Soursop Goodness

Hullo!

 

This post is about my most favourite fruit in the world, The Soursop.

 

Soursop

 

You know how sometimes, you're bummed that because we live in the tropics, we can't get easy access to some yummy looking fruits we read and hear about such as the berries, pomegranates, celery (this pains me a lot), kiwi fruits, etc of this world? Well, be glad because there are some yummy juicy fruit we have easy access to here in the tropics that others on the outside are clueless about such as the Cocoa, Ube, Agbalumo (African Star fruit) and the Soursop! I have a friend in the UK who constantly pleads to get soursop shipped from here to her. Awwwww *slurps soursop*.

 

Whenever I think of the Soursop, my mind always remembers breadfruit. I ate a lot of breadfruit as a kid. My mum loved to buy them when she returned from work. She'd fry or cook it. I hated it! I don't think she ever realised this. From the moment I heard there was a Breadfruit Street on Lagos Island, I always assumed that was where all the breadfruit in Lagos was sold because my mum always seemed to produce those things out of nowhere. I don't think breadfruit is being sold in Nigeria anymore. I haven't seen one in many years. I'm not sure if I'm glad about that now. I know I still hate it because I still sort of remember the smell and taste but I'd still love to see one again.

 

Well, Soursop looks a lot like breadfruit. But the similarities stop on the outside. They are both dark green fruits with thorns on the outside. But that is where the similarities stop. Where breadfruit is round, soursop is shapeless much like an amoeba. Breadfruit often comes in larger sizes than the soursop. On the inside, breadfruit, I remember was usually cream in colour with little holes and was usually dry. It always reminded me of yam. The soursop on the other hand is white on the inside and really juicy. It also comes in big seeds. I'm not certain if breadfruit is really a fruit though even though it is called so. I don't think it can be eaten raw as my mum always cooked it in some way either by frying or boiling.

 

Breadfruit

 

Let's not get carried away. This post is not about breadfruit. It's about the goodness that is soursop. And oh, what goodness! It is yummy, juicy, delicious fruit that has lots of health benefits. Great combo.

 

I discovered the goodness of soursop sometime in 2001 and I have not looked back ever since. I was on Lagos Island during the week and spotted a woman selling some. I always buy soursop whenever I see them unless I'm in a moving vehicle. This is because even as we are in the tropics, it still is a fruit that is not sold at every corner. It is often sold by random women and in little quantity. I think it is also a seasonal fruit as it disappears sometimes and reappears. I have however noticed some places which I tend to see them such as Lagos Island this includes Sangrose Market, Sura market, Balogun Street and around Apongbon. Also, I have noticed it in Oyingbo market a few times. I have also noticed that it is often sold by women who sell avocado so that may help.

 

I keep saying that there is nothing sour about this sop. I don't know why it was given the 'sour' bit. Unless the one that's being grown here has sort of mutated in taste a bit with the environment. I don't know. The only thing I can use to compare the taste of soursop is perhaps icecream. No, it is not as sweet as icecream but I think the colour and consistency make me think so. Imagine it as a smoothie.

 

Soursop has many health benefits. It is rich in carbohydrates, fructose and vitamins. It is a very good source of fibre and contains no saturated fats. Favourite thing about soursop so far is that it cures cancer. No jokes. I didn't just read this off the internet. I have an aunt who was battling colon cancer in the UK 3 years ago. I didn't know she had this until afterwards because everyone was quite hush about it. But I did notice she was making a lot of orders from here for soursop and the dried soursop leaves. Glory to The Almighty Father, she's hale and hearty now. And whenever she talks about it, she says most of what she used were African herbs and soursop was one of them.

 

Here are some health benefits of soursop:

 

1. Cures cancer: Had to be number 1. Soursop is said to be 10,000 better than chemo as it kills cancer cells and leaves the healthy ones unlike chemo. No weight loss or hair loss either.

 

2. Immune system booster

 

3. High in vitamin C which is an anti-oxidant

 

4. Cures kidney and liver diseases

 

5. Rich in fibre

 

6. Free from saturated fats

 

7. Ideal for a healthy heart.

 

But then, don't take my word for it. I am not doctor. This information is all over the internet.

