as for me I sure got busy in my "laboratory" as you will soon see because Moringa is also food for humans.... hehehe... I'm getting excited already.

Moringa is a slender tree with drooping branches that grows to approximately 10m in height but to ensure it keeps regrowing its leaves and pods, it is good to trim the tree annually. It grows mainly in semiarid, tropical and subtropical areas, it grows best in dry sandy soil and it is a good tolerant of poor soil too (that's why Nigeria especially northern Nigeria is richly blessed with this tree). It is fast growing as well as drought-resistant originally a native tree to the southern foothills of the Himalayas (Northwestern India) and yes India is the largest producer of Moringa (1.1 to 1.3 million tonnes).....

Moringa seeds can be eaten as nuts raw or roasted, the leaves and tender pods as well as it's flowers are absolutely wonderful in soups and other culinary endeavours. 
The leaves can also be eaten raw when dried at room temperature (in a shady area to avoid the direct sunrays destroying all the nutrients) and ground into powdered form... it's always better to pound and sieve. A little dry pepper, dry ginger and a pinch of salt to taste, makes it a delight any day.... I snack on it and it's always a cheer because Moringa leaves alone are known to give 6.8mg of Vitamin A, 440mg of Calcium, 259mg of Potassium, 6.7mg of protein and 220mg of Vitamin C. Isn't this amazing I mean I know how much we crave for these minerals and vitamins, taking supplements, eating special diets and so on when all you need do is a teaspoon of Moringa three times a day!

Moringe does wonders for diabetic patients as it reduces their sugar levels drammatically... My Grandma is diabetic and boy is Moringa her pal, it's also very good for hypertensive patients too, it's good for intestinal ulcers, fevers and a whole lot more; the "Immunosupressive" ones too are not left out... Moringa is also an very good fat burner. 

#whispering#... that's why I no longer work out like before,  Me? I do both the leaves and seeds.... I weighed 75kg and just last week when I checked afer a month of Moringa? I'm down to 70kg.... shhhhhhhh.... Don't tell anyone....

That's our Moringa tree... all trimmed and ready to regrow... you wanna know what I did with the trimmings? Follow me to my "Laboratory", that will be Kitchen to you right?



So I made sure I got seeds to show you as well as leaves.

But here's the real fun part, I did make a quick run to the market yesterday evening after a harrowing three hour long lecture to get beef because I had something on my mind the whole time I was giving that lecture! I didn't get boring steak no no, I got a lovey "cowtail" to make my Moringa and Egwusi (Melon seeds) soup....

MORINGA AND EGWUSI SOUP



 You'll need:

1 average-sized cow tail dressed and chopped

5 cups of Moringa leaves fresh or dried, it's all the same... I'm using dried here though

2 cups of ground melon (egwusi) seeds made into paste using a little amount of water

1/2kg of stock fish washed and chopped if need be

8 Fresh ground hot peppers (Habeneros)

15 Fresh gound long red peppers (here in Benue and up north it's called "dogodogo".. the Hausas helped us out here)

1 medium sized onion ground

Locust beans (eru as the yorubas call it or Nune in Tiv) ground

1 clove of garlic ground

Black pepper ground (just to flavour)

Ginger (as you would want but not too much, just to flavor the meat) ground

Salt and Seasoning (for me? it Knor cubes baby)

Lots of clean water

What do you do? Piece of cake....

First put your chopped beef (cow tail) into a medium sized pot, add a bit of the ground pepper, ground ginger, garlic, onions and black pepper,. Add salt and seasoning to taste and set to cook on very low heat. This will allow the meat marinate as well as cook at the same time, ensuring all the flavours get right into the meat and it also cooks soft...  I hate hard undercooked meat... Not appealing to eat and also unhealthy!

After 20mins of low heat cooking, add your stock fish (you are adding your stock fish now so it doesn't over cook and disappear in your pot of goodness) and 1 cup of water and increase the heat to medium... with this, you draw out all the goodness the meat and stock fish has to offer and you have a rich stock... In Naija, we call it perboiling the meat!

So after the meat has been perboiled, turn into a clean bowl and put the pot back on fire. Using a medium cooking spoon, add 2 spoonfuls of palm oil into the pot and allow to heat for a bit (make sure you do not over heat the oil so you donot burn off and evaporate all the nutrients of the palm oil) then add the remaining ground hot pepper, ground long red pepper and locust beans and allow to fry. When the mixture is all fried, add 1/2 a cup of water and allow to simmer for a bit.

As the mixture begins to boil, wash your hands clean and begin to make small morsels of the egwusi paste and add unto the boiling mixture in the pot. When you are finished, cover and allow to cook for 15 minutes. this ensures your melon (egwusi) balls are properly cooked cos undercooked melon balls will surely run your stomach any day! Oops sorry , no talk of that right now.... Truly sorry...

After the melon balls cook properly, add the beef and stock fish stock and allow to simmer for 5 minutes so the salt and seasoning in the stock gets into the melon balls as well. Add your meat and allow to cook for 10 minutes so that all ingredients are in perfect harmony... lols.... Add your Moringa leaves, revert back to low heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes (this is to ensure you donot overcook and destroy the nutrients in the leaves) and you are so good to go!

Serve with any staple of your choice and enjoy! For me? You know it will be a "mountain" of well pounded yam... yum!



Ok guys let's see you get busy... replicate this, modify this, it's all good but most importantly? Try this out at all cost! Ain't you all just tired of regular pumpkim leaves (ugu) and bitterleaf? I am and what better replacement can there be than a leave as rich as Moringa...

Okay troops, off I go now cos that plate of goodness you see? I'm about to dig into...

Next weekend will surely be another exciting one..

Remember Moringa Oleifera is indeed a miracle, embrace it... a teaspoonful of ground Moringa leaves trice a day or a raw seed twice a day ? keeps the doctor away.... and all those unwanted adipose tissues in the wrong places too.... shhhh! ... hehe

Naija gal... Benue Born

Okay so errrrrrrr... how do I start?
Hello guys, I'm sure I meet you well? When people say it's kinda awkward 'breaking the ice' I'll usually snort back and say "come on it's not brain surgery!!" but hey I'm kinda in that position now...

Okay so let's break ice.... #foolishgrinonmyface#... seriously? where do I start?

...I'm someone who loves to cook, try out new recipes and stuff but I always have a bias for African cuisine, Nigerian cuisine and my Local Benue flavours... I feel Africa, Nigeria and indeed Benue has so much to offer with meals and sadly our delicacies are taking the back seat in the kitchen, every one wants to go western and please do not misunderstand me, there's nothing wrong with that. All I'm saying is what you call western is someone elses local flavour so why not embrace your local flavour too and take it international...

I'm starting out here because I so want to share all I've got... my Mama taught me well. On my blog, we'll do alot of learning. I look to share my recipes and methods and hope you try it out and just have fun while at it.... Make no mistakes, we won't just be all about food..... Hey! I won't be letting the cat out that early so come along cos I promise it will be a roller coaster ride..! hehe


Naija gal... Benue Born