Saiprojects: January 2016

picture credit-AFP

Serena Williams beaten just the fifth time in 26 grand slams, the US Tennis Champion was defeated at Melbourne Park by opponent Angelique Kerber.

28 year old Kerber is is the first German to win a major singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open.

Ms Williams missed the chance to tie Graf's open-era record of 22 titles.

picture credit-www.wsj.com

In the closing speech, Serena congratulated Kerber "I'm so happy for you and I really hope you enjoy this moment, thanks to my team for the ride and also the crowd. She went on to say it was really fun and she enjoyed herself.

Serena is an inspiration to Kerber and so many young people in the world. It is so unusual for Serena to lose, she is not a sore loser, she is a gracious champion. The spirit of sportsmanship in her is impeccable and I wish her the best of luck.

Also a job well done to Kerber, who pressured Williams into a string of unforced errors in the first set by chasing down virtually every ball, she mixed true grit with sheer class as she broke for a 4-2 lead in the deciding set. Two glorious drop shots were the highlight of a ten minute plus game of five deuces, in which Williams saved 4, but not 5, break points.

Well done ladies..

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Happy Weekend Foodies; so its the end of National Breakfast Week today. Its been an awesome week featuring alot of countries Breakfast menus on the blog.

Today I'll be featuring a traditional german breakfast on the blog.

A typical breakfast in Germany consists of a warm beverage such as coffee, tea or cocoa, bread (Brot) or bread rolls(Brötchen) with various spreads and toppings such as Butter (butter) or Margarine (margarine), Marmelade (marmalade or other jam), Honig (honey), Quark (a type of curd cheese), Wurst (sausage) and Käse (cheese). A glass of juice (Saft) is also commonplace as is a boiled egg (Ei). Cereals are also popular, particularly among younger people. Müsli, which is a mixture of cereal flakes, nuts and dried fruit and other ingredients is also very popular. It is mixed with Joghurt (yogurt) or Milch (milk) and often topped with fresh fruit (Obst).

picture credit (justtalkingabout.wordpress.com)

If you are a reader, what country are you from and what is your favourite thing to eat in the morning?

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(photocredit-www.reciperecap.com)

Today we're celebrating the traditional Russian Breakfast.

Russia has its own ideas about how and what to eat. Russian people like to eat home-cooked food, and rarely buy prepared meals at supermarkets. Usually Russians eat three times a day and prefer potatoes, which are eaten almost daily.

The three meals of the day in Russia are zavtrak, obed and uzhin. With the exception of zavtrak, there are no exact English translations for these daily meals. For example, the second meal,obed, is served around 2 p.m. and can be called either "lunch" or "dinner" in English. The third meal, uzhin, is served after 6 p.m. and can called either "dinner" or "supper".

Russians usually have an early breakfast at about seven or eight in the morning right before leaving to work. It is very common for Russian families to have kasha (a type of porridge made from different grains), butterbrots (a kind of sandwich made of a single slice of bread and one topping such as butter or ham), boiled or fried eggs, tvorog (similar to cottage cheese) or cereal for breakfast. Coffee or tea is an essential drink for many Russians. Many people eat a toast with cheese and drink juice for breakfast

source(http://masterrussian.com/)

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There's no Nigerian breakfast that does not consist of eggs, eggs,& more eggs...

A typical Nigerian breakfast is made up of either Yam & Eggs, Plantain & Eggs, or stew, Moi-Moi and Pap (aka Ogi) also not forgetting Tea.

Here are some Nigerian breakfast ideas. All recipes are available on this blog.

Moi-Moi

Grilled plantain with stuffed scrambled eggs.

Yamarita with King Prawn Sauce

Fried Yam, Fried Plantain with Scrambled Eggs and hot sauce whewwwww lol

Plantain & Scrambled Eggs

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Today Wednesday 27th January is marked as National Chocolate Cake Day.. This day usually celebrates a sweet cake all made of chocolate.

A chocolate cake is flavoured with melted chocolate or cocoa powder. There are so many recipes online on how to bake a chocolate cake.

Here's a simple recipe just incase you can't find one.

Ingredients:-

for the cake

200 grams plain flour
200 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40 grams best-quality cocoa powder
175 grams soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150 ml sour cream

for the icing

75 grams unsalted butter
175 grams best quality dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)
300 grams icing sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
125 ml sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sugar flowers (optional)

Hope you enjoy eating your chocolate cake today :-)

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As we are still celebrating National Breakfast Week; I'll be looking at some famous Italian breakfast.

The traditional Italian breakfast (prima colazione) consists of caffè latte (hot coffee with milk) or coffee with bread or rolls, butter, and jam.

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Today's post is dedicated to the all so amazing American breakfast; we all know that American breakfast consists of homemade pancakes sometimes topped with maple syrup & bacon or cherry sauce & Greek yogurt.
Happy National Breakfast Week

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Good Monday afternoon Foodies, This week is National Breakfast week, running from Monday

January 25th to Saturday January 30th. Breakfast week is an annual campaign which takes place every January.

It is highlighted as an opportunity to promote "wealth of wonderful breakfast produce on offer around the UK.

As we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it is very important not to skip breakfast.

