Busy Bee

I have not been blogging much these days. In fact, i have not been doing much of anything but being busy! Yea...my lasagna making days are over..gone with my weekends! If you can guess by now, i'm now a working class chic. lol (i wish) But anyways, i now have a job besides staying home experimenting with recipes and blogging of course! Soooo.... in between all that and moving into a new apartment, ive been busy.

Its not an easy job but im glad it pays. Woman must wack na (abi no be so?) Anyways, thats not an excuse if i intend to be a writer someday in the future i must write!

So here i am in McDonalds (yea i dont have internet access yet) blogging. I just hope i don't get huge on the food here all in the name of blogging!

So on and on i blab....How are u guys? any gist for me (i like to amuse myself sometimes, indulge me please)

I read Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid and i think its simply fantastic. Books like that leave me miserable cos i cant help wishing i could write as good as people like Ms Kincaid. Anyways, i totally recommend the book and will be back for a full review. Also currently reading Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat. Two reviews coming up soon.

Cheers!

When Friends are Scarce

A poem for my very special reader (s)
You know yourself
Yea...you
This is for you


This is for you dear friend
You who chose to stand by me
When world turned its back
This is for you mi amore.

You who remembers not to forget
Every single memory we made
In a place where all we had was love
This is for you mi amore.

For making me smile when i didnt want to
Telling me the truth when it made me mad
Laughing at my silly ways
This is for you mi amore.

I choose not to forget you
Your voice that still brings comfort
Strangely so after all these years
Nuestro amor nunca morirá.

Books I must Read This Year!!!

So apart from making meat pies and lasagna, i have been obsessively buying books (window shopping or not! thank you) and reading them! I wish i did more writing though but i wont beat myself up about it. No, not today!

So here's a list of inspiring authors i think you should read with some of their wonderful books

Enjoy and feel free to order online or borrow at your local library.

This is an intriguing one about a girl trying to understand so much about herself and the world around her. Cant wait to finish it!

Another book by Jamaica Kincaid. I love the Cover pic :)

Im going to read this because of Nathan's expression when he described his inspiration in class.

I wanna read Monica Ali's Brick lane because i listened to her on the NewYorker's fiction podcast and loved her insight.

Edwidge Danticat oh Edwidge Danticat...why havent i read this yet?cant wait for my my order ooo

I really loved reading a story from this collection...Disguised.

Jackie Kay oh Jackie Kay my Ibo sister. Can't wait to read this. She is witty, fun and sooo poetic.

This is a MUST have!

Another Monica Ali book.Dont u just love the cover? Makes u want to know what its about.

Thank God for the New Yorker Fiction podcasts....now i cant get enough of Jhumpa Lahiri :0

BlackBerry Craze

Juliet: hey Susan, i just got my blackberry , ooooh .... i'll buy my pin next week.
Susan: U try oooo ! me don dash jane my own pin


Juliet : why????
Susan: because blackberry don tire me, na BB i dey use now
Juliet: is ur BB samsung or Nokia
Susan: no, its sony ericsson
Juliet: okay just give me your pin so i can call you..
Susan: eeeyahhh...am sorry, i left my pin at home. you knw its not safe walking around with your pin, e fit chook you for belle


Juliet: aaaaahhh, its true ooooo

Making Meat Pies

Boredom has a way of bringing out the best (or worst) in us. It all depends on what we choose. Although i have to admit that making the right choice isn't always easy but anything is possible.

So lately, i've been staying at home doing nothing but read, read, eat, eat and you'd think i would put some time into blogging (ha ha ha).

At least i'm doing things worth blogging about...not sure anyone would want to read about everything though. So let me entice you with my Meat Pie recipe and pictures.

Needless to say that making meatpies isn't exactly as easy as a piece of pie (forgive the pun) I tried it once thinking i'd just mix all the ingredients and scoffing the measurements. Well it turns out i made meat stones instead!

So yesterday, i gave it another try and im posting the recipe/pictures for people like me with enough time on their hands. Expect more recipes from this blog if i dont procastinate!

Meat Pie Recipe (Naija Style)

Meat Filling

-small potatoes, diced and cooked (to save time, use frozen hash brown potato cubes)

-lean ground beef (or chicken, or turkey)

-frozen mixed vegetables, cooked (I use the peas, carrots and corn mix)

-onion diced

-red and green sweet peppers, diced

- seasonings (salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, knorr/maggie etc, whatever you like)



Dough

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) (it should be cold and hard)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4-6 tablespoons ice water



-Prepare the filling by browning your meat and spices. WHile it's cooking, stirfry your peppers and onion and veggies. Mix it all together. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.



-Once ground beef is cooked, add the diced cooked potatoes and heat for 5 minutes. (not too much potatoes). The main purpose is to aborb excesss liquid from the meat mixture, so that you don't end up with soggy meat pies.



-To make dough: Sift together dry ingredients and cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork until mixture is crumbly.



-While mixing with a wooden spoon, add water a tablespoon at a time until dough holds together in a ball (you may need more or less water. Just add small amounts at a time). If the dough is crumbly, add a little more water by drops until the dough stays together when you pinch it.

-When dough comes together into a ball roll out the dough until flat.

- Cut out circles (I use a giant cookie cutter for this). If dough becomes sticky or too soft put in fridge for 10 minutes to cool and then take it out again and continue cutting the circles.

-Place meat stuffing in center of pastry circles.

-Fold over and seal using a fork.

-Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.


Note: This recipe doesnt exactly make the softest meat pies but im still trying to find out what its lacking...

Adele

Apart from my ability to comprehend how a girl like this could go by a name that seems so african...the operative word being "seems" here... mind you, there was nothing fascinating about Adele (Uh-dell)

And as usual, i was following the craze from behind but this time around, i wish i had caught the Adele fever faster than my stubborn old-school-versus-new-school-attitude would let me.

So here she is thrillingling beautiful, soulful and Rolling in the Deep.

Love Her!

Can't get enough of this

It's probably old news to most people out there but i like to follow the trends from the rear...if you catch my drift ;)

makes me feel like saying...well i didnt miss so much anyways...

so here's a song i cant get enough of...from behind of course...