Saiprojects

Ok now, as we all know, the month of  July & August; are months where you get to spend alot of  your time with the children and bond more with them.

Hey guys welcome back to my Kitchen; so today I'm going to be showing you how to prepare a western 10 to 15 minute meal; a Vegetable Fritata.. I'm sure you're probably thinking what in the world is a Fritata?? Well its basically an Omelette, Fritata in Italy is basically fried eggs... lol you didn't know that right? Well I didn't either lol... now here's what you'll need for a Veggie Fritata.

Ingredients (serves 4)

5 beaten eggs
half a small courgette
spring onions (just a handful)- optional
diced onions
mixed red, green and yellow peppers
30ml of vegetable or olive oil
2 frankfurters
1 diced fresh tomato
half a scotch bonnet (optional)
1 cooked potato
salt to taste
black pepper
half a teaspoon of all purpose seasoning
half a stock cube





Utensils:-
Frying pan
Frying spoon


Method:-

Preheat your frying pan with the oil for 2 minutes, fry all the veggies together for 2 minutes on low heat (Note:- its best to use a non-stick frying pan). Once fried, now add the frankfurters and potatoes and leave to fry for another 2 minutes.

This dish only requires a bit of oil to cook up; now whisk your eggs into the mixture and leave to cook on low heat for 2 minutes.

Once the mixture starts to set underneath, use a knife to check to see if its nice and set under.. Now its times for it to go in the oven @ circa 160 -180 degrees for a further 6-8 minutes. Please check if your frying pan can go in the oven as you don't want your frying pan melting in the oven lol..






Almost looks like a slice of Pizza right ;-)









There you have it; so easy and tastes too delicious and great for Vegetarians as well without the frankfurters :-).. Let me know how yours go and don't forget to check my Youtube page to see me making this dish https://www.youtube.com/user/saioladeji/videos

Rice and peas

For the Rice you'll need:-

Easy cook Basmati rice
3 cups of water
1 can of coconut milk
red onions
thyme
red kidney beans including the liquid
scotch bonnet
seasoning
salt to taste

Add the 3 cups of water into the pot, add the kidney beans, onions, thyme, seasoning and salt to taste. Allow the beans boil for 40 to 45 minutes on low to medium heat. Now add the washed rice, coconut milk and a scotch bonnet for flavour, stir and let it boil until the rice is nice and soft. Now be careful here as we don't want the rice soggy, so its best to leave on low to medium heat. As soon as the rice and peas are soft, drain off any excess liquid and leave to simmer until dry.

For the Curry oxtail you'll need:-

Oxtail
Curry powder
chopped fresh tomatoes
mixed red, green and yellow pepper
1 chopped scotch bonnet
stock cubes
seasoning
1 chopped clove of garlic
1 chopped red onion
1 potato
Sliced carrots
thyme
4 tablespoon of olive oil
3 cups of water





Season the washed oxtail with salt, onions, garlic,curry powder, seasoning, stock cubes, tomatoes, thyme, mixed pepper & scotch bonnet and let it marinate for about 2 hours.

Add oil into a pan, onion, garlic and curry powder and leave to fry for a few minutes. Now add the oxtail leave to fry and add some water and leave to cook for an hour or 2 on low heat. After about an hour and a bit, add the potatoes & carrot; leave again to cook and there you have it :-)

Let me know how yours go if you try this recipe; I've got a YouTube video of this recipe available here, don't forget to like and subscribe:- https://youtu.be/ysqbqQwt27w


Thanks for reading :-)

Hey guys welcome back to my blog..

Are you a student, single man or woman or are you just that one person that is just starting up on your own and there's obviously alot on your mind to think about.. Well I'm making it so easy for you by giving you a list of Kitchen essentials for your new home, which is one less thing to think about :-)

My friend recently got a place not too far from central London after few years of living with her parents; and she asked me a very worrying question she had in mind, she said "Sai what are the basic things I should have in my kitchen since you've been living on your own for several years". So I thought I'll share with all my readers what I advised my friend to get to be able to start up at her new home.

We all know that feeling when you move into your new home and you basically want if not all, but most things to be brand new when you move in. Here are a few Kitchen essentials for new starters that would give you a rough idea on what to purchase or shop around for.

Firstly carry-out your research; you don't wanna buy cheap things and end up chucking them away after 3 months of use, so my suggestion is to get the best value for money items. The price might shock you but it is definitely relevant and worth spending on longer lasting products.

OK lets start from the very basic stuff:-

Kitchen utensils such as plates, knives, forks, spoons, pots & pans:- Now depending on how much cooking you will be doing, I'll recommend to get sets of these utensils as you'll find that getting them in singles actually costs more. So for example a set of cutlery that includes 4 of each of Knife, forks, tablespoons & teaspoons.

