The Best Homemade Potato Chips Ever! || No More Soggy Crisps || The Ultimate Chip Guide

If you have ever attempted making potato chips youll know that it is one of the easiest fried foods to get wrong. 

One mis-step could ruin the entire mission. 

The wrong cut?

The wrong process?

The wrong oil?

Even the wrong kinda potato!

There are many reasons why you should just say screw it and buy a bag of chips, but one reason why you should not:

No store bought chips will taste as good as homemade! 

FACT.

Luckily you have me to help you with this easy to follow pictorial guide showing

HOW TO GET THE PERFECT POTATO CHIP EVERYTIME!

I perfected this recipe during my university days and I haven't looked back. 

I made this particular batch on a weekday afternoon for a beloved guest and would you believe me if I tell you it took me only about 20 minutes?

The most difficult part is peeling the potatoes. 

Yup.

Let's begin!

Here's what you need:

About 10 medium sized potatoes (peeled) make sure theyre similar in size. 

A kettle of hot boiling water (1.5L)

Oil to deep fry

Any Seasoning of your choice.

Thats it!

CRUCIAL STEP #1 - Slicing

Slice the potatoes into thin vertical slices.

Unless youve got Iron chef level precision, don't use a knife!

Its impossible to get equal thickness with a knife. 

Use a madoline slicer (V slicer), like I have up there.

Haven't got one? You can use the side of a grater or even a potato peeler, though the chips might be too thin.

I used the thinnest attachment on my mandoline which gave me chips with 1 - 1.5mm thickness.

Transfer the slices into a large bowl.

Pour the kettle of boiling water over the slices and make sure the chips are completely submerged

Use all the water!

Use a slotted spoon to swirl the water carefully, making sure the slices are not clumped together.

We want every part of every chip to be exposed to the hot water

After abot 10 minutes or when the water gets cool enough for your hands, strain it out with a colander

You'll notice instantly that the water is a little thick and sticky. 

That's the potato starch. Removing the starch yields a crispy batch of chips with no sogginess at all!

Rinse the chips under a running tap.

Go in with your hands to separate the slices and ensure there is absolutely no stickiness left on the chips. 

Then inspect the slices

Notice any difference between these chips?

Of course, you do! You're a smart cook!

The chip on the left looks thicker and opaque while the right looks thin and translucent.

Why?

The left is fresh cut chips while the right is after the hot water bath.

At this point, you want all your chips to look like the right, which they should if you soaked them correctly.

If you fry your chips fresh cut, the starch will be released and you will have very soggy and oily chips.

Starch levels vary between species of potatoes, so some might need less time while other might need more time in the water bath

 Just make sure you don't leave them in hot water for too long or elSe they'll break apart.

Leave the chips in a colander for the water to drain before frying.

If youre in a hurry (as I was), you can spread out ppaper towels

And lay out the chips one by one to absorb all the excess moisture.

Use another paper towel to dab off the top surfaces and youre ready to fry.

Heat your oil pan on high heat then return to medium for frying

Use fresh oil or newish oil that has only been used for potatoes. Fresh is better.

Test the oil. Its ready when a chip dropped in spreads flat open immediately. 

That up there isn't.

Proceed to place your chips into the oil making sure the pan isnt overcrowded and chips don't overlap 

Turn constantly, making sure all the faces of the chips spend time in the oil.

Almost done.

You'll notice the chips beginning to curl around the edges when they're almost done.

Keep checking constantly and returning them if necessary.

The chips are done when the oil stops releasing air bubbles.

It takes about 3-5 minutes to fry each batch and you have to make sure the oil is hot enough before starting another batch. 

Check out this photo below...

See the side of this chip looks curled and crisp , but the middle part? You can see its still translucent and bendy.

My hands also look oily, right?

This chip is not ready. 

A cooked chip cannot hold onto oil like this, even when its freshly out of oil.

It needs another minute or two in the hot oil.

Your chip is cooked when it is golden brown and opaque from the edge to the middle

Like this!

Oh my goodness! This is what love is.

Light

Crispy

Golden brown.

Leave the chips to drain and cool off on a paper lined tray or airy basket.

Airy is the keyword.

As the chip cools it gets crispier and crispier.

Use this time to make your seasoning.

