It all began when M, a friend and mixologist said he’d added some Zobo pepper sauce to his G & T. How the fresh, spice notes in the sauce worked really well with gin. It would never have occurred to me. I wouldn’t have thought of it like using ‘jams and marmalades‘ in drinks. Which...
I’d never really given much thought to the perfect drinks for Jollof till #Jollofgate, when I spied a bottle of ale next to Jamie’s offering. Now, I know Jonny Garrett, the deputy editor of Jamieoliver.com who worked with him on thefeature is a beer aficionado who loves pairings… (he’s @beerchannel on Twitter) To be honest, food and drink pairings...
The wheelbarrows are back, pushed by young men and full of short purple stems of Saccharum officinarum. I’m buying. I’m halving the trauma of peeling sugar cane by having them skinned and cut into segments on the streets. The Mallam uses transparent cellophane bags as gloves – his aim is to touch no part of...
This is beautiful. Really beautiful in a rich, creamy, totally tropical delight. A few ingredients and you’re well on your way to whipping up a delight. I’ve gone for fresh ingredients here – soursop, hand peeled; fresh coconut and lime juice but you could very well make your own cocktail with store-bought ones – cans...
It is the season of dates, tiger nuts and mixing up flavours and combinations – all the things I love. I make up some milk and combine it three ways – with zobo, with iced coffee and with date caramel. I do this because I remember drinking Thai iced coffee and iced tea at Pam’s Thai...
This, like sangria and mulled wine. At once festive, Christmassy, of celebration. And all the consequence of a leftover bottle of red, and some leftover cinnamon sugar. I cooked both together for a syrup and topped up with zobo and ice. Recipes {Zobo} {Sugar Syrups – for lemon/ orange, use strips of skin} Red wine....
If you were born in 19 whatever, you mightn’t have the foggiest idea about Green Sands Shandy. My Lord, it was the height of refreshment. Do you remember it? In its green bottle? It is what we drank when we graduated from Maltina and Chapman. And today and forever, it is the measure of the...
There’s a new drink in town – Orijin and I’m a fan. Orijin…a diminutive of Orijinal, a riff on the word Original. The first time I tried it, there was a steaming bowl of catfish peppersoup set before me at an open-air bush bar type o’ place. We sat on wooden chairs, the moon high...
I love making (more than drinking) liqueurs 🙂 for the tons of flavour they bring to cocktails – sweet cocktails for a sweet tooth. Since I first made vanilla extract, the idea of going further, not only with seeds has taken root. There are a few principles to this: Read before you make – the internet is full of knowledge. If...