Down with a cold? The sort that most people get on the cusp of changing seasons, from harmattan to rainy? Don’t just reach for oranges, grab some agbalumo. Agbalumo? Yes, agbalumo. Rich in ascorbic acid – hence the tartness (thanks Tipu), more so than oranges – this is your rainy season fruit. The value of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and α- tocopherol of C. albidum varieties were very high when compared with the recommended dietary allowances (RDA), their values exceeding the RDA of 75 and 90 mg/day of vitamin C for female and male respectively, and 15 mg/day of α-Tocopherol (Roth and...
‘Perfect Hostess’ Tips – Appetisers
The trick to being a good hostess is knowing when to buy and when to make, or bake. I love hosting parties…a great excuse to feast and try out newish recipes. I must admit though that good a hostess as I am, I’m far from glam. Sigh. I’m not likely to walk down any stairs looking like Marilyn. That would be Monroe, darling…complete with dress, kitten heels and nary a drop of sweat. Sigh again. Saying that, I am not bad at putting a meal together for most people. Except you’re Eghosa Imasuen and you’re looking for pounded yam at my table....
How to Poach Chicken Breasts
Or how to make the juiciest chicken breasts ever, all thanks to osmosis and gentle temperatures. Poaching is the art and science of cooking foods in a light liquid on low heat.Poached chicken breasts, often considered diet food takes on moistness and niceness untold from gentle cooking in a light broth, which itself becomes great stock. Brining and marinades generally work in the same way. This recipe is full of gifts. But why bother? Great texture – can be shredded or sliced It has great potential to take on a variety of delicious flavours It stays juicy Did I mention easy to prepare?...
Toasted Egusi Seeds
Snacks. For trail mix. Eating out of hand. Mixing in cookie dough. Or pie crust maybe? Bread even? I’ve always wanted to snack on Egusi seeds, as a lover of pumpkin seeds. Finally, I decided to try it and the end result is yum. Surprisingly. I think I had my mind on soup and creamy so this was an interesting discovery. I like trying out ingredients in new ways so applying ‘savoury’ ingredients to sweet, particularly. These are simply toasted in a frying pan, heated with a bit of oil, olive in my case, stirring constantly so they toast proper...
Proudly Naija: ‘Calabar’ Abacha
We aren’t doing too badly in Naija. Lots of things are being processed and packaged, and sold in stores. You can find locally canned palm nut sauce for banga soup, spice blends in bottles and jars, hibiscus leaves in packs. That soothes my soul. I’m particularly glad to find Abacha – shredded and dehydrated. Perfect for exporting…. And Proudly Naija. And while I’m glad about this product, I know we could take it up a notch by adding usage instructions/ directions. Not everyone is familiar with cooking Abacha so it would be lovely if they makers shared the way to...
Fires Can Be Deadly
This is the view from our hotel. And no, we’re not having fun. We evacuated our house last night, for fear of smoke inhalation. At about 8.20pm, we were getting ready for bed and winding down generally. We’d all smelled smoke but couldn’t trace it till we went to one of the bedrooms and saw the fire at the back. Started deliberately to clean out the plot of land in preparation for construction. Should I have suspected when we noticed the grass being cut last week? I had no idea this would follow. Now…I understand how wild fires spread and...
Nigerian Agbalumo Curd
I imagined it would be nice. And it was. Is. And mostly from Agbalumo puree. Agbalumo puree cooked with egg yolks and butter to make a sweet, breakfast/ bread spread. It takes on the colour of caramel and the lushness of recipes with cooked egg yolks – rich and smooth on the tongue. So yes, everything about this is perfect. Agbalumo as the ‘bringe’r of tart and pucker, similar to lemons in the classic curd. Not much to do here but combine Agbalumo puree with a splash of Agbalumo drink or orange juice, eggs, butter, sugar and done. And perhaps...
Nigerian Agbalumo Puree
I have a dream, that one day, Nigerian cuisine will be spoken about, for its richness and diversity. That one day, the world will know that there’s more to our food than ‘pepper’ and ‘swallow’. I intend to play a small role in making that happen, so help me Lord. For a while now, my mind has been working overtime on how to extract and process the flesh of Agbalumo, for use later on. Could t be frozen? What would happen? I’m currently exploring those thoughts. The first thing though, how to extract the essence of the fruit. Process the...
Nigerian Agbalumo Drink
With the remains from the vinegar episode, I decided to make an ‘infusion’. This drink is a classic case of using up leftovers and doing something I’ve wanted to do for ages – make a drink of Agbalumo. The seeds and skin were tossed into pot. I tried to think of what spices would go well with it. Cardamom and vanilla came to mind so that’s’s what I’ve gone with. While it was brewing, I saw the saffron :). You know what happened. A tiny pinch only. Sugar, some cups of water later and 15 minutes of cooking time, we were...