Toko Ebirim presents Nigeria foods
which boasts an impressive array of cuisines with about 250 ethnic groups
each offering their unique culinary traditions.
And we are comparing the uniqueness of Nigeria dishes with Asian dishes
Garlic Herb Roasted Salmon – best roasted salmon recipe ever! Made with butter, garlic, herb, lemon and dinner is ready in 20 minutes.
I can only grow so much. Only certain kinds of vegetables can be grown where I live. And I cannot live on just vegetables. So lots of things I would still have to buy. It takes a huge amount of expertise to setup a garden. It is not just putting seeds in the ground when I realized that Gardening is good for Everyone. It is the time I have to learn about gardening.
Before setting up a garden these are the things to consider:
How to prepare the soil.
What to plant.
When to plant.
Where to plant.
What tools to use.
How to put the seeds in the ground. How far apart. Thinning out. When to harvest. It goes on and on. It’s a ton of unpleasant work. Weeding alone is an unending nightmare. It’s dirty, backbreaking labour, and you can’t ever neglect it or it all goes to hell. And this is to say nothing of the wide variety of critters that sneak in to eat your precious stuff. And even if you put yourself through all that, sometimes the damn things just don’t grow. Who knows why? And even if it all goes well, you have a new problem. What to do with all your produce? You can’t eat it all. So maybe you could preserve it. But now you have a whole new set of skills to learn, and there’s a chance of poisoning yourself with botulism.
Why don’t we grow our own food?
We do, it’s called farming.
If you mean why you personally don’t grow your own food, I really can’t tell because I don’t know you.
If you mean why people in rich countries generally don’t grow their own food, it’s mostly for efficiency reasons. It takes time, effort, tools and good land to grow a decent crop, and it’s more efficient that specialists do this and sell their produce to the rest of us than that we all do a crappy amateur work at home.
Do you repair your own car? Do you make your own movies? Do you build your own furniture and toys? Do you create all the web pages you wish to browse? Do you construct your own TV:s and radios to watch the movies you made earlier and listen to any radio shows you might have done?
I’m guessing you answered no to most of those (fairly silly) questions, and the reason is that it’s probably not worth your time and effort to do all that stuff when there are lots and lots of people who do it better and cheaper than you yourself can. The same goes for farming.
But the same way as it’s entirely possible to tinker a bit on your car, replacing light bulbs, tires and exhaust et c, it’s certainly possible to grow a small crop of vegetables yourself. It’s just not very easy to make enough to last you an entire year and in great enough variation that you won’t get sick from vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
Isn’t it nice to bit into a fresh red tomato and you can feel so proud that it came out of your garden. I know I am. I have been garden for over five years. I started when I was living in Kalamazoo, and I had an apartment. I wanted to start a hobby which I could benefit from my education because I have a degree in biology, so I feel that I should start a garden. I started my first garden in plastic planters and grew just a few different plants. Peppers and tomatoes were the easiest for me to grow. There were the practical reasons such as I like to eat peppers and tomatoes. I got a lemon seed to grow, also took some seeds from a cantaloupe to grow.
I started a small garden in planters, and I grew peppers. My wife also so she uses a lot of peppers in her cooking. Finally, I have a backyard, and so the first year I started working on my basic garden, I put it alongside the fence. I made a border with large stones I found in the backyard, tilled and turned over the ground with a spade. I filled it in with dirt from the back of the yard because it had the most fertile soil. A couple of years ago, I got lucky, and I found a whole bunch of starter containers in the trash. They ranged from smaller individual planters to large planters for trees. There was a collection of plant starter kits and flats that were real cost savings. I still look for them when I am driving around during the spring.
Everyone should have a garden; everyone benefits from better health: physically and mentally. It also provides a clean environment and saves energy, saves money and helps the economy, and it is an educational activity for both, the young and the old. Having a garden would be the best decision a person can make. There are a lot of benefits for a person, the community and the whole world which receives from having a garden. As a biologist, I have to look at the entire circle of life. It is my personal opinion that everyone has a moral obligation to have a garden; you could say you are saving the planet by having a garden. There is a myth that you have to have a green thumb. Gardening is a learning experience and process. You are not born as a gardener; you must learn how to garden.
“I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.” , from Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from an Old Manse.
Basic horticulture goes back ten thousand years to the Fertile Crescent with the domestication of wild plants and cultivation. So gardening is as old as civilization.
Gardening is fun and easy. Gardening doesn’t have to be a lot of work, but it does require some knowledge and patience. If you plan ahead the job isn’t too bad. If you plan over several months, you won’t be overwhelmed with work. I usually start in the fall. My garden I started was in the fall. I moved my stones in an outline of where I was going to plant my garden, then I started tilling. It is better to do the work in the fall because the ground will be easy to work, especially if the field is only partially thawed from the winter. You can also plant some of your seeds. You have to look at specific species of plants to know. If not then you can plant in the spring, this can be seeded. The ground will be already worked so it will be easy to plant. If you really don’t have the time you can buy plants from the nursery or grocery store. Once they are in the ground, you need to water, but the plants will grow without any assistance.
Gardening provides health and tasty fresh vegetables for the dinner table. Whether you are organic gardening or not there is a real benefit. You know where your food is coming from. The only person handling your food is you. You decide whether or not to use fertilizer or pesticide. And even if you do use it, you control how much, and how often. The vegetables will be allowed to ripen on the vine, and not having to pick early, therefore having underripe vegetables because of shipping. You can also select the types of vegetables and the variety of vegetables you want to plant. As an example, there are several varieties of tomatoes to choose from, and that fact remains for several vegetables. There are “Hundreds of varieties of Heirloom Tomato seeds and open-pollinated vegetable seeds for your garden,” quoting Bob Price also known as Tomato Bob from his website TomatoBob.com. This means a variety of tastes. The taste can vary significantly between plant breeds. You also don’t have to worry about GMO or genetically modified organism getting into your garden or the environment.
Gardening is inexpensive. Some people think gardening is expensive. The cost can vary, but it can be very reasonable. Again this requires planning. If you save seeds even from the vegetables, you buy from the store or use seeds from the spice rack that can save you money. You can purchase seeds from several suppliers, but the cost isn’t that great. You can also trade seeds with friends and family. You can save seeds between seasons. Plastic planters can be reused from season to season as well as rescuing them from the trash if your neighbor throws them out. Building a border can be made from stones, bricks, broken cement, even branches and sticks may be used. The most significant cost is water. You can store and save rainwater using old barrels, and if you have the time, you could build a cistern.
The garden benefits the environment. The plants you are cultivating contribute to the environment. As most people know plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen which reduces greenhouse gases thereby reducing the carbon footprint. Growing your vegetables you also use up less energy because you are not transporting those same vegetables from the field to the market. It also brings in wildlife such as birds and bees. The garden also provides a calming and a serene scene which has a psychological benefit to the gardener and for the community. The gardener also has to interact with the environment of the garden by working the land: watering, and weeding. Along with other activities such as fertilizing or composting. The gardener gains health benefits from the exercise and business in the garden.
Gardening can provide a learning opportunity for adults and children. Children are always curious about where their food comes from. Some children if you asked them where their food on their table comes from, they might say the supermarket. Nothing is more exciting for children to water, wait and watch a seed poke through the black soil into a young plant. Then later in the season, they can watch the fruits develop on the vine. This also encourages those same children to try new vegetables because it is something they have grown. You also learn ways to prepare food as you explore those new vegetables and new breeds of vegetables you have never tried.
There is an economic benefit for the gardener. Growing your own vegetables can save money if you plan carefully. Depending on the yield of each plant you will have a lot of vegetables over the summer and into the fall. You can put up those vegetables for the winter by pickling, freezing, canning, and drying. Also, gardening brings the community closer together. Plants can be traded and shared. You can help your community establish a community garden open to all. This is an excellent way to provide food to those in need by leaving it open to gleaners. Gardening is a low-cost hobby and activity with many benefits. Growing fresh vegetable are healthier and tastier to eat. The gardener also can experience new vegetables and new breeds of vegetables. The environment benefits from the new plants as well as the gardener and community by beautifying the landscape. If everyone gardens then everyone would save money from the vegetables they are growing, along with sharing what they produce, building a healthier and happier community, maybe changing our relationship with each other and with the environment. Garden is also an excellent way of teaching some basic biology, and ecology to children young and old. If everyone garden, we the gardeners might change the world, so get involved.
Indonesia is a socially rich country that is brimming with magnificence and pageantry, which will leave anybody in wonderment at the neighborliness and generosity of its residents.
On the off chance that you want motivation to visit here, food would be an incredible one!! The roads here are weighed down with heaps of finger licking’ and lip-smacking great food, making any traveler or guest return for more! The staple food of Indonesians being rice, you will get different dishes with the Rice being its spirit.
A large dish of rice sits at the center of the platter in a typical Indonesian household. It is surrounded by a spicy mixture of vegetables, a variety of meat and seafood cooked with authentic Indonesian spices, and the rice.
Indonesia being home to a huge Muslim people group, and many spots serve the ‘Halal’ type of meat and limit pork dishes as it is prohibited to eat according to the Muslim strict principles. In any case, a few areas of Indonesia truly do serve non-Halal meat and pork too.
The national dish of Indonesia is bound to be sold on every “Warung” – the street stalls or the “Rumah Makan” – the restaurants of Indonesia. It has everything in it.
1. Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)
Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)
In Indonesia wholesome dish serves fried rice in combination with chicken meat, boiled eggs slices, shrimp, lamb, and crabs, diced vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, stink beans, tomatoes, shallots, ginger, and garlic, and flavored with rich spices and sauces like soy sauce, chilly red sauce or the traditional “kecap”. It is garnished with egg or tomato slices, a dash of lemon juice, and crispy Indonesian snacks called Krupuk crackers.
Places where satay is served: Jakarta and other parts of Indoesia. Time when Satay can be served: Between 6:30 to 22:00 WIB(West Indonesia Time)
2. Satay
Satay
Chicken is one of the most versatile meats on the planet, and satay is an almost emblematic food of Jakarta and Indonesia. Satay is a dish where chicken marinated with sweet soy sauce is put on skewers and barbequed until it is grilled to perfection. It is served with peanut sauce topped with garlic flakes and serves as a good appetizer. The satays are made normally from meat, but beef, chicken, lamb, turtle meat, fish, and pork are also used for their different variations. Try these saucy-dipped skewers garnished with fried crispy onions, and you will never forget Indonesia for such a delightful treat. The secret of this flavorful taste is the typical Indonesian style of grilling Satay over the burning charcoals.
Places where satay is served: Sate Padang Ajo Ramon, Kota Jakarta Selatan Time when Satay can be served: Between 16:00 to 22:00 WIB(West Indonesia Time)
3. Bubur Ayam (Chicken Congee)
Bubur Ayam (Chicken Congee)
This is the epitome of all porridges. It is a porridge with fried crackers, fried soybeans, tofu, and finely shredded chicken. Adding chicken broth gives it a new taste of flavor.
Places where Bubur is served: Bubur ayam barito, Kota Jakarta Selatan Time when Bubur can be served: Between 16:30 to 23:30 WIB(West Indonesia Time)
4. Martabak (Stuffed Pancake)
Martabak (Stuffed Pancake
Martabak is the Indonesian version of a pancake stuffed with tons of toppings like Toblerone, peanuts, Nutella, chocolate sprinkles, butter, cheese, and condensed milk. The pancake is folded in half and cut through evenly such that the toppings remain in the middle, causing the flavors to explode and leaving you in a state of contentment, making you savor every bite of this dessert. This food in Jakarta was originally brought around by the immigrant Muslim population from the Indian subcontinent and has taken over the food scene in Indonesia by storm.
