Green Egg Scramble

Eggs. Simple enough to make one might think but it is for that exact reason that eggs can be boring. Like a lot of foods that we eat regularly, we tend to go into default mode with eggs – boil or fry. Make an omelet with onions and tomatoes and some chilies if you like some heat.
I love to use eggs as a carrier for vegetables. It is a lot easier to feed my family insane amounts of vegetables if I include them in eggs. This green egg scramble concept is also a very delicious way to deal with egg white only omelets if you are on a diet. By loading the eggs up with all these fiber and nutrients, a small bowl is quite filling which means – no need to have carbs on the side to fill you up. You can also make a few eggs go a long way as well.
To make a 4 egg scramble, you will need:

• 4 eggs
• A small bunch of greens – spinach, kale, ugwu (fluted pumpkin leaves) or lettuce will work. Use one type or a combination
• 1 green bell pepper – deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 carrot – grated
• 2 spring onions – finely chopped (white and green parts)
• Cheese – grated cheddar,mozarella, smoked gouda – any kind of cheese you prefer or a combination. I usually use a smoked cheese because of the delicious flavor it adds to the omelet
• Salt and white pepper
• Oil: Olive, vegetable, canola oil can be used. Unsalted butter can be used as well

Directions:

• Prepare all the vegetables and set aside
• Crack eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Whisk till well combined
• In a large skillet or frying pan, add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan
• Add the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly
• Add the eggs and using a wooden spoon or spatula stir the eggs constantly on low heat. Low and slow is the secret to moist eggs
• Add the grated cheese and stir mixture until the cheese has melted
• Serve hot

Enjoy!!!

From Farm to Table - Or in this case - From Garden to Table

 

 

My green thumb project is going so very well. Look what I harvested from my little garden....

 

 

 

Peppers. 2 kinds of peppers. Long green chilies and scotch bonnet peppers. The scotch bonnet peppers are at different stages of the ripening process and this means different flavor and heat profiles. After picking this bowl full, I knew I wanted to blend some and add to some ginger and garlic for a condiment blend for the freezer.

 

I also wanted to try my hand at making my own hot sauce. Back in the day, hot sauce was red or green and vinegary. Usually found in the US with the most popular brands being Tabasco and Franks. People use hot sauce to add extra oomph to their meals or to coat chicken wings to make buffalo wings et al. While I like heat, I am not a big fan of this overly vinegary hot sauce.

 

Over the last few years though, an evolution of hot sauce has happened. There are now full of flavor varieties with fruit, or sweet versions or with varying levels of heat using 'handle with gloves only' peppers like the ghost pepper and active hot head movements. There are artisan companies making excellent products and selling at farmers markets or specialty stores giving the bigger companies a run for their money.

 

I decided to use some of my precious stash in my own recipe - after reading countless recipes online, I took some elements for a starter recipe that I hope will result in me making different kinds using produce from my garden.

 

In a pot, I rough chopped 1 onion, added 5 green scotch bonnet peppers, 2 red scotch bonnet peppers, 3 yellow scotch bonnet peppers, 10 long green chilies, a tablespoon of blended garlic and 2 cups of water and set on high heat for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, everything should be getting nice and soft. I added 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Stirred everything together and boiled for another 10 minutes.

 

 

I turned the heat off and let everything cool down. Once cool, I added the veggies to a blender and just a bit of the liquid leftover from the boiling process and blitz till smooth. I added a little bit more of the liquid to thin out the mix. Then I transferred to a handy squeeze bottle to be used over everything. Can I just say how delicious this hot sauce is. Its hot but not overwhelmingly so since its the red peppers that pack the most heat and I didn't use a lot of them. The yellow peppers and the long green chilies have a smoky flavor and the addition of the vinegar and sugar balance the flavors out and add a subtle sweetness to the sauce. Delicious.

 

 

Using the sauce on grilled chicken and meats - amazing. Even added to some salad dressing for a super salad - fab. I took it a step further by using on something that has been haunting me for months. A friend asked me what else avocados could be used for and I had a few ideas but with the holidays coming and the bakery in overdrive, deadlines looming et al, this blog and recipe testing have suffered. Last Sunday after a visit to my neighborhood farmer's market, I had a ripe avocado to use.

 

Cut avocado in half and remove center stone. Place both halves in an oven proof dish. Season the avocado generously with salt. Carefully crack an egg into each cavity of the avocado. Its like God created the avocados for this purpose. Perfect fit. Place in an oven set at 350 degrees and bake till egg gets to your preferred level of doneness. Mine - well gone (10-12 minutes in the oven). Hubby's - jiggly and runny (about 7 minutes in the oven). 

