HOW TO MAKE UKWAJU (TAMARIND) JUICE

My earliest memories of Ukwaju date back to when I was really young, less than 10 years old. Sighs "seems like ages ago lol" We used to go visit our grandma every holiday after closing schools. That is every April, August and December, like clock work we knew our holidays would be spent in "ushago" upcountry. And we loved it! Partly because the chores would be less, you know, its true that grandmas always spoil their grandkids 😉... I can't really remember which month it was or if it was those 3 months but the ukwaju (tamarind) tree was always ripe. Since the tree was too rough to climb, we would use long sticks to beat the pods out of their stems. Then we would gather on the ground, peel off the top later and suck the hell out of all those yummy insides. They do have a tangy sweet taste which we loved anyway. Then after the holidays, we would carry some back to town and mom would make fermented porridge and add the ukwaju while cooking. It was the best tasting porridge ever! Now fast foward to now, and being a grown up, I know the many uses of the ukwaju (tamarind) other than eating and adding to porridge. So my first ukwaju recipe is how to squeeze out the delicious juice so that you can use it for many other recipes. Have you tasted Ukwaju before? What has been your experience?

HOW TO PEEL RAW BANANAS HUSTLE FREE

Peeling raw or green bananas has always been a hustle for me, probably why I haven't been cooking them. Whenever you peel green raw bananas, there is that sticky stuff that gets left behind on your fingers and hands. Plus there is a dark purplelish stain that also sticks to your palms. You need to thoroughly wash your hands after with something rough in order to remove thr stain and stickiness. I have heard of tips like smearing your hands with oil before chopping raw green bananas, soaking the bananas in salty water first before chopping or even covering or wrapping your hands with plastic paperbags and the chopping. Well apart from being such a hustle, paperbags were banned in Kenya so that is scrapped off. The method that I have seen is fast and though it does not scrape off all the stain, at least the stickiness is reduced and you do finish much faster. Another advantage is that you will not be chopping off too much flesh from the green raw bananas. So here is how I peel green raw bananas that I used for my matoke recipe.

HOW TO CREATE AVOCADO GARNISH

For me Avocados are life! Since they are seasonal fruits I always look forward to their arrival with bated breath like my life depended on me getting the avocado. I live, live for the days when I can have my hands on avocados so that I can eat them as fruits, desserts or even the main meal. How awesomely delicious is guacamole that you can eat with this delicious Kenyan style nyama choma without the guilt? It is said that people first eat their food by sight. How food is presented really matters especially to us foodies who sometimes get too clinicaly obsessed when it comes to food pairings and presentations. One of the best ways to present interesting and delicious looking food is by garnishes. Garnishing food just gives it that much more EXTRA vibe! Food should never be boring. Even if you are just making for yourself, a little garnish won't hurt. So I thought I would combine my love for avocado and garnishing and present to you how to create an avocado garnish or otherwise known as Avocado Rose. When creating an avocado rose make sure you do not use an over ripe avocado. It should be firm so that you can slice it as thinly as possible and it will not get all mushy on you. Make sure to sprinkle lemon juice on the avocado so that it does not turn grey before you have had the chance to present it. You can garnish your toast bread, salad, main meals with this avocado rose making the food already appetizing and beautiful to look at. Such an easy method that you can try out to give your food a touch of cuisine class. Have you made an avocado rose before? Let me know

HOW TO PERFECTLY WHIP CREAM

I cannot say how much I love whipping cream! The first time I got my electric hand mixer, I was itching to make whipping cream with it! I literally lick the bowl every time I make whipping cream, well, who doesn’t? Right? Whipping cream should be light, soft yet creamy and rich. It should be very easy to add dollops on pies, cakes and even ice-cream and even simpler to spread as icing. When you start whipping cream, make sure that the heavy cream is chilled, refrigerated for at least 12 hours. the colder the better. Chill the bowl and beaters for at least 20 minutes to give you an easier time whipping the cream. The best bowl to use when whipping cream is a metal bowl which chills much better. Use a very large bowl when whipping because the cream whips to three times its volume! You do not want your whipped cream to be pouring out all over the counter! To give the whipping cream that wonderful texture and rich flavor you need to make sure the the cream whips as quickly as possible, too long and you will over whip your cream. Here are a few tips I have learnt on how to perfectly whip cream perfectly. I used the whipping cream to make my cookies n cream ice cream. 

HOW TO CUT MANGO CUBES

It seems like a pretty obvious easy thing, cutting mangoes. But when you think about it, it’s not really just taking a knife and butchering that poor fruit in an effort to devour it hungrily. Cutting mangoes is an art that is simple and for those who want a pretty presentation at the end of it all. Want to impress your friends, family or guest? Then this is for you, though you might want to impress yourself first with a very nicely cut pieces of mango. Mangoes are packed with lots of vitamin C and fiber apart from being sweet and delicious.  Mangoes are usually in season all year long, though some varieties have specific months that you can find them, like the small green mangoes. This method works for any type of mango and will be a favorite way of cutting your mangoes whether for yourself or for others. This tried and true easy method is how to cut mangoes into cubes. If you want similar sized pieces when cutting mangoes into cubes, this method is the sure way to get that. The best way to go about getting cubed mangoes is to first choose a mango that is ripe yet firm. If the mango is too ripe then you will end up with a mess as the fruit will be too mushy to cut into your desired pieces.  Always sanitize your work area, utensils and hands before handling any fruit and use a clean knife and cutting board. You can eat mangoes sliced over salads; you can make mango salsa, blend the mango into smoothies, and make kabobs and even sauté in meat and sea food dishes. So let’s get cutting! Have you tried this method before? What are you favorite ways of cutting mangoes? Let me know!