Recipe for my Naughty Mango Bread...

 

 

There is no doubt that it is mango season. Everywhere I turn, I see mangos.  In the markets, in supermarkets, in wheel barrows pushed around by fruit vendors – there they are waiting to be poked and prodded and then taken home to be peeled and eaten.

After receiving an obscene number of mangoes from my mother, I had done everything from peeling and eating the fruit straight from the fridge, blending as base for smoothies, putting chunks in plain yogurt, given my 14 month old son spoonfuls several times a day and I still had way too many left and we were getting sick of them. I couldn’t bear to throw them away so I decided to figure out some other way to use the fruits that would exhaust what we had left but be interesting as well. I thought to myself – banana bread is a classic, why not try making mango bread?

 

When I mentioned it to my husband, he screwed up his face every which way and said he wasn’t going to be a part of that nastiness. However, the idea had taken root. Mangos are considered a tropical exotic fruit so I could add some warmth with some spices and alcohol and it could just work. I am so happy to say that after a few tweaks, the naughty mango bread is a huge hit with my husband, friends and family with folks even offering to pay for loaves when no freebies are forthcoming. And the best part about it, no mixers needed. Just bowls and a wooden spoon..

To make a 9 inch loaf, you will need:

• 1 cup of dried mixed fruit (cover the fruit with some brandy, rum or cognac for at least an hour. This is the naughty part of the bread)
• 2 ½ cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup of vegetable or canola oil
• 2 cups diced mango (2 medium sized mangoes or 1 very large mango should give you what you need)

Making the bread:

·        Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or gas mark 4.

·        Spray a 9 inch loaf pan or any baking tin of your choice with baking non stick spray or butter the tin thoroughly, dust with flour and tap out the excess

·        In a bowl, sieve and whisk together the flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt

·        In another bowl, whisk the eggs and oil together and pour over the dry ingredients.

·        Mix the batter well using a wooden spoon or a spatula. The batter will be very thick so don’t panic.

·        Drain the mixed fruit and add to batter along with the diced mangoes and stir well to be sure everything is properly incorporated.

·        Scrape the batter into the pan and use wooden spoon or spatula to smooth the top

 

·        Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick or thin knife inserted comes out clean

·        Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and let cool thoroughly before slicing.

This naughty mango bread is fantastic warm or cold, with coffee or tea or even with a light smear of butter if you are feeling generous about your calories.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!!!!

 

 

 

Guest Post - Mrs Temitope Laguda

 

I am so pleased to have the very first guest post on the blog. While this post has a food recipe in it, its more about a day in the life of a working mother who still tries to make sure her family eats home cooked meals as often as possible. For all the working mothers out there, we can attest to the daily struggle and fighting tiredness to don our superwoman capes at the end of hectic days.

 

 

I would love to hear from any working mothers who would like to share their creative meals that they create for their families.....

 

 

So here's Topsy....

 

 

 

 

 

I have to cook, I have to get my kids’ uniforms ready, I have to do laundry, I have to clean the house, I have to return phone calls, I have to respond to emails, I have to sort letters (actually bills), I have to do all these things but first, I need to get home! I need to get home and then cook. Now, you may think getting home isn’t such a big deal but if you are a mother of 2 and work 80miles away from home and the travel takes the better part of your day, you wonder what plans Mother Earth has for you and openly hate super heroes while actually secretly loving and envying them. Wonder Woman anyone?

I digress, I have a long To Do list and not so much time.  I have then decided to spend my train journey to draw a map of what I need to do and want to do. At the back of my mind, all I have there is sleep but that is infinitely impossible when I have gremlins waiting for me at home. That puts cooking on top of my list. Now, for the question of the year, what do I cook?? I have no clue! I do what I do every single time, wait till you get home and rummage through your pantry and refrigerator to see what you can rustle up. Having made that decision, I settled back in between the 2 selfish white men seating on either side of me and slept off.

Aahh….finally, I get home and head straight into the kitchen past the hungry faces and shouts of Mummmyyy!!! Sometimes, I wonder if their happiness is of love or get in the damn kitchen and make us some food woman! Anyways; Rice-check, Frozen Veggies- check; Chicken Breast – check; Prawns - check



I have decided to go for the usual; Rice but this time with mixed vegetables. Now, I’m notorious for eyeballing quantities and have a strong habit of making more than enough so whenever anyone is hungry, there’s always some leftover to tide them over. Probably a culture thing but it’s working for me.

