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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
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...
Post
Take Two: Catfish Ginger Curry from Songhai Farms
I post this, long overdue……from Sunderland, in the northeast of England where I’m putting my feet up, enjoying single-digit temperatures and reveling in the stunning views of the North sea. —–00000—– To say I brought back evidence of my trip to Songhai Farms would be right. Evidence in photos, and in food. I brought back...
Post
Travel by Plate: Saminaka & Its Yaji-spiced Fried Yam with Crunchy Chicken Skin
Travel by Plate is a series exploring food, culture and travel, from Nigeria to South America and beyond. Please welcome my friend, the wonderful Adetoun of Finding Uhuru who wrote this post. A few weeks ago, I cried out on Twitter, desperately seeking someone, anyone who’d been to Saminaka in my yaji-craze, someone who had experienced the piping hot...
Post
Saminaka – Built on Their Memories
The road to Saminaka is paved with memories None of which are mine Memories borrowed from friends. Of family holidays Friends like Femi, @kinffeosi, @asamsu, @micaleel and @alkayy Of Junction towns where women fry chicken Tales of cross-country journeys Of petticoat yam and crumbled yaji-spiced chicken skin Of Roadkill Of native chicken, cheap as chips...
Post
Traditional Nigerian Edo Egusi Soup
Egusi soup, in which I channel my inner ‘Edo‘ girl. My ‘Igarra‘ heritage. For this is the soup by which we are woken up on many a morning, ladled into yellow enamel bowls, motiffed with green leaves and rimmed in red. Covers clanging, hiding the pungent, fried scents of une, what we call locust beans and...
Post
Nigerian Condiments: Zobo/ Hibiscus Jelly
Failure doesn’t faze me. Its nothing new. Jams that won’t set are ….mere vestiges of the past. I forge on….determined. This Zobo Jelly is an example in point. I went back to the drawing board and ended up with something that was and is worthy of any table.