This recipe takes me back to where it all began – Nigeria. Where garden eggs are eaten as a snack, with a spicy peanut butter dip. In this recipe, the garden egg is sliced and garnished with grilled spring onions and red chilies, for colour. It is sprinkled with a dry peanut ‘crunch’ and drizzled...
In this recipe, the spongy character of garden eggs is extolled. Its interesting that garden eggs take very well to pickling. The vinegar and spices add another dimension to a fruit that makes it suitable for a myriad of things – eating on its own, layered in a sandwich or chopped up into a salad....
This recipe makes the bitterness of garden eggs shine through. The green garden eggs are more bitter than their white counterparts. Either way, the sugar and spice work extremely well to create a balanced ‘condiment’ that tastes Africa, smells Indian, and eats well. In the manner of Thakkali Chutney. Weeks ago, my friend Deepa of...
In season, in season, garden eggs are in season. Truth be told they’ve been in season for a month or so now. Wheel-barrowed boys and men push these out-of-hand eggs around the city. Parking at office gates, awaiting the gong of closing time for sales to peak. Or outside school gates, though I doubt this...
We made the transition as a family in the winter of two thousand and twelve. Shortly before our New Year’s Day brunch. It was my idea. My vision, and I wasn’t quite sure how they would take it but I was intent on trying anyway. See my children grew up eating a lot of soft,...
Pandowdy See this pie – its a gorgeous skillet bake with a nicely ‘gridded’ top crust. Meet my version of the pandowdy. An Apple & Rhubarb pandowdy. – thick with flavour and scented with citrus. Sweet, with hints of tart, nicely wrapped in a flaky crust. I met this pandowdy fellow a mere week ago...
I may not have le cordon blue or any ribbon at all proclaiming me master pie maker but I am determined to raise my children on pie, with pie and knowing pie. My childhood was satisfactory, thank you very much. Even without pie as we know it. All that pielessness is being addressed, corrected. I’ll...
Our ‘dining room voyages’ begin with mint tea – thanks to Morocco and its famous tea culture. We drink our Nigerian version, out of a rather English teapot from Turkish tulip glasses – evidence of our global identity. We love it. Mint is somewhat vital to our family’s happiness. For months, our garden blooms with...
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...