Tag: Wine

It has been a crazy year but I’m grateful for the little victories. You know how little drops make an ocean? My little victories, I believe will make a big one soon.

Christmas is here and it happens to be one of my favorite holidays. Do I believe Jesus was born on Dec 25th? No but I know some special people who were and I just enjoy the beauty if being able to eat fried rice and peppered meat. 

There is a joke amongst Nigerians that we cook our meat until it’s dead dead. This is because after seasoning our meat and boiling it, we usually fry or grill it before cooking it again in whatever soup or sauce it was prepared for. This is because it’s believed by Nigerian cooks that this process makes the food savory. I don’t know if it truly makes any dish any savory but with peppered meat, I enjoy my meat cooked, fried/grilled and cooked in the sauce again because coupled with the sweetness and spiciness, I like the chewiness of the meat; especially tripe. The amazing chewy goodness does something mind blowing to my taste buds.  

For this recipe, you may use any type of meat, I used assorted meat because I like to enjoy the different textures. Some are chewy, some soft and just out right delicious.  I remember a lady who went to an African restaurant and was offered “ass meat” She didn’t know what it was and she freaked out. I had to reach out to her and tell her that “ass meat” simply meant “assorted meat.” Assorted meat to a Nigerian is simply a mix of different types of meat. We love assorted meats because variety is really the spice of life. You don’t want your life to be boring, so why do you want the food on your plate to be so?

So go ahead, make this sweet and spicy goodness. Thrill your guests this Christmas season and become the talk of the day; but don’t try to outshine Jesus and His birthday mates

Easy peppered meat (Easy peasy Christmas)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Nma

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked assorted meat( I cooked the meat mix with garlic, ginger, white pepper, curry, thyme, salt, chili flakes and bouillon)
• 1 large tomato or 1tbsp tomato paste
• 4 bell peppers(any color)
• 1-2 large Habaneros
• 1 and ½ large onion
• 2 green onions
• 4 small garlic cloves
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp Cameroon pepper (chili flakes)(optional)
• ½ cup meat stock (this adds a rich flavor to the peppered meat)
• ½ cup oil(add more if you want to)

Instructions

1. chop tomato, bell peppers, 1 onion and garlic in a food processor or blender. Pour through a fine mesh sieve to drain out the excess liquid. You could boil the mix to dry out the liquid. I usually use a fine mesh sieve.
2. Pour oil into a sauce pan, slice in onion and sauté until translucent. Add the pepper mix and let it fry while stirring occasionally until the oil starts peeking through the tomato mix. (If using tomato paste, add it after the onions is translucent and fry for at least 5 minutes before adding the pepper mix) At this point, the mix will begin to taste sweet. Season with white pepper and ginger. Cook for another minute or two. Pour in your meat along with the meat stock. Check for seasonings and add salt and or bouillon. Reduce your cooking heat; then cover and cook while stirring occasionally. Oil will peek to the top. Drain any excess oil, add Cameroon pepper, stir and let cook for 2 minutes. enjoy

Notes

You may use water if you don’t have meat stock. I prefer using meat stock for flavor. When boiling your meat, you may use a Habanero pepper. Simply poke some holes into the pepper. It helps the stock to be very flavorful

You could fry or grill your meat after boiling. Adding just boiled meat to the peppered mix is okay

3.2.2925

Both Washington and Oregon vintners weathered a hot, dry summer in 2018, and even drifting smoke from wildfires in other regions. But timely rains and cooler temperatures in early fall led to lovely fruit and potentially great wines.

Welcome to Wine Spectator’s 2018 Wine Harvest Report, our coverage of Northern Hemisphere wine regions. (Our Southern Hemisphere 2018 harvest reports were published earlier this year.) While we won’t know how good a vintage is until we taste the finished wines, these reports offer firsthand accounts from top winemakers in leading regions.

Oregon sees smoke, but also promising wines

Willamette Valley’s winemakers are accustomed to curve balls in the weather, especially during harvest, but 2018 is the fifth year in a row that nature cooperated. “It was a beautiful year,” said veteran winemaker Ken Wright of Ken Wright Cellars, a man who’s typically blunt about a vintage’s flaws.

Josh Bergström of Bergström Wines agreed. “Oregon has never seen so much sunshine,” he said. It was also one of the largest Oregon harvests on record.

The growing season was uneventful in the early months. Budbreak and bloom progressed smoothly. May was dry by Oregon standards and there was little or no rain in summer, which was also unusually sunny. “It wasn’t as hot [overall] as 2016 or 2017,” Wright said. “But throughout the summer it was crazy dry and crazy hot.”

Those conditions touched off numerous wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, first in southern Oregon in July and then British Columbia and eastern Washington in August. As a result, a haze of smoke hovered over large parts of Willamette Valley for several days. Smoke taint doesn’t appear to be an issue, winemakers said, although it can be difficult to identify early in the winemaking process.

By mid-September the vines were weary from too much sun and not enough water, and began shutting down as ripening stalled. Growers and winemakers started to worry, but then a half an inch of rain arrived, reviving stressed vines. What followed was about two weeks of cool nights and warm but not blistering days. “That cooling kind of saved us,” said Argyle winemaker Nate Klostermann. “If we hadn’t had cooler weather, it might have been off the charts, ripeness-wise.”

As temperatures warmed again, harvest moved into a fast gear, with white and red grapes ripening quickly. “It was very compact at that point,” Klostermann said.

Most vintners were pleased with their Pinot. Bergström was a bit concerned with tannins, because of the hot and dry conditions. “We suspected they might be hard and bitter,” he said. Bergström has increasingly used a higher percentage of whole-cluster fermentation as recent vintages have grown warmer. This year he decided to go 100 percent for the entire crop. “The tannins are finely knit but there’s structure,” he said. “The Pinots are deeply colored and rich.”

Despite the warmer than typical weather, Klostermann said his Pinots retained a much higher level of acidity than recent vintages. “There’s lots of purity from the Pinot Noir. They’re harmonious and balanced,” he said.

Courtesy Argyle

Oregon Pinot Noir grapes await picking.

Washington withstands the heat

To the north, 2018 delivered a kind growing season for Washington vintners. “The first surprise was how long it lasted,” said Mike Januik, winemaker at Novelty Hill and Januik wineries. “But it was a great vintage overall.”

As in Oregon, Washington experienced a warm growing season, but one balanced by moderate weather as harvest approached. “It was a hot start to the vintage and for a while we thought it would be the hottest on record,” said Juan Muñoz-Oca, head winemaker at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

“In June we had very nice weather, and then it got hot all of July and most of August,” said Cayuse winemaker Christophe Baron.

Just before Labor Day, a brief rain shower moved through the state. It brought a breath of cooler air that lasted through much of September and October. “The weather was just perfect,” said Muñoz-Oca. “It was warm, but not hot, during the day and really cold at night.”

Ripening slowed, allowing more time for the grapes to develop mature flavors and for the white grapes to retain freshness and acidity. When it finally came time for harvest to start, Baron said, “The vines were just cruising. They were not under any stress.”

Januik said it was a particularly good year for Cabernet Sauvignon. “Especially Red Mountain,” he added. Syrah and other Rhône-style reds thrived in Walla Walla. “Especially in The Rocks [region],” said Baron. “There’s a big tannin profile but nice, ripe tannins and very pure and full of fruit.”

In the end, the 2018 crop was larger than expected, but by all early indications quality is high. Washington winemakers and growers aren’t complaining.

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