GREEN BULLET PEPPERS - PEPPERS OF THE WEEK

I love spices and as much as I love dried spices, nothing beats the fresh ones that have wholesome nutrients and benefits. There are so many varieties of peppers that sometimes its hard to kerp up with the names or even types. Peppers come in the sweet and hot kinds, some you can eat raw and include in salads but today's variety has a different story all together. Green Bullet Peppers are usually a hot peppers variety that is too hot to eat raw. 

BELL PEPPERS - PEPPERS OF THE WEEK

Bell peppers are also known as sweet peppers or capsicum. They come in various colors like red, yellow, green, orange, white, purple and even mixed colored peppers which exist during parts of the ripening process. Green peppers are less sweet and slightly more bitter than yellow, orange or red peppers. Bell peppers are made up of water which is 94% and carbs like fructose, sugars and glucose. They also contain nutrients like vitamins, minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and sodium. You can cook bell peppers in so many ways. You can skewer with meats or veggies to make kabobs, you can shred into thin strips and add to your coleslaw.

10 SUPER FOODS YOU NEED IN YOUR PANTRY

poppy seeds

When you are thinking about stocking your pantry, you need to think about including some super foods that are not only delicious but healthy and filled with lots of necessary nutrients that we need on a daily basis. Super food generally refers to foods that have the added benefit of offering maximum nutritional benefits yet with for minimal calories. These great foods are packed with minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. Among the super foods include, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, yoghurt, chocolate, fish, beans. The best part about having super foods in your pantry is that you can grab them any time since most like nuts and seeds keep for  long time. You can eat the super foods individually or you can mix and match them to create a delicious meal that will be filling build or even protect the body from infections. Most of these super foods are readily available at the local market, or even in the frozen section like fish.

POBLANO PEPPERS - PEPPERS OF THE WEEK

The poblano is a mild chili pepper originating in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Dried, it is called ancho or chile ancho, from the Spanish word ancho ("wide"). Stuffed fresh and roasted it is popular in chiles rellenos poblanos. While poblanos tend to have a mild flavor, occasionally and unpredictably they can have significant heat. Different peppers from the same plant have been reported to vary substantially in heat intensity. The ripened red poblano is significantly hotter and more flavorful than the less ripe, green poblano.  Preparation methods include: dried, stuffed, in mole sauces, or coated in whipped egg (capeado) and fried. After being roasted and peeled (which improves the texture by removing the waxy skin), poblano peppers are preserved by either canning or freezing.

GARLIC - VEGETABLE OF THE WEEK

This week's ingredient is the might, flavorful Garlic! The word garlic comes from Old English garleac, meaning "spear leek." Dating back over 6,000 years, it is native to Central Asia and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region as well as a frequent seasoning in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Egyptians worshiped garlic and placed clay models of garlic bulbs in the tomb of Tutankhamen. Garlic was sohighly-prized, it was even used as currency. Folklore holds that garlic repelled vampires, protected against the Evil Eye, and warded off jealous nymphs said to terrorize pregnant women and engaged maidens. And let us not forget to mention the alleged powers of garlic which have been extolled through the ages. Surprisingly, garlic was frowned upon by foodie snobs in the United States until the first quarter of the twentieth century, being found almost exclusively in ethnic dishes in working-class neighborhoods.

CABBAGE - VEGETABLE OF THE WEEK

Hey Lovelies,
Cabbages are as old as centuries yet they continue to make an appearance on our tables every other day for dinner, salads or soups. Most people do not like cabbage but I think it is just in the way that you cook it. There are different types of cabbages, White cabbage, Red cabbage and Savoy cabbage. Cabbages are prepared in many different ways for eating. They can be pickled, fermented for dishes such as sauerkraut, steamed, stewed, sautéed, braised, or eaten raw. Cabbage is a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C and dietary fiber. Contaminated cabbage has been linked to cases of food-borne illness in humans.

SWEET POTATO - VEGETABLE OF THE WEEK

Sweet Potatoes are great vegetables that you can do so much with. You can eat them raw, they make a great snack. You can boil them and eat with tea, fry them up and make Sweet Potato Fries, bake them into pies, bread and even cake. You can add them to salads and even mash them up for a great dip. Being a vegetable, the sweet potato should not be overcooked as it will loose its flavour and nutrients. Many varieties of sweet potatoes are available, but three can usually be found in any local supermarket. The first type is called the Covington sweet potato, which is a favorite for mashing or roasting. This particular variety has rose-colored skin, with very sweet orange flesh. The second one is the O’Henrysweet potato. This one is a little unusual in that it more resembles an Irish potato, with a pale copper-colored skin and white flesh, which tastes sweet and creamy, making it a perfect candidate to be used in soups and stews. Third type we have the Japanese sweet potato, with its prominent red skin and dry white flesh. This type of potato is commonly roasted and used as a side dish or a snack. Sweet potatoes are High in Manganese.

TOMATOES - VEGETABLE OF THE WEEK

How is your week beginning? Today's ingredient is the humble vegetable, the Tomato. Tomatoes contain all four major carotenoids: alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene which is thought to have the highest antioxidant activity of all the carotenoids. Tomatoes are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. They contain Vitamin E, C, A, K, B6; Folate, Copper, Magnesium and Phosphorous, Manganese and Potassium. We literally use Tomatoes in most of our foods, especially in Kenya. From making Tomato Soups, frying them up in stews and even making Salads. Tomatoes are always in Season which makes them the simplest ingredient to use and very versatile. You can even enjoy the Tomatoes raw and you will get even more nutrients.Botanically, a Tomato is a fruit, a berry, consisting of the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant.