The Celebration

To celebrate my big day we planned to go out for the day, rather than just doing dinner or going clubbing. I'm more of a day person, where i can have fun all day long amidst mother nature, opposed to a few hours in a dark room with cigarette smoke and loads of people. We decided to go to my most favourite place in Ghana, the Akosombo Dam at the lake Volta. I'm sharing pictures of this wonderful place with you, as according to me its the only place that makes being in Ghana easy for me.

This place does have quite a few interesting facts and history to it. To begin with, its the worlds largest man made lake ! And one of its benefits besides the fact that it provides electricity year round to Ghana and neighbouring countries, is that its loaded with Tilapia fish, which makes it a fantastic spot to go fishing. I must admit I've been fairly lucky with my fishing skills, and have never gone home disappointed. There are times when i get really small catches, but those just get chucked back into the water to grow to full size.

The water is so pristine, that a swim in the middle of the lake is almost irresistible. Very often the local fishermen living by the lake, offer rides in their little boats, a way for them to make a few cedis on the side, and for the visitors to get a feeling of the place the true African way.

A lot of you wondered and asked me, what the cake i made for myself looked like. Well actually i got my cake ready just at the last minute, before we left for the lake. I wasn't sure if i would be able to take pictures, but luckily there was some cake remaining, just enough to do a little photo shoot the next day. Since i'm a diehard chocoholic i had to make a chocolate cake. This time i chose to do layers of a french vanilla cake and dark chocolate, sandwiched with a rich chocolate ganache and finished off with chopped hazelnuts. A cake fit for a queen ! Well i'm not implying anything here ... aehm aehm ... but yeah ... the cake is royal, fit for royalty :p

And to end this post i leave you a picture of me, at my favourite place on my budday !!! Thank you all for your warm wishes and wonderful greetings. I did have a wonderful day :)

The Birthday Festival Continues ...

... this time with 2 more birthdays to follow ... Helen of Tartelette and Meee ! We are both born on the same day - 13th of May. How kewl is it to share a birthday with a fellow blogger and that too a bloody talented one. We did a cake exchange for each other last year, and before i realize another year has passed by, and i find myself scratching my head again, thinking what can i possibly make such a fantastic baker. I wish i possessed 10% of the skills she has, so i could make her something very fancy. But by now i think all of you know how i am, always go for the simple recipes ... haha ... so trying and keeping her likes n dislikes in mind, i made her some cute Apricot Friands. Helen i hope u like them and wish you a very Happy Birthday.

Ingredients ( frm BBC Food mag ) and ofcourse changed to fit my needs.

8 dried apricots
100 gms butter
140 gms icing sugar
25 gms plain flour
85 gms ground almonds
3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 180C. In a cup of boiling water soak the apricots for about 30 mins. Then strain and dry on a kitchen towel and cut into strips.
Melt the butter in a microwave and keep aside. Sift the icing sugar and flour in a bowl. Stir in the ground almonds.Whisk the egg whites to soft peak stage and fold them into the dry mixture.Now pour in the butter and mix gently, incorporating everything together. Pour half way into greased friand tins or cupcake moulds. Put a few strips of the apricots and pour some more of the batter this 3/4ths full. Finish with a few more slices of apricots. Bake for15-20 mins till golden brown.
The apricots and almonds work really well together, and the cake is insanely soft n tender.

I keep this post short n simple, as i head of to celebrate my birthday .... tata ! :D

Mango Cake n Birthday Wishes

I truly believe, that the majority of the food bloggers are all Taureans. There are just so many of them celebrating their birthday this month i cannot begin to tell you. I guess all taureans are serious about their food and just naturally good in the kitchen. This post is dedicated to a taurean blogger friend - Mohini, of Mango Power Girl. Mo has become a very dear and close friend to me in the past year, and i actually have fought against time and all odds to put up this lovely cake i made for her .... that too just in time. The theme is obviously mango as thats her favourite and i know nothing else would make her happier.

With the summer in full swing, there are mangoes everywhere. Not to mention the mango tree growing in my garden is also in full bloom. Heres what i've been very patiently waiting for all year around. Trying very hard not to pluck out all the raw mangoes as they make a wonderful thai salad, or even taste great just as it is. I've written about raw mango salad before, and if you can get some raw mangoes you have to try the recipe out. I promise you, you will be addicted to it.The ones i used in my cake however aren't from my tree but from the local market. My mangoes aren't ready yet ... but will be very soon. And that will be another post altogether. What i have here is a mango cheesecake, with a genoise base instead of a biscuit one. I thought it would go much better with the marsh-mellows and fresh mangoes. An even silky texture all the way.So without further adieu i'd like to wish her and of course .... heres the recipe.

