Whats ur idea of men who cook... Some ladies find it funny when i tell them i cook...lol...

Interesting topic, Napodan!
I enjoy seeing men cook.

Here's some biological facts...

...men have a better sense of taste, so they tend to make better gourmet chefs...

...also, women have a better sense of smell... so it should be the man wearing the colonge (perfume?) rather than the women... :-)

GG49

Cooking is a skill.... I prefer homemade meals

I agree. It is also much more cost effective to buy groceries and cook at home. Eating out at restaurants is very expensive, even at the per-meal level at fast food places. If you took the same money you spend (even at a fast food place) and bought groceries, you could eat for days.

There are many places in the world where people struggle just to have fresh water to drink, let alone food and regular daily items.

I live alone and I cook for myself everyday. I would say (of myself) that I am a very good cook. I have a friend who is a gourmet French-style chef who has given me a lot of pointers along the way. Some of it is just common sense, but I do think it is a learned skill, not something folks are born with. Some folks can't cook to save their life, haha.

I love men dat cook, its kinda romantic and it somehow challenge d female to do better in d kitchen weneva they are wt a guy who knows how 2 cook especially d simple home made meals.

I had a Master Class in Spanish Tapas yesterday

I know i'm a good cook but i strive to improve on my skills each time. Its a pity most ladies get bored of cooking once they get married. The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach...

...and... comparitively speaking, the stomach is a larger organ than the heart... hee-hee.

Hello Hife, One of my best friends here in the states is from Conakry, Guinea. I have another good friend who is from Togo. Just thought I would say hi, I see you are from Nigeria.

Hi Napodan, I see you are from Nigeria, too. God bless. :-)

Thanks Gtman...its a pleasure knowing u

Maybe we could share cooking techniques and recipes/ingredients?

Guiterman...that would be very interesting...we've got some unique dishes here which i'm sure you can experiment on....also you could share some exotic dish recipe with me if you've got some

What are some of your common meats and vegetables? Also, what types of bread/pasta/rice/carbohydrates is common?

Here, my most common meat is chicken, can often find good sales on chicken. Beef is also common here, steaks, roasts, many different cuts are available at the market. Pork is also available, most commonly in some type of chop, either boneless or bone-in. Also we have ham that is a type of processed pork, and bacon.

For vegetables, it varies upon what folks want to buy. I favor broccoli, carrots, many dishes have onions and garlic, tomatoes, celery, others I can't remember right now, LOL.

I use several types of rice, regular white rice, but also use some red rice and black rice. The texture and flavor of red or black rice is delicious. We can also buy several varieties of bread at the market. Mostly loaves of multi-grain bread (for me) but also white bread (uses bleached flour...). Also pasta is available. Usually the pasta here is pre-made and bought in a box, you boil it to the consistency you need while cooking. Many different shapes of the same pasta are available.

I do a lot of cooking using a skillet and a stir-fry method. I may sear my meat, and add spices while it is in the skillet, then add a dash of water, then cover it... give it just a few moment, and the spices attach to the meat because of the steam from the water. (Just a small amount of water, like 1/2oz. (15ml)... splash that in the skillet and cover, it creates steam and cooks the meat faster.

Many times to this I will add some type of chopped vegetables. Perhaps the meat is boneless chicken or some type of beef, I might choose broccoli.

I use several different kinds of spices. Garlic is available as garlic powder, I also buy whole cloves depending on the dish. Cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, crushed basil leaves... those go good on most any meat. I also use cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, and a few others I can't remember right now. Which spice I use depends on the dish or creative way I might throw something together.

To the above dish... meat = beef, vegetables = broccoli, spices might be = garlic powder, Cheyenne pepper, crushed basil leaves, maybe salt...

All is prepared fairly fast in a 10"-12" (25-30cm) skillet. A cover is used on the skillet to hold in the steam. Usually spooned right from the skillet to a plate or bowl.

:-)

Chicken can be substituted in the same dish, with the same ingredients.

Might add some chopped onions or any combination of other vegetables to stretch the dish and make it serve more portions/people.

Might be served with rice.

