Food is a love language.

March 31, 2025 jacquelineobyikochaLeave a comment

I am a foodie. Definitely so. I also fancy myself an adventurous eater; but I draw the line on creepy and slimy stuff – no thank you.

Countless memories of my childhood are firmly cemented in events involving food, in large quantities. Mum making omelets on her large, well-loved and used skillet, big pots of well-seasoned jollof rice and chicken, beef stew simmering on the kitchen stove on Sunday afternoons, beans porridge with fried plantains, yam and vegetable sauce, bean cakes with pap, muffins, eggs and sausages, a long list of different tasty meals made each day to nourish us with love.

Lest I forget, every pot was prepared with extra to spare just in case a neighbour came visiting, or one of our friends dropped by to play and this practice was common within the community. We all knew what was cooking in our friends’ homes and we chose when to go visiting so that we would partake of those food that we loved. There were no Instagram photos back then, but those well-prepared healthy plates of food are fondly etched on my memory bank.

Festive and celebratory times were simply the best. Women in my extended family buzzed around my grandma’s big kitchen in the village, their laughter mingled in the air whilst they whipped up more than a dozen recipes of wholesome food to cater to different palates – vegetarian dishes, non-vegetarian dishes etc. My least favourite part whilst assisting in the kitchen was to turn the sizzling pot of tomato stew with a large wooden ladle to ensure that it didn’t burn, but of course, I didn’t mind a taste especially when morsels of meat were added to the mix, and I could get a little bite under the pretext of checking whether it’s well done.

The blend of aromas from big crock pots of food was sensational and satisfying that it literally lit up all your senses. We ‘the children’ ate our fill from the labour of love with appreciation in hearts and went to nap with bellies full. Till this day, family get-togethers and sharing delicious meals with loved ones remains one of my favourite sensory experiences that evokes feelings of warmth, love, comfort and connection in me.

As I grew older, I figured out cooking from these experiences shared in my mother and grandmothers’ kitchen. Knowing just the right amount of salt, pepper and spices to add to a pot of food didn’t come from a recipe book, but from keen eyes watching the loving fingers of the women in my family de-seed pepper, slice vegetables, whip up an instant pot of delicious food whilst at the same time telling us folktales that had strong moral lessons tucked within them.

My Yummy Chicken Mango Salad – A Click A Day.

September 9, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha35 Comments

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This is mango season and the delicious fruit abounds in the fruit stalls right now.

Taking advantage of its sweetness asides from juicing them and making smoothies, they can be used in fresh salads as well.

I made this platter yesterday evening and you have to take my word for it that it’s yummy and of course, you are welcome to give it a try 🙂

Quick Recipe

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 lemon, juiced

1/4 flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped

1 long red chilli, deseeded and chopped (optional)

1/2 of a tomato, deseeded and chopped (optional)

1 stick of cucumber (optional)

2 – 3 cups of chopped roasted chicken – remove the skin

2 mangoes, peeled cubed or sliced into small bits

150g of mixed salad greens

Preparation Steps:

Combine the Olive oil with the lemon juice and add the parsley and chilli if you are using chilli.
Combine the chicken, mango, salad greens, tomato (optional), and cucumber (optional) in a large bowl. Drizzle your dressing, toss lightly to mix and serve.
Enjoy 😉

Health

Date Juice – Easy, Peasy Recipe

August 21, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha7 Comments

Dates are not only delicious, they are filled with healthy surprises. Abundant in the UAE, Egypt and parts of the Persian Gulf Region/Middle East, this highly nutritious, cholesterol-free fruit has so many varieties that are endowed with nature’s bounty of providing you with various health benefits, though it’s downside maybe it’s richness in sugar for diabetic patients.

The fructose that it contains is far better than the refined sugar that we consume these days and I am exploring using date syrup as my go to sweetener instead of sugar.

A quick look at the health benefits:

Contains vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B5, A1 and C

Boosts heart health.
Anti-Inflammatory properties
Reduced Blood Pressure
Promotes Digestive Health, Relieving Constipation
Boosts Brain Health
Bone Health and Strength
Dietary supplement for anaemic people – increases energy
Increases sexual stamina – when soaked overnight in goat milk and consumed the next morning.
Helps reduction of night blindness
A quick remedy for alcoholic intoxication.
Great for hair and skin.

How to make date juice:

Contents: Water, Dates, Vanilla essence or lemon juice, (Almonds and ground Cardamon are optional).

Note that the quantity of dates that you use depends on how many people you are serving, but for 2 refreshing glasses, a handful of dates will suffice.

Remove the seeds and soak a handful of dates in warm water for 3o mins to 1 hour to soften.
Once the dates have soaked, drain the water then add the dates, One and a half cup of water, lemon juice or vanilla into the container of a high-speed blender and blend for 60 seconds or until smooth.
If desired, you can add ground cardamom or almonds into the mix and blend.
Serve slightly chilled.
Enjoy and satisfy your sweet tooth 😉

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food · Lifestyle

Cooking for my family – Jollof Rice with beef, fried plantain and salad.