Places where Martabak is served: Martabak boss, Wahid hasyim street Time when Martabak can be served: Between 11:00 to 22:30 WIB(West Indonesia Time)
5. Nasi Padang
Nasi Padang
This is a rich food in Indonesia especially in Jakarta, which one has to try when they go to Jakarta and is a culinary experience not-to-be-missed! Different vegetables, like Peppers, Onions, etc., are cooked in sweet coconut milk to prepare varieties of curries. Different Indonesian herbs and spices are also added to give each curry a unique and yummylicious taste. It is a good combination of rice and flavorful curries to be eaten together. An assortment of around 14 to 16 dishes is kept, and you only pay for what you eat!
Places where Nasi Padang is served: Rumah Makan Sederhana(Simple Reastuarant), Melawai Time when Nasi Padang can be served: Between 11:00 to 22:30 WIB(West Indonesia Time).
6. Ikan Bakar (Barbecued Fish)
Ikan Bakar (Barbecued Fish)
This can aslo be called grilled fish in English. You can select a fish of your choice, then it is marinated with turmeric, chili, and garlic sauces, among other seasonings. It is then smoked with charcoal to make the fish gain a charred taste. The meat is tender and succulent, causing it to melt in your mouth. It is usually served with sambal.
Places where Ikan Bakar is served: Ikan babar cianjur, Cipete Time when Ikan Bakar can be served: Between 10:00 to 22:30 WIB(West Indonesia Time).
7. Ketoprak (Vermicelli Tofu Salad)
Ketoprak (Vermicelli Tofu Salad)
Food in Indonesia is decadent, rich, and always filling, and Ketoprak is a one example of this rich food of Indonesia. This dish comprises rice balls, tofu, vegetables, and rice noodles to which an omelet or boiled egg is added. It is topped with fried crackers, peanut,s and soy sauce.You can go to Glodok to the intersection of Jalan Pancoran and Jalan Kemenangan, a food market is there where you can find amazing Ketoprak
Places where Ikan Ketoprak is served: Ketoprak Ciragil, Kebayoran Baru (opens 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM); Time when Ketoprak can be served: Between 09:00 to 17:30 WIB(West Indonesia Time).
8. Beef Ribs
Beef Ribs
Beef Ribs as an appetizer. Massive chunks of beef holding onto the ribs are grilled to perfection and served with a rich, creamy peanut sauce and beef broth. The meat is tender and falls right off the bone. Rice can also be had with it as a supplement.This scrumptious food of Jakarta works wonders
Places where Beef Ribs is served: Sop Konro Karebosi Kelapa Gading, Kota Jkt Utara Time when Beef Ribs can be served: Between 10:00 to 22:30 WIB(West Indonesia Time).
9. Mud Crabs
Mud Crabs
Mud crabs is served in various forms , such as smoked mud crabs, salted egg crabs, and chili crabs, are available in Jakarta. The smoked mud crab is first fried in onion, ginger, egg, different sauces, and coconut milk. It’s wrapped in banana leaves and smoked to infuse the charred taste into the crab. Truly, a mouthwatering dish!
Places where Mud Crabs is served: Wiro Sableng, Kelapa Gading Time when Mud Crabs can be served: Between 10:00 to 22:30 WIB(West Indonesia Time).
10. Mie Ayam (Indonesian Ramen)
Bubur Ayam (Chicken Congee)
Mie Ayam is good for breakfast option. This is chicken noodles tossed in with loads of other vegetables, garlic, chili, and peanut sauces. This is a specialty of the locals and something that you should definitely look out for.
Places where Mie Ayam is served: Jalan Pluit Karang Timur Blok, Penjaringan Time when Mie Ayam can be served: Between 06:30 to 22:00 WIB(West Indonesia Time).