For the Genoise

121 gms flour - sifted
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
121 gms sugar

Place the vanilla, eggs and sugar in a bowl. Put it over a hot bath and beat it for 3 mins till the sugar is dissolved. Now take it off the bath and wisk it for further 5 mins till it multiplies in volume. With the beater on mix in the sifted flour, and do not over-beat it. Pour into cheesecake tin lined with wax paper. Bake for 2o-25mins at 180 C. When the cake is ready, remove from tin and peel off paper. Let it cool on a wire rack, and then slice in horizontally making two halves. Cling wrap and keep one aside for later.

Mango Cheesecake

200 gms cream cheese
150 gms double cream
350 gms mango puree
150 gms castor sugar , will have to adjust depending on how sweet the mangoes are.
2 tbsps gelatin powder

Line the loose bottom cheesecake tin with cling film, leaving the excess hanging over the sides , so when the cake is set u can remove it easily. Now place the genoise cake base at the bottom. Drowse with sugar syrup. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, whip up the double cream till soft peak stage. Now in a another bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar till it loosens up and add the whipped cream. Pour in the mango puree and mix well with a spatula. Prepare the gelatin and pour it in mixing throughout, so that the gelatin does not form lumps. Pour all this over the cake base , cove with cling film and let it set over night.

To Decorate

3 mangoes
1 tbsp sugar
a packet on mini marsh-mellows
100 gms chocolate

With a melon baller try n get even neat balls of mango. Place them all on a plate and dust with sugar. Melt the chocolate in a microwave and put in a piping bag. When ready to garnish , place all the mango balls evenly all over the cake and then just throw in the marshmallows to fill in the gaps.Drizzle with chocolate. Send it back to the fridge for about an hour before you serve it.

Melting Moments ... Literally !

I'd definitely give this a 0/10 for presentation. I cannot tell you how ashamed i am to even share this you. God knows i tried to make a pretty one. Unfortunately for me Ghana is going though a crazy heat wave, and the weather is so harsh its almost impossible to work with desserts that need to be chilled or set. Still a bit busy with work and travelling, and with very little time on my hands.I'm sharing this with you just as it is, without really putting in that extra effort. I made this a week ago, but been on the road ever since. Now stuck in a terrible traffic jam, i find the time to write out this post. When I had started a week ago, a few ideas were running through my mind ... something like this ...

So i settled for a very decadent looking Napoleon. Rich and crispy layers of puff pastry sandwiched with layers of Mocha and Dark Chocolate Mousse. Started the day before with preparing the puff pastry layers and the the mousse. I let the mousse set in a shallow and wide dish overnight, and the next day i filled them in piping bags with a large nozzle and piped them in between the baked puff pastry sheets. Returned them again to the fridge to set... but the damn weather ! It just didn't let the dessert set. And even after keeping overnight when it looked all set, on removing from the fridge it would start melting loosing shape, making a sloppy mess. So i had to get back to the work sheet and re think my options. Not left with much to work with, i decided to make a good old trifle. The chocolate cake i used here came from my freezer, kept for emergencies like this one. A cake in the freezer can really save the day. The only thing i could do with the mousse was layer it up in a glass, in the only hope that it would hold shape. And so another day went in the process of setting the trifle. But the minute i got it out of the fridge, the unforgivingly hot weather just kept melting the mousse down. So i just gave up. Not so great in presentation, but absolutely fantastic to taste. Cant go wrong with dark chocolate and coffee. For those of you, who are blessed with cooler weather, pls do try this out. I shared this treat with my office staff and they couldn't stop raving about it. To accompany the mousse i also made some lovely walnut brittle. A great crunchy texture in contrast with the smooth n rich mousse.

Walnut Brittle

1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 th cup chopped toasted walnuts

melt the sugar in a heavy based pan, on medium heat. Do not stir until it starts changing colour and when it reached an amber red caramel, stir in the chopped nuts and pour out on some foil spread out on a baking sheet. be quick and spread it as thinly as you can. Leave it to cool completely and break once hard.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

one portion of this dark chocolate mousse recipe.

Mocha Mousse

1 tbsp instant coffee
1 tbsp boiling water
3 tbsps caster sugar
2 egg whites whipped up stiff
200 ml double cream - whipped
1 tsp gelatin dissolved in 1 tbsp water

Dissolve the coffee and sugar in the water and let it cool. Mix it in the whipped cream along with the gelatin. Gently fold in the egg whites and pour in a wide dish and cover with cling film to set it overnight.