Cost is circa £29.99





 A set of Pots and Pans depending on size so for example in the image below is a decent size for a starter and costs circa £80 to £95. Now this might sound a bit pricey but what you need to understand is the fact that it is non-stick, which is very essential in cooking.


Mixing bowl- Plastic, glass or metal mixing bowls will do, its very versatile and can serve you for a number of things such as beating, mixing, massaging flour etc.


Plastic
Glass

Graters- Amazing for grating, shredding your veggies such as carrots, cheeses, iceberg lettuce etc



Whisk- Very useful for beating eggs, sauces, gravy etc. They come in different types such as the electric and Vector whisks below.

Electric

Toaster- Now if you are a bread lover like me, a toaster should be your best friend. That early morning toast with butter/jam & a nice cuppa hmmmmm yes a toaster should be on your list 



Chopping board- used to cut, dice, slice veggies, fruits, and anything that requires you to use a knife to cut. They come in different shapes, colours and sizes.


Plastic
Wood



Small Appliances:-

Blender- Blenders have a multitude of uses such as chopping, puréeing etc. It can also be used for making smoothies, shakes, juices etc.

Microwave- What is a Kitchen without a microwave, I don't think I can survive without one lol, its benefits are amazing from heating up cold food to cooking ready meals to defrosting frozen food.

Kettle- Now if you live in the UK, I don't think you can actually survive without a kettle in the kitchen. Yes I said so lol, from boiling water in a short time to boiling water to make your teas, coffees, cappuccino etc to making soups, porridge etc.. yes the UK is a really cold country so you'll find one of these in every corner to go to.

Those are the basic things needed in a start up home; once you move into a bigger house then you can start looking at getting bigger items to suit your needs such as gas cooker, dishwasher, Fridge Freezer, washing machine, coffee machine, bread maker etc.. These are basic white goods that should be included in your tenancy if you live in the UK; but as things change, some landlords might not provide these so it will be up to you to get them yourself. Remember the major appliances can be second-hand; you don't have to get brand new if you cannot afford it. There are also different schemes like the "buy now pay later"scheme available in most appliances shops so carry out your research and make use of the schemes.

Let me know how you get on guys, and good luck in your new home :-) O'toodles

An ounce of a Mother is worth more than thousand pounds of gold. There is no price we can pay for the glory of Motherhood..xx

Happy Mothers day to all mums and mums to be out there; wishing you an amazing day and also congratulating you on being a super mum, well done and more grease to your elbow.

Mother's day is a day to celebrate motherhood and not just a day to receive cards and pressies from our loved ones. It is a day to show our love and gratefulness to our mothers in many ways: such as gifts, quotes, send text messages, bombard them with phone calls and also share beautiful images to your beloved mother. 
Mother’s Day is a wonderful day for all mums but it’s not just one day out of 365, its every day. We should celebrate our Mothers every single day.



I hope all you Mothers get breakfast in bed, and a wonderful dinner at your favourite restaurant, treated like a queen for the entire day & also get showered with alot of well deserved pressies.

Here is a definition of Mother I came across online & absolutely fell in love with :-)

“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.
(Jewish proverb)




I also use this medium to remember all the great women we've lost in previous years; may their souls rest in peace..xx

Here is to all mums out there, hope you enjoy this special day & cheer you up..xx
https://youtu.be/GHvjTLOtq0U

Hey guys welcome back to another episode of Saiprojects cooking, today's blog is going to be about Mums. 
Either single, married, working-class, busy and all types of Mums around the world. By the way, Happy Mothers day in advance, here in the UK Mothers day is celebrated on Sunday 15th March 2015 so if you're also celebrating Mothers day anywhere around the world, I am using this medium to wish you a big "Happy Mothers day celebration", well done on being a mum, (it's a tough job), more grease to your elbow. :-)

Also lest I forget, it is "International Women's Day" today, it is  an annual event that celebrates women’s accomplishments and promotes global gender equality.

As Mother's day fast approaches, alot of us are thinking of what to get our mums, wives, partners, and all mother's out there!

Here's a list of affordable gift items that you can get your hands on at really good value for money.

Google is your friend, do not be afraid to use it. You can easily search for Mother's day gift ideas and a series of searches will come up for you to view.

Firstly think about what you know your mum likes; for example I love writing and I love social media so its very easy for my husband to pick up a gift for me for Mother's day.

If your mum is not easily predictable, then not to worry here's a list of gifts you can lay your hands on, and I'm sure you'll thank me later.

Flowers, Jewellery and perfumes seem to be the most common gifts mums receive for mother's day, however why not surprise her with something different this time.

