Pawpaw. Papaya. Suited to sweet.and savoury preparations. Spiralised Pawpaw. Fruit & Tea. Bruleed Toast. By now, you would know I have OCD. Compulsiveness in most of my ways. Like when I discover a new ingredient or see it in new light. You must know that I become consumed with it, using, learning, smelling, tasting, photographing...
or Tamarind Soda, in the manner of Jarritos’s Tamarindo. All that is required is tamarind syrup, topped up with soda water, tonic water or ginger ale. The plain tamarind syrup is nice, but I love the tamarind-ginger version as the flavours are very gingerale’sque. You’ll need ice, a stirrer and an umbrella. Just because. You’ll pour the...
My picky second daughter, R insists this should be the name, and so it is. Agbalu’lade. I had Agbalumo’ade pencilled but…*shrugs*. As this is her new favourite drink, I have no complaints. Believe me, this is like Lemonade but not exactly. If you macerate Agbalumo – add sugar and leave to stand for a few hours, you’ll...
Simple syrups – fundamental sweetness to cocktails and mocktails. And easy to make. What is a simple syrup? The foundation for everything from lemonade to iced tea, your standard simple syrup is a combination of 1 part sugar to 1 part water. For example – 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water, cooked till the...
..because it’s cocktail hour in Alice Springs, Australia. —–00000—– My first Mojito was drunk in a dimly lit room with walls I imagine red and a carpet thick. I think. To be honest, I have no idea what the colours were. I only imagine that being an Indian restaurant, thick with the scents of tempered spices...
I reach for her when a sweet and spicy combination requires a little something something, you know what I mean? Sometimes you need that additional flavor undernote when what you’re working with seems a little one-dimensional. Something to round it off nicely, sort of like orange zest would. Sort of… but not quite. I refer...
Annona muricata, also known as Soursop. Apparently, it is in the same genus as the chirimoya and the same family as the pawpaw. Growing up, this was one of my older sister’s favourite fruits. I’d watch her eat it and suck creamy pulp from black seeds. Occassionally, I would tuck in and enjoy but it was...
It never ceases to amaze me just how connected we are, from Lagos to Laos. Scent leaves, Perilla, Shiso, of the family Lamiaceae. These herbaceous, perennial shrubs are cousins in the mint family I thought I knew everything about this plant. Growing up, it featured prominently in pepper soup, added at the last minute to bring...
…are in season and I am stoked. Mangoes are in season across oceans and continents, from India to Pakistan, Australia to Nigeria. How fragrantly we’re joined. For me, the first fruits of the season are always eaten out of hand. We spend the first week or so re-acquainting ourselves with the familiar scents, part-ambrosia, part...