Blog - November 12, 2022

Day 12 : The November Happiness Challenge 2022

Food

I’m sure you are thinking: What has Tolani come with again? Haha. It is funny to me too, don’t worry. But really, do you know how important Food is? Do you know? The munchiness, yumminess and many delicious attributes that Food has cannot ever make it overemphasized. And to top it all, it actually faciliates our growth and good health? Come on, it is highly important and we need to talk about it. We all got introduced to food from our first day on earth, at that point, it was mummy’s breast milk/Formula, and we took it with so much enthusiasm despite being newly welcome on earth. It was highly needed to eat, because our survival depended on it amongst other things. As we grew, our food choices changed and this might have been affected by the family choices too; another stage of the growth was when we got taught about the classes of food in school and we began to request for particular food from our parents because we really wanted to make it balanced; The innoncence of a child! Then we grew older and wiser, and we began to actually decide what we would allow into our tummies. These choices we made were either dependent on what we thought adequate for our good health, or what we simply just considered delicious enough. Here, we have also been able to identify the food we are allergic to, or the ones that don’t taste so good to us, or simply food that we don’t like. All of these come together to create a food timetable in our heads and this is what we continuosuly stick to except for when we occasionally step away from it. Some people are very experimental with food. If they go to a restaurant or visit a friend, they are willing to try the food that is strangest to them on the Menu. Even at home, they continously try out new recipes and enthusiastically devour the outcomes. I really admire people like this, because they are easy to have as guests. For them, anything goes and they aren’t picky at all. They also ease into new societies quick, because they don’t care to keep searching for the food they are used to. And then , there are people like me. Take me to the fanciest restaurant on earth, and I’ll be scanning the Menu for Rice! Don’t blame me o, I have my reasons. One has to be that my taste buds don’t welcome experiements at all, and the few times I tried to leave status quo, the experience wasn’t pleasant.  One of such experiences was when I went on a date with someone and they ordered Salmon. I was teasing them about their choice and saying I didn’t understand why it was so expensive. They told me they  particulaly looked out for Restaurants that had it on their Menu because it was such a great meal. The food came and I really wasn’t interested; I just wanted to eat my chicken in peace.They kept persuading me to have a taste and despite my continued reluctance, they wouldn’t relent. I eventually succumbed to the persuasion and the taste was so offputting. I didn’t like it at all so I stopped at the first taste. By the time I got home, I had rashes on my hands and neck and I knew it must have been the Salmon I tasted. You see? It isn’t even that I always react to new food as described above, it’s just that I love to play safe and go for what I’m familiar with. A restaurant that doesn’t have Rice and Chicken is not a Restaurant for me please.  Give me my Jollof, Fried, White or whatever kind of Rice, let me eat. I cook up a storm too, if I do say so myself. People who have tasted my food can testify to this and this is why my shoulders are high. Cooking is stressful but I don’t mind doing it for myself and loved ones. The satisfaction they express after eating is enough reward for the stress. For the culture, I’ll drop a Recipe now that you could try at home, and of course it has to be Rice. Lol. I’ll be telling us the Recipe for delicious Native Rice.

Ingredients

Rice : I like long grain but small grain can be used too. Stock fish ( Panla) Iru ( Locust beans) Dry fish ( black fish ) Roasted fish ( Panla) Onions Pepper mix ( anyhow you want it but I do rodo, bawa and tomato) Offals ( Inu eran) Ponmo Any other animal you want Ugwu Palm oil

Steps

1. Put palm oil on fire 2. Add onions to fry 3. Add locust beans ( be Moderate with the quantity) 4. Let both fry well 5. Add blender pepper. Allow to fry together 6. In another pot, boil your offals and if you have meat too. After it s all boiled, add all the animals together while still on fire 7. Add the above mix to the fried pepper . Allow to cook for some minutes 8. Wash rice thoroughly and set aside 9. Add stock to the fried mix in number 7. If you don’t have stock, add water. 10. Add maggi and salt to taste ( I wait till this moment if it is stock I’m using. If not stock, you can add it after you put the pepper) 11. Let the water boil a bit with the pepper, then add the rice 12. Allow you soften and when almost done, add your washed and cut Ugwu leaves. Please don’t add so much water to avoid it being soggy. After it cooks and the water has dried, you can just lower your gas level and cover it up to steam. It is better when it isn’t soggy. 13. Serve hot! This is a meal you can make this weekend for yourself or for you and people around. Try it and thank me later. What is your relationship with Food? What does Food mean to you? Are you experiemental or you play safe like me? Do you have a Food experience you’d like to share ? Please do. I’ll be back. OBA  