-Personalised gifts:- they are the best, it creates memories in years to come. You need at least 3-5 working days to be able to get your gift on time for Mother's day


http://www.ebay.it/itm/Premium-50-Sheets-Edible-Wafer-Rice-Paper-Card-Double-Thickness-/121539134110

-Kitchen Utensils:- If you've noticed your mum's kitchen items are old and crying for help, why not surprise her with new sets of cutleries, pots/pans, kettles, food processors, coffee maker, microwaves or you can even change her cooker, dishwasher, washing machine and other major kitchen appliances if you can afford to like I said IF YOU CAN AFFORD TO lol. Don't shoot me here I know it seems big and sounds expensive but if you can buy your mum a perfume, take her out to dinner and buy her clothes all worth £150, well you can get cheaper Kitchen appliances as cheap as £29 which your mum can look back on in the next 5 years with a beautiful smile on her face.

Russell Hobbs Bread maker only £55



Breville digital fryer only £55




George Foreman Health grill  really cheap at £46




Russell Hobbs Kettle only £29

All available at www.ao.com




Cutlery set available online at Debenhams.com



-If your mum, partner or wife is a working class woman that works 24/7 and you think she deserves an amazing treat, you can visit www.groupon.com,  www.vouchercodes.com & Martin Lewis's Money saving website www.moneysavingexpert.com (which is one that I am a big fan of) for amazing Mother's day treat deals such as:-

• Full body Massages.
• 
• Pedicure & Manicure treatment.
• Whisk her away with a Spa weekend that includes Lunch/dinner, Champagne and a facial.
• 
• A day trip to a location of your choice that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• A Horse riding experience.
• If your mum is a fashion lover, or a gym enthusiast you can get her one of these cheap and affordable hoodies, fleeces and tops as cheap as £8 from http://www.benola.co.uk/collections/womens

• Photo frames:- really cheap and affordable, pick a really good photo of your mum, personalise it by engraving a really good message for her. Check out different websites online (there's millions of them)

Hope you all enjoy your week and once again Happy Mother's day to all mums out there :-)

Isn't it so surreal that Christmas is just around the corner in literaly 16 weeks woohoo.. I'm like a big kid at christmas lol and I absolutely love love all the Christmas hoo ha :-)

Today's blog is really for all mums out there (now don't get jealous dads, i'll be writing a blog for you shortly).
Now that the summer holidays are over; and all the hustle and bustle about taking the kids away for summer holidays are all over and the kids are starting to go back to their new year, I have decided to write a blog to help out mums who struggle with kids pack lunches.
Most schools serve school dinners but I know of some mums who prefer to serve their children pack lunches. ( I don't blame you :-)
I know it can be very daunting when you have to think of what to make for your child to take to school Mon-Fri and also having to think of what to make for dinner blah blah blah, well not to worry, I can help you out or at least sort of help you out J

I have drawn a list below to help you, or at least give you an idea of what to make for your kids. Here's a list of pack lunches ideal for kids.


What a typical pack lunch looks like


Tummy Fillers
Remember, growing kids need alot of starchy foods to give them energy; they also need meals packed with abundance of proteins, fibre, carbohydrates, and vitamins to help with their growing bones and also give them a healthy dose of brain power for the afternoon ahead.

Try not to make it too boring for the kids by mixing and matching as per the below.

Main meals

Wraps

Bagel

Pitta's

Pasta salad

Cous cous

Potato salad

You can easily get your hands on sandwich fillers from supermarkets

Sandwich Fillings

Chicken/Sweetcorn

Tuna mayo

Ham & Cheese

Ham & Tomato

Cheese & Tomato

Prawn cocktail

Egg & cress

BLT- Bacon, lettuce & tomato

Corn beef & butter

Sausage & ketchup

Chicken & avacado

Sardine & tomato

Cheese & coleslaw

Jam & butter spread

Chocolate spread

It is really important to include one of their 5-a-day in their pack lunch to help stay healthy. Fruits are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals that also helps maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems.

Five- a- day

Fruits

Grapes

Oranges

Banana

Apple Yoghurt

I know kids like the odd biscuits and crisps etc; however it is really important to include healthy snacks in your kids pack lunches as this helps in developing their focus and concentration at school.

Snack

Cumcumber sticks

Carrot sticks

Celery

Scotch eggs

Rice cakes

Bread sticks

Low salt & reduced fat crisp- optional

Biscuit- optional

Flapjack

Cereal bar

Stay clear of sugary drinks & go for healthy otpions.

Thirst quenchers

Water

Milkshake

Milk- semi skimmed or whole

Diluted fruit juice