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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Labouye Banane/Green Plantain Porridge



What happens when you mix green plantain with milk and sugar. You get sweet delicious plantain porridge. Here's the long awaited labouye banane recipe. It requires time, patience and a little elbow grease but it's definitely well worth the work and effort.



Labouye in the pot with carnation milk

Ingredients:

2 green plantains
1.5 cups of whole milk
1 cup of sugar
4.5 cups of water
2.5-3 oz of carnation milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks
3 pinches of salt
2 slices of bread
peanut butter

 
Directions.

Rinse plantains. Leaving the skin cut off the ends and discard. Thinly slice and chop the plantains, then place 1 chopped plantain into a blender/food processor with 1.5 cups of water. The thicker the slices the harder it will be to puree. Puree on high and add in remaining chopped plantain one handful at a time. Blend for no more than 30 to 45 seconds with remaining 1/2 cup of water.

In large quart pan, add in remaining water with cinnamon sticks. Stir in pureed plantain and allow to boil for 20 minutes on medium high temperature. The mixture will get thicker and should boil down some. Stir and watch the mixture. It will start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Just stir and stir. After 20 minutes, you are going to strain the mixture in the fine strainer (This is where the elbow grease comes in at). This will help remove the seeds and make the consistency smooth and creamy.

Once the mixture has been strained be sure to discard cinnamon sticks, Place plantain mixture into the cleaned and rinsed pot. Stir in the whole milk, salt and vanilla. Allow the mixture to boil for 5-7 minutes then stir in sugar and lower the temperature to medium low.  The mixture should be thick, you want to slowly add in the the 2.5 oz of carnation milk. If you'd like to get a consistency that is not too thick just add in remaining .5 oz of carnation milk. Taste to see if you need to add in additional sugar. Allow plantain porridge to thicken a bit more for 5-6 minutes.



Toast bread slices and spread with peanut butter. Serve with plantain porridge and enjoy.


Please share your comments. I'd love to hear how yours turn out.


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

D.I.Y. Window Sill Herb Garden




How many times have you purchased herbs and it spoils before you can even use it. I have a solution. My latest obssesion is windsill herb garden. I am hooked. You can grow garlic, sweet potatoes, sage, onions, parsley, mint and more. Here's an easy way to save money, help the environment and grow your vegetables. You don't need a green thumb and it take no time. Here's how I started my windowsill garden.

What you'll need.

1 Small clear container
1 garlic bud or buds of green onions
1/2 cup of water (or less)

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  • Use a clear container it helps you see when the water needs to be changed and you can watch the roots grow.

  • Do not submerge the cloves or green onions in water they will become cloudy, smelly and will begin to rot.

  • Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the cup and touches just the bottom of the cloves.





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Your budding garlic cloves and green onions will start to sprout in just a few days. It's a cool little hobby and a great way to save money on vegetables.
 The same applies to herbs like sage, basil and mint. Just snip at the stem of the given plant and place it in a clear container of water. In a few days you will begin to seem roots. In a month, you can plant in a pot of soil or just contunie to water.
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No more spoiled green onions or brown herb leaves. Fresh ingredients from your window sill.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Tuna Rigatoni


If you are looking for an easy quick recipe. Here's a recipe for tuna rigonati. Yes, tuna . This recipe brings me back to those college days where there was nothing in the fridge or pantry except for tuna, tomato sauce and a box of tuna. I first had this dish when visiting a friend and she had a huge pot on her stove. It's delicious and I've changed the recipe abit. Have fun with it add in different vegetables or different cheeses. Let's begin.

Ingredients:

2 cans of tuna
2 green onions chopped
1/4 cup of rough chopped onions
6 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz of rigatoni
salt to taste
1/2 bouillon cube
couple pinches of seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper or more
8 oz Bertoli tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of lime juice
1 garlic clove , crushed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
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1/8 teaspoon cayennecayenne pepper1/8
½ cup vegetable oilvegetable oil½
1/8 teaspoon cayennecayenne pepper1/8
½ cup vegetable oilvegetable oil½

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. When the pasta is tender, drain and set aside. Place drained well tuna in a bowl and squeeze in lime juice and mix. In a meduim sauce pan, add vegetable oil to hot pan. When the oil is hot, fry the tuna until a meduim brown color. Add in crushed garlic clove, chopped onions and sprinkle in bouillon cube. Stir, stir stir and cook until onions are cooked.

Add in tomato sauce, rigatoni pasta and mix. Add salt to taste, sprinkle on seasoning salt and black pepper. Allow the sauce to thicken and boil down a little for 5 to 6 minutes on meduim heat. Add in shredded cheese and garnish with green onions.


Enjoy!!














Tuesday, May 15, 2012