Carrot Cake

Really yummy! Thanks be to God for baking this for us. Another delicious treat from the best baker in town :-). Mr. Gab.


Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup & 1 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour
½ cup of white Sugar
¼ cup of Brown Sugar
1 tsp of Baking Soda
2 tsp of Cinnamon
½ tsp of Salt
¼ tsp of Nutmeg
¾ cup of Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract
1 tsp of Grated Orange Zest
1 ½ cups of Shredded/ Grated Carrots
½ cup of Raisins/ Walnuts Whatever you like.

For the frosting:
3 oz of Cream Cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
2 cups of Powdered Sugar
1 tsp of Vanilla


Procedure:
1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Lay the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
3) In a bowl toss together the carrots, raisins/ walnuts and the 1 Tbsp of flour until all of the carrots and raisins are coated with the flour.
4) In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients until well combined. Add the carrots and raisins/ walnuts and mix until they are well incorporated through the batter.
5) Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6) When the cake is ready, let it cool in the pan for a few minutes but then take it out and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
7) Once the cake is completely cooled, make the frosting by simply mixing all of the ingredients together until you get a nice thick frosting. If you need to, add a little more water by the teaspoonful to get a spreadable frosting consistency.
8) Adorn the cake with the cream cheese frosting and let it set for a few minutes until the frosting begins to harden. Dig in whenever you like!

Contributed by: Gabriel Eli Ndegwa

Espetinho de Coração de Frango

This is one of my favorite Brazilian food. Cooked simply in a hot coal, aromatic and yummy. I cooked this for a friend's farewell party. One of the best that I've tasted is at Canasveieras, Santa Catarina, Brazil owned by Mr. Joao. 


Ingredientes:
1 kg de coração de frango  (limpo)
Sal grosso a gosto

Modo de preparo:
1. Em uma bacia, colocar os corações de frango, adicionar o sal grosso e mexer bem.

2. Espetar os corações em espeto de bambu.

3. Assá-los com fogo baixo ate fica bem.

4. Servir com amor :-).

For the English translation of the recipe here it is.

Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken heart ( cleaned)
coarse salt to taste

Procedure:
1. In a bowl, combine the chicken heart and salt until fully mixed.
2. Put the hearts in the bamboo skewers.
3. Grill it over hot coal until fully cooked.
4. Serve with a smile :-).

Ginataang Labong with Kalabasa

This is really yummy and in fact one of the best seller in my sister's eatery. I will be happy eating this everyday :-).


Ingredients:
1/4 kilo bamboo shoots ( boiled and drained)
1/4 kilo shrimps
1/2 kilo squash ( cubed)
1 cup pure coconut milk ( kakang gata)
2 cups thin coconut milk ( hindi kakang gata)
1 small onion
2 cups cleaned saluyot
salt to taste

Procedure:
1. In a pot, put the thin coconut milk, bring to boil then put the boiled bamboo shoots, squash, shrimps, salt and onion then continue cooking until it's almost done.
2. Put the saluyot and  simmer for 2 minutes then put the pure coconut milk, simmer for a minute then turn off the heat.
3. Serve it hot.