My Guide to Food – Exploring and Mapping intersections between Nigerian Cuisine and Foods of the World
Fermented foods have been part of global cuisines for many centuries when people fermented seeds and nuts by lacto-fermentation where lactic acid- a natural preservative worked to limit the effects of putrefying bacteria. Fermentation — an ancient technique that’s making a comeback — is a process that preserves food and infuses some edibles with gut-friendly […]
Many years ago, I ‘met’ Dambu Nama and was fascinated. A cross between looking like steel wool shreds and candy floss, this ‘meat snack’ looked wispy but gained ground and flesh as you chewed. After wondering for ages, I learnt the mystery behind its texture. Typically, the meat is cooked in a mixture of spices […]
I am fascinated by how ideas come, how they’re created – so many elements, some seemingly random, yet they come together to test concepts, fuse thoughts and generally do something ‘new’. Like with garden eggs. I think I like the whole exploration, the journey, the process of building, of constructing, of putting together. I like […]
She was beautiful. Silver-haired, petite and with the finest English accent to boot. We sat next to each other on two silver benches, side by side, watching other beautiful people and the world inside the George bush airport, Houston go by.
A night-time conversation with D, my 6-year old has brought me here, to this point where I am writing an open letter to the world. To those who think Nigerian cuisine is no more than pepper. And I am not really on the offensive. Or defensive. I’m just in plain agreement as to how we […]
He is adamant about not wanting to have any buns, the first time we try them. We don’t get why. Oh well, he can be weird sometimes, our D. We sit at the table, bound by brunch. Feasting.
They come from all over Nigeria and go by different names, speaking to their provenance, their source and origins. The tomatoes do. Names unpronounceable in some languages, where certain consonant combinations are never found. Like gb. Pronounced with force and confidence. And literally known as labial-velar consonants. Truly doubly articulated labial–velars occur as stops and nasals in the majority […]
Putting jet lag to good use. Time Zone: Eastern Daylight Precise Location: New York State Currently….blogging at 4.45am while the world, the city around me sleeps! —–00000—–
Tales by Oritsegbemi Emmanuel Jakpa With the spliced rhythm of tribal Africa, with the pulse, and raw hide cloak of riddles, with the drizzling monsoon on lemon grass, with the serene river songs of the canaries, with the dim light of the oil lamps, I reflect on the times when under the tropical moon fierce […]