How to Cook Nigerian Fried Rice

It is so easy to prepare that you
can even cook it every weekend
in your own home. Eat the
Nigerian Fried Rice recipe with
Moi Moi, Nigerian Salad or
Coleslaw and you will feel like you
are in paradise island. Are you
ready to go on the Nigerian fried
rice cooking spree?
Ingredients
Rice - about 750g
Vegetable Oil
Chicken (whole chicken or
chicken drumsticks)
Cow Liver (100g)
Plain Yellow Curry powder
chilli (1 tablespoon)
Green Beans (a handful)
5 medium sized carrots
Salt (to taste)
Onions - 3 medium sized bulbs
Seasoning – 3 Maggi/Knorr
cubes Thyme (1 teaspoon)
Before you cook the Fried Rice
Cut the vegetables
Wash all the vegetables to be
used in cooking the fried rice.
Scrape and cut the carrots into
tiny cubes. Cut the green beans
into small pieces of about 0.7cm
long. Soak these 2 vegetables
separately in hot water for about
5 minutes and drain. Cut 1 bulb
of onion. Set all these aside.
Prepare the liver and chicken
1. Cook the cow liver till done
and cut into tiny pieces. To
save time and energy, you
can cook the liver with the
chicken

2. Cut the whole chicken into
pieces and cook with the
seasoning and 2 bulbs of
onions (chopped). When
done, grill in an oven or
deepfry with vegetable oil.
This gives it a golden look
which is more presentable
especially when you are
entertaining guests.
Cooking Directions
1. Parboil the rice using the
method detailed in
parboiling rice for cooking
fried rice
. Wash the parboiled rice
and put in a sieve so all the
water drains out.
2. Pour the chicken stock into
a sieve to remove all traces
of onions, thyme etc used in
cooking the chicken. Pour
the stock into a pot and set
to boil. Once the water
boils, add the parboiled rice.
Also, add 1 tablespoon of
plain yellow curry powder,
then add salt to taste. The
plain yellow curry powder is
merely for colouring so
should not contain chilli.
3. The water level should be
slightly less than the level of
the rice; at most it should
be at the same level as the
rice. This is to ensure that
all the water dries up by the
time the rice is cooked. Stir
the contents; cover the pot
and leave to cook on
medium heat. This way the
rice does not burn before
the water dries up.
4. Once the water has dried
up, check that the rice is
cooked. Perfect fried rice is
one that the grains are
separated from one
another, resistant to the
bite but not hard.
5. Now, transfer the rice to a
casserole dish or another
pot to help cool it down
quickly. This is essential to
keep the grains from
sticking to each other. If left
in the original hot pot, the
rice will continue to cook
and eventually stick
together.
At this point, it is advisable
to divide the vegetables into
say 4, 5 or even 6 equal
parts. The rice will be fried
in batches so this number
depends on the quantity of
rice you can comfortably fry
in the pan or pot. Also,
divide the cooked rice and
the diced cow liver into the
same number of equal
parts.
6. Now pour a small amount
of vegetable oil into a frying
pan. This quantity of oil
should be such that it
would be absorbed by 1
part of the cooked rice and
1 part each of the
vegetables. When the oil is
hot, add 1 part of diced
onions and stir for 10
seconds, followed by 1 part
of diced cow liver, one part
each of the diced
vegetables, then 1 part of
cooked rice.
7. Add more salt if necessary.
More curry powder may
also be added at this stage
if you need to touch up on
the colour. Stir till all the
ingredients have mixed well
and transfer to a dry pot.
Repeat this for the
remaining batches of the
ingredients.

Got a recipe for MOI MOI??

I love Coleslaw!!!

ps...the recipes on both your posts sound absolutely

deliciously yummy !!! <<< chamomile tea

Ingredients
Beans (Brown/Black eyed) approx. 750g
Eggs (3 pcs) /
Corned beef (optional)
Vegetable Oil - 3 cookin spoons
Tatashe (or tinned tomato
puree in the absence of this)
Crayfish (1 handful)
Fresh Pepper
Onions – 3 medium sized bulbs
Nutmeg (1 pc or 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg)
Salt to taste
Seasoning – 3 Maggi/Knorr
cubes
Containers
Aluminium foil Before you cook Moi Moi
About three hours before
cooking the moi moi, soak and
wash the beans to remove the
coat. When the entire coat has
been removed, place the beans in
a bowl and pour enough water
to cover it. Leave to soak for
three hours. This is so that the
best consistency will be achieved
when you blend the beans.
If you will use eggs, cook till hard
boiled, cut into small pieces and
set aside. Now go ahead and prepare the
moi moi containers.
Next ...
Wash the tatashe, onions,
nutmeg, red pepper, crayfish and
set aside. Ensure to remove the
tatashe seeds as they have a
tendency to give meals a bitter
taste.
Now that the beans is soaked
(the bean seed is tender when
you pinch it), it is time to blend it.
It is very important that you use
a very good blender for this
purpose.

