Vida's Corner
Ok, this is crazy. It’s my family so I should be able to write about all the wonderful things that they are... RIGHT? Well, why has it taken me 3 days and I still can't come up with anything to write?! Maybe I will just start with what's happening right now. So my husband Edward "AKA Buddy" is making one of his many super pancakes before our son, Boyce's football game. It's 6:30am and Boyce is eating the pancakes like they better then any of my daily home cooked meals. Buddy has joined him and they are rambling on about how delicious the pancakes are. Wow, as you can see, it doesn’t take much to make my lovely bunch happy. "Ma!MIE!!” Oops... there goes my alarm (AKA, JanJay, our 18 month old daughter). Her screams of "ma!!mie!!!" are so loud, I can hear them even when she's not around me. Well, it's now 7:10, Buddy and Boyce are off to his game, I am sitting at the dinning table writing you and Janjay is sitting in her high chair with a BIG smile and mouth full of her dad’s gourmet pancakes. Hmm, let me just try a bite. OMG, it's a lump of sugar in my mouth. No wonder the kids love his pancakes, they are a pile of sugar. But, it's still good. Anyhow, we have to get ready and catch up with the guys at the football game. Well, now you know my family ;)!!!
Books I 'm reading
"THINGS FALL APART tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the induvidual and society" (good reads) You can buy it at amazon.com
THE BOY NEXT DOOR. In Bulawayo , Zimbabwe , there is a tragedy in the house next door to Lindiwe Bishop--her neighbor has been burned alive. The victim's stepson, Ian McKenzie, is the prime suspect but is soon released. Lindiwe can't hide her fascination with this young, boisterous and mysterious white man, and they soon forge an unlikely closeness even as the country starts to deteriorate... OMG such a good story. You can buy this book at amazon.com
Recipies I love
Preparation Time:
40min to 1hour
Number of servings: 2-4 people
by Angel Restaurant & Lounge, is from The Great Liberian Meals Project
•1 pound goat meat, lamb, stew beef or chicken; cut into bite-sized pieces
* 1 pound uncooked large shrimp and crab
*1 chopped pigs feet( optional. Must boil pigfeet in 5 cups water till tender before using in recipe)
*3 to 4 cups water
•1 medium onion quartered
•2 habeneiro peppers, whole and un-cut
* 3 whole okras
•1 sacket Goya sazon seasoning
•2 beef flavored Maggi Cubes
•2 bay leaves
•salt to taste
•In a deep pot or dutch oven, combine all the ingredients ( except the shrimp and okras), add the water. Bring to a boil and cook until meat is tender, 20 to 30 minutes, add shrimp and okra and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes .
•. Simmer until soup is to be served.
NOTE:
Liberian Pepper Soup can be made using beef, goat meat, chicken, fresh fish, crabs and shrimp.....you can use each of these ingredients alone or you can combine small portions of each . There are many variations depending on which meats you prefer.
- Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, cook chicken over medium heat in 2 teaspoons oil for 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink; remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, saute onion in remaining oil until tender. Add garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute longer.
- Stir in the peas, tomatoes, sweet potato, broth, peanut butter, 1-1/4 teaspoons thyme and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potato is tender. Add chicken; heat through.
- Serve with rice if desired. Sprinkle with remaining thyme. Yield: 8 servings (2-1/2 quarts). Tasteofhome
-
2 tablespoons minced fresh gingerroot -
2 cans (15-1/2 ounces each) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained -
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes -
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes -
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth -
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter -
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, divided -
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper -
Hot cooked brown rice, optional
.
People you should know
Genevieve Nnaji, "is a Nigerian actress. In 2005 she won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. CNN states that she is referred to as the "Julia Roberts of Africa"
Nnaji was born in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria but grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. She is the fourth of eight children and was brought up in a middle class environment. Her father worked as an engineer and her mother as a teacher. She attended Methodist Girls College Yaba, Lagos before heading onto the University of Lagos. While at the university Genevieve began auditioning for acting jobs amongst the many Nollywood projects.
Thandie Newton
Thandie (short for Thandiwe) Newton, was born on November 6th 1972, in London, to a British father and a Zimbabwean mother. She studied Social Anthropology at Downing College, in Cambridge. She played in her very first movie, “Flirting“, in 1991. She made appearances in other major films such as; The Pursuit of Happyness, Crash, Mission Impossible II, to name a few. She has been nominated for many awards for her remarkable performances.
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