It’s that time of year – we’re prepping for Christmas. Well, some started earlier – whatever *rolls eyes*. I finally got round to soaking my fruit in brandy and orange liqueur for the fruitcakes that must be. This is a world record for me. I’ve soaked fruit days before, some weeks before – truth be […]
Techniques
Resources for the New, Growing & Confident Cook
A collection of links to help because ‘No better cook did dreaming alone make :)’ Thank me later Becoming a good cook is a cross between the creative and practical, with health & safety as the overarching theme. I’ve found a few resources which you might find useful: Culinary Arts Basics Everything you need to know, […]
Nigerian ‘Concept’ Dish: ‘Plantain’ & Groundnuts
The Concept This concept is as much about visual as it is about taste. In this dish I wanted to highlight: how street food – plantain (bole) & groundnuts can be translated to fine dining how to bring balance to a dish through food pairings how textures and flavours can be repeated in a dish in […]
Failure & Success – Goat Confit to Dambun Akuya
Because sometimes, in spite of your best intentions, things will fail spectacularly. All that’s important then is what you learn and what you decide to do with it. The idea for a goat confit came after a discussion with a friend, B. I don’t remember the exacts but I know I was at a store […]
Nigerian ‘Concept’ Dish: Beans & Dodo
The Concept I said my next concept dish would be plantains, so here we are. When I was growing up, we ate beans on Wednesday and Fridays, afternoons only. We ate beans with fish – fresh, fried, smoked…mostly fried. Dodo, fried yam and garri were accompaniments sometimes. Though I loved the beans my mum cooked, […]
How To Make ‘Great’ Nigerian Stock
Stock – the bedrock of Jollof Rice, of Fried Rice, Stews and more is easy to make. Nigerian stock differs from ‘Western’ style stocks because of the ingredients used. Your average Nigerian stock has red onions, fresh ginger and garlic, curry powder and dried thyme and more. In Europe, America and some other parts of […]
Kitchen Hacks: Buying Chicken Backs for Stock
I consider stock – vegetable, chicken or beef – essential to my kitchen. From Jollof Rice to Fried, stews and other sauces, it changes the game infusing it with rich flavour and essence. When I was younger, I used stock that was the result of cooking meat which would accompany the meal. Over time, that […]
Quick & Easy: Weeknight Dinner of Sausage & Carrot Cannelloni
This recipe was inspired by @recipetins’s Baked Spinach & Ricotta Rotolo. That morning, I saw it on Instagram on my way to work – I couldn’t stop thinking, dreaming, wishing. As soon as I got home that Friday night, I brought out my pack of Cannelloni and some Sugo which I almost always have in the […]
Three Uses for Agbalumo Skin: Gum, Pectin & Bitters
Did you know that Chicle, the milky juice or latex found in Agbalumo and other relatives was for a long time, the foundation of all chewing gums? Chewing gum Yes, if you are able to get past the bitterness, chewing the latex-rich skin and sap will yield great delights. So yes, chicle and things cf. Chiclets. Pectin […]