Imagine that? A day celebrating the delicate beauties that ‘macarons’ are? Not that I’ve attempted them recently……but I still love ’em, with heart and soul. Click on each photo to get to the ‘relevant’ recipe/post In Paris, where holidays are done right, it’s Jour du Macaron, and about eight hours ago, hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren woke up singing a lovely song about pastel-colored magic then promptly flooded les rues with their best patisserie-heat-seeking game in tow.
Totally ‘Not Vanilla-Bland’ Chicken
Vanilla bland has to be one of the most meaningless phrases I’ve ever heard. And should I hear it again, I will let my fury run wild. For many years, I endured a certain person I saw almost every day speak of the apparent commonness of vanilla – plain Jane, no thrills, no fancies. In all honesty, there was no venom, no poison in his comments but each mention left me perplexed as he would say ‘Vanilla bland’, then go on to mention how its blandness though was not a bad thing, but merely, the ‘standard’, the average, normal…..state of...
Celebrating You – International Women’s Day 2012
International Women’s Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements. Celebrating us as women, as mothers, daughters, sisters, friend, partners and the multitude of roles we play – this is something important to me and I’d like to say thank you. As a working woman, my greatest support and encouragement has come from women. The colour, energy, warmth and the authenticity that continues to inspire me is something I am thankful for....
Bucket List #57: Make/Bake/Ice a cake with Fondant
It was way down my list at 57, fondant. For very obvious reasons. Hard to make. For professionals only. Beautiful to look at (impossible for some home cooks…and on and on and on). But in the dead of that Friday night, I imagined I was Buddy, The ‘Cake Boss’, working in a small kitchen in Hoboken, New Jersey. Creating wonders of fondant to amaze men and women. I am always amazed at how I make bakethroughs (and breakthroughs) in my life. One suggestion, a challenge, timing and suddenly, confidence arrives and fear of failure disappears. Sometimes I resist with all the might...
Reasons to Believe: All things Creme Fraiche, Mascarpone and Ricotta
Domestic goddess that I am. I’m in red raffia heels. OK….wedges. I feel like Nigella. Creme Fraiche on the go, 2 fruit cakes in the making (last Christmas’s success), this time the recipe is adjusted to include some Maltina and pureed lemon sugar. Its the creme fraiche that I’d like to start off with. Thankfully, my feet are not hurting…..and I admit, it is time to drop the charade and take off the shoes. I am confused as to exactly what chemical reaction has gone on with my ultra-pasteurised whipped cream and reconstituted buttermilk. Something has definitely happened. The mixture...
Chocolate Dump-it All Cake a la Hesser
Normal. Is not a word I’d use to describe me. Myself. Is that bad English? I am intrigued by butter. Sticks of butter. The allure of reading American recipes that call for a ‘stick of butter’ hasn’t worn off……and I can count January the 8th as one of my best days in the history of food! Because in a shop round the corner from me, a shop that has given me graham crackers and cheese, gianduja chocolate and Marrons de glace….I found sticks of butter. Do you hear me? Sticks of butter. Now if you had sticks of butter on...
Happy Valentine’s Day: (Celebrating) Love In The Time of Fat
Saint Francis And The Sow The bud stands for all things, even for those things that don’t flower, for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing; though sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness, to put a hand on its brow of the flower and retell it in words and in touch it is lovely until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing; as Saint Francis put his hand on the creased forehead of the sow, and told her in words and in touch blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow began remembering all...
The Anatomy of an Artichoke
Note: The exploration for this post was done in 2011 while I lived in The Netherlands. Artichokes haven’t appeared in any store aisles in Nigeria (that I’ve come across anyway….). I am sharing it because I unearthed some ‘gems’ in the process. I hope you enjoy reading it. —–♥♥♥♥♥—– None of my memories, sleeping or waking…have been consumed with artichokes of any sort. Globe or Jerusalem, pickled, boiled, fried or grilled. Australia’s cooking doyenne, Stephanie Alexander says in her book, ‘The Cook’s Companion’, a compendium of ingredients and recipes for the Australian kitchen ‘Artichokes have a reputation of being tricky to...
Protected: Reasons To Believe – Locally Grown Strawberries in Nigeria
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.