Chocolate Cake

use just about any chocolate cake you have lying around in the house.

Chocolate Cake and Globe Trotting

If you are wondering why i havent put up a post yet, i can explain that. I've been busy travelling for the past 9 days. Been to Hongkong, Koh Samui, China and am now in Mumbai. Too many things things to do ... so little time. I had made this deliciously moist and rich chocolate cake a few days before i left, and this is all i have to show till i get back n start baking again. This one is purely for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy !!!

The Not So Famous Papaya

This post for me, is a work of art ... ask me why .... ? I usually use imported fruits for my desserts, that are flown in to Ghana from Europe, ... strawberries, blueberries, plums, peaches, pears ... and even pay a bomb for them, buying them from these high end supermarkets, and not always sure if I'll get some. So this time around i refused to wait and go for something from my local African market. I mean, anyone can do a lovely dessert from strawberries ... but this time i wanted to go for something of the land. There wasn't a great variety to choose from, but there was one particular fruit which caught my attention ... the "Papaya"or better known here as " Paw paw ". Not a fancy fruit, a rather common fruit actually, the kind that never really finds its way in beautiful desserts, besides ofcourse a fruit salad. So i took up the challenge of glorifying this fruit and bringing to it, its much deserved share of limelight. I thought of a couple of combinations, but settled for a moist fresh coconut tropical cake, with a papaya cheesecake frosting and topped with caramelized papayas. I promise you there is no cake like this out there !Its my own creation and I'm feeling very satisfied with the results, quite proud of it actually ! Have made 2 variations to share with you .

For The Fresh Coconut Cake

215 gms flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
115 gms softened butter
225 gms caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp rum
100 gms yogurt
200 gms fresh coconut

Sift all the dry ingredients and together and keep aside.
Cream the butter and sugar and the eggs one by one , mixing continuously. Add in the wet ingredients, rum, vanilla and yogurt. Mix in the flour, beating it with an electric beater. For the fresh coconut , make sure you remove the brown skin and chop the flesh into small pieces and grind them in a dry grinder. You want to leave it slightly coarse, so it adds a bit of a texture to the cake. Mix it well into the cake bater and pour it into desired tins - cupcake cases. Bake at 180 C for 20 -35 mins depending on your tins ... or until it gets a golden brown colour and knife comes out clean.

For The Papaya Cheesecake Frosting

250 gms whipping cream
150 gms cream cheese
1 tablespoon gelatin
4 tablespoon grated soft sweet papaya
few drops of lime juice
1 tablespoon of icing sugar

Soften the cream cheese and add sugar. In another bowl whip up the cream till soft peak stage. Soften the gelatin with 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water and add it to the cream cheese , and mix in the cream. At last add the papaya and lime, mix well, and leave in the fridge to set a bit. Then put in a piping bag and decorate your cake. U could stop at just this point and serve the cake. It already looks gorgeous, but if you want to take to a step further, slice the papaya and caramelize it with some granulated sugar and a blow torch. Further garnish it with fresh coconut shavings.

The verdict ... The cake is very moist and has a subtle coconut flavour, as compared to dry dessicated coconut. The fresh coconut really gives a great texture to the cake and adds crunch too. The small cupcakes look cute, and have more of coconut with just the papaya cream cheese frosting below the coconut shavings.

Whereas this cake is the one that gives the papaya its superstar status. Each bite is a pure pleasure, a beautiful coconut n rum sponge with papaya cream cheese, topped with sweet caramelized papayas. A perfect tropical cake to welcome the summer.

Flower Power

Hibiscus is not only a beautiful flower to look at, but also a very useful one. It has numerous medicinal values, and it has been used for centuries by Indians, Mexicans , Egyptians , Malaysians, Chinese, Africans ... practically by the whole world, for its therapeutic properties.
When incorporated into the diet, the hibiscus tea emits high levels of antioxidants, such as flavonoids, which help our bodies fight free radicals, which can cause cell damage and disease.
This miracle flower is rich in vitamin C, and has been widely used as an herbal method of controlling high blood pressure, controlling bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. It is also used to control tempering fevers, alleviating digestive problems, as well as improving circulatory disorders. And the best part is its caffeine free and herbal. You can read more about its health benefits here and here and here . Infact this is one of the botanicals we export from Ghana, for which we even won the national export award last year. We mainly export this product to Belgium and UK, where it finds its way into supermarkets and retail outlets.

