Mr. Bijoy Writes

Gumbo isn't hard to make. However, it's hard to make well. So, I took an old gumbo recipe I learned in Mississippi and modified it for you guys to get the best product with the least amount of time involved to "perfect" it.Your first batch will be good. Your second batch will be better. Every consequent batch will only get better until you've played with it to make it yours and, in hand, make it perfect. What ya need: 1 pound of pork loin, cubed 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour 1 cup of beef broth (homemade is best, but bouillon will do in a pinch) 1- 15oz can of stewed tomatoes 10oz of okra (frozen is fine) 10oz of succotash (frozen is fine) 1 teaspoon of hot sauce 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon of salt  1 bay leaf Cooking spray Ok, so: Spray a medium-sized dutch oven or a large pot with cooking spray. Heat it over medium heat. When the pot is hot, add the beef and cook for 4 minutes, stirring oc

I'm not sure how many years I've been doing these, but this is the latest, possibly largest installment. These are a few cool things that I think would be great gifts for guys. There's a little something here for almost everyone, or at least I think so. There's no organization to this list, so don't expect that. So, here we go! Apparently, puffy jackets are cool again. I can't, in the right mind, recommend one that doesn't both look good and is incredibly functional. My choice is the Cirq Pax 700 Downfill Jacket . You can find them on sale all over the place, so don't think you have to stick to the price shown in the link.  Your flight attendant might make a good drink, if you ask. More often than not, you'll get a can of mixer and a small bottle of alcohol. So why not step your "drunk on a plane" game up and get the Carry-On Cocktail Kit ? It'll make you the coolest guy on the airplane.     Want a t ruly smart bluetooth speaker ?

Back by popular demand, my musings on style and things like that. Mind you, I’m no expert and I rarely claim myself to be. This is just what I think, again. I hate to reiterate this, but there will never be a “new black.” Learn this, and live with it. Wearing a captain’s hat in public is not ok. Unless you’re an actual ship captain in full ship captain garb. If you’re not, you look like huge douchebag. Shiny, sequined, embellished button down shirts, like those you get at The Buckle, are not okay. If I seriously have to explain this, stop reading this and go home. Don’t wear hats like Pharrell. He doesn’t look good in them. You won’t either. Merino wool is a good material for sweaters. It’s better than cheaply-made cashmere. Do with this information as you may. If you wear a double-breasted suit or jacket, never unbutton it unless you’re taking it off. Otherwise, you will look like a classless bum. Don’t be a classless bum.  Don’t roll up your jeans unless you are in a situati

A year or two ago, I wrote a post about my gym playlist. Needless to say, it's changed a fair bit. So, here's a rundown of my quick playlist, for shorter workouts.As a note, I often just hit random/shuffle and let this play out however the iPod lets it play out. "Hustle hard" - Maino "Hear of A Champion" - Nelly "Go Get It" - TI "Can't Kill Us" - The Glitch Mob "Iron Man" - Black Sabbath  "Gonna Fly Now" - Bill Conti "I Don't Dance" - DMX & Machine Gun Kelly  "Talk Shit, Get Shot" - Body Count "I Shouldn't Have Done It" - Slick Rick "Headsprung" - LL Cool J "Blood Pressure" - Cassidy "Set It Off" - Big Daddy Kane "It's The Pastor" - Pastor Troy "Paid In Full - Eric B. & Rakim What do y'all play in the gym?  Any suggestions? Anything get you crazy? Let me know!

As a lot of you may know, this past Sunday, July 20th, I asked my girlfriend, Sonja,  to marry me. Also, a lot of people have been asking how I did it. So this post is for those folks, haha. About 6 months ago, I decided that I wanted to propose to my girlfriend. But here's the thing, I have no idea how people go about doing that. I've heard a lot of stories, from the morning in bed, rollover and propose, to the Kauai beach proposal and almost every thing in between. So, I started with the one thing I assumed I could do right- The ring. But that part is going to stay out of this story, becasue it's super-boring. A few weeks ago, I gave Sonja's friend Taylor a call. I told her what was up and that I was going to pop the question. She shrieked. I temporarily lost hearing in my right ear. It was glorious. In a really, really weird way. Taylor and I then started planning what was about to go down. I had an idea: scavenger hunt. A scavenger hunt that was awesome! But I h

Falafel started life in Egypt, around the time of the pharaohs (apparently). But enough of the boring stuff. Now found as a staple throughout the Middle East and India, falafel are a staple in many households and street vendors. My mom has a pretty good recipe, but she hasn't chosen to share it yet. I took some advice from some of my chef friends and worked together this recipe for the nights that I really just wanted some happy-food. Let me know what you think! If you need to tweak anything to make it work for you, do it! What ya need: 1 cup of dried chickpeas (15oz can of chickpeas are ok in a pinch) 5 medium cloves of garlic 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped  1/2 cup of fresh parsley, chopped 1 small onion 6 tablespoons of flour 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 teaspoon of salt 2 teaspoons of cumin 1 teaspoon of coriander 1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper (cayenne works too) 1-2 cups of frying oil, for frying (I like a vegetable blend for this, but some people like

The model which I own Hello friends, Often, I get asked what's my favorite appliance in my kitchen. Now, I don't have the most illustrious kitchen setup and most people assume that I'll respond to the question with either my Vita-Mix or my girlfriend's KitchenAid Stand Mixer. However, that's not the case at all. I love my toaster oven. I think everyone should own one. There, I said it. Allow me to go a bit further here. A standard toaster toasts bread. It might handle a bagel, but not a thick, or topped, bagel. English muffins are sometimes too small for a standard toaster and one is forced to fish out the muffin, rather dangerously, with whatever is on hand at the time. To me, that's a lot of counter space for something with so few functions. In steps a toaster oven.  The biggest complaint I get about toaster ovens is that they just don't toast bread very well. In a lot of cases, that's true. You generally need to step up to a better toaster