Comments (12)

  1. Khadijah

    November 12, 2022

    I’m someone that also likes to stay in my comfort zone but I don’t get too comfortable 😹

  2. Temitope

    November 12, 2022

    I love to explore when it comes to food but I also play it safe. Thank you for the free recipe

  3. Kheffytee

    November 12, 2022

    I am the play safe type with food, I hate to experiment. I don’t even give the chance, I say no and an emphatic one at that to trying new meals, I really want to derive joy in whatever I eat so let it be what I want and comfortable with. My best food (plantain) coupled with anything, I could eat it all day for a year and won’t get tire or complain a bit. My pickiness explains why I was very frail during my pilgrimage because I wont try other meals and I had to depend on McDonald’s every day and it took my husband going out to get me that all day after a long walk (God bless him) plus my husband is a rice lover like u, I call him a bird😁

  4. Olatoun

    November 12, 2022

    I love eating, but I’m a picky eater and rarely open myself to trying new foods. Like you, I also get food allergies so I try to be careful with new foods I try. One of my favorite things to do is fine dining, I enjoy a good restaurant experience with intimate conversations. I don’t fancy cooking much, I’d rather eat than cook. 😀

  5. Anu

    November 12, 2022

    I’m big on rice too 🤣

  6. Anike

    November 12, 2022

    Omotolaniee the chef!!!!!!!

  7. Ruqayyah

    November 12, 2022

    I am not a foodie but I have come to realize how important food is in life, there was a point in my life when I had an increased appetite, I felt a great difference in my general wellbeing. I hope I get to a point where I really look forward to food. I’d surely try your recipe out. Thank you Tolani

  8. Rukayat

    November 12, 2022

    I do say this FOOD IS LIFE😂 and my family know me well that I like food.

    I don’t experiment new food. Let me eat my Rce or Amala gbegiri and ewedu then I am good to go .

    Thanks for the recipe chef Tee 🙌🏻🥰

  9. ENIOLA

    November 13, 2022

    I have a “necessity” kind of relationship with food. Like, sometimes, it’s the realization that I’ve not eaten in hours that gives me the spur to go get something to eat.
    Like you, I am straight on what I like and what works for me, especially when it comes to intercontinental dishes. I can’t deal with sweet and salt in one meal, for example, I don’t like rice with plantain, I’d rather eat them separately, because plantain has a natural sweet/sugary taste.
    I like trying soups from other tribes, especially Igbo and Calabar soups. I cook edikaikong like a pro now.
    My only identified allergy till date is milk.

  10. Ameenah

    November 15, 2022

    I love to experiment with food a lot, I am that friend that would always want to try something that is not the norm. I have a sensitive stomach but I still do it anyway 😂😂😂😂.
    I like to think I have a positive relationship with food because it gives me joy, I can be having a bad day and cooking or having to eat out can brighten my day or just looking at it works for me as well😂😂😂. If I have get free money the first thing I think about is food 😂😂😂😂😂, because i experiment with food I can’t remember the last time I had rice.
    Thank you for this recipe, I am going to try it.

  11. Beebah

    November 16, 2022

    I’m a foodie that forgets to eat sometimes but I love food so much. I try to stay safe and not order what I don’t know whenever I go out unless it’s highly recommended by a friend with similar tastebuds.
    I also try out new recipes but it’s usually rice or pasta before I’ll go and cook abomination 😂

  12. Rukkie

    November 17, 2022

    Chef chef, I used to play safe with food too. But this year, I promised I was going to try out a lot of things and I did. Maybe not a lot. But I did taste new things and it was great. I enjoyed them.

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