There are many ways you can have it, hot or cold, sweet or tangy. U can compare the flavour to that of cranberries. This deep crimson red drink can entice just about anyone. When having it hot make your own tea bag with a muslin cloth. Put a few slices of ginger, a few cloves and a handful of hibiscus leaves. Pour over boiling water, little honey to sweeten and let the flavours infuse for a couple of minutes. 2 cups of tea a day can reduce hypertension and have a calming effect. So drink away to a healthier life.

And then theres my favourite way ... The Iced Tea ! Famous all over Mexico n Jamaica, this is probably the best way you can consume this drink.

There is really no recipe for this, just boil a cup of leaves with 2 cups of water and sugar to your taste. Strain and chill. When ready to serve, add some more chilled water as the juice would be a bit concentrated. Bring it to life with some lime juice and pour over ice. Perfect for margaritas , sorbets, ice creams and jellies. This one i promise you will be a regular in your household once you try it.

2di4

These are good enough to satisfy any chocolate craving. There’s dark and then there’s white. Double the goodness double the richness. The mint in the white chocolate frosting cuts through the sweetness and adds that extra element of freshness and surprise. This was actually made at the spur of the moment, from leftovers actually. I had some extra molten chocolate cake mix lying in the fridge (had made molten cakes on Tuesday while entertaining some friends), and ½ a bar of white chocolate and the only fruit lying in the fridge. I was quite surprised how well the mint works in the white chocolate, and most of all how well the cream holds its shape with the white chocolate in it. It’s so hot around here in Ghana that I can never work with cream and meringues as they just don’t whip up to full consistency. Chocolate too, actually, it just melts off at room temperature. So I love the way this worked out. This recipe makes 3 mini cakes, and I ate them all … all by myself!!! I liked them so much I didn’t have the heart to share them. Now you can imagine how I must’ve been as a kid :p

For the Chocolate cake

• 25gms soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 175gms best dark chocolate - melted
• 75g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 25gms plain flour

For the Frosting

• 50gms best white chocolate - melted
• 50 ml cream
• Couple of leaves of fresh mint - chopped up.

For Garnish

• Fresh Blueberries
• Fresh Strawberries

Preheat the oven to 200°C
Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Cream together the butter and sugar, and gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then the vanilla. Now add the flour, and when all is smoothly combined scrape in the cooled chocolate, blending it to a smooth batter.Pour into the desired cupcake cases and bake for about 15 mins or till just about set. Don’t want to over bake them. Remove from oven and cool completely.

For the frosting lightly whip up the cream and pour in the melted white chocolate. Whip together, till think and fold in the mint leaves. Return o fridge for 10 mins till nice and firm. Now put it in a piping bag and decorate the cakes with it. Garnish with berries.

And this is me trying to have a little fun with the camera. A self portrait for Lara of Still Life With's SLW assignment for Feb - "Food n You. " Had to be a shot of yourself with some food. So what better than with something i love most ... CHOCOLATE !!!

Macau - The New Vegas

2, 500 HK $ - thats how much i won this New Year gambling in Macau. Not bad 'eh .... wait till u hear how much my hubby made ... 7000 HK $ !!! Oh yes, we started the year with a bang. We gamble once a year ... usually on new years just to test the water and see what the new year has in store for us. We've been to Vegas and now to Macau and trust me when i say ... Macau is the new Las Vegas of the east. It is a former Portuguese colony, which was handed over to the Chinese govt in 1999 . Its an hour away from Hong Kong by ferry. A gambling mecca from the Portuguese times, it has attracted gamblers from all over the east for decades. Now a planned city, with big casinos like Venetian, MGM, Wynn, Sands .... i mean all the works .... this city is booming with tourism. Macau's annual gambling revenue has already surpassed that of Vegas.

The pictures below are that of Macau's Fishermans Wharf, it is the first of its kind theme park in Macau, a place you should never miss if you planning to come visit. It offers live music shows, nightly explosions of the complexes 40-meter-high volcano, war games, daily jet-ski stunt shows, beautiful monuments and artificial vintage towns, shopping and eating. There are actually three major themes: Dynasty Wharf, East Meets West and Legend Wharf. Each one better than the next.

Macau is a paradise for gourmands. It would be hard to find another city with such an abundance of restaurants with so many different types of cuisine ranging from that of China's Guangdong Province to Portuguese, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Vietnam, Indian, American, African as well as other western countries. Among all these wonderful restaurants, there is one that stands out most.
" Restaurante Solmar " !

