Lunchtime Capers is a series chronicling my hour-long lunch break and the places I venture to – a store, markets, a roadside restaurant. Home. —–00000—– This lunchtime caper is from months ago, when my friend, Osemhen and I visited a market close to our office. She wanted to learn to make a soup I had heard about but didn’t know how to make and I suggested we go to the market to learn. Read all about Ofe Nsala, love and ogiri in her post. In Europe or The States, you might ask your butcher the best way to cook a leg of lamb;...
Can I have a Puff-Puff?
Kitchen Alert – Puff-Puff on the brain. Current obsessions. Testing the bounds of Fried Dough. Like we’ve done for Agbalumo and Meyer lemons, Mangoes and more. But I was thinking about language and Puff-Puff and it occurred to me that I haven’t ever heard someone ask ‘Can I have a puff-puff?’ Sounds wrong. To my ears, totally adoring of my puff-puff. Very rarely used . Can I have one puff-puff? Sigh. I guess one might say that but no one in their right mind has one puff-puff. I mean……one? Of all the deliciousness? Just one? How? Why? I can’t deal....
Blender (cf. Food Processor)
When you’ve just moved house, and you can’t locate the lid to your food processor yet need to process ‘solids’, I suggest you get out your blender. Before you argue with me about the boundaries of what one could consider ‘just moved’ house, I’ll let you know we have different standards of measurement. ‘Just moved’ is when I’m settled. When there’s hardly any carpentry work to be done and as it is, I’m light years from that. No, don’t start another space measurement argument. There’re blinds to put up, small shelves to hang, drawers and cupboards to fix, and yes…a certain lid to...
Eight (8) Varieties of Nigerian Mangoes
Updated 3rd June 2022 Yes, mango fever is here, stalls decorated with baskets of green and orange, red-blushed, and almost tan fruit in varieties from Cotonou to Ogbomosho. For a long time, I paid no heed to the varieties of mangoes in fruit stalls and on the streets for I’ve only ever liked one variety of mangoes – ‘Normal mango’ according to the sellers on the streets. Also known as Ogbomosho, Calabar / Kwaba, Enugu and Abuja mangoes. I’m sorry if I can’t get the proper name for you…bear with me. It is a journey. I’ve come across eight or so varieties of...
Allergic to Coconut Oil?
For the last two days, I’ve suffered a terrible sore throat. Ever since I had a certain chia seed pudding with salted caramel coconut milk. See, I’ve occasional suffered from an itchy throat after eating coconut and tiger nuts. At first, I was puzzled – this was beyond the slight itch and so I turned to Google and discovered that a number of people have had similar reactions after drinking coconut oil. But why? Apparently, food allergies are related to certain proteins in foods so what I have, which is a reaction to the oils in the coconut is a...
The New Nigerian Chapman, with Zobo & Orijin
There’s a new drink in town – Orijin and I’m a fan. Orijin…a diminutive of Orijinal, a riff on the word Original. The first time I tried it, there was a steaming bowl of catfish peppersoup set before me at an open-air bush bar type o’ place. We sat on wooden chairs, the moon high and bright in the sky. ‘Give me one Orijin’. ‘What’s Orijin?, I asked Femi. ‘One bitter kind of drink like that. Me I like it cold, sha.’ He spoke of it rather glowingly, saying that Guinness had finally tapped into the Nigerian love for ‘local...
#SundayRice: Smoky Peppered Snail Jollof Rice
Eaten on a Tuesday and Wednesday. And repeated again today, on a Sunday. And also a short discourse on how ideas are formed – one of the most intriguing things ever. How are synaptic connections made that generate so much possibility? I was on my way home a few days ago when I drove past a restaurant. ‘Traditional Kitchen’ it said. And for the weirdest reason I thought of snails. Peppered snails and my dad, the king of cooking and eating snails. I don’t know how many snails I’ve rid of shells in this short life of mine. Many, very...
Tropical Icepops/ Lollies
There’s heat that makes you want to breathe in the frozen air from a deep freezer and burn your tongue licking it’s walls. There’s heat that leaves you understanding the phrase ‘beads of sweat’. You form them like crystals, drop by drop and soak everything with out. There’s heat that let’s you know who the real heroes are and baby, it ain’t you or me. The most valuable players are the sellers on this Lagos streets, baby. And there’s cold that’s soothing and refreshing in the most colourful way. Three ways actually. With the orange of mangoes, watermelon red and...
A Collection of Vinegars
I didn’t realise I had a ‘collection’ till I brought back four bottles of vinegar from Dubai in January – Cane, Palm, Mango and Lime. It was the Mango that captivated me on the aisle at Carrefour. Set amongst the woody sheen of balsamic, the red and golden of wine vinegars and the milky white of palm and cane vinegars, I stopped to stare. Stare at the range of flavours from fruit and more. The mango vinegar was a beautiful, bright orange colour and you know how I love my mangoes. I imagined it in a lovely vinagrette with lime...