In a small mortar, I combined:

Salt

Blackpepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Paprika

1/2 a maggi cube

And pulverized them even more to make a very fine powder.

The finer the powder, the more flavour clings on to the chips.

Here's what I ended up with. 

I sprinkled it onto the chips a little at a time.

A little goes a long way and I ended up using less than half of the spice mix.

That's it! You're done!

I served mine as a side to go with Jamaican jerk kebabs and pickles.

My guest loved it very very much and when she asked 'Where did you buy these chips from? They're amazing!'

I couldn't hep but feel proud of my little old self for coming up with this last minute treat.

These would go amazing with a nice cream cheese dip, salsa, gucamole or even sweet chilli. The possibilities are endless. 

I gave half to our guest, ate a handful, gave baby R another handful and kept the rest for the husband. 

Can you believe this little angel after finishing her portion went and fished out her dad's portion from where I hid it and finished his too! 

All he got were broken chips and crumbs to taste and when she saw the crumbs she went after them too. 

Even after licking the plate she followed me to the kitchen asking for more!

Can't say I blame her, these chips are absolutely delish!

Give them a try and let me know how it goes.

Trust me, you'll never look at store bought chips the same way again.

That's it guys!

Did you enjoy this recipe?

Do you also make your own chips?

Ever had trouble frying your own chips?

Let me know in the comments below!

Take care!

Lots of crispy love,

Ummi

x o x o

Why Does My Skin Break Out in Dry Weather || 5 key suspects in my Harmattan Break Outs

So two weeks ago I'm scrubbing my face with my DIY dilke body scrub (coming soon!) and I feel a little, painful bump.

What's this? A pimple? No way!

But I've been good, haven't I?

I hadn't had a break out in over 10 months!

So I became more serious and made sure I was sticking to my daily routine while being cautious and less aggressive to my sensitive skin.

That should help control the pimples right?

WRONG!

As we speak my forehead is quite bumpy with at least 3 mini clusters of raised skin. There's also a little cluster on both cheeks and one on my chin.

*breathing hot air*

But I was being so good!

*sigh*

Wait, hold on, didn't this happen last year? January, to be precise!

Rewind a little, I think it happened in January 2015 too! 2014 doesn't count because I was heavily preggers and and my face resembled sand paper, but all the Januaries after that have been a little pimply.

What is it with January (The month I was born!!!) and break outs?

Well, in Nigeria January is smack in the middle of Harmattan season, which is very dry, windy, dusty and often cooler than other months.

Could this be the reason my skin is at its worst during Harmattan?

Lets rule out the constants: PCOS, Hormonal Changes and my oily/combination skin are constant all year round.

What changes?

Let's discuss 5 reasons why I'm blaming Harmattan for my breakouts!

HAIR PRODUCTS:

Dry Season = Dry Hair = More Hair Products. I should've known this al along. My hair gets super dry and coarse when there's no humidity so I usually switch from Coconut oil (which is light) to shea butter and Castor oil (thick oil). 

I also noticed I only have pimples on my forehead and my cheeks. None on my nose, which is an oily area. 

I'm very hairy (Hirsutism rocks!) and my hairline touches my brows from the sides and I also have side burns that go down to my jaws. Now that I look at it, most of my pimples are localised within an inch or two of my hairline!

SOLUTION:

I need to get me one of these ASAP!

I think I'll wear it at night and around the house all day and hopefully it'll prevent the oil from melting down my face. 

Since it contains oil, I have to also wash it daily! 

Maybe I should get two! Or three!

PARTY SEASON:

Let's see, how many weddings did I attend in December/January? Well, much more than the total number of weddings I attended all year, that's for sure! Then there's Office parties and special birthdays and your favourite out of towners are visiting, so you're taking them out more often! 

Bottom line is you're getting dressed and glamming up much more than you used to making...

Party Season = Make Up season! 

I went from only wearing a full face of make up 2 to 3 times a week to glamming up almost daily over a two week period!

Even though I always remove my make up before going to bed, there are nights when we get home and 1am and all you're thinking about is rushing to bed, so your face won't be as clean as it should be...

Skin doesn't get time to breath and all that prodding and rubbing causes inflammations causing blocked pores and all that jazz! *sigh*

SOLUTION: 

I'm letting my skin breathe this January! No foundation till my birthday (Jan. 29th!) My studio fix powder should be okay.