Meal is food that is readily cooked and ready to eat straight away. The meaning is the same as food but has a different meaning. Meal itself is more about food that is ready to eat, already cooked, just eat it. If food is more universal, food that is cooked or not, food for animals or humans, we can use the word food. Food is food that we know in general for all living creatures, both humans and animals. Food is also divided into two types, namely animal (from animals) or vegetable (plants).
In indonesia there are various types of foods been served in various restaurants. This foods varies as the culture varies such foods as Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice), Satay,Bubur Ayam (Chicken Congee),Martabak (Stuffed Pancake),Nasi Padang,Ikan Bakar (Barbecued Fish),Ketoprak (Vermicelli Tofu Salad),Beef Ribs.
Breakfast
Breakfast is food served in the morning or known as breakfast. Generally, people will have breakfast before starting their
work activities. This breakfast is served between 07 and 9.30 am. This can be light food to make the person smart at work.
Lunch
In Indonesia Lunch is served between 12 and 2.30 pm. usually the food served at this “lunch” is heavier and rich in nutrients.
This can be a local food or western food. The most of the food is a local food as the local foods are heavier than the western foods.
Dinner
Dinner is a meal that is nutritionally heavier and is served in the evening. Usually, dinner is served from 18.00 to 21.30 here the food is mixed with fruit juice and water.
In Jakarta there are many fruits, vegetables and foods which you can make choice from it. However, the menu served is varied and rich in nutrition based on the food content and the type of ingredients applied.
Supper
Supper is food served at midnight between 21.30 and above. There are restaurants that serves 24/7, this type of food is mainly for those on night duty.
Sometimes during the Ramadan period as the take food before fasting and when you are in Indonesia, you can witness the increased night life and movement during the Ramadan and this is mainly for the people to get food and get ready for the next day meal. Usually, people who eat this “soup” still feel dissatisfied or are still very hungry.
Shrimp can be cooked with vegetables such as spinach, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms to make a delicious stir fry. This time, stir-fried vegetable shrimp is cooked with garlic, ginger, red chilies, vegetable oil, spring onions and lime. Stir-fried vegetable shrimp can be served with white rice and add side dishes such as omelettes. Check out the following recipe for stir-fried vegetable shrimp, quoted from the book “5 Ingredient Stir-Fried Dishes” (2013) by Dapur Kirana published by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Vegetable shrimp stir fry recipe Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 cloves of garlic, crushed, small slices 2 cm ginger, small slices 4 red chilies, seeds removed, thinly sliced obliquely 40 cm white part of spring onion, thinly sliced 200 grams of bok choy, 10 shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced 16 large prawns, peeled 1 lime, squeeze the juice 100 grams of spinach leaves
How to make stir-fried vegetables:
Heat oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat, sauté garlic, ginger and red chilies. Add spring onions, bok choy and mushrooms. Saute for five minutes. Add the shrimp, cook again for five minutes, until the shrimp are cooked. Pour in the lime and spinach leaves. Stir, lift.
Serve immediately with hot rice. The book “5 Ingredient Stir-Fried Dishes” (2013) by Dapur Kirana published by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama can be purchased online at Gramedia.com.
Chamomile tea is known for its benefits for sound sleep and offers a variety of other health benefits. Not only for sleeping soundly, chamomile is also good for digestion. Apart from that, chamomile tea contains many antioxidants which play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer. Check out the health benefits of drinking chamomile tea, quoted from the Healthline page, below in full.
Improves sleep quality. Chamomile tea contains antioxidants which can increase sleepiness and reduce insomnia. Drinking chamomile tea has been shown to improve sleep quality.
Improves digestive health. Chamomile tea can protect the body from diarrhea, stomach ulcers, nausea and gas possibly due to its anti-inflammatory effects.
Protects against cancer. Chamomile tea contains the antioxidant apigenin which can help reduce inflammation and reduce the risk of several types of cancer.
Control blood sugar. The anti-inflammatory effects of chamomile tea can improve blood sugar control, especially when consumed with food.
Improves heart health. Various types of antioxidants such as flavones are also contained in chamomile tea which play a role in improving heart health.
