Four valentine’s day treats you can make at home

Valentine is just around the corner and the stores are littered with red roses, heart-shaped treats, and there is love in the air.

You can definitely feel it! There are so many ways to celebrate and make Valentine’s Day special and I have always believed the way to anyone’s heart (mine especially) is through the stomach.

If you are looking for delicious, easy and heart warming treats for someone special, then look no further. You do not need to go above and beyond, use what your have but be creative about it – it’s all in the details and what’s more, it’s the thought that counts.

Tell her ‘I ‘Yam’ for you’ with breakfast in bed
If you will be spending the morning in bed, perhaps you should consider preparing yam and eggs but just with a little twist. You have the option of boiled yam or fried yam. You are also free to use potatoes but I find that yam holds out the shapes better.

TOOLS

Knife
Heart-shaped Stainless Steel Cookie Cutter (Cuts sharper through yam)

INGREDIENTS

5 thin slices of Yam
1 Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Seasoning
1 Cup Vegetable Oil

PREPARATION

      Wash and dab yams dry with a kitchen tissue and place on a plain surface, preferably a chopping board
      Use the cookie cutter to create heart shapes, as many as you can on a piece of yam (The number you get off each slice will depend on the size of the cookie cutter you have)

 Soak yam in water, add some salt and seasoning and leave for 30 minutes to an hour.
  After soaking the yam for 30 minutes to an hour, place in a colander to drain.
    In a frying pan (deep fryer if you have one), add vegetable oil and allow to heat up. This should take about 3 minutes.
   Add the heart-shaped slices to the frying pan and allow to deep fry for 7 minutes, till it is cooked – it will have a slight golden colour to it.
   Place a paper towel on a dish and transfer the cooked yams on it so that extra oil will be absorbed.
Serve hot with the “Hot For You Sauce.”

Hot for you sauce
If you can handle the heat, delight your special one with this fiery hot for you sauce. Be sure to place a “HOT FOR YOU” tag on the serving tray – it adds a nice touch.

INGREDIENTS
5 Plum Tomatoes
3 Scotch Bonnet Pepper
½ Teaspoon Cameroon Pepper
1 Bulb White Onions Sliced
1 Bulb Red Onions
1Teaspoon Ginger Finely Chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper Chopped
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Thyme
1 Teaspoon Curry
10 Chicken Wings
¼ Cup Vegetable Oil

PREPARATION

      Rub the chicken wings with salt and a bit of vegetable oil then transfer to a pre-heated oven and grill/bake for 30 minutes.
      Blend tomatoes, red Onion, scotch bonnet pepper and coil till most of the water dries up.
      In a pan, add vegetable oil, heat it up for a minute then add onions and fry till it is translucent.
      Add ginger, garlic and green pepper, thyme, curry and fry for a minute. Add tomato blend, salt, seasoning then cook for 10 minutes.
      Add oven-grilled chicken wings to the sauce and allow cook for a further 15 minutes (till the oil starts to separate)
      Serve with yam

Eggspecially For You
There are countless ways to cook eggs but this one is special and really simple.

INGREDIENTS

1 Egg
A Pinch Of Salt
A Sprinkle of Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Vegetable Oil

TOOL

• 1 Heat-Resistant Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter or Heart-Shaped Egg Mould
• Place the cookie cutter in a frying pan, add the oil, then crack an egg into the cookie cutter.
• Keep the heat low so that the egg cooks through without burning.
• Sprinkle salt and black pepper on the egg
• You can cover the pan to enable a bit of heat cook the surface of the egg if you do not want to flip it over.

Serve with yam and sauce.

Zobo Pap’itations’
This is a delicious twist on the every day pap.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Pap
1/4 Cup Zobo Syrup (Dried Sorrel leaves boiled to reduction with water, pineapple, Ginger and Sweeterners)
1 Cup Hot Water

PREPARATION

In a pot, pour in the powdered pap and the zobo syrup, combine together till it forms a deep pink paste. While stirring, add boiling hot water to the pap mix and stir for a minute till it thickens. Serve on the side with blueberries or strawberries.