Tuesday, 28 October 2014

I'M BACK & MARRIED NOW!

Hey guys,
I know its been months since I last posted but I've been so swamped preparing for my wedding with my love, Geegee which happened on the 4th of October :-) Four good months checking out decor, sampling food, looking for tents, etc. 
I missed blogging and more-so I missed cooking. I hardly did either these past months. There were days I did takeout and days I just got home and slept cause I was too exhausted. It was challenging but thankful for all the grace God provided to strengthen us during the whole process.

I've seen God move in this wedding process. From restoring my family to providing exceedingly and above all our expectations. God gave us so many amazing people to stand with us who prayed and gave of themselves so much that we can't even think of ways to repay them enough. I must say that God is the mater planner of weddings. He is faithful to the letter and He really does grant us the desires of our hearts. His will for us is beautiful and good and He can do the impossible simply because He is God. BE ENCOURAGED. Whatever you many be planning or believing God for right now, trust Him to make a way. Don't lose hope. Believe Him in spite of all the odds. 

Soooooo, its a lot different now, I'm married and now making my home. I love being a wife to Geegee. I honestly can't imagine doing life with anyone else. I love taking care of him. I keep finding myself automatically cleaning and tiding everything and whenever that happens, we usually say "wife mode!" is loading. Lol. Also I'm super excited to take this blog to the next level since I have so many recipes I'm looking to make for the hubz and to share with you guys so that we can all enjoy cooking a bit more. I also plan to make this an official blog with my own domain.
I'm excited to start new segments for all the newly wed wives/husbands looking to learn how to cook healthy, quick yet tasty meals for their spouse and to top it all off GIVEAWAYS, because who doesn't love freebies :-) So bear with me guys, it might take a couple of mths but I guarantee you cooking with Jaz is just getting started.

So before we get to all that, below I have a few pics of the BIG DAY and a few pics from our South African honeymoon and of some of the food we encountered on our adventure there. These are not the official pics from our photographer of the day but great shots taken by friends and fam who attended the wedding :-)

 Pic with my father before leaving for the service :-)



Can you tell how excited I was! No nerves or anything! Thank God!


Pic with my best maid Joy before walking down the aisle.





 
 Above: My gorgeous matrons aka my sisters, my beautiful nieces, two as my junior bridesmaids and one as my flowergirl. Yes I have that many nieces, the fourth one was one of my bridesmaids :-)

Below: Some of my bridesmaids, Sheila, Susan and Ruthy. 

The bridal party getting ready to dance down the aisle to one of my favorite tracks "make up by Pompi"

The groomsmen walked down with numbers counting down to me walking down.
Below: our handsome pageboy with the GAME ON card.
Walking down with both my parents.


 The reception decor before placing the centerpieces. Exactly how we wanted it, simple and elegant.

The wedding service area. Heavenly.


The stretch tent! Absolutely loved it.

me ;) and my gorgeous bridesmaids in the background.


US!!!! Married!


First breakfast married :-)



 At the airport ready to check in

 Geegee goofing around



The sunrise as we left Kenya.


They had the new Marymary album on the Ethiopian airlines! Shocked!


After an hrs transit in Ethiopia and a 4 1/2 hr flight we landed safely in Johannesburg South Africa!



After chilling at a guest house in Joburg and at another hotel on our first night in Durban, we discovered and settled at the most beautiful boutique hotel, the concierge and they had they had the most amazing gourmet food ever, even for breakfast. I'd recommend them any day if you're looking to visit SA.


Sweet potato fritters and poached eggs


Carrot cake any day


Dinner out at Spurs with some friends





Ushaka Marine world! the pier was beautiful.




Its only right to have rainbow cake when youre in the rainbow nation :-)


I'm in love with Eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce.


And you can't possibly leave SA without hitting Mcdonalds!




Now this was sooooo good yet so filling. Its basically bread and mutton curry they call it a bunny.


Best Mocca ever with coconut and melted white chocolate at Mugg and Bean.

 
Travelling back  home after a week of adventuring ;-)


So those were just a few pics from our amazing time there with the hubz. Think of it as a sort of summary. Its been such a beautiful season and I'm so glad to enjoy this new phase with him.
I promise that my next post will be about food, lol! For real!
Thanks for being so patient with me during my short hiatus!

As always, I'll have you know:-

-I'm up to 11,700 + pageviews-thankyou Jesus! and thank you all for following and trying out my recipes.
-I'm now on Youtube, you can subscribe and check out the video here: CookingwithJaz
-I am officially on twitter on this account (@cookingwithjaz)
-I am also on Facebook on this page "cooking with jaz"
-If you want to be featured on the "GUEST AND RECIPE OF THE WEEK" email me on "cookingwithjaz@yahoo.com"
-If you have tried any of my recipes, do tag me or send me the pics on any one of my social media pages
Have a lovely week :)

Sincerely,
Jaz.





Saturday, 21 June 2014

MID-WEEK CHICKEN STEW WITH RICE & GUACAMOLE

Hey guys!
So first and foremost. Im excited to start working on my Cooking with Jaz website. I think its time for some change. Im excited for all that God has planned and thankful for all that He has been doing through this blog.
Now back to cooking.
If you're Kenyan, you love stew cause God knows we're all about those stews. I can't think of one person I know here who didn't have stew for dinner growing up and just about everyday for lunch at that banda, or dinner.
So yeah I love it too.
Here is a simple stew recipe I make frequently.


Ingredients:- [serves 3]
Chicken pieces [I used 6 chicken thighs]
3 red onions  
4 garlic cloves
1 tomato
Dhania/ coriander
2 large avocados
100 grams sweet peas
1 green pepper [hoho]
Curry powder
Black pepper
1 packet tomato paste/ 4 tablespoons tomato paste
Cayenne pepper
1 lemon

Prepare Yellow rice by using two cups rice, 4 cups water, a few drops vegetable oil, and one tablespoon turmeric powder.

For the guacamole:
Start off by chopping two onions. 

Follow by washing and peeling the avocados. 


Chop them in cubes and mix with the onions. 


Finish off by washing and chopping 1 tomato. Use an orange juicer to extract all the juice from the lemon. Sprinkle over the guacamole. The lemon helps not only with the acidic taste but also in preventing avocados from blackening. Put aside.



For the chicken stew:
Wash and chop the sweet peas and the green pepper. 
Take about 5 Dhania/ coriander sticks and cut off the leaves to chop them. 


Chop the onions and garlic and cook with vegetable/olive oil. Add the chopped veggies.


After a few minutes, add the chicken thighs and allow to cook for a good 5 minutes while stirring. Add chopped dhania/ coriander.


















 Add the tomato paste, salt to taste, black pepper and cayenne pepper. 


 Stir well and add water to cover and leave to cook for 15 -20 minutes while stirring occasionally. 















Make sure stew is nice and thick. If it isn't too thick add some tomato paste, about 3 tablespoons.
Once the stew is done, serve with yellow rice and guacamole.