VirgysKitchenandGarden

I have been watching Dr. Daniel Amen of the “Memory Rescue” fame on PBS. On a cold and windy day like today when Texas temperature drops by 30 degrees in a matter of minutes, hot soup is the best and the quickest dinner. Lentil soup with salmon and broccoli This soup has most of the brain-friendly ingredients Dr. Amen recommends such as salmon, turmeric, curry, broccoli, lentils, and other herbs and spices. It is a chunky soup with chunks of salmon and broccoli wedges/florets. Delicious: It was hot and tasty. --Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for enlightening information. Thanks for visiting. Have a fruitful day!

This is the first time I am buying and cooking pinto beans. I eat them outside of my home at Chipotle , but I guess I never liked them enough to purchase them. Let me tell you, the recipe I used made them delicious. I had to stop myself from polishing off my lunch for the entire week today.   From the extensive research I conducted, pinto beans are second to garbanzo/chickpeas in their nutritional content: cholesterol-free, gluten-free, fat-free, sugar-free, and high in fiber. Some people make them too watery. That I dislike. I like them soft but close to each other instead of swimming in the pool of water. I prefer to add water if/when they get too close to each other. I theorize that people want to expand them by adding too much water to make them last or spread. How to Cook : As usual, I soak beans overnight and rinse. These are the ingredients that made my pinto beans tasty: black pepper, curry, Maggi cube, parsley, olive oil, crushed red pepper, turmeric, no salt, and

Beans are a staple in my nutritional journey. Because some of them are high in carbohydrates, I do not add anything else with carb. This week, I am packing garbanzo beans in small round bowls for lunch as my salad topping. I combined the beans with sautéed rings of red onion for extra aroma and taste. To add contrast to the garbanzo bean salad, I will sprinkle it with chopped, raw red bell pepper, the most nutritious of all the bell peppers. Over the years, I have conducted hours of research on the benefits of most of the beans. Garbanzo tops the list as the most nutritious available. It is packed with protein, calcium, cobalamin, iron, Vitamin B-6, magnesium, and so on. I love the taste and texture of this weird-shaped legume, which is also called chickpea.    --Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for enlightening information. Have a fruitful day!

Appetizer:  Crunchy peanut butter and celery: (A student asked me to try this pair, and I like the crunchy-and-smooth combination on my palate. However, my favorite is still apple and peanut butter. I used to love banana and peanut butter/peanut or groundnuts--a Nigerian favorite snack.) Benefits of celery: High in anti-oxidants , potent healing power  as the first drink of the day, a cure for insomnia , and other superfood-worthy benefits. Peanuts are high in protein. Meatless Main Course: Start with pungent red onions, which used to make me cry when I was a novice cook. I love to cut them into concentric rings. In a separate pot, pour lentil pasta into boiling water (far right) with butter or olive oil. I prefer olive oil for everything, even for frying plantains.          California medley vegetables (right): Pour lentil pasta and California vegetable medley into pureed tomato sauce. Dessert:  Succulent, sun-riped, and glistening pineapple chunks are amazi

Like some vegetables, asparagus lacks a distinct flavor. They are nutritious, no doubt. I figured I would rise above the usual asparagus and butter and dress it up with red pepper and sauteed red onions. Just divine! Lunch is served! The ten most amazing benefits are itemized here:  https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/asparagus-benefits --Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for enlightening information. Thanks for visiting. Have a fruitful day!