 

So, back to the soursop I bought. Here's how you can tell that your soursop is ready to eat. It is no longer dark green but now has a yellowish green colour AND is soft when pressed. I learnt this the hard way. Yesterday, after my excitement of finding soursop 2 days in a week, I was so eager to make a smoothie out of a second soursop I bought. Even though it looked yellowish green on the outside, it was still hard when pressed. I convinced myself that it was ripe enough. I took my knife and cut it in two and I was totally bummed. It was unripe. All I had needed to do was to wait an extra day. There are few things in life more painful than an open unripe soursop. :(

 

For a ripe soursop, however, you cut open the fruit and devour the succulent meat while removing the seeds, of course. Unless you're like my mum who enjoys eating the seeds of fruits. She says they usually contain more nutrients. I'll pass.

 

Juicy soursop

 

I ate a whole soursop that night. Huge mistake. Don't be a glutton like me. It gave me diarrhea the next morning and I suffered some dizziness. I think it contains too much natural sugars for anyone to over indulge in at night so watch it. For this same reason, I don't think it'll be a very good weight loss dietary meal.

 

 

Do note, however, that some unconfirmed studies say a possible side effect of Soursop is Parkinson's Disease. Moderation is key noni.

 

 

Ciao!

Stay beautiful and eat soursop!

 

Barka d' Sallah to all muslims.

Oh, Look, Cocoa! Hey, feel, Softness!

Hey people!

Before I go into anything, we have more than 1000 views on le blog! *shakes shekere* *dances the Funky Chicken* *side-eyes other bloggers with 10s of thousands of view wondering why the excitement*. Many thanks for the clicks on this blog. They are much appreciated. Do come again :D

 

I should have written this post several days ago but I am getting lazy. Still, hair I am! Tehe!

Last week Wednesday, I tried bantu knot outs AGAIN! It looked promising at first then did a fast downwards spiral when it got to the 'out' stage. *sigh*.



Bantu Knots night before: Looking good

 

Unravelling the knots next day: Looking even better



Further unravelling to give body: What is This??!




[source]

I eventually put a comb through the thing. We trudge on.

 

So I set off after this hair mishap to get to e-centre at Yaba. I only went to see Pacific Rim and Despicable Me and ended up not only seeing those but parted with so much money on some impromptu shopping. Chai! *bites finger in memory of surviving account balance* I won't go into details on that but a little fraction of the money got spent on this hair AGAIN!

 

On my way to the mall centre plaza (really, what do you call that place), I made the most amazing discovery. A woman selling Cocoa right smack in the middle of Montgomery Street! She had so many! I immediately thought of some cocoa butter and made a detour towards her. She spoke no English, which was fine. I got one big cocoa for N200. I really wasn't sure what to do with it or how I was going to extract any butter from it but I was curious enough. She told me throw the cocoa pod on hard ground in order to be able to break it and that I shouldn't bother with a knife as it wasn't going to crack it. Then she said I was to lick the seeds. Interesting.

On getting to e-centre, after the movies, I did a quick dance to my new favourite store, Health Plus Pharmacy and parted with about 2000 naira in exchange for a bottle of Almond Oil and a bottle of Natur Vital Sage Conditioner. I know I had just bought a new conditioner like 2 days before that but I'd explain why I bought this Natur Vital version.

Next day, I broke the cocoa pod just like the woman said to do. Threw it on hard ground while wrapped in a nylon bag and it easily split in two. Upon opening the pod, it revealed about 30 or so seeds covered in white succulent juice. I looked inside to see if I would find some butter but other than the seeds, all that was left was a hard interior. I then went on Google and searched. Google Google on the Web, where is the butter? Well, it would seem that the butter is actually gotten from the seeds. The seeds are dried and fermented and the butter is extracted. Oh well. If there was no butter, those seeds needed some licking! I dug in.