 

Once ready, I drizzled that delicious hot sauce all over the avocado egg cups. Holy moly. We went from oh nice to amazeballs.

 



Absolutely delicious and a lovely start to a lazy Sunday.

Enjoy!!!

Dinosaur Scotch Eggs

I got tired of the scrawny scotch eggs sold at fast food places and made my dinosaur scotch eggs that I had with a salad for a complete meal. The recipe went out with our last newsletter. Send an email to uzosfoodlabs@gmail.com to subscribe.

Enjoy!!!

A meal that came about by accident - Boozy Pork Chops, Fried Plantain & Egg Cups

 

The story of this accidental' meal started with an inventory of my home store.

 

I have been taking inventory of my store which is really a converted room with shelving and different storage solutions that holds everything from supplies for the bakery, to household stuff to dry foods to make room for new stuff coming in. I found a box full of wines and spirits. See, we get bottles of liquor as gifts from people. I don't like to drink wine and hubby is more of a social drinker which means he doesn't drink at home. Every time we get a gift of alcohol, I put it in this box. So this box contained 57 bottles of wines and spirits. I kid you not. I was in shock.

 

The first thing I did was sort through the bottles. I got all the non-alcoholic stuff and set that aside to be given to the security guards. That still left me with 50 bottles to deal with. Fast. The holidays are in 3 months and of course we will get more bottles of assorted alcohol as gifts. So I have challenged myself to use up this mish mash or red and white wines, whiskey, cognac, champagne et al before then.

 

The white wine used in my previous post for the Wilson's Pink Lemonade Sangria took care of 1 bottle. 49 to go.

 

Enter my idea for a red wine marinade for the pork chops in my freezer. I make variations of wine marinades a lot but I figured it was time to create a new version. My plan was to make the boozy pork chops and serve with a sexy rice pilaf and honey glazed carrots. I made the marinade the night before and got the pork chops in there to take on all the flavor overnight.

 

The problems began when it rained over night and into the morning. That Lagos rain that makes every where dark and keeps you firmly under the covers. By the time I got myself together and came downstairs, it was 1pm. Lunch time and too tired to make my fancy planned meal. It had to be something quick and require no effort.

 

Fried plantain (dodo) and eggs are a favorite but I wanted to make the meal look special.

 

That's the back story to this meal and it was a huge hit.

 

To make a cup and a half of red wine marinade which can be used for pork, beef and goat meat, you will need:

• 1 cup good quality red wine
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 tablespoon dry mixed herbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• I stock cube
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Directions

• In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk thoroughly.
• Add the meat and cover bowl and marinade in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Overnight is best
• Preheat oven to Gas mark 4
• Transfer the meat to an oven proof pan and bake till meat is done to your taste
• During the baking process, baste the meat with the left over marinade every 15 minutes turning over as you do so

Egg Cups:

• To make the egg cups, you will need to have a muffin/cupcake baking tray. Each cavity will hold approximately 1 egg.
• Chop into fine pieces, a selection of vegetables. I used red onions and tomatoes.
• Crack the eggs over the vegetables and whisk to combine. Add salt to taste
• Fill each cavity with the egg mix and bake in an oven at gas mark 4 for 10 minutes or until eggs are cooked through
• The eggs will puff up in the oven like a soufflé but will deflate to some degree once you take them out of the oven
• These egg cups can be made with any combination of ingredients. Try adding ham and cheese, or spring onions or even a dash of garam masala for a more interesting taste hit.

Sometimes, everyday foods just need a new twist to make them seem more interesting.

 

Enjoy!!!!

 



Kitchen Tip: How to make sure your eggs are still usable

Eggs are a staple in most kitchens. I use dozens of eggs a week especially for my baking business and there is nothing worse than cracking an egg and its nasty and rotten or you need egg yolks only and the old egg yolk mixes with the white and its of no use for that recipe. Eggs are also notorious for making people sick if bad eggs are combined with improper cooking ...Imagine making runny poached eggs with less than fresh eggs?

Checking if your eggs are still usable is super easy.

Directions:

Get a deep bowl and fill with cold water. Put your eggs in the bowl. Any eggs that sink to the bottom are fresh. Any eggs that rise to the top are bad and should be discarded. Any eggs that sink to the bottom but move around and try to sit on the point are in between. They can still be used for scrambling or added to recipes but not for any recipes that call for intact yolks.

That's how easy it is.

Enjoy!!!!