Ladies, e at this new foo-foo, and you will not sabotage your waistline.  It has been documented that carbohydrates are the un-doer of the best nutritional or dieting plans. Carbohydrates are NOT SOLUBLE. They are cement blocks and stay in the stomach. They distribute fat/starch to waistlines, arms, thighs, and to the rest of the body. Yet, carbohydrates taste soooo good! That's their power.   I stopped eating foo-foo for a long time and ate only soup. I did not want to drag cement blocks around as my body. Gone were the days when misguided Nigerians were told that fatness means that one is healthy/wealthy. (If a person is aware of the risks in obesity and chooses to be plumb/obese, then that's a personal choice.) I have been exploring ways to enjoy foo-foo without the bulging belly. The Search : I started looking for alternatives to the high carbs in garri (101 grams of carb) and pounded yam (80 grams of carb). I tried oatmeal (27 grams of carb), but I am aller

Eating plant-based food has become second nature for me. This is a very simple and nutritious recipe of one whole red onion, one red bell pepper (2% carb/30 calories), and one 16-oz sliced pack of portobello mushrooms (4 calories per medium size). Cut the skinned onion in rings, wash and clean inside and outside of pepper before cutting into strips. Spray EVOL (extra-virgin olive oil) inside a wok, wait for the wok to heat up before adding onions first for sizzle and for enhanced taste. Add pepper, twirl/flip ingredients, add mushroom, herbs/spices. Saute until cooked to personal preference. I use it to top everything: beans, salad, fish, steamed potatoes (small whole ones or mashed), rice, mashed cauliflower, and other vegetables. Mushrooms and peppers are low in carb and high in potassium and B vitamins (B6, folate, etc.). Mushrooms also contain selenium and copper. Eat well and thrive! --Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Sourc

My go-to/quick-fix Nigerian soup is okro/okra (okworo--Igbo) soup. It is unpretentious like salmon. Its other relatives, egusi and ogbono, are full of drama and require too much attention and time, and too many ingredients. Most of the time, I don't add green leaf vegetables to the okro soup. I mash it with potato masher once it gets hot and soft and (still) green. I  just enjoy the taste of fresh okro, fish and/or meat. Most of the time, I don't eat it with foo-foo or with any other carbohydrate. My daughter and my son-in-law can't get enough of my okra soup. Ingredients : 28-oz fresh okra, chopped Skinless/boneless chicken breast Broth from boiling the chicken Skinless/boneless frozen cod 16-oz chopped spinach Palm oil (2 tablespoons) Crushed red pepper Pure Himalayan sea salt **I don't use Maggi cubes or such cooking aids since I don't know what's in them. --Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source

When I was learning to cook (at about eight years of age), I was told to soak beans. I discovered that the longer beans soak, the better for everyone for the following results: 1. Reduces or eliminates the occurrence of flatulence. 2. Reduces or eliminates bloating and the discomfort it brings. 3. Shortens the length of time to cook beans. 4. Reduces both the frequency and the amount of water required for desired softness. 5. Forces debris and faulty/bad beans to rise to the top for easy removal. 6. For my Nigerian family/friends who want to tackle the task of cooking mai-mai (moi-moi/moin-moin/black-eyed bean pudding), soaking reduces the physical pain and the length of time for shelling the skin. 7. Along with #6, soaking for mai-mai is cost effective for electricity: blending and cooking. 8. Along with #6, soaking is cost effective: will not burn/kill the motor of the blender. If you want to share other reasons, please post in the comment box. Thanks. --Fran

Pregnancy causes the most bizarre of cravings. My body must have known that I needed a good dose of iron, so I craved liver when I was pregnant with my daughter. My favorite way is to drop it into diced and sauteed red onion or into sauteed fresh rings of onion. After both get really comfortable with each other in the shallow/frying pan, I shake in the following fresh/organic herbs and spices: turmeric, curry, ginger, thyme, parsley, crushed red pepper, ground black pepper, and pure Himalayan pink sea salt. Any sagacious chef knows that most foods that look the least appealing taste the most delicious. This is the case here. Once in a short while, I prepare liver alone, in stew, or wrapped with mixed veggies and fresh cut rings of onion. Over the years, I have discovered the amazing benefits of this unappreciated superfood. It is packed with nutrients. I had to stop myself from polishing off the chicken liver pieces in the pan. As I write this blog entry, I feel healthier alrea

--Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for enlightening information. Thanks for visiting. Have a fruitful day!