Established more than 40 years ago this Portuguese restaurant, is historical and famous for its elegant Portuguese cuisine. In the early 60's, Solmar served only customers from upper class in private membership basis. Its food was so famous that the members used to smuggle the food out for their non member friends to taste. And then after public outcry to the government the restaurant was opened to public. And how i thank God for that. We went there the first time as it was highly recommended by our friends, and tried their famous African chicken. This dish remains popular in the Portuguese colony of Macau. It shows the influences of Portugal on Asian cooking, most notably by their introducing ingredients like peppers and peanuts as they travelled from Africa to Asia. Macau was for centuries a place where East met West, and that is reflected in the cooking there to this day. This particular Solmar's African Chicken recipe is a very well guarded secret by the chef and u may find many versions of this on the net, but nothing comes close to it. I have tried to re create the dish, according to what i think comes closest to the real thing. Hope you like it.

• 1 whole chicken jointed and cut into 8 pieces
• 1 cup chopped onions
  
• 1 cup chopped garlic ( don't be scared ... its not strong... the intense flavours of garlic sweeten as it cooks )
  
• 1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 3 scotch bonnet red chillis chopped ( or more if u like it very hot )
  
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon Koon Yick Wak Kee curry powder ( a fragrant ainseedy pd found in Chinese stores) or alternately use 1 tsp 5 spice powder
• 2 potatoes peeled and cut into 4 pieces each
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

In a big saucepan, heat the olive oil and sweat the garlic, onion and chilli till soft - about 5 -6 mins. Add the tomatoes and salt and stir till they have broken down and disintegrated forming a sauce. Add the peanut butter and curry powder and give it a good stir. Now remove some of this sauce and set aside for later to serve with the chicken. In the remaining sauce in the saucepan add the chicken and potatoes and mix everything well together, add in a splash of water if it looks to dry and cover it and let it simmer on low heat for an hour. Now just serve with lightly toasted warm french loaf and some lime, and don't forget that extra sauce u removed. The potatoes in this dish are always way tastier than the chicken itself , and usually we all fight over them. Yet u should never add to many to the dish or they 'll soak all the flavour up.

... So now i have two posts with chicken and potatoes in a row :D

Don't Talk ... Just Eat !

Oven Baked Chicken With Potatoes & Garlic

• 1 chicken jointed and cut into 8 pieces
• 100 gms melted butter
• fresh thyme
  
• sage
• 10 whole cloves of garlic
• 2 potatoes sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
  

This time, fortunately for you guys i have nothing to say, no boring stories and no gibberish ... just Food !!! This is what i had for lunch, a very aromatic and tasty meal. Start with marinating the chicken in melted butter, thyme,sage, salt, pepper. Keep for a couple of hrs. When ready to bake , slice the potatoes, dizzle some olive oil and season to taste. Throw in the whole cloves of garlic and bake for abt 10 mins. Now add the chicken and toss everything and further bake for 20-25 mins turning once after 15 mins. Serve warm with some freshly baked bread. The garlic and potatoes absorb all that rich chicken n herb flavour. Also the lovely juices from the chicken and all that melted butter makes a lovely sauce for dipping the bread.

Chocolate Banana Cake With Walnut Streusel

* recipe to follow soon, i tried 2 recipes before i got this one right. This one was another experiment with my own proportions and it turned out really moist and rich and nice. I didn't really take not of the measurements but i'll be making this one soon and will put up the recipe then.

Double Treat And A Meme

This is probably the first time i am sincerely following up a meme. I know i haven't in the past and like to apologize to all those who tagged me and i didn't follow up. I'm sure there was an explanation why i couldn't. This time around the very talented and beautiful Annemarie of Ambrosia & Nectar has tagged me for a 7 Random Things Meme ... and watch out i gotta pass it on to 7 more. I cant do all 7 ... or u'll be reading forever, I'll try as many as i can.

