Did you know that Chicle, the milky juice or latex found in Agbalumo and other relatives was for a long time, the foundation of all chewing gums? Chewing gum Yes, if you are able to get past the bitterness, chewing the latex-rich skin and sap will yield great delights. So yes, chicle and things cf. Chiclets. Pectin...
Category: Nigerian Cuisine
Fura De Nono Pots with Fresh Turmeric & Coconut
I loved learning how to make Fura and couldn’t wait to combine it with white chocolate and bananas. Nono is made from fresh milk soured with a bit of curdled milk, similar to using yogurt as a starter in a fresh batch. Fermentation happens over a day or two; Fura is made from millet, cooked...
Agbalumo Posset
Lool, if you are tired of me and my Agbalumo experiments, imma have to ask you to step aside for a minute or two because there’s more. I’ve been wanting to make this posset since I first realised how acidic Agbalumo was. How it curdled milk. Yep, this has been in my plan for a year...
Agbalumo Shortbread
Great shortbread, tart flavor from the dried agbalumo but not recognizable as Agbalumo. That is my review of the delicious cookies I made over the weekend. Using a quick and easy recipe from Jamie Oliver bar a few modifications – addition of water, use of dried Agbalumo, addition of cardamom and orange zest. I loved...
Agbalumo Bitters in Progress
So, a follow up to Bitters & Life, I’ve put my Agbalumo skins to what I hope will be good news – bitters, similar to Angostura and Orijin. A combination of Agbalumo skins because plenty… Rum, because…no vodka at home; Spice, because ‘je ne sais quoi’; Some citrus; And time. In a few hours, the colour...
On Food & Design – The Basics of Food Plating
Because we eat with our eyes. Since I got my Samsung Note 5, I’ve been encouraged to draw my ideas. Thanks to Chef Fregz who showed me how. What the stylus and phone help with is visualizing the possibilities, on the go – you can erase, check, sketch, add notes and do much more. The...
Ideas in Nigerian Food – Agbalumo Jelly
Yep, I think I have a vegan winner with this one. Yep. This jelly is made with sweetened Agbalumo juice and set at room temperature in no time. I couldn’t find gelatine sheets in Lagos – and no, I did not look in every single shop. So agar agar it was. Anyhoo, the texture takes...
Fura De Nono
‘Ina son in dama fura de nono a kwarya da ludayi.’ ‘I want to make fura de nono in a calabash with a spoon.’ And this is the beauty of food – the unending discoveries, of flavours and textures, of history and culture. This is what makes food sooooooo endearing to me. And tiring too...
From Art to Life: Soursop Jam
This jam is the product of life-art-inspiration-art-life-living. I love soursops and have recently begun to experiment – creams, desserts, cocktails – no sphere is safe. I was thrilled when Chikodili Emelumadu, of Igbophilia (How to love Igbo things or what you will) shared that I would be ‘staring’ in a short story she’d written. Please...