Jollof Rice

As a child, I probably had Jollof rice every Sunday afternoon for lunch after church, it is one of my favorite things to eat and even though its a pretty simple yet versatile recipe, its taken me a long time to actually perfect a recipe that's comparable to the one my mom would prepare. As usual my recipes are adjusted for simplicity and some of the ingredients here are a bit different than those we would have in Nigeria. Its similar to many other "single pot" recipes like Arroz con Pollo, Jambalaya, Risotto etc. but is known for its spicy taste and bright orange color. One of my American friends who took a liking to it  referred to it as a pizza rice! Anyway, it is made here with vegetables so its suitable for a vegetarian dish but one can add proteins such as chicken, shrimp or scallops. Obviously the addition of these will slightly alter the taste. Also one can use chicken stock instead of water but I would make sure its salt free or reduce the salt you add to the recipe. My mother also uses tomato paste in addition to the Petite diced tomatoes but I actually like mine a bit light on the tomato so I don't.

Ingredients

5 cups of Jasmine rice (I like the fragrance of this but regular long grain rice is fine as well)
28 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1/2 red pepper (diced)
1/2 green pepper (diced)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups mixed vegetables such as corn, peas, Lima beans etc. (fresh, frozen or canned)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 teaspoons Nigerian pepper (substitute with cayenne)- reduce to regulate spiciness

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 maggi cubes ( or 1 Maggie rectangle)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in pot on high heat. (adjust depending on your range)
2. Add diced tomatoes and fry for 8 minutes
3. Reduce heat, add rice and butter mix in completely.
4. Add diced red and green peppers.
5. Add water (reduce by 1/2 cup if using frozen vegetable) and increase heat until it comes to a boil.
6. Turn down, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Check rice, it should be al Dente.
8. Add mixed vegetables and a bit more water (depending on your taste) 
9. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.
10. Serve with dodo (fried plantain), and/or baked chicken, side salad, moi-moi etc.

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Stormy days...

So the Northeast is expecting a hurricane and to be rained out for the next two days with some high winds and possible flooding. We've been told to stay home, schools and offices are closed, there isn't a D battery or flashlight left anywhere in sight. Some roads are being blocked off, zones are being evacuated, the MTA, NJTransit trains and Light rail are closed and buses are parked. We both received calls from the emergency management systems from work noting closings for Monday and Tuesday but as of this moment we barely have gotten any rain. Its a bit windy but just enough to send the leaves twirling off the trees. Its certainly a huge turnaround from last weekends glorious weather when we took a trip to Storm King. I'm not so concerned about flooding but I am concerned about loosing power in the event of high winds or fallen trees. We are already bored and we've only been home for a few hours this morning, we technically can leave the house but its not that nice out. I'm a bit dissappointed because we also had plans and actually bought costumes for Halloween and now may end up being rained out. For now we'll be carving pumpkins and making s'mores in front of a fire to pass the time.

Italy Series: Northern region// Venice

View of Santa Maria della Salute from boat on the Grand Canal. It is a Baroque architectural masterpiece and one of the largest churches in Venice

For this part of the Italy Series, we visit Venice. I'm happy to be doing this because its actually quite uplifting to revisit the this trip through pictures, the images I post can't fully capture the feelings and experiences, I actually have a lot on video but I will continue to try to select and post a few nice images from each trip. 

Piazza San Marco ( St. Mark's Square)

Venice is truly breathtaking, we left Termini station in Rome early in the morning by train and arrived in Santa Lucia trains station by midday, when we got off the train, I remember walking down to the boats and waiting to get a boat that would take us to Piazza San Marco via the Grand Canal. I didn't know what to expect since it was our first group trip and were just getting comfortable with Rome having only been there for two weeks. Compared to Rome, Venice seemed so open, you could see a lot of sky and water with great architecture in between. It was truly breathtaking. The ride on the boat was fun even though I was not looking forward to it, in Venice the isn't really anyway to avoid the boats

As we rode along, we could see Santa, Maria della Salute, San Giorgio Maggiore, The Campanile from a distance. I remember the intensity of Piazza San Marco, it was packed with people and pigeons, yes..thats right pigeons..more pigeons than anywhere I've ever been. In fact I remember trying to dodge them and get a picture without a flock in it! I digress. Anyway, it is extremely ornate, the scale of the domes unbelievable. The Doges's Palace utilizes repetition of as its architectural language and the gothic arch as its main element. The Basilica is adjacent to and connected to the Doges palace and is the main Cathedral of Venice. Its quite magical to view in the daytime and glows like gold in the evening. 

                                       

View of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore

At the end of the day first day, we took the boat back across the canal to our hotel and then went to dinner with Cinzia at a small restaurant over the Rialto bridge. It was funny because she left us to have dinner together after saying she was tired, we had no idea how to get back but I suppose thats what she wanted, it forced us to walk around and try to speak Italian in order to find our way home. Walking through the streets in Venice at night, you could here a pin drop, at one point it felt like I was on a movie set or somethingWe spent three days in Venice because in addition to seeing the city, we also wanted to go to the Venice Biennale which is the largest architectural exhibit in the world and take place every two years with a different theme and director. The theme that year was "Cities, architecture and Society", curated by Richard Burdett held at the Corderie dell'Arsenale venue. We spent an entire day there and still did not get throughout the exhibit, so we returned for another few hours on our third day there which was also my birthday. Imagine that, my birthday in Venice..it was nice, we had a group dinner and the actually got me a cake and sang happy birthday to me.

La Biennale di Venezia 2006- "Cities, architecture and society"

We spent some time sketching in the courtyard of this Querini Stampalia designed by Carlo Scarpa and walking through the museum spaces as well. Carlo Scarpa is known an Italian architect known for his meticulous detailing, material sensibility and integration of the landscape into his projects. While in the North of Italy we also visited the Brion Cemetery and Castelvecchio Museum which are famous works also by Scarpa.

La Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Architect Carlo Scarpa designed interior, exterior, and garden elements and spaces on the ground floor of the historic building.

Residential building on La Giudecca by Cino Zucchi Architects

Eventually we made our way over the an island (series of Islands) called La Guidecca which had been designed and redeveloped by Italian architect Cino Zucci in 1995-2002. Its a quiet, clean residential neigborhood, we strolled along looking a nicely detailed building which were very nice models compared to what we knew as "affordable" housing.

Residential buildings on La Giudecca by Cino Zucchi Architects

Storm king in Fall

Since moving to the Hudson Valley and starting a family, we've made an effort to explore what it has to offer and really try to enjoy every seasons best features. By far, my favorite season here is the Fall mainly because of the dramatic transformation of the landscape as time shifts. In October, we have made it a tradition to spend a day walking around the Storm King Art Center. The combination of cool breezes, warm sun, sounds of crunchy leave beneath your feet create a symphony for ones senses. While we meander through, the juxtaposition of large scale sculptures and a richly colorful backdrop, its easy to forget time and become fully immersed in experience.  Its quite breathtaking, its warming and just magnificently uplifting. Its certainly the kind of experience I would equate to the kind of appreciation children have for bubbles, a kind of simplicity thats so effortless. 

We've done this every year for four years and I look forward to this trip, this time we were joined by friend from Brooklyn, we packed a picnic and enjoyed a wonderful day catching up within this amazing space.