 

The taste was so nice. Very little anything to use to compare it. It tasted nothing like chocolate. I thought it would but my research revealed that all those chocolatey taste, smell, colour all come from the seeds after drying and extracting. If you see anyone selling these, please buy it. Everyone needs to know what cocoa seeds taste like. Weird that it's not commonly seen in Lagos even as it is widely grown in the South-West.

Pocketful of sunshine

As for the almond oil, I know I've been buying a lot of oils lately but I felt I needed this one. Almond oil is really good as a carrier oil for the hair as it is a good sealant and good for hair growth and thickening hair ;). I wanted to get some Jojoba oil too but it cost N4300! I did a quick 180degrees.



200ml/N1200

You have probably only heard of Sweet Almond Oil as being good for hair. Well, this Almond Oil is the same as Sweet Almond Oil. Here's how you can tell the difference. If it's a carrier oil or oil in a big carrier oil sized bottle labelled 'Almond Oil', it is the Sweet Almond Oil. Where you find it as an essential oil though, that is Bitter Almond Oil. Sweet Almond Oil is the carrier oil while Bitter Almond Oil is an essential oil. No need to fret when you see just plain 'Almond Oil'. :)

 

When I bought the Natur Vital Sage Conditioner, I was actually looking for a good leave-in and then my eyes caught this. I've always known Natur Vital as my mum is a loyal customer and they are known for using natural ingredients for their products. I remember the one time I wanted to buy the Shampoo though, it had sulfates so I never went near it after that. This time though, I discovered that this particular conditioner had no silicones or parabens or colourants or preservatives or mineral oil in its ingredients but even boasted to containing "100% organically grown Ginseng and Sage extracts". I was sold at that point.

N880

[click for a closer view]

 

So, I did a quick comparison of both the V05 Tea Therapy Blackberry and Sage Conditioner against the Natur Vital Sage Conditioner. I used the V05 on one half of my hair and the Natur Vital on the other half. Here's a quick review:

 

V05 Tea Therapy Conditioner:

• Smelled AMAZING! Blackberries.
• Had lots of slip
• Detangling was a breeze
• My hair still smelled of blackberries after rinsing out.
• Light conditioner. A bit watery.
• My hair was left soft afterwards
• Contains sage which is very good for scalp health and hair growth

 

Natur Vital Sage Conditioner:

• No striking scent
• Really thick consistency
• A little went a long way
• Gave good slip
• Its thickness makes it good for deep conditioning
• My hair was left soft afterwards
• Contains certified organic sage which is very good for scalp health and hair growth

My verdict: Both are fantastic! I'm glad I own them. The scales tilt a little more towards the Natur Vital for me though because of its thickness and more natural contents.

 

As for my oils! (Bet you thought this post had ended, yeah? Don't be lazy!) Remember I got the Haitian Organic Castor Oil, Grapeseed Oil and Organix Argan Oil some time ago? Well, I tried them all out.

 

Organix Argan Oil: Contains cones. In fact, those cones are the first 3 items before you get to the Argan Oil itself on the ingredients section. Because of these, I haven't really opened my heart towards this. But I did notice a bit of softness to my hair whenever I used it. Smells nice. I wouldn't use it often. Because of the fear of build up, I washed my hair more often.

 

Grapeseed Oil: Of all the oils I bought, I expected the most out of this and found it to be somewhat disappointing. My biggest frustration with it? It's too light! It's so light that you need a lot. A bit annoying as I bought a small quantity of it, 2oz. And even after putting what you feel is a lot, you still feel like you don't have oil in your hair. It hardly locked up any moisture for me. And surprisingly, whenever I used it, my hair super itched! This surprised me greatly as I thought it was supposed to do the reverse and it was mixed with tea tree oil. Smh. Too poor. I later found that Grapeseed oil is suitable for people with fine hair. Only means I don't have fine hair.

 

Haitian Castor Oil: This seems to hold the most promise. It claims to be organic unrefined castor oil. It is refreshingly thick especially when you're coming from the water that is Grapeseed oil. I usually put Castor oil on my scalp as it is heavy on my hair most times but with this oil, I decided to put it on my hair. It made my coils pop! So exciting! I loved it. And the softness it gave to my hair... It's a winner. I'm still applying it to my edges though with the hope that it'll do a miracle.

