SEC-S20W2 | 1st Half: Hot Liquid and Solid Entries

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Hi Wonderful Chefs!

It's great to be part of this week's challenge; though I couldn't join the previous one, I read it through, and I tell you, cold starters, especially vegetable or fruit salad, are my favourites. This week is about hot starters; I was able to identify all because I used to prepare them at home for my loved ones and friends.

Of the two types of hot starters mentioned, which is your favourite? Tell us.

As I said before, I used to prepare both liquid hot starters, especially soups, stews and broths and solid starters like (Dodo) fried plantain and french fries with sauce, too. But my favourite between the two is liquid hot starters!

I prefer soups, stews or broth for starters because they are comforting, nourishing, light & easy to digest. Let me tell you, the warm, savoury flavours in a pot of soup usually provide a satisfying start to the day. Soups & stews are packed with nutrients from fresh vegetables and proteins, making it have an upper hand over Solid starters like Fries, which can be heavy and greasy; soups and stews are lighter on our stomach, allowing for a smoother transition into our daily activities.
Additionally, liquid hot starters offer a diverse range of flavours and textures, making breakfast exciting and wholesome, & setting a positive tone for the rest of our day. These are the reasons I love hot liquid starters.

Have you prepared a hot liquid or solid starter for the menu?

Yes, I've prepared both severally, but today I would like to show you how I made one of the hot liquid starters for some menu; cucumber 🥒 stew; my family generally loves stew; I always have it in the fridge because stew is not only healthy and delicious but are versatile! Having it like this normally makes breakfast preparation easier for me, because we can eat it with parboiled rice, pasta, boiled yam or plantain. You can use it to prepare other meals like noodles, jellof rice etc.

PREPARATION:

To prepare My cucumber 🥒 stew I'll need chicken, cucumber & onions as my main ingredient and other spices to bring out flavor enough and appetizing

Ingredients:

• Chicken & Vegetable oil
• Cucumber & Carrots
• Green beans and peppers 🫑
• Cayenne Pepper 🌶️ (Shombo)
• Scotch bonnet pepper & Salt
• Seasoning cubes
• Natural Spices & Onions
• Ginger & Garlic

STEPS:

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And my cucumber stew is ready!!!

What cooking method did you use to prepare your starter?

I used the moist heat method in seasoning my chicken; this technique requires liquid for preparation. Though I fried some ingredients like onions, carrots and cucumber and exin the end, I added my chicken stock and some water to cook everything. Thus, it is a moist method.

Which main dish and which dessert would go with the starter you just prepared? Imagine a 3-course menu that goes with your starter.

Starter	Main Course	Dessert

For the main dish I ate my cucumber stew with white rice, then the dessert was pizza 🍕! Sometimes I love snacking on cucumber with groundnuts, garden eggs or natural juices like tiger nut, pineapple or orange juice. It depends on my cravings or should I say how the spirit leads 😀

I love this lesson, one of the hardest things in housekeeping is making menus, but this lesson makes it easier because you'll know your starter, main course and then dessert. I hope to join next week's course, see you all!

I wish to invite @shiftitamanna @blessedbee and @preshthankg to this contest.