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Mel and Joy cook

Monthly Archives: September 2012

Fried plantains

29 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by melandjoycook in Sides, Vegetables

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Tags

burger, cuban, dish, fried, fry, plantain, side

Fried plantains

I went round to my friend’s house for a yummy Saturday lunch. Now Sarah has already featured on this blog because of her fantastic cooking which is Cuban inspired, http://wp.me/p1sdbX-4k. So we made homemade burgers and exchanged chips for some fried plantains.

Plantains are fried all around the world, wherever they are grown but they are also getting more and more popular in the UK as they are just delicious and easy to find!

What you will need:
1 plantain for 2 people
Vegetable oil
Non stick cooking paper (we used a piece of white paper)
Salt

You can fry in a pan or in a frying machine.

Peal the plantains and slice them, about 4cms high. Add oil into a frying pan, you want there to be enough oil to cover at least half the height of a plantain slice. Boil the oil and add the plantain and wait until it starts to golden, then turn and do the same on that side.

Sliced plantains

Remove the slices onto a plate and then one by one place them in the cooking paper, fold and press down to squash.

Squash plantain

Return the pieces to the oil until they have a crispy looking exterior.

Fry plantain

Remove from the oil and place on some kitchen paper and spinkle with salt. Serve straight away whilst nice and hot.

Enjoy!
Mel

Celebrating Uganda’s 50th birthday

26 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by melandjoycook in Entertainment

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Tags

50, birthday, celebration, covent-garden, events, jon-snow, london, uganda, what-to-do, youtube

A celebration you don’t want to miss! With an endorsement from Jon Snow this evening will be packed with entertainment. Along with live music, a fashion show, a guest speaker and some fantastic Ugandan food. For tickets please contact the number below.

Celebrating Uganda’s 50th birthday

A little song from Jon Snow


Mel

Quinoa porridge with peaches and bananas

03 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by melandjoycook in Breakfast

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Tags

banana, blend, breakfast, coconut, cream, peach, porridge, quinoa

Quinoa porridge

This is my FAVORITE porridge to eat in the morning now! It’s full of protein and fiber. It keeps well overnight too. Sometimes I make it the night before and reheat in the morning. You can easily make this dish non-dairy by omitting the whole milk and increasing your coconut milk.

What you will need:
1 Banana (Unpeeled and Whole) *I use 2 bananas because I love the creaminess and body it adds to the porridge but it does overpower the peach flavor, so you decide.
25-35 Slices of Frozen Peaches
1 Cup Quinoa
1 1/2 Cups Coconut Milk
1/2 Cup of Whole Milk
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1-2 Teaspoon Honey (you decide how sweet you want it)

You can just use milk if you prefer instead of coconut milk.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the bananas and peaches on a lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. (Halfway through, I drizzle a little olive oil over the peaches).

Roasted banana and peach

Bring milk and coconut milk to a boil. Whisk a few times to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of your pan. Once your milk boils, add your quinoa and bring to another boil. Whisk a few times before letting it simmer. Then cover and simmer on lowest heat for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, the milk WILL NOT all be absorbed in the quinoa. This is what you want. You should be able to see some milk when you add your fruit and puree.

Blend fruit

Once your fruit is done, put a little more than half of it in a blender and add your honey, cinnamon, vanilla and a splash of milk (you decide which kind). Be sure to fold the whole fruit and puree to your quinoa and cover until all milk is absorbed about 1-2 minutes.

Add fruit into quinoa

I add a pad of butter before serving but that is optional. Top with toasted coconut and/or macadamia nuts.

Enjoy!
Joy

Crispy Baked Chicken

01 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by melandjoycook in Chicken

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This is my favorite way to eat boneless chicken breast! It’s flavorful, juicy and easy.

Crispy Baked Chicken

Here is what you will need:

2 Eggs Beaten
3-4 Boneless Chicken Breasts
3 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1/2 Cup of Flour
1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary (Chopped)
1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme (Chopped)
1 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Cup of Panko Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper

Set your oven to 400F degrees.
Put foil on a baking sheet and set aside.
Next, pound each breast on both sides to help tenderize it.

In a small bowl, beat your eggs and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine your Flour, Rosemary, Thyme, Panko Bread Crumbs, Salt and Pepper and Italian Bread Crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Now, on your stove top, heat your frying pan with a medium-high flame and add the Canola Oil.


Assuming your pan is nice and hot, take each breast and dip it into the egg mixture, then immediately in the bread crumb mixture and straight into your frying pan.


Fry the breasts on each side for about 5-7 minutes.


It depends how brown you like it. Once each breast is browned, place them on your baking sheet and throw in the oven for 20 minutes.

I either serve this with a salad or I mix Mayonnaise and Dijon Mustard for a dipping sauce.

Enjoy!
Joy

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