Ajuangs Kitchen

This is one of those recipes where I threw in whatever was in the fridge and accidentally end up with something genius. The secret ingredient in this recipe is pickled cucumbers, red and yellow peppers. I pickled the vegetables to preserve them and make them last a lot longer. Boil 1 cup white wine vinegar and two cups white sugar until all the sugar dissolves, add the vegetables, let them cool, place in a container and refrigerate. I made one jar with just cucumbers and another jar with yellow and red peppers. For the chicken, i browned it on a pan with olive oil then put the pan in the oven with onions, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper for flavor; i let this cook, while covered for about an hour, but any chicken will do. For the salad i added to the chopped chicken, lettuce, pickled cucumber, pickled red and yellow pepper and onions. I did try it again without the onions and it tasted much better, my advice only use the onions if they are pickled coz otherwise it doesn't fully flow with the taste. The result is a salad that's pleasing to the eye and does great things to your taste buds and you don't even need any dressing for it.

This recipe is a combination of different recipes, being that I have no idea where to get gram crackers in Kenya I had to look for a recipe that had an alternative. I also wanted to use sour cream coz I had so much of it. I also wanted to use blackberries because the end result is so pretty. My original thought was blueberries but they cost twice as much. The base is made by pounding digestive biscuits and mixing the crumbs with molten butter (600g with 4tbs butter). Place the mixture in a springform pan (you have to use one) then let sit in the refrigerator as you prepare the filling. The filling is made with 500g cream cheese, 300ml sour cream, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1tbs vanilla, 4eggs and ¼ cup flour. The cake is baked for a bit over an hour at medium heat. I then let it sit in the oven till it was completely cold then put in the refrigerator overnight. To make the dressing, boil blackberries, water and granulated sugar until the blackberries are cooked, sieve the syrup cool and let sit for a few hrs, the longer the better (I let it sit overnight).

I've been unable to get this recipe off my head since i saw it on food channel few wks ago. Partly because the nutritionist said it was a healthy desert but also because the ingredients are so interesting. I don't remember the show, the chefs name or the correct name for the desert so i cant reference the recipe from the food channel website. The chef grilled pineapples, i put them in a skillet and heated both sides for around five minutes then let the pineapples cool in the fridge. The chef mixed non-salted butter, brown sugar and rum in that order in a skillet and cooked till all the alcohol had evaporated, then let it cool. I substituted honey for the brown sugar because in my mind it sounded healthier. Then place the pineapple on a plate, layer a scoop of vanilla ice cream then pour the syrup over it to complete the look. The taste is absolutely divine.

I once served chicken and spicy sausage and wondered what it would taste like to stuff the sausage in the chicken. In a skillet i fried onions, garlic and sausage with the skin removed. let that cook for about five minutes. I added the mixture into a bowl of breadcrumbs. I then patted skinless boneless chicken breasts and then placed the stuffing on one side. I tied the chicken with dental floss, you can use toothpicks to hold it close but i like to use floss coz it keeps it together better. I then added oil to a skillet and let both sides brown. I added a mixture of water, salt and paper and let it boil for 10 minutes turning to let all sides cook.

This is my first soup recipe... i adopted it from Sunny Anderson's Soup of Asparagus recipe. Decided to try a cream of carrot recipe instead because i love carrots. Saute garlic and red onions in butter, add carrots and season with salt and paper. Add chicken stock and boil till the carrots are soft. Take the mixture and blend. Transfer the blended mixture back to the stove and add sour cream and corn starch. I served on a plate and sprinkled paprika for some hot flavor.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, baking powder and vanilla and mix. Add flour and milk and mix till smooth. Pour half of the mixture into a greased baking tin. Add cinnamon to the remaining mixture and mix. Add the remaining mixture to the baking tin and bake.

This is a good chicken wings recipe if you want to avoid using the oven. Place some oil in a skillet under medium heat and let both sides of the wings brown. Add a mixture of soy sauce, ginger and honey to the mix, reduce the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes turning the chicken once or twice.