Three (3) months ago, I got a call from Donald, the organiser of TEDxPortHarcourt. He invited me to speak at the upcoming TEDx event. Halfway between moving away from Port Harcourt and calling Lagos home, I accepted. Terrified. Excited. Not even sure of how my ‘story’ would go with the ‘Where We Are’ theme, but...
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Part 2: #Jollofgate – In Defense Of Our Traditions
Now the dust has settled :), we can explore more about Jollof Rice – both a short history and the recent #Jollofgate incident. —–00000—– In the winter of 2010, I made wholewheat Argentine Empanadas. I served them with a fresh herb sauce, Chimichurri and got many pats on the back and one tap…one comment…from an Argentine no...
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Part 1: A Short History of Jollof Rice
Jollof, definitions Noun. Verb. of a red, spiced rice dish loved in every city and town ‘South of the Sahara’ and along the coast of West Africa. Synonyms: Djolof, Benachim (Gambia); Thiéboudienne (Senegal) to cook in a red, tomato-based sauce: ‘Jollof beans’ – a one pot dish of beans cooked in a rich tomato sauce. West African-speak. denoting...
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Garden Egg Bake with Cheese & Sugo
And on and on and on – Part 2 of the Baked Garri-crusted Garden Eggs. It involves a bake. Ideally, I would have like this to feature the baked garden eggs, a spicy sauce and Wara, locally produced cheese. Well, though I didn’t meet the ultimate test in my head, the end result was pretty...
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Nigerian Small Chops: Baked Garri-crusted Garden Eggs
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...
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Jollof Beans
I love stewed beans. Or Jollof beans as we would call it in Nigeria. Beans cooked in a tomato sauce. Except my sauce is more onions and peppers than tomatoes. But it still ends up with the Jollof ‘hue’, a cross between deep orange and red. Jollof. Today, I share my beloved recipe for ‘stewed’ beans: Brown...
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Frejon: Of Nigerian And Brazilian History
Connectedness. The thing that fascinates me the most in life. If I had to narrow down the things I find fascinating. This would be one of them. Connectedness – of people, places and things. Brazil. Nigeria. Connected. By slavery and freedom. In culture and cuisine. Like Carnivals. Connected, with thick tropical rainforests and love for football. Connected in...
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Mango Salsa: A Quick & Easy Recipe Guide
Salsa, of a rhythmic Latin American dance. And of a sauce. A condiment with names, types, characters varied. From Roja, of red to verde, of green. With sweetcorn, onions, carrots, pineapples and mangoes – each starring as the main ingredient. Even with citrus too. This salsa I present to you is of mangoes.
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#Video: How to Cut a Mango
I didn’t grow up cutting up mangoes into pretty chunks for food. I didn’t worry about how to get my chunks all lined up in a row. I didn’t find my days and night taken with thoughts of salsas and salads Limed-fruit and whatnots. It wasn’t till adulthood beckoned… That I learnt how to cut...