Sierra Leone (Africa) — coming next week

Sierra Leone is located in the continent of Africa. It has Guinea to the north, Côte D’Ivoire to the east, Liberia to the southeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and southwest, and Guinea-Bissau to the northwest.

The capital is Freetown.

The official language is English.

The climate is tropical and has rainy (May to October) and dry seasons.

The staple foods are rice and cassava, which are produced locally. They also have fish, chicken, eggs, palm oil and many imported foods (https://fews.net/west-africa/sierra-leone/market-fundamentals/february-2017#:~:text=The%20two%20main%20locally%20produced,(chicken)%20and%20ruminant%20meat).

https://www.britannica.com/place/Sierra-Leone

WEST AFRICAN OKRA SOUP (https://lowcarbafrica.com/okro-soup-african-okra-soup/):  

For Goat Meat:

            – 1lb. goat meat

            – 1 TBSP bouillon Powder

            – 1 tsp black pepper

            – ½ onion

            – 1 tsp salt

For Okra Soup:

            – 25 okra pieces (4 C chopped)

            – 1-1/2 C shrimp

            – 1 smoked catfish

            – ½ C palm oil

            – ½ onion

            – 2 TBSP lru locust bean, optional

            – 2 mini bell peppers

            – 1 TBSP bouillon powder

            – 1 tsp ground crayfish

            – 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or dry ground pepper

            – meat stock (can substitute with water)

            – 1 tsp salt

1. Wash the goat meat and place it in a large pot.
2. Chop half an onion and add salt, black pepper, bouillon powder.
3. Boil for about 30 minutes, stirring intermittently. The meat should be quite tender, but not too soft when done.
4. If applicable, soak the smoked catfish and locust bean, separately in hot water for about 5 minutes.
5. Break apart the smoked catfish and remove the bones.
6. Wash and drain the locust bean.
7. Trim the ends off the okra, wash, and pat dry.
8. Chop okra using a food processor and set aside.
9. Pour palm oil in a large pan on medium heat.
10.  Add onions and stir fry for 2 minutes till it turns just a bit brown.
11.  Add okra to the palm oil and stir for about 5 minutes.
12.  Pour in the meat stock from boiling the meat. You can add water if you don’t have any but might need to increase the spices added.
13.  Add the meat, shrimp, bell pepper, smoked catfish, and locust bean and bring to a boil.
14.  You can add or subtract anything on the list, just make your own!
15. Mix in the spices – black pepper, ground pepper, ground crayfish, bouillon powder, and salt.
16. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes if you are okay with a coarser texture, or a few minutes longer if you want a finer texture.
17. Add more salt or spices if you desire a stronger flavor.
18. Serve and enjoy with low carb fufu!

Here is how my Okra Soup turned out. Really good flavors all together!!

EASY FLATBREAD (https://recipesfromapantry.com/2-ingredient-flatbread-recipe/):  

            – 2 C self-rising flour

– 1 C natural yogurt

            – 2 tsp olive oil, optional but recommended

            – Optional add-ins (thyme, basil, parsley, cayenne pepper, rosemary, black pepper, stone house seasoning etc.).

1. Mix the flour, yogurt and oil (and any add-ins, if using) in a mixing bowl until combined.
2. Add dough to a floured work surface with flour and knead for a minute so it comes together.
3. Divide the bread dough into 8 pieces and roll these sections into balls.
4. Flatten each ball and then use a rolling pin to roll each piece into 3–4-inch rounds.
5. Preheat the air fryer to 300F, spray on a little oil and add your flatbread.
6. Place flatbread in the air fryer basket and cook each one for 8 to 9 minutes, turning them halfway through the cooking time. Sometimes they will puff up in the air fryer, so you may want to place a trivet on top to keep them flat and prevent them from being blown around.
7. Repeat until all the flatbreads are cooked.

I did the following add-ins: Cayenne pepper, and cardamom. They went really well with the soup!!

5-INGREDIENT KETO CHEESECAKE BITES (https://www.choczero.com/blogs/recipes/keto-cheesecake-bites):  

            – 8oz. cream cheese, softened

            – ½ C sugar free vanilla syrup

            – 1 tsp lemon juice

            – 1 C heavy whipping cream

            – 3-1/2oz. sugar free chocolate chips

1. Cream together cream cheese, sugar free vanilla syrup, and lemon juice until combined and smooth. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
3. Carefully fold in ½ the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until combined.
4. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream.
5. Scoop up 1-inch balls of cream cheese filling and place on a parchment lined baking tray. Place in the freezer to harden for 1-2 hours or overnight.
6. Once cream cheese balls have hardened, melt keto chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. (You can also melt chocolate chips using the double boiler method if desired.
7. Dip each cream cheese ball into the melted chocolate using a fork and place the ball back on the tray to cool. If cream cheese balls begin to get too soft to dip, replace them back in the freezer for several minutes to reharden.
8. Once all the cream cheese balls have been coated with chocolate, place in the freezer or refrigerator to solidify the chocolate coating.
9. Store chocolate covered cheesecake bites in the refrigerator.

Super easy to make and have a melt in your mouth kind of texture! VERY GOOD!!!

You will notice that I am trying to make more Keto or low carb meals. Just know that you can make any of these meals any way you would like. Low carb or not!