Category: Side Dish

Curry Termite Mushroom Soup

~ Sophie ~ 6 Comments

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Happy December! I am sitting here wondering where 2016 went! Honestly as you grow older the years go by faster!

It is raining a lot and rainy season means mushroom foraging because the conditions are favourable for the fungi to grow. It is actually quite exciting to randomly find a mushroom while taking a walk. Two weeks ago we got a midnight call to go harvest termite mushrooms (which I have talked about here). Yes they are that rare and special.  I have childhood memories of picking these mushrooms. It was always a special treat to eat them because they appear randomly during the rainy season and if you can spot them you are a winner. Termite mushrooms are mostly used for soup. Now we Ugandans like using curry powder a lot. A LOT.  Flavouring this soup with curry was only natural. The curry adds to the distinct earthy flavor these mushrooms have. The dried version of these mushrooms is sold in most supermarkets but nothing beats fresh food! I realise I have been sharing quite a number of soups and stews lately. It is only because they are the order of the day.

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Find recipe here

 

🙂

Sophie

 

Homemade Caramel Popcorn

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

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It is official Caramel is my new favourite flavour! Way back in high school there was this caramel popcorn that we used to always make sure that we had at break time. Perfectly crunchy popcorn with a generous coating of browned caramel. it was addictive. Now popcorn is a huge deal here. There are a ton of popcorn machines in the taxi park and I am always tempted to buy a bag every time I am there.  popcorn has been in our family for as long as I can remember. We have this thick cast iron pot with a lid  that we use to make popcorn. It keeps and distributes the heat well.

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So for the love of popcorn and caramel, I wanted to recreate this caramel popcorn that I used to eat over 5 years ago.  Popcorn is fairly easy to make and so is caramel. You need only three basic ingredients: cream, sugar and butter/margarine.  With Paramount Dairies Whipping cream, you will be able to make rich well-flavoured caramel easily.  And since caramel is so easy to make (Why did not I know this before?) I thought combining the two would create a delightful and surprising dessert or snack really! And it did.

What you will need:

Caramel

1 C. Sugar

½ C. Whipping Cream

1 Tbsp. Butter/margarine

1 Tsp vanilla

¼ C. Water

 

Popcorn

500 gm. Popcorn kernels

¼ C. Oil

 

Caramel popcorn

Caramel

Popped Corn

Observations:

  1. Make sure the cream is at  room temperature
  2. To make good popcorn, use a pan that has a lid or find one that can fit on the pan well to keep all the heat inside

 

Method

Caramel

  1. In a clean sauce pan, combine sugar, water, vanilla and butter. Place on medium fire and let the sugar slowly melt.
  2. Once the sugar has completely melted, increase the fire and let the sugar syrup brown to a caramel colour.
  3. Once it has browned, add the cream and mix well. Remove from fire before the caramel gets very burnt.

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Popcorn

  1. Place the kernels in a bowl. Pour in the oil and mix well
  2. On high heat. Place pan. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of popcorn. Cover the pan and let the corn pop.
  3. Once it stops popping, remover from fire immediately.
  4. Repeat the process till you have popped all the corn.

Caramel Popcorn

  1. Once you have the popcorn, pour in the caramel while it is still hot.
  2. Pour while mixing to make sure all the puffs are coated with the caramel.
  3. Sprinkle some salt.
  4. Wait for the caramel to harden . About 5-10 minutes.

Serve.

 

 

The best flavoured popcorn! It’s true that caramel is addicting. I almost. ALMOST made a batch to just eat out of the jar. Almost.

🙂

Sophie

 

 

This post is made possible by Paramount Dairies. You can find Whipping Cream  and more cream products in major supermarkets in Kampala. Thank you for supporting brands I believe in.

Yam Chips with Melted Cheddar Cheese

~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

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Move over Irish and sweet potato chips. You have a new rival! YAM. The purple kind. The kind which melts in your mouth. The kind when cooked and served alongside groundnut stew or beef stew is one of the perfect meals you will ever have. Yes that Yam.  While doing my research, I found out yam has a lot of names in different places. This kind of yam is popular in central Uganda although there are many other varieties and species in the country.

 

I don’t always eat out because this homebody life but when I do, I always want to recreate meals I eat in restaurants at home. Now this epic snack meal has two major ingredients: Yams and Cheese because you can never go wrong with cheese and because yam is just a wonderful alternative to Irish and sweet potatoes. The sharp cheddar adds a savoury taste to the crunchy yam chips creating multiple layers of textures.

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One of the things that make these chips so good is that they have a unique earthy (-ish) taste that is quite hard to describe. If you have eaten these yams you know what I mean.  Now that these yam chips are just the perfect snack, I went bigger and melted Cheddar cheese from Paramount Dairies on them sprinkled some herbs and garnished with fresh from the garden sweet cherry tomatoes. This is the perfect snack! In fact it is the ultimate snack I tell you. Best advice is buy as much yam as you can, peel it and cut it into chips, freeze and whenever you feel like chips, get those yams out and get busy. You should absolutely make these chips

What you will need:

1 Kilo Yams

200 gm Cheddar cheese

Tomato ketchup (optional)

Cherry tomatoes

Salt

Parsley for garnish

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Observations:

  1. When you buy the yams, make sure they do not touch water. This is because they release a substance that when it comes in contact with your skin will cause itchiness.
  2. When peeling the yams, I recommend wearing gloves if you have them but a plastic will work well too. This is to avoid any form of itchiness. Again strictly stay away from any form of water.

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Method

  1. Peel the yams and set aside for about 10 minutes.
  2. When your hands are still covered wash the yams and pat dry with a towel.
  3. Cut the yams into chips
  4. Fry the chips till slightly golden brown
  5. Sprinkle salt on the fried chips
  6. Melt cheddar
  7. Slice the tomatoes

To assemble

  1. Arrange chips on plate/tray.
  2. Pour melted cheddar
  3. Add the tomatoes
  4. Sprinkle with parsley
  5. Serve warm.

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What are you waiting for? Make sure to use #AkitchenInUg to share your creations.

🙂

Sophie

 

This post is made possible by Paramount Dairies. You can find Cheddar cheese and more cheese products in major supermarkets in Kampala. Thank you for supporting brands I believe in.