 

My verdict: Yes, Haitian Castor Oil, Yes!!!

So, after the test of my 2 new conditioners, I did a combination of all my oils and made twist-outs in my hair. I unravelled the twist outs on Monday morning and I had my first perfect twist-outs! I couldn't believe it! Something is finally working and I'm so glad. Not only that, I had never seen my hair have such incredible softness. I used to think my hair was soft. Now, I know it wasn't. My hair was left tangle-free too which I never have after my unsuccessful twist-outs. Amen to whatever did the magic (this includes my 2 new conditioners and my too many oils). I tried uploading the pictures but they're particularly heavy and my internet was suffering. Will do in some later posts. But still, this was how I felt after my twist-outs.

I have definitely seen the light [source]

 

I know. Long post. Don't complain. You should read more. :P

 

Ciao!

Stay beautiful and seek out cocoa!

 

Peppered Gizzard for the Motivation



My good people

Remember the gizzard that got left over from this meal? Well, this is what I made over it. Good old ever loved peppered gizzard.

I got the recipe off 9jafoodie's blog so you can just get it there. It tasted absolutely delicious! The only difference I made was to pulse the pepper mix while blending and not a smooth blend. You should try it too.

Ciao people!

Organic Root Stimulator Edge Control - A Review

Hi guys,

 

I did promise in my last post to write a review of the Organic Root Stimulator Edge Control which I used to create my frohawk.

 

My sister was kind enough to send the product over to me to try out so I didn't buy it here. But I did spy it in the popular Alhaja's Shop some weeks back. The tag on it says £4.95 so it shouldn't be too different from that here.

 

The pack promises "superior hold and shine" and perfect control for your edges. It further promises moisture and excellent hold without hardening the hair.

 

WHAT IT CONTAINS: Some natural products and scientific name products. Of note are the fact that it contains parabens. If you are finicky about paraben free products, you may need to take a step back here.

 

So, I used this gel to sleek down my edges when I was styling and it did a pretty good job. My hair was not made stiff from it. It got the hold it needed. I also saw that a little went a long way with this one. So, I didn't have to pack on the gel. The hold was just fine. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the hairdo when I just styled it. It was also not greasy for me and gave good hold.

 

 

HOWEVER, about 4 hours or so after I had used this gel, I noticed it had turned to water or oil, I was not sure which. It had lost all forms of hold and just sat on my hair strands like that. Making itself totally useless. Many times, I tried to sleek it into my hair with my fingers but soon, it came out and just sat there. That was a bit ticking off. If it does provide moisture, shouldn't said moisture be absorbed into the hair?

That shine you see on the sleeked section? That's not shine. That's the gel. Just sitting there. Doing nothing.
[click on image for a closer view]

The gel is not too clear on this image but if you look closer, you'd notice a
whitish looking substance on the hair

 

PROS

• Non-greasy feel
• It didn't harden or stiffen my hair when I put it in
• It gave great hold when I put it in
• Smells delicious!
• A little goes a long way
• It is clear gel

CON

 

• Contains parabens
• Hold lasted only for a few hours
• Its claim to provide moisture is questionable 

I won't be throwing it away. I may use it for a style I don't intend wearing for too long and wash my hair afterwards.

 

 ASIDE:

I'm out of my V05 Moisturising Milk Conditioner so I went on a hunt for it today. I found very few of the conditioner and no moisture milk variance. I wasn't sure which to get. When I spied the back of the V05 Tea Therapy Revitalizing Conditioner where it read "revitalizing formula, with blackberry and sage extracts, gives hair volume and bounce" though, I quickly grabbed that off the shelf. You know how I'm presently hunting for some volume.

 

[click for a closer view to read what it claims to do and the ingredient]

 

 

I may write an update on how this turns out.

 

 

Ciao people!

Stay beautiful and useful!

 

 

 

NB: I wrote this post on night of the 30th of July but the internet didn't let me publish it. I'm not making any alterations as to dates. 