Cooking Directions
1. Blend the beans, tatashe,
onions, crayfish, pepper
and nutmeg together and
put in a big enough bowl.
2. Prepare about half a litre of
warm water. This will be
used in mixing the moi moi.
You do not want to use hot
water for this purpose as it
may cause the mix to be
lumpy.
3. Slowly add the warm water
and stir the mixture at the
same time. When you have
achieved medium
consistency, add salt to
taste, 3 cooking spoons of
vegetable oil, and Maggi / Knorr
cubes.
4. Stir the mixture very well
and start putting the mix in
your choice of containers
by following the details at
How to Use the Moi Moi
Containers
. Now is the time to add one
egg piece per
aluminium foil
The corned beef pieces
should be added this way
too if chosen.
Note: Moi Moi is one of
the Nigerian food
recipes that is
prepared cold. All the
mixing and adding of
ingredients is done off
the stove. That is to
say, once you start
cooking, there is no
going back! You
cannot decide to add
more salt or seasoning
or a new ingredient
later. So getting it right
at the mixing stage is
very important.
5. Pad the base of a big pot
and set the moi moi
containers in the pot, add a
small quantity of boiling
water and start cooking.
6. Add as small quantity of
water as possible at a time
while cooking the Moi Moi
as detailed in preparation
and use of moi moi
containers
so that the moi moi will not
become watery
7. The length of time you will
cook your Moi Moi depends
on the quantity and the Moi
Moi container you used.

whatever Moi Moi
container you use, it is
advisable to cook your Moi
Moi for at least 1 hour,
before checking it. Confirm
that it is done by putting a
knife through it, if the knife
is stained with Moi Moi
paste, then the Moi Moi is
not done, but if the knife
just has a slight smear of
Moi Moi, then it's done. Also,
when you cut through the
Moi Moi, the insides will be
set and not watery.
If you are cooking a few
wraps of Moi Moi in a small
pot on high heat, then it will
only take about 45 minutes
to get done

Simple pasta and chicken dish...

I don't know the quantities, but if you love to cook, you'll understand "cooking by feel"...

Boneless chicken breasts (about 1lb-1-1/2lb.)
Any type of pasta you have (8oz.) (I used spiral rotini) like this:

Chopped broccoli
26oz. canned spaghetti sauce (I used the grocery store brand)
Olive oil (or) (I used) Grapeseed oil

Various spices:
- garlic powder
- salt
- crushed basil leaves


Star pasta boiling in enough water to cover it in a pan.

While pasta cooks, heat a good sized pot (I used a 6 qt. pot), with a bit of oil in the bottom. How much oil is "by feel"... you'll use this to sear and brown the chicken,

While the pot is heating (or before) chop the chicken breast into 1/2" chunks. When the pot is hot, add the chicken to the pot.

Add the various spices to the pot to taste ("by feel...") (I don't measure things, I cook "by feel")

When the heat of the pot + the chicken is at a good temperature, add 2oz. of water, this creates steam and finishes the meat off very fast. It also helps the spices absorb into the meat.

You can either heat the broccoli in a pan, or... here in the states I used a microwave oven to heat it to temperature.

Once the chicken has turned white, it should be about done. At this point, add the heated broccoli. Open the 26oz. can of spaghetti sauce and dump it into the pot. Let the heat rise again in the pot.

By about this time the pasta will be ready to take out of the water. To test it, you might take a small piece in a spoon and taste it to see if the texture is right. If it is done, then dump the pasta into a colander to drain off the water.

Once the water is drained, add the pasta to the pot.

Stir well and serve.

Its very easy to make and has a good nutrition value.

----------------

If it has a white, creamy sauce, they might call it chicken "alfredo" (A sauce for pasta incorporating butter, cream, garlic, and Parmesan cheese), with a red sauce like I used it might be called chicken "marinara." (A sauce made from tomatoes, onions, and herbs,) Both (I think) are Italian words...

This dish is a "marinara" type, but I used rotini pasta, and added chopped broccoli.

There is also a dish they call "fettuccinee alfredo" which uses the thick spaghetti-like noodle called fettuccine. I've learned with pasta, its all the same noodle, just different shapes. :-)

Bottom line is... its all delicious.