 Here are the ingredients;

• White Rice (for healthier version, brown rice)
• Frozen Mixed Vegetables (I use Bird’s Eye). If you don’t have that you can use fresh carrots, green beans (both sliced thinly), sweetcorn, broccoli and green peas
• Sliced skinless chicken breasts
• Tiger prawns
• Ground Ginger
• Stock Cube
• Curry
• Mixed Herbs or just Thyme
• Salt (very little)
• Oil (I use sunflower oil, you can use olive oil)

 

 

Method

• Heat 1tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan, season your chicken and stir fry till almost cooked through.
• Just before it’s done, toss your prawns in and fry them together till both are well done. 
• Add your veggies (if using frozen, cook from frozen and if using fresh don’t cook them first, stir fry fresh with the exception of the broccoli.
• Stir continuously and add your curry, mixed herbs/thyme, ground ginger.
• Taste and add a little bit of salt if necessary. You can now add your broccoli, the reason for the late addition is because you don’t want your broccoli too soft, you want a bit of crunchiness in your veggie sauce.
• Toss together and make sure the seasoning is well incorporated into the sauce.
• The whole process should take no longer than 10-15mins. You want to keep all your nutrients in and not overcook it.
• Serve with rice/pasta/cous cous.

Another variation is adding some water or chicken stock and a dash of soy sauce to it and then thickening with corn flour before adding your veggies to give it a wetter and moreish look. I have made different types of this veggie sauce to be honest and there’s no limit to what you can do to it. It’s about being adventurous.

 My family absolutely loved it and they asked for more, even I took some to work the following day for lunch.

 If I’m welcome back here again, I’ll tell you what I cooked for my husband that got him to propose to me a second time! Oooh, I’m hot like that! ;)

 Thanks for allowing me to grace your page Uzo. Hope to do this again soon! J

 

 

 

From Cupcake Couture

If you are in the mood for quality premium baked goods, please call 08038470691 or send an email to cupcakecouturelagos@gmail.com to make enquiries or place orders

 

Cupcake Couture: A reason to indulge.......................

We are on instagram and twitter.....

We are on instagram: @cupcakecouturelagos
And on twitter: @uzosfoodlabs

Food Porn

Light as air vanilla sponge topped with chocolate espresso frosting.

Wait a minute! I cannot believe that there are no baking recipes up on the blog. This is ridiculous seeing as one of the many hats that I wear is as Head baker and Creative Director of Cupcake Couture and we bake every day...So here's to lots of baking recipes in addition to the other posts.

Enjoy!!!!

Adventures from Calabar Loading.......

One of my side gigs is host of Friday Food on The Spot on EbonyLifeTV (Channel 165 on DSTV). I have been fortunate to do this for the past 2 seasons and have had about 16 inserts so far. I was so excited to be invited to Calabar - where the show shoots to be a guest on the show for the full hour while cooking on air as well. It was hectic but so worth it.

My first full hour on the show airs on May 23rd at 7.30pm. Tune in.

Enjoy!!!!

Buttery Rice Pilaf

 

                  

 

 

I eat a lot of rice. A lot of people I know eat a lot of rice. Most of Nigeria eats a lot of rice. LOL. Okay so that sounds so dramatic but its true. We eat a lot of white rice with stews and soups, jollof rice, fried rice and 'concoction rice ' (where we just throw whatever is available into a pot and serve).

I know a lot of people that go to restaurants and order extra portions of rice especially if the fancy plated up rice portion is less than adequate.

 

The challenge now becomes how to make rice interesting time and time again. Rice pilafs are such an easy way to do that with less effort and ingredients than jollof or fried rice. They can be as subtle or pack huge flavor punches depending on what you plan to serve the rice with.

 

 My go-to pilaf is one that goes perfectly with spicy or mild sauces and stews and can even be eaten on its own and can be thrown together with ingredients that most people already have in their kitchens.

 

To serve 4, you will need:

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 cups chicken stock - you can substitute 4 stock cubes dissolved in hot water
• 1 small diced onion - yellow or red
• 2 crushed cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• Unsalted butter to taste
• Fresh parsley to garnish - optional
• Salt to taste

 

 

 

 



•  Add a few pats of butter in to a pot and add the onions and garlic immediately and sauté until translucent
• Add the washed rice to the pot and stir constantly. You should ensure that the rice is coated with the butter, onion and garlic mix and the rice begins to toast.
• Stir constantly to ensure no sticking to the bottom of the pan and the rice doesn't burn - about 10 mins
• Pour the stock over the rice and add the bay leaves
• Cover  and cook on low heat till rice is cooked through
• Garnish with the fresh parsley and serve with a side of your choice

 

This rice pilaf is so easy to put together but gives same old rice a facelift and 'tastelift' that everyone will love.

 

 

Enjoy!!!