African Beignets

My husband was just in Louisiana and loved it.  When he got home he told me about an appetizer that he had eaten that reminded him of some of the food that he ate in Togo.  We made them a few days after he got home and had to go back to the drawing board.  We made them again on Sunday and they turned out great. The second batch we add plantains to them and as I love plantains this was just perfect.  My next goal is to see how the taste when they are baked instead of fried.

African Beignets

1 cup white corn meal *

1/8 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp  oil ( I used olive oil)

3/8 cup water

1 ripe plantain (optional) 

oil for frying

Mix all ingredients except plantains together.  I mixed them together with my hand but you could use a beater.  Let sit for approx 10 minutes.  Add plantain and mix thoroughly.  Roll into approx 1 inch balls.

Heat oil in pan ( you want enough oil so that at least 3/4 of the balls are covered).  Place balls into oil and fry until a golden brown colour.  Enjoy.

These will have a crisp outer coating with a soft middle.  Try not eat just one.  I dare you.

We did notice that they stuck slightly to the bottom but floated after you loosened them. 

* these would also work with corn flour.

Enjoy!

✻ღϠ₡ღ✻   Marlys

(¯`✻´¯)
`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ 

Links: Top Recipe Showcase, In and Out of the Kitchen, Tried and True Recipes , Tasty Thursdays

Related articles

• Baked Beignets
• Easy Beignets Recipe
• Chiquita Plantain Bananas: Nutrition Info, Eating & Cooking Plantains

Easter Art

I have created a couple of pictures for you to download for Easter.

Easter Art

To download go HERE

To download go HERE

To download go HERE

To download go HERE

You are welcome to use any of these for your own personal use.

You are not to use them for profit.

If you do use them I would love to see how you used them ~ links are welcome in the comments.

✻ღϠ₡ღ✻   Marlys

(¯`✻´¯)

`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻

 

Related articles

• Delightful decor for your Easter Sunday party (coolmompicks.com)
• Easter Bunny S'mores In A Jar (foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com)

Coconut Rice and Shrimp with Peach Salsa

I found this recipe from last week's Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party and knew that I had to try it out.  We had some coconut milk at home and I knew that there was some shrimp left over.  The only problem is that I forgot to buy some pineapple when I went shopping so had to change the recipe some, so made it with peaches instead of pineapple.

The recipe came from Amelia's Dessert.  Amelia has a wonderful blog.  She has a lot of information on her posts.  The recipe that she had made was Coconut Rice with grilled pineapple with shrimp.  I don't have a rice cooker or steamer, so made my coconut rice on the stove.  The rice was very flavourful, although I did add some water as I felt it just didn't have enough fluids.  This decreased the coconut flavour.  So the next time I will just add more coconut milk.  We will be making this recipe again.

Coconut Rice and Shrimp with Peach Salsa

Coconut Rice

1 cup Jasmine rice

1 cup coconut milk

2/3 cup water ( next time I will just use more coconut milk and no water)

1 1/2 tsp butter

1/3 cup onions

2 garlic cloves minced

1 in ginger sliced thinly

3 cloves

In saucepan, melt butter.  Add onions, cloves, ginger and cloves and saute until onions are translucent about 4 -5 minutes.  Add rice and cook another couple of minutes until lightly toasted about 2 -3 minutes.  Add coconut milk and rice.  Bring to boil.  Turn down heat to low and cook for 20-25 minutes.  

Coconut Rice

Shrimp with Peach Salsa

3/4 pound shrimp, deveined and peeled

oil to fry shrimp

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup onions

3/4 of can of tomatoes ( I used Red Gold) 

1 can peaches diced ( I used sugarless peaches in water)

2-3 mini sweet peppers sliced in rounds

1/2 tsp dried basil

hot pepper to taste

1/4 tsp salt

Cook onions in small amount of oil (approx 1 tsp) until translucent.  Add  tomatoes, peaches and basil and cook for 2 -3 minutes.  Add sweet pepper, hot pepper and salt and cook for another 2 -3 minutes.  If you don't want to fry your shrimp you could add them now and cook for another couple of minutes until the shrimp is pink.

To fry the shrimp- In pan pour in oil, enough to cover shrimp and heat over medium high heat. Combine bread crumbs and garlic.  Dredge shrimp through the bread crumb mixture.  Place shrimp in hot oil fry until shrimp are nice brown colour.