Here's Monday's full English breakfast-

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No-one would advocate excessive drinking but there are times of celebration when the best of us can get carried away. If you've gone slightly overboard of an evening, or can see a heavy night on the cards, there's no need to write off the next day (bbcgoodfood.co.uk)

picture credit-www.foodnetwork.co.uk

Hey Foodies, are you feeling a little worse for fear due to the heavy night you've had? The following meals will bring you back from the brink.

These delicious (not so healthy) meals will surely help ease your hangovers..

Try them after heavy drinking and you'll feel better than ever.

Foods usually high in carbs and fats are a good source to ease a hangover even though no food can cure a hangover but certain foods are better for refueling than others.

These are-

Quick beef fried rice- http://saiprojectscooking.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/chinese-beef-fried-rice.html

Club Sandwich- recipe here http://saiprojectscooking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/club-sandwich-american-style.html

If you're African then you'll be familiar with this Pounded Yam and Isapa soup- recipe here http://saiprojectscooking.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/isapa-soup-as-seen-on-bella-naija.html

Also try the below tips to help avoid a hangover-

Never drink on an empty stomach – dairy including milk and yogurt are excellent stomach liners, so if you’re not going to be eating with the alcohol enjoy a small carton of plain yogurt with a banana, a bowl of cereal with milk or some cheese and biscuits before you venture out.
Limit fizzy alcoholic drinks – it's true these really do go straight to your head. The bubbles they contain speeds up your absorption of alcohol, so limit the number of glasses of sparkling wine, fizzy cocktails and champagne.
Avoid a nightcap - darker drinks especially spirits like brandy or whisky have a higher level of compounds called congeners, which are formed during the fermentation and distilling process. These compounds are thought to make your hangover worse – so if you must have a nightcap try a white spirit instead.
Before you call it a night stop that hangover in its tracks by drinking plenty of hydrating fluid – plain water is perfect.

The Morning after-

Avoid the hair of the dog – no matter what they say, more alcohol is really not the answer.
Now you need more than just water – coconut water, a sports drink or a re-hydration drink will help restore your hydration levels. You can make your own re-hydration drink by dissolving a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt in a pint of water and sip throughout the morning
Limit caffeine – you may be desperate for that caffeine pick-me-up but drinking too many cups of tea or coffee will only aggravate hydration levels – so stick to one cuppa until you’re feeling yourself again.
Tuck in to a nourishing breakfast – it’s the best way to replace the vitamins and minerals that your body will have lost as it worked hard to process the alcohol. If you can’t face food, even a bowl of breakfast cereal fortified with folate and iron should help to redress some of the damage and lift your energy levels. Alternatively, if your stomach is up for it opt for B-rich wholegrains like a piece of wholemeal toast with a poached or scrambled egg, some grilled tomatoes and mushrooms and finish with a glass of orange juice.
Avoid aspirin or ibuprofen – you may think they’ll sort your head out but they’ll only irritate your upset stomach further.
Resist your cravings – you may be longing for a sugary fix but don’t indulge yourself- sugary drinks and foods will only add to your already unbalanced blood sugar levels. Instead satisfy your sugar fix naturally by choosing fresh fruit for its vitamin and water content or blend yourself a fruit and yogurt smoothie.

source(bbcgoodfood.co.uk)

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Hey Foodies,

I'm sharing a family recipe with all my readers today... Its a dish that I can never get tired of; it brings a big smile to my face when I make it particularly as its a recipe I learnt from my mum.

The fact that I love seafood really helps alot, I can almost eat seafood on a daily basis :-)

This recipe is so easy and can also be made using any type of Fish..

The important part of this dish is the Yellow Eba that it is served with; the Imoyo almost looks like pepper soup but not quite.
Again its so easy yet extremely tasty :-)

Ingredients:-

1 Large Crab
1 Lime
Vegetable oil
Dry Pepper- 3 tablespoons or more depending on your level of spice
Salt to taste
Half a teaspoon of all purpose seasoning
1 stock cube
About half a litre of water

For the Eba you'll need

Garri
3 tablespoons of palm oil
Some of the crab stock

Method:-

Clean the crab well and remove the gills & separate the claws and place in a clean bowl. Now add water into your saucepan, place the crabs in the pan and add all the seasonings and dry pepper. Squeeze in the lime, stir and leave to boil for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

For the Eba- Whilst the crab is boiling, remember you'll need the crab stock for your Eba. Take some of the crab stock and place in another pot.

Leave the crab stock to boil for few minutes, add 3 table spoons of palm oil and stir to your preference.
Now add your garri and mix well like you make Eba normally until done.

Serve and Enjoy :-)

Also watch the video at the top of this post..

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Happy Saturday and Happy National Pie day; I'll be enjoying my pies with some cuppa on this very cold morning :-)

for recipes on my tasty meatpies, check here-http://saiprojectscooking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/home-made-nigerian-meatpie.html

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This portion serves 4

Ingredients

500g of frozen Spinach
1 tin of Plum tomatoes or Fresh tomatoes
1 bell pepper
1 scotch bonnet
1 onion
A handful dry crayfish
A handful of stock fish
A handful of locust beans
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons of all purpose seasoning
2 teaspoons of flavour enhancer
1 stock cube
100g of palm oil
Assorted meat
Crab meat

Method