Welcome To Kate Orok's Blog

It's yummy, easy to make and a welcome change from the usual curry fried rice...a Kenwood recipe. Ingredients                             225g long grain rice 3 eggs 2 spring onions, finely sliced diagonally Salt and black pepper 2 carrots 2 tbsp sunflower oil or groundnut oil 1 clove garlic, crushed 75g Cooked and peeled prawns 75g frozen peas, thawed 2 tbspn of soy sauce Fresh pepper, finely chopped  (optional) Parboil rice in slightly salted water for about 9-10 minutes, until almost tender. Drain water with sieve. Place eggs with half the sliced spring onions and seasoning in a bowl and whisk together. Grate the carrots. Heat oil in frying pan, add the carrot garlic, and pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the egg mixture and stirr to scramble and break up. Add the rice, prawns and peas and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, u...

Ekpang Nkukwo  This is a dish of cocoyam mainly accompanied by fish, periwinkle, crayfish,  goat-meat, vegetable, etc. The preparation involves peeling and grating the cocoyam to achieve a smooth paste and wrapping it in any vegetable of choice.   Edikang Ikong Soup  This delicacy is made popular by the efik/ibibbio ethnic group. A deliciously notorious dish made from a combination of waterleaf,  pumpkin leaf, palm oil, fish, crayfish, meat , etc. Popularly served with pounded yam, garri or unripe plantain.  Afang Soup  The afang soup is a delicious favourite of the Calabar people and it's environs. Made from a combination of  the afang leaf and waterleaf alongside various tasty assortment. Best served with fufu, pounded yam or garri. Fisherman soup  Originally a staple for the fishermen of the fishing pots located along the coast of Akwa-Ibom state and Cross-River state.  Prepared with a variety of seafood i.e fish,  lobster, shri...

While growing up, I had skin problems due to my excessively oily skin. Pimples literally became my friends because they never left. I tried different products from foreign to locally made treatments,  and at a point I ignorantly stopped moisturizing my face which I later corrected Years ago I read about home-made facials and began experimenting with food ingredients and  the pimples reduced considerably to monthly breakouts. My family and friends bought into the idea of using my home-made concoctions. I am not a dermatologist or skincare professional, just a girl with tips to improve your skin. Here are some of the home-made recipes I tried out Banana face mask  This organic DIY (do it yourself) mask suits all skin type. Your skin will feel soft and have a healthy glow after applying this mask. Mash one banana  Mix two table spoons of fresh orange juice and two table spoons of natural honey Apply on face and neck and leave mixture on for 15 to 20 min...

It seems like everywhere you turn to these days, there is a skin bleaching or rather a ‘toning’ product. Though I am dark skinned, there are times when people I know have said “you’re getting darker, you should do something about it. Try to tone your skin. I know a soap/cream/oil that would do the trick” And I wonder why it matters if I get darker due to exposure to the sun.  I am after all an African. Africans have dark skin. It is one of our characteristics. Personally I feel people that bleach their skins have low self esteem. They aren’t comfortable in their own skins. They don’t love themselves the way they are. They feel they can’t be beautiful with dark skin. It is just skin!! It shouldn’t define who you are! What makes skin darker? Answer: Melanin. “Melanin is an effective absorber of light the pigment is able to dissipate over 99.9% of absorbed UV radiation. Because of this property, melanin is thought to p...

Alot of people often have the wrong idea about what makes a good pair of jeans, so shopping for them feels like a chore, instead of something fun. Its not all about spending money on a designer label or allowing some silly fashion rule dictate how you dress your body. Skinny jeans  are only for skinny people Skinny jeans are flattering on almost every body type especially curvy girls. It accentuates the natural shape of a woman's body and makes her look taller. There is a common misconception that if you are curvy,  you need flared or boot- cut jeans to balance your hips, but those cuts can actually make you shorter and heavier. Designer jeans have the best fit Designers love to say how amazing their products are in order to justify the high price of their products, but in reality, good fit is all about what looks good on your body not the label. You have to buy short jeans if you are short A decent tailor can hem any pair of jeans in a few  minutes or hours dependi...

I'm a huge fan of DIY and homemade formulas, so I decided to write this because I am badly in need of a cleanse. You know, with all the meat I consumed yesterday and all. Lol. Why have a cleanse? I don't know about you guys but I like to get my body ready for the upcoming clean eating by having a juice/smoothie cleanse. It helps to rid the body of toxins and impurities, its healthy, filling and packed with vitamins. You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain :). Now, it's important to work with what you have. Don't go spending extra money just because you want to go on a cleanse. If you can afford to go all out, then go ahead. If not, work with what is readily available. The idea here is to get by with a lot of fruits. If you can do without eating food, great!!!. If not, take something light. Replace one or two meals with smoothies. They are refreshing and filling. All you need is a blender/food processor and you are good to go. Also, I don't ...