Lost in Translation

While i was in Ethiopia, i had trouble finding staff that spoke english. Somehow i had to settle for a house maid who could understand sign language ... as in when i needed her to sweep the house I'd have to catch the broom in my hand and show her what i wanted her to do, when i needed her to make the bed every morn i had to literally go to the bed, touch the sheets n show her how ... u get the idea right. Fortunately for us she knew the number zero and that it resembles a circle, so every time we need her to cut onion in circles/slices, I'd hear my hubby shouting in the kitchen, " Cut onion zero zero !", ha but thats hardly funny .... in that house for some weird reason the stupid architect had decided to make the kitchen outside the house. So every time i cooked, she had to carry the food to the sitting room. So one fine day I happened to make some Chinese and rushed the food to the sitting room from outside and when i reached the table i realized that she forgotten to put bowls on the table. Now we were bloody hungry and the food was getting cold so i didn't go myself and instead told her pls bring me the bowls ... she didn't understand ... then i said the one u put on the table everyday ... round round ... shaking my hands fanatically ... zero zero ... i stared at her hoping she understood ... and then she said ... oh yes ... i bring .... and we waited .. what was taking her so long ... almost finished our meal .... and then she walks holding a basket ball in both her hands .... " madam u say ball , this ball ?!"
haha my hubby n me were on the floor ... i swear u should've seen the expression on her face. It was a really funny moment.

Real Stupid

Yes, thats how i felt on the 15th of July last year. My hubby n me were leaving from Mumbai to come to Ghana. We were having a real tough time getting bookings and after chasing the travel agent for days together and changing the dates a couple of times we decided either 15th or 16th would be good, whichever booking we got.We got a booking finally and the travel agent had the tickets sent home. I collected them with my very own hands and didn't bother to re check as i assumed they were correct and besides i was busy doing something else. So i packed up, said our goodbyes and my in laws came to drop us at the airport. We x-rayed our baggage and went to the airline counter and presented the tickets. The guy looked at the tickets and then looked at us, then looked at the tickets and looked at us .... and then said ... " u are one day early !" WHAT !!! how can that be... pls chk u are making a mistake .. by now realizing i could be the laughing stock of my family for the rest of the year. And yes I was. I had got us to the airport one day early ! I read the date wrong or something ... but all i know is that from a seasoned traveller like me this was not expected and felt real stupid, and had to go back home. My in laws were still waiting out, they usually do till they see us walk into immigration , but this time around they took us back home ! yes everyone was laughing - except me !

Something Nice For A Change

I've been a bit busy lately, u can call me productive. I have been supplying a couple of sweet goodies to a local Cafe and Salad bar, here in Ghana ... think i mentioned it before. But before it was just a trial kinda thing, this time I've started all out. Here are some shots, of some of the things I'm making and supplying. Nothing fancy, but it sells.

Numbers

I'm just not good with them ! Tell me a number and i assure you i cant repeat it. If you talk to me i will absorb everything but if theres a number in there somewhere I'll not even register it. Dunno why but its just a terrible problem. Cant remember prices, telephone numbers even after few seconds of reading it, cant calculate a discount when i get one in the store, just not good at anything with numbers .... and thats probably also the reason why I'm not making a killing in the share market and just blogging with all the spare time i have! "P
I'm tagging Eva of Sweet Sins, The Homesick Texan, Mansi of Fun and Food , Rachel from Tangerines Kitchen Hangout , Mohini of Mango Power Girl , Zen Chef from Chefs Gone Wild , Sara from MS. Adventures in Italy,

African Cup Of Nations and Ofcourse something Sweet !

I don't know how many of you followed the biggest sport event of the year in Africa, but since the past 3 weeks the whole continent has been glued to the tele for the 29th African Cup Of Nations , also known as AfCon , CAN - Cup of African Nations , CAF - Confederation of African Football ....
The tournament is Africa's equivalent of the European Championships or even the World Cup football. It is held every two years instead of every four and 16 teams competed with each other to lift the cup. Professional African players who play their trade for European clubs like Chelsea , Man U , Liverpool , Arsenal .... all flew down and played for their respective countries. This year the cup was held in Ghana! All of us were eagerly waiting for this event which kicked off on 20th January. Fortunately for us Ghana being the host nation, we got to see a lot of the matches in Accra's Ohene Djan Stadium. Sadly the Ghanaian team - "The Black Stars" did not reach the finals and secured only the 3rd spot.

Yesterday the 10th of Feb, was the final between the reigning champions of 2006 Egypt vs Cameroon. Above you can see both the teams singing their national anthems, Egypt on the left in the red and white uniform , and Cameroon on the right in the green and red. Egypt took the cup again this year, beating Cameroon to 1-0, a goal which was scored 13 minutes from time by Mohamed Aboutrika, making them the champions for 2 consecutive years. And also the recipient of the cup 6 times over, the most any African country has ever won.The entire event was sponsored by MTN and organized by FIFA , and if u see in the snap below, we have the man himself - The president of FIFA - Sepp Blatter sitting next to the Ghanaian president John Kufuor (ok its not a very clear image but i think u can still see them). Frankly i couldn't believe i was sitting in Ghana, watching this event as they had done such a wonderful job organizing and hosting it. We saw some some excellent football from star players and experienced adrenaline rushes each time a goal was scored. Imagine the noise 45,000 fanatic fans can make. For me it was a first time experience and I've only seen cricket matches in the stadium. Read more about the game here, they also published my pictures :)

And if you're wondering why don't i have the snaps of Egypt holding the cup and that of the closing ceremony ? Its because silly me left the extra battery in the car boot and the battery in my camera ran out at half time ! How i hate myself when something like that happens.