Quick Hair-dos and Pet Peeves

Hi guys,

I'm a bundle of emotions right now and none of them positive. It just sucks that my Monday is so messed up. In a bid to defocus off my foul mood, I have come to find succour in the internet. The worldwide web always distracts me from everything. Bless Tim Berners-Lee's creative heart.

 

I'd just be showing you a few photos of yesterday and today's hair-dos and posting a mini-rant.

 

Yesterday, I had a barbeque party for a friend's birthday to attend so I wore my hair in something of a Fro-hawk. Here are pictures of yesterday's hair.

I wasn't sweaty. I don't know why it looks like I was

These pictures were actually taken when I returned home at about 9pm. I made this hair-do early at 8am because I wore it first to church before going for the Come Chop. I was glad the style kept for those hours and shrinkage didn't really affect its look.

 

All I used to create the hairstyle were bobby pins and my Organics Root Stimulator Edge Control. I'd do a review on the product in my next update.

 

Yesterday, I was pleased to discover that I can now cornrow my whole hair in one straight French braid (didi). Yaaaaaay? It meant my hair had grown some and it was a pleasant surprise. I think this is long overdue though. I didn't take any pictures though because last night was such a queer night. 

 

Here are some pictures of today's look. I sprinted out of the house in a rush early this morning and had no time to fuss over hair. I just loosened the French braid and used my fingers to fluff my hair into an afro and then wore my pink hair band on it.

There. These pictures too are of after my return. I'm hardly thinking of taking pictures when I have a hectic day ahead.

 

You know what my peeve about my hair is lately? It's the fact that my hair seems to be growing at a really slow pace. Seriously. I thought I was being paranoid before but now, I think it's true. This is what? 1 year 6months hair, thereabout. I should honestly have had much more growth than this. And it is certainly not full. I had my natural hair on until after secondary school because my mum insisted on it. So I have a very good idea of how full my natural hair can be. This present hair is certainly not full. Even more thought provoking is the fact that I remember I was hardly taking care of the hair back then. I desire volume. Perhaps even more than I desire length!

 

I'm probably and most likely doing something wrong but I don't know yet what that thing is. I try not to be a product junkie as I keep thinking that's not what my hair necessarily needs but I think I may need to start buying some off-the-shelf products pretty soon. I usually have my faith in natural goods but maybe I should see if other products will give me some much more desired results. One thing I'm most certainly going to get is a good leave-in conditioner. That Profectiv stuff I use is just not doing it. And the other day, when I looked in at the ingredients, I found that it's just basically an oil mix. Suggestions are welcome on any tried and tested good leave-in to use.

Another pet peeve? My edges. WHY WONT THEY GROW????

Just look at that. Ugh!

Upper part of the sleeked section

After all of the castor oil I've bathed them in, one would think they would have made better progress than that! Yes, it's improved but not enough! This is about a year of castor oil devotion. I Am Not Impressed!

I need suggestions:

1) What products do you suggest I try out for length and volume?
2) My edges!
3) Where can I get henna? I need to dye my hair, biko!

Ciao guys!
Be beautiful and in a good mood!

Oils to Smooth the Grind...and Itch!

Hi guys,

 

I'm so excited about the new additions I've made to my hair products collection. I got some new oils courtesy Twentysix85 some days back and I'm impatient as to seeing the results. I bought the Grapeseed Oil, Haitian Castor Oil and Organix Moroccan Argan Oil.

 

For a while now, I've been trying to get my hands on any essential oil especially Tea tree oil as I heard it is really good dandruff and I have always suffered from that. Luckily, on Sunday, I strolled into a HealthPlus pharmacy and discovered a wide array of carrier oils and essential oils. Honestly, it was like oil heaven. I couldn't believe such a place was so close all this while! As I had already made an order of oils from Twentysix85, I didn't want to overdo on the spending. I bought Tea Tree Oil and the pharmacist on ground even helped me further by selecting one from an organic range of essential oils! I probably should take my camera there one of these days and show you guys all the wonderful oils they have on display.