I also clean my makeup brushed much more regularly now. I now wash my beauty blender BEFORE and AFTER each use instead of only AFTER use.

DRY AIR:

There's pretty much no humidity in the air both indoors and outdoors and this really dries my skin out. Dry skin = Dead skin cells that can clog pores and trap sebum, leading to breakouts! 

SOLUTIONS:

I exfoliated my skin yesterday using a glycolic acid peel and oh, I instantly felt an improvement . Exfoliation really works and that is why I love doing a dilke scrub once in a while. Skin feels soft and refreshed instantly.

I'm also going to be turning on my humidifier more often! I bought one of these ones when Baby R had tonsillitis. We use it from time to time and now that I know humidity helps my skin, I'm going to be turning it on all night. 

INCONSISTENCY:

Sometimes, being away from home can really throw me off my normal routine. Like at home my cleanser is always beside my toothbrush so I apply cleanser, brush my teeth and then wash it off; its almost robotic. But since we've been in Kano and Daura for most of the holiday, I wasn't in my zone so I didn't exfoliate at all and well, sometimes, I didn't even use a toner after cleanser! *yikes!*

Also, all these dilke and kurkum scrubs can be a little tedious when I'm in a hurry so sometimes I give my weekly facials a miss.

SOLUTION

This year I plan on making a Beauty Calendar that'll include hair, skin and other feminine type things. I work well with calendars and planners, so I'm hoping it'll keep me consistent. *fingers crossed*

HARD WATER

We moved to our current district almost two years ago, and immediately we noticed the water is so different!

I would spare you a photo of the residue that's left behind when soap mixes with this hard water of ours. The water contains heavy minerals, making if difficult for other substances to dissolve in it. Whats left is a film of sticky residue, so we end up using more soap, more detergent, more cleanser which can seriously irritate skin. Its so obvious on Baby R's feet, cos her toe nails appear brittle and the skin on her feet is often dry and peeling.

Let's just say the entire family now suffers dry scalps, coarse hair and, as I noticed dry skin.

From a physiological stand point, dry and irritated skin thats been stripped off all its natural oils will cause a negative feedback system because on noticing excessive dryness, the body overcompensates by producing excess oil leading to more clogged pores.

Apparently even our clothing and linen washed with hard water can further irritate our skin and even lead to dermatitis,  which I've had in the past and it sucks majorly. *sigh*

SOLUTION

We are currently looking for a lasting solution to the problem. We might have to just install a water softener in the tanks and call it a day. Until then... well, I just have to deal with it. sigh

That's it guys! These are the five things I'm suspecting are responsible for my current break out and I am currently working on a new routine to help me tackle them swiftly. 

My birthday is on the 29th and I don't want any blemishes on this very special milestone birthday of mine! *sigh*

Thanks for reading!

I hope you find my tips helpful for you too.

Any questions? leave them in the comments below.

Lot's of Windy love!

Ummmi

x o x o

Malfunction? Its just armpit hair!

So here I am minding my business, procrastinating on writing chapter 26 of Who Is Anisa Haque and instead hopping from site to site to catch up on all the blogs I missed over the weekend when I came across something that really pissed me off.

So I'm on Miss Ikeji's blog when I see the title...



Malfunction, Really?

Since when is having axillary hair, a natural, protective phenomenon of the amazing human body a malfunction?

Miss Ikeji then proceeded to zoom in on Lola Kirke's underarm, presumably to show us the "gross" details of said unshaven under arm. The horror!

I decided to see what the inter web was saying and can you believe Lola actually received death threats? Over HER CHOICE not to shave her armpits? Is it that serious?

All I could think of was that Julia Robert's shot at the premier of Notting Hill in 1999. It is now 2017,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     18 years! Girls, are we still on this?

I guess I'm just sick of the double standard. Picture a man (read; hollywood hunk, maybe a Hemsworth brother) striking a sexy, shirtless pose maybe with his hand over his head and smouldering eyes. He's most likely going to be unshaven in the pits and everyone (read; media, crazy internet people, bloggers) would swoon at this rugged stud.

'He's so real and natural!' they'd fan themselves incessantly.

No one would call him names or even call him out on having armpit hair.

