I love making hash – great for combining starches, meat, vegetables and sauce, all in one pan. I employed my cassava chunks in this recipes, along with suya of tripe – shaki to Nigerians. I got the ‘book’ shaki, known as Bible. Manifold. Onigbawe, in Yoruba. For the ‘pages’ it has. I love how expressive we are with food, from pet names to ‘this-kinda-makes-sense’ names. I also got some Tozo, probably from the belly as it is ‘fatty’. Sigh. I like it for how flavourful it can be. I wanted the hash to have soft, saucy vegetables so I gently...
An Ode To The ‘Real’ Chocolate Chip Cookie
You might think you know what a chocolate chip cookie is And that’s fine But just for the record Just for clarity’s sake…and peace too Let me tell you what it’s not A chocolate chip cookie is not Crunchy or crumbly all the way through Therefore it isn’t Maryland Or any other brand that does the same Whatever you may think Nor does it come in a pack Emblazoned in blue – ‘Famous Amos’ As Famous as that sounds And may very well be It isn’t a sorry excuse for a biscuit Hard. Evenly shaped In a sickening shade of...
The Anatomy of Cassava
I’ve eaten cassava products all my life but I’d never tasted the cooked/ boiled tuber till last weekend. It is an interesting combination of starchy and chewy and a taste that isn’t as distinctive as I expected. What it looks like Think long tubers, about 20 – 30cm with tough brown skins bearing some resemblance to yams but for the pointed carrot-like tips. How to select Select tubers that are brown all over, without many scaly patches. The photo above shows a fresh tuber. That below? Not-so-fresh tubers. See how the protective skin on the tubers has come off? Peeling...
How to Process Mangoes
You learn everyday. This technique uses a cup/ glass to separate mango cheek from flesh. You begin by slicing off the mango cheeks. I aim for as close to the stone/seed as possible so I leave very little behind. Once you’ve sliced off as many mango cheeks as you want, get a cup or glass to try out this is nifty technique. If using glass, a strong one works well – fragile wine glasses may break with ease – be advised :). Just-ripe and ripe mangoes are easy to work with using this technique. I need to try it with...
How To Get The Coconut Water Without Breaking The Coconut
Coconut and its water, the liquid sloshing around its belly. If you ever buy a coconut and hear no water when you shake, put it down my friend, that mother is no good. I remember when I was young and I wanted to get the water out of the brown, mature coconut. I would find an edge – the side of a door, the edge of the floor. I would have a bowl close by – a receptacle for the off-white water when the nut hit the floor and went ‘crack, crack, crack’. There was always a scramble to set...
Homemade: Tropical Fruit Liqueurs
I love making (more than drinking) liqueurs 🙂 for the tons of flavour they bring to cocktails – sweet cocktails for a sweet tooth. Since I first made vanilla extract, the idea of going further, not only with seeds has taken root. There are a few principles to this: Read before you make – the internet is full of knowledge. If you seek, you shall find. If you have an idea, best check to see if/what others have experienced Clean utensils. Make sure everything is clean Careful handling of the fruit/ nut. Yes, the alcohol will kill bacteria but no need to make it hard for it...
Food Gradients: Asala, African Walnut
I discovered #foodgradients on instagram last year and I fell in love. What a delightful excuse to play with food without really messing about with flavours and textures. Seattle-based food photographer Brittany Wright, 23, runs one of the most appetizing accounts on Instagram (@wrightkitchen), arranging foods by color for gorgeous gradient photos. Here, she shares her morning routine, and the story behind her stunning shots on instagram (@wrightkitchen); Today.com For weeks we did nothing but make food gradients, of chilies and peppers and garden eggs and pear. This was an exercise in sorting for the children – they loved it. To...
Baked Plantains with Cheese & Groundnuts
In which I use groundnuts and peanuts interchangeably. Because I can. Anyways, Bake plantains with cheese? Hard to imagine? Well, I can tell you that this was one of the most delightful things I’ve had in a bit and a half. See when it comes to Latin Americans and plantains, I have to give them all my trust. From Jibaritos to Empanadas, not once have I failed in my quest to use plantains in new ways. Well, once…when I did a cinnamon-sugar thing. I didn’t like it but…but…I think it was because the plantains were too ripe and I had...
Caribbean Mango Sauce
I love the taste and flavours of this sauce, perfect for dunking southern fried chicken tenders in. That’s what we did the first time I made it. Chunky vegetables go into a sauce that’s rich with mangoes. Secret sauce? Angostura Bitters. Perfect for Chapman, soup and pie. [wpurp-searchable-recipe]Caribbean Mango Sauce – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]