I wasn't planning on frying the shrimp but hubby came home and told me he didn't like shrimp unless they were crunchy, so  to fry them.  These meal was very flavourful with a hint of hot.

Enjoy.

✻ღϠ₡ღ✻   Marlys

(¯`✻´¯)
`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻

Related articles

• Coconut Shrimp Sauce (thebloggingpath.com)
• #1: Coconut Rice (explorefresh.wordpress.com)
• On the Menu: Shrimp in Coconut Milk (herlifestyled.wordpress.com)

#FoodieFriendsFriday and an Easter Brunch

It is once again Thursday and time for our

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Next week is Easter so we are going to have an Easter Brunch and I can't wait to see what you all bring to the party...  I haven't even thought of what I will be making.  I am hoping to get some ideas from all of you.

Before we head into our party, let's check and see 

Which Recipes Caught our Attention at last week's Party

Head over to the Daily Dish Magazine to check out the host favorites.

For your chance of being featured you must have a link back of your recipe to either
  Foodie Friends Friday

or the the host blog that you linked up with.

Maybe next week your recipe will be here.

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday!

Please take a moment to read through the rules before getting started, Thank You!

*By linking up you agree that you read these rules and all photos/recipes are original and belong to you. You agree to allow Foodie Friends Friday and any of it's affiliated websites or publications (Social Girls Media, LLC) to use photos, links, and recipes for reprint and/or republishing and distribution without monetary compensation to you. If photos & recipes are used, proper link backs to you will be included.

Adding Links back to Foodie Friends Friday and our Button is our only form of advertising to bring in more people to see YOUR recipes.

Please remember to do this. It benefits you! To thank you, we will continue to feature those with links throughout the year on various outlets.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/" title="Foodie Friends Friday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj628/busyvegetarianmom/FFFDDButtonNEW150Darker_zpse238f637.jpg" alt="Foodie Friends Friday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Meet our Co-Hosts at Foodie Friends Friday:

Now Let's meet our sponsor this week!

*Giveaway Disclaimer: Facebook is in no way associated with this website or giveaway and holds no liability for this giveaway. "Liking" facebook pages is optional, not mandatory for entry. Sponsors will be responsible for shipping- if there is a delay or problem with prize, you must communicate directly with sponsor.

This week's giveaway is sponsored by Lori from The Salvage Home
You can find her on Facebook ,  Etsy, and Pinterest.
Lori has some wonderful things in her store, you need to check her out.



Remember to fill out the rafflecopter for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway






Last week's winners
Sponsor Winner


Voted Top 3

White Chocolate Mint Ice Cream ~ From Calculus to Cupcakes
Banana Bread ~ Bakewell Junction
Coconut Rice and grilled pineapple with shrimp ~ Amelia's Dessert

Most Clicks

Key Lime Cake Pop Pie ~ Pint Size Bakery
Easy as Can Be Coconut Pie ~ A Cozy Place called Home
Ultimate Brownie Pie ~ It Bakes Me Happy

Host Favorite

This week's host favorite goes to Amelia's Dessert for her Coconut rice and grilled pineapple with shrimps.  Rice is a staple ingredient in our house and making it with coconut milk will be wonderful.  I love how she started out this post ~ " Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook. - Chinese proverb".  I am not sure if you remember when I posted about my relearning how to make rice once I got married, but now after a few years I have it right... or at least I think I do.  I am planning on make this meal or something very similar for dinner tonight. I forgot to buy pineapple so my shrimp is going to have peaches instead but I think it will still taste good with the coconut rice. I will post my picture when I have one, but for now I will post Amelia's picture of this delicious looking meal.

Picture credit: Amelia's Dessert

Just to let you know that there will be no party next weekend as it is Easter weekend and all of us hosts will be busy with our families.

 Hope you have a wonderful and blessed Easter.

Related articles

• Curry Know Your Herbs and Spices #FoodieFriendsFriday (foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com)
• Recipes that Caught OUR Attention #Daily Dish... (foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com)
• #FoodieFriendsFriday linky party (marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com)

March Surprise Recipe Swap - Chai Tea Bread

March Surprise Recipe Swap

Jutta from Hungry Little Girl started this Surprise Recipe Swap.I believe that this is the third month but it is the first month for me.  We were given a blog partner at the first of the month, giving us a couple of weeks to go through our partner's blog and find a recipe to make.  Then on the 20th you will post the recipe that you made.  I love this idea as going through someone else's blog and finding recipes are so much fun.  I know this makes me go though the blog as with my busy life I don't always make time to do this, so this way I have to go and read someone else's blog.  If you want to participate in this, head over to Hungry Little Girl and read what it entails and the few simple rules that there are.