 

Tisserand Organic Tea Tree Oil

 

I have said a couple of times here that I love using coconut oil for my hair as it is very agreeable with my hair. Well, I am going to have to cut out coconut oil and shea butter for a while. The reason is because I suffer from scalp eczema. I guess it was inevitable that I was going to get some scalp eczema as I am always battling dandruff (eczema is caused by the same fungus that causes dandruff). I have found out that coconut oil, shea butter and olive oil fuel scalp eczema. Add castor oil to that mix. Those who have read about my regimen know that those are all I use! You can read about scalp eczema on Natural Haven's blog here. When I see it on my scalp now, I just sigh. I have battled eczema since I was a kid. FYI eczema is a skin allergy and most times, hereditary. Mine's definitely hereditary. Everyone on my mother's side is saddled with it. There is probably nothing that I haven't used to treat it. And I always found that if I used something that worked for it, after some time of consistent use, my body grew resistant against it. I really don't want to have that battle with my scalp too.

 

The last time I had scalp eczema some months ago, I used Damatol. I was well aware that it had lanolin and mineral oil but I was desperate enough to use it. It worked. But now, I don't think I want to do that and set myself back again. So, I've decided that since Tea Tree Oil is well acclaimed to be good for dandruff, then it'll work for scalp eczema. I know that Natural Haven said one should stop all natural oils but I can't really see myself doing that. How else am I expected to lock in all that moisture? So, I'm switching to my new Grapeseed Oil mixed with Tea Tree Oil. Grapeseed Oil is known for its moisturising and conditioning properties. It is a hair loss remedy and also aids in the relief of dandruff and is absorbed into the scalp. Perfect, eh?

 

I am also stubborn enough to use the Haitian Castor Oil mixed with Tea Tree Oil. I will update you guys on the results.

 

Haitian Castor oil 4oz/118ml



Grapeseed Oil 2oz/59ml

 

 

I was a bit let down with the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil when it arrived. I actually thought it was the real pure stuff. Whereas, this came with several things mixed in. More concerning was the fact that it contained cones :(. I have always avoided silicone products whenever I am shopping for hair products. I read that they're bad and cause build up on your hair so I stay away. I don't particularly know if my hair hates them. You can read about the effect of cones on your hair here. Well, the good people at Twentysix85 assured me that hair is relative and encouraged me to try it out before discrediting it. So I'm going to try out the Organix Argan Oil for a while and see how my hair responds to it.

 

 

I fear I may have rambled on for too long. This post was supposed to be very brief. Laters people!

Stewed Gizzard and Tagliatelle in Spinach

Hey y'all!

 

Here's a recipe I came up with last week. It's nothing dramatically new. I just had a day when I felt like eating pasta. I had some macaroni at home but at the last minute, I decided using the Tagliatelle in Spinach that had been sitting in my kitchen for a while. When it was time to think of the animal protein to accompany the meal, I gave that a long thought. You'd think it was more than a normal meal I was pondering on. Thing is, I'm not much of an animal protein fan. I can well eat my meals and do without it. But in this environment, people tend to frown on that. I eat them mostly because I know my body needs them. I like fish/seafood a lot and like beef the least. For chicken, I'm just indifferent although I have a little love for turkey. So this day, I had no animal protein at home and I really did not feel like doing chicken seeing as I seemed to be having that too many times. I have this belief that poultry goes best with pasta, actually. And since I eat a lot of pasta, well, I was tired of all that chicken. It then occurred to me that Wait a minute! I love Gizzard! That's one of the few animal proteins I just cannot pass. So, I went off to buy half a kilo of Gizzard. I wanted as little as possible as I was the only one eating it. So, I came up with this meal:

 

Gizzard - Half a kilo

Tomatoes - 7

Scotch Bonnet (rodo) - 10 (I eat a lot of pepper. Reduce yours if you don't)

Onions - 2

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp.

Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp

Garlic (powdered) - 2 tsp

Maggi chicken cube

Cayenne powder - 1 tsp

Salt

Granoro's Tagliatelle with Spinach 

 

I washed the gizzards of dirt. I was pleased to discover that Half a kilo of gizzard was so much that I had to keep some away. I even took some time admiring this particular gizzard. This was nicely pink and I just bought it from one of these neighbourhood frozen food shops. The packed ones I've been getting from those popular big chain supermarkets were not even as much or pink or fleshy or lovely looking before being cooked.

