I’m preparing for Thanksgiving. For smoky Jollof rice sweetened with the golden warmth of autumn Thanking God for warm weather and the sun like a flaming ball in the sky Thankful for the russet and red and golden leaves that fall, that die, that birth the cold and clean that must follow. I’m preparing for Thanksgiving. I’m making flavoured salts, of sage – fried to a crisp then crumbled into sea and kosher salt Ready to coat plantains diced, with the herby green and with peanutty yaji – complex, spicy. I’m preparing for Thanksgiving. Making sage oil with the stalks from fried sage. For...
Golden Turmeric Milk
A few mornings ago, I made some delicious golden turmeric milk. Thank you @afolakea. Turmeric has so many glowing nutritional qualities – from being an awesome antioxidant to boosting immune health and on and on and on. I believe. I heated milk with cloves, green cardamom, grated fresh turmeric, fresh ginger, brown sugar and almonds. My fingers got coloured golden, stained by the orange flesh of fresh Turmeric. In Yoruba, Turmeric is called Ata ile pupa – ‘Red pepper’ though this is technically yellow/ orange, no? I heated up the mix on low heat, simmered till the scents wafted up and...
Grown in Nigeria – Passion Fruit
I. Love. Passion fruit. The fact that we’re growing it in Nigeria. And the fact that I could make food gradients out of them :). They come from Jos, via a company called Veg Express. They deliver to some major cities – Lagos is one of them. At under a N1000 a kilo, it beats every deal I’ve every gotten on them here. We love’em at home. For drinks, in desserts, yum yum yum Ripening cues Skin colour This is one way of telling. The unripe ones tend to be green. As they ripen, they yellow… …or in some cases turn purple...
The Anatomy of Fresh Turmeric
The rhizomes – small tubers – of Turmeric remind me of Jerusalem artichokes and ginger at the same time, smaller though. There are a few differences I’ve observed – Difference 1 – Anatomy The skin has more ribs than that of ginger and the rhizomes are generally smaller in size. Difference 2 – Colour We break into them and you get the shock of carrot orange in the turmeric rhizome compared with the yellow of ginger. I love the colour and can’t wait to draw this hue into some goodness. Note though that this colour, this beauty is a dye...
In Season: Mulberries & Turmeric
In season. I love fruits and vegetables in season. I’ve been enjoying a lot of them – passion fruit and mulberries and last week, fresh Turmeric. Interesting, I always thought strawberries were my favourite berry. Alas people, the Mulberry has overtaken every single one of them. The tangelos are slowly disappearing, or is that just me? I’ve tried to lengthen their stay – baking them into some simple goodness. Take my regular yogurt cake, swap some of the flour with almond meal, add a healthy amount of tangelo zest – say 2, and the juice and voila, you have a moist, rich...
Recipes: Intellectual Property & ‘Copyright’ Protection?
I didn’t understand the gravity of Intellectual Property till I started creating recipes. Till I walked down circuitous paths in my head and in market stalls, on paper, in speeches and in many other places. In 2009, I attended a Food Bloggers Conference where Jeanne of Cooksister shared with us the importance of valuing our copyrights. She reminded me that I should treat my IP with respect by establishing and publicising my rights – on my photos and my blog. Because of that, I put up a copyright notice in the foot of the homepage. A few years later, someone began copying whole...
The Birth of an Idea, of a Recipe
There isn’t a single one of my recipes that’s without a story. Not one that isn’t ‘birthed’. I can trace the outlines, map the turns and corners, the junctions en route to bringing pumpkin to stew, scent leaves to curry. I can tell you the triggers, the memories, the hopes, dreams, plans. Take my Pumpkin Goat Curry for instance – it was birthed in a quiet market place bathed by the evening sun. I saw a pile of orange misshapen gourds and I purchased, yes purchased 8 of them. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make but roasting them...
Ten (10) Reasons to be Thankful for Thanksgiving
1. Adam Noah Levine. First man that ever liveth. Sigh. Deliciousness. 2. Hamburgers 3. Cheesecake 4. Texas Coming to America, my story 5. Southern Fried Chicken. Chicken & Waffles. Waffles and errthang 6. S’Mores S’More Semifreddo, courtsey of Sarah Shatz, food52 7. Floats Root beer and more 8. Ribs Oh lawd. Crying in juicy, smoky, porky ribs. 9. Apple Pie My attempts 10. Still thinkinggggggggggggggggg…. What would be your #10?[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Ten (10) Reasons to be Thankful for Thanksgiving – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
Preparing for My Nigerian-American Thanksgiving
I’ve always loved Thanksgiving – the purpose, the feast, the celebration. Many gathered around tables, scattered around states and cities, homes, safe places, corners. Thanksgiving came to us by way of my children going to the American school in The Netherlands. Since then, we’ve celebrated it. This year, I’d like to serve up a Nigerian-inspired Thanksgiving menu. What do you think? I’m looking for a few extra things to add! Starter Scent leaf soup with coconut & chickpeas, served with Plantain flat breads Main Pumpkin Jollof Rice Dodo with sage Smoked Turkey wings with Zobo-pepper sauce Sides Sauteed Greens with pumpkin and toasted almonds Ginger-Pumpkin-Maple Puree Tapioca/...