Dubai. Still in my head. The spice souks…oh, what joy to see beauty, colour and fragrance packed in bags and beautifully displayed in aisles and on stall shelves. Here is a photo ‘summary’ of the delights. Flowers – a variety Dried flowers, often used in tea are very common in the spice souks. The bright, vibrant colours are alluring, not to mention the fragrance of the buds and blossoms. Some flowers I’d seen before – hibiscus – our very own zobo, roses, lavender, chamomile; others were new and enthralling – pamogranate [sic], sunflower, red flower and jasmin. I wish I’d...
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 and a bit. So what’s a posset? According to Wikipedia, A posset (also spelled poshote, poshotte) was a British hot drink of milk curdled with wine or ale, often spiced, which was popular from medieval times to the 19th century. The word is mainly used nowadays...
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 making these cookies. I was a bit disappointed in the fact that the Agbalumo flavour didn’t come through but plan to remake them with fresh fruit. Still, the cookie itself was stunning. Perfectly crumbly, gorgeous fragrance and beautiful taste. They were all gone in no...
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 had changed – turned a little orange. I can’t wait to see and taste the end result. Now I have to remember to put this in a cold dark place. And shake every day :). Have you made bitters before?[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Agbalumo Bitters in Progress – –...
#MyAfricaPodcast
There’s little more I enjoy than talking about food. And being #52. Y’all know I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee 52, like food52.com This Sunday past, I spoke with Andre Blaze Henshaw – the amazing MC from TEDxPortHarcourt. We talked about food, life, heart and more food in one of my favourite interviews. I find discussions soooooooooo useful in bringing clarity of thought, focus, idea. Please listen, not only to mine but to the other awesome podcasts in the free (might I add) #MyAfricaPodcast series. Thank you, Andre. Listen to our discussion
Bitters & Life
It never ceases to amaze me the clear arguments for and against any particular issue. This weekend past, I decided I wanted to make Bitters because I had a lot of Agbalumo skins which would have gone to waste. Because a few friends who were with me at the time suggested it – yep, I have the most amazing friends. So it was I headed to the interwebs to read up, even though I knew what it was I would do – put all the ingredients in a jar, shake and keep in a cool dark place. The first piece I read...
Quick and Easy: Sauteed Carrots
This is the season for many things with carrots. Why not start with a quick and easy saute? Sautéed carrots and butternut squash with fresh thyme and tangelo juice. All it needs is 5, 6 medium-sized carrots washed, peeled then rinsed. Cut into cylinders. I call them cylinders because I’m not sure what else to call ’em. And butternut sqash, about 1/2 a cup (what I had left), cut into small wedges. In a frying/ saute pan, add a knob of butter and a sprig or two of fresh thyme. Add the carrots and butternut squash after a minute or so and...
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 key? Balance. When I sketch the plate, I can see the balance of colours, I can explore tastes in my head, I can investigate the options. All in a few minutes. The process of creating anything is a compound of many steps, many different sources...
Friday Cocktails – Gin & Tonic with Zobo Pepper Sauce
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 are becoming a thing. Anyway, we learn, we move, we make…to drink. So it is that I made a version with some Zobo pepper sauce, gin, tonic and ice. The zobo pepper sauce is nicely flavoured – sweet with a bit of heat, so it...