And my sweet fix for this post is another very simple fruit, custard pastry. This was something i was craving for the past couple of days, and being very busy this whole week it was just the perfect thing.

• Puff pastry
• Mixed berries - Strawberry , Blueberry , Blackberry(which ever u can find, just make sure they are fresh)
  
• 1 egg yolk custard *
  
• icing sugar

K i know u are probably doubting my cooking skills at this point , but trust me the simplest of things are usually the tastiest .
*Make your 1 egg yolk custard by heating about 200 ml of cream. In a bowl whisk together 150 gms of caster sugar, pure vanilla extract, 1 egg yolk and a tsp of cornflour, till well incorporated. Pour over the warm cream whisking well and bring it all back to a boil and simmer gently till think enough.
In the non stick baking tray lay the rectangular puff pastry and spread the custard all over.

Slice the strawberries and lay them all over the custard. Fold over the puff pastry, enveloping all the custard and berries around the 4 corners. You don't have to be very neat. The slightly uneven edges look gr8 once it is baked. Dust the whole thing generously with icing sugar and bake in a hot oven until the pastry has risen and turned a lovely golden brown colour. I like mine to be crispier and a little darker in colour. But feel free to make it as you like. Change the shape, change the fruits ... everything goes ! Best served warm with some good quality vanilla ice cream.

Coffee in Ethiopia

Sometimes I don’t know what I like more, tea or coffee. I have my tea days, where I’ll have anything from green to jasmine, rose bud, earl grey, mint, lavender … and then I have my coffee days … the blissful shot of caffeine – my espresso! This way I get the best of both the worlds (or so I’d like to believe). Right now I’m definitely going through a coffee phase. It all started when I stopped over at Addis Ababa – Ethiopia on my way here to Ghana. Did I mention to you that I lived in Addis for a year as well? Work related of course … But it was a wonderful experience. Nicely nestled in the high East African mountains, Addis Ababa is a really beautiful city. Not really developed, but then again thats the charm of that place. This time however I stayed at the Hilton and here are some pics i took in their beautiful garden. I was there only for 2 days, and I managed to do all my favourite things … I had my list ready on the flight: D, which included eating at my favourite Yemeni restaurant, eating the lovely local Injera and Tibbs, and of course drinking the world famous freshly ground roasted Ethiopian coffee. Wow I think all I did was eat and drink … I’m such a die hard foodie!

You must be aware that coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia. The story goes …. “According to national folklore, the origin of coffee is firmly rooted in Ethiopia's history. Their most popular legend concerns the goat herder from Kaffa, where the plants still grow wild in the forest hills. After discovering his goats to be excited, almost dancing on their hind legs, he noticed a few mangled branches of the coffee plant which was hung with bright red berries. He tried the berries himself and rushed home to his wife who told him that he must tell the monks. The chief monk called these berries the " Devils work " and threw the sinful drug into the flames, an action soon to be followed by the smell we are all so familiar with now. They crushed the beans, raked them out of the fire, and distilled the stimulating substance in boiling water. Within minutes the monastery filled with the heavenly aroma of roasting beans, and the other monks gathered to investigate. After sitting up all night, they found a renewed energy to their holy devotions. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Ethiopia's coffee ceremony is an integral part of their social and cultural life. An invitation to attend a coffee ceremony is considered a mark of friendship or respect and is an excellent example of Ethiopian hospitality.I managed to take some pictures to share with you how they serve coffee or “Machiato” traditionally. I apologize for the bad quality of pictures. It was really dark and I couldn’t avoid the camera shake, but i still wanted to click n share these wonderful pictures with you.