This month CJ from Morsel of Life is my Surprise Recipe Swap partner.  At the beginning of the month I went through her blog, finding many recipes that I wanted to make.  I wrote down about 8 recipes and then the next step was to pick one of them.  That was the hard part.. which one do I make.  After some humming and hawing I decide to make her Chai Tea Bread recipe.  I love Chai and I knew that I had wanted to make this already as I had left a comment on this recipe.
  

As you know I very seldom make a recipe the way it is written.. Mainly because I don't always read the recipe and another reason is that I believe a recipe is a guide and you need to make it to your taste.  I also made mine in 2  Welcome Home paper loaf pans as even though we have 10 feet of snow and it is still snowing, today the 20th is the first day of spring and I wanted something that looked springy.

Chai Tea Bread

adapted from Morsels of Life

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups flour ( I used 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat as the recipe stated)

3/4 tsp cardamom (ground)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp anise (ground)

2 tsp baking powder

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil (I used Tradition Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil)

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

3/8 cup milk (I used evaporated milk)

1/2 cup Chai concentrate or Chai tea  (I used Chai tea as was to lazy to make some concentrate)

2 tsp vanilla

1/8 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients together in bowl.  In mixing bowl combine wet ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until barely moist.  Pour into greased loaf pan or I used 2 paper Welcome Home loaf pans. Sprinkle coconut over top of loaf.  Bake for 50 minutes if using one loaf pan or mine took about 35 minutes with the 2 paper loaf pans.

Enjoy

Enjoy with a cup of Chai Tea

I loved the spices in this bread and it is not too sweet.  Just perfect to have with a cup of tea.  I had a couple of pieces for breakfast this morning.  I had planned on putting some ripe banana's into this last night when I made it but thought I would wait...  I think bananas would be a perfect addition to this wonderful bread.  To find the original recipe, go HERE.

✻ღϠ₡ღ✻   Marlys

(¯`✻´¯)
`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻

Related articles

• Last day of winter chai latte (creativekismet.com)
• Chai Spiced Banana Bread....simplistically delicious! (localforkful.com)

Thyme and Maple Acorn Squash

I have just gotten into eaten winter squash.

The other day I bought an acorn squash and decided that I wanted to use some maple syrup with it.

I also had some fresh thyme, so googled to see if maple syrup and thyme would go together.

The do and this recipe tasted fantastic.

I love the flavours of the maple syrup and thyme together.

Thyme and Maple Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash

2 tsp butter

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp fresh thyme

maple syrup to drizzle

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and  the acorn squash in half.  Remove seeds. Place in baking dish.  Spread 1 tsp of butter over both halves of squash.  Sprinkle 1 tsp of brown sugar over each half.  Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of thyme over each half.  Then drizzle maple syrup.  Bake in 350 degree until squash is soft.  I then added a small amount of fresh thyme over the top before eating.  Enjoy.

This would make a great side dish for two or a meatless vegetarian dish for one.  I ate mine as a main meal and  it was delicious.

✻ღϠ₡ღ✻   Marlys

(¯`✻´¯)
`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻ Enjoy your day....`*.¸.*✻✿*.¸.*✻

Links: In and Out of the Kitchen

Related articles

• How to: Bake an Acorn Squash (and what to do with it!) [NaBloPoMo Day 11] (citymama.typepad.com)
• Meatless Monday with Carnival Squash Stuffed with Cranberry Maple Quinoa and Beans (planetforward.ca)
• Winter Squash Recipes: Stuffed Acorn Squash (honeycrunched.wordpress.com)
• Squash Happens (livinginaction.wordpress.com)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Image via CrunchBase

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I have now moved all my GFC friends over to bloglovin as I have heard that google reader may be gone shortly. I . don't want to miss any of the blogs that I follow. I hope that you will join me in the change over and will continue to follow me. You don't have to be a blogger on Bloglovin to follow. I even have an app on my phone and it is free.. So I can read blogs wherever I am.

I found this great tutorial on Sew Much Crafting that show exactly how to switch all the GFC over to bloglovin with a click of a couple buttons. Easy as Pie. If you need help you can go here.


Thanks Marlys