June 26, 2016February 11, 2017 jacquelineobyikocha33 Comments

Jollof rice is a staple dish eaten in most West African homes and though I am not living in my home country, Nigeria, a lot of our native dishes feature big time on my menu each week.

As a busy mum, I try to cook a large pot that will serve my family at least twice. This is time saving and grants me some respite on some evenings when I can just kick back a little and not sweat over the cooking pot.

So, from my cooking pot, I bring you my own modified version of jollof rice. Modified in the sense that I added some vegetables. I always seek ways of sneaking in extra veggies for my children in as much as my younger son finds time to pick the peas, he still gets to eat a good portion.

Recipe:

1.5 kg Uncle Bens long grain parboiled rice
1 kg of fresh, red tomatoes blended with red bell peppers, chilli pepper, ginger and garlic.
Beef or Chicken (depending on your families taste. I use both)
Salt to taste
1 large onion or 2 medium onions
3 cooking spoons of vegetable oil. I use Canola oil.
4 Knorr cubes
2 tsp thyme
3 tsp curry powder – if I find Nigerian curry powder all the better ‘cos it’s more aromatic.
450 gms of diced vegetables.
1 tin of pureed tomato paste to add more colour – optional.

Preparation:

I prepared the tomato stew by boiling the tomatoes first to lose to lose excess water, then fry the dried blend in the vegetable oil and spice.

Most times I make the stew before hand and keep in the freezer so that whenever I want to cook jollof rice it’s a question of using the prepared stew and it can also be used to eat other meals like boiled yam, beans…

Cook your meat with curry, garlic, thyme, salt, ground pepper, Knorr cubes and chopped onions. The cooking time depends on the type of meat and how soft you want it. You can also fry or grill the meat depending on your taste.

Parboil the rice by boiling it. Rinse the parboiled rice and leave it in a colander to drain.

Cooking Steps:

Pour your meat stock and the tomato stew into a sizeable pot and leave it to boil.
When it boils, add the parboiled rice, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. The quantity of water should be at the same level with the rice to ensure that the rice doesn’t get too soggy by the time it’s cooked.
Cover the pot and cook on low to medium heat. Jollof rice has the tendency to burn so keeping it on reduced heat helps to prevent it from burning so much before the water dries up.
Normally, the rice will be done by the time the water is dry but if not, add more water in small quantities and keep cooking on reduced heat till done.

When it’s cooked, you can serve with fried plantains and salad.

It usually serves us twice even with generous helpings 🙂

Enjoy your day today.

Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.

‘A Richly Layered and Passionate Read.’ Jan Cliff

Out of the silent breath

Family · food

9 Great benefits when our young children cook for the family.

June 11, 2016January 28, 2017 jacquelineobyikocha28 Comments

For quite a while now, most weekends I involve all my children in cooking a meal or two.

This was how I learnt in my mothers’ kitchen and it’s invaluable to start them young (as soon as they are old enough to help with bringing the tomatoes) for so many reasons.

It builds their self-esteem, confidence and they feel like valued contributors.
It helps to grow their sense of independence so that even when you are not around, they can easily cope on their own.
It helps you a great deal on days that you are just too worn out to think straight. They can easily whip up an omelette for you.
It’s fun and offers a great bonding time as well. We swap stories or just generally chit-chat.
It offers them the opportunity to learn a basic life skill and you never know what direction life can take them.
Real life science and opportunity to experiment.
Calculation skills are introduced here as well as better comprehension; I ask them to write down what they learnt or to read a recipe and explain it to me.
You increase their imagination – to the point that my children now hunt for new recipes that we can try 🙂
A nice way of sneaking in the vegetables, since ordinarily, two of my children avoid veggies, but taking part in making it does a wonderful thing to the mind.

…and yes, the food tastes extra special 🙂

Yesterday, we made our own version of baked potatoes and vegetable casserole with meatballs.

My daughter selected and washed the items according to my directions – I was the Operations Director 😉

They all participated in the paring, grating, cubing of the vegetables and potatoes, whilst mommy’s responsibility was to add the spices, assemble the processed items and set it to bake.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the finished product before we dug into it, luckily, I took a couple of photos when we started.

Recipe:

1 big sweet potatoes – peeled, washed and grated

3 medium sized Irish potatoes – peeled, washed and cubed

Half a head of Broccoli

3 large tomatoes

1 large onions

4 medium carrots – peeled, washed and grated

4 big white mushrooms

I large yellow bell pepper.

2 beaten eggs for binding.

Fresh garlic – out of a clove, I use like 4 pieces.

Spinach – a handful

A sprinkle of parsley

Oregano – half teaspoon

A dash of curry spice

Salt – 3 teaspoons

2 cubes of Maggi stock

25-50 gms of grated cheddar cheese – layered through and sprinkled on top.

1 pack of minced meat – spiced and rolled into balls with breadcrumbs.

Served a family of 5 with generous helpings and leftovers 🙂

Have a great weekend and do share your tips with us.

Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.

From the very first poem, “Dreams,” this book captivates with passionate and perceptive words. Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha captures a broad expanse of the human experience in this book of richly layered poems.