I love talking to you guys! From the absolutely random questions, to the slightly inappropriate hilarious ones, to those from readers who genuinely want to grow their cooking skills. I appreciate your feedback in all forms it comes and appreciate the connection we have {insert cheesy romantic song in background}. One of my readers once asked me why I do not have a gizzard recipe. I wondered the same, and asked my self why I kept on postponing the recipe. I decided to do one, the first of many I will do, after being inspired by this gizzard recipe from Jay Take a Pic. Our flavors are different, but both are delicious. So to usher in the weekend, here is my garlic turmeric fried gizzard.
I love making pancakes, not because they are easy to make (but that’s def part of the reason ;)), but because they take up flavors so well and leave plenty of room for experimentation. For these pancakes, I made them with the flavors I enjoy most in my cocktails: mango, cardamom and a hint of ginger. I did not foresee the warmth and explosiveness that I experienced, and for sure I must try this out soon once again. Nothing makes my breakfast more thrilling than knowing what I am going to eat has a combination of my three favorite flavors: sweetness of mango, very subtle warmth of ginger and spiciness of freshly crushed cardamom. Bite after warm flavorful bite and an empty plate later, my pancakes fit tightly but happily in my tummy. I gave one more thanks to the Lord above for a beautiful breakfast and gratefulness for a high metabolism. The best way to start your day is with some good food right? Make sure it my mango ginger pancakes!
” Lazima tumake hii tena on Saturday!!!” (We must make this again this Saturday!!!) My youngest sister said after she saw the sneak peak I shared of this recipe on my Instagram Story on Monday. You guys were equally as excited and looked forward to having this recipe on the blog. I revealed that I had added a little twist to my usual chicken marinade ingredients that my mom taught me and the results were explosively delicious. Since I had some Ukwaju (tamarind) sitting pretty in the fridge, I decided to incorporate it into the marinade; and that has been one of the best cooking decisions I have made in a long time! Supper this past Monday was spectacular!!! And for the sake of my youngest sister, I shall make this once again this coming weekend and have her enjoy the same deliciousness! You should too ;))
For my first recipe this glorious month, I bring you my ukwaju marinated spicy chicken thighs.
If you love potatoes, you know very well when that craving (or should I say Kraving;))) kicks in, you just cannot shut it down! It is like that itch that you just cannot ignore, or satisfy by scratching indirectly. You have to go all in and satisfy it. When I had one of such kravings a few weeks ago, I decided to make fries. I rarely eat fries, but when I do, especially at home, I like to make it worth while and usually, that involves making masala fries. Including this one, so far as at 2017 we ahve three masala fries recipes on this blog. I made this first masala fries recipe in 2015 (check it out if you have not and please forgive my photography skills back then I was struggling :DD), this other one that everyone loves that has garlic and rosemary as the main flavor notes and today’s recipe takes it all to a stratospheric level!! No mediocre! Because as you know you know, with K, things are always FIRE!!
Today we have the most perfect Friday/ weekend recipe: Honey Whiskey Masala Fries
You know, I do not believe in the concept of ‘Njaanuary‘. Njaanuary is a Kenyan term (that directly translates to ‘Hunger January) used to describe apparent financial strain and destitute brokenness that people seem to undergo every January, and funny enough, will experience it every first month of every year as long as they live . For me, if you spend frugally in December, you just can’t be dead broke and struggling in January. Yes, you can enjoy your December holidays, but with prudence, good planning and with the future in mind. Please dear readers, don’t make finishing all your money in December a habit, pretty please <3. One thing I agree however, is after the holidays, our fridges are packed with left overs from the festivities. I shared one left over recipe with you last week that you can check out here. Left overs too do not indicate brokenness nor are they bad to have, but just encourage a culture that is not one of wastefulness. I love the prospect of revamping left overs since you can literally make anything! And the aspect of developing a new dish from one that was already complete is pretty exciting! I made this rosemary and eggplant fried rice a couple of weeks ago for my younger sisters before they reported back to college life. They loved it! It was soooo easy to make, very light and delicious too. Have some left over rice in your fridge? Let’s go on a kitchen adventure :))
One of the things I love about Christmas period besides precious family time is the food (duh!!). In my family, we all love to cook, and when we come together, it is one hell of a feast! During the past Christmas, my uncle Odemu brought over some goat meat to roast specifically for dinner. Since we were the hosts, we prepared the lunch banquet, but for the goat meat choma dinner, Uncle Odemu wanted to handle it himself. And we were not complaining, because we knew he could throw down one hell of a choma! As the sun set, the charcoal grill was lit and soon the delicious sizzle of tender meat filled the air. As my sisters and I prepared the kachumbari, my aunt made some ugali and my cousin and namesake basted the done nyama choma as it came hot off the grill in a sweet chili garlic jerk sauce. After everything was ready, we all sat outside, enjoying the warm December night and hearty conversations. I ate like a pig LOL! The meat that was left over was frozen to be eaten at later dates and those who could carried some home with them. For the final piece of meat that we had, I decided to revamp it and incorporate it into my delicious pasta dish: my goat meat garlic penne pasta. Leftovers are never boring afterall!
I did a post on 30 random things about me just over a year ago. One of the things I revealed about myself that very few of you may know is that my first name is Diana. Yes, Kaluhi is my (middle) name too, and the one my readers know me by since I wanted my brand to strongly identify as African from the very beginning. It was just a matter of time before I named one of my recipes after myself; and this cocktail was just too good to name it after it’s ingredients. Dirty Diana. Sounds a bit risque to some, yet peaks one’s interest a little bit. Mystery. Assertion. Power. Does it have anything to do with me? I don’t know 🙂 Let those who know me well decide that *evil grin*
I was home with my youngest sister chatting away about the things we just cannot wait to accomplish this year. And the perfect conversation starter was my Dirty Diana cocktail. Food is simply a lot more delicious when you can share it with people you love, is it not? Today, I give you this recipe, which I hope to bring you just as much joy and keep you cool as we get into sweltering January. My Dirty Diana Cocktail will take you to the moon and back!
Hey there! My name is Kaluhi and I love food! Through my blog, I am happy to share with you my self-taught recipes, steeped in nostalgia and the happiest of memories. I hope each recipe you try out is as addictive as the previous one and is shared on a table full of love and hearty laughs!
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