Gira

I have been living here for nine years, and I had never heard of Gira. Then Jewy appeared (lol) and brought with her this amazing new innovation.

Gira is basically Bisquick powder made like Ola-Ola poundi.

Yes, you read that right.

/* Bisquick is a baking mix. Most people associate it with pancakes and waffles. It can also be used for pies, tarts, dumplings, cookies, you name it. Nigerians now use it as okele. :) */

It has completely revolutionized okele in this house. We're out of pounded yam? No problem, we have Gira. Not in the mood for Eba? No problem, Gira it is.

It tastes a bit sweeter than Semovita, and so far there are no side effects that I can tell. (Plus, I googled side effects of putting Bisquick to unconventional uses and as long as it's cooked we're good).

We actually even got our city's resident catering-practical, Analista, who refuses eat okele, to try it last night. She finished it before we heard a single word on its texture and consistency... and that's saying a lot.

So if you've not tried Gira, head out to your neighborhood Giant, Giant Eagle, HEB or Costco, and get yourself some Bisquick. It goes great with efo riro, efo elegusi, ogbono, and we're about to try it with ila!

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist and you're OYO with any side effects you may experience, such as knocked-out-ness and weight gain. One serving of Gira might take up to half of your day's allotted calorie limit. 

Osan wewe ati eja

Today my roommate came home with a new cookbook, 400 calorie fix:

Source

I was ecstatic! I gained 15 pounds over the last three years that I've been trying to drop off, and she has some weight loss goals as well. I flipped through it as we ate our lunch of jollof rice, bananas, beef, grilled chicken and iced tea - at least 1000 calories.

"This is an amazing book!" I said. "I am so excited! Look, I found something we can do with the rest of our tilapia! Lemon-oregano grilled tilapia with parsley rice!" Earlier in the week, I had achieved a personal milestone of getting Jewy to not pick off the chopped red pepper on our mediterranean herb-encrusted tilapia dinner with oven roasted potatoes... and she had liked it! So I thought she'd be excited about this new tilapia recipe too.

"Osan-wewe ati eja" said Jewi "Mo ti ra trouble wa le o!"