The ceremony is usually conducted by a young woman, dressed in the traditional Ethiopian attire of a white dress with coloured woven borders. The long involved process starts with the ceremonial apparatus being arranged. The roasting of the coffee beans is done in a flat pan over a tiny charcoal stove, the pungent smell mingling with the heady scent of incense which is always burned during the ceremony. The lady who is conducting the ceremony gently washes a handful of coffee beans on the heated pan, then stirs and shakes the husks away. When the coffee beans have turned black and shining and the aromatic oil is coaxed out of them, they are ground by a pestle and a long handled mortar. The ground coffee is slowly stirred into the black clay coffee pot locally known as 'jebena', which is round at the bottom with a straw lid.

The Coffee is traditionally served with popcorn, peanuts or cooked barley. In most parts of Ethiopia, the coffee ceremony takes place three times a day - morning, noon and evening. It is the main social event within the village and a time to discuss the community, politics, and basically all kinds of gossip.

They also consider it impolite if you leave until having consumed at least three cups, as the third round is considered to bestow a blessing. Hehe so be sure you are ready to buzz after one coffee session.

The lady finally serves the coffee in tiny china cups to everyone sitting around her, on little kiddie sized stools who have waited and watched her make it for the past half-hour.

After having coffee like this I don’t think I can ever settle for instant coffee. It just doesn’t taste right. And surely it feels so special when I bring out my exotic coffee pot - "jebena" and make some coffee … so therapeutic as the aroma of the freshly ground coffee bean fills up the room and shoots right up to the head through the nostrils.

So I did this little coffee party and made some lovely Chocolate Tarts with sweet Chestnut and Fresh Cream icing. Perfectly sweet, bite sized coffee time treats.

The recipe is really simple. I used some left over chocolate pastry dough for the tart shells. For the filling I used equal amt of chocolate and cream, melted by pouring hot cream over the chocolate. I poured it into the baked tart shells and chilled it till it set. And then the icing … 2 icing bags, one with fresh whipped cream and one with sweetened chestnut puree. Chill it again till sets and serve with hot coffee.

Aapplemint Turns 1

I've been away for far toooo long, travelling and spending time with family and basically having a blast. I couldn't however resist getting online to read all the wonderful comments you have been leaving me, and i'd like to thank you all once again for your love n kind words. It feels really nice to know someone is reading and appreciating your work and also missing you. Now I'm back in Ghana and very happy to start blogging once again after having neglected it for nearly 2 months. I didn't realize where time has gone by, i'm already celebrating my 1 st blog birthday, and i can almost remember the day i started this blog. Didn't know a thing about blogging and photography, all i knew is that i liked to cook and i wanted to share that with everyone. Its really amazing how over the year i have come to meet so many wonderful people, who are all so talented and kind. I 've learnt so much through this one year and evolved immensely. I hope that in the coming one year, I can satisfy my readers with even more exciting recipes and can win the attention of more and more foodies. To this end, I am looking forward to suggestions from your side for recipes, techniques, recommendations for photography equipment, and anything else you can think off! And finally, there are the Blogger's Choice Awards to look forward to.. I ended last years competition at the 10th place, but hope to do even better this with your love and support. Do take a minute out to vote!

For this wonderful occasion I've made a peppermint flavoured smooth n silky textured panna cotta and to contrast it a crispy ginger tuille, with fresh raspberries. The tuilles are basically thin crisp cookies which are very pliable when still hot and are traditionally draped over a rolling pin. But here i decided to keep them straight. I did end up making the first 2 test tuilles extremely hard and darker in colour, but i learnt from my mistake and got the rest right.

Peppermint Panna Cotta with Raspberries and Ginger Tuille

Peppermint Panna Cotta

• 100 ml double cream
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 drop of peppermint flavouring
• 1 drop of pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp gelatin powder , melted in 2tsp warm water

Making the panna cotta is very simple, just mix all the ingredients together and divide equally between to round rings, whose bottoms are covered tightly with cling film. Pour in the mixture and chill till set. To assemble layer the Tuile and panna cotta alternately arranging the raspberries around them. Pour some raspberry coolis around and dust with icing sugar.

Ginger Tuilles

• 75 gms plain flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 50 gms unsalted butter
• 100 ml golden syrup
• 110 gms superfine sugar

Preheat oven to 160 celcius . Mix in a saucepan the butter, sugar & golden syrup and on a medium flame melt all together to form a smooth consistency and then boil further for 1 min and sift in the flour and ginger powder. Let this mixture cool. As it cools it will become harder and pliable so u can roll them into small balls and place them on a baking paper, leaving enough space for them to spread out. Bake for 8-10 mins till golden and cool.

Raspberry Coulis

• handful of frozen raspberries
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

Blitz together in a small food processor until all softened and well blended. Pass through a sieve and collect in a pourer.