Why then are women constantly hounded by the media when they do the same? It's her body and her choice. Must we always conform to your standards? Absolutely not! Do you and let everyone else do as they see fit. Lola having hair doesn't make your hair grow or even stink. It's not your business to send her death threats as you pig out on your couch watching the Golden globes.

What's my point, I'm sure you're wondering?

How about we stop body shaming?

How about we stop forcing women to fit into an unnatural standard?

How about we start minding our businesses and allow other people to be themselves without castigating them?

How about allowing women to be their real self?

How about we let Lola grow her armpit hair?

It's okay to shave your hair.

It's okay to NOT shave your hair.

It's okay to NOT let the world make such decisions for you. Own your body!

It should not be a big deal that a fellow human being has armpit hair.

Linda Ikeji loves to parade herself as a role model for women in Nigeria but her blog is so notorious for body shaming, cyber bullying (in the past), perpetuating false stereotypes and setting her minions loose against anyone who responds or reacts to her false reports.

She posts ads that ridicule women with "flabby stomachs" and men with "performance anxiety."

If you really want to be a role model, how about you educate yourself and understand issues that relate to the young women that frequent your blog and are responsible for your success as a gossip blogger.

Sadly, Linda's wasn't the only blog to poke fun at Lola. Several people did and I just don't get it.

The negatives....

American actress,Lola kirk hit red carpet with weavon attachment in her armpits https://t.co/EYNfIkjZPj pic.twitter.com/5jXgTiRVtX

— joel williams blog (@jwb_official_) January 9, 2017

 Really? Weavon? Witty :|

Actress, Lola Kirke Flashes Gross Armpit at Golden Globe Red Carpet (Photos). https://t.co/2bqannM0do

— Spilled News (@spillednews) January 9, 2017

Gross, only if it's on a woman. Sexy when its on a man, huh?

Just clicked on one of those stories from an awards show on snapchat... this chick had armpit hair... I just threw up in my mouth a Lil 😷😷😷

— Bryan (@BartlettBryan) January 9, 2017

 And then you like, swallowed it? Who is gross now?



 Here's my take.

Armpit hair on women brings out such hyperbolic reactions lol.

— ✨O.T. CHENISIS ✨ (@__cheniseK) January 9, 2017

 And it really shouldn't! Women are humans too! Hair grows, get over it.

So many people say it's gross and other rude stuff. it's not disgusting for a woman to have armpit hair. It's normal. She's human too. pic.twitter.com/ZlFa4Ph0CK

— ️️️️️️️️️️️️ (@mileyslayaf) January 9, 2017

Thank you! Tell them.

Can ppl just chill & let Lola Kirke hav normal human functions like, idk, hair on her body(?!) w/o calling it a "wardrobe malfunction"

— charlotte (@CharlotteRajah) January 9, 2017

I think the word "Malfunction" is actually offensive.

someone literally took the time to write an article for the daily mail's snap about a woman's armpit hair...as if body hair isn't normal??

— Sammy Herring (@sammyherringg) January 9, 2017

Road Trip Photos || Daura + Kano (Dec 2016) Part 1 || Back to Our Roots

Hey there!

Happy New Year!

Hope you had a nice and relaxing holiday season. 

Ours was packed. 

Fun and stressful, but hey, we can't complain.

Awesome memories were made.

Since everyone had some time off, we decided to travel to the grandparents and great grandparents.

Thank you for all the comments on our last road trip post. I tried to get some good shots this time but it was hard to stabilise the cam through the tinted windows of a moving vehicle.

 This time, we went to Daura first for three days and then Kano for four days.

We went via the Abuja - Jere - Kaduna - Zaria - Hunkuyi - Malumfashi - Kusada - Ingawa - Daura Route which isn't my favourite. I prefer the Kano route but since I was hitching a ride with the parents, I had no choice. 

As Jenifa would say: "A beggar he has choose?"

Can I just say I'm in love with Hunkuyi? It's a small town on the border of Kaduna and Katsina states and oh my, they have some of the freshest, organic veggies in the country.

There are many roadside stalls like this one and the veg are ridiculously cheap! Like, 200 naira for 4 large heads of cabbage! 

200 for 10 medium sized cucumbers! and this was probably the inflated price for travellers! Imagine how cheap they'll be if you went to the actual village markets...

300 naira for a large tray of carrots! *sigh* we are being robbed in Abuja, daylight robbery!

The veggies are actually being grown by the roadside. Like in this photo you can see the cabbage patches by the roadside.

The rainy season has recently ended, so 'kayan miya' like tomatoes, red peppers, scotch bonnet peppers are in abundance. They are are preserved by being spread across the horizon to air dry and then packaged in sacks to be sold now, or kept till periods of scarcity.

 The heat and wind by the roadside will dry them in no time.

A roadside dry tomato/pepper market

Negotiations

Packaging

These baskets are used for fresh tomatoes to be sent to the south of the country. 

We arrived Daura at 7;30 after leaving Abuja at 11 and so many detours. Quite good.

Tired, but well behaved toddler! Well done Baby R, you've really grown more mature <3

'What is this place we've come to Mummy? They keep feeding me weird stuff.'

Did a lot of visiting and eating in Daura

But the most fun were the weddings! This one was a relative marrying off his foster daughter. SO much fun! Ali Jita attended, so I was dancing in my seat the whole time. It started getting cold around 11pm though, so dancing increased body temp.

This was the exact same venue where I had my Kamu nearly five years ago! SO it was rather nostalgic...

Tested my makeup skills on my aunt. "Make it light," she insisted. I did my best. Subtle enough, huh?

"But I'm not camera ready, Mummy!"

A drive through D Town

This is the main road when you come into the town from Kano.

 Tashar Kwadayi (aka Tashar Kudu)

This city gate was named after my great grandfather, Sarki Musa the 57th Emir of Daura and the Emir that restored the Daura Emirate back to Hausa rule after 100 years of Hausa exile from the Fulani Jihad. The Fulani and Hausas have peacefully coexisted in Daura since then and they even hold an important seat on the Emirate Council (Sarkin Fulani).

I spent many hours of my childhood walking this road between my maternal grandfather's home to my paternal grandparent's. It's amazing how much it has evolved over the decades.

Also, Daura is a very well planned town, so roads are wide and easy to modernise. The old town still exists beside the "modern" layout.

This city gate was named after Sarki Bashar, the 59th Emir of Daura. He was also a great grand child of Sarki Musa which makes him my cousin (Genetically I think its second cousin, no removes, Hehe). An amazing man and great emir that ruled for 41 years and passed away in 2007.

The entrance corridor to my grandma's house. Baby R's great grandmother.

Here you can see the courtyard has a neem tree for shade (dalbejiya) and a clay pot of water (karfi). The shade from the tree keeps the sun away, leaving the water in the pot cool and refreshing. What fridge?

My grandma is a drama queen. She's so animated when she speaks. Here she's explaining to me why she doesn't need to be on her blood pressure medication anymore. I wasn't having it at all. 

In this shot you can see her Vintage cassette player, a torch light, her cosmetic basket, some oil perfume and food warmers. Feels like home.

 She showed me this really old piece of rock which just looks like an old door stopper, but is actually a magurji, a rock used in the past to grind local kohl which was then stored in those little metal containers with a stick. Isn't that amazing? They DIYed their own make up.

Back in Kano...

Had to make sure I stocked up on some Gurasa.

 Ever had Gurasa? Its a local moon shaped bread that's either salted or sweetened. goes well with stews or steamed which yaji, kuli kuli and fresh veg (bandeshe).

Gimme More! 

Gurasa keeps well in the freezer for well over a month.

When you wanna eat, just take it out and steam it on the stove top.

Guyses.

Grammar Nazi. This one bothered me.

The cold had everyone covering up! The number of Niqabis I saw in Kano were way more than I had ever seen previously.

Back in the day this bakery was quite happening. We always used to stop by to buy some bread for family as we passed kano on our way to Daura. Good to see it still kicking.

The infamous Hunchback bridge. Hehehe! So much fun. When you reach the peak of the bridge you experience a second or two of free fall. I use that as an indicator to show that we've left kano.

Harmattan...

So many flights were cancelled this holiday season.

Visibility? None. 

So that's it folks! Hope you enjoyed these few moments from our trip

I have part 2 coming up. with details of my shopping adventures in two of Kano's markets.

Have an Amazing year 2017!

Do you have any resolutions? 

Have you been to Kano or Daura?

Any recommendations for my next trip?

Let me know in the comments.

Lot's of nomadic love,

Ummi

x o x o