 

Yummy gizzard

 

Seasoned the gizzard with some Italian Seasoning, a bit of Maggi, a teaspoon of Garlic powder and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Add half an onion and a quarter cup of water. Let cook. Then put aside afterwards.

 

While that's cooking, clean the tomatoes and pepper and onions. Put in a blender and pulse. I didn't puree as I always like my pepper to be rough and not smooth.

 

Blended pepper

Next, pour the olive oil in the pan or wok. Then add some chopped onions. When the onions turn transparent, pour in the blended pepper and let cook on medium heat for about 15minutes.



 

When cooked, add all the dry ingredients and the juice from the cooked gizzard. Let cook for about 5minutes. Add some more chopped onions then add the cooked gizzard. Cover and let cook for another 5 minutes then take off the burner.

 

While the sauce was cooking, boil some water in a separate pot. Add a bit of salt. When it's boiled, put in the pasta. I used 4 rolls of the Granoro Tagliatelle in Spinach.

 



Tagliatelle pasta with spinach

Let the pasta boil for about 5mins as tagliatelle cooks quickly then drain in a sieve or colander. Look how beautiful that is.

 

 

I at first tried to mix the sauce with the pasta but I found that to be unnecessary as the strong green colour of the pasta did not let the colour of the sauce come through. So, I served the meal this way.

 

Yum!

 

My personal opinion is that this meal is suitable for weightwatchers. The pasta is infused with spinach to make it healthy. Kinda like wheat bread, I think. Gizzard too is known to be a healthy source of protein as against red meat.

 

Oh yeah! It tasted fantastic!

 

NB: Writing this post tonight has helped me none. The plumbing is bad in my flat so there's no running water. I didn't want to cook anything that'll cause me to have dirty dishes so I'm stuck with eating bread for dinner. I now went to write this post. Now, I'm hungry for real food. Just swell!

 

WHITE HOUSE DOWN - A Review

Source

Directed by Roland Emmerich known for his movies, Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow and 2012. John Cale (Channing Tatum), a security detail for the Speaker of the House (Richard Jenkins) gets a Pass to the White House for his 11-year old daughter, Emily Cale (Joey King) and attends an interview at the White House to join the Secret Service. He is refused the job by his interviewer, (Maggie Gyllenhaal) after which he and his daughter join a White House tour and shortly after, the White House is attacked by right-wind militants who wish to get the black president (Jamie Foxx) because they do not like his policies on withdrawing troops from the Middle East. John Cale has the responsibility of saving the president and his daughter.

 

Basically Olympus Has Fallen with laughs. Just have that in mind when going to see it. This is a comedy-action movie flick that has its own share of clichés and patriotism. Although the patriotism may be called into question as Emmerich is European. Never been much of a fan of Tatum but I think he did good this time and has fixed himself safely into Hollywood as a top Action flick actor. The humor is good. Tatum and Jamie Foxx's combination blend just okay into character. Did I hear Foxx trying to play an Obama accent? I didn't like it. Maybe he shouldn't have bothered. Still, it's fun in the midst of all the gun-totting. Tatum managed to look tough-guy hot as compared to his usual soft-guy-soft-palms type hotness.

 

The main movie took a long time in starting, in my opinion. It dragged for a bit. But I think that was due to Emmerich's taking the pain to let us see the hatching and action coming together. Many of which was unnecessary as it gave too much away. Due to this, we already knew the Head of the Secret Service was the bad guy even before it was revealed. No surprises for the viewers. This is a movie you going in watch knowing absolutely what will happen but in a good way. Only one interesting twist which I noticed at the end and which was the revealing of the real bad guy. Lots of action to keep your weekly/daily action quota satisfied.

 

The fact that this movie comes so shortly after Olympus Has Fallen means you cannot help but compare the two. Example is the White House in both movies are widely different. But then, we'd likely complain if they were too similar.

 

Just a fun regular action movie. Nothing fantastic but you have a good time with your popcorn. And few laughs too.