Puff puff and Beans!

By Akwe Mabs

Many people just love to eat puff puff and beans. This is widely described as a Cameroonian delicacy. Puff puff and beans is served as a breakfast option, for  lunch or during events featuring or hosted by Cameroonians. Puff puff is also served as a snack.

Growing up I saw many women making and selling puff puff and beans in my community. Profits from the business went a long way to ensure the livelihood for these women and for their families.

Puff Puff and beans - as a business- is a lucrative venture till  date in Cameroon.

 But how is it prepared ? It is so easy! In my household, my children enjoy eating puff puff and beans so  I often prepare it.

I was checking online this morning and I stumbled  on this recipe and  I would like to share it with you. It is taken from Mbamba's Kitchen and could serve as a guide to lovers of puff puff who are yet to actually prepare it. Click here for details on how to make puff puff.*

Enjoy it and leave a comment !

Chao!!!!!
Mabs

Smoked Goat Meat Sauce.

By Akwe Mabs

Ohhhhh my God! Now you have to try this recipe!

Mabi's  Smoked Goat Sauce and White Yam

Four Four persons
1 kg of Goat meat- spice with black pepper, white pepper, country onions, salt, beef cube then smoke till its tender
2 large onions- chopped
2 large tomatoes- sliced
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon 'country onion'
2 table spoon ground njansa
1/2 black pepper
1/2 white pepper
3 table spoons of vegetable oil
spring onions
pinch of salt
beef cube to taste


Preparation


Once the goat meat is cleaned, sliced, spiced and smoked, you put it aside
Place the pot on the cooker, put in vegetable oil, add onions, ginger, tomatoes fry for about 3 minutes
Add the rest of the ingredients in to the pot
Add the goat meat as well
Add a cup of water and cover the pot.
Leave to cook for about 10 minutes so that all the ingredients will come together giving you a very tasty goat sauce.

Once its ready serve as desired. You could serve with boiled white yams, boiled rice, plantains, bobolo or Irish potatoes.

Enjoy!!!!!!!
Come back and let me know how you enjoyed the meal.

My home-made watermelon juice

By Akwe Mabs

Watermelons are so refreshing and healthy. Each juicy bite has significant levels of vitamin A, B6 , C, antioxidants and amino acids.

It is so juicy and tasty that you can't resist it.

Here is what you need to get a jar of watermelon juice;

1 large watermelon
Juice machine 
You can also use a strainer as an alternative to the juice machine

Preparation;
Wash the watermelon properly. Scoop out the content. Then put in the juice machine. Collect the juice.  Pour into a fruit jar. Serve at room temperature or keep in the refrigerator to get cold, before serving. It tastes so good, you would be tempted to try it again.

Beyond the taste, the health benefits of watermelons include; prevention of kidney disorders and high blood pressure, prevention of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, to name but these.

According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board, Scientists have taken notice of watermelon's high lycopene levels- about 15 to 20 milligrams per 2- cups serving.

Enjoy!

Easy home-made orange-carrot-beetroot juice

By Akwe Mabs

In my attempt to break  away from some old eating habits and adopt new and healthier ones , I have decided to completely cut out sodas and to replace them with natural home-made juices.

This implies that my entire household would have to be part of this move!

Sometimes it is a struggle getting especially the kids  to accept some of these natural fruits  juice combinations. I am not giving it up.

Healthier is better, I often tell them. Try , try and try and soon you will get used to it. I think we are making progress. I will be happy to share some of my juice recipes here on my blog, as I go along.

Akwe's orange-carrot-beetroot juice

*Orange-carrot-beetroot juice
To make two glasses of this juice, here is what you need.

2 large oranges
5 medium sized carrots
1 large beetroot.
*Juice machine

Preparation;
Wash thoroughly. Peel  the beetroot, slice and juice . Do same with the carrots.
 Cut each orange into two parts, then use the manual orange squeezer to squeeze the juice from the orange. Mix with the carrot and beetroot juice, stir and serve immediately. You could  also keep it in the fridge for a  short while before serving.

Yeahh! you 've got yourself two glasses of healthy  home-made orange-carrot-beetroot juice. Enjoy!

The health benefits of beetroots are many; high in fiber , excellent source of  folic acid and helps  to increase body stamina. Beetroot is low in fat and full of vitamins.


Carrot juice is very nutritious and contains beta-carotene, a good source of potassium and vitamin A.
Read more from here. 

Nice birthday cakes!

By Akwe Mabs

 Here is a collection of some birthday cakes/pictures from some of my family members. I didn't bake any of these but  they all look so lovely !

Nenge's 9th birthday cake

Shura's 10th birthday cake,

Baby Miley's 1st birthday cake

mom's birthday cake as she celebrates with her grandchildren in Douala

Ngems' birthday cake as she celebrates with kids 

Ngwi's 12th birthday cake 

George Jr's 3rd birthday cake

Pictures: courtesy of my sisters, Ngems, Ids and myself.
Thanks to Yvonne F. for baking most of these cakes.

Setting food on the table! Be stylish!

By Akwe Mabs

You will certainly agree with me that setting food on the dinning table is not simply a matter of taking the food from the pot/oven/grill to the table.

 It is an art in itself!

Many people are often  quickly drawn to a table when it is beautifully set! Making sure the cutlery, plates, paper-napkins, table mats, glasses, food dishes and trays  are in place, is therefore key to having a nice table setting. The arrangement of the different items, the lighting, candles, flowers and a few other table accessories  generally add style and beauty.

Therefore I suggest you take the time to set a beautiful, enticing and mouth-watering table for yourself, your family and /or friends whenever need be.

It's all in the art of it!

These pictures on this post, are courtesy of my big sister, Lynda.

Making a monthly meal plan!

By Akwe Mabs

Each month I draw up a meal plan. This usually is done after I must have been to the market and the grocery stores to buy all what I intend to use.  My shopping list is usually divided into different sections like meat, fish, vegetables , fruits, canned food, spices etc.

Most often my monthly meal plan helps me save time and money given that I can buy in bulk and would not have to run to the market all the time.

Figuring out what the family should eat throughout the month and drawing up the monthly menu also helps reduce the everyday stress sometimes associated  with planning meals on a  daily basis!
If you are looking for ways of how to go about this take a look at a sample of my monthly meal plan below. You could also find help here

 My sample FOOD MENU for a month 

                                                WEEK 1                            WEEK 2                              WEEK 3                            WEEK 4         

MONDAY	Egusi soup meat, plantains§ rice	Garri and okro	Chicken and fried potatoes	Cabbage and rice
TUESDAY	Vegetable and fufu  and  Rice	Pepersoup potatoes	Jellof rice and meat	Bean s and rice
WEDNESDAY	Garri and okro plus rice and meat	Spaghetti and sauce	Kwacoco bible Plus noodles	Spaghetti
THURSDAY	Beans and  boiled plantains and noodles	Puff puff and beans	Eru and garri with footcow	Garri and okro soup with foot cow
FRIDAY	Fried spaghetti	Porridge cocoyams	Dodo and beans	Liver sauce and dodo, macaroni
SATURDAY	Waterfufu and eru plus potato chips	Okongobong egusi Vegetable and rice plus foot cow	Egusi soup and rice plus meat	Ndole and plantains  Plus noodles
SUNDAY	Rice and stew with meat	macaroni	Fufu corn and vegetable	Puff and beans
Fruits	Banana and oranges and passion juice	Pawpaw and pineapple and mangoes	Oranges  and apples Mangoes	Banana and watermelons