My Guide to Food – Exploring and Mapping intersections between Nigerian Cuisine and Foods of the World
Welcome to 2011: “Sometimes it’s easier to act your self into a new way of thinking, than it is to think your self into a new way of acting.” {Jo Berry, author}. Small chops in Nigeria are all the rage – tiny, tasty bites of jazzed-up traditional recipes, served at parties of every sort. Think […]
‘Children of Nowadays’, as we Nigerians would say, exasperated or marveling at some stroke of childhood genius…or not. Sometimes, hand on large African hips, an adult finger would point back at child… inquiring and seeking confirmation.
Welcome to my winter wonderland. After two years, my brolly wants to become a parachute, lured by the attraction of stormy weather, when autumn’s golden leaves slowly dance, passing the baton on to pretty bare branches and gusts of snow.
When I hear the wind bellow and scream, And see yellow leaves scurry Ochre ones run And russets scamper Into tree-line paths and winding driveways Gardens and front porches too When I feel the cold rain drops And watch them fall on the slant I know that Fall is come The season of apples and […]
I wonder if prehistoric men ever felt the thrill of foraging for food. Perhaps they, in that ancient manner of men viewed their hunting and gathering with purpose and nary a hint of frivolity: to sustain and to provide for themselves and family. These days and modern times, we forage, not for sustenance but for […]
Or Mispels according to the Dutch. Also known as Japanese medlar, not to be confused with that other sort of fruit, also called medlar, requiring rotting and bletting to reach edible status. It took me a year to find out what the English name for Mispels was. I first came across them in a market […]
And despite my university camping trips to the Cordillera Cantábrica, I’ll have to describe myself as a greenhorn when it comes to camping. I wasn’t going to put a lot of trust in my teenage experiences, fueled by youth and confidence – university students and mothers sit in two different camps, not to mention separated […]
…..what would ‘IF’ be like? I have a passion for writing poetry, albeit it completely overshadowed by my love for cooking. One of my favourite poems ever is ‘IF’ by Rudyard Kipling. I can still remember clearly a teacloth we had growing up, which had the words on it (thanks to my English teacher of […]
The Dutch would say, ‘zij is dol op stoofperen’ (If my Dutch is any good), meaning, ‘she is crazy about poached pears’. And I am. As is my husband. And a few of our friends. Actually, many of our friends. They’re probably my most cooked fruit this season, along with kumquats and I estimate I’ve […]