The Best Way To Prepare French Fries

I love French fries. I am just recovering from an illness, but from the first day I was sick, I’ve desired French fries over other foods. The first time I ate them they were a disaster. I almost threw up! So I thought I should make a statement, as a chef, on French fries. 

There are three methods of cooking French fries:

Method 1: The Unacceptable Method:

With this method, all you have to do is hurl the potatoes in hot oil, deep fat fry them for a few minutes and serve. Now I know a few fast-food restaurants that have mastered this method. But it doesn’t change my opinion of it: totally unacceptable!

Method 2: The Acceptable Method

This is the method I was taught at school. The potatoes are first par-boiled. Ok, that’s a scientific term. Let me explain. To par-boil the potatoes, put them in cold water and bring them to the boil. As soon as the water starts boiling, get them from the heat, put them in a colander and refresh them over cold, running water. To add flavour to your fries, add salt and white pepper to the water before boiling.

After par-boiling the potatoes, feel free to dip them in your hot fat, and fry till they reach an appetising golden brown colour.

Method 3: My Method.

I call this my method because I don’t know anyone else who uses it and I came up with it a few years ago while experimenting. All you need to do is immerse the potatoes in a brine solution overnight. To add to the flavour of your fries, you can add white pepper to the brine solution. (I have a thing for white paper, you know)

Of course you don’t have to soak them overnight, although according to my experiment, I soaked the potatoes overnight. With a strong brine solution, you will have to soak for about thirty minutes or an hour. 

So after getting your potatoes out of the brine solution, pat them dry in a kitchen towel and fry.

My method is the best I guess. This is because it gives the fries an extra crunch and flavour.

So, who wants me to taste their fries?

On Pre-Marital Sex And God's Love

I sat at the back of the small Anglican Church. The lady leaning against the lectern was boring me stiff with her discourse on the dangers of premarital sex. Who did not know that you could get pregnant, or could get a girl pregnant if you had sex? And who did not know that AIDS kills? Wasn’t this supposed to be a fun-filled youth conference?

Apparently, she was trying to scare us from having sex. And she was failing miserably at it! Many of my friends are having sex. And it’s not that they have never had a lecture like the one I was having. If I still remember very well, we studied reproduction in primary school, studied it again in O Level, and one more time in A Level. We are experts, at least theoretically, on matters pertaining sex!

It looks to me like she was never successful at scaring us.

What if a cure for AIDS is discovered tomorrow, what will she say? We don’t even need to look forward to tomorrow. Latex condoms are doing a good job already at promoting promiscuity. Most of the adults today will tell you, “If you cannot stop our young people from having sex, at least let them have safe sex.”

The boring, highly moral, lady also told us that condoms could not be trusted as they were not 100% secure. But looking back at it, I think her argument would have held more water if a good number of my friends got pregnant or contracted AIDS while using condoms. I’m yet to see that.

What do you do for a generation that is so bent on destroying themselves that no hurdle is too high for them to jump?

How does telling teenagers of God’s high moral standards help them to attain them?

Is the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) movement practical?

Does God really care if my friends live a promiscuous life? Will he punish them?

How far can his mercy and love be stretched?

What if God loves us anyway?

Over to you! Feel free to share your ideas about this interesting subject!

Whenever I See You

A thousand sunsets
They look dull
In the light
Of your smile

The sound of waterfalls
Water crushing on stone
Bows at the beauty
Of your voice

Astounding radiance
Makes the sun dim
At the sight
Of your face

When your outer white mask
Is pulled off of you
There beats the softness
Of your heart

All this is to appreciate
and stand in silent awe at
The light of your smile
The beauty of your voice
The sight of your face
The softness of your heart
Whenever I see you

Christ's Song

I wrote these words a few years ago, and I thought today (Good Friday) would be the best day to share them with you. I imagined what Jesus would sing of whenever he remembered that fateful day. I think his song would go something like this:

They brought me into the courtyard
my feet barely touched the ground
tossed onto the cobbled floor
hard and cold
a heel in the jaw, a punch, a kick
pushed and tossed and thrown
in less than a moment i had become a ball
i knew i had to bear the pain
because i had chosen to love

giant nails driven into the hands
a spear wound, blood gushing out
a halo of thorns around my head
thorns grafted into my skin
pity, i couldn't find a better way to express my love for you
no blessing, power or wealth
could match my love for you
blood oozed out drop by cleansing drop
because i had chosen to love

chorus:
all the pain i endured on the cross
gave me joy when i knew you were saved
you're the object of my love
because i had chosen to love

up on a tree i hung
drained of all energy
stripped naked and ashamed
humiliated and distressed
the weight of the world on my shoulders
burdens, cares, curse, sin
tried hard to keep my calm
but oh, they weighed me down
at last i died victoriously
because i had chosen to love.

One thing i know, either my imagination ran wild, or this is an understatement. But one thing always stands out, Jesus loves you. That's why he died on the cross. Have you tasted that inexplicable love?

Holding Me

I sit in your lap
My head rests on your chest
Your arms wrapped around me
And i feel your warmth

Our hearts beat in sync
And no words need be said
A father-and-child moment
Resting in your lap

You whisper sweet nothings
Into my waiting ears
I can feel your breath
Brush over me

And you keep reassuring
You'll never let go
Your arms will never tire
Of always holding me

What is Grace?

below is a story i told last year, illustrating God's grace:

A man walked up to the gate of a beautiful villa sitting on 10 acres of land. It was a few minutes after midnight. He rang the bell.

“Who's there?” a voice buzzed over the intercom.

“My name is Jimmy. I'm a good man in this community. I voted the right mayor. I earn a decent income by working in the city hall and give half of my salary to the poor.”

'”Sorry we don't know you,” came the reply from the intercom.

Four hours later, a drunk guy stumbled onto the gate of the villa and rang the bell almost as an afterthought. He had been at a sexual orgy where he had lost his wallet. He didn't know where he had left his car. And he was wishing his phone had not been stolen. He would have called that first gal he'd had sex with first thing in the morning for a second round.

He rang the bell again before falling into a messy heap in his own vomit and urine.

“Who's there?” the intercom buzzed.

“Paul,” the drunk guy said, his speech slurred.

Suddenly, the gate slid open.

It so happened, Paul was the son of the master of the villa.

How are you acting before God? are you like Jimmy, the good stranger, or Paul, the son, however bad he was? do you know that a stranger, however good, will never get the inheritance of the son, however bad the son is? isn't that the beauty of grace, and grace alone?

Please feel free to leave your thoughts on this very important topic. you can also share it